We’re plummeting headlong into the depths of Scorpio season. The daylight wanes, and the light of the Sun fades. Life diminishes from the natural world around us more with each passing day. In a word, the dark months are coming with all the fear and scarcity that they trigger on a deep, ancestral level.
Many of those triggers and fears are starting to come to a head now as our current Scorpio season culminates with the full Moon on Tuesday, November 8 at 7:00 am eastern time. This full Moon occurs in Taurus, the fixed earth sign ruled by Venus, the Goddess of love, friendship, and all the good things of the material world.
In the ancient magical tradition, full moons represent an apex, an orchestral swell, a culmination of a season. They are the blossoming flowers to the seed of the new moon. The seeds of the new Moon sprout into the flowers of the full Moon. The rewards of our labors over the past few weeks begin to manifest and take shape.
For this reason, Full Moons astrologically indicate completion. The hard work of the past two weeks since the new moon begins to pay off. You begin to see the fruit of your labor. Whatever you had been working towards begins to reveal itself, and you may even find that your actions and focus during the last few weeks actually makes more sense to you - you begin to see what it was all about.
At an individual level, you can use this period of the lunar cycle to celebrate and feel gratitude for the strives that you have made thus far during this Scorpio season. The new Moon in Scorpio created opportunities to integrate the unconscious, face fears, and confront the shadow. Old wounds and past memories oftentimes resurface more clearly during this season - now it is important to feel gratitude for the work you have done thus far.
What strides have you made in your emotional healing process? What inner alchemical gems have you unearthed and polished? What lost aspects of yourself have you integrated and restored? While you may just feel like there’s so much more work to be done, it’s important that you acknowledge the progress you have made up to this point.
In addition to completion, a full Moon also indicates letting go and releasing. A tension arises between the agendas of the Sun and its sign placement in Scorpio and the agendas of the Moon in Taurus. The Sun continues to emphasize inner alchemy, shadow work, and asceticism, while the Moon emphasizes quite different attitudes in Taurus. Because this full moon is also a lunar eclipse, release and letting go become more pronounced than usual. Naturally enough, all eclipses eclipse things. Some kind of noticeable loss occurs related to the topics of the full moon.
The Sign placement of the Moon will determine what kinds of topics and themes are arising for people to release and let go - in this case, Taurus. In contrast to Scorpio’s brooding intensity and preoccupation with death and loss, Taurus privileges beauty, kindness, and reveling in the material goods of existence. While Mars rules Scorpio, Taurus is ruled by Venus, the goddess of good fortune, who provides us with all the fine things of life and helps us to enjoy them with those we love.
When the full Moon occurs in the sign of Taurus, then the oppositional character of Scorpio’s focus on inner work, healing the unconscious and facing fears and Taurus’ priority of pleasure and beauty comes to a head. This alignment reveals habits to grasp and cling to familiar people and things for emotional comfort. Unhealthy tendencies towards avoidance and procrastination to find solace and safety from doing the often painful work of inner healing.
Addictions can rear their ugly head during this time. You may have taken great strides in the ascetic practices of letting go and releasing since the new Moon in Scorpio, getting rid of things that do not serve you and moving forward with the steely, martial resolve to face the shadows. But now you’re tired. You deserve a rest. You deserve a cheat day.
Greed also surfaces. In the face of the inevitable darkness and cold months that are fast approaching, people feel scarcity and fear around their finances and money coming up much more strongly. They want more resources that stave off the inevitable encroaching of darkness, liquid capital that postpones the descent of the world into the darkness of winter, and bribes for the lord of winter to delay his coming.
This tension between the Sun and the Moon also heralds heightened emotions, interpersonal challenges, and social volatility. There’s a classic adage not to do surgery on a full moon, and people who work in hospital settings often find that explosive situations arise much more often on a full moon than otherwise. For this reason, full moons were generally considered to be more malefic and challenging.
Ultimately, the chaotic clamor of releasing control and surrendering into Chaos allows you to see release what needs to be released so you can continue with the intentions you set during the New Moon. This Full moon is about learning how to do without - realizing that you don’t need the things you think you need.
This full moon, again, is also an eclipse. For that reason, I am doubling down on the letting-go and releasing trope. Take this as an opportunity to let go of those things that you think you need, whether those things are substances, comforts, luxuries, or even some friendships. Chances are that the things arising that you feel like you need are crutches that stand in the way of your total flourishing.
This full Moon sees an opposition from her ruler Venus in Scorpio. As was the case with the new Moon in Scorpio, you will continue to engage in this work alongside other people. Other people are present in your life who are able you in the letting-go process.
The other close aspect during this period is a square from Saturn and a sextile from Jupiter. Old fears and resistance to growth will arise during this period. Emotional fluctuations and mood swings are more common leading up to and after the full Moon. However, you will find teachers, guides, and supportive friends in your life who help to keep you grounded and sane during this period. Nothing will get too out of control.
MANAGING THE FULL MOON
This is by far the most important part! What do we do with this?
You need to nourish yourself with people and behaviors that are actually supportive and nurturing and not destructive. It’s not nurturing to just let yourself eat two pizzas because you “deserve it.” Surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart, will help you cook good food, and help you to enjoy the coziness of the early sunset, huddled in the warmth of an inviting home.
The stone emerald calcite is a specific for addictions. Blue calcite is a specific for deep-seated fear and anxiety, and also helped with drug detox symptoms. Both can be worn on the skin, or – if you’re brave enough –the blue calcite can be taken internally. Place a very small stone in water for a half hour, then discard that water and pace the stone in new water for 4-6 hours. The emerald calcite needs to be placed on a small quartz crystal, and then the quartz crystal can dissolve into the water instead – a process known as potentiation.
Additionally, be sure to spend time outside if it’s not too cold. “But Merlin, you always tell us to go outside.” Indeed I do. The earth and connection to the natural world always provides you with medicine. It’s connecting to the divine mother that is always giving us exactly what we need, even when we don’t realize it.
If you are worried about money, spend time outside with your bare feet on the earth, in some place that you can’t see civilization. Better yet, sit or lay down on the earth and let her take all of your weight. Watch your breath and relax your body. After doing this for just a few moments, you’ll begin to detach from the human drama and preoccupation with money and all the fears we have around it. You’ll return to the source of actual nourishment, and will be more restored to do your work in the world when you return.
Full moons are excellent times for letting-go rituals. We all feel like we need to release something, don’t we? Well now’s your chance. You will be best served to focus your energy on releasing something related to the physical world, due to the nature of Taurus. I would incorporate into your ritual a great deal of Venus-related stones and other magical objects related to her energy.
This full Moon is very powerful. It may not be an easy alignment to integrate, but it will be extremely transformative if you allow it to be. Like all astrology, our fate or the external situations related to these celestial happenings is already decreed by our own spirit. But we can choose to flourish or adapt to the fate that has been allotted us, and take this as an opportunity to become more sovereign, blissful, and fulfilled.
If you do the work, you will reap exceptional rewards.
-Merlin
P.S. I’m currently still offering a discount until Friday for anyone interested in getting a reading that focuses on remediation and spiritual practices to accompany horoscopic astrology. You can use the code REMEDIATE20 to get a 20% discount by clicking the button below.