As the sun travels through the sign of Scorpio from October 22 through November 21, it shines a light on an area of our lives and on themes we can work with to deepen our growth and development.
The essential elements of each sign — its nature season, modality, element, polarity, ruling planet, symbol, and body part association —give us direction to understanding the significations of the sign and how we can work with its energy.
In Part 1 of this series, we explored the seven essential elements of Scorpio, which invites us to work with its powerful energies of transformation, intensity, and introspection.
Here are five key themes of Scorpio season and how you can engage with them practically.
(1) Commit to Your Desires
If you dig deep enough into the earth, you will eventually hit long-buried pools of water. This is the deep waters of Scorpio, a fixed water sign with yin energy, which is cold and dark.
Those deep wellsprings are reachable only by those who are committed, obsessed, and determined to stay the course until they reach the depths. You need a certain amount of intensity to dig to the bottom of the rabbit hole and discover what has been hidden beneath the surface—this is the Scorpio within you.
Scorpio has a laser-sharp focus, a powerful drive, and a strong desire to probe and get to the bottom of things.
Intensity sometimes gets a bad rap, but look around at people who make an impact and you will find a measure of intensity and obsession. These attributes fuel action and help us stay the course when we encounter obstacles.
Scorpio represents that part of us that is willing to get in touch with our deepest desires, and that refuses to settle for anything less —even if what we truly desire doesn’t come with the typical trappings of “success.”
As a fixed sign, Scorpio is unwavering in its commitment: to people, ideas, emotions. With Scorpio you get a deep-seated, enduring commitment. The Scorpio part of us is steadfast and loyal, a friend-til-the-end — both to others and to ourselves.
It sources its power in its inner knowing and its commitment to the depths.
Practical Takeaway:
Use this season to identify the desires and goals you feel most passionate about. Where can you apply unwavering commitment to pursuing your desires? Tap into that intensity to dig deep and pursue what truly matters to you.
(2) Embrace Your Shadows
Scorpio is focused on what lies beneath the surface: the mystery, the secrets, and the parts of ourselves we often try to hide. This is the work of plunging the depths — exploring the parts of ourselves we’ve pushed into the shadows.
The traits we push away are often those that have been shamed by others or that we’ve deemed unworthy. Whether these are emotions like grief or anger, or qualities we’ve labeled as unsavory, they get buried deep within us.
When we unshame the parts of ourselves that we’ve pushed away, we gain the freedom to live more fully, without the fear of judgment. When we stop clinging to fear—whether it’s fear of being too much, too intense, or too emotional—we open ourselves up to receive the fullness of life’s joys and challenges. More of life becomes available to us when we stop holding back pieces of ourselves.
Part of the work of Scorpio season is to venture into the shadows to find, reclaim, and embody those parts of ourselves that we’ve abandoned. By embracing all of our parts, we expand our capacity for transformation.
Practical Takeaway:
Dedicate time to shadow work this season. Ask yourself:
- What parts of me have I been hiding or shaming?
- Where have I buried emotions or traits that are too uncomfortable to face?
Use Scorpio’s energy to bring these parts of yourself to light, reclaim them, and embody them.
(3) Find Beauty in Death and Decay
Our culture highly values the beauty of spring: novelty, youth, flowers in bloom—the time of year linked to Taurus season.
Scorpio sits opposite from Taurus on the zodiac wheel. Its season coincides with the heart of the autumn season in the Northern Hemisphere — the time of year where death comes to the surface, both in nature and in many cultural observances.
All of nature is decaying: the leaves are falling off the trees, the fruits that weren’t harvested drop from the vine, and the darkness grows longer as summer’s bloom fades into memory.
Scorpio season encourages us to find the beauty in this decay. What is rotten is composted into the soil, its nutrients put to use to create fertile ground for new growth.
Scorpio season also brings celebrations of the dead: Samhain, Halloween, All Saint’s Day, el Dia de los Muertos. It also coincides with the month of Cheshvan on the Hebrew calendar, which is called the “bitter” month because it has no holidays or celebrations of life.
These celebrations of death also encourage us to become friends with our grief.
Our culture generally avoids talk of death or anything morbid or macabre. Scorpio season teaches us that by getting close to death and our grief we can create a greater appreciation for life.
Practical Takeaway:
Reflect on the endings in your life—relationships, phases, or projects—and see how they are making space for something new. Scorpio season is a time to honor these endings and find beauty in the cycles of decay and rebirth.
(4) Insource Your Power
In a world that often equates power with external success and visibility, Scorpio reminds us that real power isn’t flashy.
Scorpio has a quiet power and an understated confidence. It’s not the kind of power that comes from external accolades, status, or recognition.
Instead, Scorpio’s power is “insourced”: it is born out of self-trust, resilience, and the ability to dig deep into our own depths.
The true power that Scorpio embodies comes from being unwavering in our commitment to ourselves and our inner truth. This is the power to sit with discomfort, to stay with our desires even when they seem out of reach, and to trust that our inner resources are enough to guide us.
To ‘insource’ your power means to stop seeking validation, approval, or permission from outside sources. Instead, you connect to your own strength, trusting that the depth of your experience and intuition will carry you forward. Scorpio’s deep, fixed energy gives us the perseverance to keep going, to trust that the power within is greater than any external force.
Practical Takeaway:
Spend time reflecting on where you’re looking for power externally.
- What would it look like to turn inward and trust your own inner strength?
- How can you source your power from within, rather than relying on external validation or success
(5) Grow Through Shedding
Scorpio is symbolized by the scorpion, an animal with a hard shell that grows through the process of molting. The scorpion literally crawls out of its hard outer shell, revealing the soft tenderness that lies underneath before it forms a new outer shell that fits where it is now.
As it abandons its old skin—its old identity—in favor of a new outer layer, it maintains the essence of what’s underneath the shell.
It’s a simultaneous death and rebirth.
Scorpio season reminds us that we, too, must periodically shed our old identities in favor of new identities that fit us better. Each time we shed those outer layers that no longer serve us, we get a chance to reconnect with the unchanging core of ourselves that exists beneath the surface: the soft, juicy, and tender parts that form our essence.
Practical Takeaway:
Take stock of what feels outdated in your life—beliefs, behaviors, or identities. What can you shed in order to make room for growth? This is a time to embrace change and allow yourself to evolve.
Conclusion
Scorpio season offers us an opportunity to connect with our true desires, dig deep, embrace our shadows, resource ourselves from within, connect with our power, and compost what is decaying to create new life. As we shed what is no longer serving us, we emerge more connected to our truest selves, resourced from the depths of our beings, and transformed into our next evolution.
Want to go deeper?
In my Practical Astrology course, I teach you how to work with the energies of the signs and planets in ways that are specific to your personal chart. Click here to get on the waiting list.
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