In the first two articles of this series, I looked at what happens when Pluto and Jupiter get together in the sky and form a stressful square:
Jupiter Squares Pluto: Going To Extremes
Jupiter And Pluto Go On A Binge
This month’s square is their final pass, so their influence will be fading quickly after February of 2011 ends.

Today’s story finds them sitting on Mount Olympus, contemplating the landscape.
Jupiter:  I love a view from a lofty height like this.  I can see forever and I can really get the big picture this way.
Pluto:  This is not my favorite view—I prefer to look underneath things.
Jupiter:  You always get so dark when you do that.  You like to find the darkest, grittiest, ugliest thing at the bottom of something and point it out.
Pluto:  And you have a way of overlooking what matters.  I put human beings through their own dark places.  It’s my job and I’m very good at it.
Jupiter:  Yeah, but I’m the king of the gods.  I help people see the heights they’re capable of.  That’s more important.
Pluto:  Not in my world.  In the underworld, I’M king.  You can’t even get in unless I let you.
Jupiter:  Oh, I can get into the underworld anytime.  I just don’t usually want to.  It’s not the best vacation spot.
Pluto:  But important things are going on there!
Jupiter:  Stop pleading, Pluto.  It doesn’t look good on you.  Make your point.
Pluto:  I will.  People need a place to go when they die.  They need a concept of hell to sober them up while they’re alive.  They need a way to work off bad behavior.  They need a well of souls to rejoin after death and to be reborn out of.
Jupiter:  I just don’t get why this stuff matters.
Pluto:  It may not matter to you, but it matters to human beings.  You’re a god.  You live forever.  You don’t die, can never be reborn.  A human being can become a little bit more like a god by going through death and rebirth.  That’s why I’m here.  To make it possible for a human being to burn away his mortality and become his finest, greatest self.
Jupiter:  Who’s making himself sound important now?
Pluto:  Here, I’ll show you what I mean.
Pluto grabs Jupiter’s arm and whisks them both away to the underworld.  It is a dark, dreary place.  They stand in an empty landscape where everything is in shades of gray.  A Human Being trudges along, unaware of the presence of the gods.
Pluto:  This human is experiencing what they call a “long, dark night of the soul.”  Eventually, he will come out the other side of it and find that he has changed in a very fundamental way.  He will be a new person.
Jupiter strikes a light.  It flares up brilliantly.  The Human Being perks up.
Pluto:  (putting the light out) Hey, don’t do that!
Jupiter:  Why not?
Pluto:  This human hasn’t gotten to the end of his journey yet.
Jupiter:  But you just said the journey through the darkness has to end sometime.
Pluto:  He has to suffer some more first.  Then he will get to the light at the end of the tunnel.  It will happen naturally in the time that’s right for him.
Jupiter:  Who are you to say that I didn’t just provide the light at the end of the tunnel?
Pluto:  I’m the Lord of the Underworld, that’s who!
Jupiter strikes another light and illuminates it even more.
Pluto:  Cut that out!
Jupiter:  (moving away from Pluto and turning the light up.  The Human Being reaches for the light with a look of hope on his face.) No, I won’t.
Pluto (roaring) You’re RUINING IT!  This is supposed to be scary!
Jupiter laughs and runs around with the light, totally confusing the Human Being and keeping just ahead of Pluto.
Jupiter:  Thought I’d shed a little light on the subject.
Pluto:  You bring humor into the most inappropriate places.  This is a serious matter.  This Human is experiencing real tragedy and you’re making fun of it.  False hope only adds to the anguish.
Jupiter:  Can’t take a joke, can you?  There’s nothing so serious in life that a little lightening-up won’t help.  Humor is the best way.
Pluto:  You’re going to leave this Human with the idea that the gods are laughing at his troubles.
Jupiter:  Aren’t they?
Pluto:  No!
Jupiter:  Maybe this Human will learn to laugh at his own pain and not take himself so seriously.  Laughter and tears are sometimes very close to each other.  You should take yourself less seriously too.  Oh, and the joke’s on you—told you I could get into the underworld whenever I wanted to.  Nah-nahhhhh!
Pluto:  You’re insufferable!
Jupiter:  I’ve been called that before.
Pluto:  You’re nothing but a giant gas—oops, I mean gas giant.
Jupiter:  Caught you making a joke!
This is getting ugly, so we’ll draw a curtain over the scene here, Gentle Reader.

Suffice it to say that when Jupiter and Pluto get into conflict, sometimes we find ourselves making fun of a bleak situation, just to find some light—any light at all—in the darkness.

This month is the final pass of the Pluto-Jupiter square.  If you have anything at all in 7 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn, you’re probably feeling it.  And if you have Jupiter and Pluto together in your birth chart (in any aspect at all—conjunction, sextile, square, trine, quincunx or opposition), most likely you tend toward extremes and a dark (sometimes inappropriately) sense of humor.

Jolly Jupiter has spent the last few months (since July 24) traveling backwards.  Today he turns his face forward and re-covers the same ground.  Why should you care?  If he’s passing through a zone where you have a planet in your natal chart, he’s been bringing you growth and confidence this year.  And he’s not done yet.

This Is A Pivotal Day
If you are one of the millions of people having a Jupiter transit this year, today may be pivotal for you.  Around July 24, you came to realize you were facing a growth period and since then, you’ve been re-evaluating some the area of your life that’s expanding.  You’ve been examining it and mulling it over.  Perhaps you’ve been researching it.  Basically, you’ve been asking yourself, “What is this part of me that wants to explore and get bigger right now?  How have I lived this part of me in the past and what is it turning into for the future?”

Today (and I mean this loosely—it may happen as soon as 2 days before or as late as 2 days after today) is pivotal.  Today may be the day you realize your internal quest for understanding is over.  You’ve come to clarity.  You’ve recognized where the growth needs to happen and you’re ready to do something with what you’ve learned.  You can now gear up to act on that recognition, sometime in the next few months (between now and February of 2011).

“What is a Jupiter transit like . . .”
Astrologers call Jupiter a “benefic” planet because he tends to bring good things.  He’s kind of like Santa Claus.  When you’re having a Jupiter transit, you tend to feel a sense of adventure, an expansiveness.  This expansiveness and willingness to have fun with what life presents you increases your self-confidence and you tend to approach life with hope and optimism.  Because of that, people feel good around you and they tend to offer you opportunities.  You are more apt to get lucky during a Jupiter transit.  It’s almost like being a “lucky Sagittarian” for a specific time period.  The luck is a side-effect of your openness to growth and expansion right now and your ability to perceive events in your life as opportunities.

I’m not saying nothing bad will happen to you during a Jupiter transit—but I am saying that anything bad that happens is likely to go much better than it would have without Jupiter’s benefic presence.  This is because during a Jupiter transit you are more able to put even bad events to good use, to squeeze those lemons into lemonade by adding your own sugar.

“. . . and how do I know when I’m having one?”
You can find out whether you’re having a Jupiter transit by peeking at your chart.  This year Jupiter is covering the space between 23 degrees of Pisces and 3 degrees of Aries.  This will affect you if you have any planet in the space between 23 and 29 degrees of any of the four Mutable signs (Pisces, Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius).  It will also affect you if you have any planet in the space between 0 and 3 degrees of Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn).

If you don’t have your chart, or don’t know how to read your chart, you might want to order your own personal Astrology Chart Decoder.  This is a special tool I’ve invented that puts your chart’s details in English, instead of astrology symbols.  Your Decoder tells you where every planet in your chart is located:  the sign it’s in, the house it’s in and the exact degree it occupies.  When you’ve got your Decoder in front of you, check to see if you have anything at all in 23-29 degrees of Pisces, Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius or in 0-3 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn.  If you do, you are definitely having a Jupiter transit this year.  And knowing that gives you the chance to identify the opportunities when they appear, and to grab them.  You might well ask . . .

What area of my life is being affected?
Good question.  It will have to do with the planet that you find is in that zone I told you about, between 23 degrees of Mutable and 3 degrees of Cardinal signs.  If it’s Mercury, you could be having a period of intellectual expansion, which is great for learning and expressing yourself in words.  If it’s Venus or Juno, you could be having relationship luck, attracting fun partners who take you on adventures or experiencing adventure in the relationship you already have.  If it’s Saturn, you could be facing a career expansion, a time when you exude confidence and grow your business.

“How long does it last?”
A Jupiter transit will typically last for 8-10 months.  Today is just one part of it, a pivotal day in the flow of a months-long period of growth, expansion and opportunity.  In an astrology reading you can find out all this good stuff:
•    what area of your life has “gotten lucky”
•    exactly how long it lasts
•    when it started
•    when it ends
•    what various phases of it feel like
•    how to take advantage of it
The timing of your transit will be personal to you.  That’s why it takes an astrologer to look it up—it’s not something I can just tell you in a blogpost.

“What do I do now?”
Grab the opportunities as they fly by.  You’re on life’s carousel and Jupiter is not going to just give you the goodies.  You have to reach for and grab the brass ring.  It’s up to you to decide which of all of Jupiter’s offerings are best for you right now.  You have to use discernment and you have to take action.  You have to respond.

It’s OK to say no to some of the opportunities.  Jupiter will simply send you more.  Focusing on what you really want can have the effect of shaping what Jupiter sends you.  It’s a great time for a deliberate manifestation practice.

When it’s over, it’s over
After this transit ends, your lucky period will be over.  It’s quite possible you’ll have another lucky period in a different area of your life in the next few years (it’s likely in fact), but this one will have passed.  Take advantage of it while it’s happening!

Jupiter and Uranus have returned to Pisces briefly, on their way to moving into Aries for real.  Once in Aries, Uranus will spend 7 years there, while Jupiter will whip through in just 1 year.

Uranus:  Hey, this is a little annoying, to have to return to Pisces when we’d tried Aries out and it was so much fun.
Jupiter:  Yeah, but once you leave Pisces, it will be a long time before you cycle around to it again.  Remember, I’ll be back to visit Pisces in 12 years, but it will be almost 80 years before you come back to this sign.
Uranus:  That’s true.  And we’ll be off into Aries before you know it.
Jupiter:  Besides, aren’t there things you wanted to finish in Pisces before moving on?
Uranus:  Like what?
Jupiter:  Perhaps there are a few spiritual communities you’d like to ignite.
Uranus:  You mean the few that I missed before?
Jupiter:  Yeah.  And there might be some artists out there who need one last little lightning bolt of inspiration from you.
Uranus:  I could get excited about that.
Jupiter:  There are a lot of imaginative types that could really use some startling new ideas.  How about raining some lightning bolts down on Disney, Pixar and the whole film industry?
Uranus:  Ok, now I AM excited.  There’s still time for me to spark a groundbreaking movie that could be released later.  Maybe I’ll download some insights into the brains of independent filmmakers and spark an appearance at Cannes or Sundance next year.
Jupiter:  The gift that keeps on giving.
Uranus:  Would you please tell the studio audience why you made these particular suggestions?
Jupiter:  It’s because Pisces is the sign that rules the imagination.  Pisces represents artists, dreams, imagination and especially film.  When a person goes to the movies, he is diving into the collective ocean of all-experiences-that-can-ever-be-had.
Uranus:  I’ve noticed that human beings really like imagining the ways their life could be, sometimes to escape how it is.
Jupiter:  That’s because they’re not gods, like us.
Uranus:  Who’s calling himself a god?  (smacks Jupiter’s head playfully)
Jupiter (smacking back):  I’m bigger than you are.  I’m king of the gods!
Uranus:  But I was a god before you were born!
Jupiter:  You were a flash of primordial lightning before I was born!
Uranus:  And you were a dream human beings hadn’t even invented yet!
Jupiter:  Dork!  Geek!  Nerd!
Uranus:  Fattie!  Egotist!  Jerk!
As we leave the scene, they are wrestling and attempting to duck each other, quite obviously having a great time.

Will this transit affect you personally?
If you’re a Pisces, born in the last week of Pisces, which is March 16-19, it probably will.  It also might affect you if you are a Gemini born between June 17 and 20 or a Sagittarius born between December 17 and 20 or a Virgo born between September 18 and 21.

If you are feeling unusually restless and you’ve got the desire to bust out and make really big changes, you might want to have a reading to understand what it all means for you and how long it will last.

Contact Jamie to schedule a reading

When last we saw Jupiter and Saturn, they were trying to reconcile their differences with the help of a Human Being who had climbed up onto Mount Olympus to talk to them.  Today they’re having an argument about whether optimism or pessimism is the right approach to life.  We catch them taking a break in the argument.

Jupiter:  Hey Saturn, last time we argued, we got a Human Being to help mediate.  How about we try that again?
Saturn:  That’s the first thing you’ve said that I’ve agreed with!
He scans the Earth, then points.
Saturn:  Look, there’s one now.  She’s just graduating from university and has a lot of important years ahead of her.  She needs to hear from me.
Jupiter:  And me!
The two of them turn into clouds of smoke and whirl down to Earth, where the Graduate is backstage, just about to give a valedictory speech.  When they appear before her, she nearly falls over in surprise.
Graduate:  Woah!  Hey, you’re not. . .
Jupiter:  We absolutely are!
Saturn:  Bona fide deities, at your service.
Jupiter:  We just want to help, but we get kind of tangled up sometimes. . .
Saturn:  Because we disagree so much.  It’s his fault.
Jupiter:  No way!  I’m always ready to agree!  It’s just that you’re such a pessimist.
Saturn:  I’m not a pessimist.  I’m a realist.  There’s a difference.
Jupiter:  A wet blanket is more like it.  You always see the downside of things.
Saturn:  That’s because I’m a problem-solver.  I spot what’s not working and fix it.
Jupiter:  Think positive!
Saturn:  Stay in touch with reality!  And look before you leap!
Jupiter:  He who hesitates is lost!
Saturn:  Be the diligent ant, not the frivolous grasshopper!
Jupiter:  All work and no play make Jack a dull boy!
Saturn:  Early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy and wise!
Jupiter:  Like Ben and Jerry said, ‘If it’s not fun, why do it?’
By now, both of them are shouting at each other across the Graduate.
Graduate:  I’m so confused!
They are starting to poke at each other, so she pushes them apart.
Graduate:  All right.  You came here for mediation, so here goes.  Now Jupiter, you have hope, right?
Jupiter:  Yes, of course.
Graduate:  And Saturn, you have long-term goals, correct?
Saturn:  Well, who doesn’t?
Jupiter:  Everyone other than you, that’s who!
Graduate:  Shut up, Jupiter.  I’m thinking.  And what I’m thinking is that you two actually have a lot in common.  You both like to think about what might be and move towards it.  You just do that in different ways.
Saturn:  Very different.
Graduate:  You, Saturn, see the goal, notice the gap between here and there and then critique yourself towards the place you want to be.
Saturn:  Nothing wrong with that.
Jupiter:  Says you!
Graduate:  And you, Jupiter, you are always filled with positive expectation, very focused on places other than the here and now, right?
Jupiter:  Yep.
Graduate:  And your approach is to be adventuresome, exploratory and expansive, right?
Jupiter:  Of course.  Why would I want to be different?
Saturn:  So I can believe your promises, idiot!
Graduate:  Chill!  I’d like a clear statement of purpose from both of you.  Saturn first.
Saturn:  If you undersell yourself, you will always be able to over-deliver.  This makes people take you seriously.  It garners you respect, status and power.  My way makes the world a better place—through hard work, self-discipline and integrity.
Jupiter:  But if you don’t toot your own horn, how will people see what you have to offer?  Aren’t you sick of being surpassed by people who aren’t better than you, but just have more self-confidence?  You’ve got to believe in yourself before anyone else can believe in you.  My way makes the world a better place by rewarding you for what you’ve done right instead of punishing you for what you’ve done wrong.
Jupiter and Saturn glare at each other.
Graduate:  Ah, I see where this is going.
Jupiter:  Life is a wide-open landscape in front of you.  The possibilities are endless.
Saturn:  So you’d better figure out what you want to do and get started fast because time’s a-wastin’ and the way to success is to get on track and stay there till you arrive.
A giant light bulb appears over the Graduate’s head, glowing brightly.
Graduate:  Now I get it!  Having both of you here is giving me much better advice about my future than either of you could give me alone.  Without you, Saturn, I’d have no purpose, no goals to strive for and I certainly wouldn’t have the strength of character and integrity to follow through on those goals.  But without you, Jupiter, I’d have no hope, no reason to get out of bed in the morning and I’d forget why I do it all.  Life would have no meaning.  So I’m afraid you’re going to have to get along with each other, because I can’t choose between you.  I need you both.
Graduate gathers both deities together for an uncomfortable group hug.  She gives each a giant kiss on the cheek.  Jupiter puffs with pride, Saturn contracts bashfully.
Graduate:  God, suddenly I feel like I’m in a buddy movie.  Now go on, you two—other people need you too!
She gives them a push.  They grin and go up in individual puffs of smoke.  The Graduate smiles to herself, then turns and walks onstage to give her commencement speech.

Previous post in this thread:
Jupiter Opposes Saturn: Expansion vs. Contraction
The final post in this thread will happen in March of 2011.

When last we saw Jupiter and Pluto, they were just dragging themselves shakily away from a crash landing.  Today we find them in Jupiter’s (very messy) living room, occupying a stuffed chair and outdated, falling-apart sofa, looking at some objects on the coffee table.

Jupiter:  Pass me the pipe.
Pluto passes the pipe, after stuffing it with high-grade but indeterminate stuff that could have come from any country or century on Earth.  Jupiter takes a big puff, then emits giant, deity-sized smoke rings.
Jupiter:  Ah, this is the life.
Pluto:  But how about the death?
He’s closely examining some harder drugs that are lying around on the coffee table, along with several baggies of miscellaneous pills and some half-finished bottles of the hardest liquor available.
Pluto:  What do you think would happen if we took all these at once?
Jupiter:  We’d die.
Pluto:  I could swear we’ve already established that we can’t do that.  We’re gods.  So, really—what do you think would happen?
Jupiter:  Dude, you always ask me questions like that.  You know I’m not the guy to stop you.
Pluto (smirking):  Yeah, leave that to Saturn, the old prude.
Jupiter:  But he’s not here!
They give each other the high-five and go back to the drugs and drug-taking paraphernalia.
Pluto:  Hey, how about we take all these, then go find a bunch of nymphs—
Jupiter:  How about a LOT of nymphs?
Pluto: —and then try to jump out a building?
Jupiter:  Been there, done that.
Pluto:  Then what’s left?
Jupiter:  I really don’t know.
Pluto:  It’s a good thing we don’t have mortal bodies.
Jupiter:  Yeah, because we sure know how to abuse them.  What makes us do it?
Pluto:  I’m drawn to intense, edgy experiences and you love adventure for its own sake.
Jupiter:  Yeah, but why do you have to be so extremely dark?
Pluto:  Can’t help it.  I’m the Lord of the Underworld.  Don’t really like the sunlight.
Jupiter:  I think I’ll find my limit before you do, and that’s saying something.
Pluto (with an evil grin):  Race you!
Jupiter:  You know I can’t resist a challenge like that!  On 3!
Pluto:  One. . .
Jupiter:  Two. . .
Pluto:  Three!
They quickly stuff everything edible into their mouths, chasing it with the alcohol, then smoke everything smokable and snort everything snortable.
Pluto (reeling dizzily):Oh wow!
Jupiter:  Wow-de-wow!
Pluto:  And double-wow!
Eyes rolling up in their heads, both collapse on the floor.  Several centuries later, Jupiter begins to stir.
Jupiter (rolling over and smacking Pluto on the face): Hey, Pluto, wake up!
Pluto:  Hunh?
Jupiter:  What just happened?
Pluto:  Unh.  Dunno.
Jupiter:  Wake up, Pluto, I’m bored!  What can we do next?
Pluto:  When my headache goes away, I’ll think of something.

This is part 2 of what will become a 3-part thread about the current Jupiter-square-Pluto.
Part One is here:  Jupiter and Pluto Go To Extremes

These two obviously have a lot of potential for stirring up trouble when they get together.  But while Pluto’s addictive and self-destructive tendencies tend to be accelerated by the presence of Jupiter, it’s well to remember that Pluto rules not only the lowest lows, but also the highest highs—and Jupiter is capable of accelerating those as well.  The final installment of this thread (which will be posted in February of 2011) will look more closely at those highest highs.

“Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low, there ain’t no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It’s all or nothing at all
Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes” *

That’s Billy Joel talking (see link below).  He may not know why he goes to extremes but I know—it’s because he’s got Pluto square his Sun in his chart.  That combination tends to make a person intense and attracted to edgy experiences.  He’s also got Jupiter in trine to his Moon, making him a large personality, generally benevolent and adventuresome, but also likely to have a bigger emotional reaction than events around him call for.  I mention it because these lyrics are a great illustration of what happens when Jupiter and Pluto hang out together.

This year Pluto and Jupiter will meet in the sky three times, beginning in July and finishing in February.  During this period, their conversation might go something like this:

Jupiter and Pluto have met on the top of Mount Olympus.  Pluto is dressed for scuba diving and carries a large bottle of vodka.  Jupiter is dressed for skydiving and gear is hanging off him in a haphazard way.
Jupiter:  Why are you wearing scuba gear on a mountaintop?
Pluto:  I figure if I start all the way up here, it will be longer before I hit bottom.
Pluto takes a swig of vodka.
Jupiter:  You do realize that you’re not supposed to drop from very high above sea level to very far below sea level, right?  Decompression sickness can kill you.
Pluto:  That rule’s just for people.  I’m an immortal, everlasting deity.  Nothing kills me!
Jupiter:  You’re also not supposed to drink and dive.
Pluto:  I can’t believe you’re telling me this.  I may be bleary, but even I can tell your safety gear is not in place.  Now why would that be?
Jupiter:  Well I’m a god too, obviously.  If I hit the ground it hurts—for a little while.  Then I just get up again, completely good to go.
Pluto:  Exactly.  And you know what I’ve noticed. . .
He leans toward Jupiter conspiratorially.
Pluto:  . . . even the pain part is kind of nice.  Sometimes I get so hardened that it’s hard to shock me.  I like feeling intense things every once in awhile.
Jupiter:  Hey, let me have one of those fins.  Maybe we could share air as we go down.
Pluto:  If you tie me into your parachute.  No doubt we’ll still plummet pretty fast, with two of us on one chute.
Jupiter:  This is hella fun, why didn’t we think of this before?
Pluto:  Not your usual suicide pact, but I’m Lord of the Underworld so death is not new to me.
They proceed to make all the adjustments, then grab each other, run to the edge and jump.
Jupiter & Pluto:  WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
This is followed by a huge crash.  Somewhere on Earth there is an earthquake, a tsunami and a volcano also erupts.
Jupiter & Pluto:  Ugh.  Umph.  Urgh.
They peel themselves off the ground.
Jupiter (eyes gleaming):  Let’s do that again!
Pluto:  You betcha!

This insane combo may have us feeling like a little risk-taking is in order, because Pluto’s tendency to extremes is only made bigger by the presence of Jupiter.  Watch yourself over the upcoming period, through Feburary of 2011, because nobody’s making these two follow safety rules.

* Here’s Billy Joel singing “I Go To Extremes” on youtube.

Curious about how this transit affects you?
A reading can help you find out—and find out what to do about it too!
Contact Jamie to schedule or find out more.

“Wake up!” says Jupiter.  “Recently I initiated you into a big-time growth experience.   Now I’m telling you again:  it’s time to expand.”

Today Is A Pivotal Day
When a planet turns retrograde it makes a pivot in the sky and also creates a metaphorically “pivotal” experience for human beings.  Today, that planet is Jupiter.  It’s as if Jupiter is telling us, “You can’t go on avoiding this change forever.  Today I’m delivering a wake-up call.”  If Jupiter is touching your chart this year, this message is for you and it will have very specific meaning, depending on what part of your chart it touches.  That part is being asked to grow and expand.  Today is the peak of Jupiter’s wake-up call, but it could happen anytime within 5 days surrounding today.

Initiation Leading To An Inner Journey
Sometime between now and last October Jupiter showed us an area of life in which we are due for a change.  What he delivered was an initiation and it was our first chance to catch a clue about the profound expansion to come.  That clue may have been obvious or it may have been subtle, but we’ve been shown a place in our life that we need to approach with a spirit of adventure and a willingness to become bigger than we’ve been before.  It’s very like a fantasy adventure movie in which a young hero is sent on an important quest.  During a Jupiter transit, you become a Seeker.

The clue was delivered, but did we notice?  It’s human to go into denial.  During the winter we may have said to ourselves, “Maybe I don’t have to do anything about this.  Maybe it was just a one-time thing.  Maybe I can just move on.  Maybe I can get away without paying attention to this.”

Or maybe not.  Today Jupiter turns up the volume and gives us a reminder.  “That growth period you’re going through?” he says, “You’d better get with the program.”  Today, Jupiter’s retrograde journey begins and with it begins our inner quest to discover what part of us is ready to expand beyond our comfort zone and how to proceed with that expansion.  The upcoming few months of Jupiter retrograde will demand that we approach life philosophically and get ourselves into an open-minded, exploring mode.  Jupiter’s retrograde journey lasts until the day it turns direct, which is November 18, 2010.

Where Must We Grow, Explore, Expand?
The sign Jupiter is in tells us how it will affect us.  This year Jupiter is traveling through late Pisces and early Aries.  While in Aries, Jupiter brings opportunities for fresh beginnings and adventuresome expeditions.  Jupiter in Aries loves a pioneering spirit.  While in Pisces, Jupiter brings opportunities of a more internal, even spiritual nature.  Less easily seen by others, these opportunities enrich one’s inner life, bringing a profound sense of peace and contentment.

Is This Story Your Story?
If this resonates for you, it may be that you are personally touched by this transit.  Jupiter may be triggering a planet in your own chart, thus bringing these themes up for you.  This year Jupiter is covering the space between 23 degrees of Pisces and 3 degrees of Aries.  If there is anything in your chart in 23 to 29 degrees of Pisces, Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius, you will feel this.  You will also feel it if you have anything in 0, 1, 2 or 3 degrees of Aries, Capricorn, Cancer, or Libra.  That’s 44 degrees out of the total 360 of a circle that is being affected by Jupiter this year—that’s 12% of the whole circle, a massive span and more than any other planet in our skies (because Jupiter likes all things big).  Knowing whether this affects you can help a lot because a Jupiter transit can lead to a fortunate outcome—if you take advantage of it while it’s happening.  Make hay while the sun shines!

What Area Of Your Life Is Being Affected?
Good question.  It will have to do with which planet in your chart is being triggered by Jupiter.  If it’s your Sun, you may feel your very identity growing beyond its old limits.  You’ll feel yourself filled up with confidence—you might even need to rein yourself in at times.  If it’s your Moon, you could experience an expansion in your family, either a new feeling of confidence around your relatives or perhaps even a new addition to the family (ahem!).  If it’s Venus or Juno, you might attract a freewheeling, rambling, adventuresome love affair or a welcome shared journey with your beloved mate and if it’s Saturn, you might find your career expanding and opportunity knocking at your door.  These are good things to know before they happen, because Jupiter brings opportunity, but you have to grab it and make use of it when it pops up.

Want to know more about how this Jupiter transit affects your life?
Contact Jamie to schedule a reading.

Jupiter and Uranus are up to something really different this month—the two of them are not only coming into conjunction, but they’re also both moving into Aries.  Here’s what it might be like.

Uranus and Jupiter are in a tidepool at the edge of the ocean, sloshing around.  Uranus is wearing a hat with lightning bolts coming off it.  Jupiter is a big guy with a large trailing cloak.

Jupiter:  This has been fun, being in Pisces, sign of the ocean and dreams.  I like Pisces—spiritual expansion is natural to me and I’ve been having fun with the dreamlife of humanity since January this year.
Uranus:  Speak for yourself.  It’s been a little confusing for me, being in Pisces—and I’ve been here for six years, so you bet I’m almost done with it.  It’s not exactly my natural territory.  I think I’ve been too gentle on humanity.
Jupiter:  Sometimes gentle is good.
Uranus:  Yeah, but I really like being a force for change.  I really like turning people’s heads around.  I really like shocking and startling people with paradigm-shifting, new ideas.  It’s hard to do that when I have to be gentle and subtle, because I’m in Pisces.
The lightning bolts on his hat keep being attracted to the water’s surface and fizzling.  He looks annoyed at this.
Jupiter:  You’re going to like Aries a lot.
Uranus:  I expect to foment some real action while I’m there.
Jupiter:  It will be a relief to be in a fire sign again.  Fire signs are my favorite.  Let’s get loud.  He punches Uranus’ shoulder playfully.
Uranus:  Absolutely—let’s really knock them on their ear!
Jupiter:  That would be easier if stupid Saturn wasn’t opposing us.
Uranus:  Don’t worry about Saturn—I carry more weight than he does.  He can’t stop me for long.  I’ll be questioning his authority and de-structuring his structures in no time.
Jupiter:  Hey, look!  He points.
Near to them, beyond the pool they are in, the landscape catches fire.
Uranus:  It’s about time!
Together they sweep out of the water and into the flames.
Jupiter:  Now this is more like it!  He waves his arms and the flames flare up, hotter and higher.
Uranus:  Oh this will definitely be fun!  The lightning bolts on his hat begin to crackle.  Soon his head is a mass of sparks and he’s grinning from ear to ear.
Jupiter:  Watch out, humanity!  Change is on the way!

And indeed we’d better watch out.  These two are a powerful combination and they’ll be together in the sky until January of 2011.  Calling all superheroes:  be sure to use your powers for good!

This month, Jupiter and Saturn come into opposition in the sky.  Since Jupiter is all about expansion, getting bigger and having confidence in ourselves and Saturn is all about contraction, being emotionally reserved and working hard to earn what we gain in life, you can see that they have a lot of places to disagree.

Imagine Jupiter and Saturn on Mount Olympus arguing about how you should spend your time.  Jupiter is a large, round, jolly guy with a benevolent glow around him.  Saturn is thin and ascetic-looking, with a kind of hooked nose and a miserly air.  Their conversation might sound something like this . . .

Jupiter:  I’m all about making things bigger.
Saturn:  Blowing them out of proportion, you mean.
Jupiter:  Why do you always have to be such a wet blanket?
Saturn:  Because I value substance over surface.  There’s no limit to what can be accomplished by someone who’s willing to work hard and create value.
Jupiter:  Actually, there is a limit to that.  If a person works hard but never takes a break, they will come to feel that their life is just drudgery—“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” you know?
Saturn:  If the work is done, it’s ok to go play.
Jupiter:  Is it really, Saturn?  Do you ever really let up?
Saturn:  I can let up after something really solid has been accomplished.  But I like to push until it actually happens.  You, on the other hand, are usually full of hot air.  All enthusiasm and no substance.
Jupiter:  How can people progress and build anything meaningful if they have no hope?
Saturn:  I’m perfectly ready to deliver the reward after the work is done.
Jupiter:  Your approach is harsh and judgmental.
Saturn:  And you’re too relaxed.  Promises are important and a person who cannot stand behind their own word is worthless.  Wait a minute, who’s that?
A human being has joined the gods on Mount Olympus and stands there struggling for breath in the rarified atmosphere.
Human Being:  I’m only mortal, but I climbed up here because I want to talk to you both.
Jupiter:  I’m impressed.
Saturn:  So am I.  For once we agree.  So, little Human Being, what do you want?
Human Being:  Your argument is confusing me.  Sometimes I want to be in touch with my ability to hope and to grow and to expand, and then I listen to you, Jupiter—
Jupiter:  Fantastic idea.  Good on you.
Human Being:  —and then other times I just need a solid kick in the pants, so I listen to the never-ending stream of self-judgment that you put in my head, Saturn.
Saturn:  Glad you’re listening.  That will take you far.
Human Being:  But right now I don’t know what to do.  You’re pulling me in two different directions.  I don’t know whether I should expand or contract.  Should I grow my business or prune and consolidate it?  Should I make promises before I know I can keep them and then scramble to fulfill or should I work hard behind the scenes until I have something solid to offer and then promote it wildly?
Jupiter and Saturn look at each other.  Both shrug.
Saturn:  It doesn’t really matter which you do first, as long as you honor us both.
Jupiter:  Couldn’t have said it better myself.  Just make us both happy, in whatever order you like, and you’ll find our argument is over.
Jupiter and Saturn pat each other on the back and stroll away into the beautiful Olympian twilight.

Today is a milestone in this year’s phenomenal triple conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius.  Today Jupiter and Neptune form a perfect conjunction for the third and final time.  This month is our last chance to take advantage of the magic these two make together and they really want us to know that.  Here’s a snippet of their conversation:

Jupiter and Neptune are perched atop their favorite cloud, watching the world go by.
Jupiter:  Hey, Neptune, have you noticed that it’s a really jaded world out there?
Neptune:  I had in fact, noticed that.  Nobody seems to believe in anything anymore.
Jupiter:  Why do you think that is?
Neptune:  Actually, I think it’s your fault.  Advertising, your monster-child, has jaded them and they are so glutted with unfulfillable promises that they can no longer hear the siren song of true magic calling them.  MY siren song.
Jupiter:  Oh, I really don’t think I’m the only one to blame here.
Neptune:  No?
Jupiter:  Definitely not.  You, after all, are always trying to get people to believe in ridiculous, ungrounded, unprovable metaphysical principles.  People are tired of being psychologically overextended.  They want reality.
Neptune:  BUT they want reality to go their way.
Jupiter:  True.
Neptune:  Yet they’ve forgotten that being able to imagine the impossible, which is my gift—   (Neptune takes a little bow)
Jupiter: —and having enough hope to carry through the effort necessary to prevail despite the impossibility of the task, which is my specialty—  (Jupiter bows back with pretend gravity)
Both in unison: —is exactly how reality can be bent to human will!
They do a little dance, then collapse in laughter.
Jupiter:  Do you think anyone took notice?
Neptune:  Probably not.
Jupiter:  Maybe we’d better try another method.
Neptune:  Ok, what do you have in mind?
Jupiter:  I’m thinking of a Peter Pan moment.
Neptune:  I know exactly the one.  I’m with you.
Together they lean over the cloud and address themselves to all of humanity, in booming-god tones loud enough to be mistaken for a thunderclap.
Both in unison:  DO YOU BELIEVE IN FAIRIES, PEOPLE?  DO YOU?  If so, you’d BETTER START CLAPPING!  Because right now, this very moment, is the one in which you can choose to make a miracle.  IF, that is, you want one.  So there.
The two of them roll back onto the cloud and listen intently for a moment.  Then, just when they were about to give up, they hear it:  the clapping, coming from all over Earth, of people who believe in fairies and some other people who maybe don’t exactly believe in fairies but think it would be a better world if we had a few.  Neptune and Jupiter are filled with delight and dissolve into a fit of giggles.  With each giggle a fairy is born and flies off to do good in the world, for all the people who clapped, and even for a few who didn’t.

For more on this, see:
May’s Triple Conjunction of Neptune, Chiron & Jupiter
Jupiter Conjuncts Neptune: Let Your Dreams Run Wild