Lynn Wilson Astrology

“If one descends into the darkness – especially the darkness of the unconscious – one must go in full awareness and must remain aware. Otherwise one ends up like those the monster calls ‘the foolish men’, one remains trapped in the dark cave with the monster. Central then are the hero’s choices to descend and remain fully aware…”

                                        Helen Luke

“Beware anger, fear, depression – the dark side are they. A Jedi’s power flows from the force.” “A Jedi warrior uses the force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.” Star Wars – Yoda

Late fall is a time of descending; sap into the roots of plants, and the human psyche into its own interior. The days grow shorter and November is often experienced as a dark time on a subjective as well as literal level. It is a time of preparation for transformation. New flowers cannot grow until the compost has fully decomposed and the Scorpio time of year is that time of decomposition - a time of dying to one’s personal ego. At this time of year we experience the Scorpio energy as a part of the collective, regardless of our individual make-up. The transition is particularly intense this year as there are planets in aspect (sun square mars) through the first week of November that are contributing to an increase of the darker feelings on a personal and universal level. We are also headed into a year long period when the planets Saturn and Pluto will be at odds. Sensitive people are already feeling it, though the influence will not be exact until the following dates: 11/16/09, 02/01/10, and 08/21/10. Each of these planets individually brings up the need to restructure our lives and institutions, and the influence will be greatly intensified with the two of them impacting one another at this time. We are in for a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

Those who have a need to maintain the illusion of control are likely to experience this as a painful process. If we can remember to surrender to what is, not as a victim but as a student of life, then we will welcome these changes as opportunities to increase our level of self-awareness. I sometimes refer to this process as the need to scrape the barnacles off the bottom of our sailboat so we can re-varnish it in preparation for smoother sailing in the future. It is a bloody but necessary process. And for the spiritually awake it is a time of opportunity. I heartily recommend watching all of the Star Wars movies in succession during this time, as they show the need to acknowledge and incorporate our dark side, just as Luke has to acknowledge Darth Vader as his father. The entire Don Juan series by Carlos Castaneda is also a perfect read at this time. Don Juan leads Castaneda through the initiation process of a spiritual warrior, as distilled in the following: “To be a nagual means to have no points to defend. A nagual never lets anyone know that he is in charge. He comes and goes without leaving a trace. That freedom is what makes him a nagual.” This is a perfect description of the process of surrendering one’s ego. This does not mean we stop caring. Quite the opposite. It means we become more aware, more focused, and more impeccable in our actions and our thoughts.

Most of what I learned about astrology came through the dream state and I was given the following vision for the Scorpio/Pluto process. You are approached by a large alpha male dog. He’s growling, his teeth are bared and his hackles are up. You have three choices. 1) Roll over and expose your belly, hoping he’ll sniff you, lose interest, and walk away. 2) Immediately react and counter-attack. It’s possible you’ll win the battle but more likely that both dogs will walk away severely injured, if they walk away at all. 3) The measured response is to match his actions, not do a bit more. This takes courage and impeccable self-management. The lesson is that it/the situation is not personal. It is simply an opportunity for practice.

In summary this is the time of year when each of us must be willing to turn inward and face our shadow. It’s a time of facing death on a metaphorical level, in preparation for rebirth in the spring. And 2010 is a year when our shadow material will increase on a cultural level. We are seeing it in the increasing polarization in all cultures fueled largely by fundamentalist religious sects. We need to notice our personal “triggers,” particularly as they intersect with cultural events. It’s imperative that we avoid playing the victim or over-reacting, which would guarantee future escalation of the crisis.

Celebrating Halloween is a perfect way to playfully enact these fears of demons and darkness, just as celebrating the Day of the Dead is a wonderful way to honor those who have dropped their physical body but left their spirits with us. Let us all engage in this spirit of play and respectful awareness as we descend, individually and collectively, into the dark corners of this year long process of transformation.