Sagittarius II: The Moment of Highest Tension
By Jonah Emerson-Bell
Sagittarius II
Chaldean Ruler: The Moon
Degrees: 10° - 20˚ Sagittarius
Hermetic Title: The Lord of Strength
Dates: December 1st 2024 - December 11th 2024
In his Book of Astronomy, Guido Bonatti explains that a planet in its face is not in their home or even in a welcoming place where their presence is celebrated. They are not around their family or friends, or others that can easily resource them, however, they have a certain skill that can help to support them as they move through life and occasionally, unfamiliar lands (Bonatti, 2007). This skill, or art can help sustain them when they are in places where they don’t have easy access to resources. As we contemplate the decans, we can consider what is the skill, profession, service, or art that we can access to help us a specific area of the sky.
The hermetic title of the second decan of Sagittarius is “The Lord of Strength” (Bremner, 2023). This moniker suggests the skill this decan offers is related in some way to strength. If that is the case, what form or shape does strength take in this area of the sky? How does the skill of strength support us in the Sagittarian quest for truth as we find ourselves in various situations and disparate locations in our lives?
Sagittarius is a chimera, half human, half horse. This mutable fire sign is working to hold the tension of the opposites and to bridge the top-down logical human mind with bottom-up animal intelligence. Without the strength of this decan, the opposing forces of the animal and the human may become too much for the Sagittarius resulting in fragmentation, splitting, or disowning of one of the vital components of the self. Perhaps the skill of this decan is the ability to sit with the tension between the animal body's instinctual impulses and the rational functions of the human mind.
The image of this decan from the Picatrix depicts “a man leading cows and in front of him he has an ape and a bear” (Warnock & Greer, 2011 p. 115). This image may represent the domesticated aspects of an individual, symbolized by the cows, confronting the more primal instincts depicted by the bear and the ape. In a psychological sense, the ape is a representation of the Id, the part of the psyche that is driven by our basic urges, needs, and the desire to fulfill our impulses regardless of the consequences. The bear may represent the unconscious part of the self which is where the Id resides. The unconscious also holds the shadow which is composed of all the disowned parts of the self, including suppressed desires, rejected drives, and antisocial impulses. These repressed emotions gain power in the dark; they become more frightening to face, and they threaten to overwhelm the system to find a release.
The man in this image represents the ego, or the realistic part of the personality, which mediates the space between the survival needs of the Id and the aspirations of higher consciousness. The man holds the tension between the socialized parts of the psyche that rely on structure and logic and the unconscious impulses that are driven by desire. It takes great strength to hold the opposing forces of the psyche as well as to face the shadow and learn to integrate the parts of ourselves that we fear or reject.
The Picatrix says “This is a face of fear, lamentations, grief, sadness, misery and troubles” (Warnock & Greer, 2011, p.115). Perhaps the struggle to keep the opposing forces of the logical mind and the survival drives of the unconscious at bay gives rise to these challenging feelings. The skill that this decan calls forth may be the strength to sit with the difficult emotions of fear, lamentation, and grief without being overwhelmed by them. Furthermore, this decan may ask us to sit at the tip of the arrow facing the harsh reality of the moment and to have the fortitude to be present with whatever arises. In this case, the strength required may be to maintain focus and clarity in the face of opposing forces and challenging emotions.
The first decan of Sagittarius can be seen as high-flying optimistic energy emerging from the deep swamps of Scorpio. After exploring the depths of fixed Scorpionic waters, we arrive on dry land where there is finally some traction and the ability to rekindle the fires of life. Here the centaur takes aim and lets their arrow fly. By the time we reach the second decan of this mutable fire sign, we encounter oppositional forces that create conditions of disappointment and sorrow. The arrow that once seemed so easy and exuberant when it was loosed from the archer's bow now experiences wind resistance and the gravitational pull of physical reality. These challenges require strength to manage and navigate the external pressures and outer conditions that threaten to thwart the achievement of our greater goals.
T. Susan Chang discusses this decan in terms of the strength of the archer to pull back the bow, as well as the strength of the bow itself. She writes “The bow, the archer, and the string all share this tensile strength, which physicists contrast with compressive or shear strength” (Chang, 2020, P. 183). She goes on to say that “tensile strength depends not on hardness or toughness, but elasticity” (Chang, 2020, P. 183). The idea of elasticity is interesting when we consider that the Chaldean ruler of this decan is the Moon whose nature is constantly changing. Through this lens, the strength that this decan calls forth is not just the yang force required to pull the bow taught, but also the yin strength of flexibility that allows for adaptation and a different relationship with power.
In Zen in the Art of Archery, German philosopher Eugen Herrigel describes his 6-year study of archery. One of the most challenging stages of his apprenticeship was learning to sit with the bow in greatest tension waiting for the right moment to release the arrow towards the target. Herrigel learned that the strength required for archery is not about the physical ability to draw a bow or to take a shot, it is a very different type of strength which asks the individual to sit in the highest tension and become “self-oblivious and without purpose,” forgetting about the target, the arrow and the tension of the bow until the shot can fall from the archer “like a ripe fruit” (Herrigel, 1988, p. 27). This ability to wait in tension and to lose all sense of the goal until the correct moment arises describes a very different skill set and idea of strength. This strength is not about force of will or physical musculature, it is about the ability to be in the moment and to surrender.
The Tarot card associated with this decan is the 9 of Wands. In the Rider-Wait-Smith deck, this card depicts an individual clutching a staff, as if for stability, in front of a stockade of eight upright branches. This individual has a white scarf wrapped around their head like a bandage and they appear to have come through challenge and conflict to emerge on the other side, beaten and battered but still ready for action. This card always makes me think about the hypervigilance that emerges in the wake of a traumatic experience. This character is poised and ready for conflict. Their attunement to danger and readiness for action may be a learned skill or even a superpower. However, the real strength may come from the ability to let down one's guard and develop nervous system regulation.
I suggest that instead of a bandage, the head wrap this character wears is actually a blindfold which, through the experience of struggle, has been pulled back to reveal the reality of the situation where this character finds themself. In the RWS tarot, the 2 and the 8 of Swords are the only other cards that show figures wearing blindfolds. Both cards depict a sense of conflict with the characters each seeking to create boundaries and developing a sense of agency while struggling against external forces. Perhaps the 9 of Wands has come through these challenges and by confronting the resistance of the world their eyes have been opened. It is by experiencing the factors described in the Picatrix of loss, lamination, and trouble, that we are able to step into our strength and cultivate the skills of resilience and resistance. If navigated with courage and internal fortitude the challenges and fears of this decan allow us to see the world more clearly and deepen our relationship with ourselves.
The character in the 9 of Wands displays another important skill, that of resilience. Resilience can be defined as the ability to withstand adversity and adapt to psychological stressors to bounce back from difficult experiences. “Perhaps more elegantly, we can say that it refers to an individual's utilization of inner strengths and outer resources in order to overcome seriously adverse, even traumatic, circumstances, and still continue to pursue and succeed in one's endeavors” (Levine, 2003). In this context, the second decan of Sagittarius points to the inner resources required to navigate difficult experiences. This may not be the willpower to stoically withstand the challenges of life, but rather the ability to draw on one's support systems and inner strength to deal with adversity and conflict. These situations may require one to become flexible in the face of challenges in order to navigate the circumstances that life offers. The skill of adaptability again references this decan’s lunar ruler who reminds us that flexibility and change can help us to weather the storm. The Moon points to a key feature of resilience which is the ability to return to one's original shape. This is a practice that the Moon engages in every month.
The second decan of Sagittarius teaches us about the skill of strength. At times this may be the physical strength that allows one to maintain one’s course in the face of resistance and adversity. This skill may also take the form of resilience which allows one to draw on inner and outer resources in order to adapt to difficult circumstances and to ultimately bounce back and maintain one's trajectory. The skills cultivated in this decan may appear as an inner strength that allows us to be with disappointment and loss while we sit in the tension of the opposites. This decan also teaches us to surrender to the moment and in doing so we can learn to let go of any thought or worry about the target or the arrow, the goal or the means. This is the strength to sit at the point of highest tension until the target, the bow, and the arrow become as one and the shot falls from the archer like ripe fruit falling from a tree.
About the Author
Jonah Emerson-Bell (he/him) is a Tarot reader and Astrologer with a background in Hypnosis and Integration Coaching. His work uses the archetypal language of symbol to help make the unconscious conscious and incorporates myth, magick, and creativity as ways to support meaningful change. Jonah is completing a master's in Mental Health Counseling from Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico and he is currently an astrological advisor on the AstroStar Live, astrology app.
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References
Bonatti, G. (2007). The Book of Astronomy, Volume 1 (B. Dykes, Trans.). The Cazimi
Press.
Bremner, M. S. (2023, December 3). Sagittarius Decan II: “Lord of Strength.”
Patreon.com. https://www.patreon.com/posts/sagittarius-ii-94025077
Chang, T. S. (2020). 36 secrets: A decanic journey through the minor Arcana of the
tarot. Lulu.com.
Herrigel, E. (1988). Zen in the art of archery: Training the mind and body to become one
(R. Hull, Trans.). Penguin Books.
Levine, S. (2003). Psychological and social aspects of resilience: a synthesis of risks
and resources. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 5(3), 273–280.
https://doi.org/10.31887/dcns.2003.5.3/slevine
Warnock, C., & Greer, J. M. (2011). The complete picatrix: The occult classic of
astrological magic Liber atratus edition. Lulu.com.
Highly illuminating!