As I feel the decent of the Sun's Scorpio energy falling down upon me I feel deeply grounded, calmed and for the first time during this past cycle of the wheel completely at ease. The Scorpio Sun is true to it's nature in that it is hidden behind dark clouds, felt but rarely seen at the end of this October month, becoming even darker as the Scorpion energy grows in strength throughout the November month. This upcoming month that leads me deeper into darker days and nights is my birth month.
I am a Scorpio. I was born during this drab, chilly time of year. Growing up I wished for a different birthdate, one in which I could have pool parties with my friends, or Easter egg hunts, or bonfires in the field, it looked as though any month besides November proved to have an upside to it. I attended birthday parties for my friends who had been born during sunnier or more festive times and it seemed to me that November was just a grey, long month of empty hanging space, the time between Halloween (Samhain to me now) and Christmas (Yule), almost a place keeper between fun and celebration, a non~month if you will.
As I've grown up and entered my ministry as a Priestess I have found a deep fondness for this upcoming month, not only because it resonates so strongly with my phoenix soul, but also because this month of space is the month that I have found my magic, my mystery and most importantly my sense of greatest ease and comfort in.
Feminine Mysticism teaches me that what I experience outside of myself is a reflection of my inner state, when I cycle into the month of November my outsides reflects back to me what my inner self most needs. Space to be in the dark, quiet to explore the mystery and a stillness so still and so potent that my yin qi runs as cool as the icy wind outside of my window.
I am called into the depths of my feminine self during this phase of the wheel. The patriarchy taught me to fear the dark, to recoil from the cold, to worship at the alter of fiery lighted masculine energy. It tried to push me away from my feminine nature and into a world that was flashy, fast and extreme. By the time the month of November rolled around there was no amount of patriarchy that could shield me from the dark cool nature of the Goddess.
The dark has been named spooky and spooky has been called evil, the dark was said to shield the faces of the evil spirits that haunted this realm, spirits that would try to steal your soul and send you to the underworld, to hell. Of course we know now that all of these deeply feminine aspects that were demonized in the patriarchy's overthrow of the Western world are in fact richly powerful and transformative qualities.
The dark is the Goddess, She is the mystery, the void, the womb, the space of emptiness. November is Her month for me. November begins directly after the eve of Samhain, a night when the spirits of the ancestors are welcomed back through the thinned veil, a night when the spirit realm and the human walk closely beside each other. The next morning is the first day of November, November is entered once we have communed and reached through the veil of this realm and the next, that realm that the patriarchy tried to shield us form with tales of evil spirits and damned places called hell. (Remove an 'l' from hell and you have Hel the Goddess who rules Helheim, the realm of the dead).
In following the cycle of the wheel and growing through the spiral of the year I am left in this barren month with a keen awareness of the other realm, with an openness to explore the depths of my own darkness, my shadow self as well as my Divine Feminine. This month requires nothing more of me then to simply be with my powerful self. There is little comfort in this month outside of me, I must go within and even when I do I don't find the cozy cave of Winter's hibernation yet, I find an empty cave awaiting me, entreating me to fill it with all that I will need when the deep slumber of Winter arrives. My work is heavy, deep, intense and oh so fulfilling, it is the work of the Scorpio Goddess Archetype. When I enter the barren internal cave my arms are full from the harvest of September, my spirit is inspired from the time spent communing with the ancestors of Samhain and I am ready to create and to build.
In my internal cave I first lay out my crystal ball, my Goddess cards, my pendulum, I am ready to go deep, I am ready to be magic. I lie out fur rugs to keep me warm in the upcoming months, yet for now I wrap my shawl around my shoulders and prepare to sit down, to gaze into the crystal ball before me and to align myself with my deepest highest self. This is my metaphoric journey that happens during the month of Scorpio. Each year the experience is different and each year I look forward to being in my astrological essence a little more.
There have been many tools that I've used over the Novembers of my life, some that have taken me into the sadness of my inner darkness, some that have lit up my spiritual juice, and others that have led me bravely through the dark nights of my soul and brought me face to face with my shadow self. All of these November's have been rich and deep fertilizer for my life's work.
As my cycles become more conscious I can look back and see what has helped me align and what has brought me out of alignment during these periods of my life, I have found that :
- over~sharing 'senses' that I am picking up, inspirations that are descending upon me and any other seed of internal knowing that has not had time to take root whisks away chances for deep and meaningful work.
- over~scheduling myself with activities, social engagements and work keeps me buoyed to the surface of life during a time when the tides of the Ocean are ripe to pull me down, deep into Her depths.
- over~caffeinating myself keeps me jittery and unable to tap into the inner stillness that connects me to my inner Goddess self.
- over~eating processed and junk foods make me feel zoned out and lethargic during this dark month.
When I remain aware of what hasn't worked for me in the past and stay committed to that which has:
- holding sacred silence, secrecy, a sense of reverence for the mystery that slowly wells up within my womb space, my inner cauldron, my intuitive gut. This sacred silence gives me the space to digest the spiritual messages that I receive at this time and allows them to germinate and to take root within during Winter's hibernation.
- journalling, lucid dreaming, meditation, prayer, yoga. Internal, solitary activities that slow me down and open me up to receiving the potency of the mystery that enshrouds this month.
- this is the time of year when herbs, tinctures, teas, tonics and ciders awaken me to my Priestess self. Earthy potions that nourish my qi and warm me from the inside out keep my inner fires lit during the dark, damp days of November.
- hearty meals, stews, soups, potatoes all keep me grounded as the waters of Scorpio and the winds of the Autumn season call on me to dive deep into the intuitive waters and to rise high into the ethers of my third eye. Earthy foods, cooked at home help to sustain and strengthen my physical vessel as it is stretched wide open and laid at the altar of the Spirit realm.
Through utilizing the above tools and avoiding some of the hindrances I am prepared to let go and to just be fully Scorpio, fully in my Priestess self, in my magic and in my glory.
Where I once only felt at home in the dark, autumnal season, I now am able to enjoy the flavours of each season, each month, each cycle of the wheel. Once I began to consciously merge with my birth month I found my home base in the calendar year. I am comforted throughout the other cycles of the wheel, ones that feel busier, lighter, more frivolous than my Scorpio nature is at ease in, knowing that my cycle of the year is on it's way. Once I began to allow myself to be present with whatever cycle of the year I was in and to soak up what each cycle had to offer I was able to become more integrated into my life experience. Rather than hiding away from the bright Sun, or shielding myself from the delicate nature of Spring, I could experiment with dancing in different energies knowing that my time would come with the advent of the Autumn season. I have learnt to be light, to have fun, to be engaged in the manifestation process, always with the comfort of coming home to my November month.
I suspect that each of us is most at home with one particular month of the year, for some it may be their birth month, the Gemini's ready to dance and play in June's new Sun, the Capricorns prepared to share their traditional stories around the fire in the dark of a January night and the Taurus' ready for romance and sweets as the buds of spring bloom. These birth months are like our touchstones, our yearly energetic imprints, the space where we are the most comfortable in our own skins this comfort fortifies us so that we may be true to ourselves throughout the rest of the year as we journey out of our comfort zone. The more we can soak up our month, birth month or other, the easier it becomes to open up and to integrate the essence of each month, we can integrate :
January's sense of traditions and wisdom, with
February's forward thinking and wild rebellion, with
March's inspired creativity, with
April's bright burst of excitement and energy, with
May's romance, sweetness and blossoming, with
June's busy fun times, with
July's motherly warm embrace, with
August's extroverted loud expression, with
September's dedicated harvesting, with
October's discernment and communion, with
November's openness, space and stillness, with
December's joy and exuberance.
As you connect to the month that resonates the most with who you are and strengthen that foundational self, soon you will find, as I have, that the dance from open space of spirit in the dark month to the romance and sweetness in the light month are not as far apart as they once were, the integration of all of the month's energies connect you to your whole self and in the light of this whole self a greater awareness of the One Goddess within everything and everyone begins to dawn.
I revel in this integration, and send up a prayer of thanks to the Goddess that my time, my true north month is almost here, I pray November inspires and brings as much magic to you as it has to me throughout the November's of my life.
Grace Be With You,
Priestess of Grace,
Candise Soaring Butterfly
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