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There are specific health conditions that can be determined by what is known as medical astrology. The 12th house has a very interesting place in medical astrology as it rules over mental illness. The 12th house is governed by the sign of Pisces and its ruler Neptune. While Pisces energy is deeply connected with spirit, at its worst, Neptunian energy can be very nebulous and hard to understand. Likewise, in relation to medical astrology, Neptunian energy is also indicative of a lack of boundaries which can result in the experience of mental illness in the form of hallucinations, illusions, and delusions. Read on to learn more about the position of the 12th house and its relation to mental illness in astrology.
Pisces/Neptune/12th House & Mental Illness
Why is there a connection between Pisces, its ruler Neptune, and the 12th house? Well, Neptune energy is very nebulous and undefined. This particular energy also rules that which cannot be seen. There are some individuals that experience mental illness who have a variety of sensory experiences which can include hearing voices and seeing people, places, and things that others cannot. While the ability to perceive that which is not seen by most is perceived differently under certain circumstances, in the mental health field, individuals that have such experiences are often perceived to have a perception that varies from what is considered the norm. It is when these extrasensory experiences begin to disrupt the lives of those who have them that they are considered to have a mental illness.
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In some respects, there is a dispute between having spiritual experiences and what is termed as mental illness. Is there a difference? There are many people who are able to see and hear beyond what is perceived by most people. Does this mean that they have a mental illness? Not necessarily. The 12th house, Neptune, and the sign of Pisces represent a lack of boundaries that allow it to connect to the spirit realm in ways in which other signs are not able to. In many ways, there is a lessening of the veil between the physical and the spiritual realm. Thus, those with a heightened 12th house, Neptune, and Pisces energy in the natal chart are more likely to experience otherworldly happenings that are beyond the understanding of logic.
The whole aspect of mental illness as it relates to the 12th house focuses on the hallucination aspect of the Neptunian experience. Sometimes these hallucinations happen because individuals consume consciousness-altering substances which create drug-induced “trips.” Then there are other individuals who may develop over time an alteration in their perception that includes hallucinations or beliefs that are delusional which leads to the applied label of “mentally ill.”
12th House & Illusions
One of the biggest parts of the 12th house experience is illusions. A perfect example of this is the House of Mirrors where upon entering there are many different images of oneself. However, you never know which one is actually you. This distorted sense of perception is what constitutes the link between the 12th house and mental illness. It’s that vital loss of concrete reality where a person may not be able to determine if what they are experiencing is actually real. Since Illusions aren’t real, when individuals experience these hearings or sightings consistently, they may be labeled as mentally ill.
One of the major issues with Illusions and delusions is that if the individual it’s not aware that it is not real, acting on what is not real could lead to detrimental occurrences. Thus, a person’s inability to be grounded within the reality of this physical experience poses a threat to not only themselves but to others. On a lesser scale, the 12th house and illusion are similar to choosing to willfully not see a situation for what it is. For example, an individual chooses to ignore the fact that their partner is cheating even though they find lipstick on their partner’s clothing. The willful self-denial or self-delusion is part of the negative expression of the 12th house experience.
The 12th & Being “Set Away”
Traditionally, the 12th house has always had a very heavy, negative association that almost made it seem as if the ending of the zodiac wheel was a place of doom and gloom. One of the features of the 12th house experience, as it relates to mental illness, is being set away from society. Thus, if the 11th house and its associated ruler Uranus and sign Aquarius are society, then Pisces, Neptune, and the 12th house represent moving beyond society. This is one way in which the isolation aspect of the 12th house occurs. Some examples of being isolated or “set away” include being in a hospital, being incarcerated, and as it relates to mental illness, being in an asylum. Traditionally, asylums were where the mentally ill were kept in order to keep them from being a threat to the public. Historically, mental illness was a vice that required individuals to be pulled away from everyone else to receive proper treatment.
A More Compassionate Understanding of Mental Illness
In alignment with the more compassionate, healing energy of the 12th house, Neptune, and Pisces energy, the perception of mental illness is changing greatly in current times. Now more than ever, people are speaking up about their various forms of mental illness and the various ways that they are coping instead of being shamed, set away, or hidden. It is also important to note that with the 12th house, Pisces, and Neptunian experience nothing is ever really hidden because you cannot hide from the Universe. Everything is One. This is what is referred to as being “hidden in plain sight.” In reality, there are many people who have experienced and/or are dealing with mental illness, but it is camouflaged as it is not always possible to tell that someone is dealing with mental illness by looking at someone.
The shift in the understanding of mental illness speaks to the more compassionate and healing nature of the 12th house. By bringing the issue of mental illness out in the open where more people can confront what they are dealing with without judgment and discrimination, there is room for great healing for the individual and everyone universally which ultimately is what the 12th house, Neptune, and Pisces energy offer us in it’s most positive manifestation.
Ultimately, the 12th house offers us the understanding that we are all one, and many of us have experienced some form of personal trauma, issues, vices, and disturbances that make us much more alike than we are different. It is with our understanding of the universal principle of connectedness that the exploration of mental illness is moving from a place of shame and banishment to the embodiment of compassion that enables us all to truly heal.
