Scorpio Season & Emotional Empowerment

Scorpio season is a time for celebration and deep connection with others and within ourselves. It is also a time for emotional empowerment and advocacy. But how can we make material steps in achieving this? Welcome to Exploring Esoterica, the podcast where we explore different esoteric practices and the history behind them. In this episode, we take a closer look at the sign of Scorpio and what that means in relation to the season and time of year.

[00:26] Scorpio Season

In episode 15, titled The 12 Signs of the Zodiac, I did a survey of the 12 signs of the Zodiac according to tropical astrology. Tropical astrology, for those who don't know, is a type of astrology that is popular in western society and follows the four temperate seasons.

In that episode, I discussed the Zodiac signs in relation to the four Seasons and didn't dive too much into mythology. I know that the development of the practice has a mythological component, but for me, we can't talk about mythology without diving into the cultures from which they developed. And that's beyond the scope of what I want to discuss. I may go back and discuss the mythology at some point, but that's just a caveat for this episode.

So for me, I use the tropical Zodiac because it aligns the 12 signs with the seasons. Each time the sun ingresses into a sign, this signals a change in the seasons, which also signals a change within us both in a collective and individual way. The change in the seasons is easily noticed for most of us, unless you live in an area where the seasons are mostly constant year round. Here in the northern hemisphere, the temperature drops during autumn and the plants foliage begins to change. In some cultures, this is the time of harvest and celebration as we get closer to the end of the year.

Looking at the four seasons, and this is a summary of what I talked about in that episode, springtime is when we're starting the year in an astrological sense. This is March in the Gregorian calendar that most of us use. We're making new plans and beginning new ventures. By summertime, we're entering a phase of completion of those plans, or at least making some major progress. Projects and relationships feel like they're solidifying in a broad sense. Autumn is a time of celebration. While winter is a time of slowing down, letting parts that no longer serve us, wither away, and planning for the next cycle. Nature is going through its own metamorphosis, as plants die and go through a rebirth and some animals hibernate into the earth, warms up again. This is of course the opposite for those in the southern hemisphere.

But if we focus on this current autumn season as I record this, Libra is a cardinal air sign, Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and Sagittarius, which is coming up in a few weeks, is a mutable fire sign. In a nutshell, this is of course oversimplifying it, but Libra season is when we're fighting balance in life. We're celebrating the autumn equinox, or at least preparing for the new season in some way. Many people even begin planning their fall cleaning around this time.

Then comes Scorpio season, which is mid-October to mid-November. The autumn season has settled in and we're feeling a bit more emotional. Some people dive into spiritual celebrations and explore those unseen and hidden areas of life. This includes cultural celebrations such as Day of the Dead, which is a time of honoring ancestors. Those who practice Wicca may recognize Samhain, which is a time for connecting with ancestors and deepening your spiritual practice. And for most of us, there's of course Halloween where many of us engage mostly in a playful way in fantasy and mythical elements, mostly fueled by what has been portrayed to us in media. But overall, it's a time of celebration, but also digging deeper in an emotional sense with our relationships and other areas in life that resonate with us on a deep level.

And lastly, we have Sagittarius, which as of this recording is in a few weeks. This fiery sign signals the end of autumn as the temperatures drop further and winter is fast approaching. Celebrations are ramping up, and the holiday season is in full swing. In America, we have Thanksgiving holiday and right after everyone is in a frenzy getting ready for the Christmas season. The sign also urges us to explore an area of life in a broad sense. Many people start their holiday travels around this time, especially at the start of December. So again, the autumn season is a moment of celebration in some sense, but of course depends on where this triad of signs lands in your personal chart and other environmental factors of your life.

Back to Scorpio season. This is a time of digging deep into emotional waters as Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and it's also a time of connecting with our spirituality, or at least our intuition. It's those concepts I wanna expand a bit more on.

[04:39] Emotional Empowerment

In traditional and Hellenistic astrology, the sign Scorpio is ruled by the planet Mars. Mars represents themes of courage, but also war and violence. So with the sign of Scorpio, I see it as representing emotional empowerment, wading through any insecurities to achieve what we desire, and bringing any dark or hidden forces and motivations to light. If we compare it to Aries, the other sign ruled by Mars, there are two different expressions. Aries can be a bold and impatient sign while Scorpio can be secretive, strategic and intuitive. Both are focused on action, but in two different and even opposite ways.

But what does this mean in a rational sense? Again, I relate to emotional empowerment. Mainly it's about reaching a level of confidence in your relationships and how you relate to people. This is much easier said than done. First off, let's talk about setting boundaries. Some people are really good at 'em, some people struggle. This is especially difficult for those who have people pleasing tendencies or have trouble speaking up for themselves. Setting boundaries doesn't have to look like completing, cutting people off. However, as I've said in a previous episode, if someone is being toxic or repeatedly crossing a line with you, cutting them off may be the best option. But for most people, it doesn't have to come to that. Most times it's about finding the right ways to let the other person know that what they're doing is either triggering us in some way or putting us in situations that are uncomfortable.

Now, most times this is not intentional. The other person may not mean to cross your boundaries on purpose. It may be some tendencies that they have or aren't aware of. It's on us to find compassionate ways to express this without belittling the other person. However, not everyone is gonna dance around your triggers and it's unreasonable to expect others to do so. This is the point where we have to use our intuition to decide if it's worth bringing something up or just letting it go. Sometimes it really is best to just process your emotions and move on without spending additional energy, bringing up whatever triggered you. This depends on your relationship with the other person. If it's a stranger, it may be best to just let it go and complain to a friend instead. If it's a friend or family member crossing your boundaries, then maybe it is worth speaking up before it becomes a constant issue. It all just depends.

And this brings me to my next point, healing from past traumas. Our culture has a tendency to downplay how much past trauma can affect us on our daily life. And this doesn't have to look like a recognized disorder like PTSD. This could be something like avoiding certain topics because they trigger some childhood issues we haven't processed. Or having trouble forming friendships and relationships because of how other people have treated us in the past. It's hard to set boundaries in a reasonable and compassionate way if we haven't processed our own pain and past actions. We may not have the tools to even do so, or simply may not be ready to take that dive into our psyche yet. This is just a part of that shadow work that I've previously mentioned.

This is us taking a hard look at our past trauma and current actions and recognizing what we can do about it. It's a process of healing and gaining self-awareness. Now again, this is much easier said than done, and some people may need the help of a therapist or a licensed counselor to help them along that journey.

Now Scorpio season is also a time of connecting with our spirituality. Some people may go through a sense of enlightenment or spiritual healing as they participate in celebrations or rituals. Now, for those that don't have a spiritual practice or follow any kind of religion, they can still benefit from gaining a more mature understanding of the world and their place within it.

I've gone through my own periods of nihilism where I didn't feel connected to anyone or felt like nothing matters. This was a deep sense of apathy that I had to process and reach my own sense of purpose in life. Some people may struggle with trying to find a sense of purpose, and we've been led to believe it needs to be this big, grandiose thing, especially in a capitalistic sense. That's not always true. But if we don't feel connected to ourselves, our intuition, or the people around us, it could be very hard to figure out what that purpose is or could look like. This may seem like a vague concept, but it's because it's a very personal one. Our culture doesn't really talk about it again unless it's in a capitalistic sense or when some wellness guru is trying to sell you a personal growth course.

Which brings me to my last point. This season is about focusing on our relationships with other people, and that is cultivating emotional empathy and emotional intelligence. The latter is understanding the emotions of those around you while also regulating your own. I would say that empathy is a big part of this as well. It's easy to feel apathetic and even nihilistic about the everyday atrocities we see online. I see just how much empathy is downplayed and even argued against in common sections on social media. And while sure, some of that is for attention and rage baiting, a lot of it seems genuine, and I see it with content creators and influencers, especially those that make political content. People are more worried about being right than they are about finding collaborative solutions. And that brings me to my last point in this episode.

[09:43] Community

This is the time to see community and help others within your community, while also recognizing who you have support with and who has helped you in the past. It's so easy to feel like you're alone in this world, and I've personally been there. Scorpio season is a season to celebrate with others, be in community with them, but also heal on a deep emotional level. None of this is easy with the way the current world is, but it's hard to facilitate change when you feel so deeply out of balance in your own understanding of the world and emotional and mental health. I see so many people online who feel so lost and alone in the midst of tragedies that are going on. But as I said before, change cannot happen alone, and we must see connection with others even though our capitalistic and fascist society makes that a difficult.

Scorpio season is a great time to deeply connect with our sense of activism. It's about asking ourselves what resonates with us, and exploring that. Not being afraid to question hidden agendas and stand up for what we believe is right. We may not charge straight ahead, and instead feel urged to wait and make a plan first. Moving in secret is a very Scorpio expression and there is value in waiting and us showing all of our cards at one time. This is the time to slow down and trust in the process.

So if you made it this far, thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you would like to support me, you can go to my website to buy my books or make a donation. You can also join my monthly newsletter so you can stay updated on what's going on in my life and my content. But with all that said, thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you in the next one.