"Smoking becomes a 12th-house matter only when the question is explicitly framed around self-undoing, addiction, or hidden harm."
To adhere to that rule in medical or psychological Horary astrology is akin to hiring a fox to guard the chicken coop.
It ensures the horary astrologer stays as far away as possible from investigating self-undoing. That is good for house 12. Bad for House 9 and for those who come to a horary astrologer for help.
Let me elaborate on this sad phenomenon in this long overdue article.
I was asked by a colleague astrologer to share my view on a medical chart. The question was about the prognosis of a particular damaged organ.
Having interpreted many hundreds of similar charts over the years, the chart, along with contextual information, showed me that person’s health problem was partly due to self-undoing, and a severe excess of the water element (Saturn in Pisces!) I also noted which organs might be in play which, along with self-undoing habits and the humoral imbalance, needed attention were the person to expect to heal.
My colleague rejected all of this, informing me that because the querent did not ask about the cause of his problems or self-undoing they must be excluded from the interpretation, according to established doctrine.
“The myth of the unasked question” deserves its own article because it applies to other areas of Horary interpretation, not only medical. However, here I will focus only on house 12 due to its intimate ties to house 6 as both illnesses and accidents. Plus, my colleague gave me a nicely articulated textbook example of that myth (the opening sentence to this article,) which I will refer to as the “flawed rule” throughout the text below.
Isn’t house 12 about things we are unconscious of? But the rule is telling us that the querent must be conscious of what they are unconscious of before a horary chart can show their house 12.
A modicum or reasoning reveals that that is rather far away from any common sense. The rule that House 12 must be asked about before it can be interpreted stems from a rigid (formatory) application of rules. It hasn’t been thoroughly thought out—it does not take into account the nuances of the human psyche, or the contextual needs of medical and psychological horary inquiry.
The rule is flawed because it assumes the querent must be aware of all of the factors that influence the outcome of the subject they are asking about.
While this is acceptable and applicable for most run-of-the-mill horary questions about money, relationships, jobs, lost cats or the weather, for psychological, medical and mundane issues, the querent is rarely, if ever, conscious of self-undoing as a factor.
A horary astrologer insisting the querent must ask explicitly about self-undoing before examining house 12 in a medical chart defeats the purpose of Horary: that is, to shed light on what we do not see or know about our health.
Having said that, can the astrologer choose not to speak about house 12 even though he/she sees it? Certainly. Can the astrologer have a conversation with the querent to see if they are willing or interested in learning about their own self-undoing? Certainly—that is what healers do. Should house 12 be excluded from conversation based on a rigid general theoretical rule? I believe that is already answered this early in this writing, but there is more to consider.
Important!
House 12 has the particular idiosyncrasy that it is not visible by default. Saturn is not prone to strolling into the spotlight out of its own accord.
I want to emphasize how crucial it is for a Horary astrologer who wishes to help others heal and see their own house 12 (and their own) to fully understand this.
If we do not go after house 12 it will not come to meet us. THIS IS ITS NATURE!
Medical, psychological, and mundane topics demand specific methods of interpretation that match the reality of those contexts. For accurate interpretation we must avoid using a one-size-fits-all approach or applying generic theories to these areas.
The pragmatic approach.
In practical terms, smoking (or any other substance or action) becomes a house 12 matter in horary in one of two ways:
When the context makes it clear that smoking has been abused or is harmful.
This makes our analysis easier when trying to understand the role of a “mysterious” planet found at an angle or highlighted point in the chart—it is the house 12 ruler, and it must be prominent.
Consider a querent with a known heart condition who is recovering from pneumonia. As soon as she’s done with antibiotics, she’s smoking daily while living a sedentary life. What more does an astrologer need to be prompted to look at House 12 and its ruler in the chart? Horary reflects reality, and when reality shows self-undoing, the chart will undeniably reveal it.
When the chart itself is meant to reveal what neither the querent nor the astrologer sees regarding House 12.
This is typical when the querent describes their situation without mentioning anything related to self-undoing behaviors. However, with further investigation and discussion, it becomes apparent that these influences are present.
“Oh, I forgot to mention that I just drink five cups of light-roasted coffee with three tablespoons of sugar everyday, accompanied by a couple of donuts. I don’t know why I have insomnia and diabetes. Can you look in the chart for me and tell me what is wrong with my house 6?”
An experienced horary astrologer knows how to use the chart itself as a guiding map along with questioning to uncover house 12 patterns for the benefit of the querent. The notion of self-undoing is as far from the querent’s mind here as their healing is far from them if they do not come to understand house 12. They never asked, but the chart shows it. The fact that they have chosen an astrologer adept in addressing house 12, rather than some other astrologer, could a blessing.
In summary.
Unless the astrologer chooses, or is simply inexperienced, the chart is not meant to answer medical, psychological or mundane question literally, or strictly as asked. Horary is much broader, deeper and smarter than that. It is up to the astrologer and the querent to decide how much truth they can see, share and handle, not a question of following a rigid or unexamined doctrine about what is or isn’t valid in Horary interpretation.
With correct and long enough practice, the astrologer who desires so, can learn to tap into that symbolic breadth and depth and translate them into a message that allows the querent to look more deeply and broadly into their own reality and ultimately improve their lives while keeping their feet on the ground.
Most importantly, let’s etch this onto our best neurons:
Requiring that house 12 be asked about to be interpreted is a flawed horary rule that is based on an incomplete understanding of house 12’s intrinsic qualities and its contextual needs.
House 12 interpretation does NOT require that the question be asked about self-undoing.
Thankfully!… If it did, horary astrology would keep house 12 in the dark because most people simply do not ask about house 12 even if it is screaming in their faces in their daily lives—such is the type of hidden enemy we are dealing with. The observable reality is that house 12 is active in more people and more often than the devil can shake his tail at. Here is an article with concrete examples.
The Sun alone prompts Saturn to gracefully open the door to the resolution of all self-inflicted problems. Horary offers such a light. Let’s turn it on, not off.
For practical, verified, real-life examples of Horary interpretations illustrating the concepts discussed in this article, check out my webinars and books on medical, psychological, and mundane horary astrology.
