The Deepest Healing Happens in Darkness
A Reflection on Samhain and Mercury’s Retrograde through Scorpio
Samhain. Halloween. Dia de los Muertos. Mercury Retrograde. Scorpio Season. The veils are thin. The darkness has arrived. But with the darkness comes the deepest forms of healing.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Darkness can’t drive out darkness. Only light can do that.” But I have to disagree with him this time. Sometimes, only darkness can drive out darkness. In homeopathy, like heals like. You attract what you are and sometimes there is nothing that can drive a demon out of you like meeting that same demon in another person. Often, what you don’t like or have trouble dealing with in another is something you need to heal or transform within yourself. When you transform yourself, often that person goes away or the tension dissipates.
In holistic energetic systems, every energy has a time and a place. They don’t distinguish between good and evil, light and dark, right and wrong. On the spiritual journey, every energy you encounter and possess has a part to play in your evolution. There are some things that can only be healed in and by the darkness. Knowing your darkness and understanding its purpose on your journey is also one of your greatest superpowers. The most powerful person in the world is the person who can walk next to someone who’s going through Hell and not get burned — not because they don’t care, but because they’ve already been there and their own adversity has fortified them. Never mistake a calm demeanor for weakness.
The Phoenix rises — but not quickly, as we may often believe. Her creation occurs as she rises, one energy center at a time. She is reborn. She reawakens from her roots to her crown, just like everyone else. Scorpio is the sign of the Phoenix, but with Mercury retrograding through this sign for the majority of the season and its accompanying lunar cycle, the Phoenix will rise slowly and carefully this time. Perhaps, she just wants it to “work” this time, you know? Whatever that means …
People often recommend delaying major decisions during Mercury Retrograde. I am not one to suggest that you put your whole life on hold. There’s always a reason not to do something. This isn’t a time to get superstitious — even when the retrograde begins on Halloween and occurs entirely in Scorpio. Don’t stop what you’re doing — just be willing to move a bit more slowly, feel around a bit, take some breaths, follow your nose and your gut.
You won’t all of a sudden rise once Mercury stations direct. The retrograde and your ability to negotiate it is the rising. The initiation is the preparation and the test, not the ceremony. Don’t make decisions blindly. Ask as many questions as you need to. Explore the field fully. Negotiate your agreements until they feel right, but don’t hold them off. If you stop them, you’ll interrupt the beauty of your own transformation. You’ve waited for this transformation for awhile. You deserve it and the rest of the world will benefit from bearing witness to it. But don’t worry too much about the rest of the world right now. Focus on your own unfolding. To allow yourself to bloom, to surrender enough to re-emerge from the muck, requires an immense amount of energy. Be protective of your energy at this time.
This past year has very much been about releasing your ego so you can own your power. In the new paradigm, you have to lose your identity to see your worth. Identity is political and the new paradigm is spiritual. It isn’t worried about politics. Decolonization isn’t a metaphor, but that’s because politics doesn’t know how to operate poetically. And yet — there is nothing more politically radical than owning, recovering, or restoring your spiritual identity.
Spiritual power exists outside of systems and institutions. The spiritually powerful will be identified as such in every system, by others who are spiritually powerful across systems and structures. It’s time to breathe life into your spiritual community — whatever that means to you. Maybe you have a few … We are not simply here to revive old traditions, we are here to reform systems. Real spiritual systems are alive, ecological, dynamic, with and as the Earth. They’re constantly changing and they’re calling to those who are ready to help change them so that they’ll survive.
We die and we’re reborn. We end and we begin. We stop and we start over. This season is one of slow rising, but rising nonetheless. Three weeks from now, you will be a very different person than the person you are now. Don’t try to anticipate who you’re going to be. This isn’t a race and you can’t rush the process. Just enjoy the unfolding. Let go of who you were and be proud of who you’re becoming — even, especially, if it leaves you feeling identity-less!
Enjoy the darkness — it’s the most fertile place of all. And six weeks from now, we’ll be ushering in the light once again.
Ase.
**If you want to know how to use this retrograde season to help you reclaim your spiritual identity and restore your innate power, go to the link below and schedule a Natal Chart Session today! We’ll be able to pinpoint which aspects of your life your spiritual power shows up and untangle you from what’s keeping you from owning it. If you have questions, you can always email me at Hilary@instituteforearthbasedliving.com. I look forward to hearing from you! ❤**
