New Moon in Scorpio

(Hokusai Dragon)

From “October” by Louise Gluck:

"Summer after summer has ended,
balm after violence:
it does me no good
to be good to me now;
violence has changed me."


This is tonight, Thursday 23rd October, around 11 pm (GMT). Sun, moon and Venus conjunct at 0 degrees Scorpio, the very start of the sign.

Kind of an amazing new moon – and partial solar eclipse - in the sign of intensity and extremes. Death and rebirth – that is Scorpio's terrain. Transformation.

And new moons represent new beginnings. So all told, this is about a radical change. A rebirth of sorts. Or a death... but it's the same thing.

As we have the sun, the moon and Venus all crossing from Libra into Scorpio, I think it will feel like a fast phase-shift... especially as regards relational and money matters. We shift from Libran pleasantry into Scorpionic depth and intensity in the course of a day.

I think people will feel this shift pretty clearly. Either a relationship is OVER or it's for the long haul. Either your money situation is solid or you're cleaned out. Either your values and commitments can go the distance, or they're a house of sand. You'll be in no doubt.

Let what has to die, die. There's no room for wishful thinking or sentimentality here – it's about the bottom line. Scorpio can be ruthless. You cut away the deadwood and rot so that new life can grow. The point is regeneration and healing.

It is also about conserving your resources - you can't throw good money after bad, or carry the past around with you forever. You can't waste energy on things that are not viable.

Scary and hardcore as Scorpio can be, the situation looks very positive overall. The sun–moon–Venus conjunction is supported by a sextile to Mars in the late degrees of Sagittarius (energy and enthusiasm) and a trine to Neptune in Pisces (compassion and faith). Those are the only aspects the new moon makes, and both are pretty nice.

So it's definitely a good time to get clear of the past and to start something new. To be reborn or transformed in some way.

Maybe it's a shift or transformation in your thinking that's required – a mental breakthrough. Mercury, planet of mind and communication, is currently retrograde in Libra, getting set to go direct a few days after the new moon (26th October). He is in range of the Uranus-Pluto square and conjunct the north node in Libra, making a cardinal t-square.

All this speaks of an internal mental shift or rebalancing – one that can blow the lid right off your usual mental habits. It looks liberating – an epiphany that there's no going back from maybe, or a new point of view. Satori, even.

I am emphasising the positives here, because to me this new moon looks like a tremendous opportunity to slough off the past like an old skin. But keep in mind, we are in the thick of Uranus square Pluto, which is fairly wrenching stuff. Plus, Scorpio is about extremes. It's either the best or the worst that is in us - no middle ground.

And Venus and the moon are not particularly comfortable in this sign. Venus is in detriment, meaning she can't function too well here. She likes peace and harmony, but the kind of peace you get in Scorpio is nothing like what peace means to Libra (the preceding sign, which Venus rules). In Libra, everyone's at a party being polite and making small talk and pretending to like each other, and Venus is quite ok with that! In Scorpio, things are only peaceful because the party has been nuked into submission and everyone is fucking dead.

And the moon is in her fall in Scorpio, meaning she's really kind of messed up by the emotional intensities of the sign. The moon has to do with comfort, nurturance and emotional fulfillment...but Scorpio is an inherently uncomfortable and extreme energy, and about as easy to fulfill as a black hole.

So these gentle 'feminine' energies go all edgy and femme fatale in Scorpio, and it's very magnetic and intense...but there's nothing light or fun about it. Everything is life-or-death.

A moon in Scorpio looks a bit like this:

Erzulie Danto, vodou madonna

And here is Venus in Scorpio.

'Poison' by Yumiko Kayukawa

If you can give this stuff the depth it requires, you'll benefit and be transformed. If you can't do depth and transformation, death and rebirth - you get the cheapest substitute, which is drama. Plenty of people prefer drama and keep going back for more.

Anyway, the skies are getting simpler and clearer as we head into Scorpio season, which is fitting. Stark and intense, but in a good way. By Halloween we'll have planets in Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces all beneficially aspecting each other, which looks really helpful. Especially as we're heading into the ugly tensions of the Uranus-Pluto square on the 15th December... There'll be plenty of emotional strength and grounding to draw on, and it will be needed.

I hate to be harping on about the same themes all the time, but we have two more months before Saturn leaves Scorpio, and Saturn in Scorpio is all about getting the rotten garbage out of your life. So if you're still clinging to an addiction, a bad relationship, a fantasy, an ideology - anything draining or false or rotten - stop it already. Purge yourself of that shit while you can. That's what this time is for.

Saturn rewards effort. You have to put in the work, dig deep, excise the rottenness...whatever form it takes. If you don't do this now, you will likely have some psychological gangrene to deal with further down the line.

Happy Halloween, fellow legions of the undead. Hope it's fun!

Chinnamasta party

Full Moon in Aries

This is tomorrow, the 8th October, around noon (GMT). It's a big one.

The sun and moon are in line with the lunar nodes, meaning we have entered eclipse season: a roughly month-long period that happens twice a year, in which we have 2 or 3 eclipses.

This full moon will be a total lunar eclipse (or 'blood moon') – a supercharged significator of culminations and endings. But even leaving aside the fact that it's an eclipse, it is incredibly intense.

The moon, meaning the emotional tone, will be in Aries and conjunct Uranus (shock). This is amped-up fury: warlike, impatient, unpredictable, explosive. Moods on a hair-trigger. People are going to be feeling edgy, no question.

Opposing the moon we have the sun in calm, peace-seeking Libra, conjunct Libra's ruler Venus. We also have the north node (the imperative or 'direction' of the story) in Libra, loosely conjunct the sun. All this represents a huge drive for peace, harmony, love, beauty, fairness and right relationship.

So we have war and upheaval (Aries) vs. peace and reconciliation (Libra)... and these two drives are as stark and as opposed as you can get. And then squaring these poles, we have Pluto, Lord of Death – moving forward once again in Capricorn, sign of the old order. Radical changes to the status quo are afoot, for good or ill.

Reminds me of this, from the Rodney King riots:

Anyway, we have a cardinal t-square again: the same Uranus-Pluto theme we've been dealing with for the past few years. It's a story of the demand for radical change coming up against entrenched authority, with explosive results. The people vs. the System. The Rebel Alliance vs the Empire.

Hong Kong democracy protesters

Except, you know – with all due respect to “Star Wars” - this is real life, not a movie. And in real life, good and evil are far more complex and intertwined than they can ever be in the movies.

In the movies, the idealistic young rebels prevail and that's the end of the story. But look at what's happening in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. Look at the situation in Ukraine following their revolution earlier this year. War and chaos have followed these hopeful popular uprisings. The mostly well-intentioned protesters got more than they bargained for – what they wanted were simple, reasonable changes to the systems they lived under. More government accountability, more transparency, more equality, a better life. I doubt anyone wanted this:

Aleppo, Syria

It's like, you light a little fire in the woods because you're cold, or you want to make some s'mores or whatever. And the forest is so full of deadwood, you accidentally start a forest fire that consumes...the whole world. Suddenly the whole world is on fire. And you've lost everything, when all you wanted was a stupid little s'more.

That's Uranus (shock, the unexpected) and Pluto (destruction and regeneration) for you. On a collective level, the Uranus-Pluto squares demand intense change - & that demand will be fulfilled. But for good or ill - who knows? With Uranus involved, there's no calling or controlling the outcome. With Pluto involved, it will be extreme. All anyone can say is that there'll be no going back.

It's easy enough to see these themes at work on the world stage – but look to your own life and relationships as well. What's happening on your own personal stage?

-What has changed radically for you since 2010?
-What has to change in the interests of fairness and balance and decency?
-What (or who) is blocking that necessary change? (Maybe it's you?)
-What are you afraid of? What are you trying to control, to your detriment?
-What's over and dead; what do you need to cut yourself free of already?
-What is the price you have to pay for what you want? Is it worth it?

Complex questions of value are at work here, and they demand some introspection.

Well as it happens, we have a Mercury retrograde underway (4th- 25th October) which should be helpful for deep introspection over the next few weeks. Mercury is in Scorpio for the full moon, which lends a very deep, investigative, penetrating mental focus. He'll be moving backward into Libra on the 10th of October - this is a rational and balanced mental energy, which should be useful. Mercury in Libra is about being able to see multiple sides to a situation, and to communicate diplomatically and fairly.

The issues being dealt with here are weighty – there are important decisions to be made. Probably best to hold off from making them until Mercury resumes direct motion on the 25th October - and maybe hold off from signing important documents or finalizing plans as well.

Mercury will end his retrograde at 16 degrees Libra, the same cardinal t-square territory of tomorrow's full moon. It's pretty fucking fraught. Whatever issues came up for you around the new moon in Libra on the 24th September – look at how these matters stand at the full moon tomorrow. There will probably be some kind of illumination or resolution available – but you will likely be processing it all until Mercury goes direct in a few weeks time. Pay attention.

I think internal resolution is the way to go with this stuff, in keeping with the themes opened up to us at the new moon a couple of weeks ago. If you can deal with your own issues internally instead of projecting them outside yourself, blaming others and gunning for a fight...you'll be doing well.

Easier said than done, ha. This is a sharp, violent full moon, and you may feel like biting someone's head off. There will be plenty of provocation. But remember that conflict can escalate and get out of control very quickly right now. Pick your battles carefully. You don't want this on your hands:

And lay off the self-righteous rage, please! You are not some knight on a white horse fighting the forces of evil. You are just another schmuck trying to get through the day in one piece, like everyone else.

Remember the north node or direction of the story, is in Libra – sign of harmony and balance. Try to keep the focus on relationship and peace, not war.

Maybe war on the world stage can't be prevented... and what happens on the world stage isn't up to any of us individually anyway. But you can certainly quit perpetuating war in your own life and psyche. Just paying attention to yourself is enough – and as we've seen, we have a Mercury retrograde facilitating deep introspection at this time. You don't have to go on a mission to rid yourself of your own darkness...just being aware of it is enough. Coexistence is possible.

Something really nice: we have our grand fire trine in full effect now, forming a kite pattern with the full moon. Jupiter in Leo, Mars in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aries all burning together like a fireworks display – beautiful. Hope, optimism, energy, courage, faith, expansion, liberation.

This is all on tap if you want it, however nasty things might get. The high road / larger view is available. If you're faced with conflict, you can be the bigger person and rise above it.

On a deeper level, the whole setup is making me think of what Joyce wrote about history: “History is the nightmare from which I am trying to awake”.

Reading the papers or watching the news these days has become so frightening. History is a nightmare that is ongoing... It is the story of the way power in the world has always worked. The Rebel Alliance overthrows the Empire, then becomes the new Empire, giving rise to new Rebel Alliances...ad infinitum.

It's easy to get all fired up about everything that's wrong with the world, to take sides, to go off on moral crusades. And sometimes taking a stand is necessary. Sometimes you have to play your part in the great drama - there's no other option.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighter

But playing your part in the great drama, taking a side, fighting for a cause - these things have nothing to do with freedom. Real freedom is something very rare, and it can't be reduced to a political slogan. It is altogether outside of politics and outside of the carnival of brutality we call history - it is personal and internal. Nobody gets it by marching behind a banner or a slogan or an ideology. You have to win it for yourself, and by yourself - and it's hard work.

Anyway, if you're so inclined, you can internalize the symbolism of this full moon – you can use it to look at how this struggle for change and liberation plays out in yourself. To "work with diligence on your own salvation", as the Buddha is supposed to have said. I think that's a brilliant use of all this tension – and it will get you a lot further than external conflict will.