The Hidden Truth of a Waning Scorpio Moon
We are in desperate need of a re-boot, but the Scorpio moon needs us to acknowledge the ugliness of the present before we can reach the enlightenment of the future.
What is happening?!
This has been a quiet, productive week and it looks to be a pleasantly chill weekend coming up, one that asks us to rest and reflect on the things in 2024 that we are trying to change and the reasons we want to change them. That crazy, improvement-obsessed outer planet, Uranus, God of the Sky and innovative, cruel husband to Gaia, formed some kick-ass trines to Mars and Mercury at the beginning of this week, infusing our earthly atmosphere with go juice when it comes to communication and action around fixing structural deficits in our lives. Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius, so Monday and Tuesday were sort of a sneak preview for February, which peaks with the Lunar New Year’s Eve and the Aquarian new moon on 2.9.24, after which Uranus and Aquarius are going to get even more active. This weekend serves as a liminal space, then - we are leaving the sensual realm of Capricorn and fully entering the intellectual, idealized machinations of The Water Bearer, and a Scorpio moon is here to remind us that such massive transitions invariable require sacrifice and reflection on our part.
Conventional issues that have plagued us might benefit from fresh eyes or otherwise disruptive takes - in the personal sphere, maybe you’ve been struggling to keep part of your living space organized, or you’ve been fighting for a raise at work but have yet to gain any traction with the bosses. The heavy engagement of Uranus suggests that new approaches are needed - maybe the organizational structure you’ve been trying to implement in your home is the wrong kind for you. Perhaps the problem at work isn’t your bosses; perhaps it’s your entire job.
Uranus is the planet that says you should quit and get a new one. (Actually, in rougher periods, Uranus is the planet that says you should not only quit, you should also light the place on fire and flip your desk on the way out.)
Not so fast, says Luna. A last quarter moon in Scorpio wants to remind us that we need to release some key habits before attempting sweeping change and grand endeavors, otherwise the same fault lines in our existence that opened up and swallowed us previously will eventually re-appear and do it all over again.
If Uranus wants us to quit our job, a waning Scorpio moon wants us to be honest with ourselves about why we need to quit our job, lest we get another gig rife with the same set of antagonisms. If there is an area of our home that always falls into disarray, maybe it’s not the organizational system that is failing us. Perhaps we are attempting to use the space in a way for which it simply wasn't designed, or perhaps, deep down, we prefer the chaos to the cleanliness, in which case it behooves us to bury our shame and deal with who we really are, as opposed to who we are trying to be. We cannot move forward until we reckon with our past, so use the next 72 hours to do exactly that.
Why would this affect me?
The moon governs practical life on Earth and all of the emotions tied in to such things, and a last quarter moon is historically associated with release, severance, and banishment. Ancient agriculture practices during last quarter moons included weeding and herd-culling, because a waning moon was considered the best time for elimination of anything undesirable. (In mystical circles, it’s an unspoken rule never to bother anyone you see at the crossroads or in fields during the last quarter moon, burying shit and chanting. That bitch has enemies and she is not afraid to hex them, so keep a wide berth.)
When our moon moves through Scorpio, that freaky little 8th house denizen likes to remind us of all the deaths, endings, and self-mutilations that must occur in order for new things to take root and sprout, which makes a waning moon in Scorpio extra hot on banishment and elimination. Face your fears, it says, or be devoured by them again and again.
Collectively, we have exited the age of Pluto in Capricorn (money and structure) and entered Pluto in Aquarius (ideas and innovation) and are looking to make massive changes to a societal structures that function well for only a very few. Uranus himself only has one year left in Taurus, another earth sign that cares vigorously for finances, hierarchy, and tradition, before he enters airy, mutable Gemini and gets the real, revolutionary party started. These outer planets moving from earth to air are indicative of a collective shift in thinking from the material to the intellectual and spiritual, from assuming we are defined by our money and our professions to wondering if there isn’t more to the human experience than hoarding cash until we are dead.
A waning moon in Scorpio is an opportunity to examine why we cared so much in the first place - why do we care what job we have? Do we need a raise, or just want one? Why is that unorganized room bothering us so much? If human beings invented things like money and the economy, why do we order our world as though they invented us?
When do I have to deal with this?
The entire weekend leading into the first few days of next week will all feel a bit muffled and our focus will easily rest with the internal self, but Saturday, 2.3.24 will be the day we feel at our most vulnerable, as the moon in Scorpio will oppose Uranus in Taurus at just under 5 degrees. This might be a day that very clearly illustrates tension in our lives between the practical change we desire (Uranus) and the unsavory aspects of our lives that prompted a need for such change in the first place (Luna). Mercury leaves Capricorn for Aquarius on Sunday, 2.4.24, facilitating an even deeper collective transition from tradition to innovation, and making even more immediate the need to understand where tradition has failed us.
Cool, what does the Tarot say about this?
Any tarot reader worth their salt will wince a bit (internally, of course) when a card comes up twice in a client’s spread, because it can indicate that something needs immediate attention, as though the cards are willing to shout the same thing over and over just to get their point across. That immediacy increases when the suit of swords is involved, because swords generally show up during times of conflict and drastic intellectual resets.
The 10 of Swords reversed popped up on both Wednesday, 2.1.24 and Saturday, 2.3.24, indicating that we are coming to terms with an ending on these days while simultaneously attempting to forge another path forward. This jives well with our celestial bodies transiting past the earthy, sensual astrology of Capricorn to the headier, idealistic mindset of Aquarius, and it dovetails almost perfectly with the waning Scorpio moon opposing Uranus on the same day.
The 10 of Swords reversed indicates that we are coming to terms with upheaval in our physical, practical lives and naturally progressing to an examination of the intellectual facets of our daily choices. We are acknowledging defeat as a way to examine our faults and move past them.
If, for instance, our jobs were making us unhappy and we finally succeeded in leaving them, how do we plan to choose our next job, and why did we stay in our shitty occupation for so long in the first place? What is it that we hope to accomplish through employment aside from the basics of food and shelter?
If the upheaval and subsequent ending was more emotionally anchored in our personal lives, it could indicate divorce, loss of a friend, or a rejection so painful that we have decided to take our lives in an entirely new direction, lest we be under constant reminder that version 1.0 of ourselves was a complete failure. This card indicates that we don’t even want a version 2.0 - we want an entirely new package of life software. Coincidentally, Aquarius and Uranus are specialists when it comes to tossing structural framework out the proverbial window in order to create a better, more humane option, so this is very likely a collective feeling as well as an individual urge.
Elsewhere, the Feral card reversed indicates a need to temper our more animalistic urges on Friday, 2.2.24 in order to check important things off of our to-do list, and the adjacent crystal pull of pyrite could indicate that a financial or business endeavor hinges upon this denial of primal hedonism. On Sunday, 2.4.24, the 5 of Pentacles reversed shows us how all is not lost, despite whatever ending this Aquarian transition brings about. We have ways to recover from financial and professional setbacks, of course - this card, however, also wants us to contemplate the greater emotional and spiritual wealth that fraught earthly circumstances can engender. The old adage might prove true this time around; money really isn’t everything.
Lagniappe
For this lagniappe…it’s crystal time! As we move through our practical endings in order to embrace idealistic new beginnings, a soothing, meditative, intuitive crystal could be a useful addition to the sundries we carry in our purses and pockets on the daily. Remember that this moment is also a shift from the physical to the spiritual, Capricorn to Aquarius, and the discomfiting liminal space between the Year of the Rabbit and the Year of The Dragon. This feeling is like holding our breath for as long as we can underwater - we know we can’t stay here forever, but we are a bit anxious about the events that will transpire once we breach the surface. Given that the new moon in Aquarius crests on 2.9, our jobs until then are to wrap up all the intentions, habits, and routines that we have finally identified as faulty or unhelpful, put them in a bag, and marinate on them for a couple days. Then, on Friday evening, tie the bag up and chuck it into the garbage, and focus on making Saturday feel like the first day of the rest of our lives. Sounds simple*, yes? *laughs morbidly
I lean on crystals quite a bit, lately - most often when I’m experiencing foundational uncertainty or an uncomfortable transition. (Boy, if I were in charge of the slogan for 2024, I would make it, “2024 - Uncomfortable Transition!!” based off of the astrology alone.) I’m often attracted to hematite during tough transits, since it is grounding, protective, and it looks pretty badass in jewelry settings and strung up as a bracelet. It’s right in the middle of the Mohs scale as far as hardness goes, so while this stone is weighty, it also cracks easily if jostled in a pocket or pouch with change or other, harder crystals. For this reason, as well as the aforementioned aesthetic badassery, I prefer my hematite worn as opposed to carried.
Hematite also has zodiacal association with both Aquarius and Mars, which positions it as a lovely bridge crystal between our Western ideas of airy, water-bearing Aquarius and the Eastern horoscope of the passionate, fiery Year of the Dragon.
Another crystal with both chilly Aquarian association and fiery Dragon association is the beautiful, zen, purple quartz known as Amethyst. This mellow wonder is durable, beautiful, and excellent for unblocking the third-eye chakra for skillful meditation, honest intuition, and deep wisdom. Amethyst is a solid 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, looks amazing in settings, and pairs easily with other stones, so don’t feel like you have to baby it or save it for special occasions - toss that amethyst around! Bring it to parties! Amethyst often provides relief from anxiety, both social and general, so this is a great crystal for those of us that need help dealing with change and upheaval, things we have a 99.99999% chance of encountering down the road this year.
Pair these sturdy minerals on your neck or wrist starting today and try to work with them throughout the rest of February. Just like the stars moving from Capricorn to Aquarius, see if you can embody endurance and mutability at the same time. Holding the practical strength of hematite together with the spiritual wisdom of amethyst can serve as a gentle proxy for our move from the sensual Year of The Rabbit to the fiery, idealistic Dragon, giving us a soothing, albeit small sense of control.
Oh how it all makes sense now 🤔