Scorpio Season and the Revelation of Release

Scorpio Season and the Revelation of Release

Scorpio sits in the middle of Autumn, the third energetic season of the year. Within this space, we move through the Libran winds of Cardinal Air with its scales of justice that inform balanced thought and communication. In Libra, we become more aware of how our thoughts determine our experiences and we discover our personal agency to change the narrative to one that supports versus one that undermines. With this greater sense of self-awareness, we enter into Scorpio and its deep, dark Fixed Water energy. This is the beauty of the progression of the signs. Each one builds upon the gifts of the other. Now, we find ourselves more capable of plunging into the aspects of our lives that live in the shadows, in the places that cannot be seen. For it is within these shadowed places that infinite possibility and the healing power of forgiveness can be found.


Scorpio Season lives in the 8th house of sex, death, magic, deep and dark mysteries, the unseen, fixed and constant water, the cyclical wisdom of birth/death/rebirth, healing energy, shared resources, transformation, and the profound power of release. It is a liminal time when we are called to bear witness to the intelligence of the natural world that knows just when to shed its leaves to create a fertile ground for the seeds that will gestate during the coming winter months. In the Northern Hemisphere, we find ourselves on the cusp of profound change that is deeply held within the energy of death, the most radical form of release and the most transformative gift of possibility. When we can look to the natural world for guidance, we feel less alone. We find connection to what we are experiencing in our material world and from this place of wisdom and understanding, we can begin to connect more intimately with our inner world. This is the gift of Scorpio.


The leaves fall. The veil between the seen and the unseen thins and we begin to understand that letting go is just another doorway to understanding. Now is the time to ask what is unseen that needs to be seen? What needs to be forgiven so that wholeness can be returned? What is standing in the way of accessing the magical power of Scorpio season? What is waiting to be set free so that whatever is ready to be born can make its way into the world? These are just some of the invitations to consider as we watch days shorten and the nights get longer. Turning to the Tarot can also help to address these questions and facilitate the practice of letting go.


With Scorpio and its ruler, Pluto (the planet of the underworld, death, transformation and rebirth) as our guides, we find the courage to explore the parts of ourselves that are difficult to acknowledge. We listen to the call of our shadow so that we can make friends with it. Through honest reflection and self-forgiveness we can begin to integrate all the parts of ourselves. But integration and wholeness can only be achieved by releasing judgment. The Judgment card, with its ruling planet of Pluto, can be a powerful guide to lead you through the darkness. We have renamed the Judgment card “Awakening” because there is no place for judgment if we seek freedom from suffering.. The mantra for Awakening is “Communion”. In removing judgment and through the communion of all the parts of who you are, you can begin to experience a profound sense of peace. 


For so many of us, a nagging sense of shame or feelings of unworthiness stand in the way of accessing the magic of Scorpio season and its liberatory gifts of transformation and sacred wisdom. These feelings reflect Scorpio in its least evolved state. They represent the illusion that somehow we are not enough just as we are right now. They present the opportunity to look at why we might be feeling unworthy and to begin the process of whatever self-destructive thoughts and behaviors we might be holding onto. But perhaps the biggest obstacle to transformation is fear. What will happen if I let go of that thought? What will I do if I can’t do that thing any more, whatever that thing might be? The Fixed water of Scorpio can hold the space for staying present, settling into your feelings, surrendering to what arises without judgment so that healing can occur. It takes real courage to be vulnerable enough to say, “this no longer serves.” Your rational brain will resist, fixed as it is upon the task of keeping you safe. The rational, egoic brain fears change. When a fixed mind meets the Fixed Water of Scorpio, the pattern of thought can begin to shift through the process of self-reflection and presence. Once you become aware of the feelings or thoughts that might be dragging you down, you can begin to let them go. 


The Waters of the womb and the emotional Waters of our being attend to us from our very beginning. Water is constantly present and anciently profound. Water, in its Fixed Scorpian form, can feel immovable, even overwhelming. The 13th and 8th card in the Majors can provide a kind of life raft upon which you can take respite in being present to whatever arises. You can work with  XIII - Release (aka Death) and VIII - the Strength card in the Major Arcana as touchstones to accompany you through the journey of self-reflection, the process of discernment and the practice of letting go. Because our culture has a difficult time with the concept of death, we have renamed the Death card “Release” so that the truly transformative power of this card can be accessed without cultural bias. Scorpio season reminds us of the potency of death to make space for whatever wants to come forward to support our being alive in alignment as opposed to living in a fixed position from which there is no way forward. The Strength card - the 8th card in the Major Arcana and connected to the 8th House - can help you find what you need to face whatever fears might be holding you back from change. The mantra for Strength is “Courage” and it reminds us that the heart is the source of our emotions and an unbreakable ally to help you find the strength it takes to love one's own self. Regardless of what you are processing, during this Scorpio, have faith in the power of forgiveness, in the wisdom that dwells within and trust that what you need will always be available to you. 

 

 

Scorpio Considerations

  • Tarot Spread for Scorpio and Eclipse Season
    1. What is unseen that needs to be seen?
    2. How can I remove the veil from my eyes to see what I am supposed to see?
    3. How can I support my emotional well being during Scorpio/Eclipse season?
    4. What do I need to release to support my emotional body?
    5. What is standing in the way of me accessing the magical, transformative power of Scorpio/Eclipse season?
    6. How can I remove this barrier?
  • Tarot Cards, Mantras & Their Elements
    • XIII Release (aka “Death”; Ruled by Scorpio): “Release”
      • Water: The West - vision, dreams, intuition and sacred wisdom
    • VIII Strength (Scorpio rules the 8th House): “Courage”
      • Fire: The South - perseverance, determination, strength, courage to walk the path
    • XX Awakening (aka “Judgment”; aligned with Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio): “Communion”
      • Fire: The South - perseverance, determination, strength, courage to walk the path
  • Poem for Scorpio Season:

At The Bay

At four in the morning, the waning crescent

rose. It still seemed full night,

Pegasus shining. The tide was low,

a clump of seaweed on the foreshore shimmered

so slightly that I had to gaze aside

to see it. The constellations were moving

up from the east. The clump glittered

in a different place - it was a snowy egret,

hunting, at the liquid edge

in the dark. I felt like a man who watches

a goddess bathe, diminutive and naked

in a clearing. The first, dawn light

seemed to come from inside the ocean,

a glow the sky picked up. Low

over the inlet, into this quiet,

a pelican flew, coming to rest 

on the glossy surface. And another pelican

alighted, and the two floated 

under the gold moon, in silence.

And the great blue came stalking, snake

neck and mallet beak, segment -

walking on fleshless legs at the end

of the night. The air was soft and cold.

The water was smooth. Up from within it,

moving from west to east, a dolphin’s

dark, back, slowly, curved.

Moments later, in the same place,

but now from east to west, it came up

past me again, and down, as if

the earth had said, I will say it twice,

Sharon, the first backwards, to get you

ready, the second time left to right, so you can read it.

Sharon Olds

Back to blog

Leave a comment