Soulful Scorpio

Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 22) is the sign of the Scorpion – but don’t worry: the truth is more complex. There’s more to you than your stinger!

Scorpio is a Fixed Water sign. As you know, we divide the 12 Zodiac signs among the four ancient elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water), and the three signs in each element are further divided into Cardinal (primary example), Fixed (set in its ways), and Mutable (changing). So your Scorpion is water that is sometimes set in its ways – or, still waters, running very deep. That’s part of what gives you your tenacity, your ability to stick to things you love – whether projects, people, or principles. Scorpios feel things deeply, and when they commit, they tend to commit utterly. Some of the happiest marriages are those in which one partner is a Scorpio (and we’re not just talking about the generally superior sex).

The Scorpion and its season also offer hidden reservoirs of spiritual power and change: a great well at which we can all renew our spirits. So this time of year is good for people of all signs to meditate, let go of unwanted conditions and habits, and open their hearts to move forward toward their best and highest purposes in life.

You may have heard that Scorpios are moody, secretive and hyper-sexual, and some astrological writing focuses on the dark side of the sign: the possessiveness, the tendency to get jealous, the various ways in which this passionate nature can get twisted or perverted. But there are lots of happy Scorpions! – people who know themselves, and whose partners know their need to throw themselves into… nearly everything they do (including that generally fantastic sex). Scorpios who align their energies with their intense passions tend to be extraordinary productive, and distinctly contented.

Astrologers identify three distinct types of Scorpios that they see as forming a continuum, or ladder, of spiritual self-realization – from low to high. These types represent times of birth within the sign, but may also indicate phases in the ongoing and cyclical development of an individual Scorpion.

• The primal Scorpion, from the murky, watery depths, proclaims “Don’t tread on me – or I’ll sting you! Maybe I’ll sting you anyway!” This proves, anyway, that the Scorpion is more expressive than many give it credit for. So much for the “secretive” part: Scorpios don’t tend to be passive-aggressive.

• The familiar alternate symbol for the scorpion is the Eagle,
soaring high. It will fight nobly, and take “an eye for an eye” – but only to
defend itself, or those it loves.

• The Dove, however, has transcended all notions of violence, and is filled with peace and universal love. After all, it’s important to remember that Gandhi was a Scorpio. At this stage of development, the Scorpion is much more of a lover than a fighter. (And what a lover. Did we mention the sex?)

In ancient Greek and Roman terms, this highest form of the Scorpion, the Dove, was the sacred bird of Aphrodite, or Venus – the Goddess of Love. The Dove also symbolizes God’s covenant with man, appearing first in the Old Testament as the bird that finds the olive branch after the Great Flood of Noah’s time. In the New Testament, the Dove always correlates with the Holy Spirit, and appears first at Jesus’s baptism. Scorpions therefore also embody a promise of spiritual cleansing – very appropriate for this water sign par excellence!

If you’re trying to understand a Scorpio in your life, or you are yourself one of these fascinating, complex creatures, remind yourself that astrology is more than merely your Sun sign. It also has to do with the positions of the planets – at birth and over time – and the “progression” of your birth chart through the signs as you age. So there are doubtless other aspects of your chart that balance out the passion you are blessed and cursed with as an intense Scorpio. You’re no more a slave to your feelings than is anyone else, but being in touch with your emotions is important if you are going to cooperate with them. And once you do that, you can harness them to your own best purposes.

And there is nothing a Scorpio is better at than continual renewal — of their own spirits, and the spirits of those around them.