Scorpio in the tarot

Scorpio is deep autumn, when the leaves fall and what is left is bare. It is fixed water — feeling at its most intense and least forgiving: passion, secrecy, grief and regeneration. In the cards it is Death, the ending that clears the ground, and the middle Cups of loss, memory and the dream of too many choices.

Death

Scorpio belongs to Death, card XIII of the major arcana — transformation, release of what is finished. It is the card to choose for someone born under Scorpio, if you want a card to stand for them in a reading.

Its ruling planet, Mars, is The Tower: force, drive, conflict.

The three decans

The ten-day slices of Scorpio are three Cups, the suit of water. If your birthday falls in one, that card is yours.

• Five of Cups — 23 October – 1 November, the first decan: Mars in Scorpio. grief, regret, loss.
• Six of Cups — 2–11 November, the second decan: the Sun in Scorpio. nostalgia, innocence, a gift from the past.
• Seven of Cups — 12–21 November, the third decan: Venus in Scorpio. fantasy, choice overload, illusion.

The court

Two court cards share Scorpio. The King of Cups — air of water — rules its first twenty degrees, coming in from Libra (13 October – 11 November). The Knight of Wands — fire of fire — takes its last ten and carries on into Sagittarius (12 November – 11 December).