The Perihelion and Bringing the Unconscious to Light

January 2nd, 2021 was the date of this year’s perihelion.  A perihelion is the moment in the earth’s year long orbit when we are closest to the sun.  It’s interesting that, for this part of the world, it is the middle of Winter, just after the longest night of the year and at the start of the returning daylight, that is the setting for this phenomenon of light.  It is in fact the juxtaposition of the closeness of the light and the presence of darkness that makes this day, and this time of year so special.  This is the time when that which is submerged in the unconscious can more easily be brought forward to our conscious attention.  This action may happen in several ways. 

One way that what is hidden to the light emerges in the time of the perihelion is through potential revelations and big events within the collective.  Hidden influences and themes in our collective unconscious may become more obvious, or may erupt in a manner that makes us look at what truly exists beneath the surface of what we want to believe.  In the past weeks, violence, racism, privilege, and inequity between how different groups of people are treated when expressing dissent surfaced yet again.  The division and unrest in our country continues to rise to a level that is frightening to many, and surprising to those who have not felt themselves in the middle of the ongoing strife.  Though uncomfortable, this process of revealing the lasting legacies of racism, classism, and disharmony in our country may be critical if we are to find a way of moving forward into a new era, without illusions about who we are as a country, and in a manner that reflects the espoused ideals that have drawn people here, such as freedom and equality.  If we are unable to see and shed some of our collective shadow, it is also conceivable that the changes within the earth will continue to push us to work together as a country and as a world, but being forced is always the harder path.

Of course, the themes and situations of our personal lives also present us with information, especially in times of intensity.  What emerges as depression, frustration, anxiety, regret, longing, or other challenging emotions, is also a kind of message from the unconscious, letting us know when our lives or choices are out of alignment with our deepest selves.  At this time of year it is natural to go within, to feel a sense of quiet that invites reflection, just as the passing of a new year invites the setting of goals and resolutions.  This can take many people by surprise, once the energy of the holidays is past.  Strong emotions can be absorbing, and it takes energy to step back and ask what is being called to our attention, rather than feeling stuck or identified with our heaviest moods. One of the major teachings of Curanderismo is to address our Aires, the emotional winds that move through us and sometimes become stuck, as teachers, rather than permanent conditions, diseases, or monsters.  If we find ourselves under the weight of heavy emotions, especially this year when, collectively, many of us sit in relative isolation, surrounded by news of fear and violence, perhaps it is a good strategy to act as we might in a nightmare.  When chased by a monster in the dream time, the best action is to cease identifying with the dream enough to stop running and ask what the monster wants.  More often than not, this direct inquiry transforms the storyline and the monster reveals more directly who or what it represents.  Waking life is not so different from dreams.  Engaging what we feel, what we dream, how we are talking to ourselves in our minds, and what is emerging in our life situations can give us many clues about what needs healing and change on a deeper level, so that we do not keep creating the same difficult situations for ourselves unconsciously. 

Perhaps the best way that the energy of the perihelion can be engaged is for us to choose to use this time of light in darkness to cleanse ourselves of the problem aspects of our unconscious.  This happens by looking deeply within and intentionally calling forward what our unconscious mind is weaving for us, in the darkness of unawareness and without our conscious consent, in order to change it.  What is our unconscious material?  It’s beyond just our emotions, though they are included.  It is what we speak to ourselves and others, our self concepts, our dreams, our repetitive destructive patterns, our ancestral inheritance, the consequences of our thoughts and actions, our addiction to suffering and to distraction, our traumas, our fear of change, and all that remains unresolved.  Most of us have aspects of ourselves trapped in these and other underworlds.  Because of this, we find ourselves meeting the same situations in life, and in lifetimes, repeating difficult themes, relationships, and characteristics.  This cycle can be considered a very slow form of healing and working out our issues, but it doesn’t have to play out this way and should not be the goal.  In the tradition of Nahualismo, it is considered a kind of invisible prison, one that keeps us from realizing our true potential, as it keeps us endlessly distracted with the issues of our lifetimes and of our ancestors.  Cultures around the world have predicted this time to be one of rapid evolution for humanity in many ways that are beautiful, though the process of realizing that dream may not be easy.  We can prepare ourselves for the possibility of growth, of becoming people of the Sixth Sun or of the Aquarian Age, by bringing our shadow to the light, where is has less power, and dispelling the destructive tendencies that it has been creating in the dark.

So, to begin, you are invited to explore some divination modalities this month.  Choose your favorite oracle deck, take a journey to hold counsel with your allies, or sow a divination dream sequence over several nights.  Ask your deepest inner guidance to bring your unconscious to light.  Identify one area of emotional imbalance or a repetitive destructive problem active in your current life.  Consider these questions:  What is the primary aspect of your unconscious material that is creating this?  What is the root from which it began?  What can you do to heal, reconcile, and clear this piece of your unconscious?  What aspect of yourself or your energy would you retrieve by solving it?  What new idea will you be able to put in its place, to bring a more healing outcome in your life? Once you have looked deeply into one shadow area, perhaps choose another.  How many can you bring to the light?  Once they are uprooted, the work of healing has begun.

-This blog was written by Melusina Gomez, originally for the eleventh house.