12th house and Hidden Enemies
In this short post I want to look at a symbol associated with the 12th house; hidden enemies. There seems to be a lot of discussion about whether this is even a thing, or just some part of ancient astrology, but as someone with Moon in the 12th house, I can assure you that it is a thing.
Hidden enemies can take any form. They are often hard to identify, being hidden and all. They often appear in the form of family and close friends.
Hidden enemies can take any form. They are often hard to identify, being hidden and all. They often appear in the form of family and close friends.
What is surprising to a lot of people is that the hidden enemy is often the self. Self-sabotage and self-undoing are classic aspects of 12th house placements. We often combine our own self-sabotage with another person, and so we double up the hidden enemy energy. We've all seen that buddy movie, 'Self-Saboteur and the Frenemy'...
In drawing frenemies to us there is a lesson that we don't need people as much as we think we do. Twelfth-house people often underestimate their own power and cling to lesser people and emotional entanglements, thinking they need others, for whatever reason, more than they actually do. The lesson of the hidden enemy in the 12th is that the native needs to learn to stand more on their own, relying on their own power and not falling into the trap of giving too much trust to others.
Sometimes the hidden enemy is a blessing. That which is removed or revealed to be a hidden enemy can be used by the Universe to keep you from going in the wrong direction. It is only in our divided, dualistic awareness that this seems like betrayal or abuse, because we are looking at the surface, the individual. When we change our viewpoint and look at it from the perspective of the Universe, we might see that it was using a duplicitous person to direct you, keeping you away from things that weren't for you. In this sense, these backstabbers become something like wrathful protectors. Take that blade in your back and make it into something beautiful!
Sometimes the hidden enemy is a blessing. That which is removed or revealed to be a hidden enemy can be used by the Universe to keep you from going in the wrong direction. It is only in our divided, dualistic awareness that this seems like betrayal or abuse, because we are looking at the surface, the individual. When we change our viewpoint and look at it from the perspective of the Universe, we might see that it was using a duplicitous person to direct you, keeping you away from things that weren't for you. In this sense, these backstabbers become something like wrathful protectors. Take that blade in your back and make it into something beautiful!
There are lessons from the 12th house, gifts, of learning to discern people's intentions, to see warning signs and red flags. The hidden enemies may be hardest to spot, but the older you get, and the more of these people you encounter, the more you learn to discern intent, to read body language and to recognize the warning signs. But another thing to consider is that sometimes the 12th house individual can have a touch of the Pollyanna syndrome. It is easy for the 12th house person to project their own honest intentions onto others and to therefore overlook obvious red flags and warning signs that couldn't be more obvious.
Twelfth-house people have a well of power that they may not be aware of, and they often underestimate this power. The combination of access to almost limitless power and connection to the underworld, along with a lack of self-confidence draws those who seek to gain power and who want to dominate. The 12th house person is thrown back on their own devices by the hidden enemies they encounter in their lives. This is to force them to find their own power, to realize that they can be whole in-and-of-themselves, and to embrace self-reliance. It is through the turning inward to heal the wound of the hidden enemy that the 12th house individual can find that well of inner power, down in the depth of the underworld.
I think that there are also karmic aspects to the frenemies and hidden enemies many 12th house individuals encounter. I wonder if some twelfth-house individuals might have been people in positions of power in a past life, and so those who were envious or under the power of the 12th house individual in some way manifest along with the 12th house person to seek some form of revenge or comeuppance. In my own experience and in the experiences of many people with 12th house planets that I have spoken to about this phenomena, there is always some sense of fatedness about the relationships with people who turn out to be frenemies and hidden enemies. There also seems to be a real, deep soul connection with some of these people, and there also seems to frequently be something compulsive about the enemy, as though they can't NOT do the hidden backstabbing. This further suggests to me that there is a karmic component, and the 12th house is a karmic house to boot, so there is that...
So 12th house people, learn to recognize how fabulous, powerful and capable you are. Learn that you can accomplish what you need and that you have the inner resources to move mountains. You don't need to be that close to others, or to rely on them as if you will die without their presence and support. Find your strength! Bless your frenemies and hidden enemies, for they may have kept you from disaster, they have helped you find your inner resources, and they have given you a wound that, through healing, has strengthened you further.
I think that there are also karmic aspects to the frenemies and hidden enemies many 12th house individuals encounter. I wonder if some twelfth-house individuals might have been people in positions of power in a past life, and so those who were envious or under the power of the 12th house individual in some way manifest along with the 12th house person to seek some form of revenge or comeuppance. In my own experience and in the experiences of many people with 12th house planets that I have spoken to about this phenomena, there is always some sense of fatedness about the relationships with people who turn out to be frenemies and hidden enemies. There also seems to be a real, deep soul connection with some of these people, and there also seems to frequently be something compulsive about the enemy, as though they can't NOT do the hidden backstabbing. This further suggests to me that there is a karmic component, and the 12th house is a karmic house to boot, so there is that...
So 12th house people, learn to recognize how fabulous, powerful and capable you are. Learn that you can accomplish what you need and that you have the inner resources to move mountains. You don't need to be that close to others, or to rely on them as if you will die without their presence and support. Find your strength! Bless your frenemies and hidden enemies, for they may have kept you from disaster, they have helped you find your inner resources, and they have given you a wound that, through healing, has strengthened you further.
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