Surface Dive: It's Scorpio Season

Good morning everyone!

…and a big sexy hello hug to the season I spend ALL YEAR waiting for:

It’s Scorpio time.

Well, it will be later on as the Sun enters Scorpio this afternoon, 23rd October at 4.21pm GMT (9.51pm IND).

I even got a new black dress in preparation.

More on the incoming frequencies of the dark side shortly.

But first, how was your last week? Honestly, the energy felt pretty gritty to me. Personally, the week was full of yet more beautiful personal connections (Goa just keeps on giving), an invitation to play at an event I’ve had on my wishlist all year, and completing the actual soundspace in the shala. I had a gorgeous Facetime with my sister and niece (she wants a sleepover at “Janie India House”) and finally got some proper bed sheets which have been a game changer over the last few nights of sleep. Plus, Tiger the Kitten took her first steps. Adorable.

L-R: Tiger the Kitten; Muffin, a black cat who just showed up @Laxmi Boutique in Agonda; prepping Scorp season in a black number from the same spot, and my fave malachite pendant by Rachel Entwistle

So it certainly wasn’t a bad week.

But there was something in the Libran air for sure, an uncharacteristic vibe of feeling unsettled. I got food poisoning, which I’m famously proud of NEVER getting in India, really struggled with writing - always a symptom of stress for me - and was plagued by the annoying difficulty and crippling bureaucracy around getting ostensibly basic things done which can sometimes leave you LIVID in India.

When you look around the world right now, the energy has has a similar vibe. In both the UK and US, political rumblings shake the ground as usurpers slide into power and revolution simmers on the horizon. People have had enough of the patriarchal bullshit and it’s dogmatic roots.

And where can one even begin about what’s happening in Israel/Palestine? I’m not here to comment on it AT ALL - I don’t consider myself at all well enough versed on the details and like many people my primary reaction - beyond the shock at the human cost - is mostly sadness that civilisation has bred a situation that is so rife with inability to see light and divinity in fellow humans.

I’ve been fairly distant from instagram this last week or so too for various reasons, but partly as the inevitable judgemental barb throwing has started, within some sections of community attacking their peers for not commenting or putting their stake in the ground for one side or the other. Of course I have NO problem whatsoever with people sharing the flag of their choice on their stories or Insta Notes. It’s their corner of cyberspace to share their perspective or allegiance as they see fit. But judging and attacking others for not sharing the same? That feels like passion and righteous anger that has lost it’s way.

It reminds me of the dialogue that overran in the internet in the wake of George Floyd, or the overturning of Roe vs Wade, or everything about #MeToo - this peculiar assertion that saying nothing (publicly) somehow made you complicit in the actions of the aggressors. Again I’m reminded of what an unsafe place Instagram can be. Indeed my own (Jewish) best friend has signed out of the platform and stopped looking at social media over this past couple of weeks - not because of the understandable devastation and pain of the images and human stories emerging from the disputed lands, but because of the reaction of people on the other side of the world, hurling their judgement and commentary around with abandon.

Dawn O’Porter shared something on this yesterday which I reposted to my stories as it nicely sums up what I feel is a human and logical perspective:

Meanwhile, as events in the Middle East highlight the nature of ‘home,’ and in my own personal microcosm, I continue to journey with the same; a quote that has passed my eyes several times this week has made a real mark on me.

“Home is not where you were born, home is where all your attempts to escape cease.”

Naguib Mahfouz

I hadn’t especially come across the author before, but his words struck me deeply, so I went on a Google, and what a fascinating rabbit-hole it turned out to be. Naguib Mahfouz was a Nobel Prize winning author from Egypt, who explored existentialism and expressions of faith through his highly political yet deeply metaphorical words. He was a prolific creator, with a vast catalogue of political fiction, screenplays, non-fiction and essays to his name, nearly all a commentary on Egyptian politics and it’s wider context of the post colonial world stage. Wikipedia has this to say:

“The Children of Gebelawi (1959, also known as Children of the Alley) one of Mahfouz's best known works, portrayed the patriarch Gebelaawi and his children, average Egyptians living the lives of Cain and Abel, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. Gebelawi builds a mansion in an oasis in the middle of a barren desert; his estate becomes the scene of a family feud that continues for generations. "Whenever someone is depressed, suffering or humiliated, he points to the mansion at the top of the alley at the end opening out to the desert, and says sadly, 'That is our ancestor's house, we are all his children, and we have a right to his property. Why are we starving? What have we done?'"

Potent and pertinent.

I’ve long held the view that religion - specifically monotheistic religion (that’s the ones where the belief is in one deity, a singular God - Christianity, Judaism and Islam all fall into this category) is the root of all discontent and war, and that philosophy rather than theology might possibly hold more hope for humanity. I was raised a Catholic - and a devout one - but by my early twenties had begun to replace what felt like an inherently patriarchical, power-obsessed faith with yoga and spirituality. And when I say yoga, I do mean the practice of yoga - not Hinduism, much as the Vedic tradition and it’s texts and narratives, learned on the yoga mat, held (and continue to hold) much resonance for my personal understanding of life and the universe. And of course many purists feel that yoga cannot and should not be separated from Hinduism, and that of course is their prerogative.

But what yoga, and eventually reiki, sound and breathwork have offered me and many others is a sense of simple spirituality, the idea of a force greater than oneself, an energetic equation of which we are all part. A way to physically and metaphysically touch that truth, through asana, meditation, and eventually, awakening. Less the idea of a singular God and perhaps more a singular consciousness. Easeful awareness and acceptance of the many different paths and perspectives of our full spectrum humankind.

Backed by the inherent scientific truth of resonance and frequency, we can understand that we are ALL connected, regardless of our dogma, the book we hold true, or our cultural background. We can see God - whatever we perceive him, her, them or it to be - in everyone.

I didn’t really intend to write this piece but here it is, neatly summarising why I do what I do now with offering soundspaces for personal development and deeper self-unfolding. Because in a world so full of distortion, pain, confusion, misunderstanding, and yes genocide, perhaps these more inclusive and essentially peaceful practices, whether integrated alongside a conventional religious understanding or existing outside of theology entirely (BOTH are welcome) feel like a safe place for all of us to inhabit.

These are the thoughts that have flowed out of me this morning. I also really found Sarah Wilson’s substack This is Precious a particularly good read on the subject this week: https://substack.com/inbox/post/138011187

Here reimagined as a game of chess - a dance of light and shade, yin and yang, the surface and the depths. Perfectly fitting.

Loathed by many, loved by a few, why IS it so polarising?

Well there’s the answer. It’s polarising. Marmite. Difficult to connect with, often obtuse, murky, shadowy. Inherently, people like light, right? We are drawn like moths to flame, into the sunshine, the spotlight, into places where we can see clearly.

Scorpio is none of these things. It’s shadows, landmines, caves and some kind of liquid metal tsunami, at once a blend of fire and water. I love it, but then not only does the 8th sign hold my Sun, but also a stellium of other key planets. I feel alive at this time of year like no other, as the transiting energies strike into the heart of my soul, activating the qualities that truly drive me forward into self.

(Timeout: have you ever noticed that certain times of year feel like your power season? You might just discover that your natal chart holds the patterns that give your life it’s own natural ebb and flow, peaks and troughs. Once you know where to look, it’s easy to see that certain times of year will be full power and others will be your own personal vacation. Comment below if you’re feeling this or want to know more. Natal astrology is such life changing intel once you have a handle on it!

I’m still getting all my offers online but you can always hit me up for 1:1 live natal chart readings whilst I get the courses and workshops sorted)

Book 1:1 Cosmic Alchemy Sessions HERE

Love it or loathe it Scorpio season is where we do the purging, the metamorphosis, the regeneration. And this year it’s BEAUTIFULLY placed, as though the cosmic Gods dropped it right across eclipse season specifically to give us the power and container we need to respond to the magnitude of the quantum eclipse portal we’re journeying through right now.

A bit of revision: the full moon in Aries gave us a blast of fire and self-focus at the end of September; Venus has been a major player asking us to look carefully at how we truly gift ourselves value, abundance and the sweet things with inner confidence and without fear of retribution or judgement (that word again); the new moon eclipse in Libra had us reflecting on how we take this inner confidence out to our personal relationships, and how we bring the balance between serving self and serving other into fruition.

So what’s on the horizon? Here’s a your quick reference hitlist of the incoming Scorpio season

Oct 23rd: Scorpio Szn starts here! = DRAMA & ACTIVATION

Oct 29th: Full Moon Eclipse in Taurus + Mercury conjunct Mars! = FIREWORKS & INSTANT ACTION WHEN YOU SPEAK YOUR TRUTH

Oct 31st: Samhain = THE VEIL IS THIN

Nov 3rd: Sun opposite Jupiter = EXPANSION & SPOTLIGHT ON LUCK & GROWTH

Nov 4th: Saturn direct = ONE MORE PASS AT RESETTING NEW BOUNDARIES FOR MORE FLOW

Nov 5th: Dia de los Muertos = CONNECT WITH YOUR GUIDES & ANCESTORS

Nov 8th: Venus > Libra = SIGN OF RELIEF ON THE (SELF) LOVE FRONT

Nov 10th: Mercury > Sagittarius = FREE FLOWING EXPANSIVE THINKING (PS. it’s my birthday!)

Nov 12th: Diwali = FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

Nov 13th: New Moon in Scorpio = SERIOUS SHADOW WORK

Nov 18th: Sun conjunct Mars = NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO GET IT DONE

It’s the perfect season for The Moonchild Tarot/Shadow Edition: GET IT HERE

CRYSTALS: malachite, labradorite, black tourmaline and black onyx. It’s greta to grid on a Metatron’s Cube during Scorp season. Malachite represents the eternal odyssey and psychedelic, hedonistic energy. #SuperScorp.

OILS: patchouli, amber, frankincense, myrrh. Think heady, churchy (yes that Catholicism figures here for sure) and boudoir. I think Tom Ford’s Black Orchid fragrance (my fave) embodies the season.

TAROT: Death, the best card in the deck (don’t forget there ARE no bad cards, and to read Death as the rising following the ending. Resurrection, metamorphosis)

TEXTURES: velvet, leather, silk, skin. Make a tactile tablecloth for your altar, change your bedsheets, practice tantric touch, self massage, self reiki.

I’m going to record a FULL MOON ECLIPSE ceremony for you which will be available from 7pm GMT on 28th October - free to paid subscribers. Make sure you’re signed up before 6pm on 28th to ensure you receive the video direct to your inbox!

Remember a paid subscription is just £5.55 a month and gets you these free workshops (which would previously have been charged at least four times as much on direct sale) which are now EXCLUSIVE to my paid Substack community, and not available to purchase or view anywhere else. THANK YOU so so much for being here! I hope you enjoy my writing.

The 60 minute video will include:

• A guided sound meditation on Scorpio themes

• A rundown of the full moon eclipse themes, including journalling prompts

• A group card pull and guidance on how to do your own full moon card spread

• A 20 minute soundscape journey

• A 10% discount code on your 1:1 Cosmic Alchemy reading (£99 instead of £111 - giving you a LIVE 90 minute session with me plus your natal and eclipse transit charts in PDF, my personal notes, and a recording of your session)

Sending you all so much love (and shadow!) this Scorpio season… I know this is going to be a season of SUCH creativity and ignition, and I’m excited to get a whole bunch of potent new work your way now Libra has done her balancing job!

I’m always here for your thoughts and words, just comment below or find me on instagram @_silenceandnoise_

LOVE

Janie xx