Scorpio NewMoon + Solar Eclipse

Death. Regeneration. Transformation. Transmutation. Abandonment. Betrayal. Renewal. Penetration. Merging. Emotional and Sexual Intimacy. Volcanic Eruptions. Psychology. Shadow. Power. Manipulation. Truth.

Sit with those words. What do they evoke within you? How do you hold your own power? What emotions have been stirring from the depths within you in the past several days? All relevant contemplations for this New Moon + partial Solar Eclipse.

image by Amanda

This lunar cycle is a lot. I have talked about it on this podcast episode, I've talked about it in my Astro of 22 and Taurus/Scorpio Nodes lectures earlier this year. I have made the Aries Full Moon call, which was meant to provide preparation for this eclipse window, available to all Patrons, and I highly encourage you to set aside time to do the home clearing/cleansing with light part of that visualization ASAP. I have recorded a more brief version of an energy protection meditation that is available to Patrons. I recommend you do it as many days as you can between now and November 8 - although it's relevant any time you feel like you need some extra energetic protection.

Scorpio season brings full displays of death to those of us who live in the northern hemisphere in places with visual seasons. The light seeps away from the day, giving more time for shadow. Leaves burst into flame and then fall. Our energy moves inwards, and we can feel haunted by or have a sense of that which the bright light of Summer has kept at bay. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the skies turn grey and the weather turns moody and tumultuous.

We remember reliance on other humans -- on connection -- and with that remembrance, times that reliance has wounded us. We remember times we have given away our power, and experienced abandonment, be it at the hands of another, at the whims of a system, or of our own doing.

But we also remember what it's like to wield power.

Scorpio can be a lot to handle, but it is a part of all of us. Through its traditional ruler, Mars, we can see courage, strategy and the capacity stand in and claim our own power. Through its modern ruler, Pluto, we understand that the desires of our ego must be brought into concert with the desires of our Soul. We remember that all things must come to an end. We learn that when in the belly of the tidal wave, there comes a time when we have to stop fighting and let go. We learn that seasons shift and turn, and that our internal power -- think Taurus polarity -- is the bedrock we must cultivate and stand upon to be able to unite with external forms of power.

This Scorpio eclipse is a south node eclipse, amplifying the energy of purging, releasing and surrendering. This eclipse takes place in an exact conjunction with Venus, who has just come through the fire to be reborn. These energies lash and lick and will leave no stone left unturned.

This window is, in fact, very much about rebirth in that we are all midwives to the process of birthing a new paradigm at the same time as we are all death doulas to the collapse of the old one -- and the labor pains, woven into so many dying gasps, have been brutal and exhausting.

But there is no way out but through. Scorpio gives us the courage to face what is dying and see it through.

In evolutionary astrology, we look to the lunar North Node and its ruler to tell us of ways forward... but the ruler of the north node in sensual, slow-it-down Taurus is that Venus conjunct the South Node. When a planet forms a square to the nodes -- as Saturn is now, grinding into us stark awareness of the condition of our social safety nets alongside the toll increased isolation is taking, making us confront the reality that we have to build systems which center community care at their core -- we look to the resolution node for solutions. The resolution node, in this case, is the South Node. The symbolism refers back in on itself.

There is no way out but through.

With an eclipse of this nature, we would all do well to tend the thresholds of our psyche, paying particular attention to our dreams, our emotional responses and what is activating us the most. We are well served by doing the work of letting emotions flow out and through, and acknowledging that there might be big time potential for (temptation to?) rescript or re-imprint old wounds.

When I think big: I recommend grief circles, ancestral reconnection work, solemn and serious graveyard walks. Emotional and sexual connection as rituals taking place in methodical, carefully constructed containers.

When I think practically: prioritize your emotional health without turning away from the hard stuff if you’re able. Refresh your wards and protections and engage in the most basic witch work (tending your hearth, home and altar). Seek support if you need it. Nourish your body; at the very least, stay on top of your water intake. The houses in your chart that contain Scorpio and Taurus might be the most active areas of life during these eclipses.

Think about your relationship with power: what is your relationship to it? How do you wield it? What do you do with it? When and why do you give it away? When and why and how do you hold onto it? Sticking to the surface answers will not do this season justice. Reclaim your projections; where do you find what you hate out in the world within yourself?

Pay attention to old abandonment and betrayal wounds. Do you abandon yourself?

At their most basic, eclipse windows eclipse out what has served its purpose. Solar eclipses are more about the external world, and lunar eclipses are more about the internal.

This eclipse window ends with a full lunar eclipse in 16 Taurus on November 8. I will hopefully have more to say about that one closer to. Whether they are personally palpable or not, eclipses do tend to be highly visible on the world stage, and I do not anticipate this set being any different. My advice to you remains the same regardless: protect and care for your energy but not at the cost of turning your back on what is most important.

Amanda is a queer astrologer who is very into relational, evolutionary and psychological astrologies. You can support her work on Patreon.