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Listen for Scorpio and Scorpio Rising

2013 Annual Horoscope by Eric Francis

Sign art by Debra Cortese.

Sign art by Debra Cortese.

Scorpio Part One
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Scorpio Part Two
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Music for ScorpioYour Move by Blue O’Connell
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Listen for Scorpio and Scorpio Rising | 2013 Annual Reading by Eric Francis
Full minor planet list for the day that the Sun arrives in your sign.

Does anyone like to hear that Saturn is going to be in their sign for two years? That they will have Saturn conjunct the Sun or ascendant, which usually means conjunct several other planets or points as well (since planets often tend to travel in groups)? I suggest you make friends with this transit, since you have a lot to look forward to.

Saturn conjunct the Sun or ascendant is about growth, movement and coming to terms with who you are.

The coming to terms attribute almost always includes a whole lot of growing up. When Saturn is present in your chart, that’s what’s going on. That is the thing to do, and it’s best if you do it well. The Saturn principle in astrology is: become your own inner authority and nobody will have to take that authority over you. Therefore, part of what you’re doing is claiming back authority that was either taken from you or that you delegated at some point; taking that authority also means claiming your responsibility to yourself.

If you go through the process, if you do the work and make the changes and commit yourself to a new depth of integrity, you come out with a promotion. Your life will be better, more grounded, more stable and you’ll be in closer contact with who you are. Saturn transits also indicate times of professional movement, which can range from rearrangement or restructuring to moving up in your profession to a complete change of profession.

Steven Forrest said one of the most insightful things, referring to the Saturn return at age 29, though I will extend it to all major Saturn transits: you know you’ve done the transit well because after it’s over, you like going to work. You have the right job for you, and you do it well. It provides you with the sense of a purpose fulfilled. I don’t know how many Saturn returns you’ve had (if any; they happen every 29 years). Those are the big transits, though Saturn making contact with a personal point like the Sun, Moon or ascendant is related. Let’s set aside externals for a moment, and consider the inner path of Saturn, which is so much more meaningful.

Maturity is in a waning state in our culture of indulgence and a weird kind of hyperactive indolence. Saturn will bring a diversity of enforced changes your way, though if you observe carefully you will notice that they are changes you have been wanting to make for a long time — yet to do them you needed some direct encouragement, support and yes, enforcement. One word for this is discipline, which is a form of discipleship, which in this case means following your own will.

There are some themes we can sketch out from the beginning: knowing a need from a desire; knowing obligation from authentic commitment; being judicious in the use of your power, particularly your sexual power.

There is the theme of emotional stability. We are often said to live in a culture where yang is out of balance, that is, where the ‘male’ force is taking over. There’s another side to this, which is that the yin force is unstable and over-boiling and by some measures totally out of control. If we are a violent culture (yang out of balance), we’re also a culture of emotional instability (yin out of balance).

There is plenty of evidence of this, including the extreme polarities of the sexual realm: a society of hooking up and using sex to sell everything from cars to candy, simultaneously happening within a society of purity and morality that is sometimes enforced at the point of a gun or by order of a court.

You may not have such extreme manifestations, though you certainly feel your pathos. Saturn in Scorpio is here to help stabilize that. It is a kind of clean sweep of the emotions, particularly the deeper passions, something that feels like dredging out a shipping channel so that the ships can move through safely. Right now the channels are so clogged they don’t serve their practical purpose.

Saturn is all about practical purpose — including that of pleasure. Modern astrologers often think of Saturn as the wet blanket, the enforcer or the one who says the party’s over. It’s the planet that rules the concept of structure, boundaries and containers (the bones as well as the skin).

But consider the Roman festival of Saturnalia:

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn held on Dec. 17 of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through Dec. 23. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves. The poet Catullus called it “the best of days.”

This is a reminder to keep an open mind about Saturn — for astrologers and for those having Saturn transits. Saturn is not about revelry per se but it is about making sure that nothing gets too stuck where it is. I know this seems to contradict the structure aspect of Saturn, the one about stuck energy and all of that, though I assure you: Saturn is an agent of change, of progress and of vitality. Let’s consider a little more about Saturnalia:

In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the Earth without labor in a state of social egalitarianism. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age, not all of them desirable. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia.

Kronia, by the way, makes Saturnalia look like it was going on yesterday, as it was named for Kronos and dates back to ancient Greece. This is old stuff, rooted firmly in the Greco-Roman traditions on which our culture is supposedly based. Given that Saturn and its sign Capricorn are associated with the past, let’s remember these historic roots in any discussion of Saturn.

On the point of change, I want to suggest you do something that may involve consulting with an astrologer or astrology student: check the exact dates that Saturn makes contact with your Sun or ascendant. This is easy to find out and it differs a little for everyone; you want to know these exact dates (there will probably be three of them). They represent peak moments in the Saturn transit experience, as well as a process of events unfolding. Use these dates well.

If you happen to have any of them this year, I suggest you wait until after the transit happens to make major new commitments. If one of the dates is remote, say, if you have a late degree Scorpio Sun or ascendant (which could give you peaks in 2014 or even early 2015), then make the changes you need to make now, and prepare for another round of restructuring or correction once Saturn makes full contact with your chart.

For now, the Saturn principle applies; the theme carries through every single day of this transit. It’s time to take authority over your life, and that in part means authority over time.

Our Time Crisis

Our society is in a time crisis. This is on at least two levels, personal and cultural, though they amount to the same thing: the sensation of a perpetually increasing rush, as well as the sense that time is being vacuumed out of existence like air gushing out of a balloon. Many people have their day planners booked for three months or longer, including social events. Others waste vast amounts of time, doing nothing, unable to initiate activity or waiting for something to happen.

Saturn’s presence is a big invitation for you to be conscious of how you use time. This may come in several forms, including the sensation of how much time has passed; the question of whether you have enough time to do what you want to do; your value on your time, including the monetary value you place on your time.

This one is worth discussing a bit more carefully, because of Scorpio’s role as a forum for exchanging resources and Saturn’s role as a regulator of time. You need to think through your value carefully.

Remember as well that in life, you can sell your time, your labor or your ideas. There are some jobs where you punch in and punch out; you sell your time on a kind of meter. Other jobs, like writing, cannot be measured in time; it’s the work product that has a value. Consulting is a mix of time and ideas.

What I suggest you do is figure out how these equations apply to you.

Your Relationship to the Past

One of the things you won’t read about Scorpio in astrology books is its attachment to the past. Somehow this gets overlooked, though there’s little you do that does not have some reference to the past, some nostalgia value, sentimental value or connection to history.

Pluto, one of your two primary planets, is now in Capricorn, which is your 3rd solar house if you’re Scorpio Sun, or your 3rd house by whole-sign houses if you’re Scorpio rising. The 3rd house represents your primary mental function, your ideas, writing and communications, as well as your local neighborhood and a dimension of your childhood experience.

Pluto moving through this angle of your chart is saying that it’s time to let go of your attachments to the past — which include outdated ways of thinking. Saturn’s presence in your chart is urging you to do the same thing, and these two transits are working in concert. Saturn is in a Pluto-ruled sign and Pluto is in a Saturn-ruled sign. This state is called mutual reception. It’s not uncommon but this is a particularly interesting and rare variety, involving Saturn and Pluto; it ramps up the intensity of these transits, as well as presenting a rare opportunity of some kind, which could manifest as your ability to consider life from multiple points of view. In a mutual reception situation, planets can act in one another’s places.

The implication as well is that you have, for a time, Pluto in your ascendant or close to your Sun — something that was true in the 1980s and potentially as late as 1995, but which has not repeated and will not in our lifetimes. Therefore, this is an unusual opportunity to get right what you may not have understood or accomplished when you were considerably younger.

There is a reminder here as well, which I have mentioned once: the power aspect of sex is something you need to be careful with. This may be something that comes a little too naturally to you; it comes a little too naturally to the world, though actually I’m not sure it’s so natural. We all know that rape is an expression of power, and therefore that it’s not exactly sexual (and is very, very wrong) though we don’t think of other uses of power in place of pleasure as being a problem. I assure you that unless there’s a lot of consciousness about a mutual exchange with a focus on pleasure, it really is not so healthy for you to emphasize the power over others that sex gives you. Yet it may be a temptation.

Part of the maturity process of Saturn is going to be getting a grip on this, and also learning how to focus your sexual energy — which is a good thing because you’re likely to have plenty of it.

Transits in Pisces: Fantasy and Experiments

Pisces is your 5th solar house if you have a Scorpio Sun and your 5th house by whole-sign houses if you have Scorpio rising. Pisces may be the best sign to have on this house (Scorpio is another fun one to have there) because Pisces is a mix of fantasy, creativity and sensual experience.

The 5th is the house associated with pleasure — the kind of pleasure that kids like to have, that is, with a carefree attitude. It’s also the house of creative endeavors, gambling and games, as well as sex for fun and experimentation. Pisces here means you got the deluxe set of pastels: you have a lot of options open and are likely to have a rich erotic fantasy life. You may get into the use of images — as in sexy photos, which would be pure, wholesome Pisces fun, as long as you remember that photos are forever. It may be the persistent, enduring nakedness of photography that is such a turn-on for you; and every photo contains a memory.

Chiron is now transiting this Pisces, which is driving your curiosity and your thirst to try things rather than just wish you could. Chiron serves as a contact point, like a meeting of one dimension with the other, in this case, the idea and the experience. Chiron also focuses purpose: that would be experience for the sake of awareness and healing.

Now, most people don’t associate sex with healing, though there is a vague concept going around about sexual healing. This Chiron transit is an opportunity for you to open up that topic with yourself and see what you can do, and where you can go.

Neptune is also in this house, and you might say that it’s the dimension of pure fantasy — which may seem so real you wonder if it’s not happening on some other plane of reality. Neptune will stoke your desires, though you may not express them all; I would propose, however, that your fantasy pool is the place to go fishing if you’re looking for really interesting experiences.

I want to share an idea that I learned from the Tantra teachers who have been guests several times on Planet Waves FM (here is a link to the interviews).

The concept is about one’s core fantasy. That’s the one thing you imagine that’s sure to get you off. Not everyone has a core fantasy, though many people do. Sometimes they are focused on an activity, sometimes on a person. They may last for years; they may qualify as obsessions or fixations, but the key thing is they work. Your core fantasy may have a life as powerful as anything else you experience sexually or relationally.

It stands in a separate cosmos from the rest of your eroticism, as if it’s in a parallel universe (I call this a paracosm, or a separate reality). There can be the sensation of the two realities competing for which is ‘real’. What I learned from the Tantra kids is to allow the core fantasy to have a life of its own, to honor that life, and then live the rest of my life as I want.

Yet you may be feeling a deep calling to turn your core fantasy into an experience. I assure you: you can. But it may take some preparation, devotion to your healing (along the emotional-sexual spectrum) and one other thing: the inclusion of the spiritual element that becomes very strong for you midyear. By spiritual I don’t mean dressing up sexual experience in holy garb.

I do mean focusing on the nourishment and honoring aspect. It may not be the kind of thing you do with ‘the love of your life’ and even if you do, there may be someone else involved who is not exactly the love of your life — though there needs to be love in this particular dream, whatever its source, or style.

I would also pass on something I’ve learned about fantasy manifestation: once is not enough. Give it a chance, particularly if it’s something you’ve never tried before. Three-way sex and bisexual experimentation in particular can call for some adaptation, practice and getting into the flow. If you try it once and things are awkward and you decide it will never live up to your fantasy, you’re likely to miss out. You may dive in and have an amazing time the first time out, though I would keep an open mind and remember, this is an experiment.

Here is a dependable book that can guide you through all manner of sexual experimentation, particularly what is called the secret dalliance. If you want to do something that calls for more than two people, remember, you’re entering the territory that is usually best reserved for initiates. One must have a measure of emotional control (particularly when it comes to jealousy or encountering any feelings of being left out). But thanks to Saturn, one thing you’re learning is just that control.

In your relationships, here is what I suggest: be fully honest about who you are as a sexual being. Be real. Make no attempt to hide yourself, your desires or your experiences. Yes, you will scare off a few skittish people; you may make current partner(s) a little nervous. Yet in the end, everyone will profit from your directness.

Brief Comment About Public Image

One thing I’ve noticed about Scorpios is their concern with their public image. I have a suggestion: forget it. You may even want to play iconoclast to the whole notion of your appearance.

However, there’s a chance that you will become obsessed by how you think others see you and how you think they are thinking of you. Most of what you think will have no bearing whatsoever in reality. It’s a waste of time, energy and very likely, money.

If you find yourself obsessing over how others see you, do yourself a favor: shave your head (that’s a metaphor). Your primary path is internal; your goal, as I see it described, is to be real from the inside out, and drop your concern about appearances, how you seem or how you’re perceived.

Pay attention and you’ll notice that the more you focus on externals, perception, image and glamour, the less energy and emphasis you can put on your inner life. Remember, your astrology now is about weaving integrity (which means wholeness), not having the appearance of propriety. It’s about being willing to dare, rather than being perceived as a cautious or reserved person.

These forces are far more powerful than I’m stating here; I don’t want to oversell the case, but I would remind you: worrying about your appearance or how you think you’re perceived will distract you from your real goal, and if you find yourself on the obsessive side of the appearance thing, you may be doing it for a reason — that is, to distract yourself from your real mission.

And A Few Surprises

You may find yourself with a craving to travel internationally. Just about anywhere will do, but I suggest you focus on the one place that you’ve always wanted to go the most. This starts to engage in early summer. I suggest you plan ahead. Make your short list now and be ready to jump at an opportunity. I mean it. Okay?

Also apropos of surprises: while Saturn in your birth sign speaks of slow, steady progress, there is a peak of activity around the time of your birthday. It’s as if there’s a sudden precipitation of events around that time of year.

Two things happen: there is a rather stunning total eclipse of the Sun on Nov. 3, 2013. This is a truly unusual eclipse, which is conjunct Saturn. It happens during a Mercury retrograde. Here is my reading: things that you think might take a long time are actually going to take a lot less time than you think.

In order to take advantage of this, be ready. Put nothing off for the future. When you discover that it’s time to change something, don’t delay: get started. Follow through. Be disciplined and use your time well. I will say it again. Be disciplined and use your time well. It is precious. In truth, it’s all you have.

As someone once wrote, I stake my future on a hell of a past. It looks like tomorrow is coming on fast.

Eric also offers birthday readings and other audio reports here.

Order your past three years of annual horoscopes here.

 

Scorpio chart.

Chart for the Sun’s ingress of Scorpio.

Handwritten chart for the Sun’s ingress of Scorpio.

Scorpio minor planets.

90 degree sort of planets in early cardinal signs at the Sun’s ingress of Scorpio.

Scorpio minor planets.

30 degree sort of all planets in early degrees of signs at the Sun’s ingress of Scorpio.

Scorpio minor planets.

List of planets in early and mid fixed signs at the Sun’s ingress of Scorpio.

Scorpio minor planets.

List of major and minor planets in Scorpio and early Sag at Sun’s ingress of Scorpio.

3 Responses to Listen for Scorpio and Scorpio Rising

  1. Frigging Phoenix says:

    After listening both to Part 1 and Part 2, I know how Jesus felt.

  2. GalaxyGirl says:

    The written piece on Saturn in Scorpio is simply brilliant. Everyone needs to read this, because it explains Saturn, and everyone on the planet is living this transit. This line seems to describe right relationship to Saturn: “One word for this is discipline, which is a form of discipleship, which in this case means following your own will.” It is also a mystery, one that has been emerging from the mists for me since Capricorn solstice.

    On a personal note, with Scorpio rising conjunct Saturn, the reading describes exactly the issues before me during this pass through Scorpio, and gives me new insight. Damn serious stuff, and yet, Saturn is also telling me to schedule in playtime, feast days and celebrations, and time for pleasure and more sex. It’s my 2nd Saturn return, so TIME has even more meaning, and yes, my distant, infant past is coming up for review and release.

    Let’s just say this Saturn in Scorpio reading knocked my socks off.

  3. carmelann says:

    It’s a pleasure to hear some good advice in such a lovely speaking voice and with some fine strumming too. I waited a bit after the first part and what I could recall, as I began listening to the second part, was, focus yourself, not on yourself and don’t put so much pressure on others, in and through relationship, to help you feel good about yourself and then, know when to take authority yourself. Having just heard the second part, I feel excited about the spiritual and creative orientation it takes, but with so much emphasis on nurture and passion, sounds like it could be a disaster without knocking that “self” from the first part into good working order. Finally, I’m left with removing the control dynamics from the maternal and imagining what a wonderful world that would be…

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