Dominic Ward's Blog

The more I see this position, the more important it seems to me.  The 12th House is often neglected and/or misunderstood by many astrologers.  Yes, it represents the mundane interests of hospitals, jails and other institutions tasked to healing and redemption.  But it also represents those places in an individual’s life where they experience their spirituality, and I am not talking about the tangible spirituality defined by Sagittarius and the 9th House.  For example, I have no planets tenanting my 12th house.  However, the sign on its cusp is Aquarius – therefore Uranus gets to comment on my 12th House issues.  Accordingly, I will meet my higher spirituality – the sense of oneness of the universe – through the insights of the higher intellect (As a matter of synchronicity, Uranus is posited in my 9th House!).  A person with Venus placed there, however, may experience this sense of spirit through the arts, fine living, physical beauty, love etc.

The 12th House will also describe the sub-conscious.  I have therefore always found that when a stellium of planets occur in the 12th House, or the House is otherwise brought into high focus (the Sun, Moon or chart ruler may be in position), the individual takes on the fishy hue of Pisces.  My father has this quality (he also has a 1st House Neptune to further define this) and I see it expressed through him in spades!  No surprise then that I was born while Pisces was rising.  Back to the sub-conscious however.  Whatever planet is in your 12th House and its overall cosmic condition will say much about the power and quality of your sub-conscious.  A person with Pluto here for instance will have a very powerful sub-conscious indeed, one that pulls with a magnetism that cannot be ignored.  The native may have enormous powers for transformation at the sub-conscious or ‘universe’ level.  They will often be psychic and possess much power to heal.  Negatively, they may fall into, at worst, paranoid psychosis, as they will be able to free themselves of the obsessive urges of their unknown mind.

As it is the sub-conscious which informs much of our unrecognised behaviour, our hidden talents and deeper potentials and our higher spirituality, I think that it is necessary to include an analysis of the condition of this House in any natal report.

The Sun in the 12th House will express itself much as at it does when it is in Pisces.  This, of course, will be coloured by its sign and aspects, but I have found the Sun to ‘quiten’ when in this House, perhaps even enough – given other chart factors – to submerge the energies of its sign in its nebulous waters.

The Moon will be fine in the 12th House – they have a natural rapport.  To be honest, I have not often encountered this placement.  I would expect the instinctual behaviours to govern the native and the emotions will be highly energized, though often ‘beneath the surface’.  Highly imaginative, I would expect much creative potential.

Mercury in the 12th House is interesting.  Mercury represents the tangible intellect – that part of the mind that deals with real-world, concrete and mostly conscious subjects.  Placed in the 12th House, an extra dimension is added to the mind so that, although the individual might find his intellect that little bit extra difficult to find and understand, when he or she does begin to utilise it, it will operate directly and simultaneously on both the lower and higher levels.

Venus and Mars in the 12th House will operate much as the Sun does with this placement.

From Jupiter outwards, the effects of a placement in the 12th House become harder to predict.  So much will now begin to depend on other chart factors.  Jupiter and Saturn will be a little more obvious in their expressions: Jupiter will work well in the 12th House, opening it up to honest adventure, seeking to growth through its concerns; Saturn will represent much fear of the sub-conscious in the individual, although their will be much talent for making concrete products from the sub-conscious (a good position for the artist, as are Saturn-Neptune and Saturn-Sun contacts).  The outer three planets may not be felt here at all.  Or they may nearly destroy a person with the fullness of their energies.  A 12th House Aquarius is said to be indicative of suicide, for example, the premise being that Uranus will just not let the individual merge contentedly with the universal, sub-conscious energies of the 12th House, the alienation thereby created enough to send him or her to the edge.

Check this for more insight:

http://skywriter.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/7-secrets-you-may-not-know-about-the-12th-house