Insights for the Month of Scorpio
October / November 2020
October 22
Sun enters Scorpio: 7:00 PM EDT
Mercury inconjunct Chiron
Before us lies eternity; our souls
Are love, and a continual farewell.
Ephemera by W.B. Yeats
Scorpio, the sign of mystery and shadow, reminding us always that what is, will change. All will be eventually lost and out of this inevitable loss will come new things or old things, transformed. Scorpio reminds us that all we hate and fear is inside us as well as outside in what we perceive of as the world. In Libra we fight injustice, in Scorpio we cook, we wait, we feel. We harness the powers of nature in the hopes of using them (eventually) to build a better world. Or not. When Scorpio serves the self alone it twists and turns itself into its own shadow. It aligns with the kind of evil that arises when we project our negative feelings on to others rather than feeling them for ourselves. This inclination toward projection lies at the root of all systemic imbalances: racism, sexism, classism to name a few. Scorpio is at its best when we surrender ourselves to the forces of change (and to our feelings about them); when we accept the path of initiation which is not at all the same as blind faith. Scorpio is not about faith, it’s about process. The process of transformation.
This particular year, as the Sun travels through Scorpio it will meet up with Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune and of course Mercury retrograde. It will even tangle with Mars, accentuating the tension with Pluto which is to say, activating fear and the possibilities of greater violence. There is much that needs to change in our world. How and into what is the Great Mystery as well as the struggle which we need to respect and investigate.
Mercury and Chiron remind us that things don’t have to add up to be worth contemplation.
October 24
Venus trine Saturn
If it matters to you, it is worth the effort; especially if it contributes to sustainable solutions for our small and ever shrinking planet. Think of your small contribution as practice. A drop in the ocean of workable change.
October 25
Sun conjunct Mercury retrograde: 2:39 PM EDT
Mercury conjuncts the Sun six times a year: three when it’s retrograde and three when it’s direct. The message is simple: For those who have the ears to hear: Listen, really listen to the messages from the deep (because the conjunction is in the sign of Scorpio). Which is to say, listen to your feelings; the good, the bad and the ugly. Listen deeply with your ear to the ground. Hear the swish and splash of feelings and undercurrents. They are clues to our individual and collective transformation.
After this conjunction Mercury finds itself on the morning side of the Sun where it is said to be less melancholic, more sanguine.
October 27
Mercury (retrograde) re-enters Libra
Venus enters Libra
Two planets enter the same sign on the same day from opposite ends: Mercury returns to Libra from the Scorpio side and Venus is just beginning from the Virgo side. We are asking Libra questions: What has happened to the notion of justice for all? Why is the playing field so uneven? It’s not enough to offer help – real justice only comes when we also stop causing harm. It’s Libra’s job to safeguard the rules of engagement.
October 28
Sun inconjunct Chiron
Inconjuncts are minor aspects, not evenly divisible through a circle. Easily dismissed. There are quite a few this month. This one between Scorpio and Aries is interesting because these signs share an affinity when it comes to aggression which we are all too aware of at the moment. Scorpio manipulates, Mars attacks. The bullies are attempting to train the rest of us to be so fearful we cannot act. Of course one person’s bullies are another person’s champions. Here we have a possibility to inspect the value, the wisdom, the potential that arises even when fear is the motivator.
From ‘In the shelter’ by Padraig O Tuama
October 31
Full Moon: 08 degrees Taurus: 10:49 AM EDT
Sun opposite Uranus
Some say that Halloween is the most powerful day of the year as it marks the threshold between days of light and dark. It reminds us we are headed into the dark time.
Of course the world has opened up since the days when these rituals originated. We are aware that quite the opposite situation is unfolding in the southern hemisphere. In our times we must needs live with paradox and ambiguity. And so we dress up and we dress the children up in celebration of the dead; in acknowledgment of the other world to which, sooner or later, we all must come. Even worse is the reality that all those we love and cherish will also find their way there. We can be miserable about such things or we can celebrate and honor the inevitable turn of the wheel and all those who have gone before us. This year our celebrations are meant to awaken all sorts of revelations: with our masks ON!
Although the wind
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.
Izumi Shikibu a Japanese Buddhist poetess from the 11th century. (Women in Praise of the Sacred edited and translated by Jane Hirschfield and Martha Aratani)
November 1
Mercury square Saturn
Venus opposite Chiron
No matter what the outcome is of the farce going on as the empire crumbles, no matter if it causes us to be anxious and steals our sleep, it still remains that true justice requires a more level playing field for all. It’s not about caring for the needy as much as it’s about rectifying the imbalances which create that neediness. There is benefit in making effort to understand the circumstance before charging ahead to fix it. A little research goes a long way.
November 2
Mercury stationery direct
Venus inconjunct Uranus
We all want to know who won, who wins but, really? Was it even an election? Did it abide by the rules of a free and fair one? Of course the question is and will continue to be, Now what? In the chaos leading to this day we the people (of the world) have had to lower our expectations. As Mercury goes direct in Libra, think back, if you can, to October 25th and whatever deep knowing you might have had around that time. Measure it against today’s expectations. Whether they seem too high or too low for such chaotic times, today we do well to adjust them to fit a world that is falling fast and hard into change that must and will come.
November 6
Mercury square Saturn (again)
This theme of measured expectation that started on the 1st continues. Say what you must but before speaking, pause. Consider the effects your words may cause. There is nothing gained by attempting to bend ideas to make sense of things that don’t make sense. You could say that Mercury looks to Saturn for the kind of restraint that allows reason to overcome fear. Think twice before you hit ‘send’.
November 7
Sun inconjunct Mars
We can’t swallow it and we can’t spit it out. There is no agreement on who has the last word. Possibly this goes back to the opposition on October 13th. The issue remains. Actions arising from gut level instinct can be destructive and hurtful. We recognize this even as we watch reasonable people be manipulated to take drastically unreasonable action. Things unfold. If we can bring reason to bear we might release the impasse.
November 9
Venus opposite Mars
Along comes reason. We have been waiting for her. She knows how to find balance but she must deal with aggression and the ever-present precedent of bullying which has become the norm. Where in your own life do you sit in this clash of desires between the ‘yes/and’ of Venus and the ‘no way’ of Mars?
November 10
Sun trine Neptune
Mercury enter Scorpio
Great Mysteries never really change through time, only how we speak of them. The different stories we tell about them reflect culture, not truth. At the root or core of all these great mysteries is the inarticulate knowledge that joy and sorrow, happiness and suffering are present in all lives.
November 11
Venus inconjunct Neptune
There is art and there is beauty. Sometimes they combine in ways that make us feel intensely, that open us to other worlds, inner and outer. Other times the soul jangles and can only wait for integration.
November 12
Jupiter conjunct Pluto
You might need to put on your astrological thinking cap for this one.
Looking back: Jupiter conjunct Pluto has happened twice already (April 4th and June 30th). This last conjunction is, interestingly at the exact degree of the Saturn Pluto conjunction in January that you might think of as the astrological beginning of the current global mess, the signature of 2020.
Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008 and has consistently ever since been showing us (whether we want to see it or not) that the scaffolding, the root, the infrastructure of our civilization, is not holding. Reach back and see if you can remember your early introduction to the Covid crisis. Consider how your awareness has grown and how that has changed your world; how you are grappling with things you can and can’t change. Jupiter in Capricorn is about what’s worth keeping maybe what’s worth salvaging from the changes. You may wish for the serenity that would allow you to accept what you cannot change and the courage to change what you can change.
Then again, you may feel more inclined to no longer accept the things you cannot change but to change the things you cannot accept.
Either one will take you to the essence of Jupiter/Pluto. Throughout this year Mars and Jupiter have been taunting each other as they station (appear to stand still) squaring the sensitive points of the other planet. Anything involving Jupiter at this point carries Mars with it. And of course there is one more square from Mars to Pluto and Jupiter to come. Sometimes people let me know that ‘nothing happened’ on the day that an astrological configuration was exact. We don’t actually need explosions and specific events to understand that this is the picture of what is happening all around us quite consistently, these days.
November 13
Mars stationery direct
If you’ve noticed Mars in the night sky you can see that it’s red, like blood. That’s how the ancients saw it: A blob of blood in the night sky. Blood belongs inside the body where it can’t be seen so Mars became the portend of war and wounds. But they were also aware that blood is present at birth which is how each and every one of us arrives on this planet. Mothers, women bleed regularly and this is connected to life: A different kind of blood, shed in the birthing of babies. We love babies, we want to protect them. We instinctively believe in goodness of life. As Mars moves on, retracing the steps of its retrograde journey, we are called more into action. Which blood inspires you? If you’re aligned with the blood of birth now is a time to aim yourself at the goodness of life and the potential to birth a new way of living. If you’re aligned with the other kind of blood, the kind we shed when wounded you are either a healer or a killer. See what you can do. We all need to move forward from here with the best we have to offer and integrate it amidst the chaos and crises. Keep the kids on track, object to the abuses of power.
November 14
Sun sextile Pluto and Jupiter
In the belly of the beast what might the main character in your story do? It’s dark in there, mysterious. Nothing is happening outwardly but so much, so very much is going on in the depths.
November 15
New Moon: 23 degrees of Taurus 12:07 AM EST
Mercury inconjunct Chiron (again)
Venus square Pluto
Here in the midst of the season, as we watch the struggle for a regime change, for a peaceful transfer of power we can’t help but see how far we have fallen from the ideal we thought we were living. At a time when fear and mistrust is at a peak, there must be something else to focus on. Always there is the present moment. The taste and texture of presence allows us to still the riot of sensory input as well as the spinning mind. Out of presence we make intention, the kind that speaks true.
November 16
Venus square Jupiter
Too much of nothing is still nothing. Don’t be fooled by empty promises or even empty calories for that matter. These kinds of nothing can be harmful.
November 17
Mercury opposite Uranus
Once before Mercury went retrograde (October 7), once during the retrograde (October 19) and, once after the retrograde (today) as Mercury completes the shadow of its recent retrograde journey. To quote myself: (from the other two times)
“our deepest secrets often reveal our shared humanity with those we would prefer not to have things in common with. The greatest danger by far is not knowing this. … as we dredge thoughts from our collective and individual past we are meant to test them against how things are, not how they were. Denial is not a great option. … and: There is much in the chaos of these days we don’t yet see or understand. To feel deeply into our reactions before we turn them into actions could be the most useful strategy.
As I write this, US election day has not yet happened. What I know is that I am observing the collective problem of dealing with a bully, a would-be dictator. I’m horrified and fascinated that people give over their power to such a one. Predicting mayhem only stirs fear and adds to the sense of powerlessness. Scorpio always works best by first turning inward. In opposition the issue is always: What really matters? Matter is the stuff out of which we make our lives. Yes I fear loss, I fear change but I also see the value in challenging my sense of what truly matters.
November 19
Sun sextile Saturn
Venus square Saturn
As Saturn moves toward the end of its considerably defining time in Capricorn* it has some reckonings to contend with. Today is a particularly good day to consider all that has been lost against the backdrop of the boundless opportunities for transformation that lie ahead. Once a struggle ends, especially the struggle of denial of things real, it is difficult to tell who was on which side. In this way the old style of justice is undermined. Truth and reconciliation seems to offer a better way to achieve justice. Given that you, most likely, don’t rule ‘the’ world, how might your small corner of the world benefit from your willingness to accept things as they are, not as they were or as you wish them to be?
*It entered Capricorn in December of 2017, but didn’t catch up to Pluto until January of 2020. So much has happened since then…
THE END for now…