Scorpio Full Moon: May 16

Every eclipse season has its bumps, and this week we travel the rocky road as the Sun in Taurus moves into a square with Saturn in Aquarius on Sunday, May 15, at the Scorpio Full Moon lunar eclipse. What folks find most disconcerting about eclipse season is the sense of something coming, change waiting in the wings, but not knowing when it will arrive or what form it will take. Jupiter’s ingress into Aries on May 10, heightened this sense of new beginnings, but with Mercury stationing retrograde at 4°52 Gemini the same day, the change is most likely connected to revision of an already existing situation in our lives rather than something completely new.

The time leading up to Mercury's retrograde station set the stage for what will be explored during the underworld passage. Mercury passed into its shadow at 26°05 Taurus on April 26, and entered into Gemini on April 29. What has transpired in your life since then between the Taurus and Gemini areas of life? These areas are linked this year and will continue to be activated at the same time from different planets and degrees. There’s also a connection with the other side of Taurus–Scorpio.

The first eclipse along the Scorpio axis is a portal to the Venus retrograde in Gemini from Spring 2020. We’ve been digging into unconscious patterns in that area of life since then. Mars will continue that work when it goes retrograde in Gemini this October during Scorpio season. Although Gemini does not aspect Scorpio or Taurus, the narratives uncovered during the retrogrades in Mercury's mutable air sign have an opportunity for healing in the powerful waters of Scorpio.

One of the big themes of 2022 is seeking to move forward while being compelled to look back. We began the year with the Venus retrograde in Capricorn and we will end it with the Mars retrograde in Gemini. Living through “historical times” is too much for most of us to digest all at once. Mercury retrogrades are the universe’s forced pause. We’re compelled to drop out of our habitual mind, with its ingrained patterns, and traipse around in our raw subconscious material. The Taurus-Scorpio eclipse cycle is activating the dynamic tension we experienced with the squares between Saturn and Uranus in 2021. Uranus was conjunct the Sun and Moon at the Taurus New Moon on April 30. Now, the Sun is in a square with Saturn at 24°55 Taurus on May 16, at the Scorpio Full Moon lunar eclipse.

The Sun in Taurus season is illuminating the terrestrial landscape of Venus’ fixed earth sign, and giving us power to grow new life. Uranus has, of course, wanted to cultivate something strange, unusual, and unabashedly you. But it must pass the Saturn test. Saturn provides the container for the earth, tests the soil and evaluates the conditions. Before we can plant the seeds, we have to build the box for the raised bed. This weekend Saturn is challenging the Sun to double check its work. The Lord of Karma insists on proper measurement so that when the Scorpio water is unleashed it has a sturdy channel into which it can flow. Saturn’s restrictions can feel like punishment, but it would be worse to continue to build on a rotten foundation. Taurus is interested in the harvest, and what will bear fruit. Notice where you’re being asked to mend, repair, and readjust this weekend.

The Moon is in Libra on Thursday, May 12, opposing Jupiter and then Venus. The presence of Jove in the cardinal fire sign is a nice dynamic contrast, but eventually the Moon passes into the via Combusta, the burnt path, and squares Pluto in Capricorn on Friday night. This eclipse weekend will deliver us into the emotional truth of situations while also transforming some element that has previously been overlooked or seemed stuck. The last time we had eclipses in Scorpio was 2012-2013, but instead of being asked to grow, this cycle we’re being asked to let go. Saturn helps us demarcate what is and isn’t our responsibility. This eclipse will take away what isn’t serving you in the Scorpio sector of life. Fixed signs have a hard time releasing, especially when the larger context is so unstable, but the easier you loosen your grip the faster the tension will dissolve.

The Moon waxes to fullness at 25°18 Scorpio at 12:14 AM on May 16. The leader of the night sect, the Moon struggles with depression in Mars’ nocturnal home due to the intensity of the emotions experienced in Scorpio. The psychic and empathic powers of the scorpion can be used to penetrate deep beneath the surface of situations. But the drive to seek out the truth and root out the cause of the most difficult situations, no matter the cost, can leave luna feeling depressed. I don’t think it's possible to keep it light or chill this weekend, but it is a good idea to stay away from people, places, and things you know are triggers. The Taurus New Moon on April 30, was as gentle as an eclipse gets, ruled by Venus in its sign of exaltation conjunct Jupiter. There is harsh contrast with this Full Moon making a t-square with Saturn and ruled by Mars conjunct Neptune.

Mars conjunction with Neptune at 24°59 Pisces peaks on May 18, but its influence is already felt. The traditional ruler of Scorpio, Mars has an orientation towards psychic experiences, but in Pisces there’s also a desire to escape through mystical portals. Neptune dissolves our natural boundaries and increases our impulse to merge with the divine. It can lead us into fantasy or have us swimming in seas that are better left untouched. There’s a potential to penetrate hidden realms but also to disguise our desires as something else. Neptune can get us lost in fantasy but the blade of Mars will pop our illusions when we’ve gone too far into them. Seek truth and ask yourself whether what Scorpio wants you to shed is something that’s already dead. If so, better cast the rotten fish out to sea.

Scorpio is the sign that rules death and regeneration. In modern Western culture we often focus on transformation, and skip over the messy, scary, and empty parts of the process. This weekend we have an opportunity to slowly and deliberately breathe into what we would normally avoid. In effect, to embrace the void. However terrifying it might feel, eclipses are about movement, and we won’t get trapped there. In fact, we could be reborn.

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