QUESTION: I read that that house 12 is not important in most horary questions. What is your opinion?"
My opinion is that it is not a good idea to adopt generalizations about horary astrology as if they were some kind of truth that applies to every situation.
In this case, I do not know in what context that was said. I might agree, I might not. I do not know what comprises “most questions” for the person who said that. If he/she is saying that, I assume it is correct for him/her. But it does not mean that it must be so for you or for me. Few things in this world are equally true for everybody. How we approach horary is not one of them.
Each astrologer has a focus and a depth. Beyond the application of basic principles we can differ greatly in what questions we prefer to answer, or ability to answer them, how we approach the questions, and what information we can or wish to extract from horary.
So, what I can offer is to tell you about my experience with horary and House 12. You can then form your own opinion.
I do mostly medical, mundane, psychological, and relationship charts.
Relationship charts, by the way, are psychological charts beneath the surface. I often do several charts for the same querent and help them track the development of their relationships and treatments. Also, to help them deepen their psychological/spiritual work by exposing things about themselves and their partners that they are not aware of. This applies to any type of relationship with people: romantic, friendship, business partnership, boss-employee, etc. People we directly relate to.
Will I get laid?
Yes, look at that conjunction on the 5th cusp! Yummy!
Do we have a future together?
With such horrible receptions, no!
End of story, thank you for the payment. Make sure to come back and ask me about your next failed relationship…. Because, unless you know why this one failed you will probably repeat the pattern.
Now, if we are to go deeper; and many of the querents that come to me do want to go deeper, then we have to go beyond the basic significators.
Decreased or exhausted sexual attraction, disagreements and incompatibilities, or boredom are all natural occurrences in a romantic relationship or marriage. And except for the sexual part, it is the same in other types of relationships.
What is not natural is all of the negative harmful attitudes and emotions that we imitated from our parents and other unbalanced adults early in life, and which were exacerbated by subsequent negative experiences and then fixed in our personalities.
By the time we are adults, and decide to pay astrologers for information, we have developed a copious amount of bad mental, emotional and behavioral habits which basically plague all of our relationships and take our peace away. Obviously, if we are not in peace, we take away the peace of those around us too.
Those bad habits are a house 12 matter. And they are a huge influencing factor in people entering relationships, not being able to leave relationships, as well as their ability to fix their relationships or not, and in how much blindness and unnecessary suffering is experienced in the relationship. And, it takes two to tango. If house 12 is active the partner’s house 12 is, with rare exceptions, active too.
It is understandable that some astrologers do not see house 12 in relationship charts, or that many querents do not see it in their lives either, and/or do not want to hear about it.
It is painful to face house 12. It elicits defensiveness because house 12 is the seat of imaginary fear. We spend decades building a false personality and defending it at all costs. Being shown the falseness of the “self” we have put so much stake in is not pleasant. So, it is in the very nature of house 12 to remain hidden, and unconscious. Behind Saturn’s door, in the dark. A significant degree of self-awareness and maturity is required to welcome house 12 information. If that door opens prematurely, with no preparation, addiction can be one of the results. One cannot handle the pain and must be sedated via one’s favorite Venusian treat, be it alcohol, sex, money, or drugs, you name it.
Also, I must add, many people think that certain house 12 manifestations are normal and healthy, such as self-deprecation, impatience, greed, gossiping and denigrating others behind their backs, homophobia, misogyny, or bigotry to name a few.
And some people place house 5 pleasures in house 12, making something pleasurable and often harmless if not done in excess, into something sinful. Doing that is house 12 in action itself.
If the astrologer entertains any of those distorted values, that is, making something that is not house 12 into house 12, or making house 12 into something that is not house 12, then, he/she has a limited or flawed understanding of that house and will not see it for what it is. Or will not see it at all, except for charts about camels, whales, or donkeys.
The evidence is that while we remain unconscious of house 12 it plays the role of the spiritual rug where we brush the madness and suffering under.
Any spiritual teaching or religion worth its salt has a chapter in their textbooks about facing and dealing with house 12. Each esoteric tradition has a name or symbol for that process. In Tarot, it is represented by “the Devil”.
House 9 activity does not substitute work on house 12. It is all very well to pray for Allah, but not tying the camel renders Allah ineffective. Spiritually speaking, house 9 (such as horary, teachers, teachings, religions, Tarot or scriptures) is intended to throw light on house 12, which is where the actual psychological/spiritual work is performed. The Sun shining on Saturn. Then, Saturn saving us from Saturn itself, as the Arabic Part of Release from Captivity so eloquently indicates. Once that process is advanced or completed, house 3 can shine.
In my horary practice, we go into the values and motivations behind the essential debilities and bad receptions that horary shows about and between people.
And for that to be done another house must often be added to the interpretation: house 2.
The number of relationship charts where significators are placed in house 2 (or turned) is astounding. It is natural to need and share attention, kindness, and care. But when house 2 is afflicted by being deficient or antagonistic, we suffer. And when combined with all of the fears and egocentric defense mechanisms from house 12, people feel lonely, abandoned, excluded, abused, disrespected, offended, betrayed, and needy. And thus we have a recipe for a difficult relationship, to put it mildly. Toxic, in many cases; and a myriad of shades in between.
Here is an extreme horary example to help illustrate my points both about psychology and about horary.
The querent, a woman, asked: when will I have a relationship again?
She had broken up a nasty relationship with a guy who she described as an “idiot”. Which the essential dignities and receptions in the chart confirmed.
She also began her description of the context with: “all men are idiots!”
Wait a minute! Where does such misandry come from? Is that a normal or healthy state of mind?
As far as I can tell, it is tainted with fear, resentment, and a host of bad attitudes stemming from negative past experiences that would pay the salary of a good psychotherapist for years to unravel. The house that is responsible for that pit of unnecessary suffering is house 12. Not house 1, not the Moon, not the Sun, not Venus. Pointing fingers at the guy, or “men”, while ignoring looking inside, is among the worst things she should do if she wants a happy relationship in the future, or simply, be happy herself, on her own.
Sad. But such is the nature of house 12. Self-undoing indeed! And unconscious. Because if we become conscious of those things we will never be the same. There is no guarantee we will be able to overcome those traits, but the door becomes open with awareness. And horary is the perfect tool to surgically open it. If we pay attention, of course, and not dismiss it.
The chart for this person had an “unrelated” planet (Jupiter) on the ascendant. It happened to be L12.
So, leaving house 12 out, the astrologer could say: “you are not feeling well now. It will pass. You have a benefic in your house 1, so your future looks favorable and expansive. Once you feel better you will be in a good place to find a partner that will make you happy.”
My answer to her, however, would be: “unless you do something about your house 12 you may well get a new relationship, but it will probably be with an idiot again. Plus misandry puts you up there with idiots so, are you seriously expecting something better while bringing that attitude to the relationship?” (I am paraphrasing to make a point. I did not say that to the querent. Among other lessons, horary has taught me the art of weaving truth with some kindness to make it more palatable. Or simply shutting my mouth, which is what I did in this case.)
As for testimonies, if L12 is just floating somewhere in the chart outside the drama then we are blessed with a sane querent, and it can be ignored.
For the rest of us mortals, if L12 is in house 1, the same planet rules the ascendant and house 12, or significators are in house 12 or in close aspect with L12 or the 12th cusp, and/or are in various configurations related to house 2, we then have a more complete real-life non-glossed-over story to tell. That is, we are not in Disneyland.
The house 12 story has to be told by someone if the querent is to have a chance at not repeating the mistakes that contribute to the problems he/she has now. It is the astrologer’s prerogative whether he/she wants to say anything or not. Not an arbitrary rule about house 12 being important or not.
There are detours and cul-de-sacs in the process of attaining house 12 awareness, but no shortcuts. The road runs right through it. What changes for different people is how long their journey takes, once it starts. And for many it does not start so, unnecessary suffering accompanies them to the end of their days.
Also, it is worth noting that health problems are hugely impacted by house 12 and are often active in my horary medical charts. About 80% of them. Charts showing bad diet, bad or inexistent exercise, bad lifestyle, bad or excessive medication, and bad knowledge, or plain ignorance, often have house 12 active.
If we answer mostly questions that have no relation to people or health or feel that house 12 does not deserve attention, then I would agree that house 12 is not important in most questions.
Where is the cat?
Who cares about house 12…
Although I must say that cats do overestimate their dexterity and are run over by cars quite often. That is indeed a house 12 matter. Killed by its own mistake. Just like dogs and whales eat poisoned food without knowing. And some people walking near a cliff meet their end while taking a selfie. It is not uncommon for house 6 and 12 to get chummy with one another. Whether it is humans or animals smaller or larger than goats makes no difference.
And yes, jobs, money, travel, vocation, etc… Usually house 12 has no part to play. Usually, not always. Let’s keep the word “always” at a safe distance from these types of considerations.
