Astrology-Central

Scorpio: Divinatory Meaning

Scorpio (8th house) is the Death sign and it is – in terms of the Soul and Personality. The Personality must die and give way to the Soul. It is the only sign with three symbols, indicating the mental, physical and emotional parts of the personality: the Scorpion who would rather sting himself to death than to pass up a chance at revenge, the Eagle who can fly close to the sun (Spirit), and the Phoenix who rises out of his own ashes. Where you find Scorpio in your chart is where transformation and resurrection must take place.

All water signs are emotional, but Scorpions are particularly irrational when it comes to their emotions. They go to extremes, in both positive and negative respects. There is only black and white in the world of the Scorpion; no gray areas. If you are not their friend, then you are by default their enemy, and you will most definitely be treated that way. As the Left Column of the water signs, Scorpios have a tremendous desire for power and control, and seek these measures at any cost. They do not waver, they do not falter, and they stay their course with total determination and strength, which can sometimes result in unnecessary force and violence.

Pluto rules life and death (transformation and ressurection), as well as the power and energy of the seed, which at best manifests itself as new life. It also gives Scorpios deep sexual desires that are rooted in the compulsion to propagate the human race. In their efforts to “be fruitful and multiply,” Scorpios can go so far as to damage their reproductive and sexual organs, leading to impotency, infertility, and cancer. Scorpio is a fixed sign, which means that they do not like change and want to harness total control over their lives and the lives of those around them. Their greatest fear is to lose control. In the Scorpio world of extremes, love is everything. If they feel their love is not reciprocated, this love can turn into hate. It is very difficult for Scorpios to forgive and forget. The typical Scorpio will not rest until he has hunted you down!

Scorpios see the world in black and white. People and relationships are being measured as friends and enemies. They are thorough; that is why they are not so easy to get along with. They can see right through you. A common physical trait are their penetrating eyes. They have the ability to find your weaknesses and strike. They are formidable enemies.

Scorpio is the symbol of sex and Scorpios are passionate lovers, the most sensually energetic of all the signs. For them, union with the beloved is a sacrament, discovering the meaning of that union which is greater than individuality, and is a marriage of the spirit as well as of flesh. They are capable of the greatest heights of passionate transport, but debauchery and perversion are always dangers, and Scorpios can become sadistic monsters of sensuality and eroticism.

They are good business people. They love money, money is power, and Power is everything — but they are truly powerful when they do not seek it for themselves. They are also good in politics, medicine, and research. They have the potential to be honest and straight, or go to the other way, to be famous mobsters and members of the crime world. It is no coincidence that the mob world is called the "Underworld" and is exactly what Pluto rules!

Scorpio’s biggest challenge is to use their power and talent for good, to relinquish control, to compromise with others. Scorpios get along with other water signs (Pisces and Cancer) and earth signs (Taurus, Capricorn and Virgo). It is very hard for Scorpios to get along with fire signs, especially with Leo, being the Left Column of fire opposite the water. Air signs also have trouble with Scorpio, since the Scorpio is too controlling and possessive, and no one can control air. As hard as they are to get along with, it is through cooperation within relationships, that they will achieve transformation. Their goals are reached through service, purity, compassion, and humility. Then they are truly magnanimous. Then they can be the strongest and most positive people to bring Light into the world.

 KEYWORDS for Scorpio

Medically Speaking

Scorpio governs the pelvis and reproductive and urinary systems and its subjects are said to be prone to ailments of the liver and kidneys, stones and gravel in the bladder or genitals, and other genital ills such as priapism. Abscesses, boils, carbuncles, fistulas, piles, ruptures and ulcers may also affect the Scorpions. 

Kabbalistic Connection

The astrological month of Scorpio, or as it is called in Hebrew Mar-Cheshvan (Bitter Cheshvan), is the Left column water sign, and is ruled by the plant Mars (Ma’adim) and Pluto.

The Book of Formation speaks of seven planets in the solar system. In the last century, three more planets were revealed and as a result, Pluto has been found to bear influence on the sign of Scorpio.

Mars, the traditional ruler of the month of Scorpio, is the planet and Greek god of war, which makes all Scorpios warriors who have the drive to eliminate their enemy no matter what toll it takes on anyone else. This is the hardest Tikun (correction) of Scorpions – to find the Central Column, control the urge to avenge, and to live, love and let go. Mar-Cheshvan, as the month is formally known, in Hebrew means bitter Cheshvan. However, it can be transformed into Ram Cheshvan (elevated Cheshvan). Our job throughout the month is to transform that which is bitter into sweet, that which is lowly to lofty. It takes a strong consciousness and self-control to achieve this transformation.

John of Berry’s Petites Heures
France, Paris 14th Century.

Pluto entered the sign of Capricorn on January 2008 and remains therein until 2024.

Regardless of what modern astronomers think of Pluto, it is still a potent and ultimately powerful indicator in the astrological chart.

Pluto was Lord of the Underword and still rules issues of rebirth (Phoenix rising from the ashes), transformation, hidden knowledge, alchemy – incredibly intense.

And indeed, Pluto rules Scorpio, the only sign with three symbols: the Scorpion who would rather sting itself to death than miss the revenge opportunity (lowest version), the Eagle who soars above all the fray, and the Phoenix Transformed rising out of its own destruction – ashes (highest expression of Scorpio).

Anyone who has survived a major Pluto transit knows what I am talking about. I had a transits over my Asxcendant and yes, it was a complete breaking-down and rebuilding experience.

So now Pluto shifts into the earthy pragmatic sign of Capricorn. It can bog down, confined by Saturnian structions and strictures – or it can build amazing Enlightenment into Saturn’s practicality. It can imbue Pluto’s transformation with solid footings and usefulness.

As Pluto leaves Sagittarius we move from huge changes in the religious and philosophical realms, changtes in our perceptions of foreign cultures – to the Tangible, the Solid, the Reliable.

Pluto digs deep to uncover the truth – so what is it we need to investigate in Big Business (Saturn ruled) – look at the banking and auto conglomerates. How have we built the sturctures in our lives – our financial world, our personal ties, our health issues. Anything we have neglected will be tested.

Get busy and find out (pay attention to) what’s not working, what is corrupted, and begin woring on the re-building – the Trqansformation. There will be issues of power, control, greed (Blogojevich), sex, abuse, old crystallized concepts and imbalance energy being pushed up to reveal itself for awareness and transmutation. Saturn ruling the public 10th house, the Truth will be exposed so change can happen. And it drags out – Pluto moves ever so slowly – only about 2 degrees a year!

It is time to get serious and tend to business. There is no escaping it. That’s is Saturn’s message. Wherever it is in your chart, is where you need to get focused. It is where you will be focused!

Just look at what has already happened in politics, organizations, businesses, and governments! Sagittarian insights now must be incorporated in the structures you build today. And what are these "structures" – just the everyday choices you make. They determine your future. That is how you build a life. What do you believe in? Live it!

Ultimately, there will be areas of deconstruction so that you can build again. Starting over. It is not easy, not a happy experience, but it is there and cannot be ignored. For those willing to get into the core and to look inside and to make the changes, your world and your life will improve immeasurably.

Hades is not to be soothed, neither overcome, wherefore he is most hated by mortals of all gods. [Agamemnon. Homer, Iliad 9.158] blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships! – Homer.

PLUTO represents the drive to transform, to completely change, to dig into the  deepest, darkest parts of the self. It can urge us to be destructive, but also to bring about positive reformation and complete changes. It connects to the deepest, unconscious side of the personality, and the realms of the collective unconscious; so through Pluto we can be swept along with the flood tides of collective change. This occurs outwardly through death and destruction but there is a part of us that is compulsively attracted to the darker side of humanity, so it is often experienced as an urge to investigate and uncover the complex issues of the human condition. We might call it the urge to turn life into something entirely new by completely destroying old habits, old relationships, old affiliations, so as to effect rebirth of some part of the psyche. It represents our fascination with evil, and dark forces, but is an instinctive understanding that freedom is found by eliminating parts of the self and life that tie us too close to material life. Thus it represents the highest and deepest form of death and rebirth to a spiritual dimension. It can evoke violence and forceful passions in people and as a collective energy can have a mass effect as much as a personal one.

Pluto symbolizes the capacity to change totally and forever a person’s lifestyle, thought and behavior. Pluto rules all the powerful forces of creation and destruction. Pluto is transcendental courage and guts. It gives us new life by forcing us to face death. It destroys to rebuild, and it kills the old self that we may be born anew. It charts the rise and fall of all civilizations and power structures. It rules groups, syndicates and all who pool their resources to boost their power. It can release wealth and opportunity never before dreamed of. It is sexuality and fertility, and represents the secrets of biology and the mysteries of creation. Pluto is linked to the sign of Scorpio and the Eighth House. Pluto revolves around the sun once every two hundred and forty-eight years. In a natal chart, the aspects and position of Pluto indicate areas of life in which the subject is capable of making fundamental changes, for better or for worse.

The Greek ‘Plouton’ is derived from ploutos ‘wealth’, which according to an ancient scholar originally referred to grain. This fits Pluto’s association with the Earth and his role as the husband of the fertility goddess Persephone, though it says nothing of the astrological Pluto. But Pluto’s role as a god of death is clearly appropriate to its astrological influence.

Pluto transits the chart in 248 years (about 1° per year).

MYTHOLOGY:

The planet received this name because it’s so far from the Sun that it is in perpetual darkness – the position that Saturn was thought to be in, in antiquity.

Anubis was the Egyptian god of the dead. Later he was superseded in that role by Osiris. He reached the Greeks as Hades who was the son of the Titans Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea and the brother of Zeus (Jupiter) and Poseidon ( Neptune ).

When the three brothers divided up the universe after they had deposed their father, Cronus, Hades was awarded the underworld. He was originally considered a fierce and unyielding god, deaf to prayers and unappeased even by sacrifices. In later cults and popular belief the milder and more beneficent aspects of the god were stressed. Believed to be the bestower of the blessings hidden in the earth, such as mineral wealth and crops, Pluto also displayed another aspect as Dis or Orcus, the giver of wealth.

The idea was that Ouranos, the father of the gods, had disintegrated and descended physically from Heaven to Earth, whereupon Gaia bore a metaphysical image of Ouranos in the sky, henceforth to be called Mount Olympus, and a metaphysical image of his ‘children’, henceforth to be called the gods.

Pluto Rules :	Scorpio (along with Mars)
Exalted Degree :	15 Leo
Detriment :	Taurus
Fall :	Aquarius
House ruled :	8th house
Day Ruled :	none
Persons Represented :	mother-figures, loved ones, family members. People connected with death and dying.
Keywords: creation, destruction Colors, Stones : blue, green, ochre, Jades, ceramics
	Pluto’s modern symbol is astrologically irrelevant whereas the symbol preferred by some is the circle poised above a crescent of receptiveness elevated above a cross of matter.

IN THE CHART

Third of the Modern planets – those discovered in modern times and not seen with the naked eye.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and takes 248 years to go around the Sun. Though very small, its influence is completely disproportionate to its size. It brings total transformations. Drawing deep psychological issues up out of the unconsciousness it has a purging function. Its influence focuses on power and power misuse, or feelings of alienation. Pluto has a very irregular orbit and can be in any one Sign from 14 years in the 20th century – to over 30 years at other times. Its influence in a Sign is felt more on a collective than a personal level. The Sign position of Pluto shows in what area of society total transformations take place – often with rather catastrophic consequences. Pluto roots out basic imbalances, replacing corruption with something totally new. It brings a death and rebirth process. The House position of Pluto shows in what specific area of your life you focus too intensely and have a corrupt or fanatic drive for intensity or control. This area shows where you have experienced trauma – at some point in the life a total transformation will take place here. In this area the doors to your unconscious will open. The aspects Pluto makes show the most intense psychological drives in your personality. In these areas of your personality you will be most magnetic and dominating. This stems from an unconscious need for control, which in turn stems from a deep fear of being powerless. Crises and transformation will arise in these areas.

Pluto has a very irregular orbit and can be in any one Sign from 14 to over 30 years and its influence in a sign is felt more on a collective than a personal level. It shows in what area of society transformations take place – often with rather catastrophic consequences.

Pluto roots out basic imbalances, replacing corruption with something totally new. It brings a death and rebirth process. Though very small, its influence is completely disproportionate to its size.

On a personal level it can bring total transformation, drawing deep psychological issues up out of the unconsciousness and purging them; this means being broken down to the point where you must rebuild yourself completely. Been there, done that; not fun. Its influence focuses on power and the misuse of power or feelings of alienation and the experience of trauma. Its action is to isolate, transmute and re-enforce.

How Pluto will manifest its energy depends on the horoscope as a whole. The Sign (and its Element), the House in which it falls, and the Aspects to the other planets will all have a bearing on any interpretation.

It represents the urge to Transform or Regenerate and the start of New Beginnings. Pluto shows the most intense psychological drives in your personality. In these areas of your personality you will be at your most magnetic and dominating.

MEDICAL PLUTO

Just as your Sun sign represents your true identity in this life, Pluto’s house represents an old pattern of identity from the past. It is a past pattern of life that is carried over into this life. We can say that Pluto’s house is that area of life where complete regeneration is needed. Compulsive behavior and even ruthlessness needs to be transformed into willful intentions yielding great powers of perception and insight into the subtle forces of life. Plutonian people can make great healers simply by touch or vision.

The aspects of Pluto to other planets gives an indication as to how that transformation can bring new understanding and regeneration. Whether the aspect is "hard" as in square or opposition, or "easy" as in a trine or sextile, determines whether one has an innate knowing, or will meet some hard karmic destiny. There is an enormous potential for power by discovering those fields of experience in the house of Pluto. It heals when it is tapped.

PATHOLOGICAL TENDENCIES: Medically, Pluto’s energy is concerned with eliminative processes, both physical and spiritual. The energy represented by Pluto is life-giving and cleansing. Pluto’s transits are said to destroy the old forms in order to bring in the new. It’s pathological manifestations are abscesses, malignancies, ulcers, and poisonous bites.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY: Reproduction, defecation, expulsion of waste matter.

Pluto rules the prostate, tumors, hormones, cancer cells, asthma, hay fever, polyps, finger and toe nails, skin ailments.

CLASSICAL ASSOCIATIONS

none as the ancients did not know of the existence of this planet