You don’t need a Scorpio Sun, Moon, houses, aspects, planets, or planetary placements to be a Scorpion. Scorpio is a fixed feeling type with long rectangular palms and long fingers. In my experience, pure Scorpions have stiffer fingers and thumbs, denser palms, and less elastic skin than Cancer and Pisces. When head and life lines closely intertwine at their start, Scorpions procrastinate at beginnings and endings and care too much what others think (no matter what they say or how they act). With long broad nails and straight pinky fingers, they tend to be almost ruthlessly open and frank. I’ve observed a lot of Scorpions with dominant first and third phalanges, rounded and conical tips, loop prints, developed knots on second joints, and very few vertical lines within the lifeline. Scorpios with no vertical lines are untrusting and untrustworthy. Scorpio has many wonderful qualities. I’m focusing on the dark side today.
Author’s note: I’ve used Donald Trump to illustrate this post, though he has nothing in Scorpio except his I.C. If you’re curious about my symbolic take on D.T. – click here.
Hands share the same mythology as astrology and tarot. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, lord of darkness. As the Roman god of sex, death, and transformation, Pluto is master of the sexual orgasm (little death). In ancient Greece, Hades was god of the underworld. In tarot, Death, High Priestess, and the Queen of Cups are Scorpio ruled. Voldemort, Darth Vader, The Mummy, and The Big Bad Wolf are modern versions. Religious extremism is the Devil’s playground.
Scorpio is black, controlling, compulsive, jealous, possessive, fearful, resentful, obstinate, secretive, suspicious, manipulative, and subversive. Scorpio seduces, covets, and betrays your sacred trust. Seduction turns him on, while betrayal gets him off. Pluto tantalizes terrorists, rewards rapists, and reassures religious predators. An eternity in hell excites, terrifies, and beckons them. A path of many dark secrets leads to the palace of sociopathy. From your first breath to your final exit, Pluto awaits your arrival. Executioners, coroners, undertakers, and morticians are ruled by Pluto.
Scorpions make manipulative bosses, mean spirited jailers, abusive parents, and jealous partners who hide their true feelings, especially the shadowy unstable side of their emotions. Your friendly neighbor, a model citizen, devoted husband, loving father, loyal friend, and faithful parishioner dies. His family finds hidden pornographic literature, secret love letters, sado-masochistic sexual supplies, illegal drugs, and concealed money in his possession. The truth becomes transparent in hindsight.
False tweets and fake facts create more opaqueness and distract us from real secrets about sex, money, and greed. A troll rationalizes the most bizarre behaviors, believing he will get away with them. His deepest and darkest fears and desires propel him towards mental, emotional, and spiritual bankruptcy and perversion. Like an evil Priest, he feigns love and compassion while physically and spiritually raping the innocent souls he has been entrusted to protect. Guilt, Shame, Remorse, and Fear faithfully guard his evil secrets.
Scorpio rules my unconscious. Gemini rules my sun, hands, and corresponding behavior. Scorpio rises in my natal chart conjunct the asteroid, Chiron (hand). Jupiter in Scorpio in my first house is a singleton in that hemisphere of my natal chart. Pluto in Leo is in my tenth house closely conjunct Saturn in Leo in my ninth. Sun Uranus and Venus Node conjunctions are in Gemini in my 8th house, along with Vulcanus, my Vertex, and a few asteroids.
When Saturn in Scorpio transited my ascendant in November of 2012, it also squared my Midheaven and natal Saturn and compelled me to deepen my foundation, build a stronger structure, and commit my life to less distraction and more discipline and focus. Saturn forced me to achieve realistic goals and challenged me to let go of everything and everyone that wasn’t working for me. I did. Thinking critically, listening carefully, and seeing clearly enabled me to rise like a phoenix from my ashes.
Jupiter is in and will remain in Scorpio until Nov. 2018. It’s transiting exactly conjunct my ascendant at this moment and will be transiting its natal position in my horoscope for much of 2018. Having spent the past seventy years with Jupiter in Scorpio, I want to share my take on the subject. Jupiter in Scorpio has been both a blessing and a jinx for me. My natal Jupiter is within minutes of opposing my stubborn 7th house Mars in Taurus and trine my sensitive ninth house Mercury in Cancer. Looking for shortcuts and finding easy paths to success has been my nemesis. Always coming out the shithouse smelling like a rose has been my blessing. William Blake said, “The path of excess leads to the palace of wisdom”. I tend to learn the hard way.
Before After
I was the hand reader at Harvey Weinstein’s wedding celebration. It was mind boggling to observe an old stale bagel and a fresh young pastry as a couple. Harvey must have spent millions creating an unforgettable extravaganza packed with famous people. I’ve read many celebrities, but none on that day. In hindsight, I wish I’d convinced the event planner to let me stroll instead of parking myself in a corner. Famous people frequently avoid me because they fear I may see what they want no one to see. Many of my favorite actors and actresses were within inches of me and yet so far away. I’m sure I’d have enchanted a few if I had been free to approach them. I sat at my station for four hours as many celebrities walked by. I mostly read the hands of their curious friends and family who lined up for miles.
Harvey Weinstein is a Pisces. Harvey’s time of birth is unknown; however, according to his day of birth (3/19/52), Mars is in Scorpio closely square Pluto in Leo. One interpretation of that combo is being a ‘sexual predator’. Harvey’s hands are Taurus with broad square palms, short plump fingers, and large fleshy pink balls of thumb revealing an acquisitive and pleasure loving nature.
I expect to see much more sexism, philandering, insider trading, evangelical hypocrisy, and partisan political power plays by November 2018. Here is my biased Scorpio perspective on our political landscape. I’m unhappy with both political parties. Republican politicians are spiritually bankrupt sadists who only smile when they’re hurting us. Democratic leaders are poverty conscious masochists, who desperately beg for a dollar or three as you sign their petitions, fill out their surveys, and pledge loyalty to their urgent causes. I sign plenty of petitions and have given a lot of $ (for me) to my favorite causes such as the ACLU, SPLC, NRDC, Sierra Club, etc., but as the saying goes, “Money talks and bullshit walks”.
Sadly, money truly is power in our world. Plutocrats are devaluing our democracy by betting on their present and ignoring our future and the future of our planet. Our entire world, society, and culture has been corrupted by a handful of greedy moguls who own our raw materials, energy, communications, transportation, food, healthcare, finance, religion, and politics. There are over 1,500 billionaires.
Many of life’s most painful lessons are a result of choosing money over values. It’s easy to rationalize the blackest behavior when your head rules your heart. I never intended to hurt anyone. No one did anything they didn’t want to do. I may not have told the whole truth, but I didn’t lie. I’m sorry for my part. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.