Full Moon in Scorpio

Scorpio is the fall of the Moon, watery zodiacal terrain where the Moon is symbolically brought low into a terrestrial depression. Yet this lunar depression holds impressions of immense dimensions. The insights received within the chthonic depths of Scorpio can make us feel uncomfortable with their uncompromising perception. The Moon full of light in Scorpio illuminates the depths of bodily, emotional, and psychic material, confronting our awareness with matters, memories, and meaning that had been buried, repressed, or avoided. Though the fixity inherent in the polarity between Taurus and Scorpio can resist dismantling dynamics that have brought success and stability, the Full Moon in Scorpio on 23 April will cast light upon what needs to be shed and dissolved to allow for burgeoning creative pathways to fully emerge. Drawing upon the cutting penetration of the Scorpion that pierces through facades and superficial motivations, the Scorpio Full Moon will inspire disconnection from the trappings of external status symbols to focus more on what will bring inner fulfillment.

The Full Moon in Scorpio will deliver a deepening of meaning, as it will shine a spotlight on narratives coming to a head that have been developing over the course of an extremely volatile past month. Following the Lunar Eclipse in Libra on 25 March there has been the unusual appearance of the “Mother of Dragons” comet that reached peak brightness on 21 April, a Total Solar Eclipse in Aries on 8 April, a conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus on 20 April, as well as a Mercury retrograde passage that began on 1 April. Although the scorching tail of the comet has been difficult for many to see, it’s presence amplified the unruly and destabilizing potency of the Aries Solar Eclipse for signifying the downfall of those in exalted positions, dramatic changes in large-scale power dynamics, and dynamic shifts in personal stories. Their combined correspondence with chaotic change has been further magnified by the disruptive impact of Jupiter and Uranus forming a conjunction at the same time that Mercury has been undergoing a retrograde passage in proximity with the Aries Solar Eclipse. With Mercury stationing direct on 25 April close to the North Node of the Moon in Aries, there will be an electric atmosphere for receiving revelations within the surrounding cacophony.

The Full Moon at 4°17’ Scorpio is separating from an intensifying square aspect with Pluto in Aquarius and applying toward a flowing trine with Saturn in Pisces. The day after the lunation, the Scorpio Moon will oppose Jupiter and Uranus while also forming trine aspects with Mars and Neptune in Pisces. The electrifying impact of Uranus upon Jupiter can shatter the Saturnine forms of containment we have constructed, enabling sudden leaps of vision that transcend previous restrictions. The Scorpio Moon’s connection with Saturn and opposition with Jupiter and Uranus may bring realization of where we need to surrender to the passing away of formerly reliable structures we have outgrown that will be unable to support the inspiring visions of future growth that have been arising. Since the eclipse season of the past month has also coincided with Saturn moving within a fifteen degree orb with Neptune (the orb utilized by Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche to track the impact of outer planet alignments), the boundaries of Saturn have become more fluid than normal as the star of Kronos has deepened into the dissolution of ending a cycle with Neptune. Due to Saturn also occupying the domicile of Jupiter, the earth shaking alignment of Jupiter and Uranus will be unusually freeing from past restraints for many. With the Scorpio Full Moon also in square aspect with Pluto, there will be a continuation of explosive clashes and confrontations dominating the headlines of current events, yet at the same time the cathartic influence of Pluto can empower bold action to create change with fierce determination.

The Full Moon is in the domicile, bounds, triplicity and face of Mars, with Mars diving into a union with Neptune while occupying its own bounds, triplicity, and face in Pisces. Mars is in the middle of a sequence of crucially important aspects that add to the longterm implications of present dynamics we would normally associate with a time period containing eclipses, a comet, and a conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus. Under the light of the Scorpio Full Moon, Mars will be separating from a conjunction with Saturn on 10 April, sextile aspects with Jupiter and Uranus on 19 April, and applying to a conjunction with Neptune that will become exact on 28 April. The extremely powerful influence of Mars upon the Scorpio Full Moon is thus even more magnified due to Mars carrying influences from the conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, the most important alignment of 2024, while also activating the dynamic building between Saturn and Neptune which will become increasingly important in 2025 and 2026. The combined influence of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune upon Mars will lead many to be swept up into the rushing tidal waves of larger collective movements, such as the mass protests calling for an Israeli ceasefire. Due to Mercury simultaneously stationing direct in the fiery home of Mars, extra mindfulness will be needed within personal dynamics to clarify and ground perception in order to avoid needless conflict, and instead make productive use of the increased potential for groundbreaking change.

Mars and Neptune are commonly viewed in astrology as difficult archetypal forces to bring together in combination, as the boundless, unifying, and diffusive streams of Neptune can obscure the focusing of Mars, making it trickier for Mars to cut through options into focalized action in some cases, over inflating the crusading hubris of Mars in other cases. Liz Greene has written that Mars and Neptune can be effective together in any creative field that transmutes the inspiration of imaginal muses into artistic forms, as well as also potent in the realms of politics and the military due to their capacity to galvanize collective movements into action. Neptune draws our attention into vaster wholes, which can include spiritual experiences of the All, as well as dissolution of individual identity into group identities. Since Mars was received by Jupiter in a sextile aspect at the same time Jupiter was forming a conjunction with Uranus, there will be an abundance of inspirational force to courageously direct with Mars as well as extreme potential for hubris. The more you can reflect upon and clarify the goals and work that matter the most to you, the better you will be able to stay focused while drawing from the synergy of Mars and Neptune.

Jupiter Uranus Conjunction

While the Scorpio Full Moon will illuminate changes set in motion by the recent Aries Solar Eclipse, it will more immediately magnify the impact made by the conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus on 20 April at 21°49’ Taurus. The documentation and analysis of the Jupiter and Uranus cycle is one of the most brilliantly powerful sections of Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas, a conjunction Tarnas associated with creative and emancipatory cultural activity across many fields as well as sudden ascents and unexpected insights that expand our world and open vision to new horizons. One of the most important aspects of his treatment of the Jupiter and Uranus cycle is the fact that the great leaps in thought that occur when Jupiter and Uranus unite, such as Darwin and Wallace’s theory of evolution proposed in 1858, often are overlooked at the time. This is especially true in our personal lives, as it is often the quiet moments of contemplation or mundane activity that produce the breakthrough thought that can ultimately alter the trajectory of our lives in significant ways. Sometimes our life is dramatically changing to outside observers when Jupiter and Uranus come together, but other times it may be more about an inner shift, unnoticeable to others, that eventually leads to a more dramatic liberation. The Scorpio Full Moon heralds a time period to closely monitor developing ideas, making time and space to experiment, brainstorm, journal, or any other activity that can generate and document the development of creative ideas.

Long before the global pandemic of 2020, astrologers were aware that the first six years of the 2020s would deliver the kind of extraordinary change that would announce a new era due to the significant sequence of alignments and planetary ingresses that would occur. As part of this sequence, in between the conjunctions of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in 2020, the clashes between Saturn and Uranus in 2021 and 2022, and the conjunction between Saturn and Neptune in 2026 two other alignments stood out due their immense creative potential: the conjunction between Jupiter and Neptune in 2022 and the conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus in 2024 that would form within range of a harmonious sextile with one another. While Jupiter and Neptune may have correlated with disillusionment necessitating an important reorientation in many cases, it also was capable of giving birth to an inspiring dream that the synergy of Jupiter and Uranus can now fully set into motion. There’s nothing easy about the alignment of Saturn and Neptune coming into effect the next couple of years, but the years ahead also hold potential for radical change rooted in your core values and authentic creative desires. The present period of Jupiter and Uranus joining together is important to make the most of by allowing its emancipatory impulses to lead you toward the fulfilling work, practices, and purposes that can carry you across the liminal collective threshold we will be crossing in the years ahead.

Although the Scorpio Full Moon is a small moment in time within the vaster expanse of unfolding astrological cycles, it is nonetheless an important moment to seize for reflection and clarification regarding your deepest values and the priorities that matter the most to you. With Mercury stationing direct on 25 April, the charged atmosphere may bring significant revelations of where you may need to change course or instead deepen into committed action. If you are someone whose life has already become extremely disrupted by the recent eclipses, or if you have been feeling more of a destabilizing influence rather than feeling the inspiration of innovative creativity, you may later discover that some of the ways your life has been altered or shook in the past month ultimately become intrinsic to a much larger and meaningful change you later experience. Jupiter and Uranus will continue to constellate a potent force between them during the next couple of months, and so the period in which they could deliver a significant breakthrough for you is not nearly at an end yet.

Of course, Jupiter and Uranus do not always correlate with positive events and their disruptive influence can also be experienced as unsettling and upsetting in explosive ways. There is also another side of Jupiter and Uranus that can lead to egotistical inflation and impulsive leaps that lack the preparation needed to lay a solid foundation for future growth and accomplishment. We need to be mindful of not becoming swept up into the whirlwind of future visions and instead remain grounded in the present as well as drawing from the wellspring of what has remained solid from the past. In fact, those immersed in ancient or traditional lineages will likely find the month ahead unusually potent for finding ways to bring insights drawn from the past into the present. If you haven’t felt that you’ve received any productive breakthroughs from Jupiter and Uranus yet, keep in mind that the upcoming New Moon in Taurus on 7 May will form a conjunction with Uranus and Jupiter, followed by the Sun moving through conjunctions with Uranus on 13 May and Jupiter on 18 May at the same time Venus conjoins Uranus, followed by Venus and Jupiter uniting at the end of Taurus on 23 May.

During the waning half of the present lunar cycle, as Mercury begins to generate forward momentum there will be two significant ingresses by Venus and Mars at the end of April. Venus will enter her earthy domicile of Taurus on 29 April and then will form a catalyzing square aspect with Pluto in Aquarius on 30 April at the same time Pluto is stationing retrograde. Simultaneously, Mars will enter his fiery domicile of Aries on 30 April and then form a sextile aspect with Pluto in Aquarius on 3 May, one day after Pluto stations retrograde on 2 May. Around the same time, Mercury will activate the degree of the Aries Solar Eclipse on 4 May, a few days before the New Moon in Taurus. These days will be especially important to pay attention to, as there will likely be significant developments related to the ways in which storylines have been changing since the eclipses, as well as the ways in which you have been beckoned by Pluto in Aquarius to pursue a new direction in the past year. The end of April and beginning of May will be a potent time to put in focused work and effort to build upon any inventive ideas brought by Jupiter and Uranus.

Scorpio 1 Decan

The Full Moon will illuminate the first decan of Scorpio associated with the Five of Cups arcanum illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image is full of desire and despair, as a figure cloaked in black stares with fixation upon three spilled chalices. Yet the remaining two upright chalices suggest the possibility of quenching the thirst of desire elsewhere, regenerating the cycle of desirous pursuit and sudden loss all over again. It is a fitting image to associate with the first decan of Scorpio as it captures the fundamental nature of having desires within our constantly shifting world in which we must deal with the loss of what we desire most of all. As T. Susan Chang has written, “by facing the 5 of Cups, we learn what matters most in life and resolve to fight for it.”

The first decan of Scorpio is the face of Mars, and so in Henrich Cornelius Agrippa’s The Celestial World, translated by Eric Purdue, the image for the first face of Scorpio reveals the destructive side of desire: “In the first face of Scorpio rises a woman with a good face and condition, along with two men beating each other.” Austin Coppock in 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Jawbone” to the first decan of Scorpio, declaring hunger as its chief concern. Coppock focused the meaning of this face upon the constantly circulating cycle of desire, including consuming hunger, satiation, the loss of what one desires, and the competitive violence that can be constellated when pursuing desires. Coppock concluded that within the first decan of Scorpio “we are brought to confront the cycle of hungers which are the price and pleasure of incarnate being,” yet by coming into relationship with it “we are less bound to it, and less blind, than if we ignore it.”  Thus whether the eclipses in the past month have brought you losses or gains, you will be able to align more fully with the meaning of the new cycle between Jupiter and Uranus by deepening in relationship with your desires so that you allow for the passing away of desires from the past that need to be released while gaining a healthier relationship with the true desires drawing your attention.

Fascinatingly, the Hellenistic text 36 Airs of the Zodiac ascribed a different representation of desire to first decan of Scorpio: the Numphai (Nymphs), feminine nature spirits who reside in sacred streams, springs, groves, and grottoes. Regarding the nymphs who danced in the retinue of Artemis, Walter Burkett wrote that “the very word nymphe itself refers equally to the divinities present in brooks and flowers, to human brides, and to young women in their first encounter with love.” Combined with the desirous nature of this face, the presence of the nymphs also brings to mind the ecstatic Dionysus who often ran freely with wild nymphs and whose all consuming desires incited dismemberment and rebirth. Just like Orphic cosmology portrayed the dismemberment of Dionysus as symbolizing the divine spirit incarnated in human life, the presence of the Nymphs in the first decan of Scorpio also represents the eros of spirit incarnating in matter and the infusion of the worldly matter surrounding us with divine spirit and desire. 

Returning to the image of the Five of Cups, the flowing river in the background can also be viewed as a habitat of nymphs that contains the medicine we need for coming to terms with the endless cycle of desires present in the first face of Scorpio. Like Psyche who repeatedly leapt into rivers during her quest to unite with Eros, we must follow desires through their mysterious initiations and reckonings of soul in order to have a fully lived life. In commentaries in the appendix of Liber Novus, Carl Jung described Eros as a force of “dissolution and movement” that runs counter to the “ordering and insistence” of Logos. Jung declared Eros to be “a principle that contains a commingling of all the fundamental activities of the soul,” stating that it “is not form-giving but form-fulfilling . . . it is not the bed and direction of the stream but the impetuous water flowing in it.” Rather than insisting on the control of ordering and paddling against the forceful currents of collective events that will be rushing with speed in the month ahead, find ways to enter the stream of flowing life force in ways that will allow for fulfillment of your purpose.  Within the flux of change, may the Full Moon in Scorpio bring reminders of your eternal and soulful essence found within.

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References

Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. (2021). Three Occult Books of Philosophy. Translated by Eric Purdue. Inner Traditions.

Burkert, Walter. (1985). Greek Religion. Blackwell Publishing.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Chang, Rod. Comets in Astrology: Meaning from Celestial Events. First published in the Astrological Journal of the Astrological Association of Great Britain, Nov-Dec, 2014.

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press.

Greene, Liz. (1996). The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption. Weiser.

Jung, C. G., & Shamdasani, S. (Ed.). (2009). The red book: Liber novus. W. W. Norton & Co

Tarnas, Richard. (2006). Cosmos and Psyche. Plume.