The 12th house
From Astrology In Depth
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The 12th house |
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| magical place |
| Quadrant |
| Fourth quadrant: eastern, overhead |
| Classification |
| Cadent |
| Natural sign |
| Pisces |
| Natural planet |
| Neptune |
The twelfth house, house of inner living and boundless imagination. It is the natural house of the sign of Pisces and of planet Neptune.
Contents |
> edit this Worldly focus and qualities
These people can be extremely imaginative, their inner world very vivid - for example they can play a tune in their heads, just like they are wearing an audio player. Their ability to relive emotions is uncanny, and indeed this house is brimming with echoes of their past, which can sometimes feel like they are somehow emprisoned by them: basically these eat at their drive as they know they can't really dissociate from them (a kind of emotional claustrophobia).
There is some self-delusive air to this house, to the tune of Pisces. Even with a more attentive sign, there can be a conscious shirking from some of the world's harsher realities here. A good anchor in another place of the chart can do much to offset some of the problematic aspects of this.
This house is particularly vulnerable to feelings of vague, existential angst. There is some tendency for great dependence on others in this house, and some fear of loneliness. At times, this can indeed be the loneliest place on earth.
> edit this Dreamweaving
This is quite the dreamy house, and the tendency here is to weave big dreams that transcend the "smallness" of earthly rut (as of the opposing 6th house). Of course there is a lot of difference between weaving a dream and actually being able to carry it through, and that is the issue of this house. A chart should reflect enough energies in order to do something real with these 12th house dreams.
The problem here arises when the chart is weak, and cannot bring to light those special aspirations. The result can easily come to forms of substance abuse or other escapistic techniques to disengage from the dreary, unexciting real world.
> edit this Mythical living
This house's natives may be more inclined to live in "fairy-tales", live through dreams. There's a tendency for 12th house people to see their experiences in a kind of mythical light, wanting to bring something special in their life and often picturing themselves as some kind of heroic or tragic figure (often a more internal process). Unfortunately, the more unstable ones of this house do tend to embrace the tragedies of their lives in a more self-destructive fashion. On the other side, strong 12th house persons can make the wondrous things of this house come to reality with just enough persistence.
Because of this tendency to dream big, this house has perhaps the most extensive potential in the entire house system, although it may sometimes come to an all-or-nothing mentality. Those that do carry out their desires often touch a large public.
> edit this Spirituality and higher value
There is a strong pull here into domains that transcend simple earthy daily life. There is a search for something special, of some spiritual value for the native. What that something can be depends on the sign and the rest of the chart.
A chart that lacks natural spiritual qualities makes difficult fulfilling this need, and can open the door to the more problematic aspects of this house - escapism, drugs, depression etc.
> edit this Repressed baggage
This house tends to be the psychological baggage of the chart, harboring all of the unresolved emotional issues of the native - fears, feelings of guilt, past sorrows, feelings of helplessness, desires we do not allow ourselves to express, etc.
Those "living" in this house can easily feel overwhelmed and overrun. They may feel this house is like an emotional quagmire, being so difficult to disengage the feelings that plague this house, as this is the place where they would normally be tucked away. When more problematic charges collect here, it may actually feel more like some kind of a prison within, perhaps engendering claustrophobia-like sensations.
> edit this Inhibition
It's a good house for politicians, as it makes for a much more controlled exterior and whatever goes out of the lips is going through all the 12th house filters, so there's much less room for error. That is why the world's greatest politicians have strong 12th house placements. Of course there should be strong elements outside of this house so that the person does not get completely sucked up by this house.
> edit this Escapism
Afflicted 12th house natives tend to escape the baggage of this house by escapistic techniques such as completely immersing in big dreams or using alcohol or drugs, depending on the strength of the chart. If the chart is badly afflicted and these techniques seem ineffective, there may be consideration of the ultimate escape from life.
> edit this Inner World and the Imagination
This house reflects our inner world and its contents. It reflects ourselves with ourselves, in the moment of inner intimacy. It is our most personal space, and reflects our fantasies and everything that goes on deep inside ourselves.
12th house people tend to spend a lot of time in this inner world they built for themselves. Their imagination is very vivid, and in an introvert and passive chart these persons may get sucked up into their inner dreamworld, live a more "virtual" life. In other charts the individual may be guided by the visions of their mind.
Imagination may become too hyperactive, especially in difficult charts, leading to unfounded suffering.
> edit this Music and Art
Music and the arts are often important to this house, as they offer a higher muse and experiences that go beyond the simplicities of the lowly life. Its natives are highly sensitive to these fine experiences, and can be quite gifted as it allows them to express the emotions that tend to aggregate here.
This niche is especially taken up by the naturally artistic 
Leo, the sensual 
Taurus and sometimes by refined 
Libra. Strong Venus
or Neptune
influences also tend to gravitate to it.
> edit this Clandestine activity
Being a shadowy house, activities here tend to be carried out in a more secret way, so as not to expose oneself to external objections or to negative repercussion, especially as this house tends to make the native more sensitive to these things. A certain secrecy and reserve seem to be prevalent in the natives of this house.
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> edit this 12th house personalities
- Tony Blair ::
Sun in 12th expresses from Moon/Pluto tensions.
- George W Bush ::
Sun in 12th 
square 
and 
- Margaret Thatcher ::
Sun + Mercury in 12th express from Jupiter/Pluto tensions.
- Ted Turner ::
Sun + Venus in 12th square and trines to Pluto.
- Jimi Hendrix ::
Sun+Mercury+Venus
in 12th 
opposite 
- Johnny Cash ::
Sun+Mercury+Mars
in 12th opposite and trines to moon.
- David Bowie ::
Sun+Mars in 12th square
- Anthony Hopkins :: Sun+Mercury+Venus ; Venus with Moon, all in 12th expressing from the Saturn/Neptune tensions.
> edit this Planets in this house
 embrace a dream |  lack of emotional boundary |
 personal dreamworld | |
 impossible love |  escapism / works of the imagination |
 the good side of humanity |  fear of loneliness / fear of losing boundary |
 boundless fantasy |  destruction of self-boundaries |
 communion with God |
