Rose's Astro Academy | An Astrology Podcast

E23 *Topic* Zodiac Series: Understanding Scorpio

• Rose Potts • Episode 23

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In this episode of Rose's Astro Academy, we dive into the enigmatic world of Scorpio, exploring this deeply intense, transformative sign that touches each of us, no matter our Sun sign. We unpack the qualities of Scorpio as we journey into its season—a time of mystery, introspection, and preparing for metaphorical and literal winters. Scorpio energy invites us to confront life’s hidden depths, deal with powerful emotions, and recognize the shadow sides of our psyche. From obsession and loyalty to strategic thinking, Scorpios are both fiercely protective and emotionally intuitive, often seeing beyond surface appearances.

We also break down the unique qualities of Scorpio as a fixed water sign ruled by Mars, contrasting its calculated power with the impulsive, fiery drive of Mars-ruled Aries. Discover how Scorpio’s archetype manifests in birth charts, where its transformative power is emphasized by planets positioned within this sign. Perfect for anyone intrigued by the darker side of human nature or curious about Scorpio placements in their chart, this episode shines a light on the psychological depths and loyal, intense energy that defines Scorpio. Join us as we unearth the layers of this compelling sign.

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to episode 23 of Rose's Astro Academy, where we demystify the system of astrology piece by piece. For our topic episode today, we're taking a look at the sign of Scorpio. This is our third installment in a series looking at all 12 of the signs. We started off with Virgo and we're going over the qualities of each sign as the sun moves through them. Now, this talk isn't just for Scorpio suns. This applies to all of us in some way, because we all have an area of our chart where Scorpio energy is dominant. This is because in our birth chart there are 12 houses and 12 signs and, in whole, sign houses which ancient astrologers used, each sign occupied the entirety of one house. So we all have the sign of Scorpio somewhere in our birth chart and that sign occupies a particular house. Each house represents a different topic or area of your life. Some examples are finances, or relationship or home life, and so if you have Scorpio in that area, then the Scorpio themes that we're going to talk about today will influence that area of your life. Now, it's not a one-size-fits-all. It changes based on where the ruler of Scorpio, mars, is also located in your chart and many other factors. But nonetheless, understanding the themes of Scorpio will help you understand this house in your chart. It will help you understand any planets that you may have there as well. Having planets in the sign of Scorpio will accentuate the themes of Scorpio for you, and this will be accentuated even more if Scorpio is one of your big three, which is the sun, moon or rising sign.

Speaker 1:

So let's start off with reviewing the season of the year that Scorpio falls into, because this is where the qualities of the signs was originally derived from in the ancient astrological system which I practice. I love doing these talks while the actual season of the year is taking place, because moving through Scorpio season and looking at the changes seasonally really helps us to get a tangible grasp on it. So in the northern hemisphere, where this system was developed in a place with four distinct seasons, scorpio comes during the fall season. Scorpio comes next after Libra, which is where the fall equinox takes place, and the fall equinox is when the darkness of the day starts to overtake the amount of light during the day. So we can see this as during Scorpio season, the darkness is gaining, we're preparing to head into winter, the leaves are falling off the trees, the energy of death is very present during the time of Scorpio. Collectively, we are preparing to journey into the underworld, which is a symbol for the time of winter. There's a metaphorical death taking place, with the dying of all the plants around us, and in that there's an inherent promise of a future renewal. That happens as well, and thus Scorpio was a sign that is really good at plunging to those deep, dark realms of the psyche of society or of taboo or occult topics. We'll get more into this in a bit, but it's like Scorpio energy is more willing to accept and engage with the darker sides of themselves, or the collective, in a way, because they understand this darkness as part of the necessary process of renewal. What I mean when I say darker sides of self is doing things like shadow work, working on one's psyche. I can mean things also like enjoying watching horror movies or listening to true crime, or being fascinated and wanting to learn everything about the dark underbellies of society, like the mafia, for example.

Speaker 1:

Scorpios are known for being intense and penetrating. They are known for digging beneath the surface and wanting to get to the truth of the matter. They are very perceptive and able to easily see through the surface layer of things or the guise that people wear. They are very protective, which can easily turn into a propensity for jealousy or manipulation. There's a secretive side to Scorpio. They're hard to read. They're curious about the mysteries, the occult things that are dark or taboo. They don't shy away from emotional intensity or the darker sides of human nature and they are excellent strategists. They want to understand a thing or other people at a deep level. They almost cannot stand being on the surface of things, like engaging in small talk, things like that. They can become obsessive about things and have a real, enduring sense of passion for something.

Speaker 1:

Scorpios are ruled by Mars, which is our symbol for passion, and the fixed quality of Scorpio has a lot to do with loyalty. So that's where we see the enduring quality of passion. They can be really intuitive and in touch with the undercurrents, which is like the unsaid things that pass between people or the unspoken purposes or intentions behind actions. They are really good at intuitively seeing into all of these layers in interactions with others. There can also be an external prickliness to Scorpio people, kind of like a defense mechanism. You know, know, like that Scorpio sting.

Speaker 1:

Scorpios are very serious. Scorpios are great people to have deep conversations about life with, and this deep diving is almost like a corrective function that follows the superficiality of Libra, where Libra is very, very content with having that small talk and harmoniously skimming along on the surface of life like your two chums, but not really knowing each other at a deep level. Scorpio comes in and is like no, I want to know you. With heavy Scorpio placements there is often a strong dark night of the soul motif that these people experience in their lifetimes. They usually have the experience of pulling themselves through a period of deep internal darkness and emerging out the other side like a phoenix rising up from the ashes.

Speaker 1:

Scorpio is ruled by Mars, the god of war, but war in Scorpio takes on a very defensive position. Scorpio is strategic and calculating rather than being on the offense like, say, aries. Mars is the energy of passion and assertion, so we already spoke about how that passion can get quite fixed in the sign of Scorpio. Very one-minded, very obsessive, deep diving into specific topics. Scorpios prefer to take precise, calculated moves rather than impulsive action.

Speaker 1:

As a fixed sign, there is an enduring quality to Scorpio. Scorpio is resistant to change and so there is a fixed nature to the patterning of any planets in this sign. Sometimes with planets in fixed signs, we can face the same lessons again and again and have trouble making different choices. But this fixity is also where Scorpio gets its enduring passion from. Scorpios, in love, may be very possessive, but they are also very loyal as well. Being a feminine water sign, scorpio is a lot about internal processing and internalizing their experience. Maybe having more difficulty expressing that With Scorpios, they may have a calmer outward appearance, but a lot is going on underneath the surface.

Speaker 1:

Part of how we can understand Scorpio is by understanding how it expresses differently from Mars's other home of Aries. Aries is a cardinal fire sign which comes at the start of spring and as a cardinal sign, aries is really good at initiating things but less good at following them through. In Aries the passion of Mars pours outwards. There's a lot of outward expression and energy and direct and sometimes rather impulsive action that is taken. Aries energy is spontaneous and urgent. It's a fire starter. It needs to initiate something and it needs to do it now. Mars is a fiery planet, so in the fiery sign of Aries that energy gets dialed up to the point where it's almost too intense, too much to handle for some people.

Speaker 1:

On the other hand, scorpio is a fixed water sign, scorpio is far more controlled than Aries, and there's a lot of depths there. I think of it like a lake, like a big, deep still body of water. That's Scorpio energy. In Canada, we have innumerable lakes, and whenever I'm at a lake I'm just overtaken with this feeling of like what's down there? There's some unfathomable depths, even though it appears still and calm on the surface. So Aries is impulsive and Scorpio is reflective, calculating and plunging to the depths of a matter before necessarily taking any action.

Speaker 1:

Scorpio plans, strategizes, thinks things out. Scorpio is about strategic moves behind the scene and then like a sneak attack, whereas Aries really likes to start new things and maybe has trouble sticking them out. Once Scorpio finds something it likes, it really, really holds on to that with an enduring and obsessive quality. This is great. If it's, say, directed towards a topic or interest, a Scorpio person can go really far in their pursuit of understanding everything about that thing and really becoming an expert in it. This energy, though, is less healthy when it's directed towards our relationships. With both Aries and Scorpio being ruled by Mars, there's a lot to do with fighting for both of the signs. For Scorpio, though, it looks like wanting to be in control and doing so in a calculating, strategic way.

Speaker 1:

Scorpio's energy will express differently for each planet that would be in Scorpio, for example, I have my ascendant ruling planet Jupiter in Scorpio, for example, I have my ascendant ruling planet Jupiter in Scorpio. Jupiter is an energy which seeks to find a coherent whole, a grand unifying principle. Jupiter loves to broaden one's horizons through learning. For example, jupiter in Scorpio to me is where I have this obsessive passion for astrology, because I've seen it as this way that we can start to understand the nature of the cosmos and that astrology is almost pointing us towards this grand unifying principle. Jupiter in Scorpio is about expansion, which is the Jupiter principle, through depth, which is the Scorpio principle. So seeking wisdom, which Jupiter loves to do by looking beneath the surface of things. So a big interest in the psyche or hidden or occult topics, things like that. So that's to give you one example of how a planet can express in the sign of Scorpio.

Speaker 1:

I also did a whole talk on Mercury in Scorpio and on Venus in Scorpio, so you can go and check those out if you haven't listened already and you're curious about how more planets would express in this sign. So let's explore some potential shadow sides of Scorpio. All signs have a shadow side to them and with Scorpio as the sign that comes at the symbolic death, as all of the plants are dying for winter and we're just surrounded by the energy of death, I think that we can collectively agree that the shadow element of Scorpio is perhaps a little more prominent than for other signs, a little more prominent than for other signs Not to harp on Scorpios whatsoever, with having my ascendant ruling planet in Scorpio, I'm very Scorpio by nature and I think that Scorpio can have a lot of redeeming qualities as well. So, to start off, obsession is a big one that we've already touched on, and when that obsessive nature is placed on the wrong subjects, that can be destructive or harmful. When that obsession gets placed onto one's romantic relationships, for example.

Speaker 1:

Another one would be grudges. Being a fixed water sign, water signs have a lot to do with the realm of emotions and feelings and with being a fixed sign. It has a hard time letting go. So if a Scorpio feels betrayed or hurt by someone, then don't expect them to forgive that person very easily or even to ever really get over it. Scorpios can hold on to that feeling of hurt for a very long time. The next one is grief as a sign that comes at the season of the year of fall where the plants are dying to prepare for winter, there can be a heavy journey with Scorpio placements and people with prominent Scorpio in their chart to do with grief and to do with losing others and going through a lot of hard endings and as a fixed sign, they can have a really hard time of moving through that grief and letting go of it and accepting that ending. Almost they can kind of stay fixed in the hardship of that ending. Another one is emotional intensity. Scorpios can feel things very intensely and can be quick to take things the wrong way as well.

Speaker 1:

Another one is potential for manipulation. Scorpios can be very adept at reading people and having a deep psychological awareness, whether that's through deep diving into the psyche, which a lot of Scorpios like to do, or just an intuitive propensity or both. But this deep awareness means that it can be easier for Scorpios to kind of pull the strings and manipulate others. And I'm not saying that all Scorpios are manipulative, but I would say that yes, the propensity or the ability to do so successfully is there. More than with some of the other signs, scorpios can have intense trust issues. This can come back to their naturally protective nature. They don't want to feel vulnerable, they want to defend, and sometimes they defend themselves proactively by lashing out at people or by keeping people at arm's length.

Speaker 1:

So just remember that I'm generalizing here. When I say Scorpios, I don't just mean Scorpio suns or Scorpio moons or rising, I just mean the Scorpio energy in general. We all have a part of our psyche that has these qualities, but some of us are more in touch with that part than others, and this is probably represented by Scorpio in some way being prominent in your birth chart. So this has been a bit on the qualities of Scorpio. I could easily have made this talk twice as long. I find Scorpio to be a fascinating sign. If you have any questions that arose for you or you can do that on my website, rosesastroacademycom, and you can follow along on my Instagram at rosesastroacademy. Finally, if you enjoyed this episode and you want to give your thanks and help this podcast grow, then it's so, so helpful if you leave a review of the podcast and you share it with anyone in your life who you think might enjoy it as well. Anyways, that's all I have for you. See you soon for a new episode.