New Moon in Scorpio: The Dark Forest

into the woods ...

Uranus–Pluto Square
November 1, 2013
6:30 am EDT / 11:30 am GMT

New Moon in Scorpio
November 3, 2013
7:50 am EST / 12:50 pm GMT

What to say about tomorrow's exact square between Uranus and Pluto, followed by Sunday's New Moon and solar eclipse? I think everything has pretty much been said.

On October 23, I wrote about the Mercury Retrograde. On October 23, I previewed the waning cycle leading up to the New Moon. And on October 27, I introduced the Last Quarter Moon and what was to come.

We know this is a deep time, a shadowed time––the ancient Celts saw this as a hallowed time, for honoring and communing with the ancestors, telling stories of times past, remembering old teachings, and using divination to look toward the future.

This year, the skies point to a time that will be far-reaching, having more than usual impact: Both the eclipse and the Uranus–Pluto square say this, and in addition, Venus in late Sagittarius will be conjunct the Galactic Center.

Despite these signs that this New Moon will be felt on the world stage, I'm struggling with what to say about this New Moon because this is an especially and deeply personal time.

In other words, I can't tell you what this New Moon will mean for you because I don't know you well enough.

Scorpio is the sign of the deep psyche, the sign that shows us where our greatest strengths and mightiest demons lie. Scorpio is about everything we keep secret, even from ourselves.

So how could I know what doors are opening for you? Where things are shifting, patterns are changing?

With this mysterious and powerful New Moon, I can't even fall back on advising you to check which house in your natal chart the Moon will appear––of course, the house placement will be important, and yes, please do check, but ...

This New Moon is conjunct the North Node, Mercury and Saturn; opposite the South Node; trined by Chiron, sextiled by Pluto on one side and Mars on the other (and Mars and Pluto are trining each other); squared by Juno; and inconjunt Uranus (who squares Pluto), so that Mars and the New Moon make a yod pointing at Uranus.

This means over half of any chart will automatically be touched in some way by this New Moon, so, a lot going on there.

By this time, so close to the square, the eclipse and the New Moon, you probably already know where big changes are stirring in your life. You won't know exactly what the results will be––the timetable unclear, the players not all chosen, the direction uncharted. Still, you're most likely at the starting place.

Wherever that place of change is, that's where our most powerful wishes and intentions will be.

It would be nice to have better maps, wouldn't it?

And yet, the not-knowing can be a source of great magic. Joseph Campbell saw individuality, following our own star, the promptings of our own hearts, as the signature strength of Western spirituality. He quoted from La Quete du San Graal:

They thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group. Each entered the forest that he had chosen where there was no path and where it was darkest.

And then added: Now, if there’s a way or path, it’s someone else’s way.

So we're each of us headed into the dark forest, from the place we have ourselves chosen. This doesn't mean we're always alone, not at all, but it does mean we're on our own paths.

Right now, for this New Moon, that's exactly as it should be. Bon voyage.
    

Last Quarter: Into the Well

Truth Lies at the Bottom of the Well

Last Quarter Moon in Leo
October 26, 2013 7:40 pm EDT
October 27, 2013 12:40 am GMD

Balsamic Moon in Virgo
October 30, 2013
6:52 pm EDT / 10:52 pm GMT

New Moon in Scorpio
November 3, 2013
7:50 am EST / 12:50 pm GMT

We've entered the Last Quarter, the deepening of the waning lunar phase. We're drawn into Scorpio's realm with a dramatic T-square overnight.

Picture a dark stage, operatic, the proscenium arch very large, the curtains a deep velvet. Everything shadow, everything hushed, and yet already there's a palpable tension. The curtain slowly opens as the orchestral offers the first strains of mysterious music. The movement reveals a lone figure dramatically lit, visible but silent in the midst of a crowded, shadowed throng.

That figure is the Leo Moon, squaring everything in Scorpio plus the South Node in Taurus. A stage filled with fixed signs, strong and committed, sometimes immovable. Earth and Water, deeply yin energy. And then the Leo Moon––a torch in the night.

What can we make of this time we're in? It feels full of significance, portents and omens in every dream, every circumstance, and yet the meanings are elusive. Are we receiving warnings or invitations?

Ahhh, Scorpio! The sign of, perhaps, more paradoxes than any other in the zodiac. Scorpio wants to know everything, feels compelled to uncover secrets, and yet is wary, wary ... so sensitive to hidden dangers. Scorpio understands the need for secrecy, and yet pushes to uncover every taboo. Scorpio is full of fear, and fearless in moving ahead anyway.

"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life––and I never let it stop me from doing a single thing I wanted to do." –– Georgie O'Keefe (Scorpio Sun)

With the concentration of planets building around the Scorpio North Node, the sense of fate continues to grow. So it's a good time to look at this whole idea of fate and destiny, to unpack it a little.

hidden well, Glendalough, Ireland

Plenty of religions and traditions will be happy to tell you that Fate (capital "F") trumps all. We are born with a destiny, we can't escape it, we do as God wills. The New Age version is the idea of not being able to escape karma or everything happening for a reason, most often said about someone else who's having a bad time of it.

But is that true?

Astrology is (can be) one of those traditions with its thumb on the "immutable Fate" side of the scales ... and yet, astrology today, practiced at its best, points always to choices, opportunities, open doors.

Astrologer and Jungian analyst Liz Greene believes the world itself changed through our increasing understanding of the unconscious, so that Fate itself has altered, becoming more mutable, less predictable. My experience and study over time suggests we're walking a paradoxical path.

On one hand, we are not completely in control of everything––there are "givens" in our aptitudes and attitudes and sometimes in our circumstances. Some of us carry burdens not wholly our own. On the other, we have so much more freedom than we realize––than, in many cases, we are raised to believe, or our societies want us to know.

JRR Tolkien was fascinated with this theme, which he called the "doom of choice" –– doom not in the sense that it doesn't matter what we do, because Fate will get us, but doom in the sense that what we choose, what we do, matters terribly, and the world changes through our choices.

Notice how Scorpio leads us into deep waters?

Part of the paradox we're in right now involves the challenge of knowing when to wait and when to act. Scorpio can wait forever for the opportune moment. Do we have the insight to know when that is?

Paradoxically, part of the answer may lie in the past. We also have a Grand Earth Trine now, formed of Mars in careful Virgo, Pluto in relentless Capricorn, and the South Node in steady Taurus. As we walk into the shadowy future, our best support is coming from behind. Somewhere, there are lessons––messages from ancestors, learnings from our own experiences, things we know in our bones.

We're in the time of letting go, releasing what no longer serves us to prepare for the New Moon already on her way. And this New Moon arrives with another eclipse, a solar one, a cosmic neon sign saying "This. Is. Important."

It's time to crank up the Scorpionic discernment engine. At this time, we need our attenae up and ready, we need to see in the dark––not in a spirit of anxiety, which will cloud our vision, but in a spirit of adventure.

We're called to stand up for ourselves, to say our names, to be courageous in the face of challenge. The opening image is a drawing by Frances MacDonald, Scottish designer and artist, less well known than her sister Margaret in part because her husband destroyed much of her work after her death. This is the negative power of Scorpio––unhealthy control––and not where we want to be.

Now is the time for radical honesty, with ourselves first of all. We want the sustenance of the deep well, the clear water, the true stream. We can find it.

"My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times." ––Clarissa Pinkola Estes

    

Toward the Scorpio New Moon: The Power of Water

powerful waters at Poulanass

Disseminating Moon in Gemini
October 22, 2013
4:53 pm EDT / 9:53 pm GMD

Last Quarter Moon in Leo
October 26, 2013, 7:41 pm EDT
October 27, 2013, 12:41 am GMD

Balsamic Moon in Virgo
October 30, 2013
6:52 pm EDT / 10:52 pm GMT

New Moon in Scorpio
November 3, 2013
7:50 am EST / 12:50 pm GMT

Yesterday's Disseminating Moon in upbeat Gemini was opposite Venus in adventurous Sagittarius, creating an optimistic mood. Maybe the Full Aries Moon was a bit startling, but sure, it was exciting, wasn't it? Pull up a chair, and I'll tell you all about it ...

Today, the Sun has entered Scorpio, another intensification of the shadowy energy gathering around us. The Sun trines Neptune today, which could bring on some confusing fog, or could deepen connection with our creative energies. Poetry, lyricism, dreams––all powerful today.

At the Last Quarter, the Leo Moon will challenge our poetical dreaminess, pushing for expression, for passion, for action. Scorpio energy continues to gain in strength: Sun, North Node, Saturn and Mercury all tightly clustered. The fire of the Leo Moon might be enough to shed some light into the shadows, but then again, it's vital to remember that Scorpio is also a fixed sign.

Traveling in Ireland, I've been brought again and again up against the power of water. Her lush green countryside––the result of the rains, from soft to lashing. The stark beauty of the Burren––carved by water working slowly on limestone. The peat that has kept families warm, baking bread and brewing tea for generations––the action of water and vegetation and pressure.

And today, walking down along the cascading waterfall called Poulanass, no one could miss the rushing power of water carving through granite, pounding down the hillsides, swirling among the rocks.

Elementally, we think of Water as yin: quiet, quiescent, receptive, taking the shape of whatever container offers itself. But in the fixed sign of Scorpio, we face the full power of Water to change, dissolve, break open, and reshape entire landscapes.

The Balsamic Moon in Virgo comes just as Mars, also in Virgo, trines Pluto in Capricorn and forms an awkward inconjunct to Uranus in Aries. Ordinarily, Mars loves the impulsive fire of Aries, which he rules.

In Virgo, Mars takes more measured actions, moving carefully, step by step, to accomplish the transformative projects we have in hand.

Throughout this waning lunar cycle, we experience the powers of Water. First, the dreamy mistiness of Sun trine Neptune. Then, the challenge of the Leo Last Quarter, pushing for action, not content with dreams. Then the Balsamic Moon in Virgo, echoing Mars' message to watch our step, to follow the plan.

In a way, this waning Moon time is like hiking down the length of a waterfall. It's beautiful to watch the waters coursing through forests and over boulders. But seeing the gathered power, we can't help but think, what can this water do? How can this force be focused?

Following on from the Full Moon, we have ideas and plans. We know, now, what needs to be changed. The opportunity here is to work with Water to get those changes made––to let go of what needs to be dissolved, washed away, carried out to sea.

By the time we reach the Scorpio New Moon, we'll be scoured ourselves, ready to let in new dreams, new power, new waters.