By Carmen Turner Schott/ www.o-books.com
When I was 16 years old, I started studying astrology. Most of my childhood was filled with mystical and unexplained experiences. I would often dream about things and then they would happen in real life. No one could explain why this happened to me. I would often get feelings and gut instincts about things. These messages protected and prepared me for upcoming changes in my life or in the lives of those around me.
I always felt different from others, even my own family and friends. I remember feeling like I was on the outside looking in. This feeling happened more often when I was around large groups of people. I felt like an observer and at times did not feel I was fully in my body. I remember walking around and feeling like I was floating. I would deliberately stomp my feet when I walked to try to ground myself. At times I felt like I was living in a dream, like the world around me was not real. It is a strange feeling and hard to describe in words. I felt like I was not from earth. It was like I was sent here from a faraway land and I did not belong. I felt like an alien and never felt connected to practical matters. I was imaginative and enjoyed daydreaming. I remember staring out the window in elementary school because I was bored. My mind would seem to go to a faraway place and time would fly by. When I returned from my imaginative escape class would be over. Sensitive at heart, I always got my feelings hurt easily. I realized later in life that I was an empath. I would feel other people’s emotions, pain and take on other people’s feelings.
Astrology changed my life in 1993. I bought my first astrology book and started teaching myself how to do my own birth chart. I read as many books as I could and started learning the basics. I taught myself astrology and practiced my counseling skills on friends and family. This is when everything clicked for me. For the first time in my life, I felt validated. I was not crazy or an alien. My personality and spiritual experiences were all explained to me when I looked up my planetary placements. I found out the reason that I had unique and unusual experiences, it was because of the eighth and twelfth astrological houses. I found out that I had many planets in the eighth and twelfth astrological houses.Â
In astrology, houses in a birth chart represent different areas of life and specific energies. When we are born the planets are in a certain star constellation (the signs) and in a certain area of the sky (which we call houses). There are twelve astrological signs and twelve houses which are ruled by the energy of each zodiac sign. For instance, Pisces rules the twelfth house and Scorpio rules the eighth house. The sun was in the twelfth house conjunct Venus when I was born. Not only that but the moon was placed in the eighth house and conjunct the planet Jupiter, and asteroid Chiron. The sun represents our main personality, identity and the face we show the world. The moon is our inner emotional nature and where we seek comfort. I realized having all these key planets in these houses was important.
What did this all mean?
It meant that it was completely normal for me to dream deeply, be afraid of the dark, believe that there was life on other planets, and knowing I was a soul and not just a physical body. It revealed that it was natural that I thought about death, dying and where my soul would go if something happened to me or my loved ones. Having eighth house planets validated why I used to lay in bed at night as a child and worry about dying. In high school I lost a good friend tragically by accidental gun violence. She was the first person I ever knew that died and that experience changed me forever. These experiences pushed me on a new journey to research and collect other people’s experiences. After doing charts for several years, I saw similar themes and heard client stories that validated what I knew all along. Having planets in the twelfth and eighth astrological houses blessed individuals with special abilities.Â
The twelfth house is a spiritual area of life that is often associated with temples, mosques, churches and escapism. It is associated with solitude and being hidden away from society in some way. Cosmic consciousness, the different levels of the mind, dreams, sleep, secrets, mystical experiences, angels, sacrifice and being of service to others are all twelfth house territory. Twelfth house energy is mystical, deep, illusive, imaginative, creative and all the personality traits of the astrological sign Pisces influence this area of life. Twelfth house energy is soft, gentle, watery, emotional and spiritual.
The eighth house is a mysterious, deep and transforming place. Issues related to death of loved ones, inheritances, loss, grief, other people’s resources, sexuality, trauma, abuse, healing, and hidden things are all eighth house territory. Eighth house energy is powerful and associated with rebirth. Change and regeneration are a constant lesson of the eighth house. Scorpio energy rules the eighth house and all the personality traits of Scorpio are found in the eighth house. Eighth house energy is intense, powerful, transformative and creates change.
What makes someone a Phoenix or an Angel?
I began to refer to people with eighth house planets as Phoenixes. If you have the sun, moon, more than three planets in the eighth house, Scorpio placements, or a strong Pluto energy in your birth chart then you are a Phoenix. Eighth house people are transformed and reborn throughout their lives. They experience painful experiences that make them have to survive things that many others have never experienced. They are connected to all the taboo things in life like death, sex, and money. Just like the mythical Phoenix birth, they rise up from the ashes stronger, wiser and forever changed by direct experience.
I call twelfth house people Angels. If you have the sun, moon, more than three planets in the twelfth house, Pisces placements, or strong Neptune energy in your birth chart then you are an Angel. Twelfth house people are born with compassion, kindness, sensitivity, belief in a higher power, mystical experiences, and desire to help others. They are meant to walk a spiritual path and seek the purpose of life. They are angels who fell to earth from another realm to serve and help alleviate the pain of others. Often sacrificing their own self, emotions, and comfort to give to others, they can feel lonely. Their greatest challenge is learning to develop boundaries to protect themselves.
When Facebook first started back in 2010, I created two astrology groups and still run them today. I have a group about the eighth house and a group dedicated to the twelfth house. I have dedicated my life to researching these two spiritual houses. I believe that it’s important to understand how to harness the powerful energy of the eighth and twelfth houses. The energy can be used to help us heal, transform and become more resilient. I discovered there are people from all over the world who had similar experiences and spiritual gifts. Many had the exact astrological placements in the eighth and twelfth houses and I knew this was not a coincidence. Astrology is a science and a powerful tool that can be used to understand ourselves and others.Â
In my new book, Phoenixes and Angels: Mastering the Eighth & Twelfth Astrological Houses, I expand and dive deeply into eighth and twelfth house issues. I share my own personal experiences, feelings, and dreams. I also include client stories and direct research from working as a counselor with individuals with eighth and twelfth house energy. This book is dedicated to anyone who has planets in these two spiritually transforming houses. If you are an astrologer, student, or just an average person wanting to learn more about astrology and if you want to learn more about spirituality, transformation and healing this book is for you.
Phoenixes & Angels by Carmen Turner Schott is available from www.o-books.com and from wherever books are sold.
BOOK LINK: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/o-books/our-books/phoenixes-angels