Sun in Scorpio: Power
The night takes over. Wild darkness creeps and dances. Shadows slink across wet soil. Leaves lie drenched and decayed. Strange forces are at work. Scorpio scuttles into season.
After the light, airy politeness of Libra, it’s time to go beneath the surface. As an archetype, Scorpio probes the depths, investigating what appears only under the cloak of night. It is no coincidence that we celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead at this time. In the low light, we catch glimpses of shadows -- or were they ghosts? -- out of the corners of our eyes, hinting that some greater mystery prowls just outside of our vision. With its infrared gaze, Scorpio seeks to experience the mysteries and depths of existence, communing with what we cannot rationalize with our waking minds. Scorpio believes the darkness can show us who we truly are -- for the shadows, demons, and skeletons in our closets are part of us, too.
As a fixed water sign, Scorpio’s drive into the darkness is an emotional one. It tunnels into emotional terrain that is deep, raw, and real, seeking an intensity of experience that leaves it completely transformed. In its desire for profundity, Scorpio does not play. It knows that we are mortal, and there is no time to waste in pursuing unfettered intimacy, vulnerability, and emotional authenticity with another. In Scorpio’s view, that intimacy creates a bond that is beyond life and death -- a bond in which, for a brief moment, we can feel immortal.
It takes a lot of tenacity to get to the depths and to stay there. Scorpio is aware of this and also knows that power is most often invisible, for it has witnessed the great forces of degeneration and decay that silently do their work during this season. As we plunge towards a divisive election and a pandemic surge, what has been at work, clicking and whirring quietly beneath the surface? What must we dig into and investigate further? Who is manipulating and who has been manipulated in our settler-colonial nation-state? During this time, we must ask hard questions fearlessly, for the shadows will not surface if only called gently.
Ruled by the planet Mars, Scorpio’s will is laser-focused, its drive unwavering, its passion relentless. With its ability to strategize and pursue what it desires, Scorpio is also a master at power plays. The question is, how will it use its power? If it is used in its own self-interest, Scorpio can become emotionally manipulative, wielding the tools of charisma, secrecy, and control to get what it wants from others. When it seeks to control its situation, it can stew in cesspools of jealousy and vengefulness. Scorpio’s task is to use its immense strength to transform itself and others for a greater spiritual purpose -- to bond, to heal, and to experience catharsis beyond the worldly plane.
When we are able to confront our most unmentionable and most deeply-embedded desires, shame, and fears, we give ourselves greater ability to transmute old narratives, challenge oppressive patterns, and renew and regenerate our spirits. This season, acknowledge your depths. Take a plunge into your creativity. Take a plunge into vulnerability. Take a plunge into democracy (vote). Take a plunge into therapy. Take a plunge into activism, in whatever form speaks to you. Whatever you choose, do it to repair, regenerate, and renew the power that is already deep within.