missunderling said:
"La petite mort, French for 'the little death', is a reference for the refractory period following sexual orgasm. . . .More widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm, or a short period of melancholy or transcendence, as a result of the expenditure of the 'life force'" (from Wikipedia). That's pretty Scorpio to me.
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An interesting article, but the juxtaposition of melancholy and transcedence is rather surprising. Incidentally, whilst I have seen and heard references to 'Le petit mort' which seem to take it literally, I'm fairly sure that the original use is analogy, so we shouldn't get too hung up on 'death'
Melancholy is a one of the four humours, of classical and medieval medicine and temperatment analysis. Melancholy is defined in as a cold and dry condition, exemplifed by reflection, pessimism, analytical and in this context it's anticlimax. Now in terms of signs, melancholic signs are Earth, not Water, amd Saturn is the planet of melancholy.
Scorpio as a Water sign, is phlegmatc, that is, contemplative, reserved, shy, slow moving, resigned. As the fixed Water sign, Scorpio is static Water. Now of course, the author of the Wikipedia article, might be confusing phlegmatic and melancholic, especially as the modern view of 'transcendence' tends to link it to Pisces and Neptune. Traditionally, it's probably still Pisces, but it would be Jupiter as the ruler.
We are bacl to cultural and personal views. The connection of sex and the eighth is a twentieth century invention. which seems to have been used for the first time by Alan Leo. To the extend that you do regard sex as something that is inherently unpleasant, or shows the base side of man (and woman) is something best not talked about in decent company, then that might lead to a shift of house. I'd still take twelfth, on that view, rather than eighth but it's traditional association is fifth house. And no traditional Astrologer would link sex with Scorpio (though sexual disorders WOULD be)
