Scorpio – Guarding the Threshold to the Underworld
On his symbolic journey through the zodiac, the Sun in Scorpio reaches the darkness of the underworlds. Scorpio stands for loss of consciousness and death experiences. These experiences often seem frightening because they reflect encounters with the dark aspects of our personality not yet purified. Scorpio enables us to enter into the silence for inner transformation and ascension to the light.
Scorpio represents the threshold to the infernal worlds. At this threshold a Master watches over the planet and its beings, ensuring that no one falls into the nether worlds. The Master is symbolised by the three-headed watchdog called Sarama in the East and Cerberus (Kerberos) in Greek mythology. Sarama stands for the dog star Sirius, the watchdog of our system. Master Jupiter is this watchdog.
To illustrate this symbolism, I transformed a Wikimedia photo by Matthiasberlin showing a group of statues from the archaeological museum of Heraklion, Greece. It depicts the three-headed Cerberus at the threshold of the underworld, surrounded by Hades/Pluto, the regent of the underworld, and his wife Persephone. She represents the part of the immortal soul that goes through the experiences of birth and death.
The symbolism of Scorpio is visualised in the twelve Scorpio paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.
