‘ ‘ h Death, where is
thy sting?” Along
comes Scorpio,

and with it, ample opportunity to
contemplate this question. The

time: October 23rd to November
21st. The issues: change, change,

change, and death. The symbolo-

gy: the scorpion, the snake and
the eagle. Not exactly party time.
That was last month and, per-
haps next month.

For now we can call on
the image of the eagle as we dive
into a deeper knowing", the eagle
being the symbol of Scorpio’s
most evolved potential. We may

-now be able to soar above our

materialism and self-orientation
powered by the wings of our own
true inner nature, our basic good-
ness. .
Getting there, in this

The snake grows
until it dies,

and the shedding
of it’s skin
represents

death and rebirth.

case, is not necessarily half the
fun. As tiny scorpions, we may
be fearful of being overpowered,
giving us a tendency toward
defensiveness. Sure, we can be
brave and fearless if it wasn’t for
the fact that all those jerks out
there are making our lives diffi-
cult and threatening to squash us
at every turn. Of course we have

 

to be defensive. We could die. ~
We could and we will and we do.
Enter the snake. This I

I critter symbolizes death and

rebirth. Yearly, every snake sheds
its skin. This process is notwith-

. out pain and fear. As the snake

works to free itself of its old skin
it goes through periods of being
unable to see. Scary.

Nevertheless there is no
turning back. In spite of fear, dis-
comfort and irritation the job
must be done. Why? Because the
snake never stops growing. It
grows until it dies. This shedding
of the skin represents death and
rebirth.

Like the snake shedding,
there is no way to avoid this. We
may hope for the status quo, we

’ may struggle against having to

change and grow, but we only
create more pain for ourselves in
the process. .

‘ It is mid-fall, the trees
are losing their leaves, our glar-

A dening season is over, some ‘ani-

mals migrate or hibernate. We
celebrate All Souls Day, the Day
of the Dead,’ Halloween  all
reminders of the truth of
impermanence.

We could easily fall into"

depression at this time. We can
benefit greatly from contemplat-
ing death. But we don’t have to
let it overwhelm us.
Remembering that we

all die can take us up to the
heights of the eagle, Where.we
can, with sharp eyes, see a
greater picture. There is a tempta-
tion at this time to be discour-
aged,_to sink into the depths. As
usual there is always a choice.
We could let death remind us
that, at this moment, we are alive.
'. There is a scene from

the Canadian fihn In the
Company of Strangers in which
several old women are lost when
their bus breaks down miles from
civilization. In their wisdom they
make the most of the situation,
fully living as they await rescue.
At one point in the film, as they
stand out in the morning fog,
they simply begin shouting in
unison: “We’re alive! We’re‘ ‘
alive!” It seems they may be
doing this in an effort to. be heard
and saved, but we also see how ‘
their crisis has brought them to

' greater vitality, and they do seem

to be seeing clearly how truly
alive they are.

There are mornings
when I remember to use them as
role models, waking up to the
thought: I’m Alive! I’m Alive!
This time of Scorpio can bring us
to this understanding.

We are alive, we can
cheer up and go beyond irritabili-
ty and despair. Like the snake, we
grow, we are bigger, we are
fresher. Weneed not suffer in V
self-absorption. We are part ofa
larger community. With effort
and courage we can join with
others, sharing our talents and
our joy. ,

I’ll share my favorite
Scorpionic quip: “Hey, you have
the rest of your life to be a jerk,
why not take, a break.” V

Glo Daley is an astrologer living
on women ’s [and in Huntington.

Butchly

cont‘d from previous page _
white ones only become femme
when they take on the personali-
ty of the recipient, not their cre-
ator. The tuitle critter I made for
a friend is at the very least a soft

butch turtle.

A woman can’t do '
everything, but I seem to try.
Tomorrow I’ll be up on a ladder,
repairing my gutter before I put
some time in on the afghan. And
it’s okay that I’m not making
applesauce this year — my girl is ‘
making plenty. She may have to

come help me with the gutter
too. V

Copyright Lee Lynch 2003. Lee
Lynch is the author of eleven
b.00kS including The
Swashbuckler and the Morton
River Valley Trilogy. She lives
on the Oregon Coast.‘

    
   
    
 
  
     
   

      

           

   

S 0 m C T O
5»:.2un'ds::'ti<;;zi of vae-rm-7;~.é

 
      

The Samara Foundat ermont is a
charitable foundation , ose mission is to
support and strengthen Vermont's gay, lesblan,_
bisexual, and‘ transgendered communities
‘today and build an endowment for tomorrow.

   

  G0
. ' xi r 0 ’
" M msvi/<>.......9..I2 a863, 06.,
9,0 Assqggzgggs, PC 957, 9

blackwood.|aw@verizon.net fax: 802'863‘0262
Concentrating in Employment, Spechl
Education and Civil Rights Law. Also Wills,
LGBT Issues, Estate Planning, Personal
Injury, other litigation and mediation.