The Sign of the Scorpion
The Scorpio constellation represents the loving qualities of water; deep and immersive. Scorpios are attractive, yet morbid, and blunt, yet secretive. They are infamously intense in all things.
The 20 Days of Scorpio range from early November thru Veterans day and most of November.
Water Sign
Scorpio, the 2nd Water sign in the Zodiac, embodies the depth and mystery of a reservoir. Like an underground water source, Scorpios hold within them a wellspring of intense emotions and profound insights. They are enigmatic souls who delve into depths of the human psyche, navigating the realms of purity, transformation, and the hidden mysteries of life.
Within their reservoir of emotions lies an intensity that can both nourish and drown. They experience emotions with unwavering depth and power, akin to the surge of a rushing river. Their emotional depth grants them the ability to empathize and connect with others on profound levels, unveiling hidden truths and unspoken desires.
Just as a reservoir harbors secrets in its depths, Scorpios possess an innate sense of mystery and intrigue. They are skilled in the art of concealment, hiding their true selves beneath a veil of mystique. This shroud of secrecy serves as their protection and grants them a heightened sense of control and influence.
One must approach their depths with caution. The intensity of their emotions and their penetrating insights can lead to moments of darkness and possessiveness. They may become consumed by their own desires and obsessions, like a whirlpool. Scorpios have the incredible ability to embrace the shadows, to undergo profound personal growth, and to emerge stronger, wiser, and reborn.
Love Sign
In the water element, the social motivations of Love are usually directed at more close interpersonal relationships. This doesn’t automatically mean romantic love, intimacy can be a meaningful connection between anyone, and Scorpio’s are down to get deep if the conditions are right. In accordance with the thermodynamic law of Transformation, the tendency toward entropy means that once an egg is cooked it cannot be put back into the shell. We undergo permanent, irreversible change when we invest time and get close to one another. The more we learn, the more we are forced to empathize and reconcile our differences, and a relationship cannot simply rewind to a previous state once experiences have been shared which alter our perceptions of one another.
This Love sign might also be thought of as adept at dealing with friction. Friction causes energy to be wasted or lost in a system, altering the remaining available energy and temperature. Which means when tensions are running high, letting off steam, slowing things down and cooling off the reaction can lead to a different mode of exchange between the parties. Scorpios are adept at catching situations which are veering off the rails, and offering a unique perspective. Their fascination with death and decay invite a reevaluation of time, and the cycles and pacing of life. Finding beauty even in decline extends our opportunity for gratitude far beyond just the pleasant moments when things are going exactly our way.
The interplay between the inevitable, and the unexpected is the space that Scorpio attends to rather than the broader social sphere of the other Love signs. Emotional maintenance keeps us from drifting apart, though the universe expands our worlds stay rather small when it comes to the quality connections we are able to maintain. Our ability to change and evolve while still enjoying and appreciating one another is what the Love motivation is all about.
Personality
Personal Life / Personality
Those born under the Scorpio constellation or with a Scorpio influence in their Star Chart tend to have an aura of mystique about them. They’re naturally curious about the deeper and at times darker aspects of life and psyche. In line with stereotypes, they often present to others as quiet at times, eccentric at times, and a bit morbid overall.
However they may appear, deep down, they are fiercely determined and enthusiastic about life, willing and able to take on any challenge head-on. Their restlessness is motivated by a deep need for transformation and growth. They wish refine and cultivate themselves throughout their lives.
Scorpios have obsessive tendencies throughout their lives, going down tempting rabbit-holes for weeks, months, or even years at a time. They prefer to go down unbeaten paths, but must learn to discern between paths more or less adaptive in the long run. Ultimately, many of them do learn this discernment, and develop sophisticated and intricate tastes.
Interpersonal Life / Relationships
It can sometimes be hard for Scorpios to realize when their social needs aren’t met. Their obsessive tendencies can lead them to become remote and isolated from other people for long periods. When they go long enough without socialization, they may develop manic-depressive, bipolar, or even masochistic characteristics. Often enough, they may assume that their neurochemistry is just different, and they require some kind of psychiatric supplement, but more often than not, they simply require a more socially, cognitively, and nutritionally stimulating environment.
Scorpios notoriously value their privacy more than any other sign. Because of this, they may be selective in opening up to others and letting them into their world. But when they do, they really do. They have a keen sense of other’s hidden motivations and emotions around them, allowing them to make their selections and draw their boundaries quite clearly with people. Driven by intense passion, Scorpios connect with their loved ones on a profound level. However, their strong emotions can also lead them to become protective, guarded, or even cruel. Their emotional intensity can overpower and overwhelm others, if they are not careful. And they must be careful not to give into their more vengeful reactive emotions, whether against those they perceive to be enemies on the outside of their bubble, or against those whom they presume to be theirs. Although, if one of their own has slighted them, they’re not likely to stay welcome in their bubble for very long anyway.
The mystique of Scorpios often leads them to become magnetic and highly desirable lovers. But even during a long, deep, and fulfilling relationship, their partners may never seem to lose that sense of mystery. That may become frustrating to some, if they feel that the relationship isn’t going anywhere or is not satisfying their lofty desires. However, the sheer depth that a Scorpio offers in a relationship, their ability to keep interest, and their tendency to transform and improve over time, usually affords them lasting and meaningful relationships.
Some Scorpios may become accustomed to immutual relationships, however, founded on outward appearances and exaggerated performances. In these cases, their seductive powers may become too much for weaker hearts to resist. If they are content to siphon narcissistic supply off of fake relationships, then they may believe themselves entitled, becoming controlling, needy, and manipulative. It is not enough to be loved; they must also love in kind, for a healthy and authentic relationship to bloom.
Social Life / Society
In social life, whenever they decide to engage in it, Scorpios possess a captivating allure that attracts attention and intrigue. Regardless of their audience, they speak honestly and go far deeper than others might bother. This makes them equal parts influential and ruthless, since they have very little patience for superficial matters, at least when it’s not their own picky taste on trial. This sincerity takes a lot out of them, however, so they require gracious periods of rest and solitude to recharge.
Their urge to be themselves in any situation may make things difficult in particularly challenging situations. If, for instance, they a have a strong opinion that isn’t generally accepted, they may become provocative or dogmatic in spite of everyone, like a true contrarian. But they may just as easily become reclusive, secretive, and misanthropic in response. Needless to say, they have to cultivate meaningful, persistent, and reliable social outlets in order to avoid a gradual loss of moral fiber.
Scorpios have a natural inclination towards seeking deeper meanings, inquiring into forbidden knowledge, and uncovering hidden depths, making them dedicated investigators, collectors, writers, and spiritualists. They seem to have a direct line of communication with the muses. When their seriousness is directed toward creative endeavors, they make some of the most profound and impactful artists in the Zodiac.
Archetypal Story of Scorpio
Jack Skellington has an infectious lust for life, despite being dead! He strives for excellence in all he does, but not in a competitive way. His only adversary is himself, and his own impossible standards. We meet our hero as he has reached the peak of his craft, and laments that he cannot climb any higher in his expression of festive cheer in his role as the Pumpkin King, Lord of Halloween.
All the inhabitants of Halloween Town look up to him as a role model, and admire his talent in spreading fear (cheer!). But their reverence does nothing to soothe the longing in his heart for something… more. A mysterious, enigmatic malcontent overwhelms him to the point of becoming completely disinterested in his work, and he sets off wandering, hoping for an answer to present itself out of the blue. And just like in any fairytale, it does!
He finds himself in a corner of the forest he had never seen before, in a circle of trees adorned by various mysterious symbols. The audience immediately recognizes these to be holiday symbols, and he’s instantly entranced by the one decorated with a Christmas tree. Without hesitation, he opens the door and is transported to a snowy world very much unlike his own. The novelty of the environment enthralls him, and he remarks on the strangeness of all the sights he sees in exuberant delight. He has an epiphany, that this world holds an answer to the void inside him, and he resolves to return to his own world and paint it up like this new one.
The other denizens of town are confused at first, but their own disappointment that Halloween is only once a year, in combination with Jack’s notoriety, makes them receptive to his proposal to take this new holiday on themselves. They set to work transforming Jack into ‘Sandy Claws’, armed with spooky reworks of traditional toys, and kidnapping the real Santa to make way for the skeleton to take his place.
The scene plays out as you would expect; the citizens of Christmas are horrified, the national guard gets involved, and Jack is shot out of the sky in a very flamboyant Tower moment. All of his obsessive passion comes crashing down, and the haunting realization dawns on him that he has made a grave error. This symbolically occurs in the Christmas Town cemetery. He leaps into action to set things right, spurred on by the warning given to him by a friend that he so carelessly ignored in the name of his intense single mindedness.
Sally was the one citizen of Halloween Town who did not buy into Jack’s scheme, and had serious concerns about the upset such rash action would cause. She is timid and reserved, greatly limited by her position as a ‘creation’, and her story is ultimately one of breaking free. In the wake of the tragic aftermath of the Christmas fiasco, she is right there by Jack’s side working to free Santa Claus and set things right, ultimately gifting him the virtue of Innocence, as he learns to be content with his own nature.
The passion that he has is perfectly suited for the environment he is already in, and the context of his own holiday. His propensity to try to get a rise out of people is not inherently bad, but he took it too far and acted selfishly. In return for her dedication, Sally learns the ability to act on her own will and be free to pursue her own life instead of forgoing her own wishes in service of others; she learns to Desire. Her Virgo nature of Prudence and Patience match well with Jack’s zeal and extroversion.
♏︎ Scorpio
Toxic Management, Contaminant Remediation, Biochemical Engineering
One of the most serious side effects of our increasingly invasive search for resources is the unearthing of chemicals and substances that should not be out in the world at large, and a majorly overlooked task right now is the remediation of toxicity in the environment. Removal of toxic material usually has to be predicated with some sort of fiscal incentive; if the waste can somehow be collected and transformed into a profitable byproduct it’s possible that a startup will take it upon themselves to exploit it, but thus far it has proved very difficult to scale. If we really were going to get serious about this it would have to be in the form of subsidies, such as forcing the price of virgin plastic to be higher than that of recycled, which to my understanding at large quantity the price difference right now is actually negligible in an amount that would be offensive to the average person, and it would take a truly massive corporation indeed to try to profit so marginally more at the expense of the planet not to make the obvious choice. There is crossover here into Pisces with the actual upcycling and reclamation of materials such as plastic, which is both pollutant, and resource in and of itself so it’s definitely the issue at the forefront of what should be addressed first. Scorpio deals more with dispersed chemicals, or things that are harder to reclaim by such mechanical means, such as oil spills, runoff waste, basically things that might be better suited to remediation by chemical or biological means. There are incredible strides in technology which uses fungus or bacteria to process materials which would otherwise be toxic or harmful, or using fermentation to neutralize or transmute something.
Sexual reproduction as the way we iterate is often associated with Scorpio’s ability to transform, but the emphasis in pop culture is predominantly on the carnal act itself. Sometimes obsessively so, and the duality between the cardinal virtue of Scorpio being Purity and this highly sexualized portrayal is by far the most controversial of our concepts. That is fitting, and we gladly accept it. In order for a species to survive it needs to reproduce, but this is at odds with the needs of the individual, which sex in many cases catastrophically jeopardizes. The lines become blurred, between generations succeeding one another, what of their customs if any will be carried forward in the hearts and minds of their progeny, and what degree of participation in this torch passing is survivable for the individual. Revolution and rebellion are also associated often with Scorpio, and many casualties lie in the wreckage of old regimes, just as many ideas never make it into words, and many sperm race to the egg for only one to succeed. That is why we cannot categorize sex itself as a mission, much at odds as that may be with convention. Nor can we include any of the other vague abstractions typical of the 8th house such as rebirth, crisis, legacy, inheritance, and death. What do these abstract concepts mean to the individual?
How do we grapple with this paradox? What is one, but collective. Thriving, but in death. Prolific, but not preoccupied with its own sexuality. The answer to this riddle is also a field which individuals can easily become involved in to have a positive impact in many areas: mushrooms. This artificial notion that we can manually undo the negative impacts we have had on the environment is absurd. We already have armies of ‘nanobots’ at the ready to perform infinitesimal micro actions, if we could come to understand more about the way they work and how to help them. The processes of nature unfold at a cellular level, and we cannot hope to compete at the scales we humans find comfortable to work in, so letting go and learning to trust the process of transformation is crucial to tackling widespread problems. They have entered into a symbiotic partnership with many species already. In forests, they act as communication networks between trees and help distribute soil resources. They communicate through us in dreams and visions received in psychedelic states, and inspire us to explore the interconnectedness of things. The role they play in nature as decomposers isn’t glamorous, but the complex web of terrestrial life owes everything to these tiny transformers. Their study and cultivation is applicable to a huge range of contemporary problems, from waste disposal to insulation, food and medicine to shipping packages.