It is sad to see
The well is deep
The water is shallow
The bucket is broken
If one cannot reach the well’s depth
Perhaps it is one’s own shallowness
That keeps one from tasting the sweet water;
Perhaps the water in the well is too shallow

One who is limited is unable to know
The limitations of the well.
Both situations can be seen,
But they cannot be solved by inflexibility.
They can only be remedied by further development.

- I-Ching Hexagram 48 "Jing/Well," Line 6 (as translated by Ni Hua Ching)

Jupiter, planet of expansion, exploration and life meaning transitioned into Scorpio this past month. This initiates a new 12 year cycle of Jupiter energies in the sign of Scorpio – a deeply personal and pivotal transit for all of us, as Scorpio governs that which is hidden, subconscious, psychologically raw & deeply emotional. It represents life, death and transformations of all kinds – and Jupiter is powerfully placed here. His subtle influence brings grace, as well as awareness to these deeper spaces of being and so this can also be a spiritually enriching influence. I wish to explore that side of the transit in this article.

First, I do want to share the dates of this Jupiter in Scorpio cycle along with the previous 5 Jupiter cycles. I find it helpful, when working with cyclical transits to consider the events & themes of the previous cycles, as this can really enrich our understanding of where we are now.

Transits of Jupiter in Scorpio Present & Past:

October 10, 2017 - November 8, 2018.
October 26, 2005 – November 23, 2006
November 11, 1993 – December 9, 1994
November 27, 1981 – December 25, 1982
December 17, 1969 – September 11, 1971
January 14, 1958 – October 5, 1959

When considering these dates, you may recall events that happened during those years. How do those events relate to what has come up in your life recently? What connects these cycles to each other, and to the present moment? This can give you a big clue as to what the next year’s process is going to be about.

So -- as I mentioned, I want to explore the spiritual implications of this transit. Over the course of these initial weeks, I have noticed a distinct shift in the collective focus towards more Scorpionic themes. My ideas about the energy have slowly percolated and gathered, but nothing organized or specific was asking to be shared. Until today, when I was sitting in meditation and to my mind came the verse from Hexagram 48 “The Well”: “It is sad to see / The well is deep / The water is shallow / The bucket is broken…” and the meaning of it all began to coalesce for me. The transit of Jupiter in Scorpio is a journey into "The Well" -- the energies of our pure creative essence, the divine nectar -- and the stubborn, deep & difficult emotional issues that obstruct our access to this.

One of the larger thematic qualities of this time on earth is the integration of higher spiritual frequencies with the earthly plane. This is basically a call from the pure soul of humanity to hold the frequency of light in our beings while rooting firmly upon the earth. When it is discussed in this manner, it sounds like it should all be peaches and cream, sunshine and rainbows, unicorns and laughs – but ultimately it is not so simple. Because in order for humans to hold the frequency of light, we must be willing to confront and overcome that which has been hidden in darkness. In order to fully inhabit our earthly beings, we must begin to mend, clean and clear the damage and distortion of our energetic roots to the earth, to nature, to our primordial mother.

On a personal level, we are dealing with the integration of our heavenly essence (pure spirit) with our physical essence. In order for the pure spirit to radiate in a pure and whole way in this world, we must confront & resolve those things which obstruct us in the physical world: issues of core identity, self worth, survival, safety. These issues are particularly dense for most of us, as they have many years of karmic dross attached to them – stuff that has been left totally unaddressed and in the dark through long lines of ancestry. These are the patterns that are so deep in the subconscious that we don’t even know where they came from – but suddenly now the shoe no longer fits, and we find we need to make more room for ourselves, as we are meant to be rather than the self that is defined and conditioned, in even the most subtle ways, by our ancestry.

But the issues we face at this time are even more profound than that, as they arise from fundamental wounding incurred over millennia, as humans gradually lost touch with nature. By forgetting our connection to the earth & nature’s way, the natural integration of yin (earthly/matter) & yang (creative/spiritual) has been disturbed, and these forces have, over time, fell into an increasingly stark duality. The intercourse of yin & yang in the universe is what creates pure manifestation – and in this act they are continuously spiraling together & purifying each other. However, when yin and yang become separated and divided, they start to express their lower forms – yang rigidity and intolerance, yin stagnation & weakness. We end up with a world that has many shadows and much pain, born from the stubborn, grandiose & intolerant actions of people.

At this stage of our existence, when we are facing these deeper issues, we are dealing largely with negative yin frequencies that have become firmly rooted and stagnant. This is like a well that is full of mud. It takes a great deal of focus and intention to begin to really access, move and clear this energy. In fact, it is only the pure yang energy that can move the stagnation and purify the yin energy back to its original state of receptivity and flow. This is an alchemy that requires concerted effort to bring lightness into our life, as well as the sometimes difficult emotional processing of deep, unseen patterning within the being.

So how does this all relate to the Jupiter in Scorpio transit?

Jupiter is the expansive, light-bearing planet of truth – and for the next year or so, this planet of mystical journeys, wayfaring, and deeper meaning, is being lowered into the dank & mysterious Scorpio well. The very nature of this transit is to shine a light in dark places, feel the pain, and come out on the other side with a whole new perspective. If nothing else, this transit will alert us to the enormity of the project ahead of us if humanity is to aspire higher.

“The Well” of Scorpio is particularly connected to the aforementioned root issues of ancestry & earthly integration. Here we are dealing with aspects of the self that are most mysterious and complex – personal power, sexuality, and transformation by way of birth & death. Scorpio carries deep, expansive potential for soul-touching creative & spiritual truth – and equally profound potential for complete and total destruction. It is an alchemical sign that generates its power through merging and mystical union. It is where all of the remnants of things end up in the consciousness – the parts of our lives, of others, etc. that have gradually become ingrained in us, and have shaped us psychologically. It might be difficult to reach the water at the bottom of the Scorpio well, and even more difficult still to attain its purity – because so much gets caught in this space – but if we persist the end result is always worth it. For from the emotional process, we have a chance at total rebirth – empowered release from all that psychologically & mysteriously binds us.

In life, we are born from Scorpio merging, and live by the continuous evolutionary wear of human connection. Who am I – and who are they? In Libra we might ask: Is it equal? Is it balanced? In Scorpio, we acknowledge that all layers of a relationship are complex, interwoven, impossible to truly parse, and deeply karmic. For reasons we do not understand, we subjugate ourselves to others. For reasons we do not understand, we also exert power and influence over different others. When we are conscious in either situation, we can ask ourselves WHY things are that way, perhaps come to some answers, and adjust our behavior – show self control, inner strength/empowerment, etc. Of course when we are unconscious, Scorpio’s bad side comes out – abuse, power plays, vindictiveness, resentment, rage, addictive and obsessive behaviors/actions. This is the sign that is connected with the underworld – the river of Hades – where we must wade through dark waters filled with all kinds of horrors, tempted by demons and constantly remain vigilant of the true goal, the true purpose – holding the light delicately as many things attempt to pull us under the water, to distract us from what we’re trying to do, and kill all hope. It is where we are destroyed by our attachments, mental hang ups, and bad habits. But it is also where we can locate, acknowledge and clear these things permanently.

When it comes to where we are as a society – I see us going through such a clearing on a very large scale. The Pluto in Scorpio generation, the “millennials,” are all in their late 20s-30s now and so this cycle, to me, feels a bit like a coming of age for the millennial group project – which is to eradicate and transform oppressive power structures around those areas which are most directly damaged by patterns of separation and destructive human urges based in deep rage & domination. Sexuality and sexual identity are really strong in particular with Scorpio energy, but this also extends to racial and other social issues that contain patterns of core wounding that are passed down through family lines on a psychological & spiritual level.

What’s important to know about this is that Jupiter serves to expand our awareness – so while many of these issues are obvious problems with society today & nothing new, what Jupiter in Scorpio can help us do is see more deeply into the matter – how can we start to get to the root of, and bring healing to, these issues to restore equilibrium? Certainly it won’t all be solved at once, but there is a potential here to make great strides on a personal and societal level in exploring these issues. When it comes to looking at this energy from a healing standpoint, the symbolism of The Well is especially pertinent.

In the I-Ching Hexagram 48, the well is representing one’s spiritual sustenance. The symbolism of the well is one’s ability or inability to reach the well’s depths for pure fresh water, or pure spiritual nourishment. One’s ability to do this is directly connected to one’s own depth and clarity of mind. A mind of muddiness and conflict creates muddy water. However, when we engage our spiritual resourcefulness – intuition can guide us to the place beyond our limitations, and thus, to water. Where is the purest water? What is preventing us from retrieving it (the bucket broken, the rope too short, the water too shallow)? And then, that gives us a clue – a direction. How do we go about resolving our brokenness, our shallowness? What is the remedy to always falling short?

The deepest part of Scorpio is the pure “well” of our being. The inner well – which may be cloudy, which may be shallow or weak. Muddied by trauma, unresolved emotions, fear – things accumulated from others, from life, from family. Purify these failings, these distractions, these shadows, these deep wounds from who knows when, and reclaim this well as a space of spiritual nourishment & creation for one’s own life and needs. Create the inner strength necessary by returning health to this space. And with that the spirit can rise to the occasion our collective aspiration -- the Leo North Node – which is the emergence of the spiritual heart and pure creative inspiration.

It is said in many spiritual cultivation traditions that one’s true work benefits 7 generations of ancestors. When you consider the energetic aspect involved with deep healing work, this makes sense. If you are unhinging deep ancestral patterns from yourself – wouldn’t it make sense that you are, in essence, breaking the chain of ancestry in general? You are, after all, a part of that genetic and spiritual line. So it is with this thought in mind that I have come to believe what many people often state – that the key to changing a faulty paradigm begins with one’s own process. We all must uproot the sources of anger, rage, subjugation, abuse, and deep Scorpionic darkness within ourselves before we can expect such things to change anywhere else in the world. For it is not until we have cleared our roots that we can assist others in doing the same.

This transit of Jupiter gives us that collective impulse to journey into our own underworld and cull incredible gifts from our mysterious essence and connection to the primordial. All it takes is Jupiter's characteristic openness & faith, and a willingness to surrender to the process -- and we might find that no matter how trying the journey may be at times, there's greater freedom on the other side.