Whenever a Twelfth House discussion begins, I always think back to one specific client.   

I remember that the client had what many would consider a particularly "difficult" 12th house with a tight Sun-Pluto conjunction in Leo.  One would expect tremendous energy for seeking personal recognition -- but somehow frustrated or held tightly under wraps, seeking a meaningful outlet.  The Leo Ascendant partially ameliorated the challenge of getting this energy "out in the open", but still was being strongly repressed, suppressed, or subdued.

When we met, transiting Uranus was approaching an exact opposition to this Natal Sun-Pluto 12th house conjunction.  This client has a strong astrological background, and had just been to another astrologer shortly before scheduling our session.  She had been semi-seriously told that she should just "lock herself up in her house" until this influence had passed.

I was stunned by this proclamation and the ironies that it contained.  This Sun-Pluto had already been "locked up" in the 12th house for her whole life!  Rather than ignoring or hiding from this influence for (r)evolutionary change, I encouraged her to take full advantage of this powerful transit to allow her to free herself from these lifelong restraints.  This transit provided a long-awaited opportunity for an escape from confinement.  

Astrologers are quite capable of identifying challenges within the client's horoscope, but chances are the client is already well aware of these challenges.  We must also identify a way out of the restrictive or suppressive tendencies so often suggested by these 12th house planets.

Without an adequate outlet, the urges represented by 12th house planets may actually correspond to physical manifestations or severe health challenges.  

Instead of cautiously tiptoeing around 12th house planets, as consulting astrologers, we should actively seek out means of releasing these restrained or frustrated energies.  We can do this by looking toward supportive or balancing natal aspects and by utilizing Transits and Solar Arcs to facilitate release these bottled-up energies.

It's easy to "gloss over" these sometimes quite uncomfortable 12th house planets, but if we do we are doing our clients a great disservice.  These are often the very things that the client has the most difficulty talking about or dealing with.  By removing some of the mystery, elusive qualities, or taboo nature of these 12th house planets, we can often begin a meaningful dialog that can be of immense help to our clients -- turning this potentially restrictive and frustrated energy into a much more accessible and useful one.