“It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

~ Anne Frank

This week we are saying goodbye to Scorpio season, as the sun enters Sagittarius. I am fascinated by the transition phases between two signs. They always mark special points in our growth and evolution. I find the transition from Scorpio to Sagittarius to be extra important.

Scorpio season presents a time when we are forced to face harsh truths. Everything we wanted to push away, comes up to the surface, or rather, it is us who go down below the surface to see it.

What we find out during Scorpio season is often unpleasant. Not because Scorpio is bad, on the contrary. Scorpio gives us the power to deal with things that we could not deal with before. It is here to enable us to cope with the ugliest sides of reality. It is empowering and strengthening us, whispering “you can do it” in our ears.

Scorpio does not provide us with an intellectual understanding of these harsh truths. It takes us through a deep and intense experience. It makes us feel these truths flowing through our blood vessels, underneath our skin, in our bellies and our entire being.

We don’t have any choice but to expand ourselves, stretch beyond our limits, enlarge our containers to be able to withstand what is going on. Scorpio reminds us that the deeper we go into the horrific, terrifying truth, the stronger we get.

On Wednesday, the sun moves into Sagittarius, the sign that rules our belief systems, optimism, and faith in the world and in humanity. We are asked to review our beliefs in light of our Scorpio experiences. Sagittarius is asking us to not let the harsh reality harden us. We should not become skeptics or close our hearts, though we might need to revise our beliefs in a way that better supports us.

Sagittarius connects us with our gratitude. I have a sweatshirt that says, “I am grateful for all of it”. I can’t wear it now because there are so many things that I am not grateful for. With that, I still have plenty of reasons to be grateful. Each of us has something to be grateful for, even on these dark days.

After the massacre of October 7, I lost my faith in the world. I could not say that the world was a kind world anymore. I could not believe that something so horrific could have happened. I asked myself how could I be so naïve, while I always knew that the holocaust happened? How could I just put this behind me and think that the world was good, when 6 million people were inhumanely murdered just because they were Jews?

Something inside of me reminded me that there must be a purpose to what is happening right now. I believe that the purpose is to force us to face some harsh truth that we were trying to avoid.

What harsh truth did you find during Scorpio season?

I thought antisemitism was gone, but it was just lurking in the dark. I thought that giving Hamas millions of dollars will help improve the lives of the people in Gaza and cultivate peace. Instead, Hamas used the money to slaughter, rape, and kidnap my friends. I thought that the Jews control the media. I found that the media is ruled by China through TikTok. I thought that Jews and elite colleges were best buddies. I found that elite colleges have been heavily funded by Qatar, which promotes antisemitism. I thought Jews support Jews. I found that there are anti-Zionist Jews, who spread hatred towards Israel in the name of peace. I thought the world would be outraged and would stand by our side. Oh, how wrong I was.

So many harsh truths; it is almost impossible to digest. But at least now I know. I can now look at reality in the eyes. It had to blow up in our faces at one point or another. There was no escaping it. We had all lived under false understanding of reality for too long.

And now, what do we do?

During Scorpio season we breathe in the pain and find our strength. Then in Sagittarius we restructure our beliefs and find gratitude for all the blessings and gifts in our lives.

I now know that the holocaust can repeat itself. There are evil forces in the world. Sometimes evil wins. The world is filled with ignorance and hatred.

But I also choose to believe that the good forces will prevail. The truth will come to light. Terror will be destroyed. People will wisely choose leaders who can lead them into peace. There will be peace.

Like Anne Frank, I choose to believe that people are truly good at heart. Do you?

With gratitude and love,

Happy Thanksgiving,

Yael