The tests of Scorpio are mostly lived on the emotional plane, through desire: sex, power, passion and ideals. Regret, guilt, shame, the pain of lost love, addiction, loneliness and the fear of rejection are their familiar faces.
Hercules and the Hydra
In his eighth labour Hercules meets the nine-headed Hydra in the swamp of Lerna. For every head he cuts off, a new one grows. In the end he defeats it by kneeling and lifting it out of the dark swamp into the light. The nine heads are traditionally listed as sex, comfort, money, fear, hatred, desire for power, pride, separativeness and cruelty. The lesson is clear: the dragon is not defeated by fighting in the dark, but by being lifted into the light.
Mars and the fourth ray
In Scorpio Mars rules both personality and soul. The fourth ray, harmony through conflict, flows through this sign, which is why the swing between love and hate, fear and courage is so intense here. Through Pluto, Scorpio can ruthlessly destroy obstacles or strengthen illusions. Uranus is exalted in Scorpio, showing that the path of divine knowledge can replace the emotional mystical path.
Two keynotes
Bailey gives two keynotes for each sign. On the ordinary wheel Scorpio says: "Let Maya flourish and let deception rule." On the reversed wheel, the disciple's path: "Warrior I am, and from the battle I emerge triumphant."
Scorpio, Sirius and Mars
Scorpio is one of the channels of Sirian energy. Bailey speaks of Sirius as the great star of initiation; the Great White Lodge on Sirius works through the Hierarchy on Earth. Scorpio, Sirius and Mars together form a triangle of force leading humanity into discipleship and initiation.
Humanity in a Scorpio test
According to Bailey humanity today is in a Scorpio struggle between lower and higher self that is reaching its climax. At its end many will step into a higher evolution, and victory will be followed by the first conscious steps towards group awareness and group service.
Diwali: the triumph of light
Diwali, which falls at the Scorpio new moon, is the Hindu festival of the triumph of light over darkness and is dedicated to Lakshmi, goddess of abundance. In an esoteric reading this abundance is not only material; it points to the same place as the "treasures in heaven" of the Gospels. Venus is spoken of as the higher self of the Earth and here symbolises the union of opposites on the higher mental plane.