New Moon in Scorpio

Today the Moon moves toward the Sun, diving into tonight's intense New Moon in Scorpio, which happens just after midnight Eastern Time (12:52am Saturday). Today we are in the final hours of this waning cycle, as Scorpio's energy helps us release whatever we no longer need or want.

Scorpio rules systems of the body related to elimination, and also the genitals, which offer release of a different kind. Scorpio is about transformation, those times when we are burnt to ash and then burst into life again with bright new feathers. Letting go, practicing radical nonattachment to outcomes, is paradoxically the way to experience the deepest renewal.

CJ Wright writes of this New Moon as a cauldron or grail, rich symbols of rebirth. Ancient tales of magical cauldrons and holy grails include a quest, a dangerous series of adventures in which the hero is challenged again and again. Only those with the determination to keep going in the face of fear, and the willingness to risk all for an uncertain yet glorious outcome, have a hope of succeeding.

This is a time for making wishes and setting intentions. With the New Moon in Scorpio, we can plant seeds to release anger and increase trust. When the New Moon arrives, we can wish for greater insight and and courage to face our shadows. Depending on where in our chart the New Moon falls, we can set intentions for transformation in those areas of life.

We can also swim into deeper waters. April Elliott Kent brings us face to face with the pain of transformation in her essay Transformation is Hell. In these challenging times, many of us know this all too well. In the midst of traumatic change, we mostly try to hang on, having no time to think about the opportunities hidden in the challenge. Sometimes it feels as though we are pulling personal insight and growth from terrible experiences by main force.

And yet, my experiences on this life journey show me we never walk alone. This sounds trite when offered as an easy salve from someone else, but becomes a lifeline when we realize it deeply for ourselves. My guides and companions may not look like yours. Our spiritual traditions may be different, as well as our understanding of the cosmos. Yet somehow, if we ask, help is given. If we look, guidance is there.

The Sabian symbol for this New Moon is "telephone lineman at work installing new connections." Linda Hill explores this image and the related Sabian symbols for this Moon, which emphasize communication and connections of all kinds.

Mercury in Scorpio flows energy and information in trine with Uranus and Jupiter in Pisces at this New Moon. This configuration can forge new connections among how we think and communicate about our deepest issues, our intuitive connection with the cosmos, and our philosophy and expansive ability to embrace life.

Neptune and Chiron are especially powerful positions as they station direct in Aquarius, and challenge Mercury in Square.  These planets ask how we connect with the dreams and visions of the cosmos, and how we heal ourselves and others.

The asteroid Vesta, goddess of home and hearth, is aligned with this New Moon. Venus continues her retrograde journey into the depths of our relationships and creative selves, reaching 0 Scorpio at the New Moon. We find ourselves exploring patterns of how we relate and making connections here as well.

Sangreal by Arthur Rackham

The New Moon in Scorpio offers us the change to explore the difference between giving up, failure, and surrender. They sound the same, or mostly the same. Yet the differences are crucial.

Scorpio, and all energies of shadow and depth, do not ask us––in fact, do not want us––to give up. Throwing in the towel, saying we've had enough, refusing to try ... these do not get us to our goals. Respite is fine; refusal to engage is only likely to get us a stronger invitation to try again.

Failure is not a word Scorpio and the energies of shadow and depth care about at all. "Failure" is a label we apply to our situation at one point in time. Even at the moment we think we've failed, the situation shifts. Life is fluid. Energy moves. As Thomas Edison said, he did not fail, he learned 99 ways not to make a light bulb. When he finally found a way to light those bulbs, our world was transformed.

Surrender is qualitatively different from failure. Surrender is a process, a choice, a willingness. When we surrender, we acknowledge we don't know how things are going to turn out, we can't hope to control all the relevant variables, we need guidance and support on the road without being certain it's available, and then we do it anyway.

The vital choice is what we surrender to. When we align ourselves with goals and values that sustain life and spirit, we are powerful. Dana Gerhardt suggests a ritual for connecting with the energies of this time. To find the right path in the dark ... this is the challenge of the New Moon in Scorpio.