Tomorrow, October 30, the New Moon in Scorpio arrives just after 1:30 pm EDT. We are close to the dark of the year and it feels for many of us as though times are dark indeed. We’re facing shadowy things in our personal lives and the wider social sphere. Seldom have the two seemed so close together, touching where we do not want to be touched.
Scorpio is made for exploring frightening territory. We’re in the element of Water here, the deepest and darkest that water gets. It feels cold. Our lungs contract. We can’t breathe. How fast can we get out of this and back to the cozy bonfire up on the beach? We stuck our toe in, we proved we can do it, that’s enough, right?
No.
Scorpio is, among the signs of the Zodiac, one of the most comfortable saying no. This is, however, not the “no” that avoids what is uncomfortable. This is the “no” that will not look away and won’t let us look away either. “Look,” Scorpio says. “Look here. See what you’ve done. Watch what’s happening.” Scorpio is a seer, a steadfast witness, a teller of truths.
This New Moon falls at 7 degrees of Scorpio, where the Sun and Moon meet. Mercury is right there at 9, bringing our perceptions and communication into alignment with our hearts. Asteroid Lilith sits nearby, slightly too far to be considered conjunct the New Moon–but don’t forget her, she comes in soon enough.
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The principal aspect to this New Moon is a close trine to Neptune and the South Node in Pisces, which naturally is also a sextile to the North Node in Virgo. The presence of Neptune makes this a New Moon for deep dreaming. Any visionary practice will be strong. It opens a powerful doorway for divination, a practice well suited to this time of year: We’re entering the time of Samhain and might meet Hecate at the crossroads at any moment.
The South Node is the place of the past, the threshold where what has been before can slip into what is now. Samhain is the time of the ancestors, who often have a hand in divination traditions. Did you ever watch apple peels falling to look for the initials of your true love? If we look, we can see reflections of old ways of knowing still around.
Neptune has been sitting with the South Node for a while now. I’ve written before about the dangers as well as opportunities of this combination. The same holds true at this New Moon: Are we gathering up the best of the past to bring forward? Or are we hankering for what is gone, or perhaps never was?
This is where the North Node in Virgo provides a helping hand. Virgo, ever practical, can gently refocus our attention by asking: What specific aspects of the past can help me now? How can I heal the past to create the life I wish for, for myself and for the world?
New Moons are times for wishing. Finding the right seeds to plant might feel especially challenging this month. We might feel lost in fear, worried anything we wish for will turn to dust in our hands. We may feel we’ve lost our way and the path ahead is too dark. We might feel the forces arrayed against us are too strong, too entrenched, too evil. Resistance is futile.
At this Scorpio time, such challenging experiences are invitations. This is a New Moon for embracing fears, exploring them, diving deep into darkness. Only then can we find the buried gold and bring it to the surface.
There are good reasons to fear deep water. Yet we also remember that water is our native element: We are conceived and grow in water before we are born into air and earth. Water represents memory, emotion, and the past–all places we come from and revisit regularly. Navigating safely calls for skill and preparation. We don’t walk off the high board without knowing how to land. We don’t venture into the depths without knowing where the lifeboat is.
Finding our way through this New Moon calls for a combination of courage and preparation. This is not a time of year to dabble in the occult, or the depths of the psyche, as though they were nothing but party games. Much better to engage the unknown with respect, humility, and in the company of good people who know the way. Yet at some point, we have to take the step. If we want to learn who we truly are, we need to leave the safety of the shore and swim out.
It helps to remember that water is sacred. The same can be said for all our world, of course, and yet we are in a time when water is calling to us, reminding us of our absolute dependence on its power. Like all the great powers, water is what it is. We can try to control it, despite learning over and over of the folly of this, but we will not succeed. We may do great harm in the process. In the end, we learn again we cannot live without it. Literally.
This New Moon falls close to Halloween, according to the calendar. This is the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain and yet, astrologically, Samhain will not arrive until November 6. The four great fire festivals fall when the Sun reaches the midpoint of the four fixed signs: Samhain at 15 Scorpio, Imbolc at 15 Aquarius, Beltaine at 15 Taurus, and Lughnasadh at 15 Leo. We can think of this New Moon as ushering in the Samhain season.
In the Samhain chart, we see Lilith in a central role. She now rests between the Sun at 15 Scorpio and Mercury at 21 Scorpio. The fierce feminine is with us. Lilith definitely qualifies as nasty.
We also see Saturn at 15 Sagittarius and Pluto at 15 Capricorn urging us to take this time seriously and mine it for all its transformational potential. Chiron at 20 Pisces in a flowing trine with the Sun–Lilith–Mercury group, creates an opening for looking old, painful patterns square in the eye and healing them.
Compare the New Moon and Samhain charts to your own birth chart. See where the important points touch your placements. This will point you to how this time might affect you and which New Moon wishes might be most effective
All of us can plant seeds of courage, asking for the skill and clarity to see truly and not shirk from what we need to know. We can wish for the best of the past to support us. We can wish for the help of our ancestors. We can plant seeds of healing for old patterns that need to break down, transforming into something new.
Water is the element of emotion. Scorpio is the sign of intuition. At this New Moon, we center ourselves in our hearts and in the deep inner knowing held in our bodies, which are mostly water. Only with the heart can we see truly.