Full moon Scorpio 5/10/17 Your Nether Regions

Scorpio is not just about the nether regions of your body or hell itself.  It's also about the nether regions of your psyche and your heart. At this full moon light is shed on the things we hide from ourselves and others. We have conversations about the things we never wanted to talk about. We face desires we wish we didn't have. But, there they are.

It's a time when we get stripped down and scrubbed sparkly—a big, sexy slough of old identities, fake smiles, and toxic secrets collects at our feet.

We step out into the world, exposed.

Personally, I like a good scrub. Inspect my bathroom and you’ll find all manner of exfoliant, loofah, and body brush. Once in a while I’ll treat myself to a microdermabrasion facial. It’s just a very deep exfoliation that’s done with a diamond-tipped wand (doesn’t hurt). This wand removes dead skin cells and makes microscopic cuts in the skin that cue the skin’s own regeneration process (it lives!). The removal of dead cells reveals brand new skin that can breathe and absorb whatever it comes into contact with more deeply (so hopefully you’re putting good, nutritious stuff on your skin).

I know, not exactly a conversation for the dinner table…dead skin, clogged pores, and all. But, that’s Scorpio. Scorpio has no use for anything superficial; it wants to know what’s underneath. It has the stomach for all the gory details, and always wants to “go there.”

“The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”--Hunter S. Thompson (Mars in Scorpio 8^th house trine Sun-Pluto conjunction, moon 8^th house. That’s a lot of Scorpio)

A Scorpio full moon is always opposite a Taurus sun and sheds light on this dynamic:

Taurus	Scorpio
Amassing	Sharing
Control	Release
My $tuff	Our $tuff
Accept at face value	Nothing is as it seems
Leave well enough alone	Intervene
Preserve	Transform
Holding	Elimination
Constipation	Diarrhea

Yeah. I went there. Couldn’t help it. It’s such a perfect example of the extremes between Taurus and Scorpio. Everyone can relate to these body functions, and the metaphors can go on ad nauseam. Poop is also fitting because Scorpio rules the waste disposal process and reproductive organs. Yeah, all that “down there” stuff. Most people think of Scorpio as the sexy sign, which it is, but we forget it also rules forensics, investment banking, psychology and death. Believe it or not, these things have EVERYTHING to do with the KIND of sex Scorpio wants to have.

There are a million ways to do sex that are healthy and fun, and may or may not involve physical penetration (jeez, do we as a culture get hung up on phallic penetration as the defining act of sex or what), and may or may not involve other people. There’s recreational (Leo) sex, sensual (Taurus) sex, affectionate (Libra) sex, animal (Aries) sex, and on and on. The kind of sex Scorpio wants to have is going to cost you something. Now before you get all proud of yourself because it’s so easy for you to share, chances are that if it’s that easy, it’s not actually costing you anything. When something costs us, we’re talking about loss, our sense of security—being vulnerable. Scorpio wants the parts of you that are hardest for you to part with.  The price is high because what Scorpio offers in return is new life and higher power. I think that’s fair. Except when it’s not. Unchecked Scorpio energy manipulates in the name of absolute power. It can become obsessed with power, and boy is it shrewd and ruthless.

There must be stakes or else Scorpio is not interested. If Scorpio doesn’t walk out of an interaction a different person with a whole new perspective on life---if they didn’t leave a chunk of their soul behind or take a chunk of your soul with them, don’t expect to see them again. Anything short of a religious experience won’t be worth the effort. The Scorpio sex-perience needs you to invest---give up a precious part of yourself in the name of a merger that’s transformative. Through this merger, Scorpio is scrubbed clean with diamond blades. It dies unto itself so it can regenerate with tender new skin and be penetrated. Scorpio sex is alchemical. It is the penetrator and the penetrated—the scalpel and the incision.

Scorpio also has x-ray vision and wants what you got. The psychotherapist needs YOUR deepest feeling/thought material to create new solutions, the investment banker needs YOUR hard earned assets to turn them into something bigger, and a detective would be out of job without YOUR secrets to uncover. In the wrong hands, this ability to work with other people’s stuff can lead to ttrademark Scorpio jealousy.

Hence, typical reactions to Scorpionic people and situations:

“You see right through me. It feels so good to be seen, warts and all. It feels so good to trust. I want to bare my soul to you. Tell you all my secrets.”  Or,  “You see right through me. Get the fuck away from me. That’s not for anyone to know but me. You’re intrusive and creepy.” 

Where might you fall on the possession/power axis that is Taurus-Scorpio?  Right around this time we’re likely to go to one extreme or the other. This full moon should reveal how much exposure you can stand (emotionally, financially, psychologically) and how close you’re getting to the edge. There’s no tightrope walking during a Scorpio full moon. You either jump into to the abyss or retreat into familiar territory. All or nothing. High stakes.

This full moon chart speaks to the closing of a chapter. The full moon (fruition) in Scorpio (death/rebirth) sextiles Pluto (modern ruler of Scorpio), and is accompanied by the changing of the lunar nodes on the Virgo-Pisces (final rest) axis. We’ve been exploring our capacity wake up-and-deal and retire-and-heal for 18-months. We’re sure to feel a palpable shift as the nodes move onto the Leo-Aquarius axis. The nodal shift and the apex of the full moon happen within 24 hours of each other. Something in you or your life is wrapping up. Can you feel what it is? And, no. You are not exempt from Scorpio. It’s represented somewhere, to greater or lesser degrees in everyone’s chart.

We’re all made of the same stuff…just put together differently. It’s YOUR job to find how your relationship to the world works. It’s YOUR job to uncover all the ways you’re similar to your fellow humans, animals, plant life, and cosmos.

That’s astrology.  It’ll cost you some effort---maybe a leap of faith and imagination. The rewards are plenty.

Howling at the full moon Libra. 4/11/17 Call and response.

A fortnight ago the new moon in Aries made a call. How does this Libra full moon respond?

The lunar cycle is a call and response dialogue. The new moon puts something out there, the full moon replies. Sometimes a lack of reply is your reply. Sometimes your action is a choice to refrain from action. All forms of conversation are valid; some are more productive than others at different times. But, the tides turn on the regular. Our environment has a natural rhythm, and is in constant conversation with itself and everything in it, including you. There’s information in these interactions if you choose to participate.

Full moons are culminations. They illuminate, reveal, and sometimes give answers.

There are no “good” or “bad” answers in astrology. Just, “try again,”  “this needs more work, more time,” “change course,” or “congrats, here’s what you earned,”  “lesson learned, proceed to next experience.”

This Libra lunation is all about the transformative journey Venus (ruler of Libra) has been on since March 4^th (its station retrograde). Libra is Venus’ intellectual side (Taurus is Venus’ body). Libra rules the concepts of partnership, relationship, transactions, agreements, aesthetics, and decorum. Libra teaches us about give and take, balance, and harmony-- especially about the balance between call and response. The Aries-Libra axis is highlighted for the next 2 weeks, and will show where you’ve been “all call” or “all response.”

As mentioned in the last post, (it's a very retro time, so let's backtrack) I’m Aries through and through. Throughout my childhood up until college I’ve always had a Libra best friend, then it became all about Pisces, but that’s another story. Those close relationships had an Aries- Libra tension. Those of you who do a lot of work with me (my work is all about relationship and conversation…counseling, teaching, consulting) never believe how much Aries I have in my chart. I’ve built a couple of businesses based on my reputation for being rational and measured. Who do you think taught me how to balance?

All those Libra girls in my formative years taught me something about integration. All the times I got my wrists slapped for being crude, provocative, and contrary woke me up to the fact that if I want all the good that comes from collaboration, I’m going to have to check myself.  Oh, I’m still a disruptive motherfucker, and when I go unconscious, the instinct to dominate kicks in. But, I feel better equipped to choose when Aries is appropriate, and when I do choose it, to work it consciously. Again, finding the BALANCE between the two is key. Let’s take food for example: if its too processed, it goes down easy and tastes good, but all the nutrients and anything real gets refined to death. Conversely, if you don’t process some food, at least a little, no one will eat it.

Thank you Libra, for teaching me to cultivate.

Not that Libra is all roses. Here is a typical tiff (written from much experience) between Libra and Aries:

Libra: You’re just causing discord, for the sake of excitement. You’re always trying to prove how different you are.

Aries: Well it’s better than being a superficial phony.

Libra: Just because I actually care about someone other than myself, and want to make things pleasant?  That doesn’t make me shallow. At least people like me!

Aries: They only like you because you tell them what they want to hear. You’re too wishy-washy to take a stance on anything. People need to be challenged!

Libra: I’m not talking to you until you can behave like a civilized adult and show some respect. You’re being ugly.

Aries: PLEASE argue with me. This was just getting interesting.

--And scene--

Venus retro through Pisces (Venus exaltation), Aries (Mars) new moon, Libra/Aries (Venus/Mars) full moon, Venus conjunct Chiron in Pisces square Saturn, Mercury retro through Taurus/Aries (Venus/Mars rulership)…this spring is all about Venus on the therapist’s couch. Yes. We are still dealing with Venus-Mars issues as per last post.

This is an intense (not necessarily unpleasant) evaluation of who we need to be in relationship to others. The lessons, epiphanies, and urges to implement change are coming fast and furious. But, you don’t need to DO anything fast and furious right now. Best way to use this time is to take notes. Lots of planets are shifting into retro this spring. April is a good time for organizing the intel with your journal or your therapist. Keep the back-and-forth going.

And yeah yeah yeah, there is a Mercury retrograde in the mix. I did not forget. It’s just a contributor to this deep meditation on Venus and Aries. Some astrologers do attribute money to Venus’ influence. To put a finer point on it, I like to think of Venus as ruling commerce; the exchange, the trade, the deal. Not an awesome time for those things. Judgment is off and very subjective. Research now; conduct your transactions in May.

Kind of frustrating right now. We’re getting lots of cues to GO, but Venus needs you stop for moment. We’re not QUITE done sorting ourselves out yet. Keep asking the questions. They’ll be answered.

Quick look at Cory’s notes 4/11-4/25:

Full moon Libra conjunct Jupiter retro (This a big feeling aspect. Enjoy! Brimming with love for all mankind! Woohoo! Some of you are gonna get a big sloppy kiss from this full moon, others might be weepy.)

Cardinal T square that involves Juno (This is stressful, but not monstrously so. Totally workable. Curb the urge for aggro action. Go workout, have more vigorous (responsible) sex, go dancing, do live-band-punk-rock karaoke.)

Venus conjunct Chiron in Pisces, square Saturn in Sadge retro (ouch. Old hurts coming up for release. Self soothe, self-care, get thee to thy therapist. Painful reality checks.)

Mars-Ceres conjunction Taurus (Aggressive caretaking. Keep your eye on this co-dependent bug-a-boo. Co-dependency is a Libra watchword too. Feel free to aggressively self-care…especially your bod.)

Merc retrograde Taurus (re-think luxury purchases and new investments, still checking that Aries energy--aggression, impatience, self-interest. We are going to be so over hitting the brakes by summer).