SCORPIO

Hoar-frost and hail and blight spring from the excesses and disorders of this element of love, which to know in
relation to the revolutions of the heavenly bodies and the seasons of the year is termed astronomy. Furthermore, all
sacrifices and the whole province of divination, which is the art of communion between gods and men - these I say
are concerned only with the preservation of the good and the cure of the evil love.
The Symposium

The honey bee brings down the nectar of the gods and only its barbed sting reminds us of its
relation to the scorpion which has been its symbolic antithesis from ancient times. The sweeter
agent of growth is sharply contrasted with that dread creature whose sting can deliver death and
whose grasping claws seem to threaten even the celestial bodies. The flow of love through the
spatial spheres is arrested in the sign of the Scorpion and its force explodes in outbursts of starry
matter, in fiery emissions of cosmic seed.
The constellation of Scorpio lies in that region of the sky where many brilliant temporary stars
have appeared. The violent activity in this part of the heavens undoubtedly led the ancients to
attribute to Scorpio a malevolent force, and the immensity and brilliance of the great red star
Antares possibly encouraged them to emphasize the influence of the warlike planet of Mars.
Antares lies in the direction of the centre of our galaxy and has been known for millennia as the
heart of the great Scorpion. It is several hundred times the sun's diameter and thousands of times
more luminous; its throbbing reddish body radiates out a fiery aura about which whirls a vast and
intricate nebular cloud. The constellation near Antares is the only group of stars forming a curve
which bends back upon itself, thus actually describing a scorpion shape. Its explosive nature was
echoed in the Euphratean names Bilu-sha-ziri, the Lord of the Seed, and Dar-Lugal, the King of
Lightning, or Luga Tudda, the Lusty King. In the Akkadian lunar zodiac, Scorpio was called
Girtab, the Seizer and Stinger, and the ideograph 'Gir' was rendered as a blade, a sting or a pointed
tail and meant either 'to strike' or 'lightning'. The relationship of the striking of lightning to the idea
of the Lord of the Seed is echoed elsewhere in the world. Even in recent times the Hopi have
enacted a mystery play wherein the fertilizing of the corn maiden is symbolically accompanied by
lightning shafts dropped down upon an altar. There are suggestions in Middle Eastern cultures that
a being might strike himself, as it were, and in the twelfth century B.C. the Babylonians carved
boundary stones depicting men with scorpion tails, stinging themselves.
At one time Scorpio was believed to arch across a far greater portion of the heavenly vault than is
allotted to it now, and its influence upon the neighbouring signs was recorded. The Scorpion's
relation to the centaur-like archer of Sagittarius inspired the Babylonians to depict the latter with a
scorpion's body or with the scorpion shown under the horse's belly. Some show the archer's arrow
aimed at the scorpion's heart, while others graphically indicate the grasping claws reaching around
the membrum virile of the archer's horse. The relationship of Scorpio and Libra is complicated by
the fact that in esoteric tradition Libra is said to have been inserted in the midst of Virgo-Scorpio,
which once comprised a single sign - the sixth of ten celestial centres of influence. This would have
placed Sagittarius in the seventh position, which suggests that the creation linked with this sign is in
some sense completed by the seventh stage of evolution, but due to the separation of Virgo and
Scorpio, it actually appears only in the ninth stage. There is a striking analogy in human
conception, a process which is completed at seven months though the conclusion of nine months is
required for the visible appearance of the new life. Sabean astrological doctrine guarded the
teaching that within the double sign of Virgo-Scorpio was hidden the explanation of "the gradual
transformation of the world from its spiritual and subjective into the 'two-sexed' sublunary state".
Perhaps in this lies a clue which may suggest the mysterious gestation inherent in the process of
foetal development between the seventh and ninth month.
Hindu tradition teaches that Virgo or Kanya represents the energies of shakti while Scorpio or
Vriscikam symbolizes the universe expanded just prior to its coming into material existence.
Between these two is Libra or Tula which paves the way to Nara, the earthly Adam. The Vishnu
Purana speaks of the Seventh Creation as that of man while the Eighth is called a 'blind' and refers
to a purely mental process leading to the cognition of the Ninth Creation - that of the Kumaras -
wherein the fruits of the labours of those Dhyanis who incarnated within the senseless shells of the
first two Root Races was realized, culminating in the creation of self-conscious divine men. The
signs of Virgo-Libra-Scorpio are critically important in attempting to understand this great mystery,
for in them the potentials that slumber in Leo become distinct and separate elements, a necessary
condition for manifested creation. Thus the necessary separation of Virgo-Libra-Scorpio results in
manifestation and generation, while the union of the three brings about the destruction of the
phenomenal universe.
From Aries through Libra the creative life-force has been operating externally. In Scorpio it
becomes indrawn to form a reservoir of energy for the soul's later efforts. The motive power of
evolution is Fohat, which ever works in an undulating motion - a creative dialectic between the
latent and the active, the ascending and the descending. Its hieroglyphic symbol is that of a serpent,
and is illustrated in varying forms in the glyphs for Taurus where the energy is latent, Leo where it
is activated, Scorpio where it is fully awake, and, ultimately, Aquarius where its duality is
transcended. In Scorpio this serpent is poised and ready to strike, and with its awakening, Fohat
compels and must be brought under control. Legends abound of heroes who have conquered this
serpent just as Hercules slew the nine-headed hydra of Hernae and Saint George slew the dragon. In
Scorpio the serpent begins to uncoil in man and stretch up through the wheels
or chakras corresponding to the various plexuses of the body until it finally reaches the Third Eye
of Shiva, wherein man recovers his sense of the eternal.
From the solar plexus, the vital force is awakened when stung by the dagger of desire, and by
ascending to the realm of the higher mind, it can help to heal the wound inflicted by itself.
 In the zodiac, Vriscikam or Scorpio is placed opposite Pranava the Word, for the universe of
thought, Vishnu or that which is expanded, unfolds downward from Pranava. The expansion of the
primitive germ into the universe is said to be possible only because the tattvams associated with
Tula are interposed between the Jivatma of Leo and the maya of Virgo. This separation between the
Lion and the Virgin leads to the drowsy state called svapnavastha, associated with Vishnu. "The
dreamy state is induced through the instrumentality of the Tatvams," The Ego, having ceased to
experience the limitlessness of sushupti, is drawn back into the realm of the subtle interplay of
feelings and sensations that mark the period of sleep just prior to its waking to the utter limitation of
physical space and time.
When woman issues from the rib of the second Adam the pure Virgo is separated, and falling 'into generation', or
the downward cycle, becomes Scorpio, emblem of sin and matter.

In Scorpio the separated self has become a well-defined centre enclosed by a wall. It marks the
soul's objectification of the self under the aegis of conceptual consciousness. This separation is
epitomized in the division of the sexes which accentuates 'the Fall' of unified spirit into the
diversity of matter. Scorpio corresponds to that period in man's collective life "which lies under the
threat of death11, for the Fire of Fohat awakened is far more dangerous than flames that may burn
the flesh. The ignorant man, foolishly pursuing his desires, is apt unknowingly to commit the error
of Phaethon whose desire to drive his father's solar chariot plunged him to his death. The impatient
son grabbed the reins of power and the uncontrolled car scorched the earth in its course. Perhaps the
greatest threat of death is that inherent in duality itself and in the downward generation that resulted
in the separation of the sexes. Speaking of this mystically, it may be said that the dualism of
religion is theoretically superficial. In actual fact, there is always something extra - a third term
which prevents the two opposing terms from cancelling each other out, forcing both these
principles to yield, to function alternately and not simultaneously. This third term seems to
encourage the persistence of the dual state and it certainly serves to keep the twin currents
(ascending and descending) of alchemical solution and coagulation in perpetual rotation.
The constellation of Scorpio is said to be in the negative house of Mars, which represents the
creative undulatory force in nature. Ancient astrologers claimed that Scorpio was the birthplace of
fiery Mars, a close association which merits attention. H.P.BIavatsky depicted Mars as "the lord of
birth and death, of generation and destruction, of ploughing, of building, of sculpture or stone
cutting, of architecture. ... He was the primeval principle, disintegrating into the modification of the
two opposites for production." Mars intensifies in Aries and holds the birthplace of the day just as
he holds the place of its death which is Scorpio. In the positive martial sign of Aries lies the
beginning of the separative process, whereas its culminating phase lies in Scorpio.
Scorpio's double-edged nature seems to have been reflected in the early translations of cuneiform
texts where it was termed the Double Sword or 'the place where one bows down'. This latter is
reminiscent of Libra depicted as a man bowing while balanced upon one knee. It also suggests the
curved tail of the scorpion arching over its back, and perhaps the prospect of the lightning strike of
this fiery sting encourages true humility in the attempt to control the good and evil potential of the
mighty forces of Vriscikam. That this may be trying for those whose natal position places them
under the fierce influence of this sign is borne out in the nature of the characteristics which it tends
to manifest. Where many ancient Roman astrologers stressed the destructive and even treacherous
nature of Scorpio, Firmicus suggested a more balanced approach. He recognized the tendency
toward temerity and impetuosity while at the same time he pointed to the spontaneous generosity
and stout-heartedness that accompany the tempestuous desires which sometimes bedevil the native
of Scorpio.
The central propensity of Scorpio is desire manifesting as a riotous energy which rules the native
and propels him to rush into action. To the unrestrained Scorpio, nothing is too much trouble. There
is no point in hesitation, shirking or temporizing. He will plunge into a task for its own sake,
treating work as a natural expression of overflowing energy. The individual impelled by this
massive force may bring to life an abundant generosity which cannot be sustained without this
energy. He is not held back by caution for himself, although he can appear selfish through a lack of
consideration for the timidities or susceptibilities of others. This lack of compromise and tact, the
tendency to run roughshod over things and to overdo without any sense of limit, well typifies the
negative and dangerous aspect of this energetic nature. Radical interference is almost an irresistible
and sometimes fatal temptation to the native faced with a tiresome situation. He would rather bring
the house down with him than suffer what he imagines to be hypocrisy, and he can easily be the
agent through which powerfully destructive forces may work, resulting in his tragic downfall.
Trishna, that thirst which makes the living drink
Deeper and deeper of the false salt waves
Whereon they float, pleasures, ambitions, wealth,
Praise, fame, or domination, conquest, love,
Rich meats and robes, and fair abodes and pride
Of ancient lives, and lust of days, and strife
To live, and sins that flow from strife, some sweet,
Some bitter.

In Buddhist iconography the nidana trishna is depicted as a woman offering a drink to a seated
man. This thirst arises out of the kamic sensations and feelings of vedana which are produced
through the senses and through consciousness. This hunger or craving for activity, excitement, this
feverish unsatisfied longing, is tanha, the flame of desire that ensures generation and rebirth.
With trishnabegins the karma-bhava or the generation of karma in the present life, when passive
feeling becomes active desire, and sensation becomes craving, for in the separated sign of Scorpio
lies "the degradation of the whole universe in its course of evolution downward from the subjective
to the objective". Said the Buddha:
What, O Monks, is the origin of suffering? It is that craving which gives rise to ever fresh rebirth and bound up with
pleasure and lust, now here, now there, finds ever fresh delight.

As Aristophanes said in the Symposium, "Hoar-frost and hail and blight spring from the excesses
and disorders of this element of love", and it is with the activation of desire that good and evil love
manifest, laying the ground for the battlefield of spiritual life. This is fought through the
complexities of human relation, for "all human problems are of relationship, and all relationships
are symbolized in the zodiac". Scorpio dramatizes this truth especially, for the greatest desires and
difficulties arise from the seeming separation that subsists between man and woman. Plato taught of
a time when man was one whole spherical being which craved not itself but rested content in its
completeness. It came to pass that this being divided into halves, each becoming separated from the
other, each doomed to suffer longing and discontent while searching for its other half. It is this
anguished state of consciousness that Scorpio represents when men and women seek the lesser eros.
In the Timaeus Plato spoke of the sexes as living as if independent from the beings that experience
them, and that their union reflects the greatest initiatory truths which transcended the laws of
biology ~ a sort of dialectic in psycho-transference, in Jungian language. The gleam of desire in
restless eyes is lit by the same fire that at the highest level brings down into manifestation the
electrical energy of creation.
The artificial antagonism that exists between the sexes is aggravated by alternating waves of
craving and pain which envelop all earthbound love and ensure its inevitable frustration. Craving is
born in the longing for a completeness which can never be found externally in the world, while pain
is the child of an ancient wound brought about by the apparent loss of one's wholeness. The loss is
that of Virgo falling from purity, from her celestial seat upon the lap of her lion-king. Her loss is
suggested also in the separation of Scorpio, for he is like the progeny that resulted after she was
plucked from Adam's side, the biblical Cain who was cast out of paradise. Each half of the once
whole sphere looks for its other half. Each sex looks to the other and in so doing, blames the other
for its sense of loss, its incompleteness. While men and women crave one another in this faltering
and futile manner, they simultaneously blame one another for being the painful reminder of their
own lack of wholeness, their loss of the innocence that is synonymous with the radiant purity of
oneness. Human history is marred with the silent or noisy rebuke that men and women show each
other. If the claws of the celestial Scorpion are under the influence of Venus desiring union, its tail
is totally under the influence of Mars and carries the poisonous thorn concealed beneath the rose.
Horus saith: 'O my serpent Khet, thou Mighty Fire, from whose mouth cometh forth this flame which is in my Eye,
whose undulations are guarded by my children, open thy mouth. . . . The fire which is in this serpent shall come
forth, and shall blaze against these enemies whensoever Horus decreeth that it shall do so.'

This serpentine force fashioned the universe, creating man within it, and man in his turn can use
this force for creation. This fohatic force can destroy the forces that bind down the soul in matter
but only if man will overcome craving. The conquering of trishnawithin the battlefield of the
human heart requires the transmutation of the energy of desire, which must find coherence in a
secret place secluded from the outward arenas of human existence. The alchemists knew this well
and held Scorpio in high regard, for they understood that only when the sun was in this sign could
iron be transmuted into gold. In man this transmutation must be brought about in consciousness but
without disdaining the physical temple and its activities. The Buddhist seeks to do this through
sacramental exercises which involve the harnessing of the energy of desire as well as the emotions
for spiritual purposes. This is seen to be critical because of the fact that the greater part of the total
energy available to the personality is dammed up within lower channels. The sacraments which
must take place in the mind are believed to be efficacious because they reflect the transcendental
reality of interpenetration. It is known that man can experience this expansion of reality through a
profound alchemical transmutation within his vestures. He can learn to engender within himself
the vivrta form of the Bodhichitta (Wisdom-Heart) instead of the grosser vital essence which, if
dissipated, binds him to the realm of sense perceptions. The higher spiritual energies can never be
released if their transmutation is short-circuited through lower avenues of expression.
In this tradition the whole world is said to be divided into a passive mental 'womb-element' and an
active material 'diamond-element', or into infinite combinations of wisdom and
compassion, prajna and upaya. They represent the converging currents flowing within the
individual, and their perfect detached balance alone releases the highest fohatic energy. The pure
reflection of prajnopayaat the individual level is extremely difficult to realize, and the attempt to
achieve it through external manipulations is detrimental and even dangerous. The magical power of
sacramental exercises lies in the fact that they must be carried out mentally with a concentration of
feeling which involves the sublimation of emotion by means of meditation upon the transcendental
significance of the act of communion, the concordant unity of wisdom and
compassion, prajnopaya. The central problem of the spiritual life is dynamic. It is not only a matter
of theoretical understanding but also one of practical exercises in directing psychic energy. This
latter is essentially the energy of cosmic desire, and everyday emotion is an exaggerated and
wasteful way of expressing it. What the Buddhist seeks to do through sacramental exercises, and
what other spiritual disciplines foster through varied psychological and devotional methods is to
facilitate the concentration and sublimation of feeling in the heart and a subsequent conservation
and re-direction of emotional expenditure of energy.
Apep, the evil serpent of human passions, was conquered by Osiris and bound down in the
underworld. There the soul said to this vanquished foe, "The Scorpion has hurt thy mouth", and the
Scorpion is "the worm that never dies". Curiously, this reflects the double nature of Scorpio and
affirms its role as that which stings and electrifies consciousness, awakening the soul to the task at
hand. Fohat is indrawn in Scorpio and released in Sagittarius, and if desire is gathered up into the
higher centres, the enclosing wall of the separated self can be shattered by the lightning strike of
Uranus, the Scorpion's powerful sting. The volcanic force of Uranus, the Breaker of Bonds, is
especially strong in Scorpio, and when indrawn and conserved within this sign, can release a power
which may burst the strongest personal fortification. This mysterious force is the usable material of
alchemical transmutation, and its subtle refinement within the lotus chakras of the human temple
can tap the reservoir of the Wisdom-Heart and activate the Eye of Wisdom, the Eye of Shiva. The
electrifying currents, when unleashed, must be mastered much as the undulating serpent is made an
obedient servant and held securely beneath Shiva's foot. If the Archer's arrow does not succeed in
penetrating the heart of Scorpio, then the Scorpion's claws may succeed in dragging down the
Archer into the mire of sensation.
The second tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh depicts the creation of Ea-Bani, who corresponds to
Taurus and who became a wise counsel and friend of Gilgamesh, the hero-soul. At the end of the
eighth tablet, corresponding to Scorpio, Ea-Bani is shown meeting his death, and Gilgamesh,
"smitten with sickness", journeys henceforth alone to the land beyond 'the Waters of Death1. The
theme of this story is echoed in the later Mithraic tradition where Mithra slays the bull and Scorpio
is shown seizing its genitalia in its claws. This powerful and poignant symbolism represents the fall
of pure Akashic energy (Taurus), which initially pervades and accompanies the emerging soul, but
which in its lower astral aspect (Virgo's fall) is pulled down into generation (Scorpio) and dies. It is
from the urge to avoid this death that the soul struggles on to the Eternal City lying at the hub of the
zodiacal wheel. The unfoldment of this awesome process is suggested in the Stanzas of
Dzyan depicting the long process of anthropogenesis. They reveal glimpses of the great forces
marshalled by the gods of the zodiac, and the desire to comprehend them may itself be said to
spring from the energy conserved in Scorpio. The destruction that flows from the restless force of
desire brings sorrow in abundance, but the man who seizes the flame of trishna and stores its fiery
liquid within his heart, creates in himself a sacred altar which may attract others in search of a
deific vision. It is solely in the Wisdom-Heart that the radiant knowledge of prajna and the "skilful
means of bringing people to enlightenment" - upaya - can be joined in perfect interpenetration.
merging mind and matter, theory and practice, into a pure and contented wholeness. In this
way trishna can be quenched, tanha may be stilled, and the insane longings of human existence
seen for what they truly are. When this is calmly completed, man may proceed with the sacred task
of preserving the pure love, the compassionate ray that springs upward from Bodhichitta and
illumines the whole world.