New Moon in Scorpio: The Gift of Pain and The Courage to Change

Sometimes it is pain that gives us the impetus to change, so make it conscious and let it be a messenger with a gift. A new iteration of your body-mind-spirit needs to come into existence.

Alex Grey, Metamorphosis (2005)

This Thursday, we welcome the New Moon in the fixed water sign of Scorpio, with two powerful creatures affiliated with its sign: the Scorpion and the Eagle. Scorpio season can be likened to the phoenix rising from the ashes, ruled by Pluto, lord of transformation. Make no bones about it, this month’s New Moon comes railing at us to make necessary changes in our lives. The energy is akin to the saying, Let Go, or Be Dragged. Sometimes it is pain that gives us the impetus to change, so make it conscious to the best of our ability and let it be a messenger with a gift.

What’s particularly tough about this New Moon is that both Sun/Moon in Scorpio are in opposition to Uranus in Taurus and square Saturn in Aquarius – a T-square in fixed signs [the fixed signs are Scorpio (water), Taurus (earth), Aquarius (air) and Leo (fire)]. We now have three of the four facing off and arguing. These are signs that like structure and stability; they (1) do not like change, (2) don’t change easily, and (3) take change very seriously, because when they commit, they dig in for the duration.

Major Life Adjustments

When it comes to the category of Major Life Adjustments knocking on our evolutionary door, we cannot say, Oh, this. This doesn’t apply to me. I make my own mind up. This is a free will universe…I’m going to make it happen no matter what… yadda, yadda, yadda. Saying these things is akin to saying, I myself (ego) can stop the oceans’ tides and I can move mountains with my own desires. Well, some of that is true – you are interconnected with everyone and everything in the Universe. Yet, right now we are talking about forces beyond our control that will make themselves known, whether through pain or through a soul that screams to wake you up.

Some of us, like my Triple Leo (triple fixed fire!) friend I spoke with the other day, are feeling the first, unignorable rumblings. “I know something has to give. I’ve got to make some changes. I’m so stressed out. I simply cannot take this anymore.” If you fall into that camp in some area of your life, you know who you are, and I have a message for you: LISTEN UP. The earth (Uranus in Taurus) is quaking. The ground is shaking. Like Carole King, Motown’s soulful songwriter sang in ’71, “I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet.” Feel that? That’s the rocking and rolling of your soul’s evolution.

The Ground is Shaking

You are being forced by Nature to change, to EVOLVE. That means that something big in your life must be given up in order to make room for the new. Normally, it could be a belief system or way of thinking that has to go. But with these fixed sign aspects, I garner it involves something rather concrete: a specific relationship, a profession or job, a home or city you need to move from. It can also be a shift in life status, such as from being single to married, partnered to uncoupled, footloose and fancy free to rooted. It can feel like the very bones, the structure, of life as you’ve known it for a long chapter, has suddenly gotten a ginormous chiropractic adjustment. It’s going to need a bit of time to integrate. Think of the muscles, the sinew, ligaments, lymph around a skeleton – they’ll take time to reorient anew around the new structures, the new “bones.”

Many of us are in a Death Process. In order for the next thing to emerge, like the butterfly from the cocoon, the caterpillar must die. I know this sounds dramatic or horrific – how can I let go of this form, this thing that has served me well for a chunk of my life, a whole chapter of existence? You can because you know you must. The form must pass because a new iteration of your body-mind-spirit needs to come into existence for the good of the whole, for the entirety of Life Itself, of which you are not separate. That is how we know it is necessary.

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” ~ Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)

Here are a couple hints to help make it endurable:

First, know that this evolution is always for the ultimate highest good. The personal changes you are experiencing are the microcosm as a reflection of the macro, the Whole, the Collective. It’s for the best, this change, for everyone and everything. Remembering this can help make it a bit easier to bear.

Second, think of other times in your life you would have labeled A Great and Horrible Challenge. Times of difficulty where you felt Life was dragging you by the hair into a new position. You got through it, remember? You grew. You were better off. It was unbearable, but you bore it, and you were stronger and wiser for it. And hindsight showed you how absolutely necessary it was to bring you to this place, this here and now, this moment in time.

Third, get support. Seek out an excellent counselor or spiritual advisor, or a rock-solid, trusted friend - someone (and this is important) who has lived through these sorts of conscious transformations themselves, with integrity and humility.

Fourth, take care of the Inner Child. She or he is of the utmost priority, your number one concern. Listen to her, or him, speak to you through the body, the nervous system, the emotions, the dreamtime. Recommit to the Little One inside that you will never, ever leave them or let them down. You’re going to protect them, and/or you will find a way to get protection from outside. Reassure them you’ll stay by their side through this transmogrification.

A Leap of Faith

At this time of the New Moon in Scorpio, our job is to pay extraordinarily close attention to any internal voices saying, “I can’t take it anymore!” or “It’s not working!” Get clear, best you can, on what’s not working; be honest with yourself. Allow that part of life or part of self that is obviously finished to enter the funeral pyre. Be as willing as possible. Resistance can create more pain.

Have faith. The Scorpio Eagle promises that you will rise from the ashes. When and how, you won’t yet know, yet it will be a whole lot less painful if you go through it willingly. Life did not bring you this to make you miserable. It’s because your gifts, life force, energies will be needed in another arena in a new chapter. You will not know yet what is on the other side of this metamorphosis. You don’t need to know how it’s all going to unfold. Right now, it’s important that you LISTEN and are WILLING.

It’s a leap of faith to emerge from the chrysalis. As a butterfly, your whole life will look different, a brand-new expression of beauty. But first, the old and outdated story must go. It’s time. Trust the process.

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.