On Thursday, October 22nd, at 4:30 PM PST, the Sun enters the sign of Scorpio. Welcome to Scorpio Season 2020!
One of the nifty features of the zodiac is that it encodes the seasonal cycle, so it’s always helpful to consider astrology from a seasonal perspective. When the Sun moved into Libra last month on September 22nd, it marked the Autumnal Equinox, signaling the beginning of Fall. As each season lasts three months, we have three zodiac signs associated with each season in turn. So we’re now entering the “middle phase” of the Fall season, which is comprised of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.
As always, there are three basic factors for us to consider when discussing the signs of the zodiac: polarity (yang & yin), modality (cardinal, fixed & mutable), and the elements (fire, earth, air & water). We are moving from Libra (yang/cardinal/air) to Scorpio (yin/fixed/water). After a month in Libra of outward focus (yang), new autumnal energy (cardinal) and an emphasis on thoughts, words and ideas (air), we now transition to a month in Scorpio of inward focus (yin), consolidating energy (fixed) and an emphasis on emotions (water).
Because of the symmetry between the three signs of each season and the three modalities, a dependable and repeatable pattern emerges. Therefore, the first month of each season is always represented by a cardinal sign, the second month by a fixed sign and the third month by a mutable sign. And this is by design. Cardinal signs are full of new energy to initiate the new season. Fixed signs take that cardinal energy and consolidate it. And mutable signs take the fixed energy and evolve it in preparation for the next season.
So Scorpio season is about consolidating the new energy that was generated during the previous month of Libra. All the Libra issues around relationships, fairness, justice, aesthetics and harmony that we have initiated and expressed over the past month, we must now gather and harness. This is the nature of all the fixed signs. And this is what gives Scorpio its immense willpower and incredible focus. It wants to drill down, dive deep and explore the unknown within. Coupled with the fact that Scorpio is both fixed and a water sign, this reflects its reputation for deeply felt emotions, dark (often obscured) passions and an abiding interest in the regenerative powers of all things hidden, secret or occult. And when we add in the third factor—that of Scorpio being of the yin polarity— we get an energy that wants to absorb, reflect, receive and take in.
All of these factors combine to give Scorpio its power of sexual magnetism. The outward energy for relationship and partnering that was initiated under Libra’s influence must now be focused inward and explored much more deeply, intimately and emotionally. We move from the ideal of relationship, to the deeply felt experience of intimacy, from the exchange of ideas to the exchange of emotions. When the relationship is sexual, this ultimately leads to the exchange of bodily fluids. It doesn’t get much more intimate than that! So in Scorpio, we merge with the other, we possess and are possessed by our partners.
Scorpio also has an obsessive and compulsive quality. Its ruling planet is Pluto, symbol of the evolutionary journey of the soul. Pluto represents our deepest (often unconscious) security needs. It is connected with past karma (and past lives) and represents that which has given us a sense of security in the past, so it feels safe. We gravitate towards it, often in an unconscious and compulsive manner. But it simultaneously compels us to evolve beyond these libidinal limits, to dive deeper still, and to transform ourselves in the process. And it can be aggressive, even destructive, in its urge for transformation. But it also offers catharsis, resurrection and rebirth. So we can see how the qualities of Scorpio resonate with these functions of Pluto, and how Scorpio has earned the reputation as the most intense sign of the zodiac.
So Scorpio season is characteristically a time of intensity. And considering 2020 has already been a pretty intense year, we might be weary of an entire month spent wading through our deepest emotions and plumbing the depths of our souls. But such is the nature of the zodiac. The cycle cannot be avoided. It must be worked with and worked through. And if we can muster the will to engage in this scorpionic process, we are offered the promise of emerging on the other side as transformed, reborn resurrected.
What in you life needs transforming? What relationships are ready to be explored more deeply? What hidden or shadowy parts of yourself need exploring and brought to the surface? This is a time for couple’s therapy, psychoanalysis, dream analysis, tantra, magic and ritual. It’s a time to go deep within ourselves on a journey of exploration, to feel into our emotional bodies and unearth our untapped powers and potentials.
Scorpio season is associated with the myth of Persephone and her descent into the underworld. As the goddess of vegetation and the harvest, she spends 6 months above ground and 6 months in the underworld. In the first month of Fall, during Libra season, we had the harvest. Now, in Scorpio season, it is time for autumn sowing—planting perennial seeds into the ground so that they will bloom once again in the spring. This is represented by Persephone descending into the underworld. It follows a necessary seasonal cycle.
This metaphor extends to a psychological exploration of our own underworld, a quintessential Scorpio endeavor. If we resist it, if we go kicking and screaming, we will likely feel like we are being dragged down by powerful forces outside of our control. It will feel like fate. But if we go willingly, consciously, and accept that this is part of a natural cycle, it will feel like destiny. We must see it as a necessary part of our own personal evolution, the time to willingly shed our old skin, let go of what is no longer serving us, and reap the rewards of rebirth and renewal. This month, we are being called to channel our inner Persephone, to boldly descend into our underworlds, and begin to sow the seeds of our next evolutionary cycle of personal growth and development.
