Descent
THE SCORPIO NEW MOON
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 12:56 pm PDT
The Moon and Sun Conjoined at 3.03 degrees Scorpio
Today is the Scorpio New Moon, the beginning of a lunar month in which we are meant to embark on a very different kind of hero's journey, to dive down into the realm of darkness to retrieve some very odd riches, riches of a Scorpionic variety. Not what we usually think of as treasure, like gold coins or jewels for instance, Scorpio treasure consists of fragments: the darker aspects of ourselves that we, for one reason or another, deny.
Scorpio treasure is everything that's NOT nice. Treasure that doesn't sparkle and shine. It is, instead, very dark stuff indeed made up of all our taboo curiosities and desires, unexpressed anger, rage, and greed, and the many temptations and inclinations we don't want to admit, even to ourselves, that we possess. All of this belongs to Scorpio's realm. No wonder Scorpio is a sign that attracts such negative sentiment, for Scorpio seems to carry this burden, this collective shadow material and it permeates their very being, whether they are monsters or angels.
Unless Scorpio, Pluto or Scorpio's Eighth house is prominent in your natal chart, it is probably hard to understand why this unpleasant and entirely "unfun" process of facing one's darkness is so utterly important. Scorpio represents the distasteful, unpopular, act of NOT turning away from these ugly realities, and refusing to pretend they do not exist, perpetuating the charade that some of us have evolved, risen above such darkness. If you are on Planet Earth, you are working on this "dark matter" along with the rest of us here on this plane of duality where dark is married to light. Denying darkness is the true source of evil, and Scorpio is here to remind us of that irony.
So Scorpio, along with its modern ruler Pluto, represent a different kind of hero's journey, a journey into the realm of the shadow, the land of the dead, the dark halls of Hades. And each of us journeys here to retrieve something we cannot live a fully vital human life without — our soul in its entirety. This process is well represented in Scorpio's two rulers, whose purposes are conjoined in this sign: passionate, heroic Mars and intense, chthonic Pluto. For it takes courage to face your inner demons and dark urges, and to understand that you have something in common with that serial killer, rapist, and the soldier who participated in the torture of human beings at Abu Ghraib.
This is the part of the Scorpio process so greatly misunderstood and yet so critical to understand, for it is not about condoning these acts, it is about owning and accepting that the darkness does exist, our own in particular, and it is important to be vigilant about this universal human capacity for darkness.
"All great and beautiful work has come of first gazing without shrinking into the darkness." — John Ruskin
The mythological motif of the "Descent to the Underworld" is essentially Scorpionic in nature. It is a theme found recurrent in most cultures around the world which underscores the importance of this particular quest in our human experience. The tales — and the heroes and heroines that populate them — vary, but the basic story is fundamentally the same. Someone makes a trip to the Underworld, to the realm of the dead, and importantly returns, often with a special treasure: an object central to the quest.
The story of Venus, Eros (the son she had with Mars), and Eros's beloved, Psyche — shown in the painting above — is an example. In the painting, Psyche is carrying l'elixir de beauté which she has just secured from Persephone, Pluto's wife and Queen of the Underworld. Sent by jealous Mother-in-Law Venus to the Underworld on what the Goddess of "Love" had hoped would be a wild goose chase ending in Psyche's death, Psyche instead succeeds against all odds, navigates through the realm of the dead, charms even Cerberus, Hade's three-headed, guardian pit bull and returns triumphantly. On her way back through she does hit a bit of a snag. Unable to resist the temptation of opening the container to try a bit of this beauty ointment herself, she is overcome by noxious vapors and faints. Luckily however she is rescued by Eros, who revives her, according to accounts, with true love's kiss.
Sometimes, instead of a treasured object, it is the retrieval of a departed loved one that functions as the quest, which we see in the story of Orpheus, that famous musical charmer, and his wife Eurydice.
Eurydice was an oak nymph, daughter of Apollo, and beloved of Orpheus. On their wedding day, Orpheus played beautiful music while his bride danced through the meadow. Their happiness unfortunately was not to last, for Eurydice, while fleeing from a satyr, stepped on a poisonous snake and died from the bite.
So with Orpheus mourning and unable to play his joyful music, a profound sadness fell across the land. Even the nymphs and gods wept apparently. Eventually, they granted Orpheus permission to travel to the Underworld to retrieve his beloved, and there his lovely music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, and even the Erinyes, the Furies, wept. Hades and Queen Persephone allowed Orpheus to take Eurydice back home with him on one condition (there is always at least one condition). Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice during the long return home and not look back at her even once. Just as they reached the gates of Hades, Orpheus began to doubt that his wife was still with him. Thinking he had been tricked by Hades, he turned around, and with that one little glance, Eurydice vanished back into the Underworld, depicted in the painting above.
Whether or not the quest is successful, the heroes return with greater knowledge, power and status. The ability to make the round trip from the realm of the dead is certainly no walk in the park. It is ultimate proof of an individual's supernatural, shamanic status.
All of this, of course, is right up Scorpio's dark alley.
This year's Scorpio New Moon is even more potent due to the numerous contacts it makes with other celestial objects. Expansive, "no limits," gas giant Jupiter is in the power seat at this New Moon, opposing the Sun and Moon from early Taurus which should contribute some levity and optimism to this heavy Scorpio cycle. The New Moon degree also sextiles Scorpio's modern ruler, Pluto; trines "health nut" Chiron and mystical Neptune, which is approaching station direct. There is also a quintile to Mars, Scorpio's traditional ruler; and Juno, an asteroid that represents marriage, family and fidelity, is conjunct the New Moon. And Ceres, dwarf planet and astrological "Earth Mother" associated with the power of nature and its cycles, also aspects the New Moon. That is a tremendous amount of planetary influence. Because the New Moon is the seed moment of the entire month, this superabundance of celestial influence will be active all month. And next month will not be a cake walk either: The New Moon in Sagittarius is also a Solar Eclipse.
And, I should mention, we have quite a few sub-plots cooking right now as well: Mars in Leo is opposite Neptune in Aquarius forming a t-square with Mercury and Venus currently conjunct in Scorpio, putting the spotlight on how we connect with our special others and whether or not the spiritual element is present in this union. With Neptune, there are usually lessons around the problem of making too many sacrifices for the sake of whatever it is we desire and covet. Jupiter is almost exactly trine Pluto on the day of the New Moon as well. The transit perfects a couple of days later as Jupiter retrogrades back to align with Pluto, now moving direct. And speaking of riches, Jupiter in aspect to Pluto is found in the charts of the very wealthy. Jupiter is also sextile Chiron and opposite Juno. So power issues may erupt and they may very well erupt in the arena of your closest, most intimate ties right now.
Chiron, also active at this New Moon, a horoscopic element that is still "in astrological development" seems to indicate a similar kind of dark hero's journey itself, carrying this Scorpionic motif of the transmutation of dark into light. liability into asset. Astrologer Richard Nolle has suggested that the image of Chiron's cave (as described in his mythology), his suffering and rejection by his mother at birth, exemplifies another kind of embracing and accepting the dark, painful side of life. All of which, Nolle suggests, could be thematically applied to the house position that Chiron occupies in our charts. The placement of Chiron in our charts does seem to indicate an area of life where we are afraid to come "out into the light" and want to hide ourselves away, licking our wounds perhaps, keeping this "ugly" part of ourselves well hidden. We may only fully realize this important aspect of life when we begin to approach it in a heroic manner, just as Chiron emerged from his pain and suffering to become a healer and mentor of heroes. No longer using his handicap to hide from life, instead he embraced what was unacceptable about himself and turned that into something valuable and useful to others.
Chiron could not cure his wound, which is an important symbolic aspect of his story. In turn, our own Chironic wound, is something we also seem to be destined to carry throughout life. But if we can do the hard work and face the challenge with Scorpio bravura, this liability seems to transform into exactly the gift we are meant to share with the world. The pain however, may never go away.
And so it is, the light hidden in darkness, finding riches in the most unlikely of places, that is the essence of Scorpio's journey.
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Related Essays
Sun Enters Scorpio — (October 23, 2011)
The painting, Psyche in the Underworld, is by Paul Alfred de Curzon, a 19th century French painter.
The painting Orpheus and Eurydice is by Christian Kratzenstein-Stub (1783-1816)
© 2012 Elaine Kalantarian, all rights reserved