Monthly Astro Forecast: New Moon in Scorpio
The Scorpio new moon on Wednesday of this week (at 4.01pm here in London, UK - check your local time zone to find the exact moment of the new moon where you are) comes hard on the heels of Samhain and Hallowe'en last week, pulling us ever deeper into the shadows. this is the season of gathering darkness. Scorpio season can be a bridge, a time when the veils between the worlds thin and we can connect more easily with those who have gone before us and with the otherworld as well as with our own inner selves. The shorter days and longer nights encourage introspection and quiet time, a gathering of energies after the rush of summer and the release of autumn.
Scorpio is well known for being the sign of sex and death, of drama and transformation. Ruled by Mars and Pluto, there is great power here if we are willing to confront those aspects of life which we may not always be comfortable facing head-on. This is the sign of the shadow, where we hide all those parts of ourselves we prefer to deny. We've already been seeing this as Venus moves retrograde through Scorpio, releasing powerful energies of wronged women and the abused feminine. Whilst Scorpio is an intensely private sign, it is also honest and direct, sometimes brutally so. No sugar-coating here and no avoiding the truth, however harsh or painful. This dark moon is a time to ask ourselves what we are denying to ourselves, what we are projecting on to others. The Venus retrograde lessons of taking back our projections continue. Scorpio demands that we take responsibility for ourselves, especially whilst its ruler Pluto is in Capricorn, the sign of duty and obligation. This may not be easy work, but letting go of all the repression and denial allows us to form more authentic and honest relationships with ourselves as well as with others. The energy we've been using all these years to hide from ourselves is released to be used for something more creative, something transformative.
This dark moon is also the perfect time to connect with your ancestors, perhaps continuing the practices of Samhain. Ancestral work can be very powerful, especially if we are working through old, fossilised emotional patterns and thoughtforms. Often these are not purely personal but have been passed on down the generations. By working with them consciously we can release them and create deep change, not only in ourselves but in the collective unconscious.
If that all seems a bit intense - buckle up! There are some big shifts coming this lunation, with Jupiter and the nodes changing signs as well as Mars and the usual shifts in the faster moving planets of Mercury, Venus and the Sun. Venus slows down and finally begins to move direct again, just in time for Mercury to begin their final retrograde period of 2018. Venus goes direct on November 16th and moves back from Libra to Scorpio on December 2nd. Relationships can move forwards again and we can begin to face up to any issues around values and the feminine which came up during the retrograde period. We are helped in this by Mercury, who goes retrograde in Sagittarius the following day, encouraging us to reflect on our journey so far. Retrograde energy is often seen as negative, and one interpretation of Mercury retrograde in questing Sagittarius could be issues around travel or being forced to move more slowly through the world. But this is the perfect time to consider where we have come from and where we are going, what we have learned and what we are still seeking. We may find ourselves questioning our beliefs, and how those beliefs shape our perception of the world and the actions we choose to take. Mercury begins to slow down and move direct again on December 6th, just before the next new moon on December 7th, allowing us finally to act on our new ideas and understanding.
Sagittarius season gets moving immediately after the new moon with Jupiter moving into its home sign of Sagittarius (Jupiter is the ruler of Sagittarius) on November 8th. All of us, but especially those of us with strong Jupiter or Sagittarius energy are likely to feel a sense of expansion, an emerging from the darkness. We will begin to see a broader vision of what's possible, for our individual journeys as well as our collective understanding. Later in November, we move more strongly into Sagittarius season with the Sun changing signs on the 22nd. Sagittarius energy is strongly triggered in the 26th and 27th as the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter meet and make connections. We are able to expand our sense of self as the slow process of emerging from the Scorpio darkness gathers strength. Active Mars moving into mutable Pisces on November 15th adds more impetus for change. Mars is the planet of identity and even selfishness and sometimes struggles in a sign with a strong connection to universal rather than personal energy like Pisces. To avoid putting our energy into escapism or becoming passive aggressive, it may help to focus your energy on something beyond yourself. Mars in Pisces is about getting out of your own way!
As if all that wasn't enough, the nodal axis also changes signs on November 16th, with the North Node moving into Cancer and the South Node into Capricorn. The nodal axis describes where we are coming from (the South Node) and where we can grow towards a new destiny (the North Node). On the axis of Cancer and Capricorn, issues of material and emotional security are likely to arise, as well as the way we relate to authority. Rather than submitting to established authorities, we will need to connect to our personal inner authority, finding a sense of security built on our own experience rather than what we have or how others see us. This is a long process lasting until May 2020 and with regenerative Pluto already in Capricorn, there are likely to be some shifts in power and authority in the next year and a half, maybe even in the way we are ruled or allow ourselves to be ruled. We are likely to see the beginning of this process at the beginning to December, with revolutionary Uranus squaring the nodal axis from Taurus. This is a process of awakening, and I would really love it if that awakening took the form of a collective shift in how we see the earth and the way we use her resources, perhaps a collective taking of responsibility for the planet.
There's a lot going on in the wheel of the zodiac in the next few weeks. It's time to step up, not only to our personal growth but to the ways that our personal growth can influence collective transformation. Hopefully by the new moon in Sagittarius on December 7th, we'll be sowing the seeds of a new vision.
Scorpio is well known for being the sign of sex and death, of drama and transformation. Ruled by Mars and Pluto, there is great power here if we are willing to confront those aspects of life which we may not always be comfortable facing head-on. This is the sign of the shadow, where we hide all those parts of ourselves we prefer to deny. We've already been seeing this as Venus moves retrograde through Scorpio, releasing powerful energies of wronged women and the abused feminine. Whilst Scorpio is an intensely private sign, it is also honest and direct, sometimes brutally so. No sugar-coating here and no avoiding the truth, however harsh or painful. This dark moon is a time to ask ourselves what we are denying to ourselves, what we are projecting on to others. The Venus retrograde lessons of taking back our projections continue. Scorpio demands that we take responsibility for ourselves, especially whilst its ruler Pluto is in Capricorn, the sign of duty and obligation. This may not be easy work, but letting go of all the repression and denial allows us to form more authentic and honest relationships with ourselves as well as with others. The energy we've been using all these years to hide from ourselves is released to be used for something more creative, something transformative.
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| What's shifting beneath the surface....? |
If that all seems a bit intense - buckle up! There are some big shifts coming this lunation, with Jupiter and the nodes changing signs as well as Mars and the usual shifts in the faster moving planets of Mercury, Venus and the Sun. Venus slows down and finally begins to move direct again, just in time for Mercury to begin their final retrograde period of 2018. Venus goes direct on November 16th and moves back from Libra to Scorpio on December 2nd. Relationships can move forwards again and we can begin to face up to any issues around values and the feminine which came up during the retrograde period. We are helped in this by Mercury, who goes retrograde in Sagittarius the following day, encouraging us to reflect on our journey so far. Retrograde energy is often seen as negative, and one interpretation of Mercury retrograde in questing Sagittarius could be issues around travel or being forced to move more slowly through the world. But this is the perfect time to consider where we have come from and where we are going, what we have learned and what we are still seeking. We may find ourselves questioning our beliefs, and how those beliefs shape our perception of the world and the actions we choose to take. Mercury begins to slow down and move direct again on December 6th, just before the next new moon on December 7th, allowing us finally to act on our new ideas and understanding.
As if all that wasn't enough, the nodal axis also changes signs on November 16th, with the North Node moving into Cancer and the South Node into Capricorn. The nodal axis describes where we are coming from (the South Node) and where we can grow towards a new destiny (the North Node). On the axis of Cancer and Capricorn, issues of material and emotional security are likely to arise, as well as the way we relate to authority. Rather than submitting to established authorities, we will need to connect to our personal inner authority, finding a sense of security built on our own experience rather than what we have or how others see us. This is a long process lasting until May 2020 and with regenerative Pluto already in Capricorn, there are likely to be some shifts in power and authority in the next year and a half, maybe even in the way we are ruled or allow ourselves to be ruled. We are likely to see the beginning of this process at the beginning to December, with revolutionary Uranus squaring the nodal axis from Taurus. This is a process of awakening, and I would really love it if that awakening took the form of a collective shift in how we see the earth and the way we use her resources, perhaps a collective taking of responsibility for the planet.
There's a lot going on in the wheel of the zodiac in the next few weeks. It's time to step up, not only to our personal growth but to the ways that our personal growth can influence collective transformation. Hopefully by the new moon in Sagittarius on December 7th, we'll be sowing the seeds of a new vision.