The 2018 Scorpio New Moon reaches its maximum phase at 8:02a PST on Wednesday 7th November 2018 (15.18°), opening a doorway to a strange new world in which major transformation is occurring on a number of levels and we are deeply uncertain of exactly what is to come. New Moons often call upon us to take steps towards the light of new beginnings and fresh starts, and this 2018 Scorpio New Moon phase is absolutely no exception.
Yet this is an interesting time as we’re in the aftermath (or in some cases, in the midst) of a major election cycle in the United States, and other national elections are occurring in countries around the world. There are also military conflicts and genocides occurring. The results of these events and interactions are reshaping the social, societal, diplomatic, and economic landscapes of the world let alone our individual nations.
Even more important is how these changes are affecting our individual lives… and that is where the strangeness of this “new world” is most acutely experienced.
Many of us are uncomfortable proceeding into such an uncertain future. We’re used to having certain societal structures and standards in place, and to aligning our personal and public goals and ambitions with those standards and institutions. Yet in the face of such instability, how can we earnestly plan for the future? How we can we feel good about the steps we are taking when we are so unclear about where they will lead?
That’s actually the beauty of this 2018 Scorpio New Moon! We don’t have a road map. We don’t have a structure. We don’t have guidelines or rules. We don’t have standards we have to uphold. We can create our own rules for ourselves! We can do whatever we want! We can go our own ways!
And that’s both a good thing and maybe too much of a good thing.
That’s because some of us will try to move forward in new directions while adhering to the old rules of engagement. Others of us will try to move forward in new directions while ignoring as many of the old rules as possible, either having complete disregard for what came before or changing the rules in our own favor… if not simply making up new rules as we go along. These questions about rules and standards will only make this process a more frustrating one as people are trying to create a clearly-defined playing field, and the goalposts and boundary lines seem to keep moving…
…but that’s because they’re supposed to move. Right now, there is no level or stable playing field. We are being called upon to go our own ways to do our own things within what little societal structure remains, and that is challenging each and all of us to dig deep to figure out what it is we really want for ourselves and our lives on emotional and spiritual levels we rarely explore.
The conjunction of the Scorpio 22 Sun and the Scorpio Moon is the focal point of the day as it forms the 2018 Scorpio New Moon. With the current 22 universal month energy (numerologically speaking), we are more aware of our connections – our relationships of all kinds, our associations, our affiliations – and how those connections emotionally and spiritually support us.
- How deep are these connections?
- Are we connected out of genuine emotional investment and bond, or are these connections of convenience?
- Are we feeling empowered or disempowered by the people we are connected to in ways which are important to us as individuals?
- Can we let our emotional and spiritual guard down with these people and let them experience our deepest and truest self-expressions?
- Can we truly trust these people to emotionally and spiritually support us even when things get rough and ugly truths come to light?
These are the questions coming up now, especially as we have an opportunity to consciously choose how we want to walk through a door to a new experience of ourselves and our lives. The 11 universal year reminds us that we must be our True selves if we are to discover where we truly belong, and the fact that this 2018 Scorpio New Moon occurs on an 11 universal day only highlights this call to embrace and emotionally invest in our individuality as a matter of embracing our unique self-expression and as a matter of understanding who we truly are and what we can contribute to something bigger than ourselves.
There are a few other astrological transits of note on this day, with the biggest one being a wide Grand Sextile configuration, also known as a “Star of David” – six consecutive sextile transits. This particular Grand Sextile involves Taurus Juno Retrograde (27.72°), Cancer North Node (29.80°), Libra Pallas Athena (1.14°), Scorpio Jupiter (29.81°), Capricorn South Node (29.80°), and Pisces Chiron Retrograde (28.34°). (The orb’s a bit wide between Juno and Pallas, but because each of them aspects with the other 4 points and bodies within my preferred 3° orb, I am counting it in this case.)
As we rethink the lifestyle values we claim to be committed to, we’re encouraged to tune into our individual emotional truths. This emotional awareness helps us notice our pattern of saying we want balance, fairness, justice, and truth, yet when factual truth begins to emerge from darkness in a big way, can we really let go of our old, outdated ambitions and set our sights on new, more collectively positive and transformative goals? Can we really pursue what we say we want when we are too afraid to cross the threshold into a new experience of ourselves and our lives?
Or in other words, what are we really committed to?
As humans, we’re usually committed to maintaining our comfort zones at all costs. This is because even when we may be emotionally unfulfilled or upset, we’re willing to endure injustice, unfairness, inequality, and falsehoods to avoid the unfamiliar and uncertain. We will deny the most undeniable factual truths in order to cling to our status quo, especially when our institutional structures and societal norms are being forced to undergo transformation as they are now.
Which leads me to another significant transit of the day – Vesta conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (19.03-19.10°).
“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: Now is the time for monsters.” – Antonio Gramsci
This quote captures everything this Capricorn Vesta + Pluto conjunction embodies. It’s a testament to how the ways we’ve been so conditioned to pursue our professional and societal roles are being transformed. Many of us are –individually and collectively – still pursuing the same goals and objectives of the “old world”, yet the world is changing. As result, the definitions of success and fulfillment are also changing as societal success and fulfillment are no longer measured by the same standards as they were before. Of course, those new standards are still being determined…
…which also makes this transit also a testament to just how determined individuals and groups – from any and all sides – are to take advantage of the institutional transformations that are underway. Pluto’s presence is clearing out the old ways, yet new ways have not yet taken form. Therefore, there are an abundance of opportunities to forge paths and/or to force agendas. Those individuals and organizations which make the most effective moves first get to set the new standards for the collective whole.
But in order to take advantage of the opportunities available, we must be willing to let go of what’s comfortable so our hands are free to seize them.
This massive shift, this major transformation – it’s now inevitable. We are collectively experiencing change, which means we are individually experiencing change whether we want it or not. The question for each of us is whether or not we’re going to embrace or resist what is.
Without acceptance that transformation is the doorway we’ve been waiting for, we can’t pass through. We cannot move out of our darkness and into our light. We’re trapped in a prison of our own making until we choose to set ourselves free.
Of course, many of us choose to remain in our patterns of frustration and upset, and this challenge to leave our past behind is only amplified now by another transit configuration in effect at the time of the New Moon’s maximum phase – a Nodal T-Square involving the Cancer North Node and the Capricorn South Node (29.80), both squared by Aries Uranus Retrograde (29.96). Aries Uranus Retrograde calls upon us to re-act or at least to a reassess what is happening around us, especially in our communities, networks, social circles, and groups of all kinds. We may find ourselves emotionally drained or dissatisfied with our societal or professional pursuits, and desperately seeking an outlet for our frustrations. Yet instead of pointing the fingers at others, it’s important to remind ourselves that we can walk away from all of the frustration and upset at any time. We can choose to change our course at any time.
And to stick with the theme here, the door to change is open – we can choose to walk through to new ways of taking action and living our lives whenever we want to.
But are we really ready to change course? Are we really ready to heal?
Are we really and truly ready to stop putting ourselves through this emotional and spiritual pain and drama of trying to achieve goals we don’t really want to achieve, or trying to be in relationship or even associate with people that we really don’t like or care about?
Are we ready to make an honest and earnest change in how wego about our lives and who we are choosing to be in our lives? Are we ready tolive our lives in ways which make us emotionally happy… with ourselves?
If so, we must be willing to cut off and/or let go of allthat no longer serves us. We must be willing to release and move forwardwithout looking back. We get to stop being victims of circumstance, and takeresponsibility for how we are choosing to blame others for our wounds. Thesecond we choose to step out of others’ shadows and over the threshold to embrace our own power and brilliance, we move our lives forward in positive and productive ways.
Going through this 2018 Scorpio New Moon doorway from darkness to light is really a point of no return, for once you see yourself for who you truly are, you cannot un-see. Once you know your True self, you cannot un-know.
And if the world on the other side of the doorway seems strange,it’s probably because you haven’t lived your authentic life before now. It’sokay. The more you do it, the more comfortable it gets – it’ll become your newnormal… which someday, may call you to transform again.
And you won’t be afraid because you’ll know how to do it next time… because you did it this time.
Be courageous. Walk through the doorway. Go get your new beginning.
Thank you for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers. Until next post…
~ Light, Love, and Blessings,
Grace
