Solar Eclipse in Scorpio

October 25, 2022 / grayastrology / 4 Comments

Solar Eclipse in Scorpio

Eclipses shroud the Sun’s radiant light with the black of night, momentarily turning the blue skies of daylight into darkness. The closer the eclipse occurs to the transiting lunar nodes, the more fully the shadow of the Moon covers the solar sphere and extinguishes its light. The Scorpio Solar Eclipse on October 25 is over ten degrees away from the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio, and so will partially obscure the Sun with a sliver of solar light remaining observable not unlike the shape of a crescent Moon. The Scorpio Solar Eclipse will initiate us into an extremely volatile eclipse season that will culminate with a Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on November 8 aligned with Uranus. While eclipse periods are known for demarcating major turning points in narratives, the eclipse season beginning with the Scorpio Solar Eclipse will be especially tempestuous and tumultuous.

An obvious symbolic theme involves the eclipsing of the exalted by the fallen. The Moon in its fall of Scorpio will eclipse the Sun with its shadow on October 25, followed by the Moon becoming eclipsed in its exaltation of Taurus on November 8 while uniting with the electrifying influence of Uranus. There could be an influx of people and topics holding exalted positions of cultural significance falling in status, or people and topics that have been undervalued within society or are associated with countercultural qualities gaining attention. We may also become drawn to critically examine and shed values and beliefs we have been conditioned by society to exalt, or release identities we have been conditioned to take on in order to achieve greater success within the surrounding culture.

The Solar Eclipse at 2º00’ Scorpio is applying closely to a conjunction with Venus at 2º39’ Scorpio, as the star of Aphrodite is barely beginning to separate from her regenerative conjunction with the Sun. The reanimation of Venus by the Sun on October 22 marked a point of renewal in our relationship with Venus, but we may need to traverse a period of liminal mystery regarding the way our values, aesthetics, and desires are in process of transmutation due to Venus being so closely bound to the warping impact of the eclipse. Significations of Venus such as the arts, creativity, music, relational dynamics, and sexuality will be major aspects of events occurring with the eclipse, and with Venus and the eclipse aligned with the South Node of the Moon we may have old memories and feelings deeply stirred by experiences of Venus. Experiences of nostalgia through music or other forms of Venus, for example, can bring significant memories in need of digestion, integration, or release as part of the regeneration underway. There may be a need to circumambulate memories as part of the rebirth that will be unfolding in the weeks ahead. Yet we will need to be mindful of not becoming stuck in a quagmire of past patterns that restrain us from embracing the changes needing to move us now.

The eclipse stirring the waters of Scorpio can amplify regenerative processes when we penetrate deep into dynamics, dissolving the places we have become fixated or stuck and allowing for a more essential form to coagulate out of the dissolution. The boggy environment of Scorpio can create incredibly intense trials for us to traverse, yet just as bogs have played a traditional role of supplying fuel, so can the cathartic emotional experiences propelled by the Scorpio Solar Eclipse ultimately catalyze new found strength in the months ahead. Scorpio is not only a place of burial and decomposition, but also nourishing aquatic terrain that feeds the growth of orchards and vineyards that will eventually produce fruit. Just as Scorpio natives are known for keeping to themselves, we may not be able to articulate the chthonic churning we are experiencing until the deeper meaning of eclipse experiences become clearer in the weeks ahead, allowing for the conservation of energy in the meantime.

The synergy between the Scorpio Solar Eclipse with the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio, known as the tail of the dragon, fits well with the alchemical ouroboros image of a dragon devouring its own tail. Eclipses are typically times of endings and beginnings simultaneously weaving together, even more so when volatilizing the nocturnal waters of Scorpio. Myth reminds us that creation always emerges out of destruction, eros out of chaos, and that the arising of creative new forms also necessitate the dissolution of the old. The strong influence of the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio during the coming month of eclipses means that the way forward will require returning to the patterns of the past that need to be more fully laid to rest so that their putrefaction can more fully fertilize new growth. Any space that can be cleared during the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle can also help in finding a flow with the propulsive changes likely to erupt in correspondence with the Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on November 8.

The Scorpio Solar Eclipse is in the home of Mars, while Mars in Gemini is dramatically slowing down in speed to station retrograde less than a week after the eclipse on October 30 at 25º37’ Gemini. With Mars slowing down to a standstill there can be frustration over not making forward progress, yet simultaneously there can be a burning inner fire calling for change and movement. As Mars stations retrograde it slowly turns the separating and dividing function of Mars inward, stoking our inner flames and initiating a process of realignment with our most deeply felt desire and purpose. While the retrograde movement of Mars can ultimately help bring release from past restrictions and set powerful change in motion in the months ahead, it’s intensified presence due to stationing in the week following the eclipse will require centering and taking a step back when becoming overheated to attune with the deeper shifts beginning to take shape. With Mars turning retrograde in the mutable, double-bodied sign of the Twins, we may be pulled in several directions at once and so will require discernment in where to focus and how to best utilize available time.

The closest aspect forming with Mars during the eclipse is a flowing trine from Mercury in Libra that will become exact on October 26, a day after the eclipse. With Mars in the airy home of Mercury their harmonious aspect will magnify mental activity that can be utilized in creative brainstorming and intellectual pursuits. Those dealing with difficulties will also need to be mindful of taking steps to calm nerves so as not to become excessively anxious. Mercury is moving fast in its invisible phase under the beams of the Sun, and so there will be a hidden quality to information exchanges that will require time to fully illuminate in meaning. Mercury will move quickly through a square aspect with Pluto on October 27, enter Scorpio on October 29 and then trigger the degree of the Scorpio Solar Eclipse on October 30, the same day that Mars stations retrograde. As a result there will be significant developments occurring at the end of October related to whatever storylines are developing with the eclipse.

Another indicator of monumental turning points in narratives occurring at the end of October is Jupiter changing signs and returning to its watery, nocturnal home of Pisces. Three days after the eclipse, Jupiter will return to Pisces on October 28 and rekindle the boundless imaginative potential of Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces coming together again within seven degrees of one another within the same sign. While the resilient hope of Jupiter becoming strengthened will be an asset in persevering through difficulties and inspiring others to do the same, there will also be increased friction, confusion and conflict to manage due to Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces coming into range of a square aspect with Mars. In particular, the contentious square aspect between Mars in Gemini with Neptune in Pisces will be slowly building with intensity over the next month until culminating in an exact aspect on November 19. In contrast, Jupiter in Pisces will not come closer than four degrees away from an exact square aspect with Mars.

Mars and Neptune are commonly viewed in astrology as difficult archetypal forces to bring together in combination, as the boundless and unifying imaginal force of Neptune brings obscuring fog to the focusing of Mars, making it trickier for Mars to cut through options into focalized action in some cases, over inflating the hubris of Mars in other cases. Liz Greene in her book on Neptune wrote that “Mars-Neptune inherently avoids any overt expression of the will because of Neptune’s longing for fusion,” yet also described how they can come together effectively in the arts and the therapeutic field, as well as in fields requiring collective inspiration such as politics and the military. To Greene, the shared aspirations that can come from Mars and Neptune are necessary to bring hope within our world of suffering, writing that “we would have a sadly impoverished world” without Mars and Neptune, “for there would be no artists to bring us our Dionysian ecstasy, nor imaginative leaders, teachers, scientists, or healers to help us achieve our collective dreams.”

Yet after Jupiter returns to Pisces on October 28, it will join forces with Neptune to create a more potentially productive dynamic with Mars in Gemini. During the Scorpio Solar Eclipse, Jupiter will be on the cardinal axis at zero degrees of Aries within the fiery home of Mars, infusing its fiery resilience into whatever trials we may be facing. Jupiter’s retreat back into its watery home of Pisces will considerably slow down its pace and allow us to sink into circumstances so we may deepen understanding of the meaning and growth taking shape for us. Jupiter and Mars can be an incredibly productive and visionary combination, and so the presence of Jupiter with Neptune in Pisces can be helpful for bringing imaginative visions and inspiring ideas into form when expressing our creativity.

While there is great creative potential possible with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces clashing with Mars stationing in between volatile eclipses, we will also need to descend into a dissolution of longstanding beliefs, passing through a disorienting phase of fluidity before we are able to differentiate and clarify the deeper meaning we are receiving. We can utilize the friction between Mars with Jupiter and Neptune to cut through the places we have deluded ourselves, allowing our experiences to reveal deeper truths and insight that bring about a reorientation to our reality. Embracing the states of emptying and not knowing that can be facilitated by the eclipse will invite and allow for the profound to enter our lives.

The polarity of signs activated by eclipses and the transiting lunar nodes tell a story over the course of eclipses moving back and forth within the signs of the North and South Nodes of the Moon. Consider the meaning of the natal houses in your birth chart containing Taurus and Scorpio, and reflect upon the trajectory of storylines that have developed across the timespan in which we have had eclipses in Taurus and Scorpio: the Total Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio on 15 May 2022, the Solar Eclipse in Taurus on 30 April 2022, and the Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on 19 November 2021. Occurring within the fixed signs of Taurus and Scorpio, these eclipses will have long ranging impact. Fixed signs can be resistant to change, but once they set change in motion they catalyze enduring effects.

Eclipses also come in families known as the Saros cycle. The origin of their ancestry begins at either the south or north pole and then traces a serpentine path around our world every eighteen or so years, moving ahead eleven degrees of celestial longitude each time. The Scorpio Solar Eclipse is part of the saros 124 eclipse family that originated with a partial solar eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 6 March 1049 at twenty-two degrees of Pisces; all of the eclipses in this family have occurred on the south or descending node of the Moon. Interestingly, at the time of the origin eclipse in 1049 there was also a close conjunction between Venus with the eclipse in Pisces. Venus at the time was moving direct into her superior conjunction with the Sun which occurred less than a week later at 27º28’ Pisces. The difference between this origin eclipse and the present one is that in the 2022 eclipse Venus already completed her superior conjunction three days before the eclipse, rather than having her regenerating union with the Sun occur after the eclipse as happened in 1049.

Bernadette Brady in her book Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark gave the name of “6 South” to the eclipse family of the Scorpio Solar Eclipse, connecting her interpretation with the fact that there was an opposition between Pluto in Aquarius with Mars retrograde in Leo during the 1049 origin eclipse, as well as that the conjunction between Venus with the Pisces eclipse was at the midpoint between Uranus and the lunar nodes. Brady declared that this eclipse family “is about being forceful and taking power” to the extent of even having “a manic flavor about it, with great force or strength manifesting in the relationship area.” Brady also said there can be “sudden events” within relationship, “like falling in or out of love, or sudden sexual encounters.” With Venus being closely aligned with the Scorpio Solar Eclipse, and Venus ruling the subsequent Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus that will be conjoining Uranus, one possible manifestation could be sudden shifts within relationship. However, for those within relationships possessing enduring bonds, rather than a relationship suddenly ending there could be significant changes within inner desires or within other realms of Venus such as artistic expression and inspiration.

Brady’s description of this eclipse family being connected with the seizure of power has obvious associations with numerous current events unfolding around the world. The gravity of the various crises erupting within world events can be further shown by the intensified presence of Saturn in Aquarius during the time of the Sun’s light becoming eclipsed by the Moon. Saturn stationed direct three days before the eclipse on October 22, saturating the astrological landscape with its significations of authority, tests, pressure, rejection, containment, structuring, and deep contemplation. The intensification of Saturn during the eclipse makes its longstanding square aspect with Uranus in Taurus even more powerful, amplifying the potential for sudden changes in storylines that completely change the course of events. The shattering influence of Uranus upon Saturn can dislodge the places where we have been stuck, forcing Saturn to release its grip so that new vistas of expansive opportunities may enter our minds.

Moreover, in between the Scorpio Solar Eclipse and the Taurus Lunar Eclipse on November 8, Venus, Mercury and the Sun in Scorpio will form harsh square aspects with Saturn and volatilizing opposition aspects with Uranus. The fact that the Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus will be conjoining Uranus and forming a square aspect with Saturn means that we can expect an acceleration of change picking up speed in the weeks following the solar eclipse. With Saturn in Aquarius forming a square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes at the southern bending of the lunar nodes, we can draw upon the stalwart capacity of Saturn in Aquarius for stepping back from overheated conflict to contemplate and analyze the strategy needed to address developing difficulties. Saturn in Aquarius can support us when we to stand our ground alone, yet we will ideally be able to form alliances of support with those aligned with our values who can engage in mutually beneficial relationship with us. As old systems and structures continue to fragment in the wake of the tension between Saturn and Uranus, there will be opportunities to form alliances with those who share our ideals for the kind of world we wish to create together.

Scorpio 1 Decan

The Solar Eclipse in Scorpio falls in the first face of Scorpio associated with the Five of Cups 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. There is also a river flowing underneath a bridge behind the figure, evoking the flux philosophy of Heraclitus that no one ever steps in the same river twice due to the river as well as the person always changing. 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.” Fittingly, Mars is the ruler of the first face of Scorpio.

In Henrich Corenelius 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 his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Jawbone” to the first decan of Scorpio, declaring hunger as its chief concern. Coppock synthesized the ancient textual images of this face around 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.”

Demetra George’s translation of The Sacred Book of Hermes to Asclepius (a Greek language text ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus during early Roman Imperial period, possibly around 50 CE) revealed the image of the first decan of Scorpio to be a man with a bull’s face and four wings who is girdled, carrying a small water urn in his right hand and a sceptre in his left. Containment of this powerful figure by a belt evokes the image of Aphrodite’s girdle that has been associated with her many charms of desire, and in connection with the emptying release of the Scorpio eclipse the water urn could connect with the experience of purification and regeneration that will ultimately occur in relation to our attractions and desires due to Venus in Scorpio being within a degree of the eclipse.

Fascinatingly, the Hellenistic text 36 Airs of the Zodiac ascribed a different representation of desire to this face: the Numphai (Nymphs), feminine nature spirits who reside in sacred streams, springs, groves, and grottoes. Austin Coppock in 36 Faces speculated that the attribution of the nymphs to this face relates to them being shown as objects of desires for mortals and immortals in mythology. 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. Yet perhaps most of all, the presence of the Nymphs in the first decan of Scorpio 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.

If you enjoy my writing please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page. Take a look to see the benefits you will receive as a patron!

References

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

Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark. Weiser Books.

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

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

George, Demetra. (2021). Egyptian Decans: Star Gods of Time. Astrology University.

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

New Moon in Scorpio

October 22, 2019October 22, 2019 / grayastrology / 1 Comment

Max Ernst (1926) In Praise of Freedom

New Moon in Scorpio

“Every development leads through the undeveloped, but capable of development. In its undeveloped condition it is almost worthless, while development represents a highest value that is unquestionable. One must give up this value or at least apparently give it up to be able to attend to the undeveloped. But this stands in the sharpest contrast to the developed, which perhaps represents our best and highest achievement. The acceptance of the undeveloped is therefore like a sin, like a false step, a degeneration, a descent to a deeper level; in actual fact, however, it is a greater deed than remaining in an ordered condition at the expense of the other side of our being, which is thus at the mercy of decay.”

— C.G. Jung, from Appendix B of Liber Novus (aka The Red Book)

The regenerative blackness of the Scorpio New Moon on October 27 (PST) comes in the days leading up to Samhain, the Day of the Dead, All Saints Day, and Halloween. In the northern hemisphere it is the season of embracing the increase of night and falling leaves by honoring ancestors and the living otherworld. There is a profound stillness to be found within the darkness of this lunation, an emptying as well as a reception of inner insight. The New Moon in Scorpio is exactly opposite Uranus in Taurus while its ruler Mars in Libra is in an exact square aspect with Saturn in Capricorn, marking it as a key gateway between all the diverse developments of 2019 and what is to come in the ending and beginning of a new year. The wet, boggy landscape of Scorpio is filled not only with decomposition and burial mounds, but also the fecund, fructifying growth that emerges from putrefaction. Issues from the past may emerge in need of laying to rest with the sanctity of funeral rites, yet simultaneously our inner senses will reveal burgeoning desires to be curious about and follow in unexpected directions.

The Moon has its fall in Scorpio, and so it’s further significant that the New Moon is only one degree beyond the exact degree of the Moon’s fall at 3º Scorpio. As a result, there is an extremely fallen quality to the Scorpio New Moon that can bring us low to the ground, like venturing into a depression under the earth with an intensity of underworld initiation. Scorpio is a place of obsession and fixating on plans of development, insisting on certain outcomes against all odds to such an extent that one can become flooded with emotional overwhelm when things do not manifest as desired. Since Venus will also be conjoining Mercury in Scorpio within the darkness of the New Moon, as Mercury is simultaneously stationing retrograde, it will be important to release attachment to controlling outcomes and instead flow with the trajectory of events with a willingness to modify plans as necessary.

The New Moon arrives at the heart of the Uranus retrograde, when Uranus is as close to our Earth in orbit as it gets within its cycle. Uranus stationed retrograde on August 11 at 6º36′ Taurus and will eventually station direct on January 10, 2020 at 2º38′ Taurus. This means Uranus will eventually station direct at the same time as the exact conjunction between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn on January 12, 2020. As the Scorpio Moon melds into the Sun while opposing Uranus, unforeseen revelations regarding the path to follow into the unknown future may strike suddenly. Uranus electrifies the fallen quality of the Scorpio New Moon, like an otherworldly vision of healing received while laying on the ground, incubating.

Unlike the frenetic quality of oppositional aspects when Uranus was in Aries, the opposition between Uranus in Taurus with the New Moon in Scorpio cultivates a brooding intensification of inwardly directed senses. Rather than attempting to control natural surroundings, Uranus in Taurus promotes finding ways to merge the magic of nature and all of its constant changes into one’s creative process of invention. The scholar and philosopher Peter Kingsley has spoken and written extensively about the sacred ground of our inner senses and how we can become “a farmer in the unseen worlds” engaging in a “whole process of inner agriculture.” If you feel like giving up due to obstacles or nothing seeming to work out as planned, make space for quiet immersion within inner senses to discover guidance for the next steps to take from Uranus.

Rene Magritte (1963) Les Fanatiques

Mars in Libra rules the Scorpio New Moon and is beginning to separate from an exact square aspect with Saturn in Capricorn while applying toward a square aspect with Pluto in Capricorn. The influence of Mars will amplify frustration and anger regarding barriers restricting achievement of goals, as well as over anything feeling unjust or out of balance within personal as well as societal relationships. While resiliency and persistence will be necessary allies on whatever quest you have undertaken, it will do no good to try to fight your way through unmoveable obstacles as it will only achieve exhaustion. Mars in Libra needs to instead find ways to utilize the tools of Venus in order to manipulate power dynamics through intellectual invention and social charm.

The traditional astrological concept of essential dignities is worth considering in relation to the catalyzing square between Mars and Saturn, as Mars and Saturn are in mutual reception due to Mars occupying the exaltation of Saturn and Saturn residing in the exaltation of Mars. It’s further notable that this is reception based upon the idealized grandeur of exaltation rather than the grounded security of domicile. While exaltation correlates with peak experiences, whatever goes up to great heights can also fall from grace. William Lilly famously described angular, unimpeded planets in exaltation as signifying arrogance, haughtiness, and “assuming more to him than his due.” Thus it is worth contemplating whether or not you are trying to fight for more than your fair share of resources, or if you are becoming frustrated over not manifesting desired results due to setting your expectations too high.

While Saturn is strongly secure in its home of Capricorn, it is also undergoing an intense process of shedding and honing due to being in between the South Node of the Moon and Pluto in Capricorn. In contrast, Mars is journeying far away from its home with few resources in Libra, yet since it is in a superior position of being in the tenth place from Saturn it can incite a volatilized charge against the constraints of Saturn. It will be wise to avoid unnecessary conflict, as fights can quickly become amplified with viciousness. The friction between Mars and Saturn can be best utilized through hard work and determination applied to productive effort, releasing attachment to the inessential, using the tension to discern what you truly value the most.

Although Mars is lacking in essential dignity, the New Moon in Scorpio is in the most powerful degree range of the zodiac for Mars since it is in the domicile, face, and bounds of the red planet. Hellenistic astrologer Vettius Valens (2nd Century CE) described the first seven degrees of Scorpio where Mars has its bounds as “frenetic, tending towards anger, and a bold, free speaking style- the kind to say what is necessary at any given time.” Positively, the Scorpio New Moon can be supportive for doing what needs to be done to separate and protect yourself from negative, toxic influences. Since Mars is in Libra, however, a more measured approach of strategic intervention will be favored over impulsive, direct action.

After Mars persists through challenging square aspects with Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn during the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle, it will eventually form a stabilizing sextile aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius during the Full Moon in Taurus on November 12 that can help with recovering from conflicts and taking inspired action. As the waxing Moon will also unite with Uranus on November 11 just before reaching fullness, there is potential to liberate yourself from stuck places and ultimately achieve greater self actualization through maintaining courageous resiliency in the face of difficulties in the lunar cycle ahead.

Gustave_Doré_-_Dante_Alighieri_-_Inferno_-_Plate_7_(Beatrice).jpg

Beatrice with Virgil from Dante’s Inferno by Gustave Dore

The Scorpio New Moon has a quality of strange stillness and suspense due to Venus applying to a conjunction with Mercury, as Mercury is simultaneously stationing retrograde. Mercury will station retrograde on October 31 at 27º38′ Scorpio, moving backwards through Scorpio until stationing direct at 11º35′ Scorpio on November 20. It is always important to increase practices of mindfulness and pay close attention whenever Mercury is stationing, as we may receive early signs and messages regarding elements of life that will require focus, release, repair, as well as in depth research during the retrograde journey of Mercury. As Venus unites with Mercury on October 30 at the threshold of Mercury shifting retrograde, we may become drawn toward applying intense creative focus toward a project to develop in the month ahead as well as realize ways we need to make radical changes within certain relational dynamics with others.

As Mercury turns back to retrace its steps through the watery landscape of Scorpio, it will be entering its invisible phase in which it will play the role of a psychopomp guiding us into the insight we may discover in shadowy places and inner senses. Whereas Mercury will demand an unflinching examination of any cracks in foundational elements of our life in need of mending, Venus will be calling for us to embrace and integrate whatever core purpose brings inspiration. Venus will be increasing in brightness as an Evening Star, glowing radiant in twilight as she also becomes a stronger presence in our lives during the month ahead. Venus in Scorpio will be mutually exchanging signs with Mars in Libra through November 1, deepening engagement with new desires and interest in magnetizing support within relationships. Venus holds particularly potent desires within the final ten degrees of Scorpio she is traversing, as she has the resources of being in her own face and triplicity. Let Venus fertilize a fascinating mission for Mercury to undertake during its retrograde phase in November.

After Venus leaves the deep waters of Scorpio on November 1, she will enter the expansive territory of Sagittarius in which she will steadily make her way toward a conjunction with Jupiter that will complete on November 24. The co-presence of Venus and Jupiter in Sagittarius during November will be beneficial in synthesizing ideas and beliefs into a larger vision to build towards through our daily effort in spite of any difficulties we must contend with.

Gustave Dore The Vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones

The other major aspects of the Scorpio New Moon involve harmonizing aspects with Saturn in Capricorn. While Saturn is mutually applying toward a sextile aspect with Neptune retrograde in Pisces, the Scorpio New Moon is also applying toward a sextile aspect with the South Node of the Moon, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn. Meanwhile, since Mercury will be moving backwards through Scorpio, it will eventually form sextile aspects with Pluto, Saturn, and the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn in November. Saturn will complete its exact sextile with Neptune retrograde on November 8 at 16º01′ degrees of Capricorn and Pisces, making it an especially powerful season of Samhain to honor and commune with ancestors.

The karmic caravan of Ketu, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn has dredged up personal, ancestral, and societal issues in need of reparation during 2019. During the recent Libra season, this deep rooted material was stirred up and catalyzed through the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mercury moving through the same square aspects with Ketu, Saturn, and Pluto that Mars is engaging during the Scorpio New Moon. While Mars is heating up and volatilizing all of the myriad strands of historical and contemporary injustice and oppression contained within the karmic configuration, on a personal level the harmonious aspects formed by the Scorpio New Moon and Neptune open an opportunity for dissolving old, restrictive patterns in order to reconfigure our relationship with the associated material and discern a new way forward. The gravity and weight of Saturn and Pluto coming together in a new cycle will be intensifying in the next three months, and so the Scorpio New Moon is ideal for making space to reflect upon ways to realign and flow in greater harmony with the currents of change taking shape.

5 of Cups by Pamela Colman Smith

Scorpio 1 Decan

The Scorpio New Moon arises in the first decan of Scorpio associated with the Five of Cups card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image appears desolate at first, as a despairing figure stares with fixation upon three spilled chalices. However, upon closer look there remain two upright chalices behind the figure, suggesting hope. There is also a river flowing underneath a bridge behind the figure, evoking the flux philosophy of Heraclitus that no one ever steps in the same river twice since the river is always changing as well as the person. 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 in the world.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Jawbone” to the first decan of Scorpio, declaring hunger as its chief concern. Coppock synthesized the ancient textual images of this face around the constantly circulating cycle of desire, including consuming hunger, satiation, the loss of what one desires, and the competitive violence of pursuing desires. Curiously, the ancient Hermetic text Liber Hermetis described “a crab having wings” residing in the first decan of Scorpio, indicating that liberation may be possible once we face the compulsive nature of the cycle. The Hellenistic text 36 Airs of the Zodiac ascribed the Numphai (Nymphs) to this face, feminine nature spirits who reside in sacred streams, groves, and grottoes. The obsessive nature of this face brings to mind the figure of Dionysus who often ran with wild nymphs and whose all consuming desires incite dismemberment and rebirth. Fittingly, Mars is considered to be the ruler of this face.

The importance of following desires into a fully lived life, as well as the mysterious initiations and soul reckoning we experience as a result, was stressed in the depth psychological work of Carl Jung. In commentaries on Liber Novus (found in Appendix B of the tome), Carl Jung described Eros and Logos as “fundamental psychic powers that form a pair of opposites, each one requiring the other.” While Jung connected Logos with “ordering and insistence,” he described Eros as “dissolution and movement” as well as “desire, longing, force, exuberance, pleasure, suffering…” 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 the wine that will be poured into the vessel; it is not the bed and direction of the stream but the impetuous water flowing in it.”

In the coming months as all things related to Saturn and Pluto intensify in correspondence with their approaching conjunction, we will all need to adjust to the reordering of numerous societal factors as cultural structures deepen into the process of breakdown and regeneration already underway. Within the darkness of the Scorpio New Moon, make a trip to the ever flowing stream of Eros in order to fill a flask of vivifying fluid to bring on the journey ahead. Allow the refreshment from the waters of the Scorpio New Moon to cleanse what needs to be purified and to arouse the passion needed to make life meaningful. There will be lessons of longing and suffering we will need to survive if we wish to help create the world we truly desire to inhabit.

If you enjoy my writing please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page. My intention with Patreon is to receive enough support to not only help me continue to offer the articles I have been doing for free, but to also expand the scope of what I am offering. Take a look to see the benefits you will receive as a patron!

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Jung, C.G. (2009) The Red Book (Liber Novus). Translated by Mark Kyburz, John Peck, and Sonu Shamdasani. Philemon Series. WW Norton & Company.

Kingsley, Peter. (2006). Return to Eternity: a transformational workshop with Peter Kingsley.

Lilly, William. (2004 edition). Christian Astrology. Astrology Classics.

Vettius Valens of Antioch, Book One. Rendered from ancient Greek into modern English by Andrea Gehrz. (2016). Moira Press.

Scorpio Full Moon & Jupiter

April 29, 2018 / grayastrology / Leave a comment

Detail from The Cross Rose in the Garden of Venus by Marlene Seven Bremner (2016)

Full Moon in Scorpio

We marvel at the lush petals opening, quivering in colorful scent. Yet its the roots, invisible and unnoticed that nourish the splendor. The Full Moon in Scorpio invites us to descend into sensation, into our hidden inner world that replenishes vitality and sources our full presence in the world. Authentic growth comes from deepening into the senses of soul, quietly embracing how the fullness of our inner senses receives the fullness of the outside world. The Full Moon is united with Jupiter in Scorpio, meaning there is revelry to be found in depths of thought and feeling, whether through shared intimacy or solitary, penetrating contemplation.

Taurus has the grace of calm power and a stubborn resolve for maintaining the stability of whatever brings pleasure and nurturance. The season of Taurus invites gratitude for the beauty we find in our surroundings and doing the necessary work to prepare the fields of our domain for the harvest we wish to reap in the year ahead. The polarity of the Full Moon in Scorpio digs underneath the surface of our motivations to the primal desires that drive us and bring the intrinsic resiliency to persevere with full participation in life. The polarity between Scorpio and Taurus is a powerhouse willing to dig in and do the necessary work, and the surrounding astrological aspects indicate there are important endeavors to complete. However, it will also be important to make space and time for sensing within as its an especially fertile lunation for uncovering previously concealed insight.

The Scorpio Full Moon illuminates the path that has opened in the aftermath of numerous tumultuous astrological aspects that have dominated April. Over the course of the past month Mars has moved from a conjunction with Saturn (April 2) through a conjunction with Pluto (April 26) its beginning to separate from at the lunation. Mercury in Aries has formed two catalytic square aspects with Saturn in Capricorn, first while retrograde (April 5) and then a final time recently while direct (April 25). During the past month plans may not have gone smoothly, unforeseen obstacles or delays may have emerged, and our desires may have taken us off pre-planned paths into unknown terrain. The aspects surrounding the lunation suggest that however things have been developing, we have been given the needed information and felt the needed desires for intensifying realization of passion and purpose.

The union of Mars and Pluto in Capricorn rules the Full Moon, amplifying the potency of the lunation’s alliance with Jupiter. Whatever has been lurking in the shadows comes forward, demanding awareness. In some cases this subconscious material involves our positive potential we have been denying or holding back from. It also can involve ghosts of the past stirring up regrets, disappointments, and memories of immature behaviors we have now outgrown. Instead of debilitating ourselves with excessive self criticism, allow the putrefaction of the past to feed reception of the vital new presence ready to emerge from within. Mars and Pluto can be engaged best with the integrity of honest expression. If we attempt to block expression due to fear of external disapproval, the suppressed volatility of Mars and Pluto will erupt with volcanic force and unforeseen consequences. As a result its important to clarify internal feelings and then find ways to ground the inner fire into concrete action.

from Rosarium Philosophorum

The Full Moon in Scorpio forms a square and symbolic crossroads with its North Node in Leo and South Node in Aquarius. This deeply stirs lunar states of mind, irrational feelings, psychic messages, and subtle guidance to glean from flowing unconscious streams, especially since the Scorpio Moon is also applying to a trine with Neptune in Pisces. The Full Moon is at the bendings, and though this can feel chaotic it also creates reflective opportunities for investigating the undercurrents of our current trajectory and surrounding developments in relationships. Practically, this means that the Full Moon is at the point of forming a square aspect with the previous Leo Lunar Eclipse (January 31) as well as the upcoming Aquarius Lunar Eclipse (July 27). There are strong currents to navigate as the Scorpio Full Moon peaks, so do your best to balance the compulsive force of the union between Mars and Pluto with reflecting upon your current path and next steps to take. The force of Mars and Pluto together needs expression and creates the atmosphere in the weeks ahead to jump into the rush of life and do your works of passion.

The past month of Mercury moving retrograde, becoming purified by the Sun, and now moving direct again as a bright Morning Star has helped clarify passions and refined purposeful visions. Mercury is at maximum morning elongation as a Morning Star at the Scorpio Full Moon, and as it illuminates the liminal pre-dawn skies it will help open the awareness and make the inspiring connections that can bring the visions we have been developing into fruition. Frustrations and delays that arose in the past month through Mercury’s back and forth tension with Saturn have ultimately given us additional perspectives to draw from, with the process elucidating more effective strategies and choices. The mercurial process may also have catalyzed intimations of new potential voiced from within that can now be integrated.

Gary Caton in his book Hermetica Triptycha connected Mercury direct at maximum morning elongation to the rubedo phase of alchemy. Caton wrote that Mercury’s current connection with the rubedo phase signifies becoming “messengers of the future we have seen within us,” manifesting the new meaning gained during the recent Mercury retrograde period rather than returning to the status quo we had previously been used to. Caton advised as we integrate what we’ve brought back from spiritual realms and subconscious sensations, “the appearance of some externally chaotic conditions at this point actually demonstrates that the inner chaos of the spiritual realms has been successfully transferred, that spirit and matter are in correspondence” (p. 128). Embracing the volatility can help us deepen into the essential change and growth ready to be experienced.

Harmonia Elementorum (2017) by Marlene Seven Bremner

Saturn has begun its retrograde journey from 9º08′ Capricorn that will take it back to 2º32′ Capricorn when it stations direct on September 6. As a result this Saturn retrograde in Capricorn will be especially significant for anyone with sensitive natal chart placements in the first ten degrees of cardinal signs, but for all of us we are now at the beginning stage of returning to an examination of the issues that have arisen with the ingress of Saturn into Capricorn at the end of 2017. Saturn is in a harmonious sextile with the Scorpio Full Moon and flowing trine with the Taurus Sun, aspects that support time spent rooted in rumination. Saturn has turned away from the heated intensity brought by Mars earlier in the month to return to its cold and solitary lair that facilitates taking apart recent difficulties in order to discern how the lessons learned fit into the bigger picture of our lives.

In contrast to Saturn, Venus in Gemini is playing a mediating role with the transiting lunar nodes that are in hard aspect to the Scorpio Full Moon. Venus is forming harmonious aspects with both the South Node and North Node of the Moon, indicating that actively following our curiosity will help discern choices aligned with our life purpose to a greater extent. Venus in Gemini is explorative and willing to listen and sustain dialogue, promoting a period of greater socializing. Venus in the airy home of Mercury draws us toward perspectives we may not agree with at first but ultimately help us clarify our reasoning and purpose in response. Venus in Gemini can help us flexibly shift in line with volatile changes and refine our understanding through staying engaged in conversations and discovering connections that bring about self-realization.

Interestingly, Venus in Gemini is also contra-antiscia to Mars in Capricorn, a shadowy yet dynamic aspect that will bring relational issues to the surface. The triggering of old relational patterns is further signified by Chiron in Aries occupying the mid-point of Venus and Mars at 0º Aries. If we are reminded of old wounds we may also notice how much we have grown and are now capable of releasing old pain through genuine forgiveness and acceptance. There is also immense vitality within these aspects for creative expression that harnesses the value we can discover in difficult experiences and memories. The influence of Chiron further provokes self-esteem issues in relation to identity, placing importance on finding value for our true self rather than personas we have previously crafted to fit more easily into consensus culture. Chiron has been in Aries for a week and a half, so the Full Moon is opportune for noticing what issues have arisen in correspondence with Chiron changing signs.

5 of Cups by Pamela Colman Smith

Scorpio 1 Decan

The Full Moon illuminates the first face of Scorpio associated with the Five of Cups card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image appears desolate at first, as a despairing figure stares with fixation upon three spilled chalices. However, upon closer look there remain two upright chalices behind the figure, suggesting hope. There is also a river flowing underneath a bridge behind the figure, bringing the flux philosophy of Heraclitus that no one ever steps in the same river twice since the river is always changing as well as the person. 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 in the world.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Jawbone” to the first decan of Scorpio, declaring hunger as its chief concern. Coppock synthesized the ancient textual images of this face around the repeating cycle of desire, including consuming hunger, satiation, the loss of what one desires, and the competitive violence of pursuing desires. Curiously the ancient Hermetic text Liber Hermetis tells us “a crab having wings” resides here, indicating that liberation may be possible once we face the compulsive nature of the cycle. The Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Numphai to this face, feminine nature spirits who reside in sacred streams, groves, and grottoes. The obsessive nature of this face brings to mind the figure of Dionysus who often ran with wild nymphs and whose all consuming desires brought dismemberment and rebirth.

Mars rules the first face of Scorpio while conjoining Pluto in its exaltation of Capricorn. With Pluto amplifying the fires of Mars, feelings of grief and loss may come more strongly from collective rather than personal realms. We can feel pain and destruction within local and global collectives, from the degradation of natural environments to innumerable instances of abuse, abandonment, loss, and betrayal occurring in the lives of others if not ourselves. It can be easy to identify with the mournful figure in the Five of Cups card lamenting the spilled liquid softening the ground under their feet. Yet as the image suggests, we also have cups full of enlivening liquid ever ready to quench our thirst. Turning toward whatever has survived a chaotic process of purgation, we discover a deepening strength and magical potency. There is agency to be seized and embodied in the glowing light of the Scorpio Full Moon. Use it well, and discern how to most effectively serve with its light.

References

Caton, Gary. (2017). Hermetica Triptycha: The Mercury Elemental Year. Rubedo Press.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Gray Crawford

ASTROLOGY

5 of Cups

Solar Eclipse in Scorpio