Full Moon in Scorpio Ritual Guide
Sun in Taurus, Moon in Scorpio. The axis of stability and revolution, the need to ground and the need to reinvent, sustaining life and sustaining death. The intensity of this polarity is as affirming as it is disorienting, reinforcing our most basic opposing impulses.
Moon exact full on Monday, April 26th, 2021, at 8:31pm PST.
Scorpio is associated with the Death card in tarot, and the deep, dark passion of this sign urges us to see the beauty in the constant cycles of death and rebirth playing out around and within in us. This embrace of impermanence runs counter to the influence of the Taurus sun, shining down warmth, inviting us to put down roots and carve our desires into stone. The secret to navigating this conflict is refuse to choose sides - you can do both.
The full moon in Scorpio is our annual opportunity to rip our habits out by the root, turning the soil to create a nurturing place for new saplings to grow.
Mars and Pluto both lay claim to ruling Scorpio. Pluto is the newcomer, stepping into the role only after its relatively recent discovery just under a century ago. While Mars has a reputation for more straightforward (necessary) destruction, Pluto has a more mysterious energy that speaks to destruction and resurrection, the transmutation of form through death and rebirth. With these planets, we bring The Tower and Judgment cards into the mix.
The deeply personal axis of Taurus/Scorpio shines a light on what we cannot live without and cannot live with. This full moon illuminates whatever area of life or situation needs a serious overhaul. Something you thought needed repair may be beyond salvation. An impulse to cling to a security blanket may be a signal to let everything else fall away, opening a radical revolution of Self. If there is any part of your soul you’ve been avoiding eye contact with, stare it in the face now. The support you have from the Universe for transforming your personal world, and even your identity, is vast and it is compassionate.
Be a strong, but gentle leader and you walk yourself forward into the unknown. While you cannot take all of your creature comforts with you beyond this point, you are set to gain something far more valuable - truth. You are loved, you are supported, and you are ready for the next stage in your evolution.
This ritual is designed to bring you into deep understanding with the parts of yourself that don’t often see the light of day and to allow you to face the future ready and renewed.
Use what you have on hand in your home. Work with what you have, both in terms of physical items and knowledge and experience. Be more concerned with doing what is authentic to you than with what is “correct”. The most correct thing is the thing the you truly connect with and evolve through. You have everything you need.
Gather what you have of the following:
CLEANSER: sage, palo santo, incense, energy cleansing spray, selenite wand, a bell – whatever you use to clear the energy of your space is great.
IMAGES: Print outs or drawings of The Tower, Death, Judgment, and Ace of Cups cards (you’ll want to keep the actual cards in your deck to use for readings)
CANDLES: One 7-day ritual candles (the tall kind in glass). Either black OR a color of your choosing. If you don’t have ritual candles, you can use tea candles or simply follow the clearing, incantation, and visualization prompts.
CANDLE DRESSINGS: For black candle - sesame oil, dried lavender flower. For any other color - jasmine oil, flaxseed. If you are using a ritual candle and it is pre-dressed, leave it be.
ADDITIONAL ITEMS: Any crystals or other symbolic items you wish to include. Ideally, selenite wand, black tourmaline, moonstone, and chrysocolla. If you don’t have these, feel free to improvise with what you have on hand.
PRACTICAL THINGS: matches, a pen, a napkin or paper towel to wipe oil from your finger.
Perform the ritual:
STEP 1: Clear the energy of your space, then close your eyes and take 3 deep cleansing breaths to ground yourself in space and time.
STEP 2: Place the cards in the center of your altar area all in one stack on this order - The Tower (accept destruction), Death (release control), Judgment (dig out the roots), Ace of Cups (accept Divine love). Place the candle on top and arrange the crystals around the candle.
STEP 3: For black candle - Place a drop of sesame oil on top of the candle and trace it around 3 times counter-clockwise, then sprinkle a tiny bit of crumbled dried lavender on top. For non-black candle - Place a drop of jasmine oil on top of the candle and trace it around 3 times clockwise, then sprinkle a tiny bit of flaxseed on top.
STEP 4: light the candle and say “I am who I have always been and who I have never been before. Everyone I am in loved. Everyone I am is exactly where they need to be.”
STEP 5: Close your eyes and spend a few minutes drawing your attention inward, deeper and deeper into the core of your being. As you travel inward, you become smaller and smaller, a tiny consciousness inside your physical form. From this vantage point, you can observe the contents of your unconscious self floating by. What do you see? Is it bright and easy to make out shapes? Dark and mysterious? Is there anything that strikes you as you observe? How do you feel? Make a mental note of all of this. When your note is complete, you feel something appear in your hand. Open your hand and see if you can decipher what this object means, what it is inviting you to move toward or away from. Then, using your breath, begin to grow larger and larger until your conscious self once again fills your physical being. As you fill your body, you feel it is heavier than usual and realize you are wearing a very thick wool coat, soaked with rain, weighing you down and stealing your warmth. Straighten your spine and throw it off. That coat that served you at the start of your psychic winter has become a burden. You are free to discard it and walk away. When you again feel light and warm, gently open your eyes. Repeat this visualization daily for 7 days. If you are using tea candles, dress and light a new one each day and repeat the incantation.