“Scorpio is a sign which shows three forms…It is represented by the Scorpion in its lower form, by the Golden Eagle in its evolved form, and by the Phoenix in its exalted form.”
~ 22teachings.com
“Something in your life is about to be “dead to you”, but that’s not a bad thing... Profound change, transformation, and new beginnings are the promise of this card."
~ Astrologyanswers.com
The Scorpion, or the Phoenix?
I love this specific tarot card, from this specific deck, so much. It was the first card drawn during an impromptu reading in 2011, several months after huge life changes were epitomized in a powerful dream about a phoenix. (Click here to read the full description of my vision in an earlier article: "The Gift of the Phoenix").The phoenix in my dream and in the card indicated to me that the past was done and something amazing was in process. After receiving that reading I ran to my local metaphysical bookstore, Paradise Found, and ordered The Sun and Moon Tarot deck for myself; it became the deck that works with me.I read for everyone who would let me, and now here we are (and have been since 2015), at Paradise Found, working together to support more love and light in the world in a myriad of ways! What more is there to say? Plenty.
Scorpio and the Tarot: Death and Rebirth
“On October 23, the Sun began its month-long journey through Scorpio (the sign of the scorpion), which is assigned to the death card of the tarot…
~ Anthony Louis, "Tarot and the Sign Scorpio"
“During its lifetime, the Scorpion will molt 5-7 times. Its hard exoskeleton cracking open, it emerges from this shell a soft, white, flexible new version of itself...
It is not hard to see why the Scorpio has an evolving form...The old hardened protection is outgrown, and must be discarded. Now we can see why the rebirth process is not just a walk in the park.”
~ 22teachings.com
What does it mean to “die” to our old selves? How do we “give up” and leave behind what the ego mind will not release? For the example above it was easy, no problem, circumstances forced me to let go: I was fired from a job and then my car was totaled in a head-on collision.Also at this time, my dreams communicated profoundly powerful and hopeful metaphors that I took to heart, and out of necessity mixed with a huge dose of inspiration, I moved on. I trusted the universe and began to cultivate curiosity for what was unfolding, excitement for what was about to happen next, and this has become a habit.
“The Death card usually indicates the ending of a challenging situation that allows a more productive, inspiring period to blossom.”
~ Paul O'Mara, "The Death Card and the Sign of Scorpio"
New and wonderful opportunities occurred and life continues to unfold in the most fascinating way and I continue to recognize opportunities and say Yes when it feels right. At least in my professional life, the part where I work so well with the universe and my unconscious, and clearly get the messages, and life appears to cooperate.But what about the aspect of my life that hasn’t been so easy, where I struggle and continue to ask the universe for messages that don’t come? Or the messages in my dreams don’t match what’s happening IRL (In Real Life)? Or perhaps I’m just not getting it?
Scorpio Wisdom for Relationships
The 8th house governs matters of sex, death and legacies. It therefore sums up all of our memory and experience; at the same time the very nature of Scorpio urges us towards change and transformation.
~Tantrika.co.uk/
When it has come to my heart, to romantic relationships, it feels harder to bounce back, to trust that breaking open my heart and returning again to a solitary existence is actually helping me grow and learn.And yet, no matter how clear certain parts of me are about letting go, being done, moving on, starting again, other parts of me will not be rushed; they go through their process, in their way, at their pace, and what I or other people want for me or think about that painstaking process, just doesn’t matter.I spoke last month in depth about my last relationship, which ended on January 6, 2018, followed almost immediately by the Montecito mudslide, which is actually pretty symbolic and perhaps even a more solid metaphor than any dream could provide.And yet it’s taken soooooo long to let go, despite all of the wonderful spiritual and intellectual “Ah hah” moments and epiphanies. And yet I feel myself so very close; what hasn’t happened, yet, is the next opportunity for love. As a friend once said “The best way to get over the last man is to get under the blankets with the next one.”But how do I do that when there doesn’t appear to be a next one in the vicinity? Truly, dear Universe, I’m ready for the next one to be something completely different; and so I guess I need to be someone different! This is what the death card and the Scorpio season are all about.
“...the message of this card is not death at all, but death of a way of living. There is transformation in play in your life when you see this card, and you will encounter this change in a way that makes you a different person.”
~ Astrologyanswers.com
So it is my fondest hope and powerful intention (If of course I have any input or influence over this situation) that with the New Moon in Scorpio on October 27, I am able to let go of the parts of me holding tight to being alone because they are afraid of being abandoned and trust the process enough to allow the transformation in order to become a different me.I have been working on this issue for decades and perhaps am similar to the scorpion in this respect. Squeezing out of my old patterns and leaving them behind, and growing a new set to replace them. Is it possible to actually change the form completely? What if I’m tired of being a scorpion, burrowing in the ground coming up to the surface to sting and crack open? What if I prefer to fly?
Scorpio and Animal Transformations
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Oil Painting by Olha Darchut[/caption]
Not only are there several stages of transformation for the scorpion itself, but several animals represent the sign of Scorpio symbolically, and this appears to be something individual to the Scorpio zodiac sign.
Scorpion, snake, lizard, wolf, eagle and phoenix; perhaps this is because deep personal transformation requires not just cracking open again and again to oneself but moving from one form to another altogether. (Oranum Blog)
Scorpio is the only Tropical Zodiac Sign of the 12, traditionally associated with more than one symbolic image:
- Scorpion (the hiding, self-destructive, toxic Scorpio)
- Lizard (the hiding, detested Scorpio)
- Wolf (the loyal to emotion Scorpio)
- Eagle (a predator and high rising flyer, viewing situations from a higher consciousness)
- and the Phoenix (Ego death and North node rebirth)
Is this why I feel such an affinity with the phoenix symbol on this specific death card? Is this the message it offered me back in 2011 and I’m just “getting it” now? Maybe I had already moved past scorpion, snake, lizard, and wolf.What if I was up there in the eagle metaphor, getting that eagle-eye view, seeing life from an aspect of my higher consciousness, and the explosion of my heart in that last relationship hit the ground in a ball of flaming transformation in order to rise from the ashes in the fiery wings of the Phoenix?In studying the image on the card while writing this article I noticed that the fire is becoming the woman who is becoming the phoenix; that they all appear to be integral parts of each other in the process of transformation, not separate entities. I had not noticed that before…this utter transmutation of what was into a spiritual conglomeration of what is transformation. And I like it.
Transformation and the Hebrew Letter Nun/ Nuun
“Nun asks: How to reach beyond what I have reached so far?”
~ Erez Grinboim, The Genetic Code of the Hebrew AlphaBet
"Nun shows the relationship between the body, which is impermanent, and the soul, which never dies. It can teach us about the nature of time and space…Nun also represents flow, teaching us to be supple and flexible like the fish instead of resisting change.”
~ WalkingKabbalah.com
What has become apparent to me in writing this article is that within the integration of the Zodiac sign of Scorpio, the Death card, and the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet Nun, the deep and powerful transformations that are simply a part of our lives (whether we are conscious of them or not) are really just helping us to let go of the old to become even more ourselves.The point is not to change, to try to be something else, but really to be me and be enough and trust the process of continual unfolding into ever more beautiful versions of myself. By loving each me at each stage, and living it fully, I can let it go.Just as the scorpion releases itself from its old exoskeleton, the butterfly stretches out and then flies away from the broken open cocoon and the phoenix rises from the ashes. None of these beings try to do any of these things; they are all inherent in their process, just as our transformation process is inherent in each of us.And what is most important is to trust the process, love each other and ourselves and do our best to be as kind as we can. Death and rebirth are painful processes, but we can and do get through them. So hang in there through these rough times of transformation we are in...I don’t believe it’s going to lighten up any time soon. What I do know and have experienced viscerally is that while all the darkness and chaos is swirling around and even right through us, we can choose to be anchors of love and light and assist with the process just by doing that.Come on by Paradise Found this November, on Sunday, November 3rd and again on the fourth Saturday, November 23rd and we’ll look at where the opportunities for transformation are in your cards.In loving light and gratitude,Kristine Thandeka Marie
My heart is old, it holds my memories
