Evolving In The Sign Of...
Astrology is mostly populated with gods, heroes, and mythical creatures. Myths have very little historical truth but are critical for the psychological truth they have carried through the ages up to now. Most have morphed through the ages as they were crossing different civilizations and eras, many have also been masculinized to reflect the emerging system. But in all, the demons, dragons, and allies that show up in myths are the projections of our own inner energies. This is why there is such a unity across all cultures and time periods, in what Joseph Campbell called the monomyth. Jung was calling it the collective unconscious.
As Scorpio is ruled by
We couldn’t think of a better idea than to descend into a few of them and unveil their hidden side. Interpreting those eternal stories, we hope to help you understand the workings of our psyche when it comes to the challenges and opportunities brought on us by the sign of Scorpio and the archetypes this New Moon points us to.
And remember we all have either planets in Scorpio OR Scorpio in at least one of our Houses so this will be relevant to all. If you were to already know those stories (in red), feel free to skip them.
For now, just like the snake successively morphs into scorpion, eagle and phoenix let us take you on a transformational journey that will see you travel…
from Innocence and the charms of Love,
through Obsessions and Evil,
beyond Shame, Fears and Death
to the banks of your True Authentic Self and Divine nature,
to reach Unconditional Love and Compassion.
Several myths define the nature, challenges and opportunities offered by this sign.
SCORPIO AND THE FOUNDATIONAL MYTH OF ORION
To be honest this sign is as much a blessing as a curse.
Most define it as secretive, controlling, resentful, power-hungry, over sensitive, obsessive, unpredictable, distant… and there is a lot of truth in this, but could it hide something more?
On the other hand, this sign brings you passion, magnetism, motivation, determination, resourcefulness, awareness and a keen intuition.
It rules tyranny, drama, sewage, mines, the underworld, death and body parts we never openly discuss (the colon, anus, and genitals)
Focused on transformation, Scorpio holds the keys to life, death, and rebirth. It digs deep, solves mysteries, heals sickness, saves lives, builds wealth, and surrenders to high-voltage ecstasy. It governs depth psychology, metaphysics, shamanism and magic.
Not exactly the elements you need to build the best reputation ever. And this is never something you will ever see a Plutonian being trying to deny or debunk… so?
When cultural ecologist David Abram studied Indonesian magicians and shamans, he was surprised that nasty rumors often swirled about them, spread by the very people these healers routinely cured. The villagers whispered that the dukuns danced with demons or would recite their spells backward at night to reverse their daytime cures. Curiously, the shamans did nothing to dispel suspicion. Eventually Abram understood why. Community fear bought the magicians a precious gift: privacy and the space to do their deeper work.
To better understand the Scorpio part in us, exploring the depth of the Water element is very helpful:
Cancer refers to the development of our emotional roots, our sense of safety and happiness within the tight cells of family, relatives, tribe and nations, our social conditioning, the beliefs and stories we inherit from our parents, our lineages, our karma, our society and our culture, the collective unconscious. It also refers to our early trauma and the birth of our primal fears which will later shape our emotional reactions. It contributes to forming our conscience and defines our ego mind in its unconscious maneuvers. We learn about love and even though we grow within unconditional love, we only manage to manifest it conditionally. We shape our 2 or 3 first chakras.
Scorpio refers to the meeting of our emotional truths with others and the deep connections they allow, the realization that there might be more to us than what we have been taught, of the duality, and clash, of good and evil within us as it manifests in our relationships, of the repressed aspects of our personality, the shadow and its expression through our urges to fuel our passions or sabotage what we hold dearest.
In Scorpio we realize:
We learn about uncontrollable urges, ecstatic bliss, cruel loss, secrets, our authentic soul, archetypes, true power, death and immortality but most importantly we learn unconditional love and compassion. We extract ourselves from our instinctual animal nature (3 first chakras) to awaken to our divine spiritual nature and enter our humanity.
Pisces will explore in more depth all the realms beyond our Conscious mind, be it the imaginative and creative power of our subconscious mind and dreams (and its damaging drifts into escape, illusions, fanatism and addictions) or the wealth, bliss and power available in unity consciousness.
Now, let’s see what Orion has in store for us.
To make it short, Orion, a rather primitive giant whose size and cruelty were notorious was mostly famous for being one of the best hunters and had consequently won the favors of Artemis, virgin goddess of the Moon and… Hunters. Even though he had never really tried or bothered restraining his most primal and darkest instincts before, when he discovered that they were sharing so many affinities and a sheer joy for all the subtleties of the track and the beauties of nature, Orion started to engage in a very respectable relationship with Artemis. Hunt after hunt, they grew into building an exceptional relationship of equality between a mortal and an immortal. As their bond grew stronger and he started to relax, Orion happened to have an inappropriate gesture. Artemis, who had always fiercely defended her virtue is unwilling to make an exception, even for her best friend and to punish him sends a scorpion hidden in the foliage. Stung at the heel, Orion is struck by the venom of the tiny animal and dies. Both Orion and the scorpion were then brought as stars in exact opposite direction in the sky.
What is this foundational myth truly trying to tell us about Scorpio?
First off, it follows Libra and every sign corrects the weaknesses of its preceding sign. It will therefore bring more light on our necessary spiritual evolution.
In Virgo we had integrated the 5 first sign gifts and foundations into a personality best suited to serve the collective.
In the 7th sign, we venture that personality out to meet others. We like or not what we see, share values, exchange ideas, explore our respective passions, maybe start flirting, or discover that we want to serve in a similar manner. We discover personal likings and social affinities and agree to explore some of them into stronger relationships based on a partnership of equals.
However, beyond those social relationships, deemed perfect for Artemis and Libra, Scorpio needs much more intensity and authenticity. More importantly, he knows that the perfection advocated by the two preceding signs doesn’t exist. The relationship that unites the two is extremely strong, there cannot be compromises. Orion has very vivid dark instincts that he manages to control with Artemis as long as he is in a very respectful Libra-like relationship with her. But his dark side is very present in him. By indulging in a gesture that is inappropriate but in accordance with his instincts, he takes the risk of entirely revealing himself to Artemis in his rawest truth (far from the social decency of Libra). Scorpio demands this authenticity in his relationships and in what he does, even if he knows that it may lead to his loss.
The scorpion, a nocturnal and dangerous animal, inspires many fascinations. It is both feared and admired. This very small predatory arachnid exudes power: it has a deeply creative symbolism because it is very sexual (the stinging tail) and destructive with venom.
Many beliefs make it an animal prompt to sacrifice: it would commit suicide by stinging itself when in danger of death; the female scorpion would offer her body as food to her progeniture so that they survive him …
These popular beliefs are all false. But they feed the fantasies of a destructive, even self-destructive aura that accompanies the sign. They probably feed it even a little too much. Scorpio is not the quasi-diabolic sign that the popular image too often conveys.
Most of the time secret and reserved (like the scorpion of the myth hidden in the foliage), it nevertheless exudes a lot of seduction. This is what makes it a little dark.
He goes to the bottom of his commitments and impulses and is not afraid to fight to achieve his ends. Because he knows very well how to identify his flaws as well as those of others, he knows perfectly well how to attack where and when necessary (the small knocks down the giant with a simple sting).
He is therefore not afraid to destroy, it is true, and he is passionate. It often prefers to live “more” rather than “better”.
But we must not hide the fact that he destroys… to rebuild. We’ll explore that later in more detail, but no other sign has as much capacity to bring about profound transformations as he does. He can abandon the last ramparts of his personal egotistical comfort to rebuild himself after the worst aggressions.
There are multiple versions of the story, but they all come down to Orion crossing boundaries and triggering various goddesses with his behavior, authenticity and perceived arrogance. Whatever happened, Orion brought it on himself. Interesting to see both Orion and the scorpion dying.
Just like there are multiple animals representing this sign (snake, scorpion, eagle, and phoenix), the Serpent (Kundalini) energy is the life force and can be creative or destructive depending on how it’s used. This depends on the level of awareness and self-mastery, so it runs from reacting to lower instincts of lust, passion, and power up to cosmic consciousness, and the two other stages in between, awakening and unconditional love.
SCORPIO LIFE LESSONS, HERCULES, AND PERSEUS
Now that we are more familiar with some of Scorpio’s features and nature, let’s explore his objectives and learn his lessons.
I will not take you through the myths of Hercules’ 8th labor and Perseus’ fight against Medusa, but both see a hero defeating a multiheaded monster against all odds (the Hydra’s head multiplying and one being immortal, Medusa petrifying all those who dare looking at her directly).
This multi-headed monster represents Scorpio’s shadow, our obsessions, the repressed twisted stories, desires, thoughts, the inner rage triggered by bitterness, hatred, apathy, nihilism, the rage of the dark feminine and outraged instincts that have been denied.
The hero highlights that we seldom consciously face the problem, that a crisis occurred, and that great courage needs to be summoned to deal with the issue but is also the promise of success and rewards.
The challenges in defeating the monster and the resources found during the combat to eradicate it from the surface of Earth highlight the Scorpio lessons in successfully dealing with your shadows.
When Hercules sends arrows of fire into the darkness to expose an unconscious demon, or when Perseus use the reflection of his shield to look at Medusa, the gods want us to know that this is a tale of consciousness. We need to enter darkness without losing ourselves and retain our conscious awareness by balancing the opposites and allowing darkness to transform by exposing it to the light.
When Hercules rushes at it, they want us to know that this is the right response: don’t recoil from what comes to light, we must go after it! Courage is required.
When once severed the heads multiply, they want us to know that what we resist, repress or try to suppress only grows stronger.
When Hercules realizes that he cannot win alone and needs his partner Iolaus to help, they want us to know that when we associate ourselves, our power is much greater and the rewards too.
With this help Hercules cuts the immortal head, buries it underground, back in the underworld, where the serpent’s eternal wisdom belongs, and dips his arrows into her blood, gaining the potency of her poison. He has successfully merged and received her teachings in life, death, and rebirth – until the next transformation is required and cauterizes the neck with transformative fire.
Scorpio lessons are echoing courage, consciousness, inner work, self-awareness, necessary pains, willingness to partner, self-mastery and a deep appreciation for what forms under pressure.
They impel us to unite MASCULINE drive (Mars focused and determined) and sacred FEMININE intuition (Pluto deep and sensitive) in a conscious and discerning fashion.
Most importantly it awakens us to the purposeful awareness that:
From a shamanic or yogic standpoint
Scorpio is about using the serpent energies to transform the self through a confrontation with the powers of the unconscious. The goal is to overcome “death” and dissolution and avoid falling back into chaos and unconsciousness.
The dragon or monster fight represents the battle of the ego with the forces of the unconscious as it struggles to become conscious.
The monster can be experienced WITHIN ourselves or PROJECTED into the world and SEEN AS EVIL AND DESTRUCTIVENESS IN OTHERS.
But it CAN ONLY REALLY BE DEALT WITH FULLY WITHIN because the outer reflects the inner.
The dragon is our own inner darkness and conquering it requires self-mastery. This means mastering our instincts and desire nature and channeling the serpent energy into creating more life – through healing and creativity and the transformation of old structures and relationships.
This is when the serpent becomes eagle, and you find the treasure hidden in the darkness.
Everybody has access to this darkness, but Scorpio is especially attuned to it – not just Scorpio Sun, but anyone with a lot of Scorpio planets, a strongly placed Pluto, or a packed 8th house. Scorpionic types need to transform the darkness within themselves, or it will consume them – which is no fun for anybody.
The negativity of the shadow side of Scorpio, if left unattended, has a corrosive effect on life. It creates the kind of CYNICISM and PESSIMISM that sucks the joy out of everything, leaving nothing but despair and negation. The ultimate symbol of this negation is the devil – the force that opposes life. But the devil serves a useful purpose: to goad us into waking up and becoming more conscious.
The devil is what you get when you fall back into unconsciousness. Being unconscious is seductive because of the pain of being human. When faced with suffering it can seem easier to give up and sink into nihilism and destructiveness. But this is really an attempt to avoid suffering and stop life from changing.
The power of Scorpio lies in the ability to ENTER THE DARKNESS AND HEAL THE SPLIT IN OUR PSYCHE – the wound at the heart of being human – the pain of being conscious. This is how you transform poison into medicine and transmute darkness into healing. To do this, you need to be sensitive and intuitive, but also tough – like Scorpio.
The mysteries of life and death are the mysteries of soul growth and redemption.
Death isn’t the end, but a transmutation of energies – a shift in consciousness or a transfiguration of form.
