The Mysterious 12th House
Grab your Scuba mask, a torch and a spoonful of courage! You’re going to need them because we’re going diving. Get ready to swim through murky waters to the depths of the ocean floor. I hope you’ve worked out by now this is all a metaphor! But the 12th house is synonymous with the subconscious. It’s that dark room where we store all our junk, never really aware of what lies in its hidden chaos. This is a shame because the 12th house often contains some of our most beautiful gifts, although we usually have to sift through our pain and confusion to find these.
Some people call this the house of ‘subconscious undoing’ with the premise that what you can’t see can hurt you. There is some truth to this assumption, considering that we often hide and bury the most painful, self-depreciating aspects of ourselves. The problem, however, is that a great many of the aspects we reject within ourselves our not ‘bad’, but simply traits others didn’t approve of when we were young. In fact, many of our most unique and individualistic characteristics can be hiding under a blanket of shame. Further to this, it’s important to recognise that every character trait has an exalted and negative expression. It’s often the things that we hate about ourselves and struggle with the most that become our most powerful assets, allowing us to heal and transform others. For example, a tendency for criticism and judgement in its exalted form may be expressed as attention to detail and an ability to help people improve their craft. Or pessimism could be exalted to an ability to help others confront and heal their shadows. Often too, we eventually master the things that we struggle with, a process that transforms us into powerful teachers.
The journey of the 12th house is one of depth, involving the exploration of the subconscious to discover and reclaim our authenticity and truth. This will involve some heavy labour, a lot of digging and searching for those dirty rocks that when dusted and cleaned reveal dazzling jewels. Without this journey, we often feel like a part of us is missing, or at the very least confused by our incongruent behaviour. We often say one thing and do something else, unable to comprehend our self-sabotage. If, for instance, you have a subconscious association with money and evil, it may be incredibly hard for you to understand why you overspend, pushing yourself into uncomfortable financial situations. Or you might wonder why people say you’re very angry when you think you’re ‘ALWAYS’ calm. In these cases, it’s important to analyse both the sign on the cusp of the 12th house and the planets it contains.
The 12th house, being ruled by Neptune, also shares similar traits with Pisces. Namely, people with placements in the 12th house will often have an interest in spirituality and metaphysics. There is usually strong healing skills, as well as psychic abilities and an interest in astral travel. This comes from an amazing capacity to surrender to the universe, allowing oneself to be used as a vessel for healing energy and channellings. This lack of resistance also allows these people to seamlessly shift into other dimensions.
The creative arts will also hold a strong appeal, particularly film, photography, visual art, acting and music. These people have vivid imaginations and strong visualisation skills, hence the interest in art. However, I’ve also noticed an incredible emotional connection to music. This house also creates amazing actors who have the ability to relate to everyone. These people are like Rainbows! Most people can say ‘I’m Blue’ or ‘I’m Green’ or maybe ‘I’m Yellow and Red’. But just like Pisces, the 12th house person says ‘I’m a Rainbow, the whole Zodiac merged into one’! This is a beautiful gift, but the associated identity crisis can be highly painful. The ability to relate to everyone, however, does give these people an incredible sense of unity. They can inherently feel that we are all ‘one’, that there is no separation at source level. When they give to others, they understand that they are giving to themselves. There is no difference! This means there is always a strong desire to be of service.
At their best, 12th house people have a profound ability to live from the heart, to feel compassion for all life on Earth. At their worst however, they can be constantly burdened by others pain, too focussed on all the suffering in the world, leading to a tendency to use drugs, alcohol, food or even just their imagination to escape. The 12th house is that of the musician, actor and spiritual teacher but also the drug addict, escapist and cult leader. People with planets in the 12th house can also struggle with earthly mundane concerns, unless they have strong Earth placements in their chart, leading to poor boundaries, spaciness, disorganisation and confusion. It can often be hard to tell what is real and fake, since Neptune concerns illusion, disillusion and everything we can’t see, but rather feel. This can give these people a glamorous mystique, however it is essential that they stay grounded, centred and connected to the Earth. This will allow them to utilise their unique artistic talents and healing gifts. Otherwise, they will often find themselves trapped in a confusing prison of their own making.
Prisons! Let’s talk about prisons. The 12th house rules prisons! Did you like how I linked my paragraphs? The 12th house also rules hospitals, convents, ashrams and anywhere else we go to spend time in solitude. Ultimately, the 12th house is about our connection to our higher self, to a realm that can’t be found within the physical world, but rather within. It’s about internal journeys, spiritual transformation and the kind of revelations that can only come to us in solitude. As the very last house, the 12th house is our final destination. As we move around the Astrological wheel we learn who we are, what we want, about ourselves in partnerships, as parents and in groups, until finally we merge with the truth of our eternal, higher self. We lose the ego- we are everything and everyone. This process mirrors our physical death, when we leave our body to return to source perspective. The 12th house is that of death in many ways, both metaphorical and literal. Our lives are in a constant state of flux, always moving through the cycles of death and rebirth, just like the seasons in nature. The 12th house is where we let go, surrendering to a higher power, before moving to the 1st house where life begins. The Astrological wheel is representative of these cycles in our life, but also the entire journey, from life to death. The 12th house is like the veil between physical life and death, a corridor to expansion, light, transcendence and mysticism. For this reason, it will always hold a special fascination.
I’m going to write a series of articles exploring the specific characteristics associated with each planet when placed in the 12th house. These descriptions will also apply to people who have planets in Pisces. Be sure to look out for these if you enjoyed this article and have planets in the 12th house or Pisces placements!
Madonna
Sun, Mercury, Uranus and Pluto in the David Bowie
12th House Sun and Mars in the 12th House
