Black Moon Lilith in 10th House: When Success Demands Defiance

Understanding the implications of Lilith in the 10th helps us to understand how this celestial alignment shapes one’s professional journey and public identity. In this article, I take look at one of the darkest parts of the birth chart and examine how it impacts the areas of life associated with the house of career.

Career and Ambitions

From a very young age, they had their sights set on becoming extremely successful. Fame and fortune was never far from their thoughts. However, they were probably discouraged by those around them.

If they expressed interest in becoming a banker, surgeon, or CEO, a parent, other relative, or someone else who was close to them may have shamed them for it. They may have been told that it’s unrealistic or wrong to want that much. The old saying, “money is the root of all evil”, could have been been bandied about. Such negative affirmations may have programmed them to avoid chasing their dreams.

As a result of this discouragement, they may have struggled to establish a clear and stable career. If they decided to go for their dreams despite being discouraged by others, their ideal career may have been delayed, coming about somewhat later in life.

Another possibility with this placement is that their career path is very different from the one pursued by those closest to them. Friends and family may view it as a poor choice. As hard as they try, they just can’t seem to understand or respect it. Strangers may find what they do for a living a bit off-beat but their reactions may be more positive overall.

Someone I knew with this placement was born into a family of successful lawyers but instead of pursing a career in law as expected by her family, she decided to open an online store selling pet clothing. It turned out to be a very lucrative enterprise but she had to shake off the doubt that had been instilled in her about making it on her own. Once her business started to do well, her self-confidence and self-belief grew exponentially.

Sometimes, these people can become obsessed with their work and/or social-professional image. They may appear too driven or too serious. The concept of having fun might seem like a waste of time. Doing well in their career and reaching the pinnacle of success in their field may be their main focus in life. However, if they are too fixated on work, their personal life may suffer — as is the case for us all.

In some cases, being optimistic about work may be challenging for them if they’ve encountered multiple professional setbacks. Establishing, maintaining, or excelling in their career could prove to take an unusually long time, allowing frustration and disappointment to set in.

Of course, not every individual with this placement will pursue a career. Sometimes, their life calling could by to stay at home and raise their children or take care of their elderly relatives. Health issues can also prevent people from pursing a career. There are many reasons why someone might not have any sort of career — or job for that matter.

While these people may be exceptionally hard on themselves if they don’t make an income, they really shouldn’t be because we’re all different, and we all walk different paths. We can’t all be the same. Sometimes, life just doesn’t pan out exactly how we envisaged it in our youth. It didn’t for me and I don’t have this placement. It took me until my late thirties to begin my career as an astrologer and set this site up! So, there you have it.

Professional Achievements

These individuals desire to be recognized as successful professionals. However, they may hold numerous negative beliefs that make them feel ashamed of receiving recognition. Others may also attempt to prevent them from being recognised for their work and having their achievements celebrated. 

If they have an unorthodox career, the achievements and accomplishments they have earned could be highly valued by them but perhaps not equally by those around them. For example, I have a friend who is an energy healer and while she’s very happy with her qualifications, her parents still regard her career as bogus and don’t see much value in it.

Public Image

Their image means a great deal to them. They often go to great lengths to build their ideal social and professional reputation. They really want to be respected by their peers and seen as serious, hard working, competent, and successful. However, someone or something may tarnish their professional image. For example, someone at work may shame them for diligently climbing the career ladder — perhaps because they feel jealous of their accomplishments and ambitious nature.

They could be known for standing out in some way at work or in their field. For instance, having a very different personal style, or being outspoken about their beliefs. They may also have an unusual way of working, or maybe they are at the top of their field and talked about a lot as a result.

Public Role and Public Service

Despite being raised to follow a traditional career in a field like law, banking, or science, they may wish to enter into a caring profession like social work or nursing. Such roles, however orthodox and respected, tend to come with poor salaries so those around them might struggle to comprehend why they would opt for a career that’s financially challenging.

Authority and Leadership

Ongoing conflicts with authority figures like their father, law enforcement, bosses or teachers, are often characteristic of Lilith in the 10th. These power struggles can go on for years or even decades until they are resolved. The persistent nature of these challenges underscores the need for patience, self-reflection, and proactive efforts to address underlying issues that contribute to the conflicts in the first place.

Leadership is very much their strong suit but for one reason or another, they may struggle with it. Maybe they feel ashamed of wanting to lead or they have issues with asserting themselves. Perhaps they don’t feel others will listen to them. They may also need to work on their resilience and adaptability in order to become the strong and efficient leader they know they are capable of being.

Sometimes, these people feel the need to facilitate change in their place of work or their field. Part of that could include being recognized as a leader for positive change. However, they might encounter people shaming them for it and perhaps they even work against them. Being persistent and having strong self-belief can help them to push on to see the change they desire come to pass.

Father or Father Figures

They may have experienced significant difficulties with their father or a father figure. In some cases, it may be with their mother if she is the dominant parent, however, as the 10th house is ruled by Saturn, which is associated with the father, issues usually lie with the father.

Their relationship may be strained because when they were young, they saw their father as controlling and demanding. He may have expected too much from them, and made them feel less than when they didn’t live up to his high standards. They may have felt that he prevented them from reaching their potential in their youth and this could have had a knock-on effect in their adult years.

In addition to the conflict with their father, issues related to the family’s reputation could also exist. They may have felt pressured by him to live up to certain expectations, or follow a predetermined path set by him. To use an example, my energy healer friend with this placement was told by her father that he would never accept her career as legitimate. Sadly, he resisted it until the very end of his life.

Changing the Story

These days, we seem to be especially aware of the impact our words and actions have on our children and young people. We know that deterring them from achieving their dreams, including their professional dreams, is probably not in their best interests. Instead, we tend to instill in them that they can achieve what they desire with enough focus, determination, and hard graft.

However, many children will still be raised in homes where financial and professional struggle is prominent and negative views about money are abundant. If you have this placement, know that whatever your background is like, you can clear away the mental debris preventing you from achieving your goals with inner work. Self-reflection helps but other methods, like therapy, meditation, and energy healing may also do wonders.

More About the Black Moon Lilith

Not every astrologer takes into account the Lilith placements when carrying out chart readings. Some dismiss their significance. In addition to this, there’s limited information about them in astrology books. Personally, I think the Black Moon Lilith is the most important Lilith. The house it occupies indicates where our primary challenges in life lie. These areas also show us where societal pressure may induce unjustifiable shame. By becoming fully aware of, and understanding these challenges, we gain the ability to change the narrative surrounding them.

Drawing from personal experience, my BML is in the 11th house. All my life, I have encountered challenges within different groups of people as well as in friendships because the 11th house governs these areas of life — and more besides. By acknowledging the issues I was facing with others, I was able to address and improve them, transforming once painful dynamics into more manageable and pleasant aspects of my life.