The Cosmic Story: Scorpio New Moon 2017

The Cosmic Story: Scorpio New Moon 2017

You have to Die to be Reborn Again.

Josh Libatique

When the Sun enters the sign of Scorpio, the light of the Sun in the northern hemisphere is growing dimmer and dimmer. The Dark continues rising until we arrive at Winter Solstice, the time of greatest darkness which gives birth to the new Light.

Scorpio is the time of year when we learn to accept the death of our ego choices as well as the death of the year. (Those of you in the southern hemisphere are celebrating Beltane and the return of Summer. May you find delight and joy this year!)

Death is a natural part of life’s cycle, and yet our patriarchal culture has a very hard time accepting death. Probably because some of our founding myths show us the fathers who refused to die and hand over their power to their children. Look at the Greek gods Chronos/Saturn and Zeus, swallowing their children to hold onto their power. Even the Judeo-Christian god won’t give up his power to his ‘only begotten son, Jesus’ whom he lets die in his place. In many ways, this implies that the children must die so that the father continues to live. Sounds like patriarchy to me.

This weekend I saw two movies which speak to this idea of immortality vs. death. One was Thor Ragnarok (which was actually kind of fun) in which we find Odin about to retire after long ages of ruling Asgard and his first daughter Hela, the Goddess of Death, determined to take over and live forever. In the end, Odin turns over his power to Thor and allows himself to die so Thor can release ancient powers which do bring on Ragnarok, the end of the rule of the Gods. The other movie was Dr. Strange (another interesting story) where The Ancient One’s immortality causes one of her disciples to turn to the Dark for his shot at immortality. I’m guessing the Ancient One was Scathach, the ancient Celtic Warrioress who trained up hero/warriors like Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster. She willingly dies when she finds her true successor in Dr. Strange. Somehow, being immortal leads to the death of worlds, cultures, people—and as we can see, instead of patriarchy letting itself die naturally, it is creating death all around us.

Why would anyone want to live forever? Is there something inherent in patriarchy that doesn’t want to let go? I think patriarchy is afraid to face its’ own death, beyond the need for power and domination, because it doesn’t believe in the immortality of the Soul. It doesn’t believe that we need to die to be reborn again. For patriarchy, rebirth isn’t possible – only endless suffering in the fires of Hell. Isn’t that the promise of our three Religions of the Book – Judaism, Christianity and Islam? That only the perfect ones among us get rewarded in Heaven, while everyone else suffers the torments of the fires of purgatory or hell?

These religions have lost touch with our Great Mother Goddess, Earth, who does assure us of rebirth, along with all life here on Earth. This is a promise to us that if we let go of our fear of death, a greater life is coming – not in Heaven, but in another round here on Earth. And this also applies each year to our smaller ego-deaths. We need to release old emotional patterns that no longer serve us, such as guilt and shame, insecurity and fear. And we can release our goals and hopes each year so they can come back to us in new and more creatively vital ways.  

We human beings have to reclaim our place in the cycle of Life. And that will take the death of our patriarchally-shaped ego, the “I think therefore I am” philosophy which helped to separate us from our place in Mother Earth’s interconnected ecology.

Angle of Death~Evelyn de Morgan

In Ursula Le Guin's wonderful Earthsea Trilogy, she imagines this fear of Death as a Shadow, a shadow that drains all the joy and color out of life. In The Farthest Shore, the Archmage Ged (Sparrowhawk) and the young king, Lebannen (Arren), go on a journey to try to restore the balance of life and death, which has been disrupted by a sorcerer who is so afraid of death that he has opened the gates between life and death and now cannot close them. The young King wonders why men are destroying the trees and the earth, and the Mage explains that they have no guidance, no king to show them how to live in the Balance.

In his youthful innocence, Lebannen wonders how this one fearful man could so easily destroy the Balance of the world as his fear spreads And he asks the Mage, "Where are the servants of this (man) Anti-King?"

In our minds, lad. In our minds. The traitor, the self, the self that cries I WANT TO LIVE, LET THE WORLD ROT SO LONG AS I CAN LIVE! The little traitor soul in us, in the dark, like the spider in the box. He talks to all of us. But only some understand him. The wizards, the singers, the makers. And the heroes, the ones who seek to be themselves. To be oneself is a rare thing, and a great one. To be oneself forever, is that not better still?

Arren looked straight at Sparrowhawk . 'You mean that it is not greater. But tell me why. . . . I have learned to believe in death. But I have not learned to rejoice over it, to welcome my death, or yours. If I love life, shall I not hate the end of it?

. . . 'Life without end,' the mage said. 'Life without death. Immortality. Every soul desires it, and its health is the strength of its desire. But be careful, Arren. You are one who might achieve your desire.'

'And then?'

'And then - this. This blight upon the lands. The arts of man forgotten. The singer tongue less. The eye blind. And then? A false king ruling. Ruling forever. And over the same subjects forever. No births; no new lives. No children. Only what is mortal bears life, Arren. Only in death is there rebirth. The Balance is not a stillness. It is a movement - an eternal becoming.

Are we one of those who would deny death, thereby denying the soul and the possibility of rebirth? Or can we passionately love our lives and give them over to an eternal becoming?

Scorpio New Moon 2017

This week’s Scorpio New Moon occurs on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 3:42am PST /6:42am EST/ 11:42am GMT. 

 

As I talked about in my Full Moon newsletter, Scorpio is the sign where we emotionally engage with other people. Some people we naturally resonated with – as if they’re family and we can be ourselves. With some people, we have to work a little bit harder to feel comfortable. We wear our persona for business associates, neighbors, service people and strangers. Then there are the ones who just aren’t in our tribe at all.

Scorpio deals with all these kinds of emotional entanglements. But most especially with our sexual relationships. Scorpio learns through sexual engagement, wanting the depth, passion, intensity and sensual pleasure that great sex can give us. This is the place of intimacy, where we shed our defenses and leave ourselves vulnerable and open to the Other. Our deepest truths understood; our deepest longings revealed.

Jupiter, Venus and Vesta are in Scorpio now, supporting this New Moon’s energy that wants us to look ourselves in the eye and see our true feelings and longings. They trine Neptune in Pisces, bringing us the faith and imagination to let go of our ego defenses and trust in spirit that all can be well if we stop being afraid of death. If we want an intimate relationship, we have to be brave enough to take down our barriers, let ourselves trust and open to the Unknown, which is the magic of life.

 

We all have both dark and light within us. It’s the dance between them that makes life worth living. Too much light creates deep and dark shadows. This is the case with our western Judeo-Christian-Islamic society—in turning to the lights of Heaven and our rational brain over a love of Earth and our intuitive, feminine nature, we have created more darkness in the world. By giving these immortal ‘corporations who think they’re people’ power, we are giving them permission to create death all around us.

When we embrace our Scorpionic nature, we embrace the cycle of death and rebirth that can bring us fulfillment and wholeness. Plant this seed on New Moon night – that we leave behind our fear of death so that we can meet the coming challenges with hope and light and love, knowing re-birth is waiting for us there.

The symbol for the Sun and Moon at 27* Scorpio is: A warrior plumed, haranguing a multitude of armed soldiers.
This symbol denotes someone who has a forceful and yet pliant mind, a persuasive tongue and a brave spirit. Such an one will lead others by the ability of expression. This leader will undertake high duties and grave responsibilities in life and will largely be moved by a power from within, unrecognized but potent. It is a degree of PERSUASION. (Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolized by Charubel)

Since this image of a warrior-leader is presented to us in the watery, powerful sign of Scorpio, it’s time to persuade ourselves that letting go of our old habits, beliefs and even ideals is needed so that they can come back to us in a new, more relevant form. It’s time to release old stereotypes so that the archetypal energies behind them can manifest in new and more life-giving forms. And these archetypal energies will appear first in the images of our dreams, in the stories that call to us and in the longings of our hearts.

This symbol also speaks to the idea of the power of words to persuade, and is repeated in the Mercury/Saturn conjunction in Sagittarius trine Uranus retrograde in Aries, which urges us to speak our truth with passion and faith in the power of ever-renewed life. When we get over our fear of death, we embrace life more fully. And this is what people need to hear if we’re going to be leaders.

The symbol for Mercury at 18* Sagittarius is: Children playing on the beach, their heads protected by sunbonnets. This symbol denotes an imaginative playfulness, protected from too much left-brain rationality – those sunbonnets are keeping our solar consciousness from overwhelming our imagination. We have fire, enthusiasm, artistry and fun indicated here. So use your Mercury lightly & imaginatively. (An Astrological Mandala by Dane Rudhyar)

The symbol for Saturn at 27* Sagittarius is: A sculptor at his work. This is the degree of the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, and so very potent in bringing about change. With Saturn here, we can manifest our special talents, especially artistic and creative ones, which speak to our human need for freedom of spirit and truth. What will we create? (An Astrological Mandala by Dane Rudhyar)

The symbol for Uranus at 26* Aries is: A person possessed of more gifts than s/he can hold. This is a symbol of great potential and attainment. It’s about being so centered in your soul that all your gifts and talents are there to choose from. But you have to choose. That’s the hitch. This is the year of choice. Look at your opportunities and choose your heart’s hope. (An Astrological Mandala by Dane Rudhyar)

Uranus is quincunx (150* angle) this Scorpio New Moon. Quincunx angles are twitchy – they need to be constantly readjusting to things. With this aspect, we might find ourselves re-adjusted right out of our old behavior patterns in relationships. Being defensive will not work; being dramatic won’t either. Being yourself will, with the caveat that you’ll also have to be open to your partner’s point of view.

There is an undertone to this chart that says – it’s time to live out our ideals.

So, to summarize:

1. Bring your own unique talents to the table of humanity. (Uranus)
2. It is up to you to create something – to manifest your dream. (Saturn)
3. The best way to do it is to be playful and imaginative, using your left-brain rationality to bring your right-brain imagination to life. (Mercury)

The Cosmos blesses us with help: the Mentor asteroid, Chiron, who we call the Wounded Healer, trines this New Moon from Pisces, giving us the compassion we need for ourselves and others. We’re all in this together. And it’s time we start living like we are. It’s time to release our emotional fear of others taking power over us and hurting us. If we’re not afraid, who can really take our power away?

So enjoy the deep, dark chocolately mystery of this Scorpio New Moon!

Walk with Mother Earth’s Spirit,

Cathy

Sabbaths 1985, V -- Wendell Berry

How long does it take to make the woods?
As long as it takes to make the world.
The woods is present as the world is, the presence
of all its past and of all its time to come.
It is always finished, it is always being made, the act
of its making forever greater than the act of its destruction.
It is a part of eternity for its end and beginning
belong to the end and beginning of all things,
the beginning lost in the end, the end in the beginning.

What is the way to the woods, how do you go there?
By climbing up through the six days’ field,
kept in all the body’s years, the body’s
sorrow, weariness, and joy. By passing through
the narrow gate on the far side of that field
where the pasture grass of the body’s life gives way
to the high, original standing of the trees.
By coming into the shadow, the shadow
of the grace of the strait way’s ending,
the shadow of the mercy of light.

Why must the gate be narrow?
Because you cannot pass beyond it burdened.
To come into the woods you must leave behind
the six days’ world, all of it, all of its plans and hopes.
You must come without weapon or tool, alone,
expecting nothing, remembering nothing,
into the ease of sight, the brotherhood of eye and leaf.

~ Wendell Berry ~

(A Timbered Choir) 

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