Cancer 11° (July 2)

Scorpio Man

 

If Libra represents light, then Scorpio is that shadow that follows. Men of the sign are creatures of shade (in more ways than one) and their path toward success and happiness is stealthy, biding their time, doing what is necessary, largely unawares, to bring about their desires. In his youth, he is brooding and sarcastic, poking fun at, practically joking, or outright undermining his sunnier, more optimistic or blatantly popular peers; if not to their faces, then behind their backs. He personifies a sort of correction, a keeping in check of unbridled cheer, which he is wired to perceive as a set up for a fall. Ruled by planet Pluto, named for the god of the underworld—and of riches, we’ll get to that—Scorpio is likewise subversive, often gloomy, suspicious and seeking to dig below the surface of people, places and things which he simply cannot accept on face value. Pluto doesn’t live in the full, glorious glare of Olympus, but dwells in the netherworld, subterra symbolizing the world of his own subconscious, from whence he sees everything stems.

Rooted in his own interior landscape, Scorpio is the least likely of men to be swayed by external climates; only the weather within determines his actions, hopes and fears. For all his disdain for bluster and braggarts, he is ironically one of the Zodiac’s great egoists, though he’d be loath to admit it, citing a string of insecurities to prove his point. But he takes up a lot of space and energy in so doing; and his so-called friendships tend to smack of a certain psychic possession and hostage taking. Vehemently not a joiner, he instead drags others down into his underground existence, seeking to amass a band of followers, groovy ghoulies who share his gothic sensibility, mysterious if not morbid. Indeed, Scorpio man is motivated by keeping other people at bay and guessing; while his aesthetic is best described as noirish if not bordering on the downright funerary— all dead dried roses, smokey mirrors, frayed rugs and skeletal furniture. And, to extend the metaphor, Scorpio man operates very much by gaslighting. A creature of subtext, notoriously jealous and psychically possessive, he is most proprietary of those who populate his minute social circle. And should he sense they are slipping from his mind-controlling grip, he will launch cloaked attacks. An expert at subtext, he will invent narratives designed to discredit even his so-called closest cronies and freeze them out if he fears they might be plotting to ditch him first. He is the most paranoid of all the signs.

The infamous Pluto myth is that of his rape of Kore, goddess of springtime, who then transforms, 180°, into Persephone (Roman: Proserpina, from whence we get the word prosperity—still keeping a pin in the subject of “riches”). Like Pluto, in a flash, breaking from the ground to grab the goddess, Scorpio man likewise takes a smash and snatch approach, lying in wait, unseen—Pluto wore the original cloak of invisibilty. There is inferior inner voice in Scorpio that says he will be shot down if he approaches any objective desires openly. While Libra man, working his Apollo archetype, negotiates the enobling themes of rejection by Daphne, Scorpio man will not risk rebuffing, this his own central theme running through all elements of his life. He will not venture that which he is uncertain to gain. And he will not wait in hopes of life or the universe providing. He is a pessimist for whom hope is nothing; so he plots and makes every preparation to pull people and opportunities (synonymous to his mind) his way. In this way, he risks being viewed as a kind raptor-captor from whom others may ultimately seek to escape. And we’re back to the paranoia, the fear of abandonment, and the continued need to possess.

Beauty and the Beast is a retelling of the Pluto myth. The Beast/Pluto offers untold riches to Beauty/Persephone—bribes, really, which point to that Scorpion insecurity that he, alone, is somehow deficient or repugnant, and therefore must sweeten the deal in order to be loved in return. This psychology is typically rooted in Scorpio feeling unloved by his own mother, a symptom we see all too often in men of the sign. In a way, Scorpio subconsciously presents a test to would-be friends and lovers. As many people do flee from the prospect of a close relationship with this most uncompromising of men with whom life is always, in a word, intense, he poses a natural weeding-out process such that anyone who can put up with his beastly, grabby, self-centered approach to life, and love him inspite of it, will actually pass through his fogged looking glass to find that he is someone quite completely different—a benign and caring, profoundly devoted, those still dark-humored, prince among men who would literally die for those he loves. To others he may remain one of the walking dead, but to those who break through what is really a facade made of hurt and dejection, he can be his true eternal-beloved self.

With everyone else, he will continue to personify the old adage, it is better to be feared than loved, continuing probe people to show their hands, revealing their truths, just as he keeps those same souls guessing, if not on guard for his next serpentine strike.

 

To view the original Sabian Symbol themed 2015 Blague corresponding to this day: Flashback! The degree of the Sabian Symbol may be higher than the one listed here  as the symbols culminate in the next degree. There are 360  degrees spread over 365 days.

 

Typos happen—I don’t have time or an intern to edit.*
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