Scorpio season kicks off this year with a partial solar eclipse 11 degrees away from the south node, Ketu. In Vedic mythology, Ketu is the body and tail of a beheaded dragon-like demon that is said to swallow the luminaries during eclipses. Both Scorpio and the south node are associated with similar themes including death, the occult, and transformation. Prepare for the sting of the Scorpion and the barb of the dragon’s tail. Eclipses pick us up and put us back on the path we were intended for. This is a major beginning, one of renewal and regeneration, and one that you have no say in. 

Mars is the ruler of the lunation and is essentially stationary, about to enter a 3-month-long retrograde in Gemini. Imagine there is a big exclamation mark next to Mars right now, those adrenal themes (the three ‘F’s) are likely to be especially noticeable around this time. Eclipses bookend chapters of our life, the major endings, and beginnings that they relate to will correspond to the house in our chart that the sign they take place in occupies. These particular eclipses are part of an ongoing story that we last visited back in May, and before this, back in 2012-2014. 

Scorpio is often talked about in very morose and convoluted terms; this is the sign of the occult, but what does that even mean?  It’s not necessarily magic and tarot cards, in simple terms it’s just the hidden and the unseen – The clandestine parts of ourselves that we keep far from the purity and judgment of the light of day. The risk of hiding things away is that they tend to rot and fester if they aren’t cleansed from time to time. This eclipse necessitates a healthy exploration of the clandestine aspects of ourselves. Think of it as a necessary death and purging of something that simply wasn’t functioning anymore. 

The eclipsed New Moon is also conjunct Venus, who has been traveling with the Sun for the past few weeks. The cazemi was on the 22nd; this entire phase of Venus being cleansed and reborn is consistent with the theme of tonight’s eclipse. Now Venus has moved with The Sun into Scorpio she has lost a huge amount of dignity; the next few weeks promise to test her. As she moves out of the protective embrace of the heart of The Sun, She’s completely out of sight; occulted (there’s that word again). This is the beginning phase of some new chapter of creation. 

Venus in Scorpio necessitates extreme emotional honesty, and while this can feel unsettling and intense, this is required for new growth to occur. This is the uncomfortable vulnerability of being seen as you truly are without having a say in it. That’s the thing about eclipses, try as we might, we have no control over where they take us. 

Stagnation arises when we refuse the call of Scorpio to allow ourselves to simply be exposed and be seen as we are, to investigate the true meaning of matters close to our hearts, and lay them bare. Shallow and superficial simply won’t satisfy. This is all about the deep dark core of some matter. 

The next eclipse will be in Taurus on November the 8th. Buckle up. While tonight’s eclipse is a fair distance from the square between Saturn and Uranus, the next one is exactly conjunct Uranus and promises to be truly turbulent. Jupiter will be back in Pisces by this time, which is a nice silver lining, though under these circumstances I think we’re going to be needing a lot more than one dignified benefic to soften the promised blows.

Since this is a Mars-ruled lunation, you may want to learn a little more about Mars’ upcoming extended stay in Gemini. To hear more about the Mars retrograde situation, check out my interview with Shu Yap of Interpsycle Astrology over on youtube.

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Chart via: Chart via Astrogold software, set for Melbourne, Australia

Image via: Issuu.com