The Twelfth (12th) House
House of What is Hidden/ The Unconscious
- Spiritual Transcendence
- Karma/Loss/Sorrows
- Intuition/Compassion
- Unknown Enemies
- Mysteries/Secrets
- Spiritual Service
- Institutions/prisons/hospitals
- Monasteries
*That which is presented in the 12th house we may offer to the collective/humanity. However if we keep this energy to ourselves, it can become our ‘undoing’.
A Tricky House
The 12th house is a tricky house because of its seemingly contrary meanings. To explain it has been traditionally been thought of as the house of ‘bad spirit’ or one’s ‘undoing’; although the 12th house also encompasses topics such as spiritual transcendence and compassion for others. So how could it be that one house encompasses such extreme manifestations of both positive and negative? The crossover point seems to have something to do with the way the energy is directed.
Huh? What does, 'the way the energy is directed' mean??
What do i mean by , ‘the way the energy is directed‘?? Undoubtedly it sounds vague and confusing although perhaps …rightfully so because afterall we are dealing with the 12th house. To be sure it is a murky place of the unknown …. however, to clarify what I mean: it is the last house in the chart.
This means the energy of the 12th parallels the qualities of the zodiacal sign of Pisces, the co-rulers Neptune and Jupiter and the last stages of life. That spotlight is one that focusses on the dissolving of individual boundaries, a return to ‘the source’, universal love and the emphasis on how we are all connected. (An emphasis that is in stark contrast to that of the 1st house which emphasizes the qualities of the zodiacal sign of Aries, it’s ruler Mars and the first stage of life or emergence.)
In short, if the energy of this house is directed towards ‘the collective’ ( or the good of ‘all’ ) for example ‘spiritual service’, ‘compassion for others’ or essentially one’s career-it has a much better chance of ending up on the positive side of the coin.
Loss? Sorrows? One's undoing? Oh My!!
Historically the 12th house has been associated with negative connotations such as loss, sorrows, and one’s undoing. So is there a way to avoid these pitfalls? It would be nice if it was as simple as just directing our energy towards ‘the collective’ and then all would be good. (It certainly can’t hurt to be aware of that phenomenon). But life is never that simple.
One inexplicaple word that does seem to reside in the twelfth is ‘Karma’, and that is not a topic i feel qualified to approach. Another principle quality of this house is the ‘unconscious’ or ‘repressed’ nature of it’s energies. What that means is that we will experience this energy strongly in an unconscious manner. To this end the type of experience we will have will largely depend on the essence of the planet that is placed here, the dignity it has and where it’s ruler resides in the chart.
A Strategy for Approaching the 12th
I believe that the lack of conscious perception that the energy IS OURS and coming from US may be one of the primary reasons the house gives us so much trouble. If you can never grasp that you are the cause of something in your life, how will you ever change it? Think of the famous saying from Alcoholics Anonymous,
“THE FIRST STEP TO DEALING WITH A PROBLEM, IS ADMITTING THAT YOU HAVE THE PROBLEM.”
We could rewrite this for the 12th house as,
“THE FIRST STEP TO DEALING WITH TWELFTH HOUSE ENERGY, IS REALIZING THAT THE ENERGY BELONGS TO YOU!”
A 12th House Example: Russel Wilson
Natal Chart of Seattle Seahawks Football legend Russel Wilson
Saturn in Capricorn in the 12th House
Russel has Saturn (known as the greater malefic) strongly placed in his 12th house in it’s own sign of Capricorn. The Malefic planets – Saturn and Mars are very powerful and when in less than ideal circumstances can be, well quite malefic or in other words malevolent. However if you are human you will have both of them (Mars and Saturn that is) somewhere in your Natal Chart. Russel has Saturn in it’s own sign of Capricorn in the 12th house and ironically Mars also in its own sign this time of Aries (in the third house). It is a very powerful chart . However in this discussion we are primarily focussing on just the 12th house.
Uranus and Neptune conjunct Saturn
Russel’s Saturn has two important conjunctions that need to be mentioned as well. Firstly it has a close out-of-sign conjunction with Uranus -which is in the 11th house but only 2 degrees away. When in conjunction with another planet Uranus can add a hair-trigger reaction type of quality to that planet with its ‘sudden’ ‘explosive’ property. On the other side of
Saturn in the 12th house, Russel has Neptune in Capricorn seven degrees away. Neptune in conjunction has an almost blurring character to it. It can make things seem bigger than they are and also very hard to pin down. These are pretty dangerous qualities to put with a strong malefic. Especially when it’s in the 12th house -but then again, in this case it seems they are great assets to have as a pro football player.
A Well Disciplined Highly Respected Athlete ...
Russell Wilson was named to the Pro Bowl nine times with the Seattle Seahawks and is regarded as one of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks of all time. He definitely learned how to channel this energy positively into his football career and there are millions who have enjoyed watching him because of it.
But what would it look like if he didn't channel his aggressive energy well ?
Well... Russell says he used to be a Bully.
Russell Wilson says he grew up with plenty of ‘anger bouncing around his body’. ” I used to beat people up.” He says.” Truthfully. I used to beat people up a lot. Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr. Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up. In elementary and middle school I threw kids against the wall. I rubbed their heads in the dirt at recess. I bit them, I even knocked teeth out.” He claims that he turned to religion when he was 14 and has learned to control his rage. He shares his story to try and help people and to fight against domestic violence.
(theplayerstribune.com/articles/lets-talk-about-it)
And that shows an incredible amount of responsibility and integrity towards the collective, (Saturn in Capricorn).
