Scorpio New Moon

Scorpio is…

Moody. Melancholic. Penetrating. Intense. Transformative. Regenerative. 

In evolutionary astrology we associate Scorpio with the barrel of the tidal wave. Churning chaos. Soul-level transformation. 

All water signs are connected to emotional processes. Cardinal water (Cancer) initiates awareness of separation and the resulting emotional sensitivity and insecurity. Mutable water (Pisces) surrenders the waters of emotion, allowing them to drift back to oneness.

Scorpio – fixed water – demonstrates and displays emotion. 

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be fixed water. Fixity seems, in some ways, contrary to the very essence of water – particularly our Scorpionic tidal wave. Even a still pool evaporates. Frozen water is obviously fixed, but is not super helpful when thinking of the martial nature of Scorpionic heat which is more akin to magma, liquid fire… and the barrel of the tidal wave. 

I remember being five years old, swimming in the ocean. My parents were on the beach, but I was a strong swimmer (and it was the mid-80s, and all those things you hear about The Way Things Were Back Then in regards to parents being a little/way more hands off are very true). I got caught up in a wave, and was smashed against the ocean floor over and over again. But I had been told that, in that situation, I should just let my body go limp rather than fight it.

Which was, actually, very Piscean advice. Pisces yields, releases and floats.

I surrendered to the flow, and here I am today. 

Scorpio, on the other hand, is unyielding. Once it flows, it seems to quite literally fixates. We can build barriers against the ocean, but when the hurricane gets strong enough, ocean surges wipe them out.

All of the water signs are prone to overwhelm. But whereas with Cancer and Pisces that overwhelm tends to lead to dissociation, shut down or feelings of being lost or sad, Scorpionic overwhelm becomes the core of the emotion itself. Scorpionic times invite us to recognize the difference between feeling angry and becoming An Angry Person.

Scorpionic water can get stuck in its processes. 

Fixation is a neutral term, and Scorpionic fixations run the gamut from the very healing to the highly destructive. Within that, Scorpio is associated with extremity of emotion, such as those spawned by abandonment and betrayal. Or the more nightmarish components of the human experience: Genocide. Shootings. War. Plague. 

As well as our fear of these things, rooted deep in our cellular memory. 

Scorpionic fixation is derived from an instinctive need to penetrate to the core of a thing – often for the sake of survival. Or because survival fears, triggers or activations have been wrapped around the core of the emotion. The emotion becomes reality, and a life or death struggle emerges.

In that sense, Scorpio carries the energy of the barrel of the wave — and attempts to control the outcome when caught in the undertow. Trying to fight for the surface – for life. As a sign of extremes, sometimes its fixation is on obtaining whatever will make it feel powerful enough to ride out the storm. Scorpio is fierce in ways few other signs can match.

Alongside that instinct for survival, the shadow of Scorpio includes tendencies towards emotional manipulation, crisis, obsession and compulsion. The gifts of Scorpio include penetrating insights, purifying catharsis, honesty and true commitment to the process of becoming that which we are meant to be. 

On November 13 at 1:27am PST, a New Moon in the 20th degree of Scorpio initiates a new lunar cycle. Although the typical Scorpionic potentials for transformation and emotional catharsis are relevant here, to engage only at the personal level is not only missing the point – it runs the risk of contributing to the violence of a dominant worldview that tries to convince us we are separate from the world around us and that healing is insular and individual.

Scorpio does not look away.

Which is a hearty dose of needed medicine now, as the astrology of the lunar month ahead is intensely collective. At the time of the New Moon, Luna and Sol will be engaged in intimate conversations with Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, punctuating the need for revolutionary reset in terms of the ways systems built on dominance and oppression have got to go.

The universe will provide opportunities for breakthrough as well as breakdown. Your job is to be proactive about being as grounded and centered as possible, while being aware of and preparing for the potential of lashing out and scorching earth, be it within you or around you.

The incoming astro weather mirrors the ways our world is at a breaking point, with the realities of life-shattering, world-ending violence, genocide and collapse reaching another crescendo. This includes a rare and incendiary conjunction of the Sun and Mars in Scorpio on November 18.

The brutal/empowering truth is: none of the brutality, oppression and gross crimes against humanity and the earth stop without collective participation. Within that, the astro will continue to provide suggestions as to how we can navigate what is unfolding. Conscious participation is what gives the modern use of astrology its power, transforming it into a true technology of consciousness.

This New Moon in Scorpio, free of eclipse energy for the first time in two years, is time for taking bold new steps towards [re]committing to deep soul growth and honest transformation…

…for the sake of healing the soul of the world.

Patrons have access to a PDF for this New Moon (and every New Moon) including further explorations, writing prompts and ritual guidance. Further suggestions and insights were posted on Instagram.

Amanda is a queer astrologer who is very into relational, evolutionary and psychological astrologies. Sometimes she also writes about the world and her place in it. You can support her work — and get rad incentives like monthly AstroCircles, community hangouts with QA and free sessions through Patreon.

Please share this article if its contents were meaningful to you.