the new moon in scorpio is exact on wednesday november 11th 2015 at 9:47am PST. this new moon (and in some traditions the 3 days preceding it during the dark moon) correlate with lunar samhain. samhain is the dark sun time of the year (in the norther hemisphere) where we move into the deepest days of darkness with the least amount of light. from now until winter solstice (12/21) we are in the death part of the solar cycle. this is a time of letting go, turning within, reviewing and releasing the past, dying to the old and creating space for the new to seed within us at the conception part of the solar cycle also known as winter solstice. for more information on samhain season please see the blog i wrote about it linked here- https://www.divineharmony.org/cosmic-insight-divine-harmony/divine-harmony-astrology-blog/samhain-the-dark-moon-time-of-the-year/
this new moon in scorpio is a potent one! scorpio is one of the three water signs and each water sign is associated with bodies of water. cancer is associate with fountains and pools or lakes, scorpio with swamps and sewers and pisces with the primordial ocean itself. clearly it looks like scorpio got the short end of the stick with water associations- but if you look at everything symbolically the swamp and sewer represents deep, murky emotional and psychic energy but also the capacity to find hidden gold or a brilliant lotus in the midst of least likeliest of places. with scorpio still waters run deep- and you cannot take everything at the surface level or you will miss much of the important stuff going on beneath the surface. this is a good thing to keep in mind during this new moon portal/lunar samhain- as it is a call into our depths and shadows with potential for transformation, empowerment and profound rebirth on the other side.
with the new moon in scorpio we can find ourselves in murky waters emotionally and otherwise- with much coming up that we need to look at, feel and fully move through. scorpio rules all the taboo topics of society- sex, death, money, power and control- those things people are obsessed with or afraid of- scorpio rules them. a new moon in scorpio can speak to a new cycle birthing in regards to our awareness of, confrontation with and resolution of our obsessions, fears and deepest desires. it is no accident that samhain occurs when the sun is in scorpio (above the equator)- as the sign of death, rebirth and transformation is aptly aligned with the dark sun time of the year!
this new moon makes some notable aspects- the first being the new moon’s conjunction with mercury. in greek mythology mercury is one of the only deities who can move between the upper world and lower world. typically if you find yourself in the lower world you stay there (or you get stuck there) and if you are in the upper world you have no desire to go down into the underworld. mercury (also known as hermes) along with two Dark Goddesses (persephone, hecate) and iris (another messenger Goddess) are the only beings who can traverse between the worlds- giving them the unique position of being able to stand in liminal space (neither here nor there, black nor white- but that space in between). these deities can meet us at the cross roads, help us during transitionary periods in our lives and deliver us messages or insights that help us link the personal and collective Unconscious (aka the underworld) with our conscious selves. with mercury in the sign of scorpio he is already connected to the underworld (and when he is retrograde he is said to literally be in the underworld)- so his alignment with the new moon shows his role as psychopomp and his ability to help us delve into our unconscious/subconscious/shadow and bring what we find back up to the Light of consciousness so we can integrate it. this is a great new moon (and lunar cycle) to be in therapy, pay attention to your dreams and work with oracles of all kinds (astrology, tarot, runes, etc..)- so that messages from your own depths can get reflected back to you via imagery, symbolism, intuition or a therapist/astrologer/reader.
another defining aspect of this new moon is the sun/moon/mercury conjunction aspecting the uranus/chiron semisextile. this long term transit began in 2009 and goes until 2021 since these two are moving at a similar speed (chiron’s orbit is erratic so sometimes he keeps time with uranus and sometimes he keeps time with saturn). with the rebel, revolutionary and Great Awakener (uranus) linking up with the Wounded Healer- we are in a 12 year period of time where we have major opportunities to wake up, expand our awareness, face deep wounds and pain and find freedom from that which oppresses us (personally and collectively). with the scorpio stellium quincunxing uranus and trining chiron- we are supported in accessing these energies and making them work for us in tangible and powerful ways.
chiron reminds us that healing will come by way of truly feeling and going into the swamp or the abyss of our emotions. this may seem counterintuitive as typically if we feel something like depression, grief, suffering or rage we want to shut it down for fear that it might take us over. saturn square neptune right now may have many people wanting to escape the darker realities of life- which can mean a greater tendency to turn towards drugs, alcohol, excessive shopping, workaholism or getting sucked into the technology portal (too much Facebook or too much TV?). yet chiron can help us see that spiritually bypassing or being in denial of the deeper emotions not only doesn’t help us- it keeps us frozen in places that link back to childhood experiences or past life traumas where quite literally parts of our consciousness are trapped there. uranus’ aspect helps bring up what needs to be brought to consciousness and he can do it in sudden, unexpected ways but also perhaps anxiety producing ones- particularly if we have been working very hard to repress what is trying to come to the surface of consciousness. uranus and chiron can help us do soul retrievals where those lost/frozen fragments of self get taken back and reintegrated into our being helping us to experience greater wholeness.
luckily this new moon sextiles jupiter- bringing the virgo energy of discernment, humility and commitment to doing the inner work into the mix. scorpio shines a Light on the shadow, while jupiter in virgo helps us use the experience for growth, healing and wholeness. with the mean north node in in virgo for the next 19 months (and the true north node entering 29 virgo on the day of the new moon!)- there is no escaping the areas of life that demand we clean something up and get something organized, efficient and/or healthy in our lives. virgo is a sign that understands there is always more work to do- in service of others and in service of the self. virgo is very self-reflective and is constantly working to make self-adjustments to purify oneself and become more whole. of course learning how to do this in balance with relaxing, having fun and enjoying life is what mastery is all about ;)
the asteroid Goddess of partnership and marriage (juno) is also linked with the new moon and it’s interesting to note that the asteroid sisyphus links up with both the sun and juno- bringing focus to the areas of life and in relationships that we find ourselves pushing a karmic rock up the hill only to find it falling back down just before we reach the top. if you don’t know about the myth of sisyphus you can google it but in short he was punished for tricking hades (the lord of the underworld- aka pluto, the ruler of this new moon) and persephone (the queen of the underworld) as a means to escape death- and his punishment was to spend eternity doing hard labor. so sisyphus points to where we keep playing out the same situation, we keep going back to the beginning and we really are not getting anywhere. this is so apt for scorpio as our greatest fears and deepest obsessions are the very things that hold us back or trip us up- and we will do these same things over and over again for LIFETIMES. i see scorpio as the sign associated with the eye of the needle. i feel we are given many lifetimes where we have sexual, financial or political power and we are given many lifetimes where we have none- and the Universe sees what we do in those lifetimes and if we can maintain our integrity and connection to our Spirit and Soul regardless of our outer circumstances. when we can find the middle path and not chase these things or run away from them, not obsess and overindulge in them but also not cut ourselves off from them for fear of what they might to do us- then we make it through the eye of the needle.
so this new moon is an eye of the needle experience- where we are being forced to truly face where we are stuck emotionally, spiritually and otherwise and we are asked to rise up, see the Bigger Picture that is playing out and make the necessary changes (inwardly and externally) that need to be made if we want the game to change. the ruler of this new moon is pluto and he is opposite sirius (all year long) bringing powerful downloads and opportunities for us to see how we can find the sacred in the mundane and how we can be spiritual beings and have a physical experience. this is not about getting rid of the body and only focusing on the Soul and Spirit- but it’s also not about getting lost in the body and it’s appetites so that we lose sight of our Soul and the Higher Path it is calling us to take. with pluto trine jupiter and sextile the new moon and mercury- there’s profound energy available to each of us for personal empowerment and transformation but first we have to be willing to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. we have to face those parts of ourselves that hold us back and do the work to resolve what hinders us from moving forward in life.
it’s interesting to note that all the Dark Goddess points in the new moon chart link up with the upcoming saturn/neptune square (for more info on that transit check the blog posted here- https://www.divineharmony.org/cosmic-insight-divine-harmony/divine-harmony-astrology-blog/mutable-grand-cross-seeing-through-the-haze/ both mean and true black moon lilith are in a tight conjunction with each other at 9 libra, while asteroid lilith is at 7 sagittarius and dark moon lilith is at 9 sagittarius. all 3 bodies link up with saturn and neptune- and interestingly the last saturn/neptune square coincided with the salem witch trials! the Dark Goddess is the fierce and powerful feminine that is connected to her power, her sexuality, her body, her intuition and her magic. she is also the most demonized aspect of the feminine- called witch, bitch, whore or hag, and rarely called anything nice (at least from the patriarchal perspective). with asteroid lilith and dark moon conjunct saturn (symbol of patriarchy amongst other things) and square neptune- and with BML quincunx neptune and sextile saturn- we have an interesting configuration playing out.
one of the defining signatures of the saturn/neptune square (building to the first square on 11/26 and it lasts throughout 2016) is being able to discern Truth from lies. the Dark Goddess is deeply intuitive and she is able to see beyond the veil- yet if we feel one thing but the world or people around us are telling us something else (or worse- telling us we are crazy/wrong/deluded) we are challenged to stand our ground and not betray our inner knowing. yet at the same time the Dark Goddess does have a shadow side- when expressed in her wounded form she is either the victim (asteroid lilith) or the tyrant (dark moon lilith)- both extreme opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to dealing with power. since scorpio is the sign of power it has a deep resonance with the Dark Goddess- and this new moon can be about getting super clear where in this life and past lives we gave away our power and played the victim or lorded our power over others and played the tyrant. there can be much karmic clearing of old patterns right now and setting our intention with the new moon to dive into these depths with consciousness and awareness so that we can move through them and rise above them without spiritually bypassing them is definitely recommended right now.
the sabian symbol for this new moon is positively potent. 20 scorpio is titled ‘a woman drawing aside two dark curtains that closed the entrance to a sacred pathway’. another variation is ‘an immensely tall entranceway is closed by heavy and dark velvet portieres. a woman in white draws these aside.’ to me this symbol is about seeing beyond the veil and being opened up to the mysteries. intuition will lead you and you must follow and trust your inner knowing. what was previously obscured or hidden is now no longer. the sacred pathway was there all along- and now it’s being fully revealed to you and you must follow it!
paola emma says this degree is about ‘giving (us) an opportunity to intuitively grasp the essence of any situation, or revealing the truths kept in the dark until now’. this is apt for saturn in sadge- as there is much karma but also opportunities for mastery wrapped up in the journey to find the Truth and discern it from delusion, deception, illusion and lies. blain bovee says when this degree is activated it makes it ‘one of the most dynamic days in terms of psychic and extra-dimensional revelation’. this fits the fact that it’s lunar samhain- a time when the veil between the worlds is at it’s thinnest. so stay open and alert to messages and insights coming in. and last but not least, lynda hill says this degree reminds us to move the obstructions or clear the confusions that impede our path or stop us from realizing where we could be or go. this is a call to venture down new pathways but we need to have faith and overcome any fear that stops us in our tracks. if we follow our intuition we can move beyond the curtains and enter into a whole new perspective that will open up our lives in a big way!
i will leave you with the star sparks meditation for this new moon- written by elias lonsdale. his meditations are the deepest i have found and it can be quite lovely to sit with them in meditation and allow them to move through you and reveal to you what you are ready to see and realize. this one speaks to the mysteries and to the karmic shadows that have detained us from fully realizing them. this new moon in scorpio can initiate you into the next level of the mysteries that you are ready to enter into and it will require that you face that which you have allowed to hold you back from moving forward in life. the deeper you are willing to go- the more revealing this new moon can be!
new moon blessings sent your way…
~divine harmony
STAR SPARKS
~elias lonsdale
Scorpio 20 A serpent wrapped around an immense egg.
The Mysteries. Guided into a way of being which is anciently coded and future fertile. Living this away from prying eyes. Set very far apart. And following a script, a lineage which is taken as the very center of existence, the core of all value and meaning.
Within those coils of ritualistic protection, the timeless ways are followed with immense fortitude and staying power. Yet when we are so very other to the world around us, we do have this one great challenge which can violate the Great Work, unless we are able to see through the test in all it’s variations.
We will magnetize a certain projection onto us. Some will feel and sense the power, the meaning, the substance of living a different existence. And if we have any karmic backlog of betraying or wavering or going against what we know, every bit of this will light up as repeating itself in some fashion, checking us out to be sure that we have become free of the glamour, the inflation, the grandiosity.
The true path here begins when we drop in to a time and world apart, and we encounter presences, forces which show us who we really are and why we are here. Before this happens, we can feel as though we are strangers to every world we enter. For we have very little use for the world.
So there are high stakes around becoming awake to the inner path and making sure that karmic shadows no longer detain us. This one is all about what we can do when the void-self holds sway and the personal mask is dropped.
In the hidden depths, very potently on fire with a core reality, the spirit awaits the one who could not satisfy their life by any outer means. When we drop into it, what stands revealed lets us know why it was so hard to get here.