Hi my loves,
This month the full moon occurs on Monday, May 12th at 11:55 CT in the sign of Scorpio. This is the balancing energy for Taurus season and the new moon. Scorpio is fixed water, a sign that embodies still waters run deep. Where Cancer energy is related to the home, home within our bodies, the mother, ancestors, and family – the waters close to us, Scorpio represents the waters that destabilize us to take stagnant unconscious energy and transform it through its fiery Mars rulership to create the boiling waters, where we become unsettled releasing the old to provide a spaces for transformation. Deep within ourselves exists a sense of self, personality, behaviors, thoughts, and habits. This is not where they are started, but how we engage with our inner world in response to our external interactions.
Scorpio carries out its battle within the body. Through connecting with our physical form through somatic practices, engaging with the senses as Taurus has asked us to do, or to engage in psychological work that connects the emotions with the body such as yoga nidra or active imagination.
It is important to note as we move deeper into Scorpio energy, that we take note that many who have taken on the task of inner work in mythology failed or were only partially successful in their first attempts. They were not ready or could not complete the work. Take this as encouragement. You may begin to make progress, but not find yourself completely able to integrate your unconscious or face your inner demons. Perhaps you can only name them and be aware of them. Do not fret, the wheel will turn and you will have another chance to integrate this aspect of yourself. The question is, can you remain conscious or present enough in the moment to be able to make a different choice when the time comes?
The task is to remain present and aware that you connected with those around you. To learn to trust the divine and your fellow peers. This suspicion or lack of faith in something bigger than yourself can be the result of a subtle selfishness. One that separates us from others around us because they cannot understand or we do not understand them. This perspective can lead to a blockage of our spiritual path.
Scorpio is the only astrological sign with multiple symbols associated with it.
The Snake
The snake is closest to the ground. Closest to the Earth. Snakes rely upon reading body temperature and information they receive from the world around them to survive. Psychologically, the snake here represents Scorpio in its many stages. Snakes are associated with fertility goddesses and spaces of initiation. The snake bite can be a symbol of awakening and gaining consciousness. Snakes can also be seen as symbols of cunning or deception. Perhaps the individual working with Scorpion energy is being intentionally deceptive by withholding their truth. Not being upfront and honest. They may be suspicious and cautious of trusting others or being vulnerable. Then there is the Scorpion snake energy functioning with the subtle power of psychological and spiritual growth. Like Kundalini energy, that spirals up the spine, Scorpion snake energy moves the unconscious into the conscious.
Like the ouroboros, the snake swallowing its own tale, we can find ourselves in cycles where we are experiencing the same or similar circumstances over and over. Our job is to bring our attention to these patterns, identify the desire or internalized unconscious drive, find a healthier alternative expression of that desire, and put that into practice. That way we can shift the energy up the spiral, no longer caught in an endless loop but moving to a deeper understanding. Where we psychologically shed our old selves to be reborn just as the snake sheds its old skin.
The Scorpion
Claws to pinch and clasp with a tale that stings, the scorpion prefers dark, cool places in the heat and hibernates in the winter. Scorpions like snakes have ambiguous natures in mythology. They can be creatures that bring harm or healing. Their small size makes them
Scorpions like snakes also shed their former selves to reveal new shiny forms during the molting process. Scorpions emerge from the mother after an interesting mating ritual. The male scorpion emits pheromones to locate a female scorpion. It then links its pincher or claws with the female scorpion, where they dance together from anywhere between a couple to 24 hrs. The male scorpion will then deposit sperm into the female. The female scorpion will give birth to baby scorpions, which emerge fully formed. They will stay on the mother scorpion’s back until their first molt, where they feed a little from the yolk sac, but quickly can hunt and find their food.
Scorpions can go through several molts throughout their lives. Just as we do, they outgrow their selves, and most leave it behind. The molting process is uncomfortable and can leave the scorpion vulnerable until their new exterior has hardened. Similarly, when we identify a part of ourselves, behavior, or identity that it is time to leave behind, it can take time for us to adjust and grow into this new self fully. We are vulnerable to falling back into old patterns or to being distracted from our path. This is where the energy of Mars is important to help us retain focus on our goal. To help us when the work becomes heavy or difficult.
What is the difference between poison and medicine? The dosage and the preparation. Where the sting of the scorpions’ tale can be dangerous, it does not automatically equate to death except in rare occurrences. It often results in a painful swelling response. The loss or issue may be very painful when we experience it, but when we see it through and know how to treat or address the transformation process, we can see our way to the other side.
The Eagle
From the ground, to the water, to the sky, the Eagle soars above us all. It’s keen eyesight providing insight into the many details we may have missed as the snake or scorpio. Where the snake or scorpio may not be able to detach from the hurt or poison they have encountered, the eagle looks to find another perspective. From there perhaps they will be able to forget and even forgive.
Eagles are incredibly fast, large, and skilled hunters. They are birds of prey and thus, like the snake and scorpion, are still dangerous. The eagle is a predator of the snake. It can lift the snake out of the waters, off the ground, and carry it off. Working with scorpion eagle energy can help us to find the snake like aspects of our unconscious and pull them up into the conscious. Eagles and snakes show up in various interactions in mythology. Sometimes the eagles kills the snake, sometimes it drains its poison, other times it kills the snake and resurrects it.
Ignoring or attempting to repress the unconscious only leads to expanding that shadow aspect, making it stronger. We may fear making this aspect conscious because we are concerned with how this part of us will be perceived by others. This can be a particularly strong issue for those with a powerfully placed Venus (with conjunctions, squares or oppositions) as they can be very concerned with what others think of them or how they are viewed. It is difficult to let go. To free what they know is causing them pain or poisoning them. At times, this can show up as constipation, bowel, colon, and digestion issues. Eagles represent the airy aspects of healing. Communication can assist in finding relief from the physical and mental health issues associated with this energy. Counseling or expressing their shadow through some form of communication can be helpful.
The shadow side of the eagle may be seen in the vulture, another aspect of Scorpio. The vulture, like the eagle is a bird of prey, but focuses on that which is already dead and decaying. They see only the destruction and endings, not where transformation and rebirth can be found. Vultures play an important role in the environment as all things must come to an end, but when we internalize that role without understanding that the end leads to a new beginning we can become stuck. Transforming the old, dead, or decaying through lifting the shadow or unconscious into the conscious can allow us to lighten our load and transcend.
The Phoenix
Here, we have burned through the gunk of the unconscious. Going through the alchemical process wherein our inner selves are purified so that what is left can be reborn. The fire which leads this transformation can be an illness, death, loss of career or home, ending a phase of life such as transitioning from teen to adult or maiden to mother, adult to elder, or a goal unachieved.
We can respond to this loss or fire with bitterness, anger, revenge, or cynicism like the vulture or snake or we can resurrect ourselves through the ashes of what was burnt away. Often what we have experienced holds the keys to where we will focus our will and energy next. Our wisdom in progressing through this transformation is ready to be shared with others who are experiencing the same changes or lead us to a guide who can help us.
At this phase, we do not ask about how to harm, get revenge, or express suspicions of those who have harmed us, but begin to explore how we or someone could help a person like them. This may be language which hides the intention of persuading the other person to see things our way, but it is a step in the direction or integration.
We can see this in terminology that encourages us to face our demons and destroy them. To identify the habits, behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs that keep us in a negative space and let go of them completely. In my personal inner work, I have identified avarice, or greed, as a personal inner demon. One that is quite the trickster and shows up in many guises. I find myself saying things such as, “it’s not fair”. “I want something that is MINE. That I created and that no one else can control or tell me what to do.” I am cleverly shifting a need for control into language that can be positively seen as ambitious or determined. The answer? Surrender to letting go of the need to control by learning to trust and have faith. Faith in myself, faith in source, and faith in others.
We may feel driven to become a zealous or apostle for our new found faith. This can alienate those around us, but the phoenix will not stay isolated for long. They genuinely desire to help those around them. They learn to respect others perspectives and free will which allows them to connect and work with the other instead of forcing them to bend to the phoenix’s will.
Conclusion
Whether you are working with one or all four of Scorpio’s symbols, there is wisdom to learn from each of them. This full moon, allow yourself to connect, get clear, and flesh out what needs to be transformed in your life.
Need a little guidance on your path? Work with me directly by booking time with me here: https://TheBlissInstitute.as.me/
With love,
Kamilah Rose