SCORPIO NEW MOON: Wishing Well

This month the Sun and Moon conjoin in the heart of Scorpio.  The sign of Scorpio has been a celestial center stage recently, with the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter transiting the sign.  Scorpio is also host to two current retrograde cycles--Mercury who will move back into the sign as he retrogrades from his current abode in Sagittarius, and Venus, currently in Libra, who will retrace her steps through the sign after she turns direct.   

Marianne Williamson famously said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”  This quote speaks to the nature of Scorpio.  The sign of Scorpio rules death, sex, and shared resources.  These subjects are rife with the dynamics of power and are potential tools for manipulation.  It is no wonder this sign carries a loaded social stigma!  Ruled by Mars, the planet of raw energy, and Pluto, the planet of transformation, when properly focused, Scorpio is indomitable.  This archetype connects us to our primal urges, our sexual vitality, and our subconscious desires.  It serves to remind us of the mandate of our incarnation.  It contains the remnants of the rituals of socialization that existed before the pressure of civilization coerced the individual to keep a lid on their creative cauldron.

The energy of Scorpio plunges us into the depths of our self-identity as social interactions challenge our commitment to our values.  It is in the proper channeling of the power of our personal energy that we discover our magic.  Magic is earthly art, a manipulation of the material realm.  Magic involves harnessing one’s personal will power to engage with the natural forces that conspire to create form.  Being of the incarnate realm, magic is bound by the laws of cause and effect, and requires self-mastery to avoid its pitfalls.  

Thus we encounter the secretive quality of Scorpio.  In many ways, the magic of Scorpio was forced into hiding, as social expectations shifted and turned towards subjugating the power of the felt-sense in favor of logic.  In other ways, this hidden nature is a chosen condition.  All matter is energy, and energy is characterized by its vibration.  For human beings, sound is the most direct way to manipulate energy.  For this reason, Scorpio’s power is in its silence, for Scorpio understands to speak idle thoughts is to dilute the magical power inherent in one’s voice.  Being ruled by assertive Mars, Scorpio favors direct action, but is not of an impulsive nature like the Fire sign Aries, the other sign ruled by Mars.  As the Fixed Water sign, Scorpio instead pools its strength, and like its symbol the Scorpion, waits for the right moment to strike.

The Water element is particularly strong this new moon, and we may find ourselves sinking deep into our own inner well with the darkening of the Moon.  A Grand Water Trine has been uniting the latter degrees of the three water signs in harmonious connection--Chiron in Pisces, Jupiter in Scorpio, and the North Node which has recently entered Cancer.  This arrangement reveals connections of deep wounds (Chiron), faith (Jupiter), and destiny (North Node).  Meanwhile, the new moon itself makes a trine to Neptune, the mythological ruler of the sea, in the oceanic sign of Pisces.  The modern ruler of Pisces, Neptune connects us to the Cosmic Heart of our spiritual source.  As the traditional ruler of Pisces, Jupiter imparts the optimistic nature of faith.  The day following the new moon, the Moon meets Jupiter on the threshold of Sagittarius, making the new moon the last major astrological event in which Jupiter remains in Scorpio.

This new moon, examine the balance of power in your relationships.  What relationships, emotional, financial or otherwise, drain your energy and deplete your magic?  Conversely, what fills your well?  Consider what debts need to be repaid, and what your investments have yielded.  Don’t be afraid to cut your losses.  Even when we find ourselves on the losing end of a bargain, we may still find value in the lesson of the experience.  Before he leaves the sign, take this new moon to channel the optimism of Jupiter, and carry with you the faith that in every death is a rebirth.  Your power is beyond measure. Tap the deep well of your heart-space, be honest about your desires, and speak your wish.

SCORPIO NEW MOON: The Magic in Letting Go

This new moon is cloaked in the mysterious and seductive qualities of Scorpio.  In the Northern hemisphere, Scorpio season aligns with the descent into the darker, colder winter months. It is a time of slowing down, taking stock, and turning inward.  By consciously withdrawing from the world of external stimulation, we prepare the body and mind for the austerity of the winter season.  The colder temperatures are mitigated by turning instead towards the inner flame of our passions.  The darker skies, once dreaded, are instead honored by investigating the our shadow sides.  It is a vital time to viscerally experience the Hermetic Principle of Correspondences--As above, so below--and understand that the Great Mystery of Life which surrounds us, also pulses within us.

The variety of representations of this sign reflects the depth of its canon of expression.  Among these, Scorpio has a unique trinity of symbolism--Scorpion, Eagle, and Phoenix.  Starting at the fundamental level with the Scorpion, we find themes of relating to the subconscious mind and ancient instincts.  Next is the Eagle, representing the sublimation of these internal forces towards a higher purpose--the animal which once lived underground (in the subconscious) has now transformed into one able to take flight (the inspired mind).  The third in this set is the Phoenix, which symbolizes the transformative force itself, the process of allowing “ego death” to unveil one’s inner divinity.  

To account for the discovery of the outer planets (which were as yet unseen at the time the archetypal wheel was first established), three signs have two planetary rulers--one “traditional” and one “modern.”  Scorpio is among this group, with its two rulers being Mars and Pluto, respectively.  The rulership by Mars speaks to the primal and dynamic aspects of Scorpio, while that of Pluto indicates the powerful yet cryptic nature of the sign.  Taurus, its opposing sign, represents the fertility, abundance, and beauty of the surface world that captivate our senses.  On its end of the polarity, Scorpio represents the richness and fecundity hidden from our direct sight.  It is the decaying compost that feeds the plants, the oil and minerals we mine to create our technologies, and the secret desires within us that drive us to follow our passion.  Fittingly, Scorpio rules the sex organs in the body, and therefore is aligned to the sexual nature of the human being--the compelling, creative force within each individual that is at once taboo in our society, and essential to our survival.  Existing within this paradox contributes to the intensity characteristic of this sign.  

Scorpio season aligns with the ancient celebration of Samhain, a pagan holiday of Gaelic origins.  Translating to “summer’s end,” Samhain is the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere.  The modern Halloween tradition takes its spirit from Samhain, which is mirrored also in other celebrations in different parts of the globe.  There is a stark truth, a Scorpionic paradox, which underlies these traditions--the recognition of death as a part of life.  The celebration of this transition, avoided by many modern societies, affords a holistic perspective to the internal psyche.  The celebration of our ancestors creates connection of consciousness through the generations, and suggests humility to the individual ego in the realization that each life reaches back to before its birth, as each of us is linked in the chain of our personal lineage within the web of cultural history.  Each individual emerges from the love and trials of our ancestors, who deserve that we honor their efforts by paying it forward. By dignifying death, we engage with the Mystery in a way that is personally meaningful and socially cohesive.  

Scorpio is more than mystery, however.  Scorpio is magic.  Magic is actively engaging with the mystery through directing our willpower.  Scorpio’s motto is I desire.  Both the realization of our desires and the practice of magic require actively participating in co-creative effort by properly applying energy (Mars) and resources (Pluto).  In the process of harnessing and yielding power with the natural and social forces surrounding us, some things die, some are born, and some transformed.  Thus the engine of evolution moves ever onward.

Scorpio is big news this year, and this is because the biggest planet in our solar system--Jupiter--has recently transitioned into this sign.  Jupiter, as the planet of expansion, amplifies the energy of the sign it occupies.  At the time of the new moon, the two most benevolent planets--Venus and Jupiter--will also be in Scorpio, having met in conjunction a few days prior. Venus and Mars, meanwhile, are in mutual reception.  This means that each planet is in a sign the others rules, lending its attributes to the other in a hidden, yet harmonious way.  Themes of love and desire are heightened this moon, as are those of power and control.  A note of caution, the two rulers of Scorpio (Mars and Pluto) will be squared, a potentially explosive--or worse, violent--combination.  This disharmonious aspect indicates a tension in regards to how we hold and wield our power in relationships, whether that relationship is between self and other, or simply the surface and shadow sides of the single individual.

At this time of year, the veil between the realms is thin.  The trees losing their leaves is symbolic of the stripping away of the masks of our ego.  Aligning our personal efforts with the Universal Will allows us to perform the magic of manifesting our desires.  This cannot happen until we first find an inner transparency, and are honest with ourselves about how we are internally aligning our intentions and externally directing our actions.  Through this practice, we discover that progress on our path moves more easily when we are coming from a place of vulnerability and humility, allowing some parts of ourselves to die, so that others may be born and/or transformed.  This new moon, find the magic in letting go of that which is not meant for you, so you may be free, like the Phoenix, to follow your heart's truest desire.