There is always something strange about the twelfth house and however hard we try to define it, we can be sure its meaning will slip through our fingers as soon as we start thinking we caught it. This is a house with the Latin name carcer, meaning "prison" and it can quite literally turn your life into prison in any imaginable way. It is also called The House of Self-Undoing. The natural progress of our Self goes through that logical row of houses, the second after the first, the third after the second, etc. If we realize that the twelfth house speaks of something entirely different, moving backwards from our first house to the twelfth, and right there behind our back, we have to ask ourselves how special it actually is and which way does it help us evolve. Or does it help at all?
AREAS OF LIFE
This is the house of dreams, of our subconscious and everything mysterious and hidden from plain sight. It speaks of imprisonment, no matter if it is actual prison sentence or any ties we are held back by in this lifetime. In general, this is the house that represents all things behind our back, all things left behind, and as such speaks most vividly of our past life experience. Things it hides can be clearly seen by people around us, and our friends might see its secrets as a normal part of their everyday routine, for this is the second, "logical" house from the eleventh. This is the field of greatest knowledge we can find in close friends and social contacts, and while some of us will get its best through gossip, others will get it through spiritual guidance and support.
Apart from its rule of prisons, the twelfth house also speaks of all places of seclusions, such as hospitals and mental institutions. It is elusive and secretive, we cannot see what's inside it before we close our eyes, and even then it is a dreamland that has yet to be deciphered. It is our place of solitude and reflection, retreat and self-sacrifice, while at the same time being our comfortable bed and our most beautiful land of desires, talents and imagination. This house speaks of all those things we do not know and there for don't understand, and we have to be very careful not to disturb its waters in order to see things clearly to the bottom.
THE TWELFTH HOUSE IN ARIES
When the twelfth house is set in the sign of Aries, it is almost always a sign that problems with healthy boundaries will be present in a person's life. Others will intrude in their world as if they had no membranes to recognize and defend themselves from those who steal their energy. In time, they will have to "remember" what it was like to follow the passion within, fight for their rights , yell at others if that is what the moments asks for, and be true about everything that is on their mind. While Aries would like to have a certain goal and aim all its energy towards it, this energy seems to get bended here only to end up in a strange subconscious state where it is neither manifested nor used. This is a position that speaks of a past life that ended in aggression, in the army or from fire weapons, sharp objects, and most often "before one's time."
THE TWELFTH HOUSE IN TAURUS
If the twelfth house is in the sign of Taurus, the mystery of the material world can remain a hidden for years, as well as hedonism and the chase for satisfaction in this material world. This is a position typical for those who have never felt real pleasure, and everyone with secret sexual encounters, or at least those who have the need to eat hidden from everyone else. Spirituality and real talents fall into the sign ruled by Venus, meaning creativity and inspiration come as a given, but only once they are discovered and approached studiously. True intimacy is found in secret bonds, and warmth will have to be built in solitude, realizing at first just how much we are worth and only later starting to search for someone who will recognize this. If one wants to make their dreams come true, this position is perfect, for it brings the Earth into our personal dreamland, making everything we imagine possible.
