• All About Juno
  • Bad Girl: The Power of the Lilith Archetype
  • Charts for Articles in past issues of ECLIPSE
  • Excerpt from ‘The Moon & You: Interpreting the Moon in the Natal Chart’
  • How Do We Reconcile Placidus with Whole Sign, and Still Love Ourselves in the Morning?
  • On Eclipses
  • Services
  • Terms of Use
  • Zeus, or, What a Man Gotta Do

Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY

~ Addressing the Individual Experience Within the Universal Truth

Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY

Tag Archives: The 12th House

Considering the 12th House

Featured

Posted by juliedemboski in 12th House, aspects and placements, Consciousness Explored, The Weekend Word Image

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

The 12th House, The Weekend Word Image

By Willard Metcalf – National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., online collection, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57432861

What follows is a re-print from an issue of ECLIPSE. Have a great weekend!

When I first studied Astrology (back in the last century!) it was hard to get a straight answer about how the 12th House really worked in an individual’s life. Since this House contains the ephemeral (spiritual experiences and practices, dreams, the unconscious) and big concept entities (large institutions, especially those that work in secret or where people are shut away, such as hospitals and asylums, connection to the Collective and to the Cosmos itself) it’s easy to see why it presents such a challenge to define; typically what was passed on for any House was a kind of shorthand formula, keywords that were meant to tell us succinctly what we had to look for. In the case of the 12th, the phrase was, ‘Serve or Suffer’, explained as the attitude that must pertain to any matters or energies connected to the House—either you served humankind through one of the 12th House concepts, groups, entities, or through a spiritual service or practice, or you suffered. And in spite of all your best intentions, with the unconscious material sitting in this House, just above the horizon (and so just out of your conscious reach), there might still be suffering through that mechanism wherein the unconscious sets up circumstances in order to bring us a particular experience.

‘Serve or suffer’ always struck me as too fire-and-brimstone, too much like the kind of religious admonition that sounds a lot like a threat: “Be good, or you’ll go to hell!” That’s no way to win recruits, and it didn’t really make the 12th House any clearer—if anything, it seemed to ask us to choose a sign-related 12th activity or entity and then to give a part of ourselves to that cause and just hope we’d please the gods and avoid being struck by lightning! That seemed fear-mongering at worst, and just generally less sincerely productive than true service could and should be at best, and it made me think a lot about what the House, and the phrase, might actually signify.

The phrase was probably an easier sell to the astrology student a hundred years or more ago, before questioning authority and exploring beyond what we are told became a daily routine. In that space of time, we’ve seen a Collective shift (and the Collective is ruled by the 12th, of course!) toward a development of inner viewpoint and consciousness within the individual that is no longer quite so willing to become a cog in the machine and, eventually, die—instead we see a demand for at least some fulfillment in life, along with the expectation that we deserve it—not a factor for most people to any significant degree before those Collective changes.

‘Serve or Suffer’ is really about choosing between a Universal viewpoint and a personal one, with suffering being the result of concentrating on the individual experience rather than the Collective need. We are asked to give up our own interests only in this area (and intermittently in the 5th, for our children, and in the 7th, for our partner or our Art), and we’re really not given a choice in the matter; we can choose not to have children or not to partner, but we are obligated to acknowledge our part in the Universe (no matter how small we may feel when considering it!)

Placements in the 12th are typically processed in such a way that we have a very hard time seeing them in ourselves; we will often completely project these qualities, at least initially, and the House anything posited in the 12th rules can become a hot line for expression of the unconscious and for projection of the group psyche: with, for example, Neptune in the 12th and ruling the 4th, we may swear up and down that our entire family is crazy (or creative, or deluded, or liars!) when it really may just be us! This kind of response to the 12th House energy makes it ripe for the ‘Suffering’ half of the equation; if we believe that everyone else in the family is wildly imaginative and creative, and we are not (because that energy within us is ‘hidden’ in the 12th) then we suffer with the feeling that we are ‘less than’ within the family dynamic. Only through excavating and recognizing as our own those 12th House energies will we have a sense of wholeness—until then, we may acutely long for the seemingly missing factors and talents.

In this example, the individual’s need and expectation are for a disciplined, controlled, or real-world grounded approach toward the Universe (Capricorn on the 12th) that can be modeled by or learned from Others, or that can be seen as a guide that brings the 12th House attitude into dealing with Others, Art, and/ or the spouse (7th placement of ruler) and this is being disowned; the individual is seeing others as the agents of the experience, rather than directly living it through the example of others (7th) handling 12th House matters. In the case of disowning the energy, the individual sees others as the ones applying restrictive standards in 12th House areas; in the case of owning the energy, the individual learns about or sees in others examples of dealing with 12th House matters—and applies the discipline, control, or real-world grounding on their own (this is, of course, aside from any other meanings carried by that Saturn placement).

With bodies posited in the 12th, look to the position of the ruler(s) and consider how much you may or may not be projecting these energies onto the matters and individuals represented by the House where they sit, or that they rule. If the 12th is empty, look to the ruler or rulers (in the case of Aquarius and Pisces, adding ancient rulers Saturn and Jupiter, respectively, can give a much more rounded picture) for how much one may be seeing the subjects or entities represented by the House where the ruler is posited as imposing 12th House conditions on you, or on the areas of life in the House(s) ruled by the 12th ruler. For instance, ruler of the 12th in the 8th could mean you see others as having sent you to prison—whether or not this is literal, and whether or not you’ve done anything to warrant it! With ruler of the 12th in the 10th, by contrast, you may see spiritual matters, the caprice of the Cosmos, or the role of large institutions as having a big effect on the career or public reputation. Don’t be surprised if you feel some shame surrounding neglected 12th House energies—this is common, as we tend to hide in the 12th, even from ourselves, those things we find less desirable about ourselves–or we place in the 12th the guilt or regret over not having addressed Universal/ spiritual energies as we feel we should, or we store guilt or shame related to matters or others represented by the House where the ruler is placed. The reality is we need to take our time sorting through, developing, and learning how to use all chart energies—to feel bad about what we need to explore only makes us turn away, drag our feet, and maybe blame it on (or project it on) someone else.

The Weekend Word Image is criticism that freezes you in your tracks. If you’ve received something like this lately, and the effect was to stop your forward momentum, please consider: this may actually have had the goal of keeping you where you are. The critique was a feint, a distraction, meant to shake your confidence, with the real point the speaker’s desire to keep you in a place they are comfortable with. If you see it that way, you can free yourself from some needless Self-censorship, and avoid a detour that’s the opposite of helpful.

Rate this:

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Viewpoint From the 12th House

20 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by juliedemboski in 12th House, astrology, Consciousness Explored

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

astrology, The 12th House

The 12th can be a shadowed place, and we can be less than conscious of energies that reside there. ‘The Florence Griswold House in Old Lyme, Connecticut’ By Willard Leroy Metcalf 1905 {{PD}}

If you’re a chart energy, and you’re sitting in the 12th House, how do you express? If there’s one word that describes the 12th, it’s ‘indirect’—and that makes energy expression sometimes tricky, sometimes cumbersome, and always challenging. This energy can shine out through other outlets, such as when Saturn in the 12th brings discipline, order, and perhaps rigidity to the affairs of the House it rules, and all of it applied unconsciously on the part of the individual; it just seems natural to them, somehow, and there’s typically an assumption that everyone sees the affairs of the House Saturn rules in this same way—and as well that others carry these same energies in that same, ‘hidden’ place. An assumption is a good way to describe an energy placed in the 12th that doesn’t have a deliberately chosen outlet; we tend to see it as ‘just the way things are’ and sometimes it shows as a very prominent characteristic that others see right away and the individual is totally unaware of. The obvious outlets of aspects made and Houses ruled is of course a possibility—but we shouldn’t forget the potential for expression through the functions of the House for the individual: the 12th is just as active as any other House, it’s just that the individual who ‘owns’ the chart can’t observe the effects directly.

Some possibilities for 12th House expression include:

Unconsciously  With this outlet contents of the 12th, including energies of the sign in the 12th, may leak into everything. With this the most important thing one can do is become very familiar with those energies represented by items in one’s 12th, and then watch for these to crop up day-to-day. Spotting them in real life will help attune consciousness to their presence, and so make them that much more manageable. When we have the ruler of other major chart energies here (as in Winslet’s case, see the ‘Moon in the 1st’ article) a huge component of expression of these energies will be influenced by the unconscious; that can make 12th House connections much more important than we may realize on the surface. In Winslet’s case, for instance, ruler of 1st House Sun, Moon, and Ascendant, Venus, sits in 12 in Virgo, suggesting that an unconscious critical attitude toward standards of Being, identity, feeling, and of beauty, worth, and presentation are all inflicted on the 1st House assortment of core identity energies.

Through the Collective  We may experience our 12th House qualities through projection of these qualities onto the Collective (a 12th House Mars individual may see society as angry and aggressive, but not see those same qualities in themselves), or 12th House energies may be the way the individual connects the Self to everyone else. For instance, a 12th House Venus could see her fashion sense and taste as the way she is a part of and in shared experience with the larger social order, with a sense of inspiration running both to her from society, and from her, as she channels the Cosmic, spiritual, or Collective.

Through involvement with Causes and Concepts bigger than the Self  This can include institutions, spiritual movements, mass experiences like disasters or events like Woodstock or the Million Man March. A larger thing creates a common touchstone for many. Here the Self gets lost under the larger label—and so may mistake the cause or idea or concept itself for the personal identity; Chiron in the 12th may be especially prone to this, as the placement draws out the Chirotic inclination to giving up the Self for others—or in less flattering terms, martyrdom.

‘Le Reve’ (The Dream) By Puvis de Chavannes-Orsay 1882 {{PD}}

In Dreams  A 12th House concept may express only through the imagination (a daydream) or in the real-life nocturnal activity; what’s in the 12th may be seen as something unattainable in the form the individual longs for. Someone with Venus conjunct Pluto in Libra here, for instance, may long to be overwhelmed by a romantic relationship; anything less than devastating may not seem to the individual as truly a Love experience.

Overall we have the tendency to either see 12th House factors as ‘very much who we are’ through assuming they are like that for everyone, or we may disown them, exemplifying that 12th House ‘hidden’ quality. That’s a large part of why the old definition of the 12th was the ‘House of Self-Undoing’—if we didn’t discover and own those qualities found in the 12th, we would end up, as another common descriptive phrase put it, needing to ‘serve or suffer’ to make it all right.

12th House Personal Placements in Brief—elaborating on just a potential or two for each of the major personal chart energies:

Mercury here could mean the person’s communications are like a stream-of-unconsciousness delivered directly to the listener, making very clear what the real, underlying thoughts and motivations are. This person may have a direct line to the Cosmic, but may not be especially good at consciously translating what they know so that it’s sharable with others.

Venus in the 12th can suggest someone who doesn’t really know their own beauty or attractive qualities (they may never feel beautiful, no matter their physical state or the feedback they receive, or conversely may assume they are beautiful or easily lovable), who has Love as the motivating foundation behind all action, or who believes they may never know personal love (or who may see the Universe/ God as Love, and so dedicate the life to service). This person may also attract money from hidden or unexpected sources and could be the ‘money man’ behind someone else’s business or efforts.

Mars here can be the classic individual who is exceptionally angry and yet unaware of it—‘butter won’t melt in their mouths’ and yet they always point out (and condemn) the anger in others—no one is allowed to be angry on their watch! This can also be the person who can be highly effective at translating inspiration into action, and who may be unafraid to act on received messages, dreams, or intuitions; they may act bravely without even thinking about it.

The Moon in this spot can mark an excruciatingly sensitive individual, an intuitive or spiritual ‘genius’, or someone who escapes to emotionalism every time they want to hide from the unpleasant. (See my upcoming book on the Moon in the Natal Chart for more details and potentials).

‘Midnight Sun’ By Frants Bøe 1891 {{PD}}

The Sun in this House may make for a natural modesty, an extremely creative individual, a natural Priest or Priestess, or someone who can exert great control and offer great support in a ‘behind the scenes’ position.

Scroll down or click for the latest installment of ‘The Ascendant Zodiapedia’, donate to your favorite astrologers or those who aid you, read, and have a great day!

 

Rate this:

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Blog Stats

  • 1,898,673 hits

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Pages

  • All About Juno
  • Bad Girl: The Power of the Lilith Archetype
  • Charts for Articles in past issues of ECLIPSE
  • Excerpt from ‘The Moon & You: Interpreting the Moon in the Natal Chart’
  • How Do We Reconcile Placidus with Whole Sign, and Still Love Ourselves in the Morning?
  • On Eclipses
  • Services
  • Terms of Use
  • Zeus, or, What a Man Gotta Do

Donate

Recent Comments

boozilla on Musings on the Signs: Vir…
mm on Musings on the Signs: Vir…
boozilla on Musings on the Signs: Vir…
Gina on Musings on the Signs: Vir…
Wanita Sears on Musings on the Signs: Vir…

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 6,828 other followers

Top Posts & Pages

  • Full Moon in Virgo 27 February 2021 Due & Payable
  • How Do We Reconcile Placidus with Whole Sign, and Still Love Ourselves in the Morning?
  • Let's Discuss: Natal Moon Square the Ascendant
  • Musings on the Signs: Virgo
  • What You're Asking: 12th House Suns, Juno/ Venus Synastry, and, Are Scorpio Moons Misanthropic?
Follow Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY on WordPress.com

Search

Asteroids

  • CHIRON IN THE NATAL CHART
  • Hekate by Leah Whitehorse
  • HEKATE IN THE NATAL CHART: A LITTLE BACKGROUND + AN EXAMPLE
  • JUNO IN THE NATAL CHART
  • Serennu
  • THE ASTROLOGY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
  • We Are All Vessels: VESTA IN THE NATAL CHART

Astro Books, Interviews, & Merchandise

  • CHIRON IN THE NATAL CHART
  • Dog and Sunflower Press
  • Jo Tracey's Interview with me
  • JUNO IN THE NATAL CHART
  • My latest article for Dell HOROSCOPE on entrepreneurs
  • THE ASTROLOGY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
  • We Are All Vessels: VESTA IN THE NATAL CHART

Astrological Associations

  • Washington State Astrological Association

Astrology Aggregators and Group Sites

  • Astrology Blog List
  • Astrology Blogger
  • Astrology Media Press
  • Astrology Study
  • Astropro Society
  • Follow Julie Demboski's Astrology on Facebook!
  • Horoskoop
  • Humandala
  • Startsiden

Astrology Blogroll and Sites of Interest

  • A Tiny Universe
  • All My Minds
  • Astro Inquiry
  • Astroair Astrology
  • Astrolearn
  • Astrology Explored
  • Astrology Expressed
  • Astrology Questions and Answers
  • AstroQueer
  • Been There, Done That
  • Being My Own Self
  • Big Sky Astrology
  • Boho Astro
  • Caroline Myss
  • Celestial Space Astrology Blog
  • Chirotic Journal
  • Cosmic Life Coach
  • Erin Sullivan
  • irOk Woo
  • Jessica Shepherd
  • Jo Tracey's Interview with me
  • Joanne Madeline Moore
  • Jude Cowell Astology
  • Jude's Tapestry
  • Karmic Tools
  • Kim Fairminer
  • Libra Seeking Balance
  • Lua Astrology: Navigation by the Stars
  • Madameastres
  • My Astrology Charts
  • Neptune and the Oak
  • Neptune's Silver Screen
  • Ouranitsa
  • Peter Stockinger's Traditional Astrology Weblog
  • Serennu's blog
  • Shifting Realities
  • Stars of Wonder
  • Stars Over Washington
  • SunnyCat Astrology
  • The Oculus Divinorum Archives
  • The Silent Watchers
  • Tracy's Astro Salon
  • True Crime & Astrology
  • Two Hours You'll Never Get Back
  • Venus in the Fifth

Astrology on a Daily or Weekly Basis

  • Being My Own Self
  • Cosmic Life Coach
  • Lua Astrology: Navigation by the Stars
  • Lunar Phases and Energy Shifts by Verena Heinrich
  • Tracy's Astro Salon

Astrology Resources

  • A Tiny Universe
  • Astro Blogging
  • Astrodienst
  • Astrolabe
  • Astrolearn
  • Astrology Book Club
  • Astrology Center of America
  • Astrology Dating
  • Astrology News Service
  • Astrology Software
  • AstroWiki
  • CHIRON IN THE NATAL CHART
  • Fixed Stars at Astrology on the Web
  • JUNO IN THE NATAL CHART
  • My Astrology Charts
  • Peter Stockinger's Traditional Astrology Weblog
  • Sabian Symbols at Cafe Astrology
  • Serennu
  • Spiral Spectrum
  • THE ASTROLOGY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
  • Time Zone Converter
  • Tracy's Astro Salon
  • We Are All Vessels: VESTA IN THE NATAL CHART

Astronomy Resources

  • Astrology Software
  • Google Sky
  • Spiral Spectrum
  • Stargazers (Map Site of the Sky–NASA)
  • The Naked Eye Planets
  • The Nine Planets
  • Time and Date
  • Time Zone Converter

At 'Been There, Done That'

  • A Difficult Dance: Lilith and Chiron

Downloads, Podcasts, Video, and Radio

  • Karmic Tools

Forums

  • Astroknowlogy

Horary Astrology

  • Peter Stockinger's Traditional Astrology Weblog

Instruction, Workshops and Seminars

  • Rae Indigo

Living Well, Art, and Conversation

  • 1481hyperion
  • Actavesta Baby
  • Adventures in Green from the Emerald City
  • Alice Neal Snaps
  • Alice's Adventures in Knittingland
  • An Upturned Soul
  • Art Talk
  • Been There, Done That
  • Beth Turnage
  • Cancer Killing Recipe
  • Capricorn One Vintage Blog
  • Capricorn One Vintage Shop
  • Chic est Chic
  • Cosmic Persona Designs
  • Dreamy Fish
  • Esscentual Alchemy
  • First Olympian Beard Oil
  • Handmade Days
  • Jo Tracey's Interview with me
  • John A. Spirko's Gallery, Digital and Fine Art
  • Jude Cowell Art
  • Jude Cowell at Fine Art America
  • Jude Cowell at Red Bubble
  • Jude's Tapestry
  • Karen's Whimsy
  • Kelley's Custom Creams
  • Lim's Limericks
  • Neptune's Silver Screen
  • Rae Indigo
  • Samantha Demboski, Artist at Red Bubble
  • Secret Moon Art
  • Shannon Food
  • Silent Paradox
  • Spiral Spectrum
  • Swamp Creek Farm
  • The Hungry Writer
  • These Other Realms
  • Two Hours You'll Never Get Back
  • Woolly Mammoth Chronicles
  • WordAds
  • WordPress.com
  • WordPress.org

Magical Stuffs

  • Esscentual Alchemy
  • Ethereal Enchantments
  • First Olympian Beard Oil
  • Jude Cowell at Fine Art America
  • Kelley's Custom Creams

Numerology

  • Creative Numerology

On Hiatus, It Seems

  • 8th House Stellium
  • Artful Journey
  • Astro 4 Business
  • Astrocelebrities
  • Astrology Mundo
  • Astrology's Wisdom
  • Decide for Yourself
  • Distracted Astrologer
  • Dreamscopes
  • Ellen Longo
  • Mayan Astrology
  • Mercury Retrograde
  • Mystic Skye
  • Starry Night Astrology
  • The Know It All Astrologer
  • The Volcanic Muses
  • What The Astral Fog

On the Astro Horizon

  • My Juno series

Tarot

  • irOk Woo
  • The Feral Tarot
  • Venus is Ascending

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: