Scorpio season is the stretch of the year, from around 23 October to around 22 November, when the sun moves through the zodiac sign of Scorpio. Spiritually it is read as a time of descent. Things fall away and attention turns inward. You are asked to look at what you usually keep out of sight before the darkest part of the year begins. You do not need to know much about astrology to feel it. The light gets shorter, the leaves come down and many people notice that their mood sinks a little deeper too.
In this article I explain what Scorpio season means from a shamanic point of view, why it overlaps with Samhain, which animals belong to it, and a simple practice you can use to go down into this season instead of fighting it.
What is the spiritual meaning of Scorpio season?
The spiritual meaning of Scorpio season is descent and release. It is the part of the year when you let go of what has finished, face what you have been avoiding and allow something old in you to end, so that something truer can come back in spring.
Scorpio is a fixed water sign. Traditional astrology gives it to Mars, and modern astrology adds Pluto, the planet named after the Roman god of the underworld. Water stands for feeling, and “fixed” means it holds on. Put together, Scorpio is about feelings that run deep and do not move easily: grief, jealousy, desire, loyalty, old hurt. In Scorpio season these come up to the surface more readily, and that is the point. What comes up can be looked at.
Why is Scorpio season called a descent?
Scorpio season is called a descent because it falls in the weeks when nature in the northern hemisphere goes down into the earth. Sap draws back into the roots, seeds fall into the soil and animals look for a place to sleep through the winter.
Many old stories describe this same movement. In the Sumerian poem Inana’s Descent to the Nether World, the goddess passes through seven gates into the underworld and gives up a piece of her clothing and jewellery at each one, until she arrives with nothing. Only after that does she return. Scorpio season works in a similar way, taking away one layer at a time. That can feel like loss, and often it is. It is also the only way back up.
Shamanic traditions know this pattern well. The historian of religion Mircea Eliade describes in Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (1951) how many shamanic initiations follow a structure of symbolic death and rebirth. The future shaman is taken apart in vision and put back together. You do not have to go through anything that dramatic in October, but every year the season brings a small version of it.
How does Scorpio season connect to Samhain?
Scorpio season and Samhain overlap. Samhain falls on the night of 31 October into 1 November, right at the start of Scorpio season, and both are about endings, the dead and the turn into the dark half of the year.
In the old Celtic calendar Samhain marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. People honoured their dead and many believed that the boundary between the worlds was thinner on that night. Astrology and Celtic tradition come from very different places, yet they point to the same weeks of the year. When two systems agree like that, I take it as a sign that people have been noticing something real about this season for a very long time.
Which animals belong to Scorpio season?
The scorpion, the snake, the eagle and the phoenix are the animals most often linked to Scorpio. Each one shows a different stage of the descent and the return. I write about them in more detail in Scorpio Spirit Animals.
| Animal | Stage of the descent | What it asks of you in Scorpio season |
|---|---|---|
| Scorpion | Going down and staying low | Protect your energy, wait, and only act when it is time |
| Snake | Shedding | Notice what no longer fits and let it come off |
| Eagle | Seeing clearly from above | Look at your situation honestly, without drama |
| Phoenix | Ending and coming back | Allow something to finish so something new can start |
If one of these animals frightens you more than the others, pay attention to that one. In The Animals That Frighten You Are the Ones Sent to Free You I explain why the animal you would rather avoid often carries the medicine you need.
What should you focus on during Scorpio season?
Focus on letting go, looking honestly and resting. Scorpio season is a poor time for forcing new projects and a good time for clearing out, grieving what needs grieving and telling yourself the truth.
- Let something end. A habit, a commitment you only keep out of guilt, an old story about yourself. Choose one thing, not ten.
- Look at what you avoid. Write down the topic you change the subject on. You do not have to solve it. Seeing it clearly is enough for now.
- Honour your dead. Light a candle for someone who has died, say their name, tell a story about them.
- Sleep more. Your body is part of nature. If you feel heavier and slower, that is not a failure.
- Keep some things private. Scorpio is a sign of secrets in the good sense. Not every insight needs to be shared straight away.
A simple ritual for the descent
This short practice takes about twenty minutes. You can do it once at the start of Scorpio season, on Samhain night or at any point before the end of November.
- Darken a room. Light one candle and sit where you can see the flame.
- Write down three layers. On a piece of paper, write three things you are ready to put down this year. They can be small.
- Go down the steps. Close your eyes and picture yourself walking slowly down a stairway into the earth. At each of three landings, leave one of the things on your list.
- Rest at the bottom. Sit in the dark at the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes. Notice what it feels like to carry less.
- Come back up. Walk back up the stairs, open your eyes and put both feet firmly on the floor.
- Release the paper. Burn it safely in a fireproof dish, or tear it up and bury it in the garden or a plant pot.
If you journey with a drum, you can do the same thing as a journey to the lower world and ask your power animal to walk with you.
From my practice: the weeks when people go quiet
Every year, from late October onwards, I notice a change in my groups and sessions. People come in quieter. Topics that were waiting in the background for months suddenly sit at the front: a loss that was never mourned, a decision that has been put off, an old anger. In the summer the same people talk about plans. In Scorpio season they talk about what is ending.
Here in Portugal you can see the change outside too. The first proper rains come, the soil darkens and the fig trees drop their leaves. I often take the ritual above outdoors on a dry evening, and what strikes me every time is how relieved people look once they have written their three things down. Most of them already knew exactly what it was. They only needed permission to put it down.
If you would like a daily companion through the season, my app The Path of the Paws brings you a spirit animal each morning with its message, its shadow and a small practice. Many people use it to find out which animal walks with them through the dark months.
When is Scorpio season more than a mood?
Feeling heavier as the days get shorter is very common. Some people notice it every year in autumn and winter.
If a low mood lasts for weeks, if you lose interest in things you normally enjoy, or if you find it hard to manage everyday life, please talk to your doctor or a therapist. Shamanic and astrological practice can sit alongside medical and psychological care, but it does not replace it.
Frequently asked questions
Scorpio season runs from around 23 October to around 22 November. The exact day the sun enters and leaves Scorpio shifts by a day or so each year.
It is a time of descent and release. You let go of what has finished, look at what you usually avoid and allow something old to end before the darkest part of the year.
No. It can feel heavy, because feelings come up more easily and the light is shrinking. That heaviness is useful, because it shows you what is ready to be put down.
No. The season affects everyone, because it describes the time of year, not only people born under the sign. Scorpios may simply notice it more.
The scorpion is the best known, followed by the snake, the eagle and the phoenix. Each one stands for a different stage of going down and coming back.
A simple descent ritual works well: write down three things you are ready to let go of, picture yourself leaving them on the way down a stairway into the earth, then burn or bury the paper.
You do not have to like the descent to go through it well. Let something old fall away, rest where you can, and trust that the light comes back. Tell me in the comments: what are you ready to put down this Scorpio season?
