Probably every working adult has struggled at some point in their life to maintain the balance that works best for them between the amount of time and energy spent working and the amount of free time spent pursuing leisure and family activities.

How well are you doing? Take an astrological look at your 4^th and 10^th Houses, the home and career, respectively. Opposing each other, these two houses form an axis showing (what most of us already know) that they literally have a direct affect on one another. What’s going on with these houses in your natal chart? Can you determine which house is more prominent, active, and therefore, likely more persistent in demanding most of your time? Is one of them more dominant than the other, or do you find an equality between both houses?

Compare these two houses by going through the following inquiries: Which planet rules each house?
Which houses do those ruling planets occupy? (For further inquiry, what planets aspect these two houses?)

From a stack of famous writers’ birth charts, I pulled Samuel Clemens’ birth chart for an example. Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain, author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn among others) has Saturn ruling his 4^th House and Moon ruling his 10^th House.

Saturn is exalted in his 1^st House (Ascendant) and aspects the 10^th House, so “Mark Twain” was likely a bit of a homebody who, as a writer, secured the necessary space in his house for work. The Moon appears at first glance to be distressed in the 6^th House (having no planets on either side of it and being alone in a Dushthana House of suffering); however the Moon forms a Gaja Kesari Yoga with Jupiter, lifting much of the difficulty and further emphasizes opportunities and potential emotional happiness through work.

Which brings us to another work-related question: Since the 6^th House is the house that represents daily chores, tasks, and manual labor, check to see if your 6^th and 10^th Houses are connected in any way. Is the house of labor (6^th House) linked to the house of career and status (10^th House)?

In Clemens’ chart we see how through the Moon his daily work is connected to his career. The Moon rules the 10^th House and is positioned in the 6^th House of Pisces. Going a step further, Jupiter, ruler of Pisces and the dispositor of the Moon, aspects his Ascendant, including 4^th House ruler Saturn and Mercury, the planet of business and, especially for Clemens, of writing. And Mercury happens to be the dispositor of his Jupiter as well.

The direct and indirect links between the 4^th and 10^th Houses and the house rulers with Jupiter and Mercury, in Clemens’ case, confirm an active successful career solidly tied to a conventional, perhaps somewhat burdensome homelife (Capricorn 4^th House). But while the overall focus seems to weigh more on the career and working (6^th and 10^th Houses), we shouldn’t overlook the strength of Saturn who, while exalted in the 1^st House and aspects the 10^th, creates the Pancha Mahapurusha Yoga – Sasha Yoga, giving Clemens the innate commitment and perseverance to establish and maintain the home (he was married with four children) with a successful career that left an internationally renowned legacy in literature.

There’s also the positioning of the house rulers to consider. Where are they from each other? In Clemens’ chart, the Moon is sixth from Saturn and Saturn is eighth from the Moon, so a 6/8 relationship exists between the planetary rulers of the 4th and 10th Houses. This suggests conflicts and difficulties to maintain harmony and balance between them.

What are your 4^th and 10^th Houses showing you? Do you see any extra information from your 6^th House? Is the balance or lack of balance between work and home readily identifiable in your birth chart? How are the 4th and 10th House rulers positioned in your chart in relation to one another? What insights did this inquiry reveal to you, if any?

You’ll want to check what the current transits are doing also. Are they influencing the 4-10 axis and if so, for how long? And does your current mahadasha support work or homelife, or both? Once you’ve reviewed these questions and reached some conclusions, the next step will be to determine if you’re content with how things are going or what you can do to initiate effective change in either or both areas of your life. The planets involved are the keys to the choice of action (or inaction) you chose to help you achieve the balance desired.

Wishing everyone happiness and prosperity in their work and at home~

Renate Maria Bell is a certified Vedic Astrologer, Jyotish Visharada, and approved teacher with the Council of Vedic Astrology. She can be reached at renatembell@aol.com.

Photos courtesy Canva; Image of Samuel Clemens’ birth chart by Shri Jyoti Star of which the author is licensed. Samuel Clemens’ birth data: 11/30/1835 Florida, Missouri 4:45am