postively directly 12th House with large animal interest

My son has 4 planets in 12th House... Venus, Mars, Moon & Saturn.
Where Mars & Moon are exact conjunct to the nearest Minute of an arc.
All 4 are in Virgo - which is an intercepted sign!
Leo rules his 12th House - and his Sun is prominent in his 10th House - so I think his 12th is important... and I think it's important this energy is positively directed.

I am interested in the idea of counteracting any overload of 12th House energy - but trying to positively direct all this 12th House energy by developing his large-animal-interests.
He's only 3 - but already he's shown a great interest in horses (no one else in the family has this interest - he discovered it by himself).

Has anyone else tried to find another way of expressing the energies of a particular house - did it help? How did you do it?
Do you have an opinion on trying to positively direct the energies of a particular house?

Is there a time to wait to do this until that houses' energies are 'activated'??

thanks for your help
his chart is below

I have 3 planets in there and the way I identified with them is being creative! (I have Mercury and Jupiter in there so I found differing outlets for those).
Virgo venus in the 12th is a very delicate placement...I read that people with Venus in the 12th should find creative hobbies and tend to be pretty insecure. My best friend has this and she releases her romantic difficulties through writing and painting Venus in Virgo people are very selective and he could end up being quite shy when it comes to love and romantic emotions. I see he is a Cancer as well, reminding me more and more of my friend! He seems like he would be a very sensitive boy growing up and needs lots of reassurance and praise.

With the moon in there, make sure you are very open with him about emotions and try to lessen the chances of him suppressing emotions when he is older. From personal experience, those with Moon in the 12th are apt to find negative outlets for dealing with pent up emotions. Positive outlets, especially creative or spiritual ones (such as mindfulness) are great when dealing with 12th house energies. Spirituality may even come to him quite naturally with a 12th house emphasis.

I know that in my childhood experience with Mars in the 12th, competition was pretty tough for me and I dont want to scare you but, I read bullying (or constantly feeling bullied) is an issue for 12th house Mars children. I was never bullied, but I do prefer to be alone when working on projects to avoid constant critiques as they can come across as nagging...12th house Mars people can be sensitive to critiques and easily take them the wrong way. He might also feel the need to be alone often. "12th house people" find comfort in solitude. Passive agression is also an issue for 12th house Mars, so find suitable outlets for him
-*make sure that he doesnt develop a habit for keeping feelings hidden-main 12th house word of advice!*

Allowing him to identify with large animals and gentleness is a great start. Being gentle to him is always a necessity with all those 12th house planets. Again, it can make for a very sensitive character, one that needs lots of freedom of expression, comfort in that, and support. Building confidence is important for him+creative expression!

Understanding what a house symbolizes (positive & negative) is where to begin when efficiently finding positive directions for them. Sometimes nature just takes its course and helps you simply live out the house placements the way you are meant to. The 12th house can be known for being "scary" and dark, but I naturally found the creative/karmic/spiritual niche that the 12th house is known for. Going beneath the stereotypes is the way to go. Sure, the 12th house can make planets feel trapped or confused, but that's the ultimate lesson the house brings! It truly makes for an interesting and durable character underneath the sensitivity. When asking about the house energies being "activated", I think they are always "activated" since birth. The way you handle them change as you mature.

thanks for your detailed reply... there's so much to think on ... but what comes immediately to mind is to say...
- you commented about bullying: I've already seen signs that he seems to attract bullies It is something for me to think on more and work out how to help him with this.
- shy: yes he's shy, although if he feel safe and secure he can be quite a chatter box, so some people don't believe he's shy at all if they see him like that! His involvement in sport (football) and with horses are 2 things that dissolve his shyness, he really likes these activities and will force himself out of his cocoon to be able to join in

awh I'm so sorry to her that! be protective! and teach him well about not standing up to them like that saying goes, if they're bringing you down, you're already above them! sports are also great outlets for his planetary positions

hypatia said:

My son has 4 planets in 12th House... Venus, Mars, Moon & Saturn.
Where Mars & Moon are exact conjunct to the nearest Minute of an arc.
All 4 are in Virgo - which is an intercepted sign!
Leo rules his 12th House - and his Sun is prominent in his 10th House - so I think his 12th is important... and I think it's important this energy is positively directed.

I am interested in the idea of counteracting any overload of 12th House energy - but trying to positively direct all this 12th House energy by developing his large-animal-interests.
He's only 3 - but already he's shown a great interest in horses (no one else in the family has this interest - he discovered it by himself).

Has anyone else tried to find another way of expressing the energies of a particular house - did it help? How did you do it?
Do you have an opinion on trying to positively direct the energies of a particular house?

Is there a time to wait to do this until that houses' energies are 'activated'??

thanks for your help
his chart is below

Click to expand...

You need to allow him to grow naturally, he is way too young to have any particular projection from you placed upon him. With such a loaded 12th house it is hard to say what direction he will go and Saturn being right on the ascendant, is significant. That his work will be connected in some way with all this, is indicated. He may be involved in healing work and especially with animals and would have a telepathic connection to them I imagine.

He will like time alone and his privacy will be important and will be intuitive and sensitive. If he sees spirits and beings from the other dimension then believe him and dont try to suppress that. He has chosen this life before he incarnated and has karma to deal with, as we all have. He could be the classic horse whisperer.

Your son has a strong Virgo and 6th house component as well, so small animals should work, also. As he gets older, you may find him to be a private person, who prefers to work behind the scenes. At this age, perhaps something like a toy farm, zoo, or toy museum that he can set up and rearrange would appeal. He can make museum displays in a shoe box using small toy animals, for instance.

The 12th-6th house axis has a strong "serve or suffer" component to it. The 12th also rules hospitals; and the 6th house, illness and health. When he is old enough, perhaps learning about hospitals, visiting any sick family members, learning about the human body, and so on would interest him.

I think generally with children, if they exhibit an interest then it is good to promote it: it really becomes a form of slef-directed learning, just so long as the child doesn't feel the parent/s have taken it over for him. I recall my daughter (with a 12th house sun) developing a strong interest in bats as a young child. I always found them rather repulsive, but we tried to encourage this interest. She learned a phenomenal amount about them! But then we probably over-did it, and as an adolescent and teenager, anything her parents suggested was bound to meet with disinterest or resistence.

thanks Waybread - I like the idea of a little animals farm of plastic animals.
I've thought of getting more pets - but we're just not in a position right now to have more pets.
He certainly loves animals, whether in books, plastic animals or real animals. So I encourage it (trying not to go overboard). As he gets older he might start to become interested in one animal in particular - we'll wait and see.
What does your daughter do now - an interest in bats sounds so cute. Did she end up working with animals? or something totally different?
My son has had a couple of trips to hospital he hasn't shown any interest in them yet - will see as he gets older.

Well, unfortunately "playing doctor" has a bad reputation for little kids. But learning about health, the different systems of the body, and fitness is probably good knowledge for anyone. Come to think of it veterinary work might really interest your son.

My daughter is an elementary school teacher, currently teaching overseas. One of her interests is environmental education and "greening" her school.

hypatia said:

Has anyone else tried to find another way of expressing the energies of a particular house - did it help? How did you do it?
Do you have an opinion on trying to positively direct the energies of a particular house?

Click to expand...

I've been doing that over almost the last couple of years. I have to admit it has resolved some issues as I believe I've managed to focus into manifestations that suit me better in my life/lifestyle. The same I do with transits.

Lena_ said:

I've been doing that over almost the last couple of years. I have to admit it has resolved some issues as I believe I've managed to focus into manifestations that suit me better in my life/lifestyle. The same I do with transits.

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Fabulous Lena... are you happy to give some examples... (to do with anything doesn't have be specifically 12th House, although that's great)...
I am really interested to 'learn' how people manifest these energies more positively.

waybread said:

Well, unfortunately "playing doctor" has a bad reputation for little kids. But learning about health, the different systems of the body, and fitness is probably good knowledge for anyone. Come to think of it veterinary work might really interest your son.

My daughter is an elementary school teacher, currently teaching overseas. One of her interests is environmental education and "greening" her school.

Click to expand...

ok my mind is ticking about how I could encourage more animal interests with my son - before reading this the only idea that had been in my mind had been 'let him play with animals' and 'find the money so he can do horse riding lessons'.
I'm now going to search for books on types of animals, maybe on naming things about animals, etc.
I'm also off to set up a plastic animal farm inside his kind-henry-VIII castle, which he never really go into the castle idea, but the farm might be a different matter ... we'll see.

I just LOVE how this has all manifested in your daughter's life as an adult

There is a name for all of this, btw-- choice-centered astrology.

I really got onto it a few years ago. I was working at a job that was becoming increasingly high-stress, and I saw an upcoming transit from Pluto conjunct my IC and hitting my other angles, a second Saturn return, and Neptune conjunct my sun. This seemed like a bit much. So.....

We cleaned up and did some remodeling of our basement (Pluto conjunct IC)

Sold our house (Ic rules one's home) and moved a long ways away to a place we wanted to retire in.

Realized that I could afford to take an early retirement, so I did that (Pluto opposite MC.)

Our new location has beautiful mountains (Saturn) and lakes (Neptune) and has suited us very well.

I had a retirement project of setting up a big vegetable garden we've enjoyed the proceeds, but is has been a lot of hard work (Saturn.)

waybread said:

There is a name for all of this, btw-- choice-centered astrology.

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oooohhh - thankyou!!!
I have been doing searches and not had a clue 'how' to search for more info on this idea of taking a more positive and active view of upcoming (or current) transits.

What a fabulous example of how to manifest the energies of your transit - love how you worked with those transits

I think I'll post a question in the 'book' section... but in case you know, I'll ask here too... do you know the titles of some good books for this?
So far I've found "Choice Centred Astrology, the basics" by Gail Fairfield

One book I highly recommend is Steven Forest, The Inner Sky. It isn't so much about concrete activities that we can undertake, as how to see greater potentials out of all of our horoscope placements. Also Robert Hand, Planets in Youth. It is mostly a cookbook about planets in aspect but very much oriented towards young people.

Another book is Laurence Hillman, Planets in Play. He interprets planets as though they were stage or movie characters. it also occurs to me that children have such a rich imaginative life, shown both through playing with toys, but also with dress-up and whatever today's equivalent of "cops and robbers" might be.
A Mercury in Leo in the 11th might enjoy putting on skits, for example.

However, someone with such a strong 12th house emphasis probably will need some "down time" to be by himself and quietly recharge his batteries. This house is a place of seclusion. Here, when he is old enough to read, some story books and "quiet time" might be restorative.

thanks for those suggestions, Waybread - I have some of them and will look into the others

how did you learn about 'choice centred astrology'? there doesn't seem to be much about it anywhere. (unless it's known by another name by some people?)

Probably via Steven Forrest's book, The Inner Sky. It was one of the first decent books I read ca. 1990 when I was first trying to teach myself astrology. Basically he sees planets, signs, and houses, as "teachers" or "tricksters". And we have some choice as to which they will be. So his book doesn't operate at the level of a particular activity plan, but more like, what is our attitude towards what we have in our individual horoscopes?

I have never viewed astrology as particularly fatalistic of the gloom-and-doom persuasion, because my life experience has been so contrary to it.

With the example I gave in my personal life, I had read Gail Fairfield's book-- and then it sort of dawned on me individually. Pluto conjunct my IC was going to happen. It was going to "out." But I had learned enough astrology by then to realize that a Pluto transit can manifest in different ways, and that perhaps I could direct the process.

Then I began to think of some of the stressors in my chart. With Mars In Pisces opposite Saturn, I began to think of Mars in terms of athletic activity, because Mars rules athletes. Saturn is, among other things, the disciplinarian. I learned how to swim as a kid, so I began to swim laps (Mars, rules athletes; Pisces=water) at my local rec center pool. This took some Saturnine discipline. Both sides of the opposition my not be thrilled, but now they have a beneficial and mutual operating style. (I don't swim so much in the summer when I have more outdoor activities, but it does get me moving in winter. Yesterday I swam a mile at our local pool: 66 pool-lengths! And I qualify as a senior citizen.)

I think it works. Another analogy would be if you've ever been canoeing or kayaking in a swiftly moving stream. You have more control over the boat if you paddle faster than the current.

I truly think this works. Sometimes we have to start with baby-steps, and that's fine.

I am so happy to read this Waybread - so few people involved in Astrology talk like this - but I've been seeking info on how to take a more active attitude towards transits, but also to our natal charts. We don't have to sit back and accept something is going to be negative about our chart, we can find more positive ways to help it manifest.
My problem has been my lack of enough knowledge to interpret things.

I started this types of thinking when I started reading "Your Magical Child" by Maria Simms last year or the year before. I found this book to be the answer to that often said phrase "I wish my child came with a handbook" - to me this book is a handbook for raising children.
Anyway the book makes statements like "if you child does ... too much, then maybe ..." - and it really brings in this idea that yes your child might have a huge amount of x, y or z, but that's ok - it doesn't have to come out as negatively as you might first think.
It was so revolutionary to my thinking - and I've just wanted more and more of it.
I have many times wished that the author would write the book again and write it in much more detail... or I wish that I had enough knowledge of astrology that I could work them out myself, but I'm finding it both impossible to do that for my own children (I find it hard to be objective in interpreting their charts) and I just need to be more focused and learn a lot more astrology.

Like many adoptive parents, I came to parenting much later in life than many people - and I am quite sure I'm much more analytical about it all than I would have been if I'd become a parent in my 20's or even my 30's.

smilies are by my children - who wanted an input to the screen

Beautiful!

I think you will get the hang of it. The books above I recommended by Forrest and Hand were my introductions to astrology.

Your children are lucky to have such an upbeat mom!