New Moon in Scorpio, seeing the light

The Parable Of The Drowning Man is a short story, often told as a joke, most often about a devout Christian Minister who refuses several rescue attempts in the face of approaching floodwaters, each time telling the would-be rescuers that God will save him. After turning down the last, he drowns in the flood. After his death, the man meets God and asks why he did not intervene. God responds “I sent two boats and a helicopter, What more did you want from me?”

We could say he refused to see the light that was right in front of him, literally urging him toward safety because he was so sure he knew the package that the light would arrive in he was deaf and blind to anything else. 

Today, in addition to being Halloween, it is the Hindu celebration of Diwali, which calls us to awaken to the soul’s radiance within. When we are in darkness, this radiance leads us to light. Our spiritual GPS, in the guise of our heart, never fades, even though we sometimes try to tune it out.  Diwali and this New Moon invite us to honor our eternal flame and allow it to illuminate our way.

I’ve told this story before: when I facilitate The Artist’s Way there is a question in the week 5 tasks that always, always stymies my students. I go over it in depth as I hand out the homework for this week, which Julia named Discovering a Sense of Possibility, and let them know that we will be having an active discussion in class the following week, specifically around this question.  Knowing from past experience that they will most likely be stuck here, I describe the way to consider the question that will open something for them, and I ask if they have any questions as they leave.  And inevitably, the following week, they will return and have balked at answering the question.  So, what is this mysterious query?   

Name five reasons you don’t believe in a supportive God (the universe, Goddess or whatever you would like to call your experience of a higher power guiding and supporting your life).

In Sedona, this question provokes what at the very least can be called a sense of minor outrage. I mean, how dare I question their belief in a supportive God/Universe? Of course they believe in a supportive universe!  Don’t I know everything is connected?  Doesn’t Julia understand this? Since I really don’t go over homework in class why would I be so focused on this question of all questions? From their perspective, this is a ridiculous question, unnecessary to explore and thus impossible to answer.

Yet, the reason this question is so important to me is that it brings light to something hidden in the darkness of our unconscious mind, Pluto’s realm, and in doing so, goes directly to the issue of self worth, love and trust. 

Here is the key I provide for my students; anywhere in your life that you believe (implicitly feel) something that your heart yearns for is essentially impossible for you, out of your reach for whatever so-called ‘pragmatic’ reason is where you don’t at your core believe that the universe has your back.  It might be that you feel you will never find the relationship of your dreams because you are too old or perhaps that it is too foolish to pursue a dream of painting or travel because financially it doesn’t make sense. I mean,  come on by now you have been around the block and learned to be realistic, right?  Even though you may not share this cynicism with anyone it is still there lurking in the darkness.  It doesn’t really matter what form this distrust takes at its core it is a belief that the voice of your heart is not to be trusted.   

The truth is these answers hold a distinct type of beauty.   They reveal places within where we no longer trust the values of our Soul.  Most often, we have learned to expect disappointment thus, we exile parts of ourselves to the underworld. They become hidden and we stop fighting for them.

Scorpio is the sign associated with the underworld, with death and rebirth.  It invites us to let go and embrace the mystery of life itself. In the Qabalistic tradition, the Path of Desire (Mars and desire are buddies), it is taught that our desires are the voice of our soul speaking to us, and therefore, they are sacred. That desire magnetically draws us toward our destiny.  

This New Moon in Scorpio is a challenging Moon; both the traditional and Modern rulers of Scorpio, Mars and Pluto are in opposition to each other. These two energies in opposition are a volatile combination.

This energy is powerful. And it can be transformative. What it requires is honesty with ourselves.  Used well, it asks us: what is worth it, what is worth fighting for?  What would set your soul on fire?  

I am here to tell you joy is worth fighting for.  Even when you don’t know the answers, especially when you feel that you, to paraphrase Dante,  are on a journey through a dark wood. 

For many of us, joy often requires effort to find, while frustration or sadness seems to come easily. Joy itself seems somewhat accidental; we stumble upon it. Yet, here is a dirty little truth:  To be joyful, you have to be committed to finding joy and its sidekick wonder. 

Anyone who has worked with me privately or in a class knows I am a big proponent of the creative power that is often captured within our darker emotions, that journeys through a dark wood when we learn to trust them and the wisdom our soul is pointing toward lead us to immense wealth.  So much immensity lies in the shadows. 

But here is the other half of the story: actively seeking joy and wonder in the midst of the journey is what sets us free.  While there are absolutely incandescent spontaneous moments of joy, most often, joy is a choice. It is a choice made in the midst of what can feel like unthinkable circumstances.  Actively seeking joy transforms us, our experience of life, and others around us.  Heck, the word enjoy is a verb whose Latin roots literally mean “make joy.”

This New Moon offers an invitation to connect with your heart’s desire, and there is no quicker route to that destination than beginning a joy and wonder practice. Each day, actively search out and create at least one moment of joy.  Go out and gaze at the stars, watch the sunrise or sunset. Savor your morning coffee or tea. Write a friend and tell them how much you care about them.  Make joy in the moment. Be like a young child who has fun doing the most banal things like grocery shopping because they make a game out of it.  Children are excellent role models when it comes to joy.  In the spirit of Diwali, let your soul radiate the light.

Tonight and tomorrow night (the New Moon is exact on 11/1 at 8:47 am EDT/5:57 am PDT), during this powerful and empowering  Scorpio New Moon, I invite you to create a conscious ritual to initiate and joyfully welcome into being what is waiting to be born.  Light a candle, put on some inspiring music, and dance.  Celebrate the joy of life itself with this New Moon.