Welcome, Scorpio! Your stinger is showing.
The Cosmic Story in the heavens is in alignment with the reality we're facing here on Earth. As Above So Below has never been more true.
Scorpio is never afraid to get down and dirty, and in this buildup to Election Day, when Uranus, the planet of revolutionary new values, reform and awakening opposes Saturn, the planet of convention, conservative values and the status quo, we're seeing just how low we can go. Before their face-off on Election morning, we'll get to see all manner of muck rise to the top. Hopefully, we'll release it and cleanse the toxins from our collective systems and psyches.
The opposition of Uranus at 19 Pisces and Saturn at 19 Virgo is the first of five oppositions of two of the three planets that were activated during 1965-67. The revolutionary and evolutionary energies of the 60s are up again for more work. As a matter of fact, this opposition is dancing on the same degrees of that original opposition, except in reversed placement (also Pluto is missing from the equation at the moment but it will soon join up with them!). This time around, Uranus in Pisces opens up new doors of perception, while Saturn in Virgo offers us the discipline and responsibility to be of service to the world and to be true to ourselves.
On November 1-2, Neptune resumes it forward motion, calling on us to embrace the Aquarian ideals of freedom and equality and to manifest our ideals in practical reality. Watch your dreams for some answers to the big questions of life.
But before that happens, we're back in Scorpio reality. Most people I know are distressed at the negative ads that are bombarding us from all sides this political season. All the negative emotions that Scorpio hordes inside are out in the open for all the world to see. The worst emotions are vicious, demeaning and unworthy of a democratic nation. We can also see how the powers-that-be (in all times and places) use fear to control the rest of us.
Scorpio says, instead of being the servant of fear, learn to make friends with your fear. Scorpio tells us, face the fact that Fear is part of life. That Death is absolutely part of life. If you make friends with your fear, you break free. That is Scorpio's test and initiation.
I've felt all those emotions that I see moving through everyone else – anger, frustration, fear and nastiness – and I've had to stop myself and ask, Why are you so angry? Why are you feeling disdain for people who don't agree with you? Why, when you choke on the hypocrisy and the mudslinging, don't you respond with clarity of thought and a compassionate heart? Why should 'they' keep me from taking the moral high road?
These are Scorpio questions. In answering these questions I found that I had to admit to my own negative feelings. I had to get humble quickly and stop blaming the 'other guy' for being nasty, just because I was only thinking nasty thoughts rather than saying them out loud. When I let go of the anger and frustration I was feeling, something else came up for me.
Pity. I felt pity for all of us. Knowing that anger and fear don't feel good, I wonder why we chose them over love and trust. Why do we chose war instead of love?
I can hate the lies but pity the people who tell the lies and those that buy into the lies because they don't know how to think for themselves. I can be saddened by people who feel they can be vicious while feeling virtuous, because they refuse to recognize the truth that it's their own shadows they are struggling with. I can only shake my head over people who think they won't have to face the repercussions of the fear they've created in themselves. I can have compassion for the people who are so afraid they'll do anything and believe anything to rationalize old beliefs they think keep them safe.
I
can transform my darkest feelings during Scorpio's transformative
time.
In this Scorpio season of Samhain (see Halloween story) when we honor our dead and their wisdom, we need to honor the spirit of freedom which our forefathers fought for and which they saw as our inalienable right as human beings. At this season, we need to let go of what we've outgrown and reclaim what we need for new life. We need to let the old die so that new life can come back into our private as well as our collective lives. We need Scorpio to show us how to get over our fear of change and death.
Americans are showing our true colors – both on the left and on the right. We need to stop seeing this election as if we are adversaries. There is no 'real America' 'pro-America' part of our country. We are all America – the good, bad and ugly. Let's unite as Americans and be humble enough to see ourselves in each other.
Let's ask the Divine Spirit of Light to give us a moment of clarity to really see ourselves and each other and see what is at stake in our world. That's the gift of Scorpio. Once we get through the darkness, we'll have the wings and eyes of the Eagle. We'll see without fear.
Right now, Americans are seeing our shadow, a shadow run amok that mistakenly believes we must do anything to 'save' ourselves from outside enemies, even if we ultimately destroy ourselves from within. A fitting theme for Scorpio. For Scorpio will fight to the death before it gives up its mistaken beliefs and values. That is the Scorpio test and initiation - to give up the beliefs that evoke these stagnant negative emotions which in turn keeps us from change and growth. Scorpio provides the transformative energy that moves us through the changes we willingly accept. Otherwise we stagnate and die. That's change too. Just the hardest kind.
Venus (September 23 to October 18) and Mars (October 3-4 to November 16) have been traveling through Scorpio, bringing out our hidden fears, feelings and prejudices. The negative feelings we try to bury can be vicious and they can provoke the worst in us and each other. We can descend into a mob mentality if we let these feelings overwhelm us, because they are feelings and energies in the collective unconscious and can overwhelm the individual ego.
But since Scorpio is all about transformation, perhaps we will finally see our hidden darkness, our nastiness, our ill-will, our prejudices – in short, our shadow. And once we do that, we can finally name it and shame it and chose a different path. When we conquer the scorpion within, we evolve into the far-seeing Eagle.
Venus in Scorpio says, let those negative nasty feelings die. Once they do, we will see clearly how Love is the greatest force in the world, not fear. Mars in Scorpio says, once I stop being manipulative so I can have MY way, perhaps I will begin to do the right thing and fight for and live by my deepest values.
And now with the Sun in Scorpio, we can consciously engage in the transformative process that is beginning on Election day with the Uranus/Saturn opposition and will continue into the next few years. Will we allow the new in without fear or will fear keep us locked within the old paradigm of war and privilege? Old vs. new does not mean that we are divided irrevocably. It means we have an opportunity to reflect on why we are so divided and understand what beliefs about life are healthy or unhealthy for our common welfare.
At this most crucial time in history, we find ourselves at a balance point of choice where paths diverge. Do we choose the old or the new? We can no longer project the evil outside ourselves – we must be humble enough to acknowledge it within. That's when healing really begins. If we stop pointing fingers at each other and take responsibility for our values, then we can freely decide what is best for our country and our world.
I personally believe that America is strongest when everyone has a chance to prosper. Being a single mother of 4, I had a hard time with no help at all. So I believe that taking care of the community's welfare is just as important as free trade, individual effort and the rewards of achievement. Why is that socialism instead of just plain decency? The Aquarian ideal of the group is like the reality of living in a tribe – we retain our unique gifts and talents while seeing beyond our own ego-needs to the needs of the tribe. A healthy tribe is necessary for individual growth and prosperity.
One of the rulers of Scorpio is Pluto. Pluto is finishing up its stay in Sagittarius, the sign that rules our collective beliefs about spiritually and cosmic law. With Governor Palin playing to her Christian fundamentalist constituency, we are hearing the old religious rhetoric of them against us, good vs. evil, we're the saved and you're the damned. The saddest part of this way of seeing the world is that the very things that Christ taught about love and compassion and about all of us being children of God are twisted into their opposite. Pluto in Sagittarius wants us to see the dark side of our faith, the side that says, we're the chosen ones and you're not. The side that says, if you don't agree with my way of seeing the world, you are damned. This religious belief is now prevalent in our political dialog. We need to stop, name it, and chose something different.
Sagittarius also rules foreigners, and so we see the attacks on the ultimate outside – a black man. Obama – who is he really? A terrorist? A foreigner? Our own worst fears of foreigners might just come from the fact that all Americans have been foreigners until they get assimilated into the culture. And didn't our ancestors all rush to leave behind their old identities in favor of their new American identity? The newest immigrants are always cast as the outsiders. The rest of us project our fears onto them.
So as Pluto stands at the doorway into Capricorn (it goes in on November 26 for a 16 year transformation of our government and corporations) we get to revue the darkness of our religious beliefs and hidden prejudices about foreigners. Because when Pluto gets through with Capricorn in 2024, we will have a new and improved form of democracy as well as capitalism. Or if people get caught in fear of the new, we'll probably have a military dictatorship where once freedom reigned.
This new Moon in Scorpio takes place at 6 Scorpio: The gold rush tears men away from their native soil. The passionate search for new, universal values, which at all levels, promises a more abundant life.
The cosmic story says it's time to let go of the old and make way for the new. This new moon challenges all of us to let go of the outworn emotions holding new life hostage. With the world in crisis, we have to look at ourselves and ask, how am I going to let this crisis affect me? Will I let fear set my course or will I hope and work for a better future?
Either way, vote with your hearts on election day!
Other Aspects:
October 30-31: Mars sextiles(opportunity) Saturn and trines (gifts, luck) Uranus. Mars contacts these planets as they approach their opposition, helping us work with these energies. Take advantage of it.
November 1-2: Neptune turns direct at 22Aquarius. Within a degree of Sarah Palin's Sun. Look for news. And pay attention to your dreams!
Sunday November 2: Daylight Saving Time ends. Put clocks BACK an hour.
November 3: Venus squares Uranus and Saturn. Venus in Sagittarius wants us to express our spiritual beliefs and throws us personally into the struggle between the old vs. the new, the established vs. the experimental, commitment vs. freedom.
November 3-4: Mars squares Neptune. Watch out for moodiness and feelings of discontent. Let them tell you what's missing in your life. But try not to act on anything that isn't for the highest good.
November 4: Uranus opposes Saturn. Get out to vote if you haven't already. And then sit back and watch the wild ride for the rest of the day!
November 4: Mercury enters Scorpio. Mercury will make for intense thoughts and conversations on this Election day.
November 4: Begins with Moon in Capricorn, favoring the old and then goes into rational, radical Aquarius in the afternoon.
Vote Early
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Blessed Be,
Cathy Pagano
310-741-7013