House 12 and its meaning in Astrology

House 12 - The unconscious and integration

The 12th house is the last house very much associated with the characteristics of water signs. In it we see the emotional integration of all the experiences present in the birth chart, through which we reach the most intimate and profound aspects of ourselves. It represents the plunge into the memories of the unconscious, the moment when we confront ourselves, generating fears and many times mobilizing our weaknesses.

It is considered one of the most complex astrological houses to be analyzed. Many times, when we think we are beginning to understand it, but even this understanding seems to fade in the blink of an eye.

It is a sector of the chart that if not handled well, can turn our lives into a real prison. It is the place of dreams, of the subconscious, of illusions, of all that is mysterious and hidden in plain sight, also showing how we analyze our lives, indicating our thoughts about the future or about higher or "spiritual" matters.

In other words, this house helps us understand the power of the unconscious. It controls us by its structure, as its roots relate to the basis of existence, namely vitality, fear of death, and dependencies on being fed, for we are mammals.

Thus, emotions and memories that belong to the species manifest themselves. This is why such visions and perceptions, when they manifest unconsciously, when they put pressure on our conscious side we feel fear, uneasiness and a sensation of something that accompanies us everywhere, even when we are sleeping and dreaming. This house, therefore, refers to the fears coming from the unconscious.

By studying it, together with the luminous and personal stars, we can understand the power of the unconscious in our lives. Fears related to serious illnesses, to being held hostage by others, to needing special medical care, to being hospitalized, to going to ambulatories from time to time, to intensive care clinics, or even to feeling rejected or abandoned, which also means life-threatening, since we are mammals, this makes us feel insecure and afraid.

Some astrologers refer to this house as the house of "karma", meaning suffering from past lives. We always remember that the syncretism of astrology with metaphysics and religious beliefs generates noise and statements that are difficult to be controlled and verified. In this way, they take risks in their statements, as well as, they can embed even more guilt in people.

In the third house we learn and know the basics. In the sixth house we make this knowledge automatic, routine. In the ninth house we have the chance to broaden our thinking, expanding our horizons through faith.

In the 12th house, we let go of the "I" in exchange for a greater integration with the All. Thus, it is a house that can help us realize that many voices in ourselves do not belong to our biography, but rather, to life and natural evolution.

We have voices of species that fought for territories for millions of years, like the reptiles from which we are descended. Similarly, mammals have lived for millions of years helping each other, supporting the weakest in the flock, and thus protection has become a language for us.

In this sense, these experiences, because they transcend our biography (it is not something born exclusively in us, it is something that transcends our individuality) and belong to the creative forces, represent the deepest missing link of our connection with the Universe.

Therefore, depending on how we understand these fears and their origins in our unconscious, we can expand our vision of existence. Specialized anthropologists understand this transcendence as the true "spiritual" side narrated by archaic man.

It is important to always remember that suffering does not necessarily lead to growth and humility. Many times, it depresses us, revolts us, and makes us physically and psychologically ill.

The issues in the 12th house have their source in collective issues, in social or individual destiny, in the trajectory traced by life forces that transcend us, and in the pressure of society over the individual. The 12th house, therefore, can be linked in part to the Freudian superego, that is, social impositions, fear of exclusion, guilt and shame, which are the basis of many neurotic and problematic behaviors.

In it we experience the results of our blind adherence to the values of society (Houses 10 and 11) or the consequences of our rebellion against those same values.

The meaning of life, the universe, and everything else

We experience the issues related to the 12th house in an inner and subjective way in some cases. Everything can be lived as mystical or oneiric experiences, being very relevant themes such as meditation, redemption, intuition and surrender to something greater than the self. Through this house we have access to the collective unconscious. Such efforts can also be sought through psychotherapy, immersion work, and breathing practices.

This sector refers to what we awaken to when we silence our thoughts (hence the references to meditation, dreaming, etc.). By silencing the mind, we can hear such voices.

But not everything is flowers. Many times, we awaken in these processes our deep fears, our traumas, our anguishes and disappointments, our weaknesses, stigmas, taboos, failures, sorrows and disappointments.

Thus, this sector does not necessarily lead us to growth. What does lead to it, is the way we face and dialogue with such ancient and deep voices as the "nature of nature" itself.

The 12th house is still associated with large institutions, such as hospitals, monasteries, prisons and asylums, and is considered the house of isolation and "emotional prisons", of any attachments or very strong bonds that we maintain.

It can therefore, depending on the luminary stars and other positions in the birth chart, suggest an interest in these environments. Each of them can mobilize internal emotions and identifications. Institutions often represent the idealization that from them will gush the balm that will solve all our existential pains and frustrations. For this reason, we often cooperate with them.

In hospitals, we have mammals in pain, with whom one can have affinity, complicity, and even symbiosis. There is the desire to relieve their pain, because they feel internally the same pain or identify with it. This can lead them to leave worse and depressed, or more fraternal and tolerant to human misfortunes.

Monasteries become places where we isolate ourselves from the threatening world. There, we seek the origin and the transcendence of ourselves. It can also be like the mosque, the synagogue, the church, the temple, the spiritist center, that is, the places where we seek relief or identification of our greatest pains. Hence, the danger of emotional imprisonment in these places.

In isolation, seclusion, and inner silence, we can perceive the meaning of life; we find ourselves; we get in touch with our true Self, our Soul. Thus, this sector symbolizes the imprisonment of the soul that precedes liberation, enlightenment, and the beginning of a new cycle of manifestation (House 1).

In the same way, loneliness can hurt us. It can create defense mechanisms that tell us that the world rejects us, isolates us, and discriminates against us. Depending on the context, this sector can help us understand, for example, the lies or fantasies we are telling ourselves to deal with our failures and traumas. Our personal esteem can be damaged depending on the stars involved with this sector.

Often we have to clear away the rubble of a traumatic process in order to be able to put the house back together again. Thus, having to look at what hurts (and for this very reason we hide from ourselves), is a very delicate process.

In psychotherapy, when we get to the bottom of seeing our issues, becoming aware of the processes, we also have the possibility to see all our potentials, by seeing ourselves in a more natural way.

This is why many therapists warn their clients about the possibility of pain before the release of fears and repressions, and about how such processes can be liberating, especially when they are acting unconsciously and controlling our lives like a parasite.

Thus the spontaneity of our psychological nature depends very much on how we face such internal ghosts.

When we review our life, we can think of the things we didn't do, or things we wish we had done. We also think about what we have done, and remember the desires that we could never fulfill. In this way we have to deal with the disjunction between internal and external times.

The frustrating world is the one that does not obey our internal desires. Thus, not understanding this process can lead to hurt related to something outside that we believe exists. Many times, we feel offended, abandoned or despised simply for not accepting the possible affection, the possible pleasure, that lies between the two worlds: internal and external.

If not worked on, this can turn into hurt, resentment, victimism, etc? this can bring some sadness, as well as guilt or shame. But it also brings pride and satisfaction when we remember the good things we have done, such as overcoming our own insecurities, addictions, and our childhood complaints, for example. In other words, our achievements.

Therefore, the 12th house is the transition between the "old" and the "new". We must surrender to circumstances that we cannot control in order to have a chance to be reborn. Think of it as a dark ocean, but full of possibilities, from which light will emerge.

This can be a form of encouragement for the confrontations that come from this sector.

The twelfth house is also associated with our mental health, whether we are following a profession in this area, or dealing with problems and illnesses.

There can be emotional or psychosomatic diseases, as well as nervous system dysfunctions, such as unipolar mood syndromes and disorders like depression, dysthymia, anxiety, agoraphobia, anxiety syndrome, ADHD, bipolar disorder, mania and hypomania, among many other disturbing anguishes.

It also deals with meditation, reflection, self-sacrifice (detachment), and charity (giving). This is because many people feel very good about helping others, or even giving back to others what they have received as assistance from life or in the form of a personal religious God.

It is a house that can also lead to the altruistic quality, which means that it is associated with everything that revolves around public and social service, which are the areas that serve the people rather than seek profit, where the workers and managers are basically anonymous. However, everything will depend on how the rest of the map is configured. Such sentiments are rare to find and definitely do not represent the majority of manifestation cases in this sector.

Behind the scenes and hidden enemies

The 12th house indicates the areas where we have hidden enemies, people who wish us harm and we have no idea about. Certain complex and difficult-to-manage aspects of our chart can also be considered secret enemies (i.e. unknown, unconscious, that we are not aware of), that can sabotage us without us realizing it.

It represents all the things that happen behind our backs, everything that is left behind or is hidden from us. We cannot properly analyze what happens there unless we use our intuition and decipher our dreams. Thus this sector requires us to have a certain capacity for symbolic evaluation of both the dream material and our sensations and repetitions of experiences, which seem to dominate and manipulate us.

So the repetitions, the addictions, the things we can't say no to, are related to this house.

Everything that is done behind the scenes, away from people's knowledge, whether for good or evil, falls under the scope of the 12th house. When it is something good, it tends not to be shown out of altruism or modesty, but when it is something for evil, it is hidden and veiled on purpose to serve selfish schemes.

In this way, this sector also refers to people who many times wish our suffering or think that we owe them something, or even wish to manipulate and control us using our fears, insecurities and weaknesses present in symbiosis and passionate relationships, as well as in psychological vampirization and so-called toxic relationships.

It is said "one must be careful not to disturb its waters otherwise we will not be able to see things clearly". This saying can be useful for us to understand how to learn to deal with such issues. If we avoid the accumulation of frustrations, the huge bags of hurts and sorrows, and start to have a more courageous attitude in front of life, facing situations more, we will have the emotional waters more clean and crystal clear, and not clouded by heavy emotions trapped in our psyche.

Generally, the secrets of the 12th house are more hidden to ourselves, because many times they can be seen by the people around us, be it friends or people in general without us knowing.

Thus, many of the chronic illnesses, aging, problems that have accumulated over a lifetime, that require repetitive care, as well as every form of great effort in the direction of ridding ourselves of an ailment is related to the nature of this house.

Extra meaning: In World Astrology, collective or corporate, this sector refers to the great social evils, such as hunger, discrimination, the excluded, sensitive and fragile minorities, hospitals, federal prisons, slums, the underworld, drug trafficking, great social damage, commotion, floods, cases of social commotion, human rights, the pastoral care of minors, church movements and campaigns, serious endemics and pandemics, and major hushed up scandals.

The influence of the stars located in the House 12 of the Birth Chart

Learn about all astrological houses