Ondine Energy: Working with Water

Water is our last element for our healing energy series.

The power of water (and I heard the Captain Planet intro as I typed that. Sorry.) cannot be denied.  Human beings are mostly water, as is the earth, so, when it comes to sympathetic magic, like truly works with like.  I believe it is important that we view our bodies of water as living organisms, because if our waters are healthy, it will be reflected in our own bodies.  The health of the waters also directly influences the health of the soil, and vice versa.  Water, like Earth, is a feminine, nurturing element, and, when both are balanced, the two tend to support each other.  Water signs tend to get along with Earth signs.  Emotional Water likes the steady, comforting, warm presence of Earth, and Earth is soothed by the cleansing, fertile inspiration of Water. Earth cradles Water, and Water helps Earth make new life.  Don't think Air and Fire are left out. The warmth of the sun helps seeds sprout and the wind helps spread the seed to their new homes. All the elements are needed; it's simply that, just as Air and Fire feed each other (sometimes whipping each other into frenzies) Earth and Water just mesh.

Water is the energy of deep feelings.  We "well up" with emotion. The sea inside can be calm and sunny, or froth-capped in irritation or anxiety.  When out of balance, the emotions become a tsunami, threatening to wipe out all other aspects of the personality, including rationale, intellect, motivation, and esteem for self and others.

On a positive note, Water is the energy of compassion and empathy.  It is the element of shared tears, and we spend nine months curled up warm and safe in its embrace.  It is any wonder Water energy, as well as Earth energy, is the energy of mothers and children, and of nurturing?

Water energy is tremendously healing because it embraces and cleanses.  It cools a fever and warms a chill.  It not only accepts but wraps itself around anyone who chooses to step into it, without any discrimination or judgment. In this way, Water is the energy of unconditional love. It's a salve to anger, self-loathing, and anxiety.

Since Water can be hot or cold, and can exist in different material states (as a solid, liquid, or gas) it is extremely versatile and adaptable. This is where the admittedly cliche term "go with the flow" comes from.  If you tap into (see what I did there? I can't stop!) Water energy, you will find that it helps you calmly relax into your tasks and comfortably fit in to tight situations, just as water used to mop a floor effortlessly rolls into all the nooks and crannies and covers the floor like a blanket.

Water is also the element of the subconscious.  The ocean has been compared to outer space because of all the treasures and terrors it hides from us.  We have our own ocean inside of us--it is where all our dreams and memories are stored. It is where universal truth can be discovered through meditation. It is, according to Jung, where our primordial knowledge lies, and where the archetypes dwell.  As such, this energy is transcendent.  It propels us into other realms. It carries us on its currents through darkness (and sometimes through the sewers). If consciousness is like a river, then its head begins at the deepest part of the subconscious.

A good way to manifest creative ideas in reality, or to alleviate artist's block, is to free write or doodle--move your pen and write without any censoring or knowing where the train of thought is going. This is a good way to access that river of the subconscious, which is always brimming with ideas. When your words and shapes flow like a river, it bursts through any blockages and allows the ideas to come.  This is a good use for Water energy.  It is extremely helpful for when your imagination feels all parched and chapped.

Water is the energy of dreams and secrets.  When you pay attention to your dreams, you are tapping into Water energy, the energy of the subconscious.  These are watery visions, not always clear, like images viewed through water.  Just because you cannot see to the bottom of the pond does not mean there is nothing there, however. Looking through water helps you learn how to tell truth from illusion. It also makes you brave.  Are you willing to dive deeper into yourself?

The elemental spirits of Water are Undines. There are variations of the Undine--sometimes they are depicted as tiny water sprites, and sometimes as being identical to mermaids.   A similar creature that I think of as a Water elemental is the Selkie, or Seal-Woman of Celtic folklore.   A Selkie could remove her seal skin and become a woman, and, if a man found her seal-skin and hid it, she couldn't go back to the water, and had to marry him.  However, even if she fell in love with her husband, and had children with him, she would still go back to the sea if she ever found her seal-skin. This, to me, is an apt metaphor for Water energy people--they always are yearning for love, and their true homes.  Water is associated with parental/child love, and the bonds Water energy people can forge are unbreakable.

If You're Drowning

The best counters for Water are, naturally, Fire and Air. So if you find yourself feeling weepy, or sorrowful, or unable to stop giving, or having mood swings, try these:

1) Work out. I'm not going to go into the scientific proof that exercise is good for your mental state, because it is--it releases endorphins and other chemicals in the brain that relieve stress in depression. It also increases Fire and Air energy.

2) Get out in fresh air. If you aren't afraid of heights, go someplace high up, like a balcony, a roof, or a tree.  Take a panoramic view.

3) See my entries on Fire and Air and perform the visualizations.
Here's Fire
and here's Air

Visualization for Forgiveness of the Self and Others

If you are feeling lonely, unloved, or hateful, or are having trouble forgiving someone (or yourself), imagine stepping into a pool of water.  If you can step into a pool or a bathtub in real life, so much the better.  A visualization will work just as well on dry land, though, provided you let yourself really get into it.

As with all the visualizations, make sure you get yourself into a place where you can be relaxed and undisturbed for at least 20 minutes.  Begin by sitting or lying down in a comfortable position.  Breathe naturally for a few moments. As you pay attention to your breath, you will find it slows and deepens.

Imagine that you are approaching a pool. The pool is deep blue and turquoise. The sand around it is soft and warm. If you find the night more calming, imagine the water reflects the clear sky, and all the stars in it.

Step into the pool. The water is silky, and smells like jasmine.  You splash your face with some of it.  As it touches your face, you feel a loosening. This loosening comes from a cleansing of any guilt or shame you may be feeling.  It floats away like grime, carried by the gentle lapping of the water.   You may decide to pour some of the water over yourself, washing everything away.  Or, you may dunk yourself, like a baptism, and have a little rebirth--the symbolic intention of baptism.

Imagine someone you are angry with, or afraid of, standing at the edge of the pool. This person is unable to harm you in any way.  He dangles his toes over the edge of the water. You make eye contact with him.  He asks you, either verbally or wordlessly, if he can step in.

If the thought upsets you, don't force yourself to welcome this person into your healing pool. Perhaps, in time, with repeated practice of the visualization, you will be able to give your assent, and the person may enter the pool.

You may already feel welcoming to this person. If so, he may simply join you.  If you'd like, you can also gently splash him with the water, as well, or carefully anoint them with the water.  Don't dunk them, as you might get a little carried away (just kidding). This person leaves whenever you want him to.

When you feel you are ready, gently rise from the pool.  The sun shines gently, or the stars sparkle brightly. The path welcomes you back home. If you are doing this in the bathtub, you can visualize your feelings of guilt, shame, and/or anger being sucked down the drain when you release the stopper.

Visualization for Greater Self-Awareness

Find your place where you will be uninterrupted, a place where you will feel safe and cozy.  Focus on your breathing, and relax. In this visualization, you are diving into your own subconscious, so, wherever a question is asked, don't think to hard about the answer.  Let the images and words pop up to the top, like ducks bobbing on a lake. Just let it flow.

Visualize yourself walking on a beach.  The sand is soft and fine under your feet.  The waves are the breath of the world as they move in and out with the tide.  The water is cool and pleasant, and a shade of deep blue.  Around you are bountiful seashells of pearl and peach and blush.  Among them are chips of onyx glittering smooth.  As you walk along, picking them up, you notice they lead you right up to the rocky part of the beach.   The land slopes upward from the rocks here, and inside the slope, you see a cave mouth.

The floor of the cave mouth is damp and smooth.  Through the middle of it runs a little stream that begins deep within the cave.  The little stream is lined with rocks that make perfect stepping stones. You step from rock to rock, following the stream.

As you go deeper into the cave, it becomes lit from within with phosphorescent colors.  Pay attention to the colors your subconscious picks for this exercise. Pink is innocent and happy. Yellow is sunny, but can also be sickly to indicate fear.  Green may be dark and cool, encouraging calmness and objectivity.  It may also be oozy and gangrenous.

No matter what the color, you are not afraid. You feel a sense of well-being, and excitement about what you will discover.

You reach the end of the path, to the mouth of the stream, and find yourself in a magnificent grotto, lined with precious gems and stones, stalagmites and stalactites, and looking at them is like finding shapes in the clouds--quick! what form do your stones shape? Are they castles? Dragons? Reclining mermaids? Monsters with wide jaws, or wolves with wise eyes of amber?  What do these shapes tell you? Do you see a humongous cluster of rubies in their pure state, forming what you swear looks like a Ferrari?

Do the stones sparkle, or are they dim?

Waterfalls flow down the walls and into the pool.  Droplets spray up and land softly on your lips and cheeks. It tastes like ice wine--sweet and cool.  Looking at the surface of the pool, you see the colors that swirl around the edge.  Are these colors greens, yellows, and blues?   Or are they the colors of the sunset? Maybe the water is murky, and yet, no matter how murky the water is, you still are not afraid.

You step into the pool and swim until your feet can't touch the ground. And then you dive.

You swim deeper and deeper, and as you go you realize you can breathe.  This is a relief, and it gives you confidence. If you feel a little nervous, that's okay. Just keep breathing deeply. The deeper you go, the more you feel yourself relaxing into sinking deeper, and deeper.

Deeper......

Deeper.....

Then, you're at the bottom.

Now, what do you see?

What does it look like?

What is waiting for you, or who?

What do they have to say?

Is there an object? Can you take it back with you?

Spend as much time here as you need.  Then, gently breathe yourself back up. Imagine that each breath brings you closer, and higher, and closer to the surface.  You see the lights of the grotto getting brighter, and brighter.

When you break the surface and swim to the rocks, take a moment to enjoy the feel of the water. This is your subconscious. It is a safe, nurturing place, even when it seems scary.  It can be tough, but once you explore it, and trust it, it will be your wise coach, your friend, even your savior.

Once you are out of the cavern, stay as long as you'd like in a relaxed, meditative state.

Energy and the Elements: Air

Air

Air is a masculine energy.  It is the energy that compels us to soar, to dream, and to see the big picture. In my mind, Air energy is exemplified by birds, particularly hawks, eagles, ravens, and crows, because these are birds, according to mythology, that have been credited with being messengers of the gods and escorts to the underworld.
It will behoove us to remember this.  Air is so often associated with the mental, with the objective, and the reasonable and the rational. Air is indeed the intellectual element, but these birds remind us that people with Air energy have a birthright to the subconscious and the spiritual.
The creatures associated with Air are the sylphs, tiny fairy creatures that ride the breezes.  They are  known for their slender figures and large eyes. Although they are associated with a masculine element, they are all female.

Air is the energy to harness when things are feeling obscured.  It blows away the fog. It is the energy that will help you find calm and objectivity in times of stress and sorrow.  It is the view from the mountaintop, with the breeze clean, and the view clear.
Air energy is also like a blade. It cuts away pain, and rents holes in obstacles. It is the knife that Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction and rebirth, wields, uses to slice away Illusion.
Air is also the energy to use when you need a boost in communication. Mercury, that winged messenger of the Gods (as things with wings are wont to be, going back to the hawks and eagles) isn't associated with the Air sign Gemini for nothing. Air is energy that grants the gift of blarney.  People with Air energy are well-spoken and charismatic. They are consummate at the art of persuasion, and have a gift for wit and the turning of phrases.
I associate Air energy with the eyes.  Air energy can be used to see the big picture, and the little details. It is this gift for intense scrutiny that helps solve problems. The creativity of Air energy is that of inventiveness.
Air is also good to tap into with travel matters.  It will ensure swift, safe motion.  This travel can be literal or metaphorical, such as the movement through the five stages of grief.

Healing Visualizations

Air energy is good when you have an excess of Earth and Water energies--when you feel murky, weighted, and lachrymose. In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of health, Air/Ether energy is called Vata, just as Fire/Water energy is Pitta, and Water/Earth is Kapha. Here are some visualizations to increase Vata.

To bring Air energy into your life, there are a couple visualizations. Before these visualizations, make sure you are in a place where you can be uninterrupted, a quiet place where you can feel safe. Spend a few minutes progressively relaxing your muscles, letting your breath slow and deepen.
Now, imagine you are in a wide open space. The air is clear and clean. Imagine you have wings. These wings can look however you want them to look--angelic, butterfly, raven, hawk--and these wings are strong.  These wings can carry you high and far.
Now imagine moving those wings. With each beat of these wings, energy and power builds, traveling all throughout your body, up your spine, lighting up your heart and third eye.  As this power rises, so do you, and soon you are soaring.
As you soar, you look ahead and you see your goal in front of you. As you fly closer to it, you can see the path to get there. It is clearing and opening for you.  You can see the steps to take.  You see where the shadow ends and the sunlight begins.
The sky opens to you, and it welcomes you. You feel expansive and light.  What does your sky look like?

In another visualization you can try, picture yourself standing on a mountain. You have a 360 degree view, an eagle's view. You have scaled this mountain. You have earned this vantage point. You are now above your pain and confusion. It is down in the foothills. Up here, you can see past the current difficulty, and over the fog that surrounds you.  Enjoy this moment. What does you see, down at the foot of the mountain and beyond? What is above you?

Excessive Air Energy

Excessive Air (or Vata) energy can make you feel anxious and jittery, and even give you insomnia.  It can also make you dead to your emotions, over-rational, and distant from others. Here are some meditations to help you balance this out. The best way to counteract Air is with Water and Earth.

Again, before any visualization, make sure you're in a quiet, safe place, with no interruptions. Center yourself first with progressive muscle relaxation and mindful breathing.

If you feel you need to connect with your empathy and your subconscious, you might want to try this Water visualization:

You are entering a moonlit glade. In this glade is a pool. The water is clear and clean, and the perfect temperature. You sink into it.  As you float, the moon and stars play on your face.
Or, perhaps it is a sunlit glade, and the shadows and sunshine flit across the surface of the pool like fish.
The silky water is soothing. You duck under the water, and swim through the grotto. What do you see below the surface? Are there fish? Anemones? Or perhaps just jewel toned sand? Feel the water slide and sinuate around you.

Also, on a more concrete plan, you can take a nice hot bath, or jump in a pool and do some laps.

If you need to be more grounded, try an Earth meditation:

After becoming centered, put yourself in a forest. The forest is made of trees that tower over you, forming a protective bower. They are ushering you, with a flourish, to your destination--the entrance to a cave. However, spend as much time with the trees as you'd like. Let your imagination pick whatever season it wants to settle into.  You may feel an incredible relief just being among the trees. Let it happen.

When you get to the cave entrance, you find that it is the perfect size for you to enter. The cave is cozy, warm, and sweet smelling, like a Narnian rabbit warren, or a Hobbit hole. Everywhere is a soft glow.
As you curl up, or stretch out, on the soft, comfortable bed of earth, you feel a gentle sound, infinitely familiar. It is the sound of a heart beating.

Spend as much time as you need to feel grounded and secure.

You can also increase this experience by making yourself a little hidey hole and curling up.

The Lion with a Sun for a Mane

Leo energy is associated with the lion, which is very apropos.  Leos are loyal, royal, and confident.  This energy is proud and bright, just like the sun that rules the sign.  Leo energy can be happy, whimsical,  and childlike (the sign traditionally rules children), like a marmalade- colored kitten, or noble and majestic, like the lion.

Leo is the sign of the Performer, of those who shine out from the crowd with personalities larger than life.  This energy instills a self-esteem that makes the bearer feel like a typical house cat, preening and luxurious.  After all, the sun is the center of the solar system, and that is where Leo feels most comfortable.  The sun is the spring board of creation, of life on this planet.  Leos are the lives of the party, the stars of the show, flamboyant and exuberant.  If out of balance, they are demanding and pouty, and throw colossal temper tantrums, just like Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love and war.  Ishtar was so angry that the hero Gilgamesh turned down her sexual favors that she had a wild bull sent to kill him.  When Gilgamesh's companion, Enkidu, slays the bull and tosses the bloody hide into Ishtar's temple, she kills Enkidu (MythAstrology 152-153).  The pride of this placement, and of those who have this energy, is not to be trifled with.

As the Performer, Leo brings joy to people by changing himself to fit his audience. His creativity is expressed by making people laugh, and by creating characters and scenarios. He is born for the stage, for the arts, for the microphone.  If Leo energy does not call its owner to act, it will push him to express his exuberance in some other way that enables him to interact with people. This can be as simple as being known for his friendliness and openness.

Balanced Leo energy loves an audience, but unbalanced Leo energy cannot live without one.  The unbalanced Leo energy causes its bearer to keep a mask on continuously, a mask that attempts to portray its wearer as perfect.  Underneath the cultured regality, and/or the perpetually sunny exterior, there may lurk a deep insecurity (MythAstrology 22).  The person may actually adopt Leo energy as a defense against these feelings of inferiority. This insecurity, instead of being handled in a healthy way, is a catalyst for an intense need to be the center of attention and narcissism.

When out of balance, the warmth of the Leo energy can be too encompassing. It can engulf and burn.  It can turn into rage--not the berserker rage of an Aries, but the sly, "catty" anger that can sneak up on its victim and slice him to ribbons.  It becomes a sense of entitlement, born from that hidden sense of insecurity.

On the other hand, when out of balance, the Leo energy can become cold.  Laughter fades, and creativity becomes fallow. Curiosity vanishes. The flip side of the Sun is, as we all know, the Shadow. Leo sadness is as cold and dark as Leo happiness is warm and bright.

Leo energy, when it comes to love, is pure and childlike. Since Leo is aligned with fire, the energy is passionate and active. Arien energy, also aligned with fire, is physical, competitive, courageous, and adventurous.  Sagittarius, also a fire energy, is philosophical, itinerant, blunt, and independent. Leo is glamourous, cultured, urbane, and charming.

A person with balanced Leo energy is friendly and inclusive, like the sun itself.  Its energy puts a spring or a slink in a step.  It seems to radiate from the person. Leos are full of curiosity and amusement.  The Leo, in allowing herself to be vulnerable, finds that her insecurity goes down.  In being open about her love for others, she will find that this wonderful Leo energy will grow and shine effortlessly, and she will find herself in her natural habitat--the spotlight.

Archetypes, People, and Animals associated with Leo:
Cats (especially Lions)
Actors, Comedians, Dramatists, and other Performers
The Diva
Sun gods and goddesses, especially Apollo, god of the Sun and Performance
Cybele--an Anatolian Mother Goddess who became the Greek "Mistress of Animals", a Goddess whose worship included wild music, dancing, and performance
Ishtar
Colette--the 1920s French author and actress. Though she is an Aquarius (and has that archetype and energy) she is also very strongly a Leo.

How to bring in Leo energy:
1) Visualize yourself surrounded by the light of the sun. Imagine this sunlight pooling into your body, pouring into the top of your head (your crown chakra) and traveling down your spine into your heart. Feel your heart pump that warm brightness through your body. Let it relax your muscles. Feel your face muscles relax as you smile. Stretch like a cat.

2) Take a step toward being in the spotlight--tell a joke to a group of trusted friends.  Tell a story about an adventure you had.  If you ever had a craving to act, write, or make art, take a class.

3) If you are used to being in the spotlight, the next time you are with a group, encourage someone else to speak, and really listen.

4) Think about your favorite things to do as a child--fly a kite, run through the sprinkler, water color, put on shows.  Do one of those things soon. Note how you feel afterward.  Leo is the energy of children, and it will bring sunny joy into your life if you return to your roots.

5) Put on sunscreen and walk outside on a sunny day.

6) Meditate on your favorite animal.  What qualities of the animal would you like to assimilate into your own personality?  Carry a small charm or picture of the animal as your totem.  Leo is a strong animal energy--very pure and noble, like the energy of children. Think of the lion's strength, the cat's contentment, the grace of the deer.  How can you adopt these qualities?

By the way, MythAstrology is pretty much amazing and you should buy it.

Aries: the Beginning in the Middle

Aries is the first sign in the Zodiac wheel.  As such, it is the energy of pioneers, progenitors, and paters (fathers).  It is an intensely masculine energy, and intensely fiery. It is no accident that Aries, the sign, and Ares, the Greek god of war, are homonyms, and that the name of the ruling planet, Mars, is the Roman form of Ares.

Aries energy, like its animal, the ram, butts through any obstacles. When something is wanted, and Aries energy is called upon (remember, Aries energy, like the energies of all the other signs, is archetypal, and thus is available to all, not just natives),  the one who accesses it becomes almost frenzied, yet with a sharp focus.  It compels those who have it to fling themselves at the obstacle, or toward the goal, with dedication and ferocity. Very physical, Aries is strong and active. This is a sign and an energy  that loves adventure, and is willing to put itself at risk, just as the rutting rams who pound each other into the ground, sometimes on steep stones over sheer cliff drops, are willing to put themselves at risk to prove who is the most worthy male.

Aries, like these rams, is quite competitive. This is taken to the logical conclusion with Ares/Mars, god of war; war being, of course, an extremely large-scale and deadly competition. Aries energy, if out of balance, becomes dependent on external validation--whether that is mates, accolades, trophies, or others' fear.  Like fire, the element that rules this sign, Aries can be creative or destructive, and when it is destructive, it is the berserker of the Zodiac.

Before anyone comes to the conclusion that this energy is the energy of the meatheaded jerk, keep in mind that the body part ruled by Aries is the head, the top of the body, the first part of us to enter the world. Aries is innovative and pioneering, but is different from the spirit that rules say, Aquarius.  Aries is the energy of the courageous trailblazer in the wilderness, settling towns.  It is the excitement of the navigator as he sails across the ocean to lands unknown, perfectly willing to sail off the edge of the earth, or venture into the boiling sea, where "there be monsters." Aries wants to fly to the moon, not only so he can be the first to do it (though that is a big ego boost), but to prove to others that it can be done. Aries trusts that it will survive, with at least a great story to tell, if not a world changing discovery.

Ruled by the head, the seat of the ego, Aries key phrase is "I am." When out of balance, this can lead to selfishness, and fiery childish temper tantrums, and a "me first" entitlement attitude. When balanced, Aries is warm and welcoming, like a finely tempered hearth. It is open to new adventures, both large and small, including interpersonal adventures.  People with this energy are unprejudiced and inclusive.  They become like The Emperor Tarot card, representing all the positive masculine attributes: energetic, active, wise. They are secure in who they are, and know themselves. The mind and the body are not caught in any dualistic schism (I like using big words, sometimes); they are working together.  It is easy for the physical, competitive Aries to forget that his or her own mind is a vast place to explore. It is easy to shun the quieter, gentler emotions, but Aries energy needs precisely these emotions to stay in balance and in control.

As an Aries moon, I know about the intensity of the emotions that can come with an Aries temperament. Aries rage can eat a person alive.  However,  like any fire, it will burn itself out, if it is not fed. That is the important point, here. It must not be fed.

Aries is quick to lash out, but is also quick to laugh. In balance, Aries can be great fun to be around--there's always something new to explore, and boredom is not tolerated. Aries is also one hell of a lover. I mean, come on, Rams. Horns. Ruled by the head. Get it?

Bringing Aries energy to you:
Physical activity. If you haven't worked out in a while, start by walking briskly, then work your way up.  This will bring blood flow to your head and get those endorphins going. If you can do more, do so.

What adventure do you want to have? What kind of scary thing do you want to do before you die? Mine are gallop on a horse, bungee jump, parasail, and go on an upside down roller coaster.  I've done all of these so far except gallop on a horse. Yours may be to skydive, swim with sharks, or scale a mountain. Crossing these things off a list feels awesome. What can you do to go on these adventures?

What small risks can you take? Call on Aries energy to audition for a play, invite someone out for coffee, or send out that manuscript.

If you feel out-of-control angry, close your eyes and visualize a fire. Make the fire the same size as your anger. Imagine it slowly burning out until you can fit it in a fire place. Sit and visualize the flames. Can you make it the size of a candle flame? Then, imagine it turning into softly glowing embers.

Scorpio--Mysterious. Alluring. Deep. John Cleese.

Scorpio is the sign of people born between October 22 and November 22, but anyone can access Scorpio energy. The animals associated with Scorpio are the Scorpion, the Eagle, and the Phoenix. 

Oh, I love Scorpio. I am a Jupiter in Scorpio. Jupiter is the planet of luck, so my luck comes from Scorpio energy. Plus, five of my most favorite people are Scorpios. They are all loving, vibrant people, which is interesting when you think that they are born under the sign that rules death. And sex. Lots of hot sex.

That is because, I think, people misunderstand the archetype of death, and its multiple meanings.  Think of your friendly neighborhood rotting tree stump. It is home to myriad life forms of flora and fauna. They also misunderstand Scorpio. Scorpios are not all sociopathic sex maniacs. They are creative, hilarious, and have great taste in literature. At least, the ones I know and love do. If it helps, John Cleese is a Scorpio.
One meaning for Death is change--a cleansing away of the old for the new, or using the old to nourish new life. Scorpio energy is adept at changing the old and dead into something new and flourishing.


Scorpio is charged with the heavy elements of sex, death, and rebirth. This is why the Phoenix is associated with Scorpio--it dies, but then rises again, from the ashes of the fire that killed it.  Scorpios can take pain and transmute it into something beautiful.

As for sex, the French nicknamed the orgasm "le petite mort" or "the little death." While Virgo rules the intestines, and cleans up the body, and Libra runs the lower back, keeping the body in balance, Scorpio rules the genitals. Scorpio's colors are crimson--for blood and passion, and black, for death and the deep mysteries of the subconscious. After all, Scorpio is a water sign, the element associated with the subconscious. Unlike Pisces, however, who rules spiritual secrets about the meaning of life, Scorpio knows all our dirty, sexy little secrets.

Scorpio energy is stereotypically all brooding and aristocratic and eccentric, like famous Scorpios Pablo Picasso, John Keats, and Sylvia Plath. And it can be that way, but it can also be hysterically funny. Come on people, Scorpio energy has to deal with death and rotting and squeamish sex. It's important to laugh.

Scorpios can be very convincing. This is because the energy, if handled right, can be seductive and magnetic. I find myself telling my Scorpio loved one's my life's secrets, while they listen patiently. I have no compunction about this. Healthy Scorpio energy leads to trustworthiness. In myth, people and animals with Scorpio vibes were entrusted to protect and guide the dead. Pluto, the planet that rules Scorpio, is named for the Roman god Pluto, known in Greece as Hades, the King of the Dead. He watched over his people in Elysium (Heaven), Asphodel Meadows (Greek purgatory) and Tarturus (Greek Hell).  Scorpio energy is good to have presiding over you during a soul crisis, or a "Dark Night of the Soul," as St. Thomas Moore wrote.  This energy can give you courage and strength during scary, painful, and uncertain times. It's also good to use when your psyche is withholding secrets from you. Since Scorpio rules secrets, it's pretty good at ferreting them out. Scorpios are known as the Private Eyes and 007s of the zodiac. They also make excellent therapists, because they are naturals as spelunking the subconscious. Sounds fun, huh?

Scorpios are also shamans. They are the shamans who are willing to experience life-in-death for a spiritual vision and awakening. This passion and dedication is an earmark of Scorpio, who doesn't like anything half-assed, whether it's sadomasochism, spending, or surprising their friends.

Out of balance Scorpio energy, on the other hand, leads to Charles Manson. It can also flail that tail around and sting people all willy-nilly when it's pissed. Poison Scorpio energy also tends to use people for sex.

Scorpio associations: Scorpions in Egypt, guarding the tombs of the pharoahs.
The Phoenix
Shamans
Shiva, Hindu god of Destruction, who paves the way for new things
Hecate, goddess of the New Moon, Queen of Witches and Warlocks, specializing in the enchanting of others and channeling the dead.
The Morrigan, the death facet of the Celtic three-faced goddess, and her crows and ravens--traditional messengers of the underworld and harbingers of Death
Anubis, Egyptian god of embalming, who had the head of the Jackal, another animal associated with death and corpses
therapists
spies
compost heaps

How to bring Scorpio energy into your life:
Wear deep red and/or black, especially red and black silk or satin.
Throw out the stuff in your house that you're not using. Let it die, for God's sake.
Write down things you want to manifest in your life on a piece of paper, then safely burn it. Trust that these intentions are not released to God or the Universe, and something will rise from the ashes.
Visualize fire and deep, still water
Turn something that angers or terrifies you into something tangible in your mind's eye. Then, destroy it. Imagine you are Shiva or Hecate. Just obliterate it, and then imagine something you want growing from the carcass, ashes, or empty space. You can also do this by writing things down on dishes and breaking them, or tearing up paper, or burning it (again, do this SAFELY, people) if you're kinesthetic like that. I find I do my best destroying and regenerating in my own brain. I can really let loose that way. But, if you like to crush and rip, you might want to consider making something artistic, like a collage, from your dead stuff.  You can also take an image of something that causes these negative emotions and paint or color over it. Turn the ugly into something beautiful and passionate.
Okay, I'll say it: have sex. Either solo or with another/others.