Plunge: New Moon in Scorpio

A guide to nurture your creativity in harmony with the seasons

Welcome. Creative Contemplation is our monthly practice of connecting to the energy of the seasons to nurture our creativity. Each new moon letter includes creative prompts, a tarot reading, a special playlist, and a vision board to help guide your path.

If you haven’t already, download the accompanying journal with our monthly new moon themes, affirmations, and creative prompts for free here.

Hello.

As we enter Scorpio season (October 23 to November 22, 2023), the feeling I’m confronted with is avoidance. Scorpio is the ruler of death and rebirth (transformation), sex, other people’s money, secrets, and issues of power. Magnetic, intense, taboo, it’s no wonder this energy can make us want to run in the opposite direction.

There’s a reason this season is spooky. 

A fixed water sign, Scorpio invites us to go deep, within ourselves and with others. It asks us to find the root cause, do our shadow work, and be willing to look for the buried treasure that lies beneath our deepest fears. 

Last month, the theme for our Creative Contemplation series was Decide. Now that we’ve made a choice, our task this month is to Plunge into our creative practice, fully committed.

Our affirmation is, “I commit fully to the depths of my soul’s calling.”

With last week’s lunar eclipse in Taurus, we’re closing out a series of eclipses on the Taurus/Scorpio axis that began in November of 2021. The new moon in Scorpio on November 13th is the first after this cycle, signaling the possibility of a new relationship between our body (Taurus) and our emotions (Scorpio).

How can we tend to our collective grief and desire for vengeance while remembering the abundance of life and the importance of caring for our bodies and physical needs? 

I recommend revisiting the letter below for help grounding into your body as a counterweight during the intensity of Scorpio season.

Ground: New Moon in Taurus

Ruled by both Mars and Pluto, Scorpio knows the path to transformation is anything but comfortable. Like the Phoenix, sometimes we have to be willing to burn it all down before rising from the ashes once more and seeing the light. The theme of baptism also came up for me. A religious symbol of rebirth, what can we learn from the act of submerging ourselves in the water (from once we came) and trusting the darkness?

There’s a narrative in our culture that light is good and dark is bad but this is so far from the truth. Life is created in darkness, in the womb of our mothers and the womb of the earth. Can we reframe our perception of darkness and destruction as elements of creation?

If so, what does all of this mean for our creative practice?

Keep reading for this month’s tarot reading, collective playlist, vision board, new moon blessing, and creative inspiration/prompts for further exploration.

Creative Inspiration

While choosing songs for our playlist (scroll down for the link), I was captivated by the song, “Ten Hour Drive Through West Coast Disaster” by Shana Cleaveland. Here are the lyrics:

Ten hour drive through west coast disaster
Some of the flames and fire plains over Shasta
Cattle farms out of horror films
Will you find a way to love this world?
Underneath the waterfall by the trail
Little cooling crystals turn the air to rainbows
It's so loud
I can tell you’re scared
Holding on
Laughing in the air

The line, “Will you find a way to love this world?” spoke to me. It reminds me of the line, “In spite of this, we respond with life,” from Gabriel Garcia’s Noble Prize acceptance speech that inspired the title of the letter below.

In spite of this, we respond with life

Another thing that’s been inspiring and nourishing my soul during dark times is Harry Potter. I know, I know. It seems silly but it’s true! I wrote about the power of this story back in 2016, “How Harry Potter is Teaching Me to Be Brave,” when I listened to all of the audiobooks for the first time. Now, as a Mom, I think about Harry all the time as a way to console myself about the future and find hope.

“Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.” -Dumbledore

Harry Potter teaches us that it’s not the absence of darkness that makes life worth living. It’s knowing who we are, honing our gifts and skills, developing a strong moral compass, learning from our mistakes, and being a loyal friend. I have no idea what kind of future Noah will face but I know I can teach him values that will serve him, no matter how bleak it may be.

Finally, I love this poem from The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rilke.

The Night

You, darkness, of whom I am born–

I love you more than the flame
that limits the world
to the circle it illuminates
and excludes all the rest.

But the dark embraces everything:
shapes and shadows, creatures and me,
people, nations–just as they are.

It lets me imagine
a great presence stirring beside me.

I believe in the night.

-Rilke

Tarot Reading

This month, I wanted to try something a little different and pull a few oracle cards instead of tarot.

Imagine is from the Wisdom of the Oracle deck by Colette Baron-Reid. This card came in the protection position which cautions us not to let our fears be the place from which we create. Our beliefs are powerful and our minds can get stuck focusing on catastrophes (real and imagined), especially during Scorpio season. It’s okay to be scared and to have fears. From a place of self-compassion, gently question the reality of the stories your mind is telling you.

Use gratitude as a tool and dwell on past positive experiences to ground and remind yourself that good things are possible, too.

Next, Visions of Life Beyond Death is from the Sacred Rebels oracle deck by Alana Fairchild.

I love the imagery of this card. Our youth-obsessed culture has forsaken the wisdom of the Crone. Seeing beyond this reality, this card is an invitation to use all of our senses to perceive the rebirth on the other side of death. When the world is on fire, it can be hard to see past the destruction, but new life blooms among ashes. Trusting and acting on the possibility of new ways of being will help expand our experience of death and the gifts it may bring.

The last card I want to share is from the Isis oracle deck by Alana Fairchild.

The Key of Life symbol with the Ankh is a message that we are beginning a new cycle with the support of our ancestors and unseen help from other dimensions. Pay attention to symbols that stand out as information may come from your guides and provide a key to unlocking a mystery you’ve been trying to solve. The veil is thin during this time and you’re being gifted an opportunity to rely on forces beyond the physical plane for assistance.

Kamila Shakur

does amazing work with spiritual ancestors and I highly recommend checking out the resources she offers in her newsletter,

Walking The Path

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Additional messages are to infuse the mundane with magic (

Hunter Burgtorf

’s The Magically Mundane newsletter is a good place to start) and to bring the sacred to everyday objects and tasks. Staying focused on the details and nuances of your projects will help keep you grounded while diving deep. Lastly, don’t forget your power of choice. No matter what external circumstances present themselves, you have a choice for how you will respond.

Playlist

Stormy. Dark. Intense. This month’s playlist takes you there. I’d love to hear your Scorpio-inspired songs so don’t forget to add them here to our collective playlist or leave a comment with your suggestion and I’ll include it!

Vision Board

Here’s a sneak peek of the Scorpio vision board. If you’d like to add pins for inspiration, use this link. Let’s see what we can create, together!

Creative prompts

1. Visit a cemetery and write down epitaphs that inspire or call to you. If you can, visit the grave or resting place of one of your ancestors and ask for their blessing. See what you hear or feel and offer gratitude for their life.

2. Now is a great time to use a dream journal and pay close attention to your subconscious visions. What symbols or situations appear in your dreams or nightmares? Ask for your guides to provide insight and wisdom.

3. Find a body of water and connect to the ritual of baptism. Write down what you want to release and who you want to become. Water is a powerful element and can hold the memory and weight of what you’re ready to let go of.

New Moon Blessing

May we move through the emotional depths with courage, recognizing the strength it takes to ask for help. May we give ourselves and others tender grace as we face the darkness together and open ourselves to the lessons it has to teach. As we honor the darkness from which we came, may we nurture the light, understanding our capacity and need for both. May we walk gently into the unknown while holding a clear vision for what may yet be possible.

All my love,
Mariah

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