Cold mist and a persistent chill linger day after day under the backdrop of increasingly overcast skies. The forest floor is insulated with a complete layer of damp leaves of burnt oranges, crimsons, and pale yellows. The Sun’s power has continued to diminish - its heat can do nothing to chase away the cold.

All the while, the gaze and presence of the spirits around us grows ever stronger. Taking walks in the woods in a buildup towards Samhain or Hallowmas eve, the presence of spirits of the lands and the ancestors becomes overpowering. The air becomes thick with power as the veil becomes thin between us and shades of those long gone, and the spirits of the land rise up to receive the plant kingdom in its transition to the other side.

Welcome to Scorpio Season, when autumn comes in full force and the remaining echoes of summertime totally evaporate.

Scorpio season begins with the Sun’s passage from the airy sign of Libra into the watery sign of Scorpio. Autumn, as well as all the bittersweet beauty it brings, enters into full swing. The trees continue on with their firework display - their final farewell before the dead of winter takes them away. But most flowers have died. The berry bushes and grapevines have given us their final fruits. The canopies of the forest become thinned. To put things in very visceral terms (as the ancients living hand-to-mouth would have understood them), there is no longer a threat of food becoming scarce, now food has begun to diminish.

Libra Season, which we have just left, indicates the beginning of the transition from Summer into Winter. The days slowly to begin to darken, but ample light is still present, food remains abundant, and the community has the time and space they need to tend and care for each other in preparation for the colder months.

But now the cold settles in, and unseasonably warm days become extremely rare. The nights grow longer, the days grow colder and crisper, and around all of us the natural world begins the process of dying. Darkness dominates the light, and increases in power day by day. As it does, food becomes scarcer, warmth becomes weaker, and a pervading sense of death, loss, and the fading away of life hums steadily in the background of our perception.

Astrologically speaking, the transition from Libra into Scorpio indicates a transition from Venus to Mars. Venus is a benefic, lady of life, good fortune, harmony, and peace. We see the community come together to celebrate the harvest moon during Libra season and attending to everyone’s needs within the network of relationship and community. Talking about things and engaging in meaningful dialogue to ensure that everyone is taken care of. This is all very Venusian.

But Mars becomes activated during Scorpio season - the lord of pain, strife, hunger, and war. But this is not a period of overt struggles and conflict as we see in Aries, his other place of rulership. This is his yin, watery home. Here we see the God of war take up a defensive position, preparing for the long winter and doing whatever it can to stave off the passing of time.

Because of this, Scorpio has been astrologically associated with death, loss, endings, and the inevitable plummet of the world into the darkness of wintertime. Because Scorpionic natives are born in the midst of this transition, they become very aware of the darkness and heaviness of life. They choose to dive headfirst into difficult topics and difficult emotional experiences because they are most comfortable and familiar with them.

We will all have the opportunity to do this kind of work doing Scorpio season. Much of Scorpionic season, with all its watery depth, involves confronting triggers and shadows, and examining those difficult emotional states and responses that we would rather not look at. While most of us no longer need to worry about losing food, you will find other triggers arising for you to deal with related to scarcity, fear, and loss.

Even if we don’t have to worry about starving to death or freezing to death in this day and age, our brains have evolved to register the changing of the seasons, the darkening of the days, and the coming of cold as indicators that there will be less food and that death is a live option (see what I did there?). This seems to be encoded into our DNA from milennia of having less food and warmth around this time. Your brain is triggered and fearful even if you are not consciously concerned. Because your brain is in some kind of fear-response, other things are more likely to trigger that response and bring issues up to the surface.

But truth be told, Scorpio excels at all kinds of emotional alchemy and transmutation, not just ones related to fear, death, and loss. You will find that the triggers which arise naturally open up doorways and opportunities for other kinds of emotions, traumas, and memories to be integrated that you had repressed to enter into your sphere. You can become a more whole person by confronting those challenging emotions and situations that you would rather not look at.

Whatever comes up for you, channel the power of Mars to confront and face it. Scorpio is a sign of bravery, of plumbing the depths of fear and destabilizing inner processes and staying with them no matter how difficult. Be patient with yourself and whatever arises. You are always safe, and you can use what comes up to become more integrated and even more magically powerful.

The most sure-fire way to understand what will be most activated in your life during this season is to examine your own chart - especially the house that the Sun is transiting. If you are Pisces rising, the Sun transits your 9th house of travel and higher study. It would be a good time to either begin or deepen spiritual practice. If you are Taurus rising, the Sun transits your 7th house of relationships. Be sure to give proper care and attention to your spouse, partner, or any close friends.

aspects for this year’s Scorpio season

This Scorpio season, the Sun’s ruler Mars occupies his detriment of Libra, but until for 8 days before he moves into Scorpio. Once Mars moves into Scorpio, a very special doorway for emotional alchemy and inner work opens up, as the Sun receives great support during this journey by being in the same sign as his ruler. Emotional alchemy and inner journeywork will be very successful during this Scorpio season.

However, Mars’ entry into Scorpio also means that he aligns into a square with Saturn. This is a challenging situation all around - Mars-Saturn squares are notorious for bringing up difficult experiences, disagreements between people, obstacles to success, and more. They create an all-around feeling of tension in the air. I will be writing more about this square in future articles. For now, let’s just say that plenty of stuff will be coming up for you to alchemize.

On the plus side, we do have Venus forming a sextile to the sun from Capricorn. You will find help and support coming from other people. You will not be in this process of emotional alchemy alone, all by yourself.

magical practices for the Scorpio season

Unless you live in the southern hemisphere, you will need to continue adjusting yourself to the descent of the Sun, the darkening of days, and the increase of cold over heat. Many physical ailments and maladies can arise from the Libra-Scorpio shift which you can easily thwart through preparing for this seasonal change.

Your baseline magical practical is simply taking walks in nature. Taking walks is perhaps the simplest thing that you can do to acclimate your body and soul to the shifting of seasons and the passage of time. Spending more time outside is one of the best antidotes to fear and anxiety, which will arise more commonly during this month.

As you walk, feel your body sync up with the shifting of the season, with the changing of time. Focus as much as you can on your bodily and emotional sensations and responses to being in the natural world.

A good physical practice for the release of fear and anxiety is inversions. Shoulder-stand in yoga drains excess lymph that accumulates in the legs and recirculates it through the rest of the body, which can create a feeling of peace and euphoria and combat the ennui and dysthymia that can develop during Scorpio season.

Lepidolite and Rhodinite both release anxiety and stress hormone buildup by grounding you and opening up your heart. They can both be placed over your heart, but lepidolite can also be placed on the back of the neck to relieve an overstimulated nervous system.

When it comes to working with spirits, both Libra and Scorpio periods are strongly associated with the dead and ancestors. Scorpio seasons are excellent periods for using the power of the dead to manifest the kind of world you would like to see for yourself, or, perhaps more accurately, stave off and defend yourself from the outcomes and material circumstances that you fear.

However you wish to work, you will find spirits coming to you more quickly with which you have some kind of bloodline connection. The spirits of the land are also more present during this period, especially around Samhain, and are more inclined to answer your requests.

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