Today we begin our annual descent into the underworld when the Sun arrives in Scorpio at 1:46 pm EDT. The transition from Libra to Scorpio couldn’t be more stark. If Libra is the sign that teaches us about creating peace and harmony — sometimes glossing over reality in the process — Scorpio is the sign that reveals the uncomfortable truths within.

We’re practically veterans of Scorpio by now. We spent three years learning deep and often painful Scorpio lessons when Saturn was a long term visitor from October 2012 to just this past September. But for all of Scorpio’s themes of death and rebirth, it’s a sign we can’t ignore. At some point in our lives we have to face our shadows, our demons, the cast off aspects of ourselves. We have to dig into our souls or we’ll never change. For that, Scorpio bears the honor of taking us through some of the more powerfully transformative and evolutionary experiences we’ll ever have. Then, and only then, do we ascend into Sagittarius, the following sign, wiser than ever.

Our time in Scorpio will have an unexpected guide in the form of Chiron. In the Greek myth he was a wise centaur who was the teacher of Apollo as well as the father of medicine and astrology. We will have a lot to learn from Chiron, his presence in the ingress revealing the emotional and psychic knots we’ll be confronting and unraveling over the coming weeks. The Moon is in Pisces as well; our intuition couldn’t be sharper, our connection to the other side clearer.

Another interesting current we’ll be surfing today is Venus trine Pluto. If Venus is the planet of love, relationships, and value, then a connection to Pluto digs into the darker side of love and value — obsession, control. Venus and Pluto also makes for a powerful woman, someone who is not afraid of intimacy and soul baring truths.

Welcome to Scorpio season!