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Author Topic:   libra78 - Here's Saturn in Virgo in the 12th House
Azalaksh
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Posts: 982
From: New Brighton, MN, USA
Registered: Apr 2009

posted July 30, 2005 05:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Azalaksh     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
posted July 18, 2005 06:30 PM
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I have Saturn in Virgo/12th, any info on this combination please? Thanks!

Be careful what you ask for.....!!!

The way this book is written, I will give you four excerpts -- Saturn in the Earthy Signs (and Houses), Saturn in the Watery (Signs and) Houses, Saturn in Virgo (and the 6th house) and Saturn in (Pisces and) the 12th house. It's a lot of reading! And the fullest understanding will come from a synthesis of the four sections. Take what you need (what applies, or resonates) and leave the rest.....

So, from Liz Greene's "Saturn - A New Look At An Old Devil"

quote:
Saturn in the earthy signs and houses

The element of earth is related to the plane of matter in which we all consciously function and pertains to those areas of life where one's efforts, and mistakes, yield tangible results and require tangible tools. Earth is considered a simple element, and it is generally associated with money, resources, security, work, service, and achievement in one's profession. Earth may also be related to the psychological function of sensation; which means that through this function an individual's perception of reality is based on that which he experiences through his five senses and through the use of his concrete or rational mind. It may be assumed from this that there is little mystery about the kind of frustration which ensues from Saturn's placement in earth, and it is here also that the typically Capricornian qualities of perseverance, thrift, caution, and self-discipline are thought to provide the most obvious solution to Saturnian problems.
Earth is not, however, as simple as it is generally considered to be in our basic textbooks. This element has been the unfortunate victim of a body of popular opinion which suggests that matter, or the materialistic view of life, is in contradiction to, or exclusive of, spirit or the spiritualistic view of life. Those unfortunate souls who are predominantly earthy in chart makeup through Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or a stellium of earthy planets are considered in some vague and obscure fashion to be not quite as "evolved" as those coming under the other, more colourful, elements. Because the earthy temperament is concerned with the laws and workings of the physical plane and attempts to direct its creative energy and effort toward the understanding and control of that plane, this temperament is considered materialistic and therefore lacking in vision.
We may often obtain a good view of inner psychic reality from a study of man's myths and of the symbols he chooses to describe his various concepts of his gods. Through these symbols we express what we inwardly value as truth whether or not this is part of a prevailing popular conception of truth. We have chosen to place the birthdate of Jesus under Capricorn, the densest of the earth signs and the most ambitious in the worldly sense, although there is no historical evidence that this birthdate is appropriate. We have also chosen to place the birthdate of Mary at precisely fifteen degrees of Virgo, that most mundane and critical of signs. We also celebrate the birthdate of the Buddha under Taurus, that slowest and most inflexible of signs. The entire esoteric concept of initiation is connected with Capricorn specifically and the earth signs in general because the initiate has not earned his initiation until he is able to apply the higher consciousness he has discovered to the body and the environment in which he functions as a personality. Only when the physical world is made a fitting garment or symbol of the inner spirit is his task complete. The mysteries of the duality of spirit and matter have occupied the thoughts of occultists and mystics throughout the ages, and alchemy and astrology in the form we know them were both outgrowths of this attempt to understand spirit in terms of matter through the law of correspondences. The various myths and motifs which are connected with the symbol of Saturn, from Pan through Satan and Lucifer to the prima materia or "Mercurius Senex" of the alchemists, from the serpent in the Garden to the Hermit of the Tarot deck, should be sufficient to indicate that there is more to earth than meets the eye. And finally we must consider that we exist on the earth itself,. and that we are now beyond doubt demonstrated to be intricately connected through the "etheric" or energy field around us to every other kingdom of nature. There is much that we do not understand about the nature of matter. It may be that when we are told in esoteric literature that earth is the final test of initiation for man, there is also an equally valid rational or scientific law which describes the same truth—but we do not possess it yet.
Saturn in the earthy signs and houses pertains, on the surface, to those problems and limitations which affect an individual through his bodily comfort, his ability to support and sustain himself, his capacity to find meaningful work which allows him a share in the ordering of his environment, and his ability to achieve responsibility or authority in those areas where he has shown competence and skill. This is the simplest interpretation of Saturn in earth, and it will generally be found that this interpretation is valid. It is unfortunate that we are given in the Old Testament the inference that man was driven to labour as a result of original sin for we no longer believe that work can be a creative act. Even God, according to the same document, worked for six days to create the world. There is a basic need in each man to feel himself useful, and this is connected with what is called "group consciousness"—the sensing of a unity which implies individual responsibility and the need for a contribution, according to ability, to the whole. This group consciousness has nothing to do with enforced contribution or with mass consciousness where the individual has no meaning in himself. There is also a basic need in man to know that he has earned through his labours something permanent which is his unique accomplishment or possession. By it he establishes a sense of his worth to the group. This "something permanent" may be actual material reward. It may also be more abstruse: standards, values, talent, honour, service. Commerce and trade are as valid a form of communication between people as the written and spoken word, and money, as well as being a symbol of emotional independence, may also be a symbol of individual worth and of skills and services which are offered to others. Consequently, when we look to mythology, we find that Mercury, among his many rulerships, was the god of merchants as well as being the divine messenger, and presided in his inimitably suave fashion over the business deal.
It is possible that Saturn in one of the earthy signs or houses offers an opportunity to learn about the deeper meaning of this element since the solution to the frustrations which he symbolises when placed in earth rarely comes about through the application of earthy tools. It would appear that the other three elements must be understood and integrated to form a tool effective enough to influence the apparent dead weight of earth and alleviate the pain of thwarted instinct.

Saturn In the watery signs and houses
A traditional reading of Saturn in the signs and houses may be found in a number of textbooks. Some are more psychological in their orientation, but the majority are concerned with his limiting and delaying influence upon the material plane or the world of events. This is certainly a valid method of interpretation as he unquestionably coincides with hindrances and the frustration of the even flow of material and emotional comfort in life. An analysis of Saturn's effects by aspect is also available from many sources, and this area also has been well documented through observation, experience, and tradition. The form side of Saturn's expression has in fact been most adequately covered and will continue to be so as further research is done in the areas of midpoints, harmonics, and medical astrology; however, it is the inner meaning which here concerns us.
No interpretation of Saturn by sign, house, or aspect can be complete, of course, since it is necessary to synthesise these elements and align them with the combination of Sun, Moon, and Ascendant first of all, corresponding with the individual's conscious expression, his unconscious or instinctual reactions, and his behavioural patterns. These isolated factors in combination with Saturn become the spinal column of the natal chart from the point of view of character. They will in a very concise manner shed light on what the individual wants (the Sun), what he needs (the Moon), the style in which he goes about getting these things (the Ascendant), and the thing within the man which causes him either to fail or to be dissatisfied once he has achieved his desire (Saturn). This is, of course, grossly simplified, and entire volumes could be filled on all the known meanings of the Moon alone; however, from this relationship of four factors—and every trinity must in the end be integrated by a fourth factor, a psychological as well as an esoteric law—we may gain insight into the meat of the individual struggle toward greater consciousness indicated on every birth chart. There is no chart which does not contain Saturn, however dignified and admirably aspected he may be, and there is no life without struggle.
We are taught in esoteric doctrine that the physical plane is the plane of effects, the last and densest of a progressively more subtle series of states of consciousness. Many people conceive of these planes as having a location spatially, but they have never been described in this way: the planes refer to states of being, or of awareness, rather than of place, and all coexist simultaneously at the same time and all the time, in all planes, and at the same point. This is a difficult concept for the rational and one-pointed intellect to grasp as it contains a paradox and must be perceived through the intuition which is capable of reconciling the opposing ideas inherent in a paradox and seeing them as one unit. This concept of the planes does not contradict the findings of psychology although the terminology used by both ways of thought is different. The man who is following the devotional path will find the language of the esoteric teachings comfortable with its references to soul, to spirit, to illumination. The man who is following the path of mental development may find it more acceptable to think in terms of conscious and unconscious, of repressions and peak experiences, and of the total integrated self rather than the Monad. It does not matter particularly which set of terms is used to understand the development of man. The worlds of the body, the feeling nature, the mind, and the intuition are essentially the same as the physical, astral, mental, and spiritual planes.
No event or mundane circumstance can occur without having first been set in motion by an idea, charged with emotion, and then manifested as an action. Beyond these three stages of an experience lies the meaning of the experience in relation to the whole, which it is the function of the intuition to perceive. The world of feeling lies directly behind the world of events, and it is this world with which the watery signs and houses are concerned. The astral plane symbolises the "wish life" or feeling nature of humanity, and the astral body—or feeling nature—of an individual man is often the world of causes for everything which happens to him in external life. He is, however, largely unaware of the potency of this feeling nature, particularly at the present juncture where emphasis is placed on external behaviour rather than on the quality of desire. As long as something is not "done", the individual will convince himself that hehas no desire to do it; consequently, the power of the feelings increases because they are forced underground, into the realm of the unconscious. From this subterranean position the feelings will force a man to action or attract certain kinds of illnesses or behavioural patterns which he does not understand, and which may hurt him, and which appear to be coming from somewhere else. Psychic energy, like physical energy, cannot be destroyed; in fact they are the same, both kinds of energy, and will merely follow a different channel of expression if the usual one is blocked. Blockage on the level of the feeling nature is symbolised by Saturn in a watery sign or house, and true to form the psychic energy which would ordinarily seek release through expression of feeling must take another channel of expression—frequently through the physical body or through certain kinds of events.
The concept of different planes or states of consciousness
which are all part of one life, but which may not be clear or known to
the conscious mind, is most helpful in understanding the kind of
responsibility which Saturn requires. As the majority of people are
polarised in their feeling nature and are motivated by desire, it is
particularly important to understand this principle if any sense is to
be made of a watery Saturn. It is useless, of course, to tell the average
man, come for an astrological consultation, that his pain is, finally
and ultimately, part of the growth and evolution of a larger life of
which he is a part; it does not help him to overcome his personal
problem in terms that he can understand. Nor is it likely that he will
be interested in the fact that the soul of the earth itself is preparing for
initiation into a higher sphere of consciousness and that his personal
struggle is intimately connected with this larger struggle. He will
simply want to know why his wife left him, or why he has arthritis, or
why his business has collapsed. If he can understand, however, that
there is more to him than the small and feeble spark of his conscious
awareness and that in coming to terms with that in him which seeks
expression but which he has blocked through fear, he may be able to
accept his experiences as a positive and necessary phase of growth
and prevent their future repetition, he can acquire a sense of meaning
and purpose in his life. He may even find that his wife comes back.
There is an aspect to Saturn which is given insufficient
attention yet which holds much of the key to his meaning. This is his
penchant for disguise, beautifully symbolised by the Egyptian myth
of Osiris who, in flight from the wrath of Set, first changed himselfinto a sea-serpent and then into a crocodile—the original bestial symbol of the sign—to avoid detection. We may see the remnants of this disguise in the mountain goat who has a sea creature's hind quarters. A goat he may be, and his natural habitat may be the barren slopes and crags of the highest mountains, but when necessary, he can swim in the water of the emotional world and can effectively disguise himself in the face of necessity as some other sort of creature. There are many other references to this deliberate duality which is unlike the natural instinctive duality or flexibility of the mutable signs. One is the Roman god Janus, god of gateways, for whom the predominantly Capricornian month of January is named and who was possessed of the remarkable attribute of two heads—so that he could look backwards and forwards, ostensibly, guarding where one has been as well as where one is going, but also because he was, figuratively as well as literally, two-faced.
There is also no sign other than Capricorn which is represented by two distinct glyphs, drawn in totally different ways. This may seem like a small point, but those acquainted with either the esoteric realm or the realm of psychology in its deeper aspects will recognise the fact that there are no coincidences.
We are familiar enough with that innate trait of the strongly Capricornian individual to justify the means by the end and to accept willingly the outward trappings of submission for a period of time if these will eventually help him to earn the fruits of his ambitious. Yet Capricorn is not ordinarily considered a deceptive sign, in the sense that the Piscean in his vague elusiveness is deceptive, or the Geminian in his tendency to work his way into an intellectual corner and trick his way out again, or even the Scorpian who cloaks his essential emotional vulnerability and sensitivity with a barrage of false clues. It would pay to look twice at our hard-working, self-disciplined mountain goat for no one overcompensates as readily as he. We have many signs and planets which change colour like chameleons: all of the mutables, also Cancer, the Moon, Neptune, Mercury. But all these are instinctually changeable and fluctuate because it is their nature to do so whether the circumstances require it or not. Only Saturn calculates his defense, in the same manner as a competent solicitor, both to protect himself from the attack of the environment and to protect himself from the conscious discovery of the individual himself. Yet it is the individual who initiates the protection in both cases.
It is the free will of the individual, contingent upon the degree of his self-knowledge, that decides whether Saturn will be lead or gold or any of the intermediate states. His position at birth may be read in either of two ways, or both simultaneously, and his contact with other planets may bring out two apparently contradictory modes of expression at the same time. Freud termed this state ambivalent emotion; he was the first to postulate the idea that we may both love and hate someone at the same time and one does not negate the other. Things are never as they appear with Saturn; and whenever there is light, there is shadow. The understanding of his innate duality, and the necessity and value of this duality, alleviates much of the pain of the struggle.
Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces and their corresponding houses—the fourth, eighth, and twelfth—are directly concerned with emotion and with motivations which lie below the surface of consciousness. Saturn in any of these signs or houses is extremely elusive because the average individual is rarely aware of the unconscious emotional frustration which lies behind his actions; he only knows that he is isolated and emotionally vulnerable, if he knows even that much. Saturn in these signs and houses is most typical of the kind of pain on the feeling level which finds its way to the therapist's couch, for often an objective viewpoint is needed to help guide the man through the mazes of his own feeling nature.

Saturn in Virgo and the sixth house

Work, health, servants, and employer-employee relationships are the traditional meanings assigned to the sixth house. From it one is said to gain insight into the individual's work habits, the kind of situations he is likely to attract in his work life, his attitudes toward routine and toward service, and his attitude toward his body as a vehicle of service. The state of one's health is denoted by this house, and any tendencies toward organic or functional illness are generally reflected by it. This is generally considered to be a "weak" house, as is the twelfth, because it is cadent and planets which are placed in it do not appear to express through the mode of events or external activity. The sixth house is in fact often overlooked or considered unimportant. It is possible that we possess very little real understanding of its meaning because we do not understand the nature of the physical body and its link with the mind and the feelings of the individual.
This house seems to be of great importance on an inner level, as is the twelfth house, for it seems to refer to a process of inner synthesis, purification, ordering, or gestation which precedes the external and objective expression of the person into the world of others. We are used to linking the first six signs and houses of the zodiac with one's personal development and the last six signs and houses with one's participation in group life. As a cadent house the sixth is the inner process of attunement or ordering which synthesises the qualities developed through previous effort and forges of them one integrated personality which can then be the vehicle of expression for the self. Work, when it is related to this house, then becomes not only a means of livelihood, or a means of justifying one's existence, but it also becomes a ritual or preparation or purification and assumes importance as a symbol just as money is a symbol when considered against the deeper meaning of the second house. The body itself is a symbol if this point of view is logically extended, and the health of the body is related to the success or failure of the integration process which is necessary for planets placed in this house.
This may seem an abstruse definition for plain, hard-working Virgo and her plain, hard-working house. But if we look once more to mythology, we will find that the virgin goddesses of the ancients were virgin not in the sense of sexual innocence or naivete for these goddesses were also prostitutes and ruled over the mysteries of sexual union and of birth. Virginal meant whole, single, possessed by no man, and the servant or slave of no husband or lover. The virgin mother goddess was a female archetype who mated and gave birth but who would never be a wife or helpmeet for she was wholly herself, independent, self-contained, integrated, and dependent on no one for her meaning or expression. It was only later that these goddesses were given to solar deities and were deprived of their autonomy and their sexuality in one clean swoop of patriarchal social development. There may be in this symbolism another key to the meaning of Virgo and the sixth house, for they appear to be connected with wholeness, the synthesis or integration of the various warring components of the psyche. On a larger level the synthesis or integration of the individual with his physical environment is also suggested, prior to his being able to join with others in a cooperative relationship.
The mysteries of the power of the mind over the body are being tentatively explored in psychology and psychosomatic medicine, and the less orthodox schools of healing, such as hypnotherapy, are perhaps even more aware of the subtle but unquestionable link between one's state of mind—and this includes the feeling nature—and one's health. But we still understand very little of these matters, and as much as medical science has been able to accomplish since ancient times, the recent exploration of the energy field or "etheric double" which permeates and co-exists with the physical body suggests that we have only just begun to comprehend the full meaning of the physical vehicle. The ancient science of acupuncture and the esoteric doctrine of the chakras or energy centres are not so absurd or unprovable as they were once thought to be. What we have always believed to be physical illness now appears to be originated from an entirely different level. We have only recently become aware of the concept of the unconscious mind, and prior to the birth of psychology in this century—accelerated by the discovery of Pluto—it was left to the medieval alchemists to make some sense out of man's fantasies and dreams, and this they were never able to achieve fully because they lacked the methods of scientific research. Perhaps we must wait for the discovery of another planet before the sixth house and sign will yield their secrets to us.
Saturn in the sixth house seems to provide an opportunity—often through frustration, disappointment, and ill health—for a journey into the mysteries of the interconnexion between mind and body and the possibility of a conscious and deliberate synthesis of these two, the reward of which is good health and a new awareness of the meaning of the body and of the material environment. Few people, however, are aware of this opportunity because we are not made aware that there might be a deeper meaning to work and to health. More commonly Saturn placed in the sixth refers to a state of disease, of discomfort, or of frustration and limitation in one's work situation. The fundamental psychological need for rhythm and ritual, the careful ordering of external life as a symbol of the careful ordering of the inner life which should, and rarely does, parallel it, is often denied in childhood. This need is as valid and as real as the need for security or for achievement.
If Saturn's darker side is considered first, the lack of this ordered rhythm of both inner and outer life will often be felt later as an area of inadequacy and fear. A heavily structured discipline or routine in childhood is common with this placement, but the routine is often lacking in fundamental meaning because there is no effort at inner alignment. Chaos threatens perpetually to intrude on the inner level for there is little integration there, and an almost compulsive ordering of the outer environment frequently ensues. Saturn may exaggerate the natural love of work, routine, and order until the love becomes a fear of anything outside the known and well-trod path. There is often a deep inner anxiety over physical or mental disintegration, and this placement has been linked with mental as well as physical disorders. It is the outer form of order which Saturn clings to rather than the inner blending of the mind, the feelings, and the intuition through the medium of the body; consequently, he experiences frustration for once again he has attempted to make tangible something which is essentially an inner process.
The individual with Saturn in Virgo or in the sixth house may externalise his situation so that the adjustment and the frustration pertain to his work life for in the function of usefulness to the larger group, he expresses the function of his body and its intricate structure to his total psyche. Just as an organ in his physical body may be out of harmony, he likewise may, as an organ of his environment, be out of harmony with the larger structure. It is his task to integrate himself to his world and to his body for he stands at the midpoint of these two. His body must serve his inner purpose as he must serve the inner purpose of the group.
When the man is relatively unconscious, Saturn may be symbolic of discontent and resentment because he may be aware only of the fact that he is in a rut and that he is imprisoned by circumstances. He may feel that he is capable of better things and will chafe against the boredom of his endless routine. Yet the meaning of the routine escapes him because he does not truly understand the meaning of service. The inner serenity which can be achieved through an alignment with the group life by service is rarely achieved in this case. Only the monotony of the outer pattern, repeated over and over again, is apparent. Saturn in the sixth house may suggest that the individual will be drawn toward service, but his conception of service is generally a situation where one does menial tasks for others. It is said in esoteric teaching that service, rather than being "good works", is an innate quality of the inner man; it is a state of consciousness rather than a planned act. Service of this kind is the result of inner integration for once the body and feelings and mind of a man are in balance, he can then begin to become aware, intuitively, of the purpose and nature of his inner psyche. He is no longer occupied in reconciling the battling components of his nature, but through an inner attunement—achieved through a ritual ordering of his personality—he can listen to his real direction. This is the goal of meditation, and of yoga, and of certain kinds of ritual magic, all of which are given to the sixth house—although the meaning is rarely made clear. Service which is the result of inner balance is the potential result of Saturn in the sixth house when he is expressing in a conscious way, and this placement is common among physicians, surgeons, and those who tend to the mental and emotional ills of others because it is a fulfilment of the inner need of the group.
Service is often seen by the average individual with Saturn in the sixth house as an easy road because it does not require courage, initiative, or the braving of the unknown—qualities which Saturn placed here often has difficulty expressing. Yet he may resent being a servant because of the sameness of his situation and the anonymity of his role. One of the most common reflections of this placement is the individual who remains in a job which he dislikes intensely yet cannot leave. We may hear him complain about it bitterly and about those for whom he works; he may be underpayed and overworked, or at least believe that he is; yet he will generally find excuses for avoiding any confrontation or effort at improvement because if his circumstances are irritating and frustrating, at least they are safe and familiar. If he does attempt to help himself, he is frequently refused because he projects an attitude of self-doubt or because he lacks the skill or qualifications to earn him a better situation. He often misses the need for the development of a skill because this requires an inner purpose for the outer training, and he is uncomfortable when forced to consider inner purposes. He may very neatly lock himself into his own prison without realising that he still, and always, possesses the key.
There is real administrative or organising ability with Saturn in the sixth house and often real healing ability and a fine and subtle insight into the intricacies of the mind, but these must be brought into the light and polished into usefulness. They are rarely available without effort. The man generally finds that a confrontation with the shadowy side of his nature, which seeks to avoid the problem of responsibility to the life of the group, is necessary. Humility of a genuine kind, which is one of the more endearing Virgoan qualities, is rarely present by natural inclination when Saturn is in the sixth house; subservience is often expressed instead, and they are not the same thing. The unconscious man with Saturn in the sixth house is like a gardener who loves only the flower, the final result of the process of growth, without understanding that the flower has meaning only against the context of the slow and orderly sequence of growth of the entire plant. The plant does not grow to produce the flower for him; it is only accidental that he is even there to appreciate it for the plant responds to its own inner purpose. Therefore, when the flower dies, his joy is gone.
Saturn in the sixth house is commonly associated with ill health as well as with a fascination for the laws of health. There is no reasonable answer to the problem of inherited or congenital disease for if we seek a cause-and-effect principle, or even a purpose, we are confronted with the philosophical problem of the nature of the soul. There are often simpler principles at work in the case of psychosomatic illness, however, and this is common with a sixth house Saturn. The least glamourous cause of this kind of pattern is a desire for attention, and this is common enough; the individual who completely dominates his household and his family through the demands of his illness is very common. Also common is the desire to avoid that which is unpleasant, either work or the deeper need for ordering which the psyche calls for and which seems an impossible task. The hypochondriac with a sixth house Saturn is not an infrequent occurrence. This is Saturn's method of avoiding the problem of integration for illness is always a reflection of imbalance—even if we assign it a purely physical origin.
We may also see the opposite extreme of Saturn in the individual who is obsessed with being "healthy". This is a much clearer example of the need for ordering which is compressed into a tangible method of expression. But whatever the external manifestation, Saturn in the sixth house reflects an imperative need for inner integration which, if avoided, may produce illness and, if forced into a material channel, may produce inner frustration, moodiness, irritability, and depression. If an individual works consciously toward a practical understanding of his psyche, and of its relationship with his body, and of the relationship of this working unit to the environment of which he is a part, then Saturn in the sixth house can make of the mind and the body not two interrelated things but one thing, a finely balanced vehicle which is then available for the use of the inner man who is no longer confined by his material expression. Toward this end alchemy was directed, and today the process of individuation in analytical psychology is also directed toward this synthesis. It is reflected in the ancient alchemical injunction: "Thou wilt never make from others the One which thou seekest, except there first be made one thing of thyself."

Saturn in Pisces and the twelfth house
The twelfth house, as the last in the circle and lying hidden behind the Ascendant or outward behaviour, symbolises both endings and beginnings. It is the end because it represents the sacrifice which must ultimately be made of the conscious personality as a separation unit. From a more abtruse point of view it represents the beginning because it refers to those causes from the past which, operating from birth and below the level of consciousness, draw to us those situations which require that we lose ourselves and die to be reborn into group consciousness. From water all life comes, says the Koran, and this house, reflecting Pisces and Neptune, the ancient god of the waters, suggests that plane where life, undifferentiated and without individuality, first sprang and where, wise with the lessons of individual consciousness, it must eventually return. Even shorn of its more esoteric associations, the twelfth house refers to isolation and submission, and to the dissolution of the personality.
This is often called the house of karma, based on the idea that planets found here are in some way denied normal expression and are often operating as unconscious rather than conscious drives. It is also called the house of self-undoing because isolation, incarceration, helplessness, and bondage are often the lot of the person with a heavily active twelfth house—literal or symbolic—and it is his own actions which draw these conditions to him. Whether a long past is considered or not, the inference is certainly present that the ego, built through the efforts of the previous eleven houses and signs, must eventually be laid on the altar of sacrifice so that the man may become a functioning part of a larger whole and give of his wisdom and energy for the good of the group. For the man who refuses to comprehend this, it is the house of hospitals and prisons, for only through the loss of individual power can a man realise that he himself is nothing without a link to the rest of life.
This is always a difficult house, unless the path of service is pursued. Somehow the release of energy in this way alleviates much of the frustration and loneliness which accompanies twelfth house planets and makes the required sacrifices bearable. Great pain often occurs through the twelfth house for the loss of the will after so much careful building is a great blow to the man who has come to identify himself with his personal desires. Yet loss of will is the price which all planets pay when found in this house although the finding of real inner serenity is often gained in exchange.
As the last sign of the watery trigon, Pisces symbolises the completion and fulfillment of all emotional strivings--unity not with another person but with life itself. This is the mystical marriage, and it is most difficult for the average man, centered in his personality, to deal with. There is no battle required; only acquiescence and devotion. It is almost impossible to make any sense of the twelfth house from a purely mundane point of view, for even more than the eighth, this is a non-material house and pertains to matters which bring a man into closer touch with subjective reality. Any planet in the twelfth is subject to the dissolving and transmuting influence which blocks the ordinary personal expression of the planet and forces its energies inward and upward. That which occurs here occurs in secret like the gestation of a child. Only when the term is complete can this facet of the individual unfold like a newborn baby into external expression; and by then it is changed.
Saturn in the twelfth house, and to a lesser extent in Pisces, is difficult from the point of view of the personality because the Saturnian energies, geared initially toward self-protection and defense against the environment, are rendered ineffectual. This may in extreme situations be through hospitalisation or imprisonment for a period of time, and the man may learn through his own helplessness how ultimately impotent the personal will is against the forces of his own past which he himself has set in motion. The feeling that one is helpless and must submit to something larger and greater is frequent with this placement of Saturn although it may occur on a very subjective level. This is a cadent house and refers to states of mind, and Saturn here often generates a vague fear that someone or something, a misty or generalised fate or destiny, is going to destroy him or control him. He may isolate himself and attempt to shield himself from contact with others at the same time that he is weighed down by an oppressive loneliness and sense of powerlessness.
The sacrifice of one's material ambitions is often concurrent with a twelfth house Saturn, and this is also one of the commonest significators of the child who dedicates his life to the care of an ailing or helpless parent at the cost of his own development. This is often done not because it must be—there are always alternatives—but because there is an intense feeling of guilt, obligation, and an instinctual understanding that he must make some sacrifice or pay some debt. It is also often the reflection of a fear of confronting external life and a sense of impotence in being able to handle practical affairs.
Guilt looms large with this placement of Saturn although it is generalised rather than specific guilt. It may cause a man to seek penance through solitude, or there may be religious penance in the literal sense resulting in the monk or nun. It may be apparently involuntary penance as is the case with incarceration; but the man himself chooses this course although he may not consciously believe he will have to pay. It may result in sickness or withdrawal from conscious awareness through drugs, alcohol, or insanity. Or it may be much more subtle and less drastic, as in the case of the man who is always alone and always feels separation from the rest of humanity and the rest of life, no matter how many people he surrounds himself with.
Typical Saturnian ambivalence occurs with a twelfth house Saturn too, and there is both a compulsive fascination with and a great fear of losing one's identity and individuality. But whatever the specific mundane situation which is reflected, the individual is generally called upon at some point in his life to endure helplessness and aloneness and the sacrifice of his control. When this occurs on an inner level, the individual is frequently unable to communicate his feelings to others which only increases his sense of isolation. He does not understand what it is that he is trying to protect himself against, any more than he understands the abyss which draws him with such fascination. He only knows that he feels powerless and may overcompensate for this feeling by attempting to prove that he is totally master of his life. This may land him in hospital or in jail without his understanding the inner motives which have brought him there.
Saturn is representative in his disguised and baser form as the most personal kind of power, that which a person seizes for self-protection through manipulation of his environment. It is man's defense mechanism which is necessary for a long time while the unfolding consciousness needs defending; however, when Saturn is found in Pisces or in the twelfth house, the time has come for the scaffolding to be taken down for the inner structure is nearly complete, and stripping this away is initially like stripping off one's outer skin and exposing the raw and tender area beneath.
As opposite to the sixth house, the twelfth disorganises that which the sixth has put in order and offers chaos instead. This is not the chaos of sickness and madness, however; it only seems so to those who have built their conception of reality on a mundane base.
Understanding the meaning of this position takes us beyond the field of orthodox psychology which has certainly mastered the fourth house and some of the eighth but is lost when confronting the mysteries of the twelfth. Recognition of the urge for evolution, for meaning, for the spiritual side of life as a valid psychological drive in man is now becoming widespread however; and when it is understood that this is perhaps the most basic and most important instinct in man—although an instinct of the psyche rather than of the body—then it will not be such a painful experience for a man to sacrifice his personality to permit his total self expression. The real potential of Saturn in the twelfth house is unfortunately only available now to those of a mystical bent who are inclined toward the path of inner contemplation. To them it is the final sacrifice of the sense of separateness and is willingly undergone because it is the last door between man and his freedom. It depends in the end on one's perspective. Trying to hunt Saturn down through the mazes of the unconscious is difficult enough in the eighth house where there are still some personality links; but the twelfth is wholly of the soul, and analysis does not help understanding unless it is backed by a knowledge of man's innately spiritual nature. The gold available from a twelfth house Saturn is the power to serve, not to "do good"—which is not service at all—but to experience the sense of unity which the mystic is forever seeking and the sense of responsibility and detached love which accompanies this unity. This will, of course, make no sense to the earthy man and may offend more pragmatic astrologers; but the fact remains that the twelfth house has not yet been satisfactorily explained any more than has the nature of man. It may be that as scientific evidence piles up, slowly but surely, in demonstration of the occult teachings of the past, the interrelation-ships of all living things and their essential underlying oneness will be a fact on the objective plane as well as a subjective experience on the part of the mystic.
Saturn in the watery signs and houses is worthy of first place because it is in this area that he displays his greatest ambiguity and also his greatest emotional suffering. As man is only now beginning to learn how to think objectively as a group, and as the majority of people are still polarised in their feeling natures, Saturn in water is responsible for a great deal of the loneliness and isolation so apparent at the present time. It is of some help for the individual who has Saturn in a watery house or sign to recognise that his potential in terms of inner peace, understanding, and wisdom is as great as his potential for despair if he will only turn inward to the realm of the feelings and of the unconscious.


Would like to hear your impressions once you've waded thru this a few times.....

'Zala

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libra78
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posted July 31, 2005 03:29 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you kindly for the information and for remembering me!

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libra78
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posted July 31, 2005 03:30 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
and I will post my impressions when I read thru it all thanks again.

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taurean_scorpion
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posted July 31, 2005 02:23 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Zala..that's great.

two of my family members have Saturn in Pisces and Saturn in the 12th. and i have it in the 6th.

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tankim
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posted October 03, 2007 12:00 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi, In desparation I googled saturn+virgo+12th house and one of the replies was this site. Thank Goodness! At first I was resistant in reading it thinking that it did not apply to me, but, Now I GET IT! My natal chart is sun-Capricorn, Moon-taurus, Asc-Virgo, Saturn-Pisces in 7th house. A lot of what I read in that article makes sense to me. I have been going through a major clinical depression through this present transit and had almost given up hope, and almost surrendered to the depression, not even getting out of bed of a morning. Its like nothing I have ever experienced in my adult life before.I spent all of my adult life regaining the personal power which was taken from me at childhood, only to discover now that I must give the 'ego' side of this power up to transform it into a 'service' or 'community' mindset. It really is a BIG ASK, especially given my natal chart. Knowing this helps now I have my finger on it, but the 'HOW' still eludes me. Maybe I need continue to do what I am doing, and absorb that as a part of my humilty and not expect recogition or reward but truly adopt the 'giving' of service.
After reading this I feel now that it's when you reach the peak of something (good or bad)you are compelled to keep moving in one way or another as you cannot teeter totter on the pinnacle forever. Like I said I don't quite know how this is to take form in my worldly mundane life, but I do believe in the saying "As Above So Below". So I think that just by knowing this and absorbing it into my inner self is a huge step forward and now I may have a better chance of receiving the guidance I need to apply to the world. Thanks again for keeping this in the archives. At first really only wanted to contact libra78 to ask her how she survived this transit, but am glad now that I read the article, as I think I am on the path to figuring it out. I hope you get this and can reply. I would value some feedback on my thoughts and insights. Thanks again.
Tanya

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aquaspryt69
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posted October 05, 2007 08:02 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Zala, you weren't kidding when you said it's a lot of reading!

Retrograde Saturn in Taurus. Late in the 6th, often interpreted in the 7th. I printed it up so I can study it further later.

Thank you!!

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