‘This is such a helpful blog on the current astrological situation and what many people are undergoing, Judy really wanted you all have the opportunity of reading it while we’re between moons’
Stripping back our layers of emotions to really find what is going on beneath the surface, is one of the keys to this Scorpio New Moon (see my insights below). Here is a very simple, but effective way of reaching layers.
If you are feeling unhappy now, try to put a simple label on your feeling, for example, fed up. Then say to yourself, I am feeling fed up because….. and allow the space for the answer to come up. Then take the answer and make it into the next question, I am feeling (answer) because…….. This can be repeated time and again and is a simple exercise that can give us some surprising insights into what is going on beneath the surface.
‘Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people’ (Carl Jung)
Pluto is perhaps the most enigmatic of all the astrological planets. A god who wore a helmet of invisibility when above the ground, he is all that is deepest and darkest in the psyche and the inner alchemical processes that power our transformation. Despite his bad press, it is in Pluto’s realm that our true riches are to be found. This is where we take responsibility for ourselves and all that we are capable of. Going where others fear to tread, we will need hard hats, a miner’s lamp and a pick and shovel to make this journey. But it will be rewarding and turn some of our ingrained assumptions on their head along the way. …………
Unless you are prepared to step outside your comfort zone and engage in deep transmutation ……this is not the workshop for you.
The above, is part of the description of a Pluto workshop run by Judy Hall that I attended a couple of years ago. I could, for this New Moon, and even for the coming Full Moon (both in Scorpio which is ruled but Pluto), simply post that description and no more, for it sums up the energies perfectly. But, being Pluto, we will venture a little deeper and try to gain further insights.
During our lifetimes, we will all have some experiences that cause us deep hurt in some way. Those experiences will be different for each of us and occur at different times in our lives. They will also challenge us in a way that is uniquely personal to us. That is because our reactions are not merely governed by what happens in that moment in time. The brain compares what we are experiencing with what we have experienced before. It is a way of keeping things simple, of generalising our experience so that we are not overloaded by the multitude of information that it is trying to process at each given moment. Once we have learnt what a door handle is, and how to open it, our brain automatically does the translation when we see one, and without thinking, we can reach out and open a door. Have you ever noticed how confusing it can be if a handle isn’t where we expect it to be, or if the door opens the opposite way to what we expect? That is because it is an automatic, unconscious action.
All the experiences of our lives, are layered and filed in our unconscious, and in the same way that it sees and recognises a door handle, our unconscious will try to recognise emotional experiences by comparing them with ones that we have had before. The unconscious looks for previous, similar circumstances and creates the same response. They can be everyday responses like our food likes and dislikes, to a memory of a good time in our life being triggered by something we see, smell or taste. Negative responses can create fears and phobias – the brain thinks that after one “bad” experience, the same result will occur from a similar experience.
We don’t always remember circumstances that have caused us pain. The first time our heart was broken, might seem a long time ago and we think we are over it, but many years later, emotional memories can be triggered by a betrayal or loss. Beneath the first romantic heartbreak memory might be layers created by the loss of a pet, sibling or a parent in childhood. As children, we didn’t have the emotional intelligence to deal with deep feelings, and may have been discouraged from expressing them, so our hurts ended up being buried. There can be further, deeper layers of hurts that weren’t healed in past lives, so, layers of memories, of previous experiences build up in our unconscious, in our emotional memory banks, and then our current experience gets filtered through, and coloured by, these layers.
So, when we feel a very deep reaction to something, it is often because old hurts are being triggered by the unconscious. Unaware of these deeper, unhealed layers, we can be surprised by the depth of our reaction and feelings. The deeper the emotion, the more ingrained it can be and the harder it can be to shift. We can even feel physical pain, heartache, or an ache in the pit of our stomach. We can feel heavy, depressed and stuck.
“It all begins and ends in your mind. What you give power to, has power over you, if you allow it.” Leon Brown
It can take enormous courage to face our deepest, darkest shadows, fears and insecurities and to be honest with ourselves. Often operating from deep in the unconscious, they are ingrained, habitual responses, and until we become aware of them, and turn to face them, we do not realise we have any control over them. But we do have power over our conscious thoughts, and what we give that power to, has power over us. If we use our emotional intelligence to become aware that an unconscious response is being triggered, we can begin to look deeper and break the thought and the emotional habit.
To break the cycle of hurt and ingrained responses, to lift ourselves out of our emotional depths and to create a new response and future, we have to shine the light on them. We have to lift up our miner’s lamp and shine it into the depths. Where does this light come from? It is the light of Source, of God, Allah, the Infinite, the Universe, whatever your belief system is. It is the pure essence of happiness, it is joy, it is love. It is self-belief and self-love. In the presence of this pure energy, negative thoughts cannot exist.
“No matter how hard you try, you cannot get rid of darkness because it does not exist. It is nothing but the absence of light. In order to effect darkness, you must do something with light, because the light is the only thing that actually exists”. TEAL
When we have planets in Scorpio, as we do at this New Moon and the coming Full Moon, it is time to go beneath the surface, to gather up our hard hats, miner’s lamps, our picks and shovels and also our courage, and look beneath the surface to our deep emotions and the unconscious programs that run our lives. We also have, building in the background, a powerful karmic aspect that has been maturing all year, between the Nodes and Neptune. These, and other contributing factors, mean that we could have a difficult time until a few days after the New Moon.
It is important to take note of what comes up now, and what we have felt building in the last few days, as these karmic issues will be old challenges that have been flagged up several times this year already. The circumstances might vary, but the feeling is the same. If we have been burying our head in the sand, which is one of the possible expressions of this energy, we cannot ignore the issues any longer. We are not the victim of others actions or words, as we have full choice over our own actions and reactions. We are the only thinker in our minds, so we have to take responsibility for our thoughts and change them if they are making us anything other than happy. There is help to access the layers of emotions after the New Moon, and any New Moon is the best time to start and try something new. Other influences might make it harder later in the month and If we don’t do something to clear these old energies now, they will hinder us through the month and will peak at the Full Moon.
The key to this New Moon and for the next couple of weeks is mastery, one of Scorpio’s strengths. In particular, it is mastery of the mind. For our minds are incredibly powerful and can create an experience that is far from reality.
“A person’s mind is so powerful. We can invent, create, experience, and destroy things with thoughts alone.”
The mind could get caught in a groove of old thinking, of obsessing or brooding, and we need to find a way to break out of that. We need to be prepared to step out of our comfort zone and engage deeply with our unconscious mind and programming, and to take responsibility for our actions and reactions. We have to bring the unconscious into the conscious in order to see exactly what we are dealing with. Facing our shadows, we can heal them and transform ourselves.
For now, we need to be aware, to observe what comes up, and use another of Scorpio’s strengths to strip off the layers and see what is beneath. When we trouble our minds with anything other than what actually is, right now, in the present, we give our power away and rob ourselves of happiness in the moment. Ask yourself who are you giving your power to, who or what are you blaming for not feeling happy, right now?
Past life and ancestral clearing can help to shift the layers, but we also have to deal with what we are experiencing in the present. Each thought has only the power that we give it. If we feed it, it will grow. True power, lies only in the present moment and the choice that we make in that moment.
“Real power lies not in overpowering others, but in empowering yourself.”
Both the power and the light we need comes from within. It is not something outside of ourselves that we have to bring in, we already have our own light and our own power within us. This power is not the stuff of politics, conquests or control, but an inner strength, that of empowerment. It is there for us to tap into, and here we can make positive use of our unconscious memories. For, as well as hurts, we have all experienced happiness, love and joy at some time in our lives; the smile or gurgle of a baby, the beauty of a flower, a sunset, the touch of a lover’s hand, an unexpected gift or act of kindness. We all have positive memories that we can tap into and they contain the light that can dissipate the darkness.
How does the light permeate and illuminate the darkness? Sometimes, the stream is so strong and so pure that we can have an “ah-ha” moment, an inspiration out of the blue that completely shifts our viewpoint and clears the energy instantly. Sometimes, the light increases a ray at a time and we have to peel the layers back one by one. These wounds can take us by surprise as, having already worked on them, we might believe we have cleared them, but, being layers of many lifetimes, there is more than we can know about now, and it might take many more lifetimes to completely clear them. And sometimes the light goes out and we can struggle to find it again. But the more we find, and stay in that positive energy stream, the easier it becomes each time to find it and reconnect with it. We create a new emotional response and a new emotional foundation, each time raising our energies higher than before.
Take your courage in one hand and your miner’s lamp in the other and empower yourself to chase away the shadows and light your path to a new, and brighter future.
Wishing you the brightest of New Moon blessings.
Astrology for two weeks 30th October to 14th November 2016
After the New Moon on 30th, there is a niggly relationship or money aspect on 31st, which could make us way too serious. Commitment may be an issue and we could find ourselves mulling over past loves. Whatever we find ourselves dwelling on, it is time to resolve it in our minds by letting go and embracing the future. There is a bigger picture and broader horizons beckon, if we lift out heads to see them.
As November begins we have three planets retrograde, Uranus, Neptune and Chiron and Jupiter is the only planet in an Air sign. Neptune goes direct on 20th so will be very slow for a while before. There is background tension building towards a square between Jupiter and Pluto (24th) whilst the Sun and Mercury are in the emotional depths of Scorpio.
The month (1st) begins with the culmination of an aspect that has been building all year, between the Nodes and Neptune. We need to take note of what comes up for us on this day, and what builds in the few days beforehand, as these karmic issues will be old challenges that have been flagged up several times this year already. If we have been burying our head in the sand, which is one of the possible expressions of this energy, we cannot ignore the issues any longer. We are not the victim of others actions or words, as we have full choice over our own actions and reactions. We are the only thinker in our brains, so we have to take responsibility for our thoughts and change them if they are making us anything other than happy. If we don’t do something to clear these old energies, they will hinder us through the month and will peak at the Full Moon. There is help to access the layers of emotions now, it could get harder later in the month.
On 2nd, again watch the mind, as it could be fussing and worrying over things that will not be productive in any way. Use the energies wisely to see the old pattern running the mental pattern and learn the lesson beneath its surface. As the day moves on and moves into 3rd, we have the ability to release these energies, whilst there are underlying questions about wastefulness. Where are we wasting our energies? In seeking approval from others, in avoiding looking at deep emotions and our shadow side? Are we being too self-centred?
4th brings karmic issues to the fore, with relationships, money or self-worth the key. But it’s not all heavy, as there is inspiration and innovation to turn things around and find a completely different viewpoint or new approach. Other people do not hold the key to our happiness, and if we are clinging onto someone or something, there is an underlying need within ourselves that we are not acknowledging.
On 6th and 7th, old thought patterns are again likely to pervade our minds. Somewhere, we are stuck in a rut, in a train of thought that we are clinging onto as we believe that is how we are, whereas, in reality, it is what we know how to do through habit. We may have taken some pleasure in being oppositional or challenging. Somewhere, we have been holding onto something, been controlling due to an underlying fear. We now need to face our fears, let go of control and take responsibility for both our thoughts and actions, and make changes where they are needed.
7th also has the Sun at the mid-point of Scorpio, and therefore the mid-point of this astrological season which began at the Autumn Equinox and ends at the Winter Solstice. This is Samhaim, and is a good time to assess where we are on our path, and how our plans that we made at the Equinox are panning out. Do we need to adjust our sails?
With Mars at the last degree of Capricorn on 8th, its energies are emphasised. We might feel an urgency to get things done or up to date, to organise ourselves and to make long term plans. We might be overly serious and should watch an unhealthy need to conform to rules and regulations. Often we do what we think is “right” based on the rules, regulations and traditions of our childhood, rather than expressing our true nature.
Mars changes signs on 9th, moving into Aquarius. This brings the ability to think and act outside the box and might trigger some rebellious actions, especially if we feel our freedom is being threatened, although today is not the best day to discuss any relationship difficulties. There could be a conflict between intense or obsessive thoughts and feeling the need for freedom and to spread our wings.
Neptune is beginning to slow down, preparing to go direct on 20th and it could cause confusion over the coming days. It will emphasise the karmic issues that began at the beginning of the month and might have us being overly nostalgic or unrealistic. Beware of getting lost in fantasies and escapist tendencies over the next 10 days. The energies will change significantly, once Neptune turns direct and gets going again.
The 12th brings a mixed bag of energies. Mars, representing male energy, left Capricorn on 9th and now Venus, representing female energy moves into Capricorn, leaving behind intense and passionate Scorpio. This will definitely cool relationships down as the heat subsides and duty, responsibilities and everyday life intrudes, bringing a bit of a reality check, especially if it is needed. There could be obsessive and intense thoughts, deep emotions surfacing and a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater, if we feel we are being cornered or pressured to compromise more than we want to. The cavalry is present, with compassion and the ability to tune into higher energies to see our higher purpose. What is the gift and what quality can we tune into to overturn the negative feelings? Nurturing self-love, forgiveness and compassion are possible candidates, and seeing our role in the world takes us out of the darkness of our inward thoughts.
Our thoughts and communication are prominent on 13th and we might find we are more outspoken than of late. Whilst freedom of expression is important, how we go about letting others know our thoughts and needs is important. Try and keep things light without being frivolous, and be assertive without being dictatorial.
With Jupiter closing into its square with Pluto, and Neptune virtually at a standstill the tensions of the Full Moon on 14th will be exacerbated. Pluto rules Scorpio, the sign of the Sun in this Full Moon chart which is about breaking old habits and patterns. But we must be prepared to face our deep shadows and emotions and release them. Diving gear might be required!
More on that next time!
©Terrie Celest www.astrologywise.co.uk