definitely "too much of a good thing." Without attentiveness and large quantities of self-control and self-discipline, painful power struggles are virtually inevitable as others defend their rights to be themselves against the onslaught of the Scorpio-in-the-First-House "steamroller."

 

The relationship skills you learned in the karmic past can certainly help smooth your way in this lifetime, but that Seventh House South Node brings its own challenge. It can be awfully tempting to allow the comforts of relationship, especially a partnership relationship, distract you when work on this lifetime's assignment gets intense, as it is virtually guaranteed to do. The Taurus energy of that South Node loves nothing more than to stay put, especially if staying put means lingering in the pleasures of affection and sensuality. If you find yourself staying so long in the real or metaphorical double-wide Jacuzzi that the water has gone tepid and your skin is puckered, it's probably a sign that you're stalled on the journey North. You're supposed to be diving into much deeper waters this time around, and if you don't get going you can never really learn about the full extent of your own power. And if you don't learn about your own power, you can't use it for your own transformation. Or anyone else's.

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Go ahead, take the plunge!

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HOUSE 2: Values 

Welcome to the challenge of transforming and rebirthing yourself into the intensity of your own power, and to discovering that deep down inside you have everything that you could possibly need to feel safe and secure for a lifetime. Welcome to the complexity of pulling this off in an experiential arena where "Show me the money!" and "Chill out!" can be lyrics in the national anthem. Welcome, in other words, to the paradoxical, exciting and phenomenally rewarding terrain of the karmic "switcheroo," the situation where the themes of this lifetime's assignment bear a striking resemblance to the experiences of the karmic past.

 

You've arrived at the stage in the journey where your spirit is ready to take on a particularly challenging assignment. Your North Node sign of Scorpio is naturally associated with themes of intensity, depth, passionate bonding, and the wielding and sharing of power and resources. But that node is in the Second House, which resonates with Taurus' calm and the uncomplicated, earthly pleasures of the material, physical world. And vice versa. Your Taurus South Node is in the deep, turbulent waters of the Eighth House, a private, intense, and anything-but-uncomplicated piece of astrological real estate. In this lifetime, it's going to be hard to know if you're moving forward to the North Node or back to the South. In fact, there could even be times when you literally won't know whether to spend the day at a full-service spa or a psychodrama intensive.

 

Yes, this is certainly a challenging assignment, but it need not be daunting because you have everything it takes to reach the goal. The Taurus part of you knows how to recognize and acquire what makes you feel safe and secure in this world, which is what the Second House challenge is all about, and your turbulent Eighth House karmic history of surviving "dark night of the soul" experiences reminds you of your enormous power and how it can be the ultimate source of your security and self-esteem. But missteps and detours and dead ends are part of the "switcheroo" deal, so go easy on yourself. You're learning a complicated lesson. When you have the reversed sign and house situation, it's often an indication that you're working on an issue that takes more than a single lifetime to master. Just keep the most positive qualities of your North Node sign and house in the forefront of your consciousness as much as you can.

 

Head for the spa. Sign up for the psychodrama intensive. Either way, as long as you're the one paying the freight, you're on your way North.

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HOUSE 3: The Mind​

There's no question that the intense, probing nature of the Scorpio energy you're learning about is going to serve you well in the information-gathering part of this assignment. Looking for the meaning behind the minutiae, confronting and assimilating whatever awaits you behind the closed door of the unknown, not being willing to limit yourself by staying within the dictates of conventional beliefs or approaches - all this is right up your alley, no question about it.

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But here's the thing - or, rather, a couple of things. First, your real need to probe for meaning and your fascination with the dark, deep, and hidden, can slow you down. Remember, the job is to pretty much indiscriminately gather information without editing it according to your own personal criteria. Then there's the matter of Scorpio's huge taste and need for privacy; for keeping things to itself. This could be a real hurdle when it comes to the teaching and sharing part of the job description. It's going to feel sometimes like you're Samson at the barber shop when you have to part with one of your informational treasures. You'll just have to stay with it. It will get easier, I promise.

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And let's not forget to look back to your Ninth House South Node. The Taurus energy there can be mighty stubborn and is always in need of security and safety. In the karmic past that translated to the security and safety of an unquestioned belief in systems of thought that framed life's meaning. These were likely to have been highly-defined, even dogmatic beliefs, which your Taurus energy defended so as not to rock the safety of the status quo. It can be all too easy to unconsciously slip on the filter of those security-based preconceptions and severely limit your openness and receptivity to what you encounter in this lifetime's journey.

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Keep those eyes open and spread the word!

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HOUSE 4: Home​

Welcome to a lifetime of using the power of the Scorpio energy you're learning about to connect deeply with family and clan; to discovering how making deep, lasting connections and healing family wounds can ground you and support you as you dive into deep waters to claim your own power. Welcome to learning that in this lifetime, you don't have to go it alone.

 

The Scorpio North Node mission is deep and intense, and the Fourth House is the deepest part of the chart, located at its very bottom, so it wouldn't be surprising if you encounter times when you sense something dangerous stirring below its dark waters; painful, perhaps even traumatic memories and feelings that you'd much rather swim right past. Maintaining forward motion at times like that can get pretty unsettling. If that happens, therapy and counseling can be particularly valuable tools, providing insight and comfort and direction for as long as you need them.

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Your Taurus in the Tenth House South Node provides an especially tempting escape when the rigors of the Northbound journey intensify. It speaks of a karmic history of luxuriating self-indulgently in the rewards of success in the big outside world. If you're not paying attention, you could find yourself lolling in the comforts of a perfumed spa until your skin whitens and puckers, when instead you should be swimming in the cooler, but infinitely more satisfying northern waters of the Fourth House where you belong.

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Go ahead, take the plunge. The family will be sitting down for dinner just about the time you surface.

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HOUSE 5: Creativity​

Well, one thing's for certain: the more you come into the intense, penetrating Scorpio energy you're learning about, the deeper you're going to be able to drill into your own creative core, and you can expect that whatever you bring forth will reverberate with the power you retrieve from that exploration. Perhaps you'll create paintings saturated with vibrant color that evoke deep, primitive responses. Perhaps it will be writing that vibrates with emotional truth and passion, and wrenches the heart of the reader. Regardless of method or genre, it will be work that asks - even compels - whoever encounters it to engage fully in it and perhaps even be transformed somehow because of the encounter. Yes, it can be unsettling: unsettling to yourself and unsettling to others. Scorpio is a Truth Teller, and if the truth be dark or heart-wrenching, so be it. And one more thing: Let's not forget that Scorpio is also about passionate, deep, and transformative bonding, so it may well be that the exploration of your own creative depths will be in the company of an equally courageous and passionate Fifth House companion. Remember, love affairs are represented in this part of the chart. If that happens, just be sure not to fuse to the point where you lose track of your own uniqueness. Welcome to an intense, exciting stretch of the karmic highway.

 

Your South Node in the Eleventh House can provide a real challenge, especially at the outset. Taurus energy is in that node, and Taurus is never in any big hurry to change or relocate. You can expect that identification with group values and ideals has been firmly established in the karmic past and that it will take Herculean effort to leave the comforts of belonging and acceptance as one of the "gang" in order to embark on the deep explorations you've signed on for in this lifetime. And if the Fifth House adventure gets too deep or too scary, it can be very tempting to fall back into the comforts of those associations and stall on your path North, lingering too long in the delights of communal camaraderie, too dependent on an okay from your pals before you'll set out again on your own path.

 

Go ahead, take the plunge. You're ready.

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HOUSE 6: Service​

Come right on in - we've been waiting for you. The intensity and transformative power of the Scorpio energy you're learning about can make a real contribution here. Scorpio has the courage to probe into the guts of what needs to be done, and it has the strength to make it happen. In this lifetime, it's in service to others that you can claim and master all that Scorpio power, and in so doing, transform lives - others' and your own.

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The biggest challenge with this assignment is the Taurus energy anchored back there in the unconscious, soothing waters of the Twelfth House. It's for sure that the compassion and sensitivity you learned in the karmic past can sensitize you to this lifetime's assignment, and the spiritual awareness that you acquired back then allows you to put this work of the everyday world in its rightful lofty perspective. But the South Node in the unconscious Twelfth House operates doubly unconsciously, and reverberates with a definite " mañana is soon enough" vibe. Strong, solid, security-motivated Taurus energy resists change at all costs, especially when it's comfortable. Put the two together, and it's clear that you're going to have to allocate a fair amount of that intense Scorpio power to keep yourself focused on the Northerly direction, without resorting to tactics like the detonation of a neutron bomb to shake up the bull's stranglehold on the South Node.

 

If you can't do it, no one can!

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HOUSE 7: Partnership​

Welcome to a lifetime of diving into deep, dark waters to claim your own power with someone at your side, someone who is totally separate from you, yet totally your equal. Welcome to a lifetime of learning to trust that other person; to surrendering to the relationship by committing to it; to being willing to share of yourself and to let yourself be seen and known. All this can be pretty scary stuff for someone as private and intense as you are becoming, but I promise you, the rewards are more than worth the effort. And if the partnership is a personal one, there's likely to be lots of passion and heat in the mix.

 

Partnership selection is hugely important for everyone with a North Node in the Seventh House, and you can multiply that importance by at least ten. The more you come into the Scorpio energy of your North Node, the more you absolutely need someone who is your equal; someone who can hold their one, who has their own life, and insists on their fair share of everything. Stay clear of anyone who might be content to routinely follow your lead. You might enjoy the power it confers at first, but you're likely to abuse the relationship later in some way, if only by taking advantage of your partner's compliant nature.

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You can rely on the stable, grounded, and determined Taurus energy that you made such a part of your personality in the karmic past to support you as head into the depths. Taurus knows about loyalty, and brings affection to Scorpio's passion, and you can use these qualities to strengthen the ties of your partnership. However, once Taurus gets comfortable and feels secure, it's hard to get it to budge, so moving away from your "My Way or the Highway" First House South Node isn't going to be easy. If you find yourself meeting up with lots of people, especially prospective Seventh-House-separate-but-equal-partner-type people, who are too wrapped up wondering which car they'll upgrade to when the current lease runs out, or spending so much time in the double-wide Jacuzzi that their skin looks like a prune, it may well be a message from the Universal Life Coach signaling that you've stalled somewhere on the journey North. What are they telling you about yourself?

 

Go ahead, take the plunge. You've got company.

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HOUSE 8: Transformation​

A double "Welcome Home" to you, dear voyager. Scorpio, the deepest and most intense of the water signs, is associated with this part of the birth chart, and is very much at home here, so the message and call of your North Node is particularly loud and clear: "Take the plunge!" In this lifetime, you are diving deep into turbulent waters to claim your own power, power that you can use to transform and heal yourself and others. You've chosen a doubled-up opportunity to take a giant step forward on the spiritual path, and you chose it because you're ready for it, but I'm not going to kid you - this is no walk in the park. That's why it's doubly-good news that you're slated to make at least part of the journey with a partner to accompany and support you, someone with whom you establish an intense, committed relationship. And if the partnership is a personal one, welcome to the exciting opportunity to experience passionate, transcendent bonding, the kind of connection that can create something far greater than the sum of its parts.

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First, a bit of homework. Go back to Perfect Together and reread Chapters 10 (The Nodes of the Powerful Truth-Seeker) and 23 (The House of Transformation.) The assignment - its goals and rewards, its pitfalls and strategies - is all laid out there and there's no need to repeat them here. Just multiply everything it says times two...or maybe times four... or even times ten.

Next item on the agenda: Take the plunge. Just get going.

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Finally, go easy on yourself. You might expect to find yourself lingering too long in the comforts of a real or metaphorical double-wide Jacuzzi with someone whose focus is more on selecting the just-right massage oil than on probing the depths of power and spiritual transformation. Enjoy it for a while - we all need a break along the way. Just make sure you move on.

 

You're not in any danger of forgetting the phoenix.

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HOUSE 9: Expanding Horizons

You've signed up for a truly exciting assignment and I'm sure you can't wait to get going. There's nothing the Scorpio energy you're learning about likes more than to probe life's deepest secrets and mysteries, so the task of discovering answers to life's biggest questions is right up your alley. And although the Ninth House asks you to go wide and far in your quest, we all know that the world within is at least as large as the world "out there," so feel free to explore the world you're most comfortable in.

 

But make no mistake: real challenge awaits you. There's no question that Scorpio's courage and its probing nature will be tremendous assets in the "connect the dots" part of this assignment. The more you come into its energy, the easier it will be to confront meaning and beliefs that would shiver the timbers of many another sign. But Scorpio energy is hugely private and fixed in its beliefs once they are developed. These qualities add a huge measure of complexity to the assignment. The Ninth House is all about being generous and expansive and forthcoming, qualities that are antithetical to Scorpio's approach to just about everything. Finding the higher ground that can encompass this duality can be more than a minor bump on the path.

 

Another challenge is beaming at you from your South Node. Taurus energy is sitting very comfortably in the mundane Third House world of the day-to-day: comfortable with what's known and familiar; right at home wherever it is and content never to leave; a match in terms of fixed, stubborn set-in-cement strength for any sign in the zodiac. The unconscious strong pull of that South Node can keep you stuck in the security of the known, when in this lifetime you're called to go forth and confront and understand what you see with an open Ninth House mind. Quite a challenge, indeed, but you're ready for it, or you wouldn't have knocked at this particular door.

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The ocean's depths are at least as vast as the earth's expanse. Take your pick, but get going.

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HOUSE 10: Authority​

Welcome to a lifetime of being on a mission, a mission to transform and rebirth yourself into the power of Scorpio energy, and then to share that power with the "tribe." Welcome to a lifetime where this work of healing and transformation is likely to be done in some kind of public situation where you hold a position of authority and control. Perhaps you'll lead an effort that seeks to eliminate some health scourge like AIDS, or societal scourge like poverty or unequal rights. Or maybe you'll become a world-class therapist who writes a book and takes it out on the talk-show circuit. Welcome to a lifetime where, as private as you might want it to be, you're not allowed to hide your powerful light under a bushel basket.

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A look back to your Taurus South Node in the Fourth House takes us to your biggest challenge. To be sure, having the legacy of strong family ties and roots, and a place where you can return again and again for both metaphorical and literal comfort food is priceless when work in the outside world gets intense and demanding. But stubborn Taurus is in no hurry to leave the comforts and ease of hearth and home, where the meals are delicious and someone does the laundry. That can make it hard to move back out over the threshold to the challenges of this lifetime's work when the time comes. If you find yourself punching another hole in your belt, it may well be a message from the Universe that it's time to pack your bags and head North.

 

Take the plunge. There's important work to be done and we all need you to be doing it.

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HOUSE 11: Goals & Groups

What an opportunity! The intense power of the Scorpio energy you're learning about can really make a contribution here. In this lifetime, you're asked to discover how you can use that strength to transform all kinds of situations in all kinds of positive ways, which is often what Eleventh House initiatives are all about. Of course, you'll have to learn to manage that intensity and depth as you come into it. For one thing, it might make it hard to blend in, and you don't want to rock the boat of the associations you're trying to establish here in the Eleventh House clubhouse. A terrific strategy is to spread some of that intensity and power around, and share it with the rest of us. If you can do that, there would be no limits to the mountains we could move together. So step on in and let's get going.

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Now challenge is hard-wired into the North Node job description and this particular assignment is no exception. Set-in-its-ways, comfortable-with-what-it-knows South Node Taurus energy is very much at ease in the pleasurable, romantic Fifth House. What's more, Taurus has quite a gift for aesthetics, and the Fifth House is the home of our creativity. It all adds up to the fact that it may not be easy to stir the sweet stubborn bull from such indulgent, alluring pleasures and get it on the move. Anything short of a neutron bomb may not even cross its radar. Of course, that Scorpio energy you're coming into is certainly up to the job, but go easy. Leave the bomb as an absolute last resort - we don't want to lose that Taurus legacy of good solid strength that can help us produce some tangible, practical results.

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If you can't do it, no one can!

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HOUSE 12: Spirit

Welcome! You're going to feel right at home here in the Twelfth House, which is solitary and deep, just like you are finding out you are. By crossing this threshold, you're saying that you're ready to plunge into the mysterious waters of Spirit and consciousness to claim the transformative power of Scorpio energy. You're learning to trust that you can look deeply into yourself and your world and benefit from what you find. Connection to the Universe's infinite, eternal and unchanging source can help you emerge from that process whole and empowered. It's a complex tour de force you're executing - claiming power through surrender to the unknown - but you're just the one who can pull it off.

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The challenge coming at you from your Sixth House South Node is a worthy one. The earthy, practical Taurus energy of that node is just as comfortable in that part of the chart, which represents the routines and habits and work of everyday life, as Scorpio is in the Twelfth House waters. Lifetimes of developing practical capabilities to use in the service of others have left a legacy of qualities that can be useful with this lifetime's assignment. But as you know, the bull can be gentle and helpful, but its nature is fixed and stubborn, and it holds on tightly to what is safe and secure, which in this instance includes Sixth House habits and routines that can stall progress. Taurus doesn't like change and will dig in its hooves and resist all efforts to move away from the safety of that South Node. It will take all your Scorpio strength to maintain forward motion without resorting to low-end manipulative power plays, or indulging Scorpio's taste for drama and trauma by invoking some sort of crisis-caused volcanic eruption in order to break loose.

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If Scorpio can't "ace" this assignment, no one can!

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