I am the Alchemy of Desire
Let’s talk about sex baby, and death and taxes
Symbol – Scorpion, Ruler – Pluto/Mars, Metal – Plutonium/Iron, House – 8th, Element – Water, Modality – Fixed, Humor – Phlegmatic, Body – Genitals, Polarity – Taurus, Quality – Feminine
The name Scorpio comes from the Latin word for scorpion. The Scorpio glyph ♏️ depicts a capital M with a pointed tail resembling the venomous sting of a scorpion. Some say it represents the tail of the devil.
Scorpio is the eighth sign of the zodiac; it presides over the eighth, the house of transformation. It is the third of the fixed signs. Fixed signs can be stubborn and inflexible, but they are reliable and steadfast. Scorpio starts just before Samhain, one of the eight Wiccan sabbats that mark a seasonal turning point. It is the mid-point of autumn when the earth begins to decay and creatures go into hibernation.
It is no surprise that Samhain, commonly known as Halloween, falls in the season of Scorpio when the veil twixt the worlds is thin.
Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, the lord of the underworld who oversees death, rebirth and all forms of transformation. Indeed, the former symbol for Scorpio was the phoenix; it died in the fire and rose from the ashes. The energy is yin and quintessentially feminine. Scorpio is a water sign which correlates to the phlegmatic humor, cold and wet.
The dark and mysterious eighth house governs death, rebirth, inheritances, bankruptcy, magic and the occult. It also governs sex, fetishes and taboos.
It is said that when a Scorpio baby is born, someone from the family dies.
Scorpio is known for being sexy, erotic, magnetic, daring, impetuous, passionate and fecund. They are deep, perspicacious, meticulous and secretive. They make good detectives, psychologists, surgeons, researchers, accountants and dominatrices.
Scorpio is often psychic and clairvoyant, with an interest in mysticism and magic.
On the dark side, there are no shades of grey for Scorpio; they can be vengeful, jealous, stubborn, violent and intense. You can often tell a Scorpio by their penetrating eyes looking deep into your soul. They might use black magic if you cross them! However, they may also be very powerful healers and shamans.
Astrologer John Wadsworth, in his book Your Zodiac Soul, cites the mantra for Scorpio as:
“I face my own shadow and, in so doing, I honour the depth of my soul.”
People who have Pluto on their ascendant or in their first house may look like a sultry Scorpio even if their Sun is in a different sign. A first house Pluto placement may have the same effect.
Homeopath Luke Norland associates Pluto with Sankaran’s syphilitic miasm, “Destruction of form, underworld, transformation, death, criminal, genius.”
The archetypal remedy picture of Scorpio is Lachesis Muta. Lachesis is derived from the venom of the bushmaster snake, a large pit viper. It is indicated for those who exhibit intense emotions such as jealousy and suspicion and have the ability to react violently and suddenly. The latter are all traits that could be associated with Scorpio.
But since all that slithers is not Lachesis, I would assert that other snake remedies could also match the Scorpio picture and are worth investigating.
Snake is very connected to the essence of Scorpio energy; the Ouroboros symbol (a serpent eating its own tail) represents the eternal cycle of destruction and rebirth, and given the karmic nature of Scorpio, reincarnation.
Remedies made from the venom of a scorpion, of which there are several species, may be indicated.
I would also consider Anacardium because of the black and white nature of Scorpio, as well as other characteristics: malicious, cruel, unforgiving, compulsive and obsessive. I think of the character Victor Constant from Kate Mosse’s novel, Sepulchre. Constant would stop at nothing to persecute and punish his quarry, motivated by sexual jealousy. He is described as quite literally a very syphilitic character, having caught syphilis from a whore the first time he had sex, and therefore he hates all women. Anacardium could be mistaken for Lachesis. Both remedies are classified as belonging to the syphilitic miasm
Scorpio governs procreation, male and female genitalia, male and female hormones, excretion and elimination, the colon, rectum and anus, the nose, the adrenal glands (alongside Aries), birth and death.
The pathology of Scorpio is caused by their passionate nature, their jealousy, resentment and hatred. Scorpions are known to sting themselves, although they are immune to their own venom.
Natives could be prone to colitis, constipation, haemorrhoids, cystitis, menstrual problems, prostate issues and venereal disease.
In his writings about astrology and the periodic table, homeopath Luke Norland maps stages 7 to 12 of the periodic table to the fixed signs. He equates stage 12 to Scorpio.
Stage 12: “Astrologically, Aquarius combines here with Scorpio to orchestrate themes of the ruthless revolutionary; vengeful, cold and detached but with penetrating insight.”
By planetary rulership, Plutonium, and indeed other actinides, may match the Scorpio archetype.
Plutonium is stage 8 (eighth house) of the periodic table, atomic number 94, reducing to 13, the number of the death card in the Tarot, and of many other occult associations.
Scorpio is co ruled by Mars (alongside Aries). The metal of Mars is iron.
To paraphrase homeopath Peter Morrell on iron:
Some incline to violence or criminality. Iron is softened, domesticated and improved with silver, copper or gold. The iron type needs to be less assertive and more kind, needs to be mellowed and made more passive and receptive to others’ needs. Nux Vomica and Coffea types abound here, also Sulphur and Ferrum Metallicum
Calcium Sulphate is the designated tissue salt for Scorpio. Calc Sulph is plaster of Paris; it coats vascular surfaces, protecting them from harsher fluids like stomach acid.
Many other remedies may be indicated for the Scorpio constitution and pathology, but I would wager that we would often be looking at deeper acting remedies to match the potent Scorpio energy. It is said that Scorpio is one of the more karmic signs, so we might even be looking at healing something from another life. An astrologer / homeopath would look to where Scorpio sits in the natal chart to gain further insight and assess the presenting pathology.