New Moon in Scorpio, November 16th, 2009

The Sacred Darkness

All New Moons take us into the dark, so we can mix with the Void, and emerge anew. This one is the Mother of all Dark Moons, in Scorpio, the sign of death that births the new. If we choose to, we can seek deep soul healing now. Or we might find sexual healing. You might just ask spirit to heal what's hurting. What's needed now is a heart open to change, and the willingness to do whatever that takes.

We enter a darkness that's the cauldron of primal energies. It's a time of coming back to the base of soul power. In a class on this New Moon, Michelle Lessirard said "soul loss is rampant." I agree. Everything from giving away our power, to the simple stress of living can cause parts of us to "check out," leading to the sense of being shutdown, disembodied, flat, 'not there.' Michelle especially advised women to call back their power from sex partners. Her idea was using a popsicle stick to represent each one, and write the name on it. This can be used in a ritual to envision drawing your power back.

The New Moon chart shows the Sun-Moon in Scorpio, along with Venus. A main theme here is surrendering to a deep healing, release, purge of what's become toxic in your life. It's having the courage to look at what needs to go, in order for you to grow. It's facing fears of being enveloped by the 'crazy' as it's being released and integrated. It's not trying to tame that primal energy, but honor it by finding a way to express it. That might be through some catharsis, sex, sustained creative projects or ritual.

Just like the last Full Moon, there's a lot of tension (squares) that creates internal pressure in all of us. The biggie now is the square between Saturn and Pluto, which is exact right before the New Moon. This one is going to be long term, with no easy outs. It involves the ground beneath us and the diseased state of our institutions (Pluto in Capricorn).

Since Pluto rules Scorpio, it's significant that it's so close to this potent New Moon. The cure may be extreme, since the dis-ease is so embedded in our culture. And in the process, those that fear losing power are likely to lash out. But take heart that Saturn is now in Libra, the sign of moral conscience, justice and diplomacy. The friction of this square will be in play, as a cosmic re-balancer of a world out of whack.

The Sun-Moon in Scorpio are in a tense square to planets in Aquarius (Neptune, Jupiter). This adds urgency to the need to release what's in the personal shadows, so you can keep up with the quickening process of the collective. It also makes it feel like a collective deep healing process, that's personal, but part of the bigger story of humanity. As you heal, you contribute to the healing of everyone, since we're all linked.

It's timely to look at your friends and associations to see if it's holding you back. As you go through major changes, you might be drawn to new friends on your wavelength. The New Moon brings tension to this area, and might alert you to the need to travel in new circles.

This is yet another provocative aspect at the New Moon. Venus drives us to be authentic with our feelings, and inspires us to lose the fake smile. This can be a highly creative aspect, if we express the uniqueness of our genuine story. We honor what we've been through, by leaving denial behind, and by claiming it as part of who we are. Our own darkness and story of healing can be inspiring to others, as part of song, art, and sharing.

The Sun-Moon in Scorpio are in a harmonious trine to Uranus (the awakener) in Pisces. As you go into the shadow, this speeds the healing process, and opens you to forgiveness of yourself and others.

You may have startling dreams that crack things open, and unravel a psychic mystery that has had you bound. It's a time of dark imagination, where mystery lurks in the shadows, and can be the stuff of great art.

The days leading to total lunar darkness pull us inward. There's no need to figure anything out. You can go far with this plunge into healing, by looking at your own resistance to let go. What we clutch tightly, as if our lives depended on it, is often the very thing we've got to let go of. And in the release, great stores of energy are restored, and available for your use. It feels risky, but the rewards are great. A New Moon Ritual might involve a commitment to let go. Only you know what's tying up your vital energies, or where you're losing power.

• Infuse a stick with the energies of what needs to be released, and then throw it into a fire.
• Draw a healing bath with lavender, and envision yourself being cleansed of what you're carrying.
• Make a collage that has images of what you're like to seed for Spring, or visions of personal power.