The Scorpio personality has a habit of reaching the parts other signs would not wish to reach. Scorpio’s steely gaze can penetrate to your very core. But their piercing intuitive powers are often hidden by an exterior that gives no clues as to their findings. Although highly emotional, Scorpios do not like to show their feelings so that they can have immobile, almost dead-pan faces. Occasionally, however, their self-control will abandon them fleetingly, and their nostrils will flare to indicate some strong emotion. This fixed water sign has a tremendously powerful emotional energy to draw upon when creating, a depth of feeling which conveys great intensity. This stems from Scorpio’s link with the 8th house of the zodiac, which governs birth, death, rebirth and procreation.

They may be cool on the surface, but underneath Scorpios are intensely passionate, both physically and emotionally. When love is sweet, they are very loyal, but when things go wrong they may show a sting in their tail. Newly married Scorpios may feel tempted to unleash some of the volcanic power that is rumoured to bubble away in their psyches. The formidable thing about jealous Scorpios is the ruthless, methodical way in which they respond. Careful not to strike until they have mustered all the facts and noted the person’s weaknesses, they may wait months or even years before forcing a final cataclysmic confrontation.

Born with a burning desire to penetrate the secrets of the universe, Scorpios may be drawn into a flirtation with someone who intrigues them – intensely, of course. If the puzzle is solved too quickly, they will move on in search of a more mysterious encounter. Like the rest of their private lives, Scorpios like to keep their affairs secret. Not only does this protect their pride from being hurt if they suffer rejection; it also adds much-needed tension and excitement to the whole business. This intensely passionate sign is renowned as a marvellous lover; but, once you love a Scorpio, you will be totally under their sway – which is just what Scorpios intend, for they set great store by sexual power and often go to extremes in pursuit of it.

Scorpio is renowned for being the sexiest sign in the zodiac and marriage to the Scorpion tends to be a passionate and tumultuous experience. This is a sign that lives life intensely and marriage is no exception. Scorpios are deeply emotional beneath their calm exteriors. The Scorpion’s sting lurks deep inside every Scorpio, as anybody contemplating separation from one sooner or later learns to their cost. This sign neither forgives nor forgets, and will seek revenge for all the wrongs inflicted during the relationship. Scorpios are competitive, though they are not particularly motivated by the thought of fame and success, or or financial gain – although they certainly enjoy these things. It is simply the satisfaction of winning or of coming first which spurs Scorpios on.

Scorpios are renowned for their sexuality and many Scorpios enjoy and extremely active, secret, fantasy life. They dream of conquest and sexual power as ‘the femme fatale’ or ‘demon lover’ whom no-one can resist. They also fall prey to fantasies of fear and destruction. Letting go of the past, and of people and situations which are no longer part of their life, is difficult for Scorpios. They often cause themselves – and others – unnecessary suffering and stress by hanging on and refusing to accept the inevitable. They have the most powerful fund of zodiac energy, and this, coupled with an intense drive to succeed, pushes many Scorpios right to the top. In the process, the Scorpio may act with ruthless purpose and a lack of consideration for others.

Scorpios dislike revealing too much, either about their passions or any other aspect of life. They tend not to appear too eager, perhaps in a bid to throw others off the scent. But beneath this quietness lies an ardour unmatched by other signs. Self-knowledge is often said to be the key to all power, and to Scorpio it beckons magnetically. Unravelling their own psyches leads them to an understanding of the most basic universal forces. Only they can decide whether to use it for good or ill. Their love of research often provides Scorpios with adventures of a mysterious kind – when the unknown beckons, they have to follow. Convinced that they can solve the puzzle, their tenacity and patience may also lead them into some strange corners. Well informed Scorpios may be especially concerned about the economic plight of the Third world, which has been a major factor in the depletion of the earth’s resources. The destruction of the rain forests, for example, could well arouse Scorpio passions.

The true Scorpio management style is never obvious, but even so, there is always a feeling that the boss knows exactly what everyone is doing, and that there are certain boundaries which cannot be crossed under any circumstances. After a while it may dawn on employees that the reverse hardly ever applies: few, if any, will be allowed to know what is really going on inside a Scorpio’s head, and changes at work could well occur both suddenly and dramatically. Romantically, Scorpio bosses exude the kind of mysterious sex-appeal which is made all the more alluring by the power they wield. True, there are times when they may be tempted to use this power less than honestly and leave at least one broken heart in their wake. But responsible Scorpios are also capable of enormous self-denial, and may content themselves merely with playing psychological games. Flirts be warned! Although highly emotional, self-contained Scorpios prefer to keep their strong feelings to themselves. They regard emotional closeness as a form of dependence which might allow others to gain power over them, and will resist it at all costs.

The Scorpio mix of intellect and intuition makes them among the most acutely perceptive sign of the zodiac. They are able to sum up people or situations at a moment’s notice and often, quite literally, see more in things than meet the eye. They have a reputation for possessing psychic abilities. Certainly their powerful investigative talents and strange knack of knowing what people are feeling make them excellent surgeons, detectives, counsellors and researchers. Even as children, they come across as intensely private people who inhabit an inner world which is inaccessible to all but the privileged few. This need for solitude should be respected; they must have a place to which they can retreat. They can find decisions on emotional issues particularly tormenting, since their intense feelings often prejudice their minds. When they feel hurt by others, their judgement may also become clouded by jealousy or revenge.

They probably enjoy crises more than any other sign, and may actually choose to make them happen just so that their opponents have a harder time of things! They are at their best when under pressure, so any situation where the prizes for winning or penalties for losing are higher than normal becomes something of a turn-on. Their approach to crises is quite simply to win at all costs. They have more than enough determination to elbow all but the most determined opposition to one side as they go, and only when they are thwarted on all fronts is there a crises. At this point, they simply look for a chink in the armour of those who oppose them (it is always people, never just adverse circumstances or bad luck), and attack it until it gives way. Since they refuse to give anything away when faced with a problem, their actions are often seen as devious. This is not really fair. Until they have mastered themselves, they are seldom aware of the drives urging them to act in certain ways.

They seem to be uniquely attuned to crises, and find that the cycles of the outer planets periodically trigger off dramatic incidents. Yet such traumas are precisely what propel these often immovable people forward. Commitment is everything to scorpio children; they give it, and they expect it in return. If someone or something lets them down early on in their lives, it could take many years before they finally come to terms with the reasons why. Young Scorpios often seem to grow rather quiet and withdrawn as they approach adolescence, making it either difficult or impossible for adults to relate to them. Somewhere in the murky depths of those deep, dark eyes, there seems to be a struggle going on which lays exclusive claim to their time and attention. Early encounters with love are often the root cause of this inner turmoil. The arousal of previously dormant passions can unleash in them an intensity of feeling which their young hearts cannot hide, yet dare not show.

They tend to regard the onset of old age with a mixture of anxiety and fascination. The anxiety stems from a concern that they may not have done enough with their lives – that the big, all-consuming emotional experiences which make life worth living have somehow passed them by. Yet at the same time, their inner desire to penetrate all of life’s mysteries can fill them with anticipation. For some of them, growing old is the key that unlocks the door to a thousand secrets – and they just cannot wait to open it. Young Scorpio’s response is to take control, preferably without anyone else knowing how or why. In extreme cases their resentment may build up to the point where they actively seek to hurt their siblings. More usually, though, they smother them with seeming affection: ‘Keep your friends close, your enemies closer,’ is their motto.

Children may well find a Scorpio father rather intimidating and fixed in his views; but the relationship can be a deep and whole-hearted one. The Scorpio mother has equally intense feelings for her offspring which may put the child under pressure. Trust is the key to friendship as far as Scorpios are concerned, for they will not confide in anyone unless they are completely sure of their loyalty and discretion. When they tell you about their feelings, you may be sure that they consider you a real friend. Although they are seldom ostentatious, Scorpios are strongly drawn towards cars in the classic mould – the kind ‘they no longer make like they used to’. Nothing delights this sign more than to rescue a wreck and restore it lovingly to its former glory – a characteristic which they inherit from their ruler Pluto, the planet of transformation. Power under the bonnet is another consideration – not because Scorpios drive fast, but because they like to feel they could if they wanted to. And tinted windows are a must: this sign values its privacy!

What Scorpios carry around in their emotional haversacks is anybody’s guess. They learn young not to reveal their desires and motives for fear of getting hurt, and before long it becomes second nature. Eventually, they reach the stage where their deepest feelings are hidden even from themselves, at which point they usually take a lift down to their own sleazy basement to find out what lurks there. So far as the deep, secretive and thoroughly self-contained sign of Scorpio is concerned, it is not so much a question of how honest they are towards other people – rather, how honest they are towards themselves. Many of them spend much of the early part of their lives trying to find out, though often the answer only comes after a series of bitter, testing life experiences. In the meantime, they frequently find themselves in situations where they simply cannot help but cheat. Their motives for doing so may be hazy – even to them – but that does not stop them. Despite their reputation for never giving in, they generally know instinctively when something is lost. At this point, all is likely to be swept away in one almighty clearing of the decks – including, maybe, Scorpios themselves. This ‘going down with the ship’ view of defeat is all very well – some might say admirable – but it does tend to raise the stakes to impossibly high levels.

What they need to learn above all else is that somewhere between winning and losing lies the key to what they really want – and that they needn’t stake their lives to get it. Their natural desire to win is backed up by will-power and determination matched by none. So when they set their minds to winning, then win they usually do! This is the attitude exemplified in the meteoric careers of Olympic swimmer, Sharon Davies. They tend to be very attuned to their sexual nature: but sometimes such feelings can be so intense that they feel guilty about them. When this happens, they need to cleanse the body of tension built up from frustration with a suitable distraction. They are extremely proud and often resent it if someone else tells them that they need to slim. In face, they may well deny the fact and refuse. The realization that they need to lose weight has to come to them spontaneously, in order for them to succeed. The Temptress is a style which a Scorpio woman can wear to perfection if she chooses, with slinky, low-cut dresses or tight-fitting mini-skirts, high heels and sheer black or fishnet stockings. However, she can also look extremely cool and elegant.

They like pastimes which add a tinge of danger to their lives. When they are not at home reading murder mysteries, they are quite likely to get involved in active ‘war games’ or martial arts – pursuits which stretch them to the full. Spotting them in pubs in never easy, for these people like to keep a low profile and will probably see you coming long before you find them. The best place to start looking is in a dark corner close to the entrance to the cloakrooms. Here, they can sit unobserved, logging the movements and drinking habits of everyone in the house. And who knows what else may be revealed during the course of the evening? Dressing to kill is a Scorpionic art and they always attract attention from members of the opposite sex. They are usually good movers too and at a party will dance slowly and seductively to turn a few heads or raise a few eyebrows. They revel in party-going.

There may not be enough time in the day for them to follow up all their interests and commitments to the extent they would like. But they should avoid feeling that they are sacrificing one to fulfil another, as this can lead to guilt or resentment. As in everything else they do, they need a reason for eating out. Hunger alone is not enough – indeed, they can go for days without eating anything at all. Dining with business contacts may provide a slightly better excuse, especially if the people in question have one glass of wine too many and start spilling secrets over the tablecloth. Best of all, though, is the one-to-one dinner date that pits their wits against some helpless soul whose only crime is their love of good food. Once they have found a restaurant which they particularly like, they will use it often and expect to be treated with special attention. But to keep their custom, the restaurant must look after them well, or they may lose their custom for ever. They like anything in life which challenges them, and many develop an interest in the arts simply so that they can discover what makes the artist tick. The same applies to occult subjects, which may well provide the decorative theme in their home.

Their endless search for greater understanding of the self often means they exclude other people from their plans. They might enjoy going off on their own, and perhaps would enjoy visiting haunted houses, grottoes and palaces or ancient temples. They live very intensely, cramming as much as possible into their lives. Although moving house does not really worry them, they can be very possessive of their current home, lavishing care and attention on details and others would ignore. This deeply emotional sign needs to feel fulfilled in its life’s purpose. Pain and pleasure go hand in hand as they grasp or confront the opportunities presented by the Nodes and use them as a means of achieving greater self-awareness. They like to take control of their own destiny. Their attitude to luck is therefore highly individualistic and they normally prefer to regard a lucky event as a reflection of their understanding and the control they have over the processes involved. They can be highly manipulative, and what they crave is power. They have a singular ability to sense a good deal and to exploit weakness. ‘I master’ say Scorpios: but they will not hesitate to use other people to achieve their own ends. Conflicts frequently arise over items they share with others, or over inherited possessions.

These people can develop strong emotional attachments to things, and once they have done so they will be very reluctant to let go. Secretive Scorpio’s ideal home is a converted country retreat which from the outside exudes isolation and mystery. It is a place of eerie fogs and howling winds which makes their own addition – a sign reading ‘Trespassers will be shot’ – unnecessary; who in their right mind would want to go there anyway? But behind the facade is the cosiest of nests. Maze-like corridors, secret passages and hidden rooms which spin into view at the press of a button all appeal to them. Although it may not be obvious, they are often very competitive at work and will employ any means – fair or foul – to get control of the reins. Rivals bring out both their best and worst qualities – and they make deadly enemies. Complete involvement is a pre-requisite for them with career ambition. No sign is more intense in its evaluation of the worth a particular activity might have, nor as determined to control the immediate environment and those who share it.

Their love of delving into mysteries means they are usually fascinated by psychic phenomena, and particularly those pertaining to birth or near-death experiences. Occult mysteries, such as the lost continents of Atlantis and Mu, may also appeal. They are the most enigmatic of the signs, concealing a depth of feeling that is the strongest in the zodiac. They guard the mysteries of the universe, the cycle of life, birth, death and rebirth, together with the secrets of power and self-mystery. they instinctively know the power of their own feelings – which is perhaps why they are so reluctant to show them. If they can only learn to accept that other signs can and will cope with them, their relationships are likely to be mush happier. Their talent for making fun of frightening events can be a good way of dealing with their secret fears. For they are usually gifted with powerful imaginations which enable them to create nightmarish scenarios and turn them into comedy. They tend to be quite individualistic in their choice of pets. They usually prefer dogs to cats, and tend to prefer strong, working dogs and good guard dogs. Sometimes unusual pets such as spiders, snakes, lizards, alligators and other reptiles appeal. They know their own minds and they usually have strong and immediate like and dislikes when shopping. If they do not take to something, nothing will tempt them to buy it, but if they really like an item, they do not bother to count the cost.