posted November 05, 2010 01:49 AM         

For OpEdNews: Cathy Lynn Pagano - Writer

"I wonder why people are so fascinated by the dead and yet can't bear to discuss their own mortality, the inevitability of their own death and more to the point, if their actions and life choices really do matter in the hereafter? . . . [Why this] fascination with reaching those who have gone before us why? To make sure they arrived safely? To finish unfinished business? To somehow ensure ourselves that there is life after death? And yet, when it comes to participating in discussions about our own mortality, that tends to be off limits. We don't really spend any "quality time" . . . reflecting upon whether the choices we make actually matter to our soul and our own inevitable journey into the hereafter. It's as if others can die, but we won't. " Caroline Myss

Scorpio New Moon 2010 by Cathy Pagano

The Scorpio New Moon, occurring on November 5th at 9:52pm Pacific time and on November 6th at 12:52 Eastern time, is very powerful this year because it sits alone in the sky. It makes no major aspects to other planets, and so we are left alone with ourselves to dive deep and explore the scorpionic themes of death and rebirth. The new seeds we plant must gestate in darkness for a while.

With the Sun in Scorpio, we've reached the death aspect of the cycle of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere. And the truth is our culture has a hard time facing not only the concept of death but its reality. Death is viewed as "Evil' by Western religions, and perhaps because of this attitude, we have created a culture that is killing the world.

What we are afraid of fascinates us. Why else could Hollywood sell all those stupid horror movies that leave horrific images imprinted in our soul's vocabulary? How could we allow our corporations to poison our food, the air, the oceans and waters all in the name of progress and profits?

Why do we fight death in all the wrong places?

We do not take death as our advisor, as don Juan taught Carlos Castaneda to do. We do not ask our death to give us strength to live fully. We do not say "Give me liberty or give me death!" Western culture has cut death off from life, unlike the ancient Goddess religions which knew that life and death and rebirth are part of the life cycle. When we reject the cosmic laws of our human nature and deny the place of Death in Life, we find ourselves living in a meaningless world. When that happens, the worst of us comes out.

That's what Scorpio's work is all about the struggle to let go and let things die; the struggle to release old emotional wounds that keep us from transforming our egos and connecting with the Self. That's why Scorpio is such a powerful and intense sign Scorpio deals with stuck and festering feelings that have turned into the dragons and horrors of our lives. That's the work we all must do at this time of year to release what no longer serves our lives.

As Ms. Myss goes on to say, our fascination with Vampires is an interesting example of this fear of death. Our society gets so caught up in trying to stay young until we die that we've put all our value on staying physically "alive' without regard to our soul's health.

" the Vampire - which is actually an aggressive, dark force, is now viewed as the archetype that promises PHYSICAL immortality blended with romantic love. Ha. The truth is the Vampire sucks the blood out of a person's 5th chakra, absconding with her or his will power, possessing their "immortal soul". Kids are now enamored of this dark archetype, as if they are under a massive collective dark spell in which it is THEY who cannot see their image in the mirror. It is the society that cannot see that it has become soulless, having sold itself for false values of immortal PHYSICAL life and an obsession with vanity and youth." Caroline Myss

I looked into the vampire craze myself a few months back and discovered that while Ann Rice's Interview with a Vampire was published in 1976, most of her other books and shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out in the late 80s and 90s, while Pluto was moving through Scorpio. Pluto in Scorpio(11/83 to 11/95) worked on bringing up the dirt on sexual perversion, greed and power so we could transform our old and outdated emotional attachments to sexuality, power and money. While many of us found this a transformative time, the media took the most negative aspects of this "looking into the dark' and ran with it. You can see that our cultural view of sexuality has changed since then due, in part, to the sex appeal of Vampire heroes. Our little girls dress up like "hookers' now for Halloween! Where did we gone wrong?

The Pluto in Scorpio generation are now young adults and their interest in vampires might be due to trying to redeem the Dark within themselves and within the culture. Most of the new Vampire series make some of the Vampires good, while just as many are still evil. Depending on the writer, there is a struggle going on between good and evil in these books. But our media-controlled society seems to have taken a wrong turn and focused on the blood and sex and immortality.

I agree that it is a fascination with physical immortality that has many people hooked. I myself would opt out of that one. I believe there are many other more interesting worlds to discover and experience, so no I don't want this particular body and ego to be immortal. But that's because I've worked on becoming conscious of my soul. And if we can get our society to understand the soulful qualities of life once again, perhaps our fascination with the "living dead' will turn to a deeper sense of Life. Otherwise, we will continue to live in a dying world, sacrificed on the altar of Capitalism.

Scorpio is the sign that deals with death and transformation, as well as the taboos (vampires) that we fear. Money, sex and death are just part of Scorpio's repertoire. Scorpio is a watery, fixed sign and it deals with the emotional values we attach to the ideas of money, sex, power and death - values that we share with our culture and which keep us from discovering our own unique take on these issues.

The Scorpio struggle is not with Death, but with those very emotions that hold us to a life that no longer serves us. Shame on my baby boomer generation for refusing to grow old gracefully! Instead, we often act more childish than our children when we fear the physical slowing down that comes with age. We DO NOT take Death as our Advisor! And so we continue to allow politicians to instill fear in us of terrorists, of diseases, of poverty which in turn keeps us from the freedom that Scorpio promises. For it is emotional freedom and trust that allows us to open ourselves to the deep intimacy that is another of Scorpio's treasures.
Which reminds me that this Scorpio new Moon happens at the same degree as the Venus retrograde 14* Scorpio. So this new Moon will highlight the need for deep connection that Venus is in search of on her journey to the underworld.

The Sabian Symbol for the Sun and Moon at 14* Scorpio is: Telephone lineman at work installing new connections the need to establish new channels of communications.

Since Venus is the great Connector in mythology and astrology, She is trying to tell us that the new channels of communication must be based on LOVE. Good communication between people depends on our ability to open ourselves in trust to the Other without fear and anger. If we can trust ourselves to stand up for what we believe in, we do not have to fight with someone who does not hold to our beliefs. We just have to state what we believe to be the Truth and then pass the "talking stick' and let the next person have their say.

One of Scorpio's ruling planets, Mars, is in Sagittarius, and we might find we are compelled to seek the truth. Whoever is most passionate and most aligned with Truth will hold their own and perhaps even convince someone else of that Truth. Scorpio's other ruling planet, Pluto, is conjunct the North Node in Capricorn, revealing just how broken our cultural system is. Isn't it time to create a new society based on Truth and fairness?

So on Election Day in the US and afterwards, let's all try to keep those lines of communication open, because we are all in this together as Jon Stewart so elegantly put it at The Rally to Restore Sanity. (check out my blog on Jon's chart.)

While the Scorpio new Moon doesn't connect to other planets, we are still under the influence of the Cardinal T-Square (Saturn in Libra, Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus/Jupiter in Pisces), so the tension for transformation is still stressing us out.

Both Chiron and Neptune stop and turn to direct motion within a day of the Scorpio new Moon. Both these planets are hovering around America's Aquarian Moon, bringing us the hope that we can heal ourselves and the world if we just get the vision right. For a wonderful article on Neptune on America's Moon, please read Rick DiClemente's Starself newsletter.

Mercury in Scorpio squares the Chiron/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius, using the deep investigative ability of Scorpio to ferret out the delusions and deceptions that keep us from seeing clearly. Mercury also trines the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction at the end of Pisces opening us to clear insights into our collective longings.

Stay tuned. Venus heads back into Libra on Sunday, November 7th to bring her new insights into our relationships. Venus and Jupiter both turn direct on November 18th. It should be a great day!

November is a time to be grateful for what we have. We in America have an abundance of good things even in hard times. So let us remember Gratitude, even in the face of Death.

Bright Blessings on us all!

Cathy Pagano, M.A.
http://www.wisdom-of-astrology.com