Scorpio New Moon Meditation for 2003:

Cherish the Fragrance

By Jean Hinson Lall

A delicate bottle of perfume lies broken, releasing its fragrance.
The accidental nature of opportunities that impel one to break away from a past, the remembrance of which is still poignant and cherished.

At the Equinox last month we stepped out into the Libran world of social awareness, concern for justice, and care for beauty and proportion both in relationships and in the world around us. We formed or renewed partnerships and recommitted ourselves to social tasks. Now, in Scorpio, we begin to give real body to those commitments. We move from Air to Water - from a thoughtful attention to the forms and appearances of things to an emotional penetration into their core.

Where Libra has set the stage with refinement and civility, Scorpio now infuses emotions with the full force of awakened instinct, making possible the joy and the pain of complete union with the partner. After the socially correct, elegantly choreographed wedding comes the staining of the sheets on the nuptial bed. The courting couple on their best behavior transform into the married pair who must learn to live with the beast in one another and with the uncivilized parts of themselves which inevitably emerge in the crucible of committed love. Expectations of fairness are violated by the reality of what the partner can or will deliver, and we come to understand that no relationship of any substance is ever fifty-fifty. Raw emotions and power struggles may repeatedly shatter the veneer of correct behavior, forcing us to mature psychologically and spiritually and take the art of relationship to unexpected depths.

This month's New Moon brings a concentration of Scorpio energy, with Mercury joining the Sun and Moon in the same degree and Venus positioned later in the sign at 19 degrees. This should be an excellent time for getting in touch with emotions (well, actually, they will probably be getting in touch with us!) and channeling them into regenerative work, whether it be replacing old pipes and plumbing fixtures, drastically reworking the family budget, or cooking our psychological complexes. The trine to Mars in early Pisces and Uranus at the end of Aquarius should assist in such alchemical tasks.

There may be no shortage of material to work with, due to the difficult placement of Venus, who is in the sign of her detriment, makes only a weak separating aspect to Saturn in Cancer, and conjoins the South Node. Venus, the goddess who guides us in shaping relationships, finding proportion, and giving conscious expression to tastes and values, is frankly in the pits, undergoing an Underworld journey. There may be difficulties in joint finances resulting from past decisions or inactions. We might find ourselves caught up in unexpected quarrels, falsely accused or unjustifiably punished, or feeling unreasonably suspicious of others. Negative projections will be rife. All the dark emotions - jealousy and envy, covetousness and greed, anger, hatred and spite - may spill out in ways that seem out of proportion to the reality of the situation. Unable to control their own emotions, some people may exert intense efforts to control others, or even to harm or destroy them.

Experiences like these force us to examine our own limitations and faults and sort them out from other people's (possibly lurid) imagination of us. They may bring to the surface issues we actually need to deal with, or they may teach us to resist shadow projections and stand up against bullying and cruelty.

Venus's journey through Scorpio goes against the grain, but is a necessary part of her cycle and ours. Here we sacrifice the desire for everything and everyone to be nice and learn to value the dark emotions and give place to the negative. We come to grips with the blood and guts of existence and the inevitability of death. We realize what needs to be sacrificed in order for us to grow and our relationships to flourish, and we find the courage to do it. We are led to find beauty in states of breakdown, loss and death, for where normality collapses or the body decays, soul may shine through with unexpected radiance.

In the image associated with the second degree of Scorpio, "a delicate bottle of perfume lies broken, releasing its fragrance." The sense of smell has a particular link with Scorpio, which is said to have a "nose" for what's going on, especially at an emotional level. Fragrant odors can awaken the instincts and stir both memory and desire, both nostalgia for the happiness of the past and the love that draws us toward the future. They also serve to unite heaven and earth through ritual, as in the use of incense in worship, or of perfumed oils for the anointing of kings and priests, in initiation ceremonies such as baptism (accompanied in some communities by "sealing" with oil of chrism), in deathbed rites, or in the preparation of the body for burial. This degree symbol calls to mind the New Testament accounts of the woman who broke open an alabaster flask and anointed Jesus with precious fragrant oil shortly before his trial and crucifixion (Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50, and John 12:1-8).

As you approach this New Moon, follow the fragrance of memory and desire to the place of consecration and renewal within your heart. Release all that is past, but cherish its perfume as you journey onward.