The ideal career for your zodiac sign is where the Sun thrives the most in your birth chart. Your sun sign not only involves who you are, but it also gives you insight into what your purpose in life is, and where you feel the most confident or like you are fulfilling your purpose. Along with the midheaven, your sun sign is where you tend to gravitate towards in life and where you express yourself in the best light. You can find your ideal career by looking at what your sign is, and your birth chart at large.
Career ventures will vary, of course, but you will find some strong similarities between the career paths of each zodiac sign. For example, Geminis are often found in careers where they can put their mind and their voice to use. They are the zodiac sign that is constantly thinking of the next idea or venture, which is why you will find a lot of Geminis in career roles that involve public speaking (or singing) and careers where they are able to express themselves, their ideas, and their creative vision freely. A Scorpio, however, loves to look at the numbers and the details, and their ideal career is one where they can get to the bottom of something and use their keen eye to either help others develop, such as psychology, or bring order and understanding to finances like banking or crypto.
When looking at the ideal career path for yourself, you especially want to look at your sun sign and midheaven sign, and what they are doing in your chart. By examining your given strengths, weaknesses, gifts, skills, and everything you are already bringing to the table, you can get a better vision of where you will excel in your career and where you can easily highlight your strengths. You are meant to live a successful life and you can look at astrology to determine how to make that happen for yourself.
Read below to see what the ideal career is for your sign.
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ARIES
Aries love to initiate and be the frontrunner in anything in life, which makes them great entrepreneurs. Starting their own business, initiating new projects, or creating their own position within their career path are all likely with Aries. Many Aries start their own businesses or build developments, as they feel a lot of what they need in their career life isn’t there yet so they tend to be the first ones in their field, family, or environment to do something in their chosen career path.
Aries are the trailblazers of the zodiac and this energy is apparent in their careers. With Aries also being a sign that is very in-tune with the body and physical strength, they would also thrive in careers such as physical therapy, a personal trainer, police officer, or firefighter.
TAURUS
Taurus is a business-savvy sign and an ideal career for a Taurus involves something that is not too fast-paced, but something where they can continue to grow, work hard and expand their income. A Taurus thrives on stability and they tend to choose careers that they know they are financially secure in and where they can continuously increase their assets.
A Taurus is often found in career fields such as the beauty and fashion industry, finance, antique selling, florals, hospitality, or architecture. Being ruled by Venus, Taurus has an eye for the finer things in life and they love a little luxury. They would also make great event planners, artists, restaurateurs, or chefs.
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GEMINI
Geminis are creative and need this type of creative freedom in their working environment. Geminis do well in PR, graphic design, journalism, fashion design, fashion modeling, as an author, public speaker, musician, and curator. Gemini needs to bring their vision to life and they tend to have a lot of different ideas flowing around their head at all times. They want to be able to connect with people through the mind, and they will break apart information and assimilate it together in a way that fits and inspires them.
Geminis are always giving wildcard energy and they tend to change their careers often or find that one path they take in their career leads them to many other ventures and outlets as well.
CANCER
Cancers are a lot more multifaceted than people give them credit for. Everyone knows Cancer as the nurturer, the one with mother energy, etc., and this is all true, but not only do Cancers make great caregivers, they also tend to be very business-savvy as well. An ideal career for a Cancer would be working in the hospitality field or managing a business or people at large.
Cancers do well in real estate because not only do they deeply value the home space and what you can do with it, but they also provide this sense of safety and security to others. You can also find a lot of Cancers as interior designers, writers, psychics, or in the vintage/resale industry.
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LEO
Although Leo loves to be in the spotlight, this doesn’t necessarily mean every Leo is an actor/actress. Although the entertainment industry is a good professional field for Leo altogether, Leo thrives in any leadership role, and having a career where they are able to lead or be in the spotlight in some type of way is the right path for them. Think of Barack Obama, the Leo himself who led the country with a bright smile on his face.
With Leo also ruling the 5th house of sports, hobbies, entertainment, and children, career ventures that involve this type of energy are also fulfilling for Leo and they also tend to do well when it comes to working with children and the childcare fields.
VIRGO
Virgos tend to have more service-oriented careers, and they are very hardworking individuals. A Virgo’s life tends to revolve around the work they do because they put a lot of emphasis and love into this area of their life. Virgos love to help others and that is one of their main focuses in this lifetime. Virgos succeed in the health fields and make good physicians, nurses, veterinarians, managers, social workers, and consultants.
Virgos also have a knack for words being that their planetary ruler is Mercury, the planet of the mind and of business, making Virgos great writers, authors, and individuals who know what needs to be done to succeed in their careers. Virgos can also use their gift of organization to be professional organizers or planners, and overall their ideal career involves helping other people.
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LIBRA
There are two sides to a Libra. One that is focused on justice, and one that is focused on love and beauty. They find their balance in the middle, however, when it comes to the ideal career for a Libra, this will be different for every Libra at hand. You could find a Libra in a more serious role like a lawyer or a judge fighting for justice or; something like a designer, artist, curator, esthetician, stylist, and interior designer.
A Libra would also thrive in positions where love and relationships are the basis, like the wedding industry, marriage counselors, sex therapists, and professional matchmakers. Libra happens to be the wealthiest sign of the zodiac, so you can find them in many different career ventures, meeting their success.
SCORPIO
Scorpio has a knack for the details and numbers. A career involving something to do with finance like the stock market, banking, crypto, and accounting, are all ideal careers for Scorpio. With Scorpio being the ruler of the 8th house of shared finances, they are smart when it comes to business, and also when it comes to other people’s money; and they don’t have any problem asking for what they want or the type of salary/position they feel they are worthy of.
Scorpios also have the capability to transform and help others to as well, which is why Scorpios make great psychologists/psychiatrists, detectives, and personal investigators as well.
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SAGITTARIUS
Sagittarius needs a lot of freedom within their career and with all fire signs, they like to lead the way and have these types of leadership roles within their professional life. A Saggitarius would make a good educator due to their fondness for education, the higher mind, connecting with people of different backgrounds, and interest to learn more.
Sagittarius also make great entrepreneurs because they aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and put something out there that they believe in. Other possible career paths for Sagittarius are flight attendant, pilot, travel agent, travel nurse, travel blogger, or writer.
CAPRICORN
Capricorn is the ruler of the 10th house of career, and if anyone can thrive in this area of their life, it is a Capricorn. Capricorns are hard-working and they have no problem putting in the work to reach their goals. An ideal career for a Capricorn is anywhere where there is room to grow.
They thrive in careers such as a business executive, CEO, management, law, working for the government, a teacher, and any role that gives them a nice title is something they tend to strive for. They want what they do in their career to be the best of the best, and they want to feel like they are accomplished and successful, and like they are reaching all of their goals in life.
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AQUARIUS
Aquarius gives mad scientists energy and everything they do needs to be revolutionary. With Aquarius being the rebels of the zodiac, their career fields tend to match their eccentric behavior. An Aquarius would thrive in roles such as an engineer, scientist, astrologer, social worker, influencer, environmentalist, and web developer.
An ideal career for Aquarius can also involve a role having to do with politics as they tend to have a lot of thoughts and ideas about the collective and what it needs to progress and thrive. An Aquarius can make a career out of activism, humanitarian ventures, and anything to do with helping society, a community, or large numbers of people.
PISCES
Pisces excel in the fields of art and you will often find Pisces having this gift of artistry and creativity. Pisces make great artists, writers, directors, poets, and musicians. Some of the greatest musicians of all time are Pisces or tend to have Pisces Moons. To be completely honest, most Pisces would prefer not to work at all or put that much energy into their career life which is why they need to be doing something that they genuinely enjoy.
Turning a passion into a way to increase their income is beneficial for Pisces so that they don’t feel like they are actually at work every day. Also being able to create something beautiful from their imagination or their creative ideas, also makes them feel very fulfilled in life.
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Amber Riley has the type of laugh that sticks with you long after the raspy, rhythmic sounds have ceased. It punctuates her sentences sometimes, whether she’s giving a chuckle to denote the serious nature of something she just said or throwing her head back in rip-roarious laughter after a joke. She laughs as if she understands the fragility of each minute. She chooses laughter often with the understanding that future joy is not guaranteed.
Credit: Ally Green
The sound of her laughter is rivaled only by her singing voice, an emblem of the past and the future resilience of Black women stretched over a few octaves. On Fox’s Glee, her character Mercedes Jones was portrayed, perhaps unfairly, as the vocal duel to Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), offering rough, full-throated belts behind her co-star’s smooth, pristine vocals. Riley’s always been more than the singer who could deliver a finishing note, though.
Portraying Effie White, she displayed the dynamic emotions of a song such as “And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going” in Dreamgirls on London’s West End without buckling under the historic weight of her predecessors. With her instrument, John Mayer’s “Gravity” became a religious experience, a belted hymnal full of growls and churchy riffs. In her voice, Nicole Scherzinger once said she heard “the power of God.”
Credit: Ally Green
Riley’s voice has been a staple throughout pop culture for nearly 15 years now. Her tone has become so distinguishable that most viewers of Fox’s The Masked Singer recognized the multihyphenate even before it was revealed that she was Harp, the competition-winning, gold-masked figure with an actual harp strapped to her back.
Still, it wasn’t until recently that Riley began to feel like she’d found her voice. This sounds unbelievable. But she’s not referring to the one she uses on stage. She’s referencing the voice that speaks to who she is at her core. “Therapy kind of gave me the training to speak my mind,” the 37-year-old says. “It’s not something we’re taught, especially as Black women. I got so comfortable in [doing so], and I really want other people, especially Black women, to get more comfortable in that space.”
“Therapy kind of gave me the training to speak my mind. It’s not something we’re taught, especially as Black women."
If you ask Riley’s manager, Myisha Brooks, she’ll tell you the foundation of who the multihyphenate is hasn’t changed much since she was a kid growing up in Compton. “She is who she is from when I met her back when she was singing in the front of the church to back when she landed major roles in film and TV,” Brooks says. Time has allowed Riley to grow more comfortable, giving fans a more intimate glimpse into her life, including her mental health journey and the ins and outs of show business.
The actress/singer has been in therapy since 2019, although she suffered from depression and anxiety way before that. In a recent interview with Jason Lee, she recalls having suicidal ideation as a kid. By the time she started seeing a psychologist and taking antidepressants in her thirties, her body had become jittery, a physical reminder of the trauma stacked high inside her. “I was shaking in [my therapist’s] office,” she tells xoNecole. “My fight or flight was on such a high level. I was constantly in survival mode. My heart was beating fast all the time. All I did was sweat.”
There wasn’t just childhood trauma to account for. After auditioning for American Idol and being turned away by producers, Riley began working for Ikea and nearly missed her Glee audition because her car broke down on the highway while en route. Thankfully, Riley had been cast to play Mercedes Jones. American Idol had temporarily convinced her she wasn’t cut out for the entertainment industry, but this was validation that she was right where she belonged. Glee launched in 2009 with the promise of becoming Riley’s big break.
In some ways, it was. The show introduced Riley to millions of fans and catapulted her into major Hollywood circles. But in other ways, it became a reminder of the types of roles Black women, especially those who are plus-sized, are relegated to. Behind the scenes, Riley says she fought for her character "to have a voice" but eventually realized her efforts were useless. "It finally got to a point where I was like, this is not my moment. I'm not who they're choosing, and this is just going to have to be a job for me for now," she says. "And, that's okay because it pays my bills, I still get to be on television, I'm doing more than any other Black plus-sized women that I'm seeing right now on screen."
The actress can recognize now that she was navigating issues associated with trauma and low self-esteem at the time. She now knows that she's long had anxiety and depression and can recognize the ways in which she was triggered by how the cult-like following of the show conflicted with her individual, isolated experiences behind the scenes. But she was in her early '20s back then. She didn't yet have the language or the tools to process how she was feeling.
Riley says she eventually sought out medical intervention. "When you're in Hollywood, and you go to a doctor, they give you pills," she says, sharing a part of her story that she'd never revealed publicly before now. "[I was] on medication and developing a habit of medicating to numb, not understanding I was developing an addiction to something that's not fixing my problem. If anything, it's making it worse."
“[I was] on medication and developing a habit of medicating to numb, not understanding I was developing an addiction to something that’s not fixing my problem. If anything it’s making it worse.”
Credit: Ally Green
At one point, while in her dressing room on set, she rested her arm on a curling iron without realizing it. It wasn't until her makeup artist alerted her that she even realized her skin was burning. Once she noticed, she says she was "so zonked out on pills" that she barely reacted. Speaking today, she holds up her arm and motions towards a scar that remains from the incident. She sought help for her reliance on the pills, but it would still be years before she finally attended therapy.
This stress was only compounded by the trauma of growing up in poverty and the realities of being a "contract worker." "Imagine going from literally one week having to borrow a car to get to set to the next week being on a private jet to New York City," she says. After Glee ended, so did the rides on private planes. The fury of opportunities she expected to follow her appearance on the show failed to materialize. She wasn't even 30 yet, and she was already forced to consider if she'd hit her career peak.
. . .
We’re only four minutes into our Zoom call before Riley delivers her new adage to me. “My new mantra is ‘humility does not serve me.’ Humility does not serve Black women. The world works so hard to humble us anyway,” she says.
On this Thursday afternoon in April, the LA-based entertainer is seated inside her closet/dressing room wearing a cerulean blue tank top with matching shorts and eating hot wings. This current phase of healing hinges on balance. It’s about having discipline and consistency, but not at the risk of inflexibility. She was planning to head to the gym, for instance, but she’s still tired from the “exhausting” day before. Instead, she’s spent her day receiving a massage, eating some chicken wings, and planning to spend quality time with friends. “I’m not going to beat myself up for it. I’m not going to talk down to myself. I’m going to eat my chicken wings, and then tomorrow I’m [back] in the gym,” she says.
“My new mantra is ‘humility does not serve me.’ Humility does not serve Black women. The world works so hard to humble us anyway."
This is the balance with which she's been approaching much of her life these days. It's why she's worried less about whether or not people see her as someone who is humble. She'd rather be respected. "I think you should be a person that's easy to work with, but in the moments where I have to ruffle feathers and make waves, I'm not shying away from that anymore. You can do it in love, you don't have to be nasty about it, but I had to finally be comfortable with the fact that setting boundaries around my life – in whatever aspect, whether that's personal or business – people are not going to like it. Some people are not going to have nice things to say about you, and you gotta be okay with it," she says.
When Amber talks about the constant humbling of Black women in Hollywood, I think of the entertainers before her who have suffered from this. The brilliant, consistent, overqualified Black women who have spoken of having to fight for opportunities and fair pay. Aretha Franklin. Viola Davis. Tracee Ellis Ross. There's a long list of stars whose success hasn't mirrored their experiences behind the scenes.
Credit: Ally Green
If Black women outside of Hollywood are struggling to decrease the pay gap, so, too, are their wealthier, more famous peers.
Riley says there’s been progress in recent years, but only in small ways and for a limited group of people. “This business is exhausting. The goalpost is constantly moving, and sometimes it’s unfair,” she says. But, I have to say it’s the love that keeps you going.”
“There’s no way you can continue to be in this business and not love it, especially being a plus-sized Black woman,” she continues. “We’re still niche. We’re still not main characters.”
"There’s no way you can continue to be in this business and not love it, especially being a plus-sized Black woman. We’re still niche. We’re still not main characters.”
Last year, Riley starred alongside Raven Goodwin in the Lifetime thriller Single Black Female (a modern, diversified take on 1992’s Single White Female). It was more than a leading role for the actress, it also served as proof that someone who looks like her can front a successful project without it hinging on her identity. It showcased that the characters she portrays don’t “have to be about being a big girl. It can just be a regular story.”
Riley sees her work in music as an extension of her efforts to push past the rigid stereotypes in entertainment. Take her appearance on The Masked Singer, for instance. Riley said she decided to perform Mayer’s “Gravity” after being told she couldn’t sing it years earlier. “I wanted to do ‘Gravity’ on Glee. [I] was told no, because that’s not a song that Mercedes would do,” she says. “That was a full circle moment for me, doing that on that show and to hear what it is they had to say.”
As Scherzinger praised the “anointed” performance, a masked Riley began to cry, her chest heaving as she stood on stage, her eyes shielded from view. “You have to understand, I have really big names – casting directors, producers, show creators – that constantly tell me ‘I’m such a big fan. Your talent is unmatched.’ Hire me, then,” she says, reflecting on the moment.
Recently, she’s been in the studio working on original music, the follow-up to her independently-released debut EP, 2020’s Riley. The sequel to songs such as the anthemic “Big Girl Energy” and the reflective ballad “A Moment” on Riley, this new project hones in on the singer’s R&B roots with sensual grooves such as the tentatively titled “All Night.” “You said I wasn’t shit, turns out that I’m the shit. Then you called me a bitch, turns out that I’m that bitch. You said no one would want me, well you should call your homies,” she sings on the tentatively titled “Lately,” a cut about reflecting on a past relationship. From the forthcoming project, xoNecole received five potential tracks. Fans likely already know the strengths and contours of Riley’s vocals, but these new songs are her strongest, most confident offerings as an artist.
“I am so much more comfortable as a writer, and I know who I am as an artist now. I’m evolving as a human being, in general, so I’m way more vulnerable in my music. I’m way more willing to talk about whatever is on my mind. I don’t stop myself from saying what it is I want to say,” she says.
Credit: Ally Green
“Every era and alliteration of Amber, the baseline is ‘Big Girl Energy.’ That’s the name of her company,” her manager Brooks says, referencing the imprint through which Riley releases her music after getting out of a label deal several years ago. “It’s just what she stands for. She’s not just talking about size, it’s in all things. Whether it’s putting your big girl pants on and having to face a boardroom full of executives or sell yourself in front of a casting agent. It’s her trying to achieve the things she wants to do in life.”
Riley says she has big dreams beyond releasing this new music, too. She’d love to star in a rom-com with Winston Duke. She hasn't starred in a biopic yet, but she’d revel in the opportunity to portray Rosetta Tharpe on screen. She’s determined that her previous setbacks won’t stop her from dreaming big.
“I think one of my superpowers is resilience because, at the end of the day, I’m going to kick, scream, cry, cuss, be mad and disappointed, but I’m going to get up and risk having to deal with it all again. It’s worth it for the happy moments,” she says.
If Riley seems more comfortable and confident professionally, it’s because of the work she’s been doing in her personal life.
She’d previously spoken to xoNecole about becoming engaged to a man she discovered in a post on the site, but she called things off last year. For Valentine’s Day, she revealed her new boyfriend publicly. “I decided to post him on Valentine’s Day, partially because I was in the dog house. I got in trouble with him,” she says, half-joking before turning serious. “The breakup was never going to stop me from finding love. Or at least trying. I don’t owe anybody a happily ever after. People break up. It happens. When it was good, it was good. When it was bad, it was terrible, hunny. I had to get the fuck up out of there. You find happiness, and you enjoy it and work through it.”
Credit: Ally Green
"I don’t owe anybody a happily ever after. People break up. It happens. When it was good, it was good. When it was bad, it was terrible, hunny. I had to get the fuck up out of there. You find happiness and you enjoy it and work through it.”
With her ex, Riley was pretty outspoken about her relationship, even appearing in content for Netflix with him. This time around is different. She’s not hiding her boyfriend of eight months, but she’s more protective of him, especially because he’s a father and isn’t interested in becoming a public figure.
She’s traveling more, too. It’s a deliberate effort on her part to enjoy her money and reject the trauma she’s developed after experiencing poverty in her childhood. “I live in constant fear of being broke. I don’t think you ever don’t remember that trauma or move past that. Now I travel and I’m like, listen, if it goes, it goes. I’m not saying [to] be reckless, but I deserve to enjoy my hard work.”
After everything she’s been through, she certainly deserves to finally let loose a bit. “I have to have a life to live,” she says. “I’ve got to have a life worth fighting for.”
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