The moon glows the same:
It is the drifting cloud forms
make it seem to change.—Matsuo Bashō
Hi, doll.
The last week of October is one of my favorite times of year. The gap between this dimension and the next is more easily bridged, and we can more clearly discern the past and the future. This is true even with all the loss and suffering of this last month—perhaps more so.
I have a theory that every sign in the zodiac solves an issue introduced by its prior sign. Libra (September 22-October 22) is all about diplomacy, loveliness, and light, but can veer toward an excess of light—namely, superficiality or avoidance. Rest assured that Scorpio (October 23-November 22) is quite comfortable with shadows and depth.
Scorpio season centers the cycle of life and death so we may dig more deeply into the divine mystery. Its sudden cold and darkness can prove jarring, but also is precious.
Now the ancestors can communicate clearly with us. Now we really can hear our highest selves and glimpse the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Now the veil is lifted.
This effect is especially pronounced over the next five days, as we bask in the subliminal glow of Samhain and today’s lunar eclipse.
Samhain, not the Same
Dovetailing with full moons, lunar eclipses don’t initiate significant change. They enforce it, by blowing out what’s holding us back. Old energies surface, particularly the ones we thought were already released from our field. The emotional impact is seismic—far more than that of a solar eclipse, which focuses on action, not feelings.
Occurring from 2:05-6:30pm EST today in grounding Taurus, this lunar eclipse complements the October 14th solar eclipse in Libra, since both signs are ruled by Venus. Together, these eclipses emphasize love, peace, and the joy of embodiment—the absence and presence of these values in our lives.
This is the last eclipse to happen in Taurus for another two decades, ending a cycle begun in November 2021 that prompted us to reconsider our financial, historical, and physical resources and roots. Today, we are invited to heal long-buried baggage through the vehicle of our bodies.
Over these last two years, the chickens have come home to roost. We see it in the mental health and wealth inequality crises, and in the rise (and fall) of crypto. We see it in the labor strikes across the United States, and in our resistance to pre-Covid workplace norms. We see it in the environmental revolt of Mother Earth. We see it in the violence, injustice, and turmoil of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and what’s left of the U.S. democracy.
Take some time today to consider what resourcery has transpired in your own life. (Yes, resourcery is another word I’ve made up.) How have your health and wealth changed? What changes should still come?
Try to accept this eclipse as a push from the multiverse to move beyond patterns and power structures that have outlived their purpose. Remember that only change doesn’t change.
On Samhain, which occurs October 31-November 1 eves, this push grows more potent. This is the festival honoring the dead and marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. (It’s no coincidence daylight saving time ends next weekend.) There are downsides galore to less sunlight, but it can deepen our faith—liberating our inner light and teaching us to trust what we cannot see.
Some dig Samhain as an excuse to eat candy and dress up, and, honestly, I never scoff at good-natured pageantry. But for witches and pagans, Samhain is Coven Christmas—one of the most hallowed times of year. Even conventional culture calls October 31 Halloween.
During this 24-hour period we can commune directly with the dearly departed—anyone no longer on this plane who has fostered our minds, spirits, and hearts. We can heal family trees—genetic and chosen, individual and tribal.
Expect the unexpected, and open up to the up-ending, especially when it comes to blood, love, and spiritual lines. Above all, prepare to be awed.
Rituals, not Rules
Lunar eclipses can wreak havoc on our nervous system so it is important to avoid overstimulation, overplanning, and overexplaining. This weekend, eat simply, hydrate wildly, breath deeply. Do whatever it takes to physically ground yourself.
Over the next five days, treat everyone as tenderly as you would the most delicate toddler. Practice great patience with yourself and others. Do not rush into decisions or declarations. Activate long-dormant bonds, celebrate strengths you rarely acknowledge, release what’s worn out its welcome. Ask for help, even if you don’t know who or why you’re petitioning.
Avoid white-knuckling of all forms, but do wear white to purify your field. Gather photographs, heirlooms, and other mementos of deceased family, guides, and companion creatures. Arrange them on a clear surface, along with orange and white votive candles and other decorations that may please them. As you call out their names, light the candles. Keep them burning as long as is safe.
Minimize the use of electricity so other frequencies can flow more freely.
On the eve of October 31, feast on pumpkin and sweets, costume yourself as gayly as you desire, boogie with the waning moon. If such frivolity feels ill-advised this year, sit silently with your candles. Call in your ancestors again. Notice what you notice.
Many of my clients report unusual wildlife sightings, which tracks. Birds especially are messengers from other planes.
On November 1—otherwise known as All Saint’s Day—spend time outdoors. If possible, visit the burial sites of your loved ones. Understand this does not have to be someone you’ve met. I have a client who visits the grave of Louisa May Alcott, and feels profoundly emboldened and embraced for days.
If your loved one’s remains do not have a home or are too far away, visit a place that was meaningful to them, or simply sit on the roots of a favorite tree. There’s nothing like a living metaphor to move the magic along.
Bring something, even a stone or leaf, that summons their spirit. Then talk.
Tell them of your struggles. Thank them for the miracle of their life and for any guidance or support they feel inspired to share. You don’t need to be formal. You just need to behave in a way that authentically honors your bond.
Most years, I visit the Salem, Massachusetts Jewish cemetery where my great-grandmother Masha Rubenfire is buried.
I bring whiskey or brandy, and pictures of handsome, barely clothed men I rip out of magazines. (She was a broad who didn’t mess around or, rather, she did. ) I express gratitude for her beautiful fortitude that made my life possible, and share achievements that may make her proud. I apologize for any way I have not honored her legacy, and pray to serve what is mine to serve with her signature savvy and charisma.
If I’m having a tough year, I bawl, and sense her impatience and involuntary sympathy from the other side. This 21st century meshugener don’t know from tsuris but I’ll do what I can!
Other years, I show off, gossip, joke. No matter what, I journal. Sometimes the words that show up on the page are clearly hers.
Afterward, I take a healthy swig of the booze, and pour the rest out on her grave marker, where I then place a small stone, as is the Jewish custom.
No matter what, she “gets back to me.” Sometimes she sends a brilliant business opportunity. (I swear she helped me land my first paid critic gig.) Once she visited the object of my desire in the most hilariously bawdy way. (He asked me out the next day, admittedly with a slightly stunned expression.)
Am I promising that your dearly departed will come through with the same panache? I would never promise. But whatever you put out during Samhain tends to come back threefold, so tailor rituals that honor your unique connection—the more sincere and specific, the better.
The Crooked Inheritance
As a species, we have entered a moment in history when we are out of our depths. The institutions we created to succor us have morphed into agents of our despair, disenfranchisement, destruction.
As an intuitive and a 50-something crone, I’ve never witnessed such cracked hearts before. The suffering is being registered by every soul in the collective. No matter what action or stance we take, injury is inflicted and sustained.
I will not pretend there’s a wand to wave over this chaos. Keeping things unduly light is part of what landed us in this black hole. Instead, Scorpio season—particularly these next five days—helps activate our true light by any means necessary.
Now is the time to re-root and re-route.
My schedule today is full, but I have added extra session hours through November 1. Book an intuitive reading for yourself or a loved one to decode Scorpio season guidance, including the rich text of your guides, ancestors, unborn descendants, and recent dreams.
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With waggling eyebrows and slow kitty blinks,