the deepest depths and highest heights.
herb house series: the 4H-10H axis, black cohosh, angelica, and motherwort
commonly known as the axis of private and public life, home and career, ancestry and legacy, the 4H-10H axis is the spine of the chart. the 4H and 10H are places where we’re rooted in the deepest soil and extending to the highest summit.
the 4H-10H is the vertical, angular axis where the sun is positioned at midnight and midday, compared with the horizontal, angular 1H-7H axis that represents sunrise and sunset.
the 4H is our abyss, an intimate terrain of memories, emotional imprints, genetic coding, and relationship to place. it is our first home, a place where we retreat, a container of our roots, and a place where we uncover who and what supported or hindered us as we developed. the fourth houses asks, what shaped our sense of safety and belonging? what stories live in our flesh and bones? what have we come into this life with that once lived within our ancestors? what is the configuration of our inner life and how has it been constructed, distorted, reclaimed, protected, and nurtured throughout time and generations?
the 10H is our apex. it’s the highest place from which we are seen. it asks us how we step into our responsibilities and into a more visible position. the tenth house asks, what are we building with our time here? what kind of ancestor are we becoming? how will our impact be experienced and remembered? what will we accomplish? what roles are we willing to play in the collective? who do we choose to become as we evolve? what can we choose to represent when we show up in the world?
this axis is one of spiritual maturation and initiation. it is an experience of where we come from and where we arrive. interestingly, this axis is characterized by its absence of planetary joys similar to the 7H and 2H-8H axis.
1H — joy of mercury; keywords: expression
3H-9H — joy of the luminaries (moon, sun); key themes: familiarity and distance
5H-11H — joy of the benefics (venus, jupiter); key themes: creativity and opportunities
6H-12H — joy of the malefics (mars, saturn); key themes: efforts and sacrifices
this suggests that this axis creates some friction and discomfort for any planetary body that transits either house. planets here (natal or transit) are taking on new responsibilities and the rewards may not always be in immediate or external forms, but the work done here is always necessary. planets in these houses are undergoing rites of passage.
the deeper our roots, the more sustainable our reach. the more intimately we know where we come from, the more precisely we can shape where we’re headed.
a shift in language opens the way for a shift in perception.
4H — if you feel stuck on the language of “home”, start here:
where do i come from and what still lives in me from that place? what root systems nourish my growth, embodiment, and being? what memories and stories shape the way i move through the world? who were the people that shaped my early life, and what psychological and emotional patterns did they pass down to me? what do i return to when i need comfort? how do i experience earth as a common ancestor? how i do commune with my ancestors and what do they ask of me? which ancestors feel close? what does it mean to be nourished at the deepest level? what does it mean to belong to something older than myself?
some callings from the 4H — farmer, herbalist, permaculturist, botanist, mycologist, geneticist, genealogist, birth worker, parent, hospice care, interior designer, feng shui consultant, home renovator, real estate agent, politician, griot, anthropologist, archaeologist, homemaker, historian, archivist, ancestral healer, land surveyor, medium, architect, land steward, folklorist. work that’s done behind the scenes.
10H — if you feel stuck on the language of “career”, start here:
how do i want to show up in the world? what will be my contribution to the collective? what medicine and perspective do i offer and bring to the bigger picture? in which ways am i in service to a greater whole? what legacies and rites am i carrying and passing on? how am i called to embody authority without compromising myself or abusing my power? what social role or public face am i embodying and does it align with my inner compass? how do i remain rooted as i elevate? what does it look and feel like to lead as someone that’s been initiated?
some callings from the 10H — entrepreneur, social organizer, public speaker, directing and managerial positions, ceo and executives, policy maker, social worker, coaching, mentoring, community/spiritual elder, leadership training, producer, cultural leader, government official/representative, career counseling, priest/priestess, spiritual initiate, administrator, public strategist, activism, celebrity/highly visible public figure. work that’s done in the social sphere.
continue reading to explore:
· the 4H, ancestral codes, root systems, soul retrieval, and the medicine of black cohosh
· reflections from planets in the 4H
· the 10H, individuation, presence, spiritual protection, and the medicine of angelica
· reflections from planets in the 10H
· motherwort as the integrative medicine of this axis
want to connect with the medicines of this axis? check out ancestral futures elixir and rites of courage motherwort elixir in the apothecary.
read the past herb house series for the 3H-9H axis + rosemary
