You Were Searching ... Quick Takes

In this Hubble photo of Cygnus, one of its stars is revealed to be in a late-phase

evolutionary stage where the star sheds its atmosphere into space

(photo credit: ESA, NASA, July 2010)

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Before anything else happens to sidetrack or otherwise interrupt us, here are a few ‘quick takes’ on more of your search terms ...

CIRCE AND BYBLIS THE SAME

 

Circe Invidiosa by John William Waterhouse (1892)

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The astrological Circe and Byblis - not to mention the mythic characters - are absolutely not the same. Circe refers to something which in entrancing or affecting us ‘reduces’ us to ‘less than human’ in the thinking department (i.e., less in ‘command’ of our sensibilities) where Byblis refers to a choice we make knowing it is is unpopular or possibly considered ‘unthinkable,’ whether by us, someone else, or even society.

Astrological effects associated with these points (as with all points) can take many forms, but to give an example, while Circe could stand for our state of inebriation or drunkenness if we drink too much, the more Byblis version might involve someone trying to get someone else drunk for the direct purpose of taking advantage of them in some way.

So no ... Circe and Byblis are not the same (and I’m pretty sure both of the mythic personages involved would be happy to hear it!)

SPICA RISING IN NATAL CHART

 

The Moon, Mars, Venus and Spica all photographed from Nashville, Tennessee

(photo credit: Goddard Space Flight Center)

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‘Brilliance’ is often the astro-shorthand used for Spica, though the star otherwise known as Alpha Virgo stands for a lot more than just the ability to hit some nail on the head (mentally or otherwise). Traditionally seen as the sheaf of wheat carried in the hand of the goddess of earthly fertility, Spica is most often used astrologically as a reference to our ability to achieve a ‘great harvest’ of any kind. 

Apart from that, this star can also indicate where we understand some specific need or how to get something done - or where we find it easy to be supportive (or to get support) with regards to efforts which may simply be productive, but which may also be educational and some sort of investment in the growth of some process or method which in itself is ‘brilliant’ enough to open doors going forward.

With that much said however, Spica - which is currently positioned at 24 Libra - is conjunct Arcturus (which is also currently at 24 Libra), making it a bit hard to tell the effects of these two stars apart. Arcturus is part of an entirely different constellation (Bootes), and in being known for daring and the willingness to try something new/unproven could be seen as contributing a lot of positives if positioned with Spica at anyone’s Ascendant.

But let’s be real - this could just indicate someone who thinks they’re ‘all that and a bag of chips’ (as the saying goes) when they really aren’t. Beyond that, with both of these points being in Libra, the position and condition of Venus in the chart is going to say a lot about whether this sort of Spica (plus Arcturus) will tend to manifest as a plus or a source of frustration and disappointment.

HIS EROS IN ARIES

HER PSYCHE IN SAGITTARIUS

L'Amour by Julien de Parme (1762)

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I’m guessing this term came up somehow in relationship to something I wrote here at the blog...or at least that the Searcher in question here found the following astroPPM post while trying to find their answers:

-link to post-

Eros and Psyche: Falling in Love

With Our Mind

But with all due respect to the question (and questioner), the critical interplay between Eros and Psyche and that being referred to astrologically in the post and probably in the original myth is about the relationship of Eros to Psyche in our OWN mind, not between our mind and someone else’s.

Is there some effect if Eros aspects Psyche between two people? Probably yes. Positive aspects might well point to areas of commonalty and ‘attraction’ (human, not necessarily romantic or sexual) with negative aspects indicating ways or areas of relating to one another where one person doesn’t feel understood or cared about.

Everyone who is interested in astrology eventually (or habitually) looks up things like this between charts. It’s part of our human desire to be loved, accepted and appreciated. But when looking at these two points, before we look at them between charts, we should look at them in our own as ultimately our ability to love anyone depends on a level of trust in our Self which allows us to risk loss, rejection or relationship failure.

UNASPECTED VENUS IN CAPRICORN

 

Planet Venus as photographed by the Hubble Telescope on January 24, 1995

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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Any time a planet is unaspected (that is, unaspected when using the list of standard Ptolemaic aspects: conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition) using standard orbs, it’s effects are said to be ‘purely’ expressive of the combination of house, sign and planet - which since we’re not working with a chart, can only be sign and planet here.

By itself, Venus in Capricorn tends to be a stabilizing quotient or a desire to achieve a level of calm - or that which the native finds calming. Texts often refer to this combination as ‘aimed’ at material wealth, but someone who simply focuses on quality, the qualities of something or ‘having the best’ would also fit Venus-plus-Capricorn with the term ‘best’ being  purely individual, and thus subject to individual preference, quirks and all the other human oddities.

Given that Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, depending on what house this combination appears in (and the disposition of the planet ruling the sign on the cusp of that house), Venus in Capricorn may manifest as professionalism, austerity, cool or distant attitudes, or dignity which ranges from the simple to the  diplomatic.

This is not one of Venus’ most effusive or carefree positions, but Venus in Capricorn (if well placed in the chart, of course) is known for manifesting as loyalty, security and a general appreciation for history, traditions, culture and the rights of others.

On occasion, this combination could also indicate great paths of fortune. Such a native is in (or comes to be) in a position where life is or becomes ‘pre-determined’ on some level. Unaspected, Venus in Capricorn can also indicate a tendency to make choices and do things only for material or personal gain.

22 DEGREES SCORPIO

 

An Arizona bark scorpion photographed under black light by Bryce Alexander (2008)

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This is not considered one of Scorpio’s finer degree moments. Known for insufficient control of various kinds, 22 Scorpio is one of those degrees which is evidently given to us so that we can see what lack of control does, and how over-impulsiveness and the tendency to just ‘go off’ about things is hardly ever useful.

(And yes, hopefully deal with whatever is causing us to act that way.)

Relationships to the Moon (and its associated sign of Cancer) are said to be important whenever this degree is active, or activated in a chart. Those who run afoul of their own nature under this influence are also fairly well known for lacking the emotional will (except under duress) to deal with the problems they’ve caused.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree (22 Scorpio being read as Sabian phase 233) ‘A rabbit metamorphoses into a nature spirit’ gives us some idea about what the issue is here through its reference to an ‘animal’ (our more instinctive and less thought-driven self) which transforms into something of a ‘higher’ nature - one imagines through the nature and process which is so very Scorpio. And since purging us of mortal toxins (most of which originate at an emotional and/or instinctive level) is part of Scorpio’s business, difficulties associated with 22 Scorpio probably point to personal/internal (read: vulnerability or fear) issues we either haven’t yet recognized or aren’t (as yet) prepared to take in hand and deal with.
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Sun in Taurus

A Monarch Butterfly

(photo credit: Tony Hisgett, September 2011)

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There’s something nice about the idea that those in power (whoever they were) decided to schedule Earth Day for an early Taurean degree. The event falls on April 22nd and the sign which goes with it is all about both the qualities of being ‘secure’ or ‘secured’ on this planet ... and whatever gives us that sort of personal security.

So Taurus isn’t ‘about’ money. Or luxury goods. Or even food. It’s about the sense of security those things give us. Our world has taught us that if we have money we have a better ability to guarantee our survival, but the money itself is not Taurean. What money gives us is the security to think in broader terms, which is why one enterprising U.S. ex-governor (whose name I don’t recall, please forgive me...) spoke of his time trying to live on welfare’s stipend for a couple of weeks as an exercise which taught him that the essential and inescapable trial of hunger and poverty is not about whether someone is lazy or a go-getter, but how knowing we have so little stops us from thinking in terms of what we can do, instead forcing us to consider what we can’t do if we hope to see another day.

That sort of insecurity is the instinct which underlies Taurus. In Taurus we learn to take care of our Self so we can develop, so we can learn to master our body, our mind, our feelings and through all those lessons, our life.

And anything that threatens that? Or which could possibly change that when we haven’t (Gemini) thought about it and ultimately (Leo) chosen it?

That which threatens to change our life without our agreeing to it stands in opposition to our ability to feel intrinsically (individually) secure about ‘owning’ (being in control of) our own life.

In other words, it stands in opposition to the basic Taurus premise. And that sign ... that influence is Scorpio.

In Taurus, we own our Self. All things Taurus are about that Self, the owning of that Self, the having confidence in that Self and recognizing that Self as our primary and most important resource ... which is why we work to determine what our abilities are and aren’t (Taurus people are famous for standing their ground and defending the value of said position in all cases and either direction!) ... from which comes our sense of valuing of those abilities (and therefore our Self for having developed them).

Against all of this is that very peculiar Taurean instinct - an instinct which, in zodiacal terms, is purely instinct since Taurus precedes Gemini, the sign of our development of conscious and useful mentality.

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From that - from that ‘pre-mentality’ Taurean state we face others, instinctively self-defensive (at least Aries precedes Taurus!)... and that’s why Taurus-Scorpio is the polarity wherein we face our fears.

Fear is instinctive. In Scorpio - an interactive sign - others test our security ... our Taurean Self ... all along the emotional border where that Self chooses to interact - and thus risk something (even if it’s just a moment of your time) with, or in the presence of others. And how well we deal with that ability to risk our feelings ... well, while the experience of the risk (being interactive) may be Scorpio, the security of the Self, any part of which might just possibly be at risk in that Scorpio situation, that part of the saga is entirely Taurus.

It’s that part of us which values us and works to keep us safe. Or which doesn’t keep us safe. Or which simply won’t risk.

Or which dares not feel what it means to fear because the loss of false security is such a fearful thing.

War - any war against others or some situation is Scorpionic, whether we're at war with(within) our Self and prone to inflicting the byproduct of that nastiness on others, whether we're in a direct contest with others, whether we're at war with some control or restriction or whether that war is against some civil entity or faction of civilization against some other faction of civilization.

And yet peace also requires a fight. That's the nature of fixed signs - to struggle to create and to struggle to contain, which here pits 'my (Taurus) reality' against what (Scorpio) makes that reality feel safe or not.

That's the fight - our fight to get us past our own instinctive Taurus fears to where we can (Gemini) understand the world and our options and choose based on our own cooler (Gemini) ability to think and be rational. In other words, if we haven't resolved our 'fear of our own fears' on an individual basis, we aren't likely to have sufficient peace all the way around.

And yet, it's so much easier to (Scorpio) vent than (Taurus) take our Self on.

Sunset on Australia's Middle Park Beach

(photographer unknown)

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You know, by moving from the second stage in the zodiacal process - the Taurean stage - into Gemini, where with our fears in check we learn to gather information, sort through our priorities and choose, plan and set about our daily (or lifelong) business.

In the case of the current ingress, the Sun is entering Taurus at 9:43 in the morning of April 20th (UT/+0 time) in trine to Pallas (still in station mode) and square an Aquarian Ceres, speaking to not just to our relationship with society or ‘social/societal forces,’ but to something which focuses on (or simply focuses) our perspective on all such matters - that being the Pallas part of things. Pallas detaches us from things so we can 'see' what they are more clearly, whether that takes accepting something else or isolating (or becoming isolated) from some group, idea, lifestyle, system or information/comprehension, and given Pallas' April 19th turn to retrograde, we are all in the process of either internalizing something or seeing something about (or possibly in) our Self.

And that process ... or just the facts we come up with ... those things are helping us gain (Pallas) perspective on our instincts. Or maybe our various forms of ‘immaturity’ (physical or emotional) in play ... or where we are quite possibly the ‘immature’ player, whether that means we (or something) is as yet not ready for something, whether someone is simply being childish or whether the reference here is to something or someone who is just ‘young,’ whether in age or their own perspective - as one might be for reasons of lack of education, lack of mental health, or any other reason which might mark someone as not capable of (or willing to) interact on a level of equivalency or as an equal.

With Venus (the ruler of Taurus) transiting Gemini as the Sun enters Taurus, this year’s ‘Taurus Experience’ is likely to start out as a slight ‘rounding’ or ‘gentling’ of thoughts (and the feelings promoted by those thoughts) initiated through general conversation and our everyday perceptions. Most of us are a little tired of - and ready to ‘give up’ or ‘get away from’ something we’ve already met up with which we’d like to respond to (or manage) with some level of panache (and if not panache, at least competency!) ... and there’s something weighing on us which we either don’t yet know how to get done, or which we don’t want to do incorrectly and which we want to get organized before embarking upon.

Maybe even before we mention it.

Moreover, not everyone which is going on is likely to be pleasant or friendly-feeling all the way along the line. As of yesterday’s New Moon (that being the New Moon at 28 Aries - see previous post) Mercury - which is also in Taurus - came into orb of conjunction to Mars. Mars being already about half way through Taurus is representing all those things which we want ... which as Mars reaches the Taurean cross-quarters point (15 Taurus) is life pushing us to move from a ‘learning’ mode into an ‘application’ mode.

Mercury-Mars in a Taurus conjunction can represent determination. Then again, it can also represent frustration - even hostility towards self, others or (as we would suspect), some level of fear driven by a sense of lack or incapacity, perhaps. So while we may be wanting to be the person who determines something, this conjunction (which perfects at 15 Taurus on April 22nd, and which ends on April 25th) is also an opportunity to ‘try’ something or when you ‘determine’ what you want to do. Perhaps you’ll embody this by becoming determined to master some task, whether you’re trying to understand, work with or accept and interact some notion, value or fact.

Or maybe you’ll just be not wanting to admit to anything, right or wrong. Or you're just not in any mood to be challenged.

Any Mercury-Mars conjunction is going to provoke feelings of some sort. It's as if all we can (Mercury) think about is what we absolutely want ... or really truly don't like (a lot).

And that stirs many a feeling - and often some sort of instinctive (read: not necessarily well thought out) assertive (Mars-type) reaction.

 A rural road in northern Switzerland

(Benjamin Gimmel, April 2004)

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We are in other words, simply prone during this period to getting ourselves bogged down (or allowing ourselves to be stuck) in simply not wanting to change because we don’t want to.

And yes, this could be exactly the sort of immaturity being challenged - or which we are finding so very (very) challenging in others. This ‘planted in one spot’ quality is something all the earth signs adopt as a methodology at least some of the time, with the Taurus attempt to ‘own’ that which it opposes without having to actually ‘touch it’ generally taking manifesting as various attempts to control or manipulate without actually getting involved.

In other words, Taurus is the sign under which we often attempt to interaction with others without having anything apply to us ... which sounds like a way to protect one’s (Taurean) resources, but which inevitably leads to starving your Self of input and everything which could in the long run provide the tools and keys to inner security.  

People talk about Taurean negativity as ‘stubbornness’ often without any conception of how limiting the choice to be stubborn for the sake of being stubborn is ... and how the refusal to consider anything else is not about strength, but about a fear of our own vulnerabilities. And sure, we’d all rather have someone else carry our emotional baggage, but when we do that, we poison our own chances for the kind of long-lasting strength of security which can only be achieved through self-knowledge and self-confrontation.

Moreover, life truly wants to give us what we ask for. So when we fear others doing something to us - that’s what metaphysics says will happen ... which is something worth thinking about. This doesn’t mean we should think only happy, candy-coated thoughts as that doesn’t apply - not to mention how such sugar-coating is hardly honest, and avoidance of honesty is a sure sign of those underlying lacks of self worth which are so negative Taurus.

 Buffalo grazing on the Wyoming grasslands

(photo credit:Ron Nichols, United States Department of Agriculture) 

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In short, if you don’t want a war - with others or with yourself, deal with the fear within. The fear we don’t deal with we project - which does nothing other than offer opportunities to those who will fill in that gap and give us something to fear in reality.

It’s harder ... but ultimately probably a lot more productive to face our fears on our own. Once we do that, then we can live in the security of our own core providing validity and security to everyone else ... which in any mode and by any means is one of the better definitions of human success.
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Dateblog: October 2014

October 2014 by Zodiac Sign

Seeing as I've spent more time in medical hands than I care to think about over the past few days this has to be short. But I did want to give you the charts for October 2014.

As you'll note above, there are (count 'em) two meteor showers this October - the Draconids (which come to us courtesy of comet and the Oriondis - which because of the comet which produces said Orionids (Comet Halley) brings up not only Halley's somewhat 'showy' or 'want to see...want to be seen' (and other such 'value' as in, what do I value and why do I value it? commentaries) and the interesting factoid that both of these comets were discovered while transiting Aquarius.

The Aquarius part may well be part of October's natural interactive and Libran social-socializing (maybe marketing...maybe audience) orientation as Aquarius is nothing if not about pluralities, be they notions, people, sources of income or otherwise. In the world of thinking and concepts, Aquarius is the broadest and (often) the most intricate.

Not necessarily easy, mind you. Nor necessarily practical for any of a number of though-provoking (and possibly irritating) reasons.

In any case, there's a lot of Libra to go around this month, October being a natural time for making plans and sometimes making moves. (Not always, but sometimes.) Who we relate to and why, how we relate to them and how they respond to us tells is everyday subject matter almost all month long, though it will ebb off as Venus and the Sun move on into Scorpio... which you may (or may not) have noticed is the subject of a solar eclipse this month.

You know, this eclipse...

Eclipse Map for the Solar Eclipse of October 23, 2014 at 0 Scorpio

(map generated by Solar Fire)

 

And yes, providing I can type we'll be talking more about it. But getting back to Sun and Venus, what they're a reference to is how we relate to others... and how well or not well we relate to them is based in something (and what that is). Even people who are stone tone deaf to the needs and rights of others to hold opinions come from somewhere. And the interesting thing is... which we are all learning right now ... those opinions are far (far) more often rooted in vulnerability than strength.

Scorpio fights... or produces the impulse to fight ... as a sign that the instinct of threat has come to light.

That threat is not about 'them' or 'that' or even 'this' (whatever 'this' may be). It's about how we FEEL about them or that or even this... and that's about US.

Not them, us.

It's uncomfortable and we can all expect to feel a deal of discomfort going forward at least until October 23rd, that being the date of the eclipse. Moreover, prior to that we'll be having an Aries lunar eclipse ... a time when our passions, our feelings and our ability to feel or not feel are all brought to the fore.

As always, where these eclipses fall (in what house of your chart) and how these eclipses aspect the various objects and factors in you your chart (and how closely those aspects apply) will determine how strong or weak eclipse effects will generally tend to be. With the lunar eclipse at 15 Aries, what we want may well be outstripped by our opportunity (or ability) to do such things, and that's not all that comfortable.

(Not at all comfortable.)

There's an aspect of change indicated by these two eclipses which no one wants to take on. So especially after Mercury goes retrograde we're bound to hear a lot of excuses and evasiveness. Those 'I don't want to talk (or think) about it' actions/choices are not all that productive, especially as nothing is going to in the end be entirely avoided. The productive thought here is to deal with others and your issues about/with others and to invest in examinations which will reveal not only what the strengths and weaknesses of the situation are, but what the reality of the strengths and weaknesses of others really are.

No one has told anyone everything. (Count on it.) Mercury retrograde - especially one in Scorpio - provides a natural time for interesting, invaluable and possibly important conversations, meetings, research and other interactive/interactions which provide grist for the mental mill or information needed before moving on.

That 'moving on' then begins to occur after Mercury goes direct on October 25th, but given how Mercury will have retrograded back into Libra before going direct, there will be complications and the need for more investigation, conversations and even a few (reluctant) course corrections once Mercury re-enters Scorpio late on November 8th (UT/+0).

You know, next month.

As for elements, the personal planets are moving through air (Libra) and water (Scorpio) for most of the month... and then there's just more Scorpio.

October 2014 by Element

That's a recipe for raw emotionalism and issues which raise raw emotionalism, but because of the eclipse (solar eclipses are cosmic trump cards) this is ALL about our realizing and recognizing and beginning to grasp our vulnerabilities - our internal hurts and vulnerabilities and fears and shames...all that.

And it's about the recognizing them and the owning up to them and the being able to admit them to others which leads to betterment. Our betterment.

The combination of other elements - fire and earth - being more global or worldly elements of our October, it's useful also to keep a clear separation of public versus private and personal/individual versus relationship/others in mind, in hand and (perhaps most of all) as a curb to our actions and statements, all of which carry the sort of weight/weightiness this month which may seem deliciously dramatic, but which could also cook our goose (so to speak, no offense to the geese) down the line.

All those meteors insure an interesting month to be sure. For those who are in a good place, this is a great month for being creative, providing you are willing to go through the whole of any process and not cut corners, the whole of which includes doing your up-front homework. That the Aquarius quotient resident in/with both these meteor showers is in a natural square (then trine, then back to square) with the overall purpose of the October Mercury retrograde challenges us to see how to use our more native human nature - not that of rhetoric, but of nurture.

Still, don't be surprised if you meet up with a lot of stubbornness... even within your Self. Underlying Scorpio's deep well of emotionality are its eternal questions of (Taurean) safety and self-doubt, those being the metaphysical source of all of our attempts to 'win at all cost' and otherwise weight or can't the playing field for others. The Scorpio demand of 'I want what I want' is, in other words, at its heart an extreme statement of fear - we're afraid we can't have what we want, so we'll fight for it.

Which begs the real question: what are we so afraid of being (and being known/seen as) without it?
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Sun in Scorpio: The Edict Human

  A solar prominance as photographed by NASA (September 2006)

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I make no bones about it: the following post is written in an entirely
subjective voice. My feelings are passionate, obvious and one-sided,
which is the gist of where we all start with Scorpio, a sign which stirs us
internally and which challenges us to then merge and marry that to the
world around us through the people and opportunities we encounter.

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Whether we are able to be honest with ourselves is where we start.
Then Scorpio evolves, becoming a journey through finding out
how honest we are willing to be with others - and how honestly
we will deal with them and grow ourselves to our full emotional potential.
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Wherever Scorpio is in your chart (by house cusp) symbolizes the
manner in which  you will experience Scorpio. That house describes both
the positive and negative tools you will tend to utilize in the various forms
of interaction Scorpio asks that we master and the area of life in which
you will either grow...or where you will experience your greatest
defeats - defeats which amount to self-incarceration through
succumbing to those weaknesses you refuse to face.

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A few weeks ago now, I had come to a breaking point with my own ability to deny an emotional truth. That truth had to do with my own feelings, the emotional intensity of a relationship which was a faceted ball of glittering silence, the deeply buried emotionality of the other person…and why it all wasn’t working.

Like Scorpionic magma, words forced their way up through a throat which was helpless to be constrained as his isolation translated into my torture, as so often is the undermining mechanism which manifests through Scorpio fusions. The layers of emotions melted and refrozen which had become our shroud of lies would have been our Scorpio wealth had we not converted them into a toxic source of excuses.

We had borrowed from our souls, creating an unpayable emotional debt which in the beautiful if cruel realm of Scorpio meant that instead of working on mutual compromises we were instead pitting our ideals (social, societal or otherwise) against the reality of life including the messy realities so very much a part of what life is.

And thus, instead of facing our own fears in each other's presence, allowing the understanding of ideas and ideals to bring to flower something beautiful and intimately reconciled by our very human imperfections...

…instead we ended up compromising ourselves.

Instead of conceiving our Scorpio rebirth to mutuality, we each choose our conceptualized death of Self.

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I have a Scorpio Moon, so I know from what I speak. Anyone with any significant placement in Scorpio (and you know who you are) understands how the Scorpio process will always tempt us to deny the reality of the necessity to be human.

Our temptation to run away. That will always tempt us just as surely as the ease with which - in our Scorpio fears - we can be flagrantly diverted into falling prey to someone else’s manipulated truth – a truth they generally preach while we stand there starkly afraid of...and for our naked, human, life.

And where courage can't sustain us, our fears will drive us mad.

Scorpio tempts us to be the person who preaches but does not practice, much as Scorpio tempts us to practice what is preached even though that will deny us the full experience of being human.

Sometimes I think such ‘rules’ are made up just because someone was so sorely afflicted by their own fears that they couldn’t cope. So they come up with a ‘rule’ and hope that by stamping ‘that’ out, they won’t have to think about it any more.

That isn’t to say Scorpio doesn’t support rules. Well, not rules per se, but boundaries. Rules are theoretical – and thus the providence of air signs.  “Boundaries” is an earth term, and that’s still not Scorpio, though because Scorpio is water in its ‘fixed’ mode, we do think of it astrologically as ice – and who hasn’t experienced iciness as someone’s emotional expression of their absolute solid boundary?

One of the Crystal Ice Caves in California's Lava Beds National Monument

(photo credit: National Park Service)

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(If you haven’t, please take one halo from petty cash and thank your lucky stars.)

But when it comes to dealing with the ‘you can’t, because’ power of rules, with Scorpio this becomes a duality sort of thing – which is fitting, as Scorpio is one of three zodiac signs with dual rulers.

Note to anyone human reading this: two of those three signs are water signs. That’s probably a good clue as to how hard our emotional lives are…and on a metaphysical level, how hard they’re supposed to be.

And here so many of us think feeling should just be easy. Uh, no. Apparently not.

But back to the Scorpio duality…the operational imperatives of Scorpio in the world of ‘you can’t, because’ has the choice part of the equation (to do or not to do) which astrology sees as set off by Martian motion…and the response-reaction-implication OF the choice, that thing which comes of choosing to – or choosing not to (or which you choose) which none of us can known going in.

That would be the Pluto part.

The thing about Scorpio situations which we see pictured there is that they are and aren’t all about us. We do get choices. We can choose to opt in or opt out…and we can choose what we opt into or opt out of.

Many is the time I have said that Scorpio is all about the testing of our self worth, our security, our satisfaction with our lives and our self respect. And here’s where that comes in. Those who choose productively, grow in security and life power. Those who don’t – those who ‘play it safe’ are using some of that Scorpio energy to build a wall.

The problem with those walls is that by definition, they are limiting. And if you know anything about the power of ice…or in Scorpio’s alternative natural guise – a swamp – you know you are dealing with the power of glaciers and massive icebergs or the power of quicksand to pull you in and bury you in immobility.

In Scorpio – the boundaries you mind or don’t mind are emotional. They may be voiced as ideas (to you or by you), but we interpret them as emotional “edicts” and we respond to them – and thus decide whether to follow or not follow (aka comply or not comply) with them based on where we stand with our own emotionality.

That basis of judgment is the Taurean polarity for Scorpio – the ‘individual “learned” basis’ upon which we formulate our opinion of self, from which we derive self worth or insecurities galore. And when that gets ‘activated’ in a Scorpio situation, the ‘interactive’ quality of Scorpio forces us back on that personal basis of judgment – our inner Taurean security…and thus all Scorpio decisions and feelings about our decisions rely on our self worth and inner security…which once tapped and activated, reacts.

ENTER THE SCORPIO QUANDARY…our purpose for following or not following the ‘rule’ is also emotional – it’s all about the solidity of our convictions, with convictions being the stuff of which Scorpio determination and decision making is made.

Again, this is a two-part system. Part One is known as “how well do you know yourself?” and Part Two is “how realistic are you about what you need in order to thrive and grow as a healthy human being?”

This is where – especially in our modern, interconnected society – most of us seem to get our mental knickers in a twist (which is a really evocative mental image, if nothing else). There is so much pressure to adhere and accede to societal images and “judgments” about what matters to us that we often neglect our real Self in the process of, or effort to comply with some ‘you should want this’ or ‘you should operate in this manner’ which may not be consistent with not just our needs, but the very situation.

That brings up the Scorpio requirement to know ourselves, and to know when we can support the idea but not participate in it for ourselves. Or when we need to stop and examine the situation as so often situations look one way, but in reality are another thing altogether. If we simply look at the 'edict' ('edict' being a truly Scorpio word) we realize that as situations, relationships, interactions evolve…they may or may not be within the original scope of the most important edict of all in this lift: the one which says we need to be who we are, for that is the person we bring - and need to bring - to any situation, effort or relationship.

What Scorpio brings to bear here is the energetic which seeks to lure us with the allure to want to follow not because it's 'right,' but because it’s easier to negate, sell out and sublimate ourselves...even if that means we’re back at that Scorpio denial thing.

But being a martyr is good, you say? Well...usually not in ScorpioLand. The idea of being ‘the martyr for the cause’ is either a Sagittarian (to stand as a lightning rod for the idea) or Piscean (to embody and lead mass emotionality) thing.

Which really means that true martyrdom is done in the cause of ‘many,’ not Self. And Scorpio is not truly pluralistic. That’s the providence of the last four signs of the zodiac (Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces), not the second four signs (Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio).

In constellation Sagittarius, the star nursery of M17 reveals new stars

(photo credit: ESO)

The quadruplicities (groups of four zodiac signs) are all about just that – groupings. The first four (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) are singular/individual, the second four (Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio) are me-and-thee or small 'group units' and that sort of thing. But ‘mass movements’ are the purview of the last quadruplicity: Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
 
So if you’re thinking of martyring yourself under some Scorpio banner…while I’m tempted to make a Dante-esque joke of ‘it should be labeled Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here’ type (yes, I’m a fan of Dante’s very not funny ‘Divine Comedy’ – didn’t you know?) the truth is that the the only witness to your martyrdom in the Scorpio sense is generally the same person who will pay the price of it: you.

In other words, this is an influence which often causes us to sacrificing our self respect and the value we could have placed in our individuality by martyring ourselves to some cause which is either entirely temporal or doesn’t give squat about you.

Ideas usually don’t give a squat, after all. Ideas and ideals aren’t human and aren’t feeling. They’re a theoretical standard which human beings have shown to have tens of millions of exceptions, as in "the exception which makes the rule."

And now that I’ve had my chance to do the Dance of the Diatribe all over the Scorpio premise, this applies…why? 

And…to what?

Answer: to the Sun entering Scorpio on October 23rd at 6:11 in the morning, UT/+0 time.

By now, everyone who is the least bit into astrology has heard about the impending Scorpio solar eclipse. You probably felt the onset of its ‘breaking down of your situational walls’ back in early September – there’s a two-month lead-in to solar eclipses and frankly, this one has been particularly trying.

Yes, even painful.

As Venus passed through Scorpio (September 11 – October 7) our hearts were tried and tied and rent by things and situations which apparently we had washed and which now we couldn’t to a darn thing with.

Or about.

This was doubled up on – or even trebled as Mercury entered Scorpio on September 29th, a moment which is now emblazoned on my brain since in the next 48 hours I not only had of the worst headaches of my life, but got reports from at least a dozen other people about headaches and stomach aches in their lives.

In part, Scorpio refers to our ability to handle toxicity and to purge ourselves of that which is toxic. Scorpio asks that we ‘reclaim’ our lost Self (the respect and worth part) – which often…in very much a Scorpio manner… dictates that we will lose before we reclaim. So there was a lot of loss, a lot of reactions to loss, a lot of pain and anguish about what was (and maybe still is) missing in our lives…and all of it took place in this cauldron of Scorpio mentality which, according to Mercury’s schedule, is going to be with us until December.

Yes, December. And my headache, heartache and general life toxicity is so not glad to hear this.

Once Venus moved on into Sagittarius, some of us have moved into a ‘reconsidering’ mode, asking ourselves how we can make our life work better. What will it take? Have we misjudged? Did some idea get in the way of greater truths?

The Sun is the emblem of life and enlightenment; as it enters Scorpio on October 23rd our mental waters will become stiller…and yet deeper. With Mercury having gone retrograde (in Scorpio) on the 21st, this opens the door for a whole new level of intense reflection on what life is, and is for.

It will be a very personal and powerful time. During the near-month of Sun in Scorpio we are all likely to ‘break through’ to some new area of realization, some new recognition of what life is, and isn’t. We will let go of old assumptions and like children emerging from some mythic chrysalis, begin exploring our potentials, our power and our willingness to be who we are on a whole new level and in a whole new way.

I still hold some hope that this evolutionary passage will open a path for my friend and I to reconnect. Our differences are entirely about their desire to adhere to an externalized ethic which in truth we had – in simply knowing each other – eclipsed as people.

Eclipsing happens.

But sometimes the process is hard. And sometimes it takes longer for one person to work through their eclipse work than another.

Learning that what we do doesn’t define us is a primary recognition we all learn at some point. I learned that a long time ago when as a newbee astrologer I did all the busy little calculations to figure out when my Saturn Return was going to be. (Back then we didn’t have computers and astrology programs – it was all paper-and-pencil math.)

My Saturn is in Scorpio, you see…and within twenty minutes of the calculated time, I got hired to write my first “official” motion picture screenplay.

Saturn shown in a false color image as photographed by Voyager 1

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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Saturn: emblem of time and earning and career…I had finally hit the big time.

Or so I thought.

As I stood there on the driveway of the producer’s house marveling at what felt to me in that moment like some anointment from on high…it suddenly dawned on me: getting the job was just the start of the work.

So no, the angels didn’t sing. Apparently they were booked for some other gig somewhere else.

Now as my second Saturn return has just completed (and yes, I congratulated myself on getting this far) the real writing which is not about ‘the job of writing’ but about bringing the story I’ve wanted to tell for the whole of my life to life in text.

It's now been shipped off to the press.

Publishing the book (a four-part epic fantasy) is the Saturn work of it. Having invested my time, the intensity of my spirit and my effort to believe I know how to tell this story...that I care enough about it as spend so long crafting a real life very un-fairy tale fantasy embodying all I believe and care about as a human living among other human beings…that’s the Scorpio part.

That being said, it strikes me as ironic (irony is a favorite Scorpio emotion) that in the midst of coming to loggerheads with this person, as I felt the world cracking away around me, I heard them make a reference to the book – as if its publication would compensate me for losing their companionship, their presence, the knowing they were part of my life.

About then, I knew they needed the space, the solitude, even the iciness of Scorpio isolation in which to consciously feel themselves realizing and coalescing their feeling human nature, and why our life as human beings is more important…and worth more…than any theoretical rule.

That’s the real Scorpio edict: we matter. Simply as very human human beings, we matter. And when we matter to each other, that matters more than just about anything else.

To my friend…who may at some point in time read this post…blessed be. Though we may not agree on each and every thing - or its priority - I will love you forever, inclusive of whoever you are in whatever moment. When I left, you looked scared, which reflects in me as an overwhelming fear to think that is the image of you which will forever remain, haunting me until I die my twenty-trillionth death.

I can succumb to being crushed abjectly as happens under Scorpio. I can beg and still be denied resuscitation and Scorpionic redemption through the courage you would need to have to forgive me my frailties. As a person nurtured on the sadistic milk of abandonment, I know how to grieve. As one who has been bound and tied beyond conception, I know you can condemn me to waiting and grieving, eternally seduced by wondering if like Scorpio's mythic Phoenix, our conversation can be resurrected from the ashes and our hearts yet be healed by the touching essence of each other’s emotion-laden, deeply felt, very Scorpionic human existence.

The choice ultimately must be yours, for in my mind I know I will always stand in your presence.

Lost in being found, I merge, I exist.

And without you I will forever yearn, long and wish.

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Whether you relate to the depths of feeling expressed above...

...whether you think they're real or not...

understanding how they represent Scorpio's depth of passion

and the many things in life which force us to get in touch with

our emotions and emotional status is a valid Scorpio statement.
Or it could just be me doing a Scorpio number on you.
Do you know the difference - and which would be which?
Are you sure?

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None of our lives are perfect. And while granted, some of us experience

traumas or horrible mistakes which would seem to scar us forever, the

basic teaching of metaphysics remains true. If 'unbeknownst to us, the

universe is unfolding as it should' has any meaning, it means that the

experience of good and bright of life has equal merit with that which is

dark, painful and frightening.
----

I remain of the conviction that human connectivity is our best strength,

and that it cannot accomplish its goal at a shallow level. We have not

been created to have things easy - 'from those to whom much is given,

much is expected' means we have the responsibility to accept who we

are, as difficult as that may be.
.----

Power and potency of existence are found where they are found.

They may or may not take the shape that you think they 'ought' to

take, and sometimes our path to enlightenment requires of us that

we walk a road which tests our popularity with everyone but our Self.
----

That too is valid. We need to be what we need to be, regardless

of what others say, like or find convenient

As the Zen masters say...walk on.

That is the Scorpio ethic and our edict most human.

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