SCORPIO 2019

What images come to mind when you read these words:

DEEP WATER

Some people will think of bodies of water that have great depth, such as the ocean or a glacial lake that no one has found the bottom of yet, and some people will think of shallow pools and trickles of water, deep in crevices of the earth. Some people will see crystals and treasure, and some people will see sea monsters.

Symbolically, water corresponds to emotions. This month, we will both find water buried in deep places, and we will find ourselves immersed within deep bodies of water. In each of these instances, treasures and wonders are uncovered. And in each of these instances, we may feel out of our depth, afraid of the unknown, or overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we are experiencing.

We have a tool for this situation, though:

The breath unconsciously shifts with the emotions. For example, anger stimulates short, rapid bursts of breath, while anxiety and fear stimulate shallow breathing, and sadness stimulates slower, intermittent breathing. There are many flavors of not enough air. An emotion stimulates its attending breath pattern, and then the breath pattern maintains the emotion. Herein lies the power of practicing deep, steady breathing in and out. For a neutral state, count during your inhalations and exhalations, and make them the same length of time. Shift how you breathe, and this will shift how you feel.

Sun in Scorpio: 10/23/19 - 11/22/19

In many ways, Scorpio time is truth time. This year, we have an extra strong impulse to uncover hidden truths due to Mercury's retrograde in Scorpio (see below). You'll feel this individually, in your relationships, and you'll also see this on the world stage. For herbs, inquiries, and insights into all things Scorpio, please read this post.

New moon in Scorpio: 10/27/19 at 8:39 pm PDT

Expect to feel emotions in a big way at this moon, especially emotions that have been building for a while. While a new moon in Scorpio is classically a very internal time, on and around 10/27, you'll feel instead that deeply buried pains, desires, and emotions are being drawn out of you by both outer circumstances and inner ripening. Now that these things are coming to light...

...What support can you draw upon at this time to help you bring these deeply emerging feelings and circumstances to resolution?

The moral of this story is reach out to others.

Mercury retrograde: 10/31/19 - 11/20/19

With Mercury (ruler of respiration) retrograding in Scorpio (a sign of deep emotions), we will benefit from breathing through our emotions. Generally, during this retrograde, we are re-thinking our root systems:

How does your ancestry influence your attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions?

Can you perceive the deeper desires beneath your cravings?

Can you perceive the desires and/or fears beneath your aversions?

What can you learn about your own "shadow" by noticing the people and situations in the world that bother you the most?

For more on this and other Mercury retrogrades, and all about how to work with this sometimes pesky influence, please read here.

Full moon in Taurus: 11/12/19 at 5:34 am PST

Let's call this moon the Great Wave Moon. Rather than a tidal wave or a tsunami, this moon has the quality of many great waves hitting the shore of our hearts, crashing in and pulling back out to sea with drama. You'll find anchoring and balancing points in the midst of this turbulence in -

- holding fast to your beliefs, and

- staying in the present moment. When you're feeling a big emotion, ask yourself:

Am I thinking about the past or the future?

What's actually happening right now, right around me in this moment?

What's happening in my body, and in my breath?

For more on working with the energy of Taurus, please read here.

Next month...

Jupiter begins its yearlong transit through Capricorn (revisit Jupiter in Sagittarius here), and Neptune and Chiron station direct, as we begin to approach the next eclipse season (December 2019 & January 2020). Until then, you may schedule with me here. Wishing you a deep and resolving month - Rae