This is a most expectant time, heading into the dramatic Saturn square Pluto and dark Moon. The pressure is sure to intensify, pressing us to live our lives with more authenticity and honesty. It's a demand that we raise our standards, and set our sights on what we know we're capable of. And to dig deep for our ancient encoded memory of what being in balance with the Earth really means.

There may be secrets forced out of the shadows that dare us to reclaim our authority over our own lives. It's about not being able to be silent any longer, and being provoked to act on your moral conscience. It may mean confronting those that abuse power and have destructive plans. Or being brutally honest with yourself about your own motives.

It's finding the inner strength to overcome what seem like impossible uphill challenges. And remembering that each of us --under natural law -- has the authority to bring our world into balance. Saturn is square Pluto tomorrow (the 15th) exact at 10:20 am EST.

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These days before the New Moon in Scorpio have a powerful undertow. They send us into our own soul depths. Scorpio pulls us into the shadows. And that's where we find our "demons"...fears, resentments, obsessions, deep wounds and private rages. The promise of Scorpio is that we can be masters of the dark, and transform what's toxic. We can even find the seeds for something new there. The journey through personal darkness takes patience, courage, surrender, faith, forgiveness and love. The dark and total magic of Scorpio makes this particular New Moon so very powerful.

It's made more potent, with Scorpio's ruler Pluto coming into a square to Saturn (in Libra) on Saturday (the 15th). This drastic slow moving mash up is likely to be demanding of a higher level of ethics, especially with those in powerful positions. It means we have to come clean with what drives us. The Scorpio New Moon allows us each to check our motives, and root out any of own places where we're morally careless. This especially shows up now in relationships, where power games can have explosive consequences.

In a "heads up" recently, James Gilliland of ECETI.org wrote that with such craziness afoot these days, we each have to master our own dark side, not just the light. He wrote, "The old Cherokee tale about two wolves fighting inside one is white and focused on love, joy, bliss and cooperation the other dark focused on selfishness, judgment, anger, separation, competition etc is being played out. The one that wins is the one you feed. If a large percentage of your thoughts are focused on fear, separation and againstness you are feeding the dark wolf." The pressures of the Saturn-Pluto square, will likely intensify and expose whatever has been driving you. It's wise, then, to be careful about which beasts you're nurturing.

When you know your own shadows, there's nothing to fear by looking within. You are less vulnerable to manipulation by outside forces that play on your emotions. And when you've integrated something huge and scary, like an old wound, it becomes a felt part of your character. You carry that wisdom with you, and you can show others the way out of the dark. So this New Moon is a time when true magic can happen, the kind of deep healing that alters your internal psychic landscape. It seems off to say "enjoy" these days of the dark. I'll just say I hope it's rich and transformative for you! The New Moon is exact on Monday, November 16th at 2:44 pm EST.

• New Moon in Scorpio (themes)
• New Moon Rituals

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Whether it means anything or not, the date 2012 is becoming a fixation point for fears about the near future. The movie 2012, opening tomorrow, might be seen as our worst fears dramatized. Stephen Colbert has called it "a mindless orgy of destruction porn." Seems like a bad time for an end-of-the-world blockbuster, with so many at the edge. Is it harmless entertainment? Or could a film like this be bad for your health?

In a video about 2012, British cosmologist Jude Currivan says fear, whether from real or imagined events, makes us weaker. She says, "When we fear, neurologists say stress hormones are released. And when the anxiety is sustained, other hormones are released that are toxic to the immune system." Currivan is part of a group of visionaries that launched World Shift 2012 and a global declaration of emergency. Just as John Cusack said recently, these well-known thinkers say it's about consciousness, and the need for a quantum leap. Right now, says World Shift endorser Jose Arguelles, we've got a chaotic global consciousness, and that's what's mirrored back to us. He says 2012 is a kind of initiatory gate, and that the Mayan elders say the choice -- between love or fear -- is up to us.

Another endorser, Deepak Chopra says the choice is being made already, and that's leading to "two worlds." He says, "One world moves ahead by inertia from the past--like a massive luxury liner drifting at sea--while the other steps into the unknown--like a child entering the woods for the first time." It does seem that many people are waking up to humanitarian values, with a sense of urgency that propels them to act. Chopra says the old world is broadcast through major media, and I would add a lot of entertainment. But that the new world is growing stronger, as more people choose to commit to being part of the planetary emergence.

Jude Currivan says the emergence is the return of the feminine, which is happening in a big way. She cites ancient wisdom traditions that honored the sacred marriage within (the male-female in all of us). That's supported more now that Saturn has gone into Libra, the sign of balance between the genders. Writes Currivan, "The full inclusion of the heart-based feminine attributes of caring, compassion, empathy and cooperation within our collective organizations and societies is urgently needed."

It does seem like humanity is at a crossroads. We can probably thank Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius for the emergence of a new kind of global awareness. There are organizations like Humanity Healing that coalesce around the simple idea that we are bound by our common humanity. I'll never forget the unprecedented global moments of silence after September 11th, that to me, offer hope that we can come together quickly. It's about peeking above the frightful visions about the future, and daring to believe that humanity can make another choice.

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Stephanie Gailing, author of Planetary Apothecary is back with specific wellness tips for this moment in time. She writes about the coming Pluto-Saturn square (November 15) -- right before the New Moon in Scorpio -- as a time to marshal the force of the inner healer. She writes that "a positive manifestation of this planetary alignment is the ability to forge a structured and realistic approach to connecting with the wealth of our inner resources, including our healing powers."

Scorpio aims for total change from the inside out, and we can feel an extra drive to go deep for healing. But Stephanie says it's also time for deep rest, and being wise about what's stirred up.

• Scorpio Rx Wellness Tips by Stephanie Gailing

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