Dreams, Progressions, and the Astrological Twelfth House of the Unconscious
by Jude Cowell
Of all the houses in a natal horoscope, the Piscean 12th house is the most mysterious, occult (hidden), and spiritual of them all. Difficult to consciously access as its hidden material may be, planets and signs on the cusp and within the 12th house reveal tendencies that open the Unconscious for better analysis so with Neptune now floating through its own sign of Pisces, Let's consider a few things about the 12th house in particular here on Jude Cowell Astrology as one of the Psychological Water Houses (4th, 8th, 12th). In fact, when I first began full time study of Astrology in 1996 it was 12th house information that resonated with me and revealed secrets--perhaps because I do have a certain planet therein which rules my Sun, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter. That's quite a massive amount of 12th house baggage, don't you agree?
Dreams of Wisps and Symbols Can Reveal Our Deepest Darkest Monsters
Associated with oceanic Neptune, we often 'feel' or intuit hidden 12th house material when we dream of the ocean or other bodies of water for these symbols represent the Unconscious and mask or reveal images that attempt to rise up to conscious awareness (if we remember our dreams). Have you ever had a dream where you come out of the ocean, walk along a beach or other shoreline, or find yourself swimming in a pool? How close you were to your own Unconscious! Writing down in a journal all you remember upon awakening and keeping a record over a period of time is a valuable practice for your dream symbols will surprise you with important information about your motives, wishes, and/or the ways in which you undo yourself. Plus, they may perhaps identify a secret enemy or two lurking in the shadows. And of course, repeating themes and symbols in dreams are of special significance if we listen and closely consider the archetypes involved.
Yes, in dreams someone is trying to tell us something--and it's ourselves!
Another method for knowing ourselves is to study cosmic and real world events, progressions, planetary returns, etc, which impacted us at or around the age of 3. Here's a website that asserts that babies do not dream of themselves until the age of 3: Dream Dictionary where you can look up your dream symbols.
A Revealing Astrological Method -- 1:13:27 in Progressions
One astrological method for sussing out the Unconscious involves time and the three dimensional quality of it as found in astrologer Robert Blaschke's work on Progressions and the 1 : 13 : 27 ratio of Secondary ('1' = physical plane/day for a year), Tertiary ('13' = feeling-desires-intuitional plane/day for a month), and Minor ('27' = mental-thought plane/month for a year). Everyone has unconscious thoughts (Minor-mental plane) that drift up from the depths and are either allowed into awareness or suppressed on the Tertiary-intuitive-emotional plane--for we have positive or negative emotions and feelings about these thoughts and whether we will act on them or not. So thoughts occur 27 times faster than physical action, and feelings-desires occur 13 times faster than the actions we may take based on our feeling about those thoughts.
Now as you know, all Progressions issue from the natal chart when our personal cosmic clocks begin to tick the moment we enter Earth's physical plane. With Secondary Progressions, the first 82 days of life are key to our understanding and can reveal 'time links' between the three qualities while denoting whether an unconscious issue was initiated on the mental plane or the emotional plane. In Tertiary Progressions it's the first three years after birth, and in Minor Progressions it's the first 6 years of life. These time frames involve aspects, retrograde periods, eclipses, and other methods of determining what's going on 'under the hood' of our consciousness.
Yet the information supplied by Secondary-Tertiary-Minor Progressions does not replace that revealed by a study of 12th house planets, signs and their rulers, aspects, and such but enhance our understanding of ourselves (Know Thyself!) Of course, South Node and North Node details are pertinent as well for the South Node identifies where we unconsciously fall back on traits and behaviors that once 'did the trick' or helped to solve (or avoid) problems. Inherited talents and traits are found there as well, yet a caution at the South Node is relying upon what worked in the past and expecting a better outcome in the present. As you know, this is the very definition of neurosis! And much can be learned about childhood events and complexes by studying the natal 12th house and planets associated with it. My suspicion is that many clues concerning family Genealogy lurk in the 12th house as well and network through the entire chart via sign and house ruler ship, aspects to planets in other houses, etc. In fact, family myths and inheritance is what this particular Saturnian astrologer sees there--no fantastical 'past lives' please!
Add the information found in the Psychological 4th and 8th houses--and in the rest of the chart--and the brilliance of Astrology as a system for self-knowledge becomes readily apparent along with the factor that no other system of analysis can supply--the element of Time which provides us with valuable information such as how long periods of difficulty, hardship, or benefits will last and how best to navigate or utilize their influences upon our waking lives.
Related: Those Unruly Tricksters of the 12th House.
Image: not really a monster--it's a drawing of 'H's Cat' by Holden age 5
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