Continuing our discussion from the past three months, the energy of planets in the natal 12th house are often more difficult to tap into than other placements.

Mercury's condition in the natal chart suggests how we need to think and communicate.  Just as the sign it occupies influences how it manifests in our lives, so does its house placement.

Repeating our theory from prior articles, a 12th house Mercury behaves almost as if it were retrograde, whether or not it is actually Rx.  For additional information on natal Mercury Rx please see Mercury Retrograde in the Natal Chart in the archives of this Web site.

In order to understand a 12th house Mercury, we need to acknowledge that the person's thoughts and communication style may be a challenge to relate to others.  As mentioned in the above referenced article, thoughts and concepts that are so obvious to the native may be difficult to put into terms that others can easily understand.  It's as though this group of people think on a completely different level than those with Mercury in other house and in direct motion.  

The extra effort necessary to make others understand can easily become a source of frustration. The owner of this 12th house Mercury may eventually not even bother because it's so much work to communicate his thoughts. This may result in keeping one's thoughts to oneself or even avoiding conversations with others.  

The medium for communication may also have a decidedly behind-the-scenes flavor as with radio personalities Arthur Godfrey, talk show host Rush Limbaugh, disk jockey Casey Kasem, and Garrison Keillor.

It may be easier for people with a 12th house Mercury to communicate in writing rather than by spoken word, since the thoughts can be refined and distilled before presenting them.  Author Alexandre Dumas and Novelist/Playwright Gertrude Stein had this placement.

American industrialist and publishing tycoon Wm. Randolph Hearst communicated to millions, but in an indirect way through his printed media.  

In the performing arts, actors Anthony Hopkins (Mercury Rx also) and Sir Lawrence Olivier connected passionately with audiences through their roles, convincingly communicating the angst felt by their characters.  Perhaps this was easier for them than their real-life communications.  While both Judy Garland and daughter Liza Minnelli both had huge public followings, each struggled privately to be understood.

Bob Newhart's early popularity sprung from phone conversations with an unseen and unheard person on the other end of the phone.

Arnold Schwarzenegger overcame language challenges to become tremendously successful in movies and went on to launch his political career.

Other examples of Mercury in the 12th range from the spiritually enlightened Dalai Lama XIV to Psychic hot line spokeswoman Miss Cleo and from Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak to baseball's controversial Pete Rose and LSD guru Timothy Leary. 

Without a doubt, my favorite example is John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) whose mental struggles were so profound and so well chronicled.

As astrologers, it's important to recognize that Natal Mercury in the 12th has special challenges to communication and making the thought processes understood.  Just by acknowledging this suggested challenge we have conveyed that at least we understand, and then can begin to make adjustments to minimize the feelings of frustration.