When the ruler of the twelfth house is in the first house, this means that your past lives greatly influence you. You bring some unresolved issues from your past existences, which you need to resolve in this incarnation.
You are likely to be aware of those issues. You probably keep repeating the same unhealthy patterns which you know you must conquer. So this is one of the biggest tasks in your life.
These past life issues weigh you down and restrict your freedom. Nobody is free who is a slave to passions and addictions. Once you overcome this past life burden, you will feel you’ve freed yourself from an invisible prison.
That’s the reason the natives having the ruler of the twelfth house in the first house feel restricted. Past life issues need to be dealt with for them to start really living and enjoying this existence.
This placement may also mean that either you’ve come into this life deep in heavy karma, or that you are finishing the current human evolution and thus can emerge as a spiritual teacher; as the twelfth house stands both for total unconsciousness as well as final liberation.
People who have the ruler of the twelfth house in the first house may feel like they don’t know who they are. It’s likely to take them much longer to understand themselves than for the most.
Also, these natives may not have a strong inner core, so they will take on the coloring of the people they are with, the environments they find themselves in, and the books they read.
If you have this placement, you are likely to be deeply compassionate and an empath. You probably love large animals such as horses or elephants, and you may adopt some stray pets out of compassion. You may even consider adopting orphans.
With such a placement, do your best to find the environment to live in which is harmonious and affects you well, and you should ideally be only with the people you want to be like or who have a good influence on you.
If this placement is afflicted, it can show that there could be some criminal tendencies. Whether or not these tendencies will be acted on depends on the environment and the rest of the chart.
With such a configuration, you may receive that which is unconscious into your consciousness. For example, you may see visions, have the insight into the true intentions of people, or be able to remember some moments from your past lives.
You probably enjoy solitude, and you need, from time to time, to escape the busyness of life and recharge on your own. Sometimes, the natives with this configuration dislike being on their own, but the circumstances arrange themselves in such a way that they are often in solitude.
This placement can show that you may work alone, or in a place that is remote or not accessible to most people. It can also show spending some period of your life in a rather inaccessible place, such as off-grid, in a hospital, prison, ashram, or a similar secluded place.
With such a configuration, therefore, you should never involve yourself in any illegal or shady activities, as you are at risk of being arrested and imprisoned. Also, you must care for your mental health, so that things don’t go wrong and you end up in a mental institution, especially if this placement is afflicted or you have an unfavorable Mercury placement.
This placement can show that you came into this life with some illnesses, and that they may stay for life. It can also reveal that it’s hard for you to recover from illnesses, and there’s a risk of them becoming chronic. So you must use preventative methods rather than only taking action when the illness manifests itself.
Finally, if you’re on a spiritual path, this placement can show that you have made great spiritual progress in your past life and that you’re emerging as a spiritual teacher, able to lead many to the spiritual life.