darrowmp@gte.net

Secrets…puzzles…concealment…enigmas! These are some of the words that quickly surface from our subconscious when thinking about the twelfth house. One often feels a drawing attraction to the unknown which lies on the other side of any drawn shade. With this in mind, I would certainly say the twelfth house is one of the most mysterious in the zodiac. It is the house that links us with the universe. It’s also karmic and can shed some light on our past lives. Some astrologers give it a bad rap, but it does have a very positive side to it. It is, indeed, the most private house in one’s chart. Whenever you need seclusion, you can retire to its surroundings. Here is where you can pray, visualize, meditate and contemplate with the universe.

The 12th house correlates with the planet Neptune and the zodiac sign of Pisces - the two fish joined together swimming in opposite directions. And like those two fish - one can use the energies of the 12^th either for self-undoing or gaining inner strength. The tarot cards this house corresponds to are the high priestess, the moon, page of cups and the 7 of cups. In numerology, please number this house with a 7…the number of the mystic.

Affairs that fall under the 12^th house rulership are karmic past lives, habits, personal psychological makeup, institutions i.e. hospitals, prisons and monasteries. In addition this house also has jurisdiction over addictions, secret enemies, sorrows, losses, solitude, confinement and fantasies.

Some key words and phrases for planets in this house are as follows:

Sun in 12^th - desires to serve others; prefers to work behind the scenes; could be imprisoned; feels shy and introverted.

Moon in 12^th - sensitivities and imagination; psychic abilities; attachment to the past; very emotional; bonded to mother.

Mercury in 12^th - very secretive; investigative abilities; enjoys diary and journal work; sneaky; self-delusion.

Venus in 12^th - prone to secret liaisons; martyr complex; finds serenity in solitude; musical or artistic abilities.

Mars in 12^th - active imagination; prone to passive-aggressive behavior; strong sense of secrecy; can make some secret enemies.

Jupiter in 12^th - a guardian angel planetary placement; receives hidden support; spiritual person; exaggerated guilt feelings; has many secrets.

Saturn in 12^th - can hold grudges; endures sorrows in seclusion; loss through deception; possible institutional confinement.

Uranus in 12^th- psychic abilities and flashes of intuition; unusual dreams; sudden confinement; peculiar and bizarre fantasies.

Neptune in 12^th - drawn to secret or mystical organizations; compassionate towards the institutionalized; self-undoing; mystical experience; precognitive dreams.

Pluto in 12^th - Being the power behind the throne; psychic impressions from the past; confinement through illegal doings; the ability to transform through creative visualization.

There are some books that have been written specifically on this house and I highly recommend them:

"The Twelfth House: The Hidden Power In the Horoscope" by Karen-Hamaker-Zondag

and "Your Secret Self: Illuminating the Mysteries of the Twelfth House" by Tracy Marks.

In closing, let me advise you to light a purple candle, burn some "Sandlewood" incense, chant a mantra or two and explore this intriguing house. Don’t be afraid - you may find out after all of these years, that the silhouette behind the drawn shade is…you!