The Scorpion Hiding in Plain Sight
On May 7th we have a Full Moon in Scorpio. It’s the last of the Supermoons for this year and has several names – the Flower Moon, the Milk Moon, the Mother’s Moon and the Corn Planting Moon. The names reflect the flowers that start to spring up this month - a time of increased fertility as temperatures warm and frosts come to an end.
The idea of this Full Moon in terms of fertility links with the regenerative, transformational side of Scorpio. Pluto, the modern ruler of Scorpio, is Hades or God of the Underworld, whose abduction of Persephone led to the mythical explanation for the seasons – the death of the land in the autumn and its transformation into abundance at spring time. Scorpio’s traditional ruler is Mars, and Mars is a significator of the virus, and I would say from this chart that the threat from the virus is easing for now.
The other side of Scorpio is the secretive, the dark, the intense, the occult, the hidden – what is buried and hard to see. But sometimes the best way to hide is to hide in plain sight. The Moon has gone to ground, hiding in the deep dark murky waters. And I think we have all needed that time or at least have recognized the need for it. We have needed that dark sense of solitude to process what has turned our worlds upside down before we even had time to breathe.
Scorpio’s symbol is the scorpion. Scorpions are characterized by their two front pincers and their distinctive forward curved tail, which may or may not have a venomous stinger. There are 2000 different types of scorpions but only a few possess a killer venom. Sounds very similar to COVID 19 – for most people relatively harmless but the sting in the tail could just get you. The scorpion provokes intense emotions, mainly fear. And just like fear of the dark, black and potentially deadly Scorpion, this hidden unseen enemy virus holds immense consequences to be feared – and I don’t mean the virus itself. The scorpion’s sting lies in the consequences hiding in plain sight which if you use Scorpio’s penetrative research qualities can be easily found.
The Sun in Taurus demonstrates our need to feel safe and protected. But sometimes I get the feeling that the main area being protected is the NHS, mainly because it has been woefully mismanaged and underfunded, to the point that treatment of other health conditions such as serious and terminal cancers are being cancelled with disastrous consequences for some – the collateral but unrecorded damage. In the beginning our NHS was set up to protect society. And we are putting our faith in individual scientists doing their computer modelling of how this might play out. Even Fauci, one of the lead members of Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, has stated that the modelling rarely comes true, but we are prepared to turn everyone’s hard earned lives upside down anyway. A leading UK virologist Dr Chris Smith started off saying that the virus could kill 50 million people and this week has said that we may have over reacted and it is equivalent to a bad case of flu!
Scorpio is about trust but who do we trust? We don’t even trust those around us any more not to infect us with this virus – that’s the level of fear that surrounds COVID19. In the UK, a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) is defined according to the following criteria: it’s an acute infectious disease, it has a high case fatality rate, it may not have effective treatment, it has the ability to spread, it requires an enhanced response to ensure it is managed effectively. In January of this year COVID19 was classified as a high consequence infectious disease, but in March it was decided that COVID19 should no longer classify as such. But why then are we reacting in the way we are, threatening our whole livelihoods if it is not an HCID?? Just doesn’t make any sense to me.
And even when restrictions are lifted how many will remain in a state of fear? Fear is the worst state we could allow ourselves to enter right now. Fear puts us in a constant fight or flight mode. Adrenaline is pumping, depleting our immune responses. Indeed if we stay home, disinfect constantly in a fear state we will come out of lockdown with impaired immune systems and wonder why we will get sick. Any underlying health conditions will have an inflammatory response in the body and inflammation will also reduce our immune system process. Our best chance is to take our own personal responsibility to keep ourselves as healthy as possible in both mind and body – i.e. holistically. As Hippocrates said, the first step has to be “Let food be thy medicine and Let medicine be thy food.” Smoking, drinking, poor diet all will add to an inflamed body and reduced immunity, because the gut is the heart of the immune system.
Taurus energy is slow steady energy - slow down the fear response with meditation so that your heart (the main thinking system) can function fully. If we are in fear our head brain overthinks and 9 times out of 10 gets things wrong. We need to allow our heart brain to take the lead because if we are heart centred we are coming from the point of the good; from our true instinctive connections. The heart knows what the brain struggles to process, especially if the body is in a state of fight and flight. I don’t agree with everything David Icke says, but in a recent interview he said “Love is the absence of fear. Evil is the absence of love. Follow the heart – the heart knows. The lockdown has awakened a number of people to what this world really is.”[1]
The late, great French astrologer Andre Barbault has left us extremely informed about important cycles in history which seem to occur when powerful planets are seen to cluster together – and 2020 sees a massive clustering of powerful planets. A coming together such as this signifies turbulence and the beginning of something new. However, before something new can happen we always have to mark the end of something too. Barbault predicted that in 2020-21 Europe would be at the epicentre of dissonance, either compelled to reform itself or threatened with division. He mentions the potential for natural disasters or a new pandemic, but certainly a time of widespread discord. His cyclic graph shows a huge bottoming in 2019/20 and a pulling out 2022/23. He goes on to cite a move to a great peak in 2026. 2026 with harmonious aspects, he says, will be a change for the better and civilisation at last becomes, as he describes it, ‘adult’. [2]
So let’s focus on that high point in 2026 as the target, even though it seems so far away. Firstly, how do we get out of the mess we are in, which appears to coincide with Barbault’s period of a huge low? This Full Moon shows us. While the Sun has a tremendous need to feel safe and is living in fear of the Scorpion’s sting (which may never happen),Taurus is patient and will stubbornly sit things out. In some ways that’s a good thing but we will do ourselves no favours if we just passively wait. Scorpio digs deep, is tenacious, has a superhuman will and above all wants to survive. Whilst the brain tries to process all the different emotions at this difficult time we must turn to the heart – the only organ to have intelligence. In the great Joe Dispenza’s words “it is the body’s fourth energy centre and the bridge to greater levels of awareness and energy.” He describes it as the centre where our divinity begins, because it is the intersection of the lower three energy centres of our earthly body and the upper three energy centres of our higher self. The connection with the heart is paramount for homeostasis (stable equilibrium) and when the body is in homeostasis our bodies become sophisticated and finely tuned. But in a state of constant stress and fear the energy field around our body and our vital life force are both depleted and we cannot achieve homeostasis. Without homeostasis we will struggle to survive this difficult period ahead. Close to the heart sits a gland called the thymus which has a vital role in our immune system. The thymus shrinks as we get older and has very little energy to protect us from outside threats if we are in a state of constant stress. If the heart does not beat in harmonious rhythm we have less energy available for healing and for building our lives. As Dispenza says, ‘every thought you think produces an equal corresponding chemistry’. If we function from our hearts we can access our subconscious mind ‘so that you can program your autonomic nervous system equal to the thoughts of your new future’, but in a state of fear change can’t happen.[3]
Slow the mind with meditation, come into the heart and navigate your way out of the storm. We may all have to accept the need to do things differently for now. This is highlighted by the Moon’s nodes – the destiny axis –which are also on the point of changing signs to the Gemini/Sagittarius axis for the next 18 months or so – the axis of the mind and travel. Our ability to travel may return but it will be different. And in terms of the mind we may have to accept some uncomfortable truths, we may have to learn in a different way and find different ways to connect, but if we want to use this experience to transform then learn we must. The Gemini/Sagittarius axis will also be the energy of the next Full and New Moons. We are being given a message about integrating the higher truths we instinctively know and feel into our everyday lives.
For me the whole point of astrology is to be useful. It’s a tool. It’s a brilliant tool for timing of cycles as well as how these fit into your own personal life. And it’s a brilliant tool to identify your talents, your strengths, your weaknesses and your blocks.
Scorpio energy penetrates and researches – what can you do differently? For a start don’t sit and do nothing. Whilst it might seem a time to relax and chill in lockdown, this would be the absolute worst way to utilise this time. Instead think how can you diversify to give yourself a fighting chance? Make plans and give them structure. Make the best of yourself that you can holistically – and by that I mean both physically and mentally. Adopt strong spiritual practices alongside good nutrition and physical exercise. This will energise your immune system and raise your ability to navigate the storm. Keep your eye out for what is hidden in plain sight – these will be a mixture of your own talents as well as ‘hidden agendas’ which have the potential to take away your own personal power (Scorpio). Be stubborn and be bullish (Taurus) because Scorpio’s strength is his ability for healing in the form of regeneration and ultimate transformation and his strong will to survive. What have you taken from lockdown that you are grateful for and would like to incorporate within your future life? How can you give yourself your best chance to come out of this process regenerated and transformed? Regeneration and transformation is a process that takes time but that time will be well spent. We have an opportunity – let’s all of us take it. It’s down the line I know, but I hope this pain leads to a better and more golden age where we become ‘adult’. I am trying to hold on to the spectre of that dream as my end goal.
[1] Interview with Brian Rose and David Icke, London Real, 3.5.2020
[2] The Value of Astrology, Andre Barbault, 2014, (first published in French 2006), the Astrological Association CIO, p.151
[3] Becoming Supernatural, Dr. Joe Dispenza, 2017, Hay House, pp. 155-178