3 Spiritual Knots in August

It’s been a strange year so far – astrologically even stranger, and August has some interesting things coming up too.

Here’s why.

Mars is slowing itself down a little, in preparation for its Retrograde on September 9th. But, before that, it completed a whole round of the zodiac as it went into Gandanta (7th August). Gandanta means a “Karmic” or “Spiritual” knot, which happens when a planet moves from a water sign to a fire sign.

Water and fire are incompatible. The entwined energy of water and fire gives unstable energy and a sense of unpredictability.

Sun also went into Gandanta (13th August) and Mercury too on (15th August).

‘Gand’ means knot and this is a knot that is hard to disentangle. There is karma that needs to be resolved and cleansed – it represents major transformation. It is a junction point in the zodiac that is particularly connected to the growth of your soul, it’s like a knot we have deep within us that we are trying to harmonize with.

Three Gandanta’s in one month and three back-to-back Eclipses whilst three planets in retrograde during the first eclipse, phew…..well, they do say it comes in threes!

So, how will this little mix of Gandanta’s affect us?

Tap the planet below for personalised Gandanta insights

Gandanta Mars | Gandanta Sun | Gandanta Mercury

August may feel a little difficult, things may feel a little sticky. We may have gone through a roller coaster of emotions over the past few months and this month feelings of anger and rage may surface due to Mars’ energy. Long-held issues, or knots may surface in order to be healed, either personally or collectively.

Later in August, on the 20th when Mars goes into his own sign of Aries, he’s comfortable and strong which can shift to dynamic energy, courage and assertiveness.

August will also be feeling the remnants of the Eclipse season – because we have to keep in mind that the signs, and adjacent signs that the eclipses occurred in, are still affected for a few months after.

On top of that, this year the retrogrades are tightly overlapped, the planets are having a serious party – roughly a four month stretch from mid-May to mid-September, 2020 when the planets ‘reversed’ effect manifests in the opposite way from the expected. Such as, Saturn generally associated with slow progress and limitation, may push us through things quickly without giving time to think and Jupiter who normally supports growth, may limit or restrict it.

What can we do about it?

The best part of Indian astrology however is that when things get tough and the planets offer us up some challenging times, there are things we can do to combat or soften the blow: Remedies.

Generic Gandanta Remedies for all planets

Chakra Meditation – Karmic knots, connected with the Gandanta, are stored in our body. Chakra (nerve center) meditations designed to release blocked energy can release these knots. Try one from the Chakra Collection on the Sattva Meditation and Mantras app.
Keep things simple – Gandanta is a time that can bring out all the resentment and anger from the past (karmic) – be mindful of this and avoid confrontational or intense interactions.
Spend time wisely – Put all your energy and passion into creating something meaningful. This is also a great time to catch up on pending to-do list items.
Be patient – Don’t make any decisions on impulse.
Light a lamp – or a candle each day for balancing your Agni Tattva (your fire element).
Infuse and drink water with sacred sounds – Take a cup of water, cover the cup with your hand and chant a simple mantra of your choice e.g. Om Namah Shivaya and then drink the water.

For personalized rituals and remedies download the align27 app. The rituals section on the align27 app provides you with peak dates of these Gandanta transits as well as detailed remedies for each planet.