Baxter the therapy dog was a bridge to the next world – a psychopomp who lovingly eased others across the veil. (Meaning “guide of souls” in Greek, a psychopomp is a being, whether shaman, angel or animal, that provides safe passage to deceased souls.)

Looking more like a teddy bear than a dog, the scruffy chow mix made his rounds at San Diego Hospice until his death in 2009 at 19. Baxter could no longer walk due to arthritis, but that didn’t stop him or his owner, Melissa Joseph, from bringing his special magic to the terminally ill. Joseph merely hauled the dog around in his red cart and lifted him onto patients’ beds to snuggle.

Abused as a puppy and beset with ailments, two-year-old Baxter was about to be euthanized when dog-lover Joseph got wind of his predicament and rescued him. At first, the dog was terrified of loud noises and cowered whenever he saw a broom. But after years of tender care,  Baxter became patient, reliable, courageous – and exquisitely sensitive to others’ suffering.

At 14, he was certified as a therapy dog. “Baxter is a natural,” said Joseph. “He didn’t have to be professionally trained. His heart starts at the tip of his head and goes all the way to his tail.”

Nicknamed Dr. Love by the hospice staff, Baxter made an impact on people of all backgrounds and ages – even those who no one else could reach. Soon after cuddling with Baxter and receiving his ministrations, many patients would cross over peacefully.

Those who knew Baxter believe it was his own ailments that made him such a powerful companion to others in pain. As in the shamanic tradition, his wounds had turned him into a healer.

The psychopomp is a Scorpionic figure. Scorpio rules the Underworld—the realm of death as well as the subconscious mind. This is the Shadow—dwelling place of all we have repressed, from our greatest talents and desires to our worst fears and faults. When the Sun traverses the shadowy terrain of Scorpio (Oct. 23 thru Nov. 21), it illuminates both good and bad. We recognize our Shadow and have the chance to break its death grip on our spirit—facing our darkness while embracing our blessings and brilliance.

The October 26 Scorpio New Moon (12:56 p.m. PDT) falls close to Samhain (the Oct. 31 Celtic New Year) and Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Nov. 1). In many cultures, this period is seen as a time when the ancestors return to walk the earth and commune with the living. The New Moon also occurs two days before the end of the Mayan Calendar (Oct. 28 according to some calculations; others say Dec. 21, 2012). The end date, no matter when it falls, is said to coincide with a consciousness shift from duality to unity. To make this shift requires that we learn to live from our hearts and feel our connection to all that is.

The Scorpio New Moon opens a portal to experiencing both pleasure and pain. The Sun and Moon oppose Jupiter the seeker, exactly trine Pluto, god of death and rebirth (Scorpio’s ruling planet). With Mercury and Venus also joined in Scorpio, it’s an unparalleled time to solve long-standing problems, find answers to riddles, heal old wounds and probe beneath the surface to find life’s deeper meaning.

Wherever Scorpio falls in your chart shows where you have suffered deeply. This suffering has made you raw and vulnerable, and therefore more capable of loving—if you can get past the fear of being hurt again. Sometimes we need a psychopomp like Baxter to help us make that leap to trusting once more. So, at this New Moon, call on a beloved person or pet—in this world or the next—to help you let go of suffering and open to new life.

For inspiration, watch this short video of Baxter snuggling up to death and making everyone come alive. As “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan noted, “Baxter’s inspirational story reminds us how animals can teach us to live fully in each moment, even if that moment may be our last.”

Click here for an Astro Feng Shui ritual to bury the past and open to Scorpio’s riches.

“Listen. The music. Can you hear it? I can hear it everywhere. In the wind. In the air. In the light. It’s all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do is listen.”

The opening words to the 2007 film August Rush reflect the magic of Venus trine Neptune. In the movie, a romantic encounter between two musicians results in an unplanned pregnancy—and a gifted child who can hear music all around him. Given up for adoption as an infant by the young woman’s father, the boy works hard on developing his musical talent in an effort to reunite his parents, who had been separated by fate.

Tomorrow’s trine from Venus (elevated in her own sign of Libra) to mystical Neptune in Aquarius, gives all of us a chance to hear the music of the spheres. And, this aspect coincides with a Venus Portal (7:50 a.m. and 1:30 pm PDT), in which the Moon aligns with the exalted planetary pair. At a Venus Portal, which only happens a few times a year, we can make a talisman (piece of jewelry, flower arrangement, painting or whatever inspires you) that contains the essence of this potent aspect. Or, simply light a pink candle and make a wish for love, healing or inspiration.

At the last Venus Portal on May 20, a friend made a flower arrangement with roses from her garden, and put it near her bed in the Love gua of her home (furthest right hand corner from the front door). Ten days later, she was contacted on a dating site by a man who was heading off to do research in the Bering Sea. He wired her two dozen roses on her birthday, and by the time they finally got together, they both knew they’d found “The One.” He has now moved in with her, and they’re living happily ever after!