Waxing Moon in Scorpio

Hecate is the goddess of the Scorpio Moon, goddess of magic, enchantment, shadows, and the underworld. She is usually associated with the dark Moon, yet here we meet her as the Moon waxes, just past the first quarter. What does it mean for us to meet Hecate now?

The Moon's first aspect today is a sextile, flow of intense energy, with Venus in Virgo (7:26 am EDT). The planets of emotion and relationship, in the signs of intense and focused analysis, meet to compare notes. Anything in our relationships hiding just below the surface of consciousness may be dredged up today for examination. The waxing Moon is a time of increase and growth, and one of Scorpio's goals is an increase in awareness. The Scorpio Moon is not going to turn away from unpalatable truths.

Hecate, goddess of the crossroads, greets us as the Moon crosses the midpoint of her waxing cycle. What do we need to know, to reach the goals we set at the New Moon? Are we facing the right way, looking in the right direction, or is Hecate pointing her torch down a different path?

The day closes with a square from the Scorpio Moon to Mercury in Leo (10:39 pm). What is the challenge?

Perhaps part of the challenge has to do with keeping secrets or telling the world. Mercury in Leo would happily go on any talk show, sharing every detail of trauma and drama as long as the spotlight shone on him. Confession is good for the soul! The Moon in Scorpio understands the power of the word not spoken, of invocations whispered in sanctuary, of occult knowledge.

Hecate is a psychopomp, a conductor of souls ... and so is Mercury, the only one of the classical gods able to travel from Olympus to Hades and back at will. Today, these two are pulling in opposite directions. Mercury in Leo wants to go toward the light, seeking warmth and bright solar illumination. The Moon in Scorpio knows that too much light only casts deeper shadows, and that our greatest gifts are often deeply hidden.

In his book, Dark Nights of the Soul, Thomas Moore reminds us that "Hekate’s torch illuminates the pervading darkness with a dim lunar light" and so our "understanding likewise has to be enlightening as the moon illuminates––soft, incomplete, obscure, romantic, slightly chilling, beautiful."

The image above shows the Moon illuminated by Earthshine as the Sun emerges over her rim, and was created by NASA. The torch was taken by Panther40k. Both available through WikiMedia Commons.