On May 12th, we have a Full Moon in the sign of Scorpio that carries an intense and transformative energy. Scorpio, the sign of deep emotional waters, is known for its ability to confront themes of life, death, and rebirth. Opposite this Full Moon is Uranus, the planet of sudden change and liberation, which is conjunct the fixed star Algol—historically called the "demon star" and associated with themes of trauma, feminine rage, and injustice. This alignment creates a highly charged atmosphere, ripe for emotional breakthroughs or unexpected disruptions.

A Full Moon opposition in astrology highlights tension and polarity. In this case, the Scorpio Moon opposes the Sun in Taurus, which is conjunct Uranus and Algol. This configuration pits the stability and groundedness of Taurus against the emotional depth and transformative energy of Scorpio. Uranus adds an unpredictable, revolutionary quality to the mix, while Algol deepens the intensity, evoking themes of confronting buried emotions, grappling with trauma, and seeking liberation.

In the video below, I describe the energy of this Full Moon in greater detail. I’ve also included a transcript below. As always, the lunation will affect you differently depending on the placements in your birth chart. If you have planets or points near 20–27 degrees of the Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius), this Full Moon is more likely to impact you significantly. If you’d like to know more about how this lunation might affect you personally, you can book a reading below.

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Transcript (modified)

On May 12th, we have a full moon in the sign of Scorpio that could have an explosive quality, could make us want to lose our heads. I'll talk about all the aspects that relate to this full moon in the upcoming video. If you like and enjoy the content, please like and subscribe. It helps people find the content.

The Full Moon in Scorpio

So the full moon is in Scorpio. Scorpio is a sign, so the full moon will have something to do with our deep emotions. Scorpio is, if you think about Cancer, it's sort of the shallow water right on the shore. If you think about Scorpio, it's the deep water of the ocean going to the very bottom of the ocean. If you think about the third water sign, Pisces, that's like the water of the ocean itself, the oneness and the unity.

Understanding Scorpio Energy

So, thinking about that deep water element, one of the ways you can understand Scorpio energy is that people with Scorpio as a big part of their chart tend to enjoy going deeply into subject matters, studying things deeply. For example, I had a client today who had her Venus in Scorpio, and she told me how much she loves deep-sea diving. That's where her joy comes from. I thought that was interesting, and that is the Scorpio energy.

Scorpio also falls toward the autumn when darkness is taking over, and so it can have to do with grappling with questions of life and death, and survival, hence the deep emotional quality. Scorpio also is represented by the scorpion, which is a figure that can pierce its enemies. So there's this quality of Scorpionic energy where they can see through things, whether they're true or false. People with Scorpio energy can be very psychological, peer into your soul. So you feel all the deep psychological energy of this sign.

Fixed Quality of Scorpio

And Scorpio has a fixed quality. Fixed signs tend to stay with a matter. So that's where the persevering quality of Scorpio comes from. They tend to stay with an issue, an emotional issue, until it works itself out. You can understand Scorpio energy by comparing it to the other sign that's ruled by Mars, which is Aries. Aries is a fire sign that's quick, right? And it's ruled by Mars. So you think of the prize fighter who gets a knockout in the first round with Aries energy. But Scorpio is more like the prize fighter that goes 15 rounds, gets all bloodied up, stays with the fight, and perseveres and wins in the end. So that's the Mars energy of Scorpio.

The Tarot Connection: Seven of Cups

Taking it a little deeper, this full moon is in the third decan of Scorpio, and that is associated with the Tarot card, the Seven of Cups. If you can see that, the figure in this card is looking at seven different cups that contain different things that he may desire. If you think about the seven deadly sins—pride, envy, lust—I can't remember the others. But that's the quality of the Seven of Cups card. It has to do with grappling with our desires. People with rising signs in this part of the zodiac may be people who confront and work through, on a spiritual level, what it means to go too far, to enter spaces. They work with their desires around lust or greed or envy, but they do it from an internal space for the sake of gaining spiritual clarity. Because the number seven is spiritual in numerology as well.

If you think about—I'm just going to look at my notes really quick—from the Kabbalah, the number seven is Netzach, which has to do with endurance and perseverance and creativity and emotional energy. And it also has to do with grounding divine energy into the physical realm. So, hence this idea that people with Scorpio energy are kind of composting and working the deep emotional waters to gain a deeper emotional or, excuse me, spiritual understanding of themselves.

The Energy of This Full Moon

So that's the energy of this full moon. What's interesting is we have this full moon, and opposite it, we have Uranus, which is a planet that has to do with liberation, breaking free. It was discovered during the French and American Revolution. So it has to do with the desire to liberate oneself, to be one's authentic self. And Uranus is right on top of the star, the fixed star Algol, which was called the demon star in ancient times. I'll tell you the myth that's related to Algol, and you're going to see where there's a potential with this full moon of losing one's head.

The Myth of Medusa and Algol

The demon star is related to the figure Medusa in ancient Greek mythology. If you know the myth of Medusa, what happened is she was a woman who was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena, and Athena became enraged because this was sacrilege. But instead of punishing Poseidon, Athena punished Medusa and turned Medusa into a hideous figure who, when other people looked upon her, her eyes turned them to stone. Ultimately, Medusa was slain by Perseus, and Perseus took her head and put it on Athena's shield so Athena could use it as a weapon to kill other people with those Medusa eyes.

There's a quality about this demon star Algol/Medusa that its energy can be about all of those themes—trauma, feminine rage, rage that comes out of injustice. And that demon star Algol is with Uranus, and it's conjunct the Sun. When we have a full moon, that means the moon is opposite the Sun. So we have the Sun with Algol, or on Algol with Uranus, opposite the moon down here in Scorpio. That's the tension of the energy of this full moon.

Potential Effects of the Full Moon

Now you can see why I said there's a potential with this full moon that we could lose our heads—we could get emotional. Particularly if you're somebody who has planets or points near the end of the fixed signs. The full moon takes place around 22 degrees of Scorpio, and Algol is right there at 26 along with Uranus in Taurus. So if you have planets near the end of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius, this full moon could affect you more deeply.

At the same time, there's a potential for transformation with this full moon. That's what this third decan in Scorpio loves. It loves to take the deep emotional grappling with desire and use it as a way to spiritually transform oneself. Think of Jacob wrestling with God or the angel in the Bible. Think of Christ or Buddha and the different temptations that were placed before them. That's the energy. There's potential to use this energy as a way to let go of things that no longer suit you. To wonder about what your desire is. If you're holding on, because Scorpio can tend to hold on to its desire, this might present a situation where you're faced with whether it's the moment to let go instead of holding on tightly. There's also the potential for bursting into some sort of anger or losing your head around a situation as well.

Beneficial Aspects of This Full Moon

At the same time, we have two things helping us out in this full moon. One is that the moon, while it's in its fall in general in Scorpio—it doesn't like Scorpio because the moon is about life and Scorpio is about death and letting go in some ways—does well in this last decan of Scorpio. There's something about being open. The moon is also about the cycles of life, and life includes death. There can be an emotional maturity with the moon in this decan, where it realizes and can take in the reality of needing to compost or let those desires fall away.

The other thing that's beneficial in this full moon is that we have Saturn in a trine to the moon. Saturn is the god of restrictions and responsibility, and seriousness. When Saturn is in connection with the moon in somebody's birth chart—especially a connection that's a sextile or a trine, an easy flowing energy—there can be a capacity to restrain one's emotions when it's appropriate to do so. It's almost like having reins on the horse, where you're able to guide and work with your emotions productively.

Closing Thoughts

That suggests, although there's a potential for losing one's head, one may also be able to work this from a mature spiritual standpoint. I would double down on that because Saturn is at the very end of Pisces, the sign of compassion and oneness with the universe. While Saturn in Pisces can be a little skeptical around spirituality, there can also be a potential for a mature spiritual outlook or the development of one's capacity to look at things from a spiritual perspective with Saturn there.

So hold your horses if you can, and if you can't, forgive yourself. If something happens and you end up having a little blowout, maybe it was meant to be. We can always say we're sorry.

So, best of luck with this full moon. Drop a comment if you have questions about it or if you have an experience with the full moon that feels resonant with the video. I'd love to hear about that as well. Good luck, and have a great day.

May 12 Full Moon in Scorpio: Navigating Emotional Depth and the Intensity of Algol