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The
LunarScape for the Scorpio MonthThere is a potent new Moon October 25 in the early hours of the morning. The Sun, Moon and Mercury occupy the same position in the zodiac and are applying with a square aspect to Mars. The Sun and Mars align in the same declination as Mars is starting to make eye contact with Jupiter. Saturn and Neptune are standing still while Venus is at the south Node of the Moon while she is also parallel Neptune. Uranus not to be left out is conjunct Mars albeit out of sign. The planets are aligned so that all the players are involved.
New Moons represent fresh beginnings - the time to seed something new or to make positive choices regarding a new direction. Last year Venus, while slowly travelling through the zodiacal sign of Scorpio, made us think about what we value and appreciate, what belongs to us and what we need to discard. Last Halloween Venus was powerfully involved in the energies, and did not move into Sagittarius until January 7, 2003 known as Epiphany.
Venus has some amazing cycles she weaves across the heavens. She has a nine month cycle as an evening star, which is the current phase. This began at her superior conjunction with the Sun on August 18 (25°Leo). Next year Venus has her retrograde period of forty days and forty nights starting May 17, 2004 at 27°Gemini and she will spend four months in the sign of Gemini. During this period she once again becomes a feisty, warrior morning star.
Venus is one of the two feminine planetary influences. The ephemeral Moon is associated more with daily changing of the tides, motherhood and nurturing. The typical connections we assign Venus are love, money, beauty, relationships and values. However, we only need to review the first paragraph to see that none of the energies work in isolation.
Venus is often referred to as the Queen of the Night, while she appears in the night sky. She outshines all of the other planets, the Moon is after all a star. The night is associated with wisdom, reflection and less activity. The crone, the wise woman or the mature woman are some of the associations we assign the Queen of the Night.
Venus has five distinct retrograde cycles that occur at 18 month intervals. The one in 2004 started in 1996. That cycle up to then occurred in the sign of Cancer but has now become the Gemini phase of the cycle in the reverse order of the zodiacal signs. The other signs are Scorpio, Aquarius, Virgo and Aries. Scorpio and Aries are both Mars ruled signs in classical astrology thus the detriment sign of Venus who is ruled by the opposing signs of Taurus and Libra. Virgo is the sign of fall for Venus as she is exalted in Pisces. Each one of these cycles repeats at eight year intervals. The cycles regress slowly backward in the sign. For example the 1996 retrograde station of Venus occurred at 29°Gemini and will repeat next year at 27°. So every eight years some of the themes associated with our value, priorities and our relationships repeat.
Why point it out now? The new Moon on October 25 occurs close to the point
of Venus' direct station at 0° Scorpio and she is sitting at the south
node of the past. She is reminding us of what epiphany or realization we had
early January and asking us to consider what we called our own back then.
What belongs to us, what is ours because we have earned it - now is the time
to start actively claiming and nurturing that once again. The nine month gestation
period is not only for bearing a child but for gestating our heart or brain
children. Also think back to 1994 when we had the previous Venus retrograde
period in Scorpio.
November 8, 2003 at 17:14 PST we have a lunar eclipse at 16°Taurus. The Sun is opposite the Moon at 16°Scorpio, which was the retrograde station of Venus last Autumn (approx. the same point also in October 1994). During a lunar eclipse the Earth blocks the rays of the Sun from reaching the Moon. The Moon only reflects the Sunlight having no light of her own. The Sun represents awareness, ego identity and it is in the sky during the day when we go about our busy lives. Moon time is for reflection and reliving our daily lives through our dream world. The Moon is about our instinctive responses, memories and the depth of our emotions. The Moon is a watery star, and we only have to look at what nature creates during the storm season. How can we control water or our emotions, there are times when these simply overflow and in nature and in our inner lives we have floods wipe away reason, logic or bridges and roads.
I look at full Moon eclipses such as this one as where logic, rationale and constructive action does not connect with our emotional responses. The Earth which represents the practical, day to day realm of our lives, gets in the way, and we are left to respond from a space where emotions, memories and past injustices roam free. The normal objectivity and compromise of the full Moon is not within our grasp.
Scorpio is known as the most intense and enigmatic sign of the zodiac. Private, quiet, reserved energy that helps us uncover hidden sides of ourselves. Scorpio can be possessive, jealous and reluctant to let go. The positive side of this energy is that we learn what is ours both figuratively and literally and conversely what we don't own or need. Thus astrology talks about elimination, death and rebirth when Scorpio energies are strong. The symbols for Scorpio are the scorpion who will itself to death rather than surrender and the eagle which rises from the ashes.
Driver's licenses become renewable on our birthday. While sitting at the DMV take a look around at your fellow Sun sign individuals waiting for their turn. I was sitting there on the 21st of October with a bunch of Scorpios. Of course, like the Scorpio Sun that I am, I sat facing the door - we need to have our escape route planned. This way I saw who was entering and who was leaving, and the attitude they had toward the friendly receptionist. Lots of intense looking people filtered in. Glancing around the room the one thing that caught my attention was the many intense eyes staring back at me. Each set of eyes seemed to say - nothing gets by me without me taking notice and notes. It was a dreary, rainy day so I was not surprised by the lack of dark glasses. Eyes are the window to our soul, and often Scorpio individuals prefer to hide behind tinted glass, in the shadows and out of sight. Most people look away if they think someone is staring at them, not a Scorpio, they will stare right back, long enough to let you know that you did not catch them unaware.
On a very mundane level this period can be good for doing thorough house cleaning throwing out everything that has ceased to be of use. On a more spiritual or metaphysical level we can heed the advise of the quote of the month. "The consummate truth of life is that we alter our destiny by altering our thoughts. The mind is our most crucial resource, our crowning asset, our ultimate arena of battle."
Our thoughts are influenced by our values and the experiences we have throughout life. Periods of power such as the ones that dominate this Scorpio month serve to teach us new values and force us to let go of those that no longer hold water (as in a flood) and have faith in what the future holds.
The Star of David is the six-pointed star, which astrologically represents
6 points connected by the sextile aspect of 60°. It is made up of two
grand trines these are in the element of Water and Earth. The two feminine
grounding elements in astrology. Water is connected to emotions and Earth
to practical action and application. This aspect pattern also has three oppositions
built in, the axis of the Sun is face to face with the Moon, Mars and Jupiter
oppose each other as do Saturn and Chiron. Oppositions are the relationship
axis, which represent confrontation and compromise and help us gain clarity
and objectivity. In addition there is a mutable T-square gaining power with
Pluto as the focal point.
In November 2001 we had a different configuration which emphasized some of the same points. Perhaps back then you wanted to give up something or eliminate that which does not belong to you, and pursue a deeper set of goals. I personally went on a diet as I realized that the extra padding I had gained over the years did not belong to me.
By now you may have found a better way of tackling those issues that concerned
you late 2001. Typically we do this by adjusting our attitude and as a result
we now occupy in a different space in the grand scheme of things. Similar
issues are likely to surface but now the solutions are different. The numerous
sextiles in the lunar eclipse chart hold promise of help and assistance. I
think of sextiles as telephone lines, just pick up the phone make the first
move, help is there for the asking. The oppositions while challenging offer
a better perspective and the squares always push us into action. What kind
of action remains your choice. Hostility and arguments win us no favours,
temper control is important now. The oppositions also represent what we attract
into our lives. Metaphysically speaking anger brings us hostility from out
there, compassion wins us comfort and so on.
I am starting my work on a manuscript on the planet Venus, and will have to find extra time for this work. I have loved writing this column and seeing the readership steadily grow all across the globe, but unless something else gives this may be my last monthly column. Please send me an e-mail to let me know why you chosen to read this column. Just for the monthly horoscope or mainly for the lead on rambling about the cycles. Anne@astrologicallyspeaking.com
A couple of final thoughts - "The worlds open for those who know where they are going!" It was part of an advertisement I heard on the radio, I have no idea what they were selling, but what a perfect affirmation! "The future is merely the past with a new outfit." - That in a nutshell describes the way the astrological cycles work. They weave in and out creating an intricate fabric of life. The future always unfolds within the constraint of the present. The time frames I point out are those that appear significant, however, there are always dates and periods are inevitably left out. The longer the cycles the more significant the events tend to be. The longer cycles naturally belong to the slower moving planets, which simply translate that we feel their influence longer and more profoundly. Eclipse cycles are 19 years in duration, so we simply deduct that off the current year and our minds are transported to 1984. Venus cycles has five unique eight year cycles each one of which repeats over a 105-year period. For example the Venus retrograde in Scorpio took place this time last year and prior to that in 1996, 1988, 1980, etc. through 1962, which was the first in this cycle.
If you are curious as to what the year holds for you, check out the solar return report available on this site (USD9.95). For more about your relationship, there are relationship reports available as well (USD19.95). For write-ups on individual signs check the weekly columns published on Wednesdays.
Anne Massey, C.A.P. is a certified professional astrologer To schedule an appointment with Anne or Janice call Nadine at 604-589-8760 or e-mail nadine@astrologicallyspeaking.com. Find Janice and Anne at www.astrologyguild.com .
If you'd like a more detailed horoscope for the year, check out the Order Reports on line section. You can get a birthday report that covers your personal year in great detail. All the prices quoted are in US dollars. Mary Shea's solar return report is USD 9.95.
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