Beneath the Surface, Beyond the Familiar
On November 8, 2026, at 11:02 p.m. Pacific time, we welcome a New Moon at 16 degrees of Scorpio. New Moons invite us to consider what we are ready to begin, but this particular lunation brings a deeper question into focus. What if the most important thing we can cultivate is not a new project or external circumstance, but a new understanding of ourselves and the world around us? Scorpio encourages us to look beneath appearances, question familiar assumptions, and become curious about the hidden patterns that influence our lives. It is a sign associated with transformation, but also with the remarkable capacity of life to regenerate.
I find this New Moon especially meaningful given the larger changes we are experiencing collectively. In the United States, we are just days beyond the midterm elections, while globally, developments in technology, communication, political institutions, and social relationships continue to challenge established ways of understanding our world. Scorpio invites us to distinguish between change and genuine transformation. Replacing one structure with another does not necessarily address the conditions that created it. Sometimes meaningful change requires us to investigate the assumptions, relationships, and distributions of power operating beneath the surface.
The Scorpio New Moon: Looking Beneath the Surface
With the Sun and Moon together in Scorpio, we are invited to explore the relationship between what we know and what we have yet to discover. Scorpio is a fixed water sign, traditionally ruled by Mars and associated with Pluto in modern astrology. Its symbolism includes emotional depth, investigation, intimacy, trust, power, and regeneration. Rather than accepting appearances as the whole story, Scorpio encourages us to ask more penetrating questions about the motivations and circumstances underlying our experiences.
The New Moon forms a square to Mars and Jupiter conjunct in Leo, bringing an interesting tension between conviction and understanding. Mars represents courage, initiative, and the desire to act, while Jupiter amplifies confidence, belief, and the pursuit of meaning. In Leo, these energies may inspire creativity, generosity, and bold leadership, but they can also encourage overconfidence or an attachment to being right. The Scorpio New Moon asks us to consider whether our convictions are grounded in genuine understanding, or whether we may be defending assumptions that deserve another look.
Mars and Jupiter also square Uranus conjunct Sedna in Gemini within the broader aspect pattern of this chart. Uranus introduces innovation, disruption, and unexpected developments, while Gemini emphasizes communication, learning, and the movement of information. Sedna, a distant celestial body named for a powerful figure in Inuit mythology, adds themes of betrayal, survival, reciprocity, and the consequences of broken trust. Together, these influences invite us to examine how we respond when new information challenges familiar beliefs, particularly in a world where information moves faster than our ability to fully understand its implications.
Mercury and Haumea: The Possibility of Regeneration
One of the most compelling features of this New Moon chart is a Yod, sometimes called the Finger of God, with Mercury retrograde conjunct Haumea in Scorpio at its apex. Uranus conjunct Sedna in Gemini and Saturn in Aries form the sextile at its base, with both making quincunxes to Mercury and Haumea. This configuration suggests a need for adjustment, particularly in the ways we interpret information, understand our circumstances, and respond to emerging possibilities.
Mercury is associated with communication, learning, interpretation, and the movement of information. In Greek mythology, Hermes, Mercury's counterpart, was also a guide between worlds, moving between the realms of the living and the dead. This is particularly appropriate symbolism for Mercury in Scorpio, where the emphasis is on discovering what lies beneath ordinary perception. With Mercury retrograde, we may find ourselves revisiting earlier conclusions, reconsidering conversations, or recognizing that an explanation we once accepted no longer adequately describes our experience.
Haumea brings an especially beautiful dimension to this configuration. Astronomically, Haumea is a dwarf planet beyond Neptune, distinguished by its unusually rapid rotation, elongated shape, and ring system. Named for a Hawaiian deity associated with fertility, childbirth, and generative power, Haumea has become associated in contemporary astrology with regeneration and the emergence of new forms of life. Her conjunction with Mercury suggests that a transformation in understanding may become the beginning of something entirely new.
I find this relationship especially interesting because we often assume that meaningful change begins with action. Yet sometimes the most important transformation occurs when we recognize something we had not previously understood. A new perspective can reveal possibilities that were always present but remained outside our awareness. This may be true in our personal relationships, our work, and the institutions through which we organize collective life. The Yod invites us to consider whether the changes we hope to create require us first to change the way we understand the circumstances before us.
Aries: The Courage and Responsibility to Begin
Alongside the concentration of Scorpio energy, this chart contains four important celestial bodies in Aries: Neptune, Saturn, Eris, and Chiron. Aries is associated with beginnings, courage, independence, and initiative, creating an interesting relationship with Scorpio's investigative and regenerative qualities. Both signs are traditionally ruled by Mars, although they express its symbolism differently. Scorpio asks us to understand what lies beneath the surface, while Aries asks what we are prepared to do with that understanding.
Saturn in Aries reminds us that creating something new requires responsibility, patience, and structure. Its sextile to Uranus and Sedna connects innovation with accountability, suggesting that emerging technologies, ideas, and social arrangements must be considered not only in terms of what they make possible, but also in terms of their consequences. Neptune in Aries adds imagination and the desire to envision a different future, while reminding us of the importance of distinguishing meaningful ideals from appealing illusions.
Chiron and Eris are also conjunct in Aries, bringing questions of identity, recognition, conflict, and healing into focus. Chiron's mythology concerns the wise healer whose own wound becomes part of his story, while Eris, the Greek goddess of discord, is famously associated with the consequences of exclusion. Together, they encourage us to consider whether conflict sometimes reveals deeper wounds or grievances that have not been adequately acknowledged. This symbolism feels especially relevant in a period of political and social division, when genuine healing may require more than restoring the appearance of harmony.
Venus, Spica, and Arcturus: What Are We Cultivating?
Venus remains retrograde in Libra, closely conjunct the fixed stars Spica and Arcturus. Venus invites us to reconsider our values, relationships, agreements, and the things we choose to nurture. Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, takes its name from the ear of grain traditionally held by the maiden and has long been associated with agriculture, fertility, and the harvest. Arcturus, a bright star in the constellation Boötes, carries the imagery of guardianship and has historically served as an important seasonal marker.
I particularly appreciate the agricultural symbolism of these stars in a chart concerned with planting seeds of transformation. A seed contains possibility, but its eventual growth depends upon the conditions in which it is planted and the care it receives. The same can be said of our relationships, creative endeavors, and collective aspirations. Venus asks whether what we are cultivating genuinely reflects our values, while her broader square to Pluto in Aquarius invites us to examine the relationship between those values and the structures of power that shape our lives.
Both Mercury and Venus will station direct on November 13, making the days following this New Moon especially interesting. Mercury concerns how we understand the world, while Venus concerns what we value within it. Their simultaneous change in direction offers a meaningful opportunity to consider how new understanding may lead to new priorities, and how a clearer sense of what matters might influence the choices we make moving forward.
The Minor Grand Trine: A Larger Transformation Unfolding
Throughout 2026, we've been exploring the minor grand trine connecting Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries, and Pluto in Aquarius. This configuration remains operational and continues into 2027, providing an important larger context for the changes unfolding around us. With Sedna conjunct Uranus and Juno conjunct Pluto, its symbolism becomes especially rich, bringing questions of knowledge, responsibility, collective agreements, and the transformation of established institutions into focus.
Uranus in Gemini speaks to changes in communication, education, technology, and the ways we develop and share knowledge. Pluto in Aquarius invites us to reconsider the structures through which power is organized, while Juno adds the symbolism of commitment, reciprocity, and the agreements that sustain relationships and institutions. Neptune in Aries introduces the possibility of imagining new ways of living and organizing our collective experience. Together, these influences suggest a period in which technological innovation, institutional transformation, and changing social ideals may continue shaping one another.
What interests me most is the relationship between this larger configuration and the Mercury–Haumea Yod. Uranus and Sedna participate in both, connecting the changes occurring in our collective environment with the ways we understand and respond to those changes. We are not simply observing a world in transformation; we are participating in it. The questions we ask, the assumptions we reconsider, and the values we bring into our choices all influence what we may create together.
Seeding Transformation: The Quiet Work of Becoming
As we welcome this Scorpio New Moon, I invite you to consider what you may be ready to cultivate in your own life. Perhaps there is a question that deserves deeper exploration, an assumption that no longer feels entirely true, or a possibility that has begun to emerge without yet taking a recognizable form. We don't necessarily need to know what the final outcome will be. Sometimes the most meaningful transformation begins quietly, long before we can see where it is leading.
When we plant a seed, much of its earliest growth takes place beneath the soil. Before anything emerges into the light, the seed begins to change, developing roots and establishing the foundations that will support its future growth. I think this offers a beautiful metaphor for the invitation of this New Moon. We can allow ourselves to question, explore, and discover without demanding immediate certainty, trusting that deeper understanding may reveal possibilities we could not previously imagine.
In this episode of Everything is Energy, we explore these astrological influences and their larger significance before closing with The Quiet Work of Becoming, a guided meditation designed to help us become more comfortable with the natural process of transformation. Through the imagery of a seed resting beneath the earth, we'll explore the value of patience, curiosity, and allowing growth to unfold in its own time.
Explore My Books
My two newest books are also now available. The Apothecary Year brings together herbal wisdom, seasonal recipes, natural preparations, and rituals inspired by the rhythms of the Earth. My 2027 Lunar Herbal Alchemy Calendar & Journal offers a weekly companion for following the lunar cycles, exploring the astrology of the coming year, and making space for reflection along the way.
You can learn more about both books at Everything is Energy Apothecary Books.
Love and Blessings,
Lisa Marie
Everything is Energy Apothecary