Planetary Energies for October 22 to 28, 2012

NorthPoint
Astrology Journal
By Pam Younghans
Photo: Auroras on October 13 over Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories(photo by Francis Anderson)

SATURN has been in Scorpio only a short time, but we're already getting a sense of what issues and themes this two-year journey will entail. Just as Saturn in Libra held us accountable for the condition and status of partnerships, Saturn in Scorpio requires us to take responsibility for our own deeper motivations, especially the fear-based ones that we often hide or mask with bravado.

Since Saturn entered Scorpio on October 5, we've already experienced large or small tests of our personal power, our ability to stand our ground under the pressure of manipulation from others. We're also testing our own need to be in control, and considering how to step beyond the fears that keep us repeating patterns of victimization and intimidation.

SATURN IN SCORPIO also challenges us to manage what we might call our "negative" emotions, those powerful and often instinctual responses we have when we feel unable to control life or other people.

We all feel anger, fear, resentment, even suspicions and jealousy at times, and yet we often don't know what to do with those intense feelings when they occur. If we act on them, we usually hurt others and then feel bad about ourselves. But if we don't express or release the darker emotions in some way, we end up hurting ourselves and undermining intimacy in our relationships. It's a complex problem, without a simple "one size fits all" answer.

WHICH BRINGS US to another Scorpio theme: Complexity. By its very nature and core motivations, Scorpio is complicated. It wants to be in control, but it also longs to be intimate, which requires vulnerability. As a reflection of that inner conflict, Scorpio often deals with things (especially other people) that feel uncontrolled and uncontrollable, but that also inspire passionate emotions and chemical reactions.

One of our challenges while Saturn is in Scorpio may "simply" be to figure out how to manage the complexities and complications of life and our emotional responses to it. Perhaps by the time we're done with this Saturn transit (which will be mostly wrapped up by December 2014), we'll have figured out better how to utilize the immense power that lies behind our emotions, and to direct that power as a force for positive change.

THESE SCORPIO THEMES are all emphasized this week. The Sun enters the sign on Monday, and then aligns with Saturn on Thursday -- the same day that Mercury aligns with the North Node, also in Scorpio.

For those who have planets or points in your natal chart in early degrees of the fixed signs (between 0 and 4 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius), this may be a pivotal week, where you are challenged to master some of the lessons we've discussed.

For everyone, here is a list of traits (from Jan Spiller's wonderful book Astrology for the Soul) that will help us move into the positive expression of the North Node in Scorpio:

• Self-discipline
• Choosing constructive change
• Releasing whatever causes stagnation and low energy, including nonuseful possessions
• Enjoying things (including people) without needing to own them
• Accepting support from others, sharing power, partnering

IT MAY BE HELPFUL, as we navigate the energies of this week, to remember the animal symbols associated with Scorpio. True to its complex nature, Scorpio is the only sign that has two animal symbols -- and even a third (or more) that are also sometimes used.

The animal traditionally associated with Scorpio is, of course, the Scorpion. These animals look fairly intimidating, they have a hard shell, they can sting, and some even have poisonous venom. They are predators and they are tough. This description corresponds with the lower-vibrational traits of Scorpio.

Which means we must look to the second animal symbol for our guidance when dealing with Scorpio lessons. The next most-commonly used mascot for Scorpio is the Eagle. Eagle represents the ability of Scorpio to see clearly and with great insight, and to utilize spiritual power (instead of emotional, mental, or physical manipulation).

ONE OF MY FAVORITE resources for understanding animal symbology is Ted Andrews' book Animal Speak -- and here's what he writes about what Eagle requires of us:

• Involvement with creativity.
• A willingness to experience extremes in a controlled condition and thus facilitate the alchemical process within your life.
• A willingness to use your passions to purify (flying into the sun) and to use your abilities, even if it means being scorched a little.
• A willingness to seek out the true emotional aspects of oneself and immerse yourself within them, and by doing so rediscover the lost child and awaken a higher sense of purity, passion, creativity, healing, and spirituality.

Each one of the items on this list expresses the higher manifestation of Scorpio's innate characteristics. They also point us toward the third Scorpio animal totem -- the Phoenix.

As we work with these strong Scorpio energies, we will emulate the Phoenix, embracing a purification process as a vital step in our evolution. By allowing the emotions and negativity of the past to be burned away, we, like the Phoenix, can then rise from the ashes, renewed and reborn.

Blessings,

Pam

NorthPoint Astrology Blog: For occasional updates during the week, please visit http://northpointastrology.blogspot.com/ -- I look forward to your comments! To Subscribe to the NorthPoint Journal: If you have been forwarded this issue of my NorthPoint Astrology Journal and would like to receive it directly every week, please click here. Then, scroll down to the bottom of the webpage, fill out the subscription form, and click on Submit. To request a personal astrology reading, please e-mail Pam at pam@northpointastrology.com. Or, see the "Readings" page at www.northpointastrology.com to learn more. Please feel free to share this NorthPoint Journal with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Copyright NorthPoint Astrology 2012. All Rights Reserved.