As always, a full moon is a standoff between the sun and the moon in direct opposition. In this case, we have a deeply penetrating and powerfully complex Scorpio moon illuminated by a grounded, stable and compassionately durable Taurus sun.
Scorpio represents the shadow side of life. Our shadow houses the parts of ourselves we ignore, overlook, reject, and shame away, in an attempt to feel accepted, connected and worthy enough. In truth, there is nothing inherently wrong with the shadow. It becomes dysfunctional when our shadow cavorts with denial because it is in that moment we do not have a shadow, the shadow has us.
Just as the Taurus sun shines on the Scorpio moon, when we shine the light of truth on our own shadow we see it as nothing more than pain cloaked in defense. What it needs is acceptance, understanding, and loving boundaries. The balance between Taurus and Scorpio is not about avoiding the darkness but finding the light within it. It is not about evading complexity but finding the peace within it. It is not about bypassing our truth but courageously and stoically facing it. We must locate the fear and the parts we have created in defense of that fear. Perhaps, the inner rebel keeps us protected with a wall of defense, perhaps the inner child demands attention through destructive behavior, perhaps the inner critic keeps us “safe” by keeping our world very small and perhaps the inner lost woman keeps us hustling for connection. The alchemy of shadow work is integration, wholeness and the reclaiming of lost parts. Whether you do this through the language of depth psychology, shamanism, transformative breath work, ecstatic dance or other shadow disciplines, the form does not matter. There are many roads leading to the same place and many words to describe the same process. What matters is you do the work. The music is right for some shadow dancing as the symphony is echoed by similar themes in the current astrological weather. (Mars and Pluto Retrograde and New Moon in Libra).
To truly walk in the light, we must be willing to walk in the shadow, gliding between worlds and bridging the gap of truth. Real shadow work is not about evoking spiritual platitudes to bypass the often ugly and messy truth, because real shadow work brings with it breakdowns, dark nights of the ego and things that go bump in the midnight of our own soul. Shadow work feels like it breaks us down, but it really breaks us open. It stirs up our inner mud, releasing frozen memories and emotions, all the while revealing buried echoes of our authenticity, dreams, and desires as we pan the gold of our own divinity. This full moon reminds us we have the power, courage and grace within us to to reveal, face and transform our lives by integrating our inner twilight. (For more on integrating the shadow check out the Holistic Health Hour Podcast Projection and Integration).
To inspire shadow work, I want to offer some of my favorite nuggets of wisdom on the subject. Feel free to share yours.
“Denial is pushing something out of your awareness. Anything you hide in the basement has a way of burrowing under the house and showing up on the front lawn.”
— Howard Sasportas
“To live without the creative potential of our own destructiveness is to be a cardboard angel.”
-Sheldon B. Kopp
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
Before you take the splinter out of your brother’s eye, take the log out of your own.”
— Jesus
You see the issue of the Shadow isn’t a question of admitting faults. It’s a question of being shaken right down to your foundations by realizing that you are not as you appear — not to others, but also to yourself.
— Liz Greene, Ph.D.
Depth psychology has presented us with the undeniable wisdom that the enemy is constructed from denied aspects of the self. Therefore, the radical commandment “Love your enemy as yourself” points the way toward both self-knowledge and peace. We do, in fact, love or hate our enemies to the same degree that we love or hate ourselves. In the image of the enemy, we will find the mirror in which we may see our own face most clearly.
— Sam Keen
The Shadow, of course never dies; we always cast a shadow. But how we relate to it, and it to us, depends on whether it is known. Once known, we have inevitably lost an innocence that can never be recovered. What replaces it is a knowledge of the complexity of our nature. Sometimes we are fortunate, and this knowledge elicits a kindness and tolerance in us for others — even, perhaps for ourselves.
— Deena Metzger
