Let us talk again of vocational astrology. I have discussed this before, offering some hopefully different advice. However, it may very well be that one is counseling a person who already knows what they should do, or have the aptitude for something with a variety of applications. There are many majors one could take in college, and many specializations. Take business for example. There is management, marketing, analytics, accounting, finance, fundraising, human resources, advertising…the list goes on. Sure, someone may be a good businessperson, but what kind? And, if they wish to start their own company, what kind? A person may have an aptitude for the visual arts, but what kind?

This is where dispositors come in. The dispositor is the planet ruling the sign that another planet is in. For example, if Mercury is in Pisces, the dispositor is Neptune. Where is that Neptune? It is in Capricorn in the 3rd house. Oh wow. This person may have an aptitude to write about dreamy, or connections seemingly coming out of the aether, in a concrete way to inform others. I bet this person would be inspired by reading books like Freakonomics or the secret to unlocking personal creativity. This person may be quiet good at writing structured things like poetry or even opera, if they have the musical aptitude.

The traditional signs of the vocation are the ruling sign on the midheaven, planets in the 10th house, their dispositors, as well as planets in the 6th house (work and labor) and the 2nd house (personal possessions/money/earned income). The sun will also have something to say.

Venus on the midheaven means someone who is a professional who deals with beauty or harmony. Take this as you will and explore the entire chart, because Venus doesn‘t automatically mean things like chocolate, lingerie, or fine art. It also means diplomacy, creation of pleasing structures (like architecture, which is a lot of engineering).

So, this person may be a diplomat or an artist, and you hit the nail on the head: this person wants to be an artist. So, what kind of artist?

The next step is to step away from the traditional career indicators and figure out what is most important to this person.

You must figure out what satisfies their soul. And, just like this song, what satisfies their soul is whatever they have a completely personal love affair with. A person may live it and express it all the time, even if the job they have now doesn‘t reflect that. Or, it may be a clandestine love affair that they indulge in when no one is around to judge them.

It may very well be that the person is also in a career sort of related to what they should be doing. It is not uncommon for people with a native Venus in Taurus to also be working in banking or personal finance or wealth management. They could also be working in agriculture, or dealing with real estate. This is fine if there are other indicators in the chart that suggest that they are happy doing this. However, if there are other indicators that the person would rather be an artist – including a heartfelt confession that this is what they want – then you want to help them figure out what to do.

We know what they love from the condition of Venus. But what makes them move, what makes them take interest in the world outside of their basic needs?

It is a mistake to jump right into a vocational reading without analyzing the chart as a whole. I repeat: do not attempt to delineate a career for someone without knowing who they are and knowing them enough to know their soul language.  Never fret: this comes with practice, intuition, and a little bit of pixie dust. The reason for this is because we come to know a lot of what we should do for a living based on the feedback we get from other people. And the feedback we get from other people tend to come from the expression of the Ascendant and the Midheaven and how we take in information this way. However, we may not always get a chance to really express our Sun or Moon, or really find places where we are accepted for who we are. We often live double lives: there is the one that is acceptable and proper, and there is the one inside that is like a never-ending fire. As we age, we hopefully get closer to merging these so that the fire warms not just us, but the people around us. That is our vocation, our soul purpose.

No one is a job. Everyone is a soul.

The Sun wants to live a certain life. Say this person has the Sun in Aries in the 1st house. Eek! This is definite look-at-me-Mommy-watch-me-dive placement. This person will be about self-promotion and selling themselves. Whatever this person does, they must bodily inhabit it.

Now, look at the moon. The moon for this person is in the 7th house. Oh…relationships. The one-on-one stuff. This person is best either in a duo or working with a partner. But, they still want to be number one. And yes, there is a possible opposition here. This person needs to stand out but work in concert. While they have an ego need to go their own way, they have a deep emotional need to connect. A person like this, with this opposition, needs to move far from home to be appreciated. They may be a loner until they begin anew. This may very well mean personal reinvention. They may struggle to be close to others their entire life, but they also have an instinct for giving people what they need to be content.

Now, look at the rest of the chart. Who is this person? What are they good at? What are they not so good at? What do they like to do for fun? What do they like to eat? Do they like school? Do they like to travel? Are they conservative or liberal? Do they have any physical limitations or blessings?

So say we know this person. Say we figure out that on top of this opposition, this person is really good at figuring out how to utilize people, likes to travel, is terrible with money, and tends to cover up their shyness with bravado. Now, let us think of some artists this person could be. 

This could be someone who likes dance, acting, stand-up comedy, the art of clowning (which IS an art. I almost went to clown college. Seriously. Now, I‘m in law school, which is not too far off the mark. Maybe I should have gone to clown college instead. Maybe I‘ll ask Santa for classes this Christmas). They may like to work with people, and this could mean a partner or audience participation. They may actually be completely happy as a street mime.

Would you be shocked to hear yourself tell someone to be a clown or a street mime? Okay, well then, what else could this person do?

The secret to figuring out the what kind of (blank) a person wants to be or should be, or already is but waiting for a chance is to figure out who they are.