Scorpio Season Shadow Work: Transformation, Trauma, and Power

by Fern Nightingale

It’s Scorpio season again, so I thought it would be fitting to talk a little bit about a few defining aspects of the sign: Transformation, trauma, and power.

We’ve all done it, sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. To be alive is to change and transform over time, mentally, spiritually, and physically. If you do nothing, it will happen. If you do everything in your power to change, it will happen. The universe can choose for you, or you can choose how you want that change to look. We each are able to steer our lives in the direction of our choosing.

The two key elements of transformation are destruction and creation. One cannot happen without the other. We as a society tend to fear destruction, yet we do it every day. We eat to survive. We break down the bodies of plants and animals so that we may live another day. From these supplies, our bodies construct the cells, proteins, and molecules that we need to function.

So it is for mental and spiritual transformation, as well. In order to build new habits and beliefs and practices, we must give up old ones to make room. I used to enjoy the saying “You can kill yourself without dying”. The meaning being that you don’t always have to be who you are right now if you don’t want to be. I’ve learned over time that, though true, this isn’t the best way to view this process.

We must honor our selves of the past, for they continue to exist within us for the remainder of our lives. We must make peace with them. No matter how you behaved, no matter what you believed, being those versions of yourself have allowed you to become who you are now. These versions of ourselves deserve our compassion and understanding. From our past, even the most wretched parts, we are forged. Often in the heart of adversity, defining characteristics are born. From some of the worst things I have been through, I have created compassion, care, kindness, understanding, a strong intolerance for injustice, and bravery, to name a few. Our traumas do not get credit for making us strong. We do. We, who even after experiencing these awful things, choose to be kind, brave, and determined. These are our strengths; these are our power.

We will all continue to change no matter what happens. Steering ourselves in a certain direction takes planning. We need a vision for where we want to go, and we need to take action steps to get there. Sometimes, though, even this is not enough. Sometimes we come upon blocks within ourselves that must be overcome in order to achieve our goals.

This begins with exploring our shadow. It is important to be ready and have support available if you are not used to doing this, as it can cause intense emotional reactions that can be difficult to deal with alone. Our shadow contains the parts of ourselves we run from, the aspects of ourselves we were conditioned to abandon, each one a piece of ourselves that only want our love and compassion.

When we’re unaware of our shadows, they play out right in front of us unconsciously. These unconscious behaviors often keep us stuck in patterns that we no longer wish to uphold. When we acknowledge these aspects of ourselves, interact with them, understand their needs and learn to fulfill them in healthy ways, we are able to have much more conscious control of ourselves and our lives.

An example of this process from my own life has been anger. For much of my life I have run from my anger and tried with all my might to repress it. I learned why I was so angry and how I could express that anger in a healthy way, which happened to be through art, music, and dance. Now that I am more aware of my anger, through mindfulness exercises I have been able to learn to take a step away from someone if I feel myself getting irritated. This allows me not to say or do things in anger that I may regret. During this time, I look inward and examine the source of the anger, and then come back and we calmly discuss the subject at hand to reach a solution.

As you can see, the sign of Scorpio and the planet Pluto governs many important aspects of life. They allow us to change, to clear away the old and build the new, they teach us to transmute our pain into our strength. During this Scorpio Season, examine yourself and your life. Determine what it is that you would like to transform and take the steps necessary to make it a reality. Each one of us is capable of immense change, if we allow ourselves to grasp the opportunities to do so.

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Fern Nightingale

They/Them

Dedicant, WISE Tradition ATC

Fern has been attending Hearth events since 2020 and dedicated to the Ever Green Hearth in August of 2023. Their magical and spiritual areas of interest are Music, Alchemy, Meditation, Herbalism, Healing, Tarot, Oracle, Ritual, and Crystals. Fern is currently attending The Evergreen State College for psychology and environmental studies. Their other interest and hobbies include Singing, Music Production, Digital Art, Painting, Foraging, Reading, and Writing.