Archetypal Explorations:Scorpion (The Healer)
It is now Scorpio season if you follow western astrology. Scorpio is bigtime business and it is a sign and a symbol that is often misunderstood. This is a natural follow up to last weeks piece “What does a fearless life look like to you?” because Scorpio is all about confronting fear.
In astrology, Scorpio is the 8th sign of the zodiac, and it is often associated with intensity, death, rebirth and transformation. People often think about Scorpio- dominant folk “deep and edgy”. They are regarded as the psychoanalysts and the shamans. Digging ever deeper to find the truth.
We must not forget that Scorpio is a water sign, which means it is deeply related to emotions and healing. This can be confusing to think of something poisonous and dangerous is related to emotions, feeling, healing and intuition. But this archetype has a lot of healing properties to offer and I’ll explain why.
Viewing the astrological sign Scorpio as a shamanic archetype helps us to illuminate what the scorpion has to offer us. Shamanic principles take us out of the three-dimensional reality. Remove us from what we believe to be ‘real experiences’ eliminating all pretense, stories and histories to discover what lies behind.
Scorpio is dedicated to experiencing truth through feeling. Understanding that fear is simply an emotion - and not itself the truth.
Scorpion energy is that which dares to go beyond the edge. As astrologer Stephen Forrest writes - “Scorpio leaves nothing hidden in the halls of fear”. (These facts fit right in with Mars being their ruling planet - for all of you Astrology nerds). They are also survivors. They are found on most continents on earth, and have been around for millions of years.
There is a focus which Scorpio uniquely expresses - an understanding of a greater truth, and how to get there from the physical plane - by feeling. And specifically, by feeling fear and knowing that it is possible to transcend it.
This transformative journey aligns perfectly with the Scorpio-Taurus axis, where eclipses occur (there is a lunar eclipse in Taurus on Saturday) intensifying the process of shedding old patterns and embracing new beginnings. Especially as is related to our values and beliefs about the world and ourselves.
The way to the other side of what we fear must be felt.
While animism and astrological interpretation shed light on Scorpio's symbolism, the shaman archetype resonates deeply with the essence of Scorpio. Ultimately, the scorpion archetype is a healer archetype, reminding us that, like the scorpion, we can tread the edge, move beyond our pain and fear, and emerge transformed into our true selves.
“Healing is the active, moving energy that slowly turns us toward a new wholeness. It is the activation of transformative change that is initiated by circumstance. Healing is a journey that moves one through the threshold of initiation to another experience that offers integration. Healing seeks the pathway of relief, release and movement. Healing does not hold the same motive as curing, it does not seek to repair but to mend. Instead of returning one to "how it was", healing moves one beyond the edge of "how it has been" to a new place of understanding and possibility. The Applied Healer is one who is willing to sit with pain, be with pain, work with, understand and touch pain without being undone by it. Pain is its own storyteller, a journey that guides us on the edge of a sword”
- Cat Caracelo.
Pain, fear and intensity all hold information for us. If we have the courage to sit with this, we find new beginnings.
Think about what has been stirring in you lately? What fears? What old stories? Might you be able to look into this to find what is calling to you, trusting your senses in the dark - as the scorpion - to see what is unfolding? What is ready to be faced and transformed?
If you are ready to ask and act these questions - maybe it is time to enter into a coaching portal with me.