Tomorrow before dawn, the New Moon in Scorpio arrives. This is our first lunation after a pair of eclipses that brought us further into the Aries–Libra eclipses while closing the Taurus–Scorpio eclipse season.
Often, we look to the first lunation after eclipses as a return to a calmer time. This is not where we are with tomorrow’s New Moon. So, if you’ve been wondering when the chaotic energies stirred up by the last two eclipses would chill out, the answer is, not yet.
The Sun and Moon meet at 20º43’ Scorpio, in its third and final decan. Austin Coppock writes of this decan as a place of transformation and liberation, but only after much deep, painful work.
Scorpio is Mars’ nighttime sign, with Pluto as its modern ruler. This is a place where desire runs deep. Here we can find ourselves in the grip of emotions many would frankly prefer to avoid. This is the sign of intensity and sometimes of obsession.
Across the three decans of Scorpio, we connect with our desires, seek to satisfy them, and then learn that ultimate satisfaction can’t be found in this way. If we accept the lessons on offer in the third decan, we release our desires. We bury them, or let them go into deep water or over high cliffs.
We realize the only satisfactions that stay with us are those we find within ourselves.
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At this New Moon, the Sun and Moon are conjunct Mars. All three oppose Uranus. Neptune in late Pisces trines the Sun, Moon, and Mars.
Uranus, as always, signals change. In and around this New Moon, we might see unexpected or surprising world events. We might experience the unexpected in our own lives.
Given the depth of emotion linked to late Scorpio, we may also experience inner shifts. In fact, working with tough emotional patterns is one way to work with (rather than against) the signature of this New Moon.
Good Trouble
We’re about to experience a New Moon conjunct Mars, powerful in his own sign and the ruler of the New Moon. There could be trouble.
This is not the time to bring up difficult issues unnecessarily. Minor disagreements could escalate into more serious conflicts. If you don’t have to bring it up now, better to wait.
On the other hand, sometimes conflict is unavoidable. In such cases, make it good.
Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis advocated getting into good trouble. By this, he meant standing up for freedom, for dignity, for human rights. He stood up against racism, bigotry, and oppression his entire life.
Looking at this New Moon from the “good trouble” perspective, we might ask: What big change (Uranus) is needed to shift entrenched patterns and power (Scorpio)?
Taurus, where Uranus is, and Scorpio, where we find the Sun, Moon, and Mars, are fixed signs. Sometimes it takes good trouble, or at least a strong push from the Fates, to catalyze change.
Deep Insight
The presence of Neptune in this New Moon mix can be helpful or distracting.
Neptune makes us more sensitive, to substances and also to emotions, images, words, sounds–any kind of sensory input might land more deeply and create stronger responses than usual.
A trine from Neptune in Pisces to a Sun, Moon, Mars conjunction in Scorpio, points to a good time to avoid consciousness altering substances. Certainly, getting into a crowd and then altering your consciousness is not advised.
We may experience deep insights during this New Moon or in the days following. If you’re working with forms of meditation, or visioning practices, you may find your experiences are stronger at this time.
Neptune can also highjack our thoughts and emotions, though, especially in times like these when intensity of all kinds increases.
In other words, an established, disciplined meditative practice can yield deep results. Without the discipline, though, we can also find ourselves down some pretty twisty rabbit holes.
New Beginnings
New Moons are about new beginnings and this one is no exception.
The strong Uranian presence means we might see surprising or shocking beginnings (not unlike what we expect from eclipses). And there’s another beginning coming up within this waxing cycle.
Mars conjunct the New Moon means that a Mars–Sun conjunction, or cazimi, is about to happen. On November 18, the conjunction between the Sun and Mars will be exact. Mars will join the Sun in the throne room of the stronghold to begin a new cycle.
Mars cazimis only happen once every two years. The last Mars cazimi in Scorpio was in 1991. So these are significant celestial events that renew our capacity to move toward our desires and get work done.
Look especially for a renewal and strengthening of Mars-in-Scorpio qualities: tenacity, strength, fearlessness, and an understanding of power dynamics.
Legacy
New beginnings, unexpected shifts, and sudden changes lead to thinking about the future. Are we ready? What needs to be prepared? Mars is good at answering these questions.
There’s another question that arises, though, with Mars in Scorpio: What will we leave behind?
In Scorpio, we consider the roots of things. We look to ancestors and inheritances of various kinds. It’s also good to realize that we are ancestors. What legacies are we creating?
Whether we have children of our own or not, our presence, our work in the world, and our lives create their own legacies. We may think, well, I’m not famous. My impact is rather limited. There might not be any legacies to consider.
Yet this is simply not true. We all influence and impact the people, the land, the lives around us. One more way to think about tomorrow’s New Moon in Scorpio is to consider who we are in this world and how we’re affecting the future.
As Gandalf said, we cannot see all ends. This feels especially true in chaotic times like these. And yet, we do have influence. Our presence matters. What we do and how we do it, has an impact.
At this New Moon in Scorpio, as Mars approaches his cazimi with the Sun, we look both ways. We consider what legacies we carry from the past and how to work with them. We also look to the future, to think about what legacies we ourselves are creating.
