Astrology Feb 9 – 18 (♒III): The Anatomy of a Knot

The Sun rises in the third decan of Aquarius this year on the 9^th of February. This final decan of Aquarius is a complicated place, for here we struggle with the knots that bind us, both collectively and individually. But what is a knot? It is a pattern, a circuit, a shape. Superstrings and sub-atomic serpents tie themselves into knots to bring forth the world itself. Some of those tangles tie us into existence, yet others bind us to cruel patterns. They are trauma and drama circuits, feedback loops which repeat fruitlessly.

Some of these knots, which dwell both in our back and in our minds, must be untangled carefully, so as not to sever the vital cords which comprise them. Others, however, are chains best struck off, entrapping complexes we would be better to leave behind entirely. Thus it is important to figure out whether it is worth it to carefully diagnose and tease apart an issue, or whether it would be simpler and smarter to just chop through it and be done, as Alexander the Great did with the Gordian Knot.

The configurations which take place during the Sun’s passage through the third face of Aquarius this year are especially well disposed to this untangling work. The first is Venus’ entery into Pisces on the Saturday the 10^th. Venus slips into oceanic Pisces with delight, as the sign of the Fishes is the place where Venus is exalted. All of Venus’ core significations — ease, luxury, joy and grace — are strengthened. This adds a mellow, tidal flow to the next month, supporting harmony and counter-pointing the antithesis. Venus will be in Pisces until March 6^th.

While Venus’ entry into Pisces provides a soothing and supportive note, it is the other two configurations which highlight our liberation from knots large and small. A partial Solar Eclipse occurs on February 15^th, and a Mercury-Sun conjunction follows on the 17^th. Both of these significant configurations occur in the 3^rd decan of Aquarius, intensifying its themes.

The Solar Eclipse on the 15^th is a partial one, and will only be visible in Antarctica and in the southern portion of South America. While being in the zone where an Eclipse is visible intensifies its effects, it’s power nonetheless extends to the rest of the world. As a side note, it is worth recognizing that as this Eclipse is the second New Moon after the solstice, it is thus the lunation which marks the beginning of the Chinese Year.

This Eclipse occurs on Ketu, the Dragon’s Tail. Ketu has a cleansing, purging, releasing quality. It brings the poison to the surface, that it might be released. Cleaning is, ironically, a process that necessarily involves getting close to what is dirty. For the body to expel toxins, it must use one of its biological exit routes. In order to release yourself from a terrible experience, you must experience the purge of it.

This Solar Eclipse shines with a dark, unobtrusive light. Its shadow rays penetrate the surface, like x-rays, revealing the deep structure of bodies both subtle and gross. This touch of Eclipse-light may, in and of itself, be enough to untangle some knots, though others will merely be exposed. These more persistent tangles may require a thorough assessment, and a clever pair of fingers.

No one has more agile digits than Hermes, and so it is fortunate that Mercury is closely conjunct this Eclipse, and will complete a superior conjunction to the Sun less than two days afterward. Like the Eclipse, the Mercury-Sun conjunction also has purification and as a theme, particularly of the thinking mind. It thus behooves us to consider how to meet these configurations half-way. Though a passing rain might wash some of the dirt off of you, you’ll get considerably cleaner if you add some soap to the equation.

Sit down and take inventory of all that you’ve made space for in your mind. All of the images you’ve consumed, the 10,001 opinions you’ve reacted to, the set of worries you always end up gnawing on. It is your mind which gives them weight and substance. Each of these mental objects is an investment on your part. Each and every one requires psychic energy from you.

Those of us connected to the internet are constantly consuming far more information, image and opinion than our minds can digest. We are thus in a constant state of indigestion, our minds at risk of become bloated and sick.

The question is whether you need all of this, and whether you’ve left yourself any unused psychic energy. Excess mental power is not wasted, as it is through the uninvested mind that epiphanies emerge. It acts as a scyring mirror or satellite dish by which you can receive information and messages from beyond the normal boundaries of your world. Disentangling the mind from daily stimuli is a practice found at the heart of virtually every magical and mystical tradition.

One of the simplest and most universal ways to clean the body and mind is to fast. We have but to reduce our intake for the psyche’s digestive processes to catch up. Once the daily excess has been excreted, we will inevitably come across some more persistent issues, the stubborn tangles within us.

Fasting, mentally and otherwise, thus helps us isolate what the real issues are. These are the knots, the things we’re stuck on, the objects we’ve bought and the ideas we’ve bought into. These require a different and more conscious protocol, parallel in many ways to physical decluttering. While fasting and abstention simply require the will to not-intake, decluttering and reorganizing requires choices. To accomplish this you will need to take mental inventory, and then examine each bit individually. When dealing with physical possessions, you probably won’t get back what you paid for it. However, when you engage in psychic decluttering, the energy you invest is instantly restored to you. Your mind has a full money back guarantee return policy, with no time limit.

Our mind is not unlike a child’s toy box. It contains a bunch of junk, and several priceless treasures. Yet even the valuable bits are often left all over the floor, an indiscriminate foot-threatening mine-field. The things we want to keep should be put back in the box. Those which you don’t are to be tossed into the shadowy fire of the Eclipse, which you should keep in a fireplace. Feed the mental garbage to the dark flame. It will unmake the trash quietly and without foul smoke, reducing it back to the psychic prima materia from which it came.

Although some of this process will occur on its own over the coming days, you can get better results if you match it to a practice. Though several would work, I have one to recommend, inspired by Franz Bardon’s mental exercises. To perform this practice, sit comfortably, and let your mind do what it will. As the thoughts arise, inspect them. If they are not worth keeping, let them go. If they are, in fact, important, then you finish them, and put them away. To “finish” a thought, you need to sit with it long enough to see it clearly. The thought might be “What am I going to do about taxes this year? I’m afraid of what the new law means.” Acknowledge that it is there, but don’t try to make it go away. Think through it, before long, you will come to the point where you can make no further progress without getting more information or taking action. When you get to that point, write the action required to continue moving forward, and then mentally move on. Continue with this practice until the time limit you have set expires.

Although this Eclipse and Mercury-Sun conjunction both call for and magnify the need for this sort of practice, such mental housekeeping should be part of every day, just like brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Start with 5-minutes a day, just before lunch, and 5 minutes a day, as the Sun sets. If you do this for just the 10 days that the Sun is in the last decan of Aquarius, you will be shocked at the equanimity you will have attained. That mental balance is not only crucial for effective action in the world, it also makes the space required for revelation, as you must make room in your mind for your soul to dwell happily there.