The Twelve Depths: A Year of Inner Exploration

Twelve has been in my thoughts. It is a fascinating number, especially considering the base-ten system we use for counting on our fingers and toes. In metaphysical and esoteric arts, twelve represents dream-realm mysteries.

When I teach astrology to first-time students, I ask them to go on a kind of treasure hunt, gathering all the iconic groupings they can find that form a dozen. They can easily identify the twelve months in a year, but the deeper level of this number in the astrological chart represents the unconscious mind, dreams, paranoia, and karma.

Our bodies hold memories of a different counting system. By touching the joints in each finger with the thumb of the same hand, you can count to twelve. Begin at the base of each finger. You have a perfect way to reach twelve as you touch the three joints of each digit.

If Tarot cards speak to you, twelve belongs to the card of the Hanged Man. He reminds us that when we look at something from an opposite perspective, or shift our bodies to stand on our heads, we can arrive at a flash moment of enlightenment. The light turns on. The darkness that clouded our vision dissolves.

The twelfth sign of the zodiac is Pisces. This sign is ruled by Neptune, and together they reside in the twelfth house. This is where the deepest feelings ebb and flow in the ocean of emotions. When we can travel to meet the energy there, we can find Nuliajuk, whose Nunavut name translates to, The Woman Who Controls All Sea Beasts, and whose overarching Inuit name hisses Sedna to us, The One Who Lives Down There.

How disconnected from these aspects of ourselves can we be?

It is quite easy.

Much of this is not what we want to face. It has been called the shadow and the dark mirror. But when we superimpose this terrain onto ourselves, another image emerges and comes into focus. We can see how twelve relates to the Shakti, feminine power in full command. This is the governing mother energy of nature around us, as well as our own true nature.

Though we can be dragged to the deepest point all at once, I propose something else. That we embark from the surface and proceed gradually, the way a diver must allow the body to acclimate, pausing at intervals rather than plunging too fast.

As we prepare to explore the coming year, our task could appear simple, or it may feel challenging. It is winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. As we approach the longest night, give yourself permission to rest and let your dreams unfold.

Instead of allowing December to trap you in thoughts of weakness, let those thoughts guide you toward hidden strengths. We learn how to move behind the scenes, face our fears, avoid secret enemies, and know when it is best to step away so we are not dragged into an undertow.

Knowledge is like flipping a light on when we are startled in a dark room by a shape on the floor. It could be a belt, but for a moment, we think it is a snake. When we flip the light on, we can see that it is a belt. When the fog clears on the water, we can once again see the shoreline.

By placing the idea of twelve on the mundane world, it represents confinement, institutions such as hospitals, prisons, libraries, and the armed services. Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s romantic comedy of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and tangled love, is named for the festive holiday that marks the end of the Christmas season with revelry before Epiphany, which brings us full circle to the light once again.

When we take time to retreat into our own inner sanctuary or practice self-sacrifice, charity, and inner work, we are giving ourselves a reset. We could choose the support of a coach or therapist. Or, we can meditate and spend time in the sprawling, boundary-less spirituality of the collective unconscious.

We can never be sure what our choices will unleash. So let us make it a point to gently smooth the tangles of inner sadness and harmonize unredeemed karma through selfless service to humanity.—Ambika Devi

Rebel Anthropologist

Kindred Vibe Collective Originally published in the Kindred Vibe Collective on LinkedIn. Every astrology chart contains its own symbolic landscape. If you're curious about the deeper patterns within your own life, I invite you to explore an astrology consultation.

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