Astrological Ramblings

When I get asked about the 12th House in the natal chart (such as what it means when such and such planet finds itself paying rent there), there is usually a sort of fear behind the question. Behind the question usually lurk a sense of “oh my gahhh, I have Venus in the 12th house, I just know it’s bad.” Many of the different keywords assigned to this house can seem nasty at first glance, so people tend to naturally think having (whatever) planet in the 12th house is automatically to their detriment. Though planets found in the 12th house of one’s natal chart aren’t necessarily easy, they certainly aren’t unilaterally negative and their placement in the 12th house has a purpose (usually to grow and evolve one in a spiritual way/on a soul level). Of the houses in the natal chart, the 12th house is one of my favorites to explore (along with the 4th house, but I’ll get around to that one later). This house is typically given keywords like “karma,””empathy and compassion,” “escape,” “the womb/mother’s labor experience,” “the unconscious,” “spirituality”, “prisons/imprisonment,” “hidden enemies,” “serve or suffer,” and the ever fear inducing “the house of self-undoing.” Unfortunately, in my experience people tend to focus far too much on the negative keywords and not enough on the positive ones. This house has a magical sort of quality to it, especially in terms of all the spirituality and compassion that can be found dwelling here (and even more so once the native has begun evolving beyond […]