Today is the New Moon in Scorpio, the sign of the Shaman, the shapeshifter, the Magician, and the Phoenix. Or the Scorpion.
I started tuning in a bit more to the lunar cycles last year, though I'd been familiar with working with the New Moon to set intentions each month. Paying more attention to natural cycles is really helpful as time seems to be accelerating (and according to some sources, actually is accelerating) and being so technology centered makes us feel a bit detached and unrooted.
Noticing the moon phases literally lifts our perspective from what's going on around us, and if we have a clear night, we're also fed by the beauty of the moon and stars. Suddenly things don't seem quite so claustrophobic.
Depending on the source, the Scorpio archetype, like Pluto its 'co-ruling' archetype, is often mired in fear. Both are intense archetypes, associated with life and death cycles as well as intense feeling, change, release, and transformation.
But I don't find that finger-wagging gloom-and-doom all that helpful, to be honest. I'm more interested in the archetypes for how they guide us, how they help us to rise above, or dive below, so that we can find as-yet undiscovered treasure and bring it out for expression in the world.
Scorpio's symbols are the scorpion and the phoenix: the former 'unredeemed' and the latter 'risen' to its higher, fuller potential. The Scorpion is moody and likely to zing-and-sting you pretty nastily if caught off-guard; it's sting is its protection. The Phoenix has risen to its potential as Shaman, plumbing the depths for magic that has been lost and is ready to be found and expressed.
So the new moon has long been seen as a powerful time to set intentions that can grow to fullness with the moon, and then be harvested as the moon wanes. That means at least once a month, you're visiting with your intentions -- the seeds you'd like to see bear ripe fruit in the coming days, weeks, or months.
At the Scorpio new moon, you might play with intentions around recovering lost magic, adding magic to certain areas of your life, and renewing what's sacred in your life and making mundane things sacred. Since it's the archetype of Shaman, rituals are a natural complement.
It's also a great new moon for recognizing connection with all that is, including vast support from the Unseen -- whether in the form of spirit allies, ancestral allies, or guardian Angels. Call in support from allies one and all to aid in the manifestation of heartful, soul-aligned intentions in a joyful, magical way.
* Where would you like to experience more magic in your life?
* What deep feeling would like to find heartful expression?
* Where could adding ritual enhance your sense of connection and meaning?
* What needs too be released or transformed to allow greater magic, joy, and soul-aligned expression?
* How would you like to be an agent of transformation?
For more insights on the Scorpio new moon and prevailing 'energy opportunities', visit my friend Kim Gould's Love Your Design blog. She's a master at her craft.
Blessings on the Way,
Jamie