We’re in the middle of a Venus retrograde period, lasting from October 8 to November 18.  Today is the day in Venus’ backwards journey that she conjuncts the Sun.  The Sun sheds light into the dark corners and brings illumination to Venus’s domain, which is the domain of relationships.

Has your relationship gotten stuck?  Has romantic, erotic love gone away?  Have you been working at restoring love?  Today look for special insight.  It could arise spontaneously from within or it could come from conversation with other people.  Look for a new understanding that reframes your relationship or how you behave in it.  This insight could come anytime between October 26 and 30.

(If you’re just starting this thread here, please begin here.  Then what follows will make more sense.)

Love Flies Out The Window
When Eros awoke to find Psyche watching him by lamplight, he knew his identity had been revealed.  He could no longer stay.  Dismayed and angered that Psyche had done exactly what he’d asked her not to, he flew away and returned to his mother, Aphrodite.

Did Eros want to leave Psyche?  Of course not.  He was just as in love with her as she was with him.  But he couldn’t maintain their relationship in the light of day, for fear of being caught by his mother, Aphrodite.  Unfortunately, keeping his identity a secret had become a point of vulnerability for Eros, a vulnerability Psyche’s sisters exploited.  They aroused Psyche’s curiosity and fear, claiming that he was a terrible monster and goading her to get a look at him in the light.  Psyche was afraid, but didn’t really believe them.  She wanted to know Eros truly and love the person he was, instead of keeping their relationship in darkness.  So she lifted the lamp over him.

Romantic love is a delicate thing, a dance of illusions.  We want to look and behave our best when we are in love.  When the illusion is shattered, love flies away in fear.  Isn’t it ironic that we come to relationship to be seen and then can’t stand it when it happens?  When she lifted the lamp, Psyche had no idea what that simple act would cost her.  But all the pain that ensued was necessary pain, because without it, her marriage could not tolerate the light of day.  Her desire to see Love face-to-face was the catalyst for doing the work necessary to restoring Love to her marriage—but this time in the daylight.

Let me say this again in a different way.

The human psyche craves love, and will accept it, even if given only in darkness.  The psyche recognizes love as benevolent until fear and jealousy creep in.  When goaded by dark emotions, the psyche will become curious to see the face of love, but upon being looked at too closely, romantic love flies out the window and the psyche has to do inner work in order to restore love.

Have you had an experience of love “flying out the window” in the last several weeks?  Have you shed light on some aspect of your relationship and found that it is not what you thought it was?  Have you or your partner run away from being seen?

Psyche’s journey has begun—has yours?

Read “Psyche Panics” for more insights about this powerful myth.

The following is a repost of an old post from back when I began my blog.  I still feel passionately about this, 3 and a half years later.  Here it is, just to remind us both:

I was raised almost entirely without religion.  My mother was raised Irish Catholic and by the time I was growing up she was a practicing Buddhist.  My father was raised German Lutheran but ultimately ended up somewhere around the atheistic end of the religious continuum, but with a healthy dose of reverence for nature.  Neither parent gave much conventional religious training.  The lack of it gave me a perspective on life that was often very unlike the people around me.

When I was still a fairly small child, I noticed that . . . (continue here)

(If you are beginning this thread here, read this first.)

Psyche wandered the earth, lost in grief.  She found herself at the temple of Ceres, where she cleaned and tidied the harvest tools until Ceres took notice of her anguish and advised her to go to the temple of Aphrodite and beg forgiveness.  Psyche did so.  “I know you don’t like me much,” she addressed the goddess, “but I am in love with your son.  What do I have to do to get him back?”  You could just about hear Aphrodite rubbing her hands together in glee.

Aphrodite declared that Psyche might win her husband back by doing four tasks, the final of these bringing her into the underworld, to the very throne of the god and goddess of death.  If Psyche should complete these tasks, her husband, her love, might be restored to her.

What Does The Story Mean?
The tale of Eros and Psyche is the tale of the soul seeking the fulfillment of true love.  When Eros and Psyche live together in their castle in the clouds, love cannot see the light of day.  It is too fragile.  Psyche’s journey to reclaim love shows us the way to convert ethereal love into the real thing.

Timing of 2010’s Venus retrograde period
October 8, 2010:  Venus turns retrograde.  Love flies out the window and Psyche is cast upon a journey to recover him.  She submits to the process because she recognizes that the only way out is through and that love cannot be forced.
October 28, 2010:  Venus conjuncts the Sun.  There will be a relationship epiphany on or near this day.
November 18, 2010:  Venus goes direct.  Eros and Psyche are restored to each other.  The retrospective period is over, and now you must go on from here with the insights you’ve gained about your relationship.

What Does It Mean That Venus Is In Scorpio?
Venus’ retrograde journey this year takes place in the sign of Scorpio, an apt symbol for the death of a dream, for loss and grief and for the place Psyche’s journey takes her to—the underworld.

In the underworld, there is darkness and uncertainty.  We do not know what is happening to us.  Change is going on, but we don’t know what we’re changing into.  And we have no idea when it will be over.

Scorpio’s message is “trust the process.”  Love cannot be controlled, dominated or forced by the psyche.  Love comes when it comes, not when demanded.  A show of devotion helps, but only if it is not viewed as a bargaining chip.

In the upcoming weeks, as Venus continues retrograde, we’ll follow Psyche on her journey . . .

Friday, October 8 through Thursday, November 18, 2010

What Is Venus Retrograde?
When Venus goes retrograde, she takes our hand and pulls us into the darkness of our relationships.  A retrograde period of any planet is a retrospective of that planet’s themes.  It is like going into the deep, dark cave of oneself in whatever area of life is covered by the planet that is retrograde.  It is a time of moving backward, perhaps of going back to pick up pieces lost in the past.  It is a retrieval, a turning inward, perhaps a letting-go.  Since Venus’ domain is relationships, this turning inward will happen in that domain.

The Tale of Eros and Psyche—Forbidden Love
The story of Psyche’s marriage to Eros, her loss of him and her journey to recover him, is an apt metaphor for the retrograde journey of Venus.  Here is her story.

Psyche, whose name means “soul,” was a mortal woman of great beauty, beauty to rival even Venus-Aphrodite herself.  People came from miles around to worship Psyche and bring her gifts.  This aroused the anger of Aphrodite, for no mere mortal deserves to be worshipped as a goddess.  Aphrodite sent her son Eros (Cupid), who represents living desire, to punish Psyche.  He came upon her when she was sleeping, and fed her the drink of Bitterness, then touched her with his arrow, that she might fall in love with the next hideous creature that came near.  But in doing so, Eros was grazed by his arrow himself, and he became struck with her beauty, so he gave her the drink of Joy also.

Psyche was now cursed.  Everyone wanted to worship her but no one wanted to marry her.  She was unloved.  Her parents consulted an oracle, which said, “she is destined for no mortal husband” and advised them to leave her on a mountain top where a monster would claim her.  While her parents were dismayed, Psyche herself submitted and went to the mountain top.  There she was swept away by a friendly breeze to a marvelous castle, filled with attentive but invisible servants.  There also she met her bridegroom, who was loving, affectionate, charming and passionate.  He visited her daily, but only in the dark.  He gave her everything and required only that she never ask to see his face.

Psyche was allowed a visit from her two sisters, who were jealous and concerned at the unusual marriage she had made.  “What,” they exclaimed, “you only see your husband in the dark?  How do you know he isn’t some kind of frightful monster who only wants to do you harm?”  Their suspicion persuaded Psyche to break her promise to her husband and make an attempt to view him in the light.

One evening, after a fabulous (but unlit) meal and the same splendorous lovemaking Psyche had come to expect from her mate, he fell asleep in her arms.  She gently crept out from under him and, lighting a lamp, held it over him to see what he looked like.  No one was more surprised than she to see that the being she was married to was not at all a monster who wanted to hide his face in the dark, but the very God of Love himself!  She fell into a reverie, feeding her hungry eyes on his features.  Just then a drop of oil from the lamp fell and landed on his perfect shoulder, scorching him and awaking him.  “Now you’ve done it!  Love cannot live with suspicion,” he cried, in anger and regret, as he flew out the window and into the clouds.  He went back to his mother, whom he had defied in living with Psyche.

This tale–and its meaning in your life–to be continued tomorrow . . .

Why is it that Libran types are so darned lovable and easy to get along with?  It’s because Librans are born under the influence of Venus, and with the goddess of Love & Beauty on their side, they have mad social skills.  Funny thing is, Librans are attractive even when they are arguing a tough point.  Here are just a few of the many abilities of this Air sign:

1.    As a natural matchmaker, Libra is most content when people are getting along. Libra loves relating for its own sake and is deeply interested in relationships between all human beings.  Libra is fascinated with the ways people connect and the reasons why they hit it off.  Your local Libran is never so happy as when she matches up two people (whether professionally or romantically) and a mutually beneficial association results.

2.    Libra is always thinking of the other person, which has its benefits and its challenges.  It’s natural for a Libran to think of others more than himself and so he is all too prone to giving himself away to make room for the other person to be heard and to get what she wants.  This tendency to negotiate away all his own rights gets Libra into trouble sometimes, but it also forms the foundation for other useful and attractive traits.

3.    Libra has a Devil’s Advocate side and can argue a position strongly. Some of Libra’s favorite words are “But on the other hand . . .” because to Libra, there’s always another position.  This gets Libras into a lot of arguments, because when a Libran hears a strong opinion, her first and most natural reaction is to bring up the opposite view.  This gives Libras the reputation for being argumentative, which isn’t exactly so.  Libras want to be sure all the possibilities are examined, that’s all.

4.    No sign is better at looking for the common ground between two seemingly irreconcilable positions than Libra—he really knows how to sweeten the deal.  Libra is a natural mediator and can find that common ground.  Libra is adept at seeing both positions in a dilemma, refusing to take sides and instead offering solutions that give both sides what they need.  Libra is willing to compromise and balance “take” with “give.”

5.    Libra has a strong, almost physical sense of fairness and justice.  When things are unfair, Libra feels it keenly and miscarriages of justice break the Libran heart.  This is so whether it is Libra himself or another person entirely who is the object of unfairness.  Libra simply finds injustice deeply wrong and injurious to the human soul.  This Libran trait is rooted in a deep love of symmetry, harmony and balance, which leads directly to the firm Libran belief that rules and agreements can be both loving and fair, and can bring out the best in everyone.

Got a favorite Libra in your life?
An astrology reading makes a great gift.
Contact Jamie to find out more.

This is a repost of an article originally posted in the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal.  You can read the original here.

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

Our old friend Pluto has turned direct this week (on Monday, September 13, 2010, to be exact) and he’s bringing to a close this year’s underworld journey.  What follows is a repost from last year, with dates updated for 2010.

Yup, Pluto is showing up, right on schedule, to take out the garbage.  Today Pluto turns direct, ending his yearly backwards journey.  Pluto has traveled several degrees backwards and today turns his face forwards again.  He will now retrace forwards the same steps he made backwards during the last few months, bringing a death-and-rebirth experience for everyone who is having a Pluto transit this year.

This Is A Pivotal Day
If you are one of the millions of people having a Pluto transit this year, today may be pivotal for you.  Around April 7, you came to realize you were facing a big life-change and since then, you’ve been re-evaluating some the area of your life that’s changing.  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 transform right now?  How have I lived this part of me in the past and what is it turning into for the future?”

This week you’ll experience a pivotal day.  It may be that you realize your internal quest for understanding is over.  You’ve come to clarity.  You’ve recognized the change that needs to occur and you’re ready to implement what you’ve learned.  You can now gear up to act on that recognition, sometime in the next few months (between now and January of 2010).

“What is a Pluto transit like . . .”
A Pluto transit is distinct, because it feels like dying.  You may feel at times as if you are in meltdown and you don’t know what you are doing in the area of life (i.e. planet in your chart) that’s being affected.  Pluto is asking you to let go in this area, to let something die so that it can be reborn.  Pluto is asking you to search underneath the surface for the essence of this part of you.  And Pluto is demanding that you let go of the old ways, so the new ways can emerge, regardless of how uncomfortable (sometimes very uncomfortable!) that might be.

“. . . and how do I know when I’m having one?”
First of all, you know by feel.  If what I’ve described resonates for you, it’s likely you are having a Pluto transit.  (If it resonates, but only a little, you may be having a transit, but by a planet other than Pluto.)  Transits are almost always accompanied by real-world events, which are woven into your experience of the change.  Transits feel distinct when they are happening, and the sensation distinctly fades as they end.  When a transit is over, your preoccupation with its themes quickly fades as your attention becomes grabbed by a different transit.  Occasionally a person will have no major transits at all for a time period (weeks, say, or months), but that’s pretty rare.

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 2, 3, 4 or 5 degrees of Capricorn, Cancer, Aries or Libra.  If you do, you are definitely having a Pluto transit this year.  This would account for the feelings of meltdown.

“What do I do now?”
You can ponder on it and get into alignment with the change that’s happening.  This way you can take advantage of it while it’s happening, and not feel like a victim of it.  Transits are not fatalistic events that happen to us—they are our greater Selves reaching out into life and drawing toward us the events and experiences that will help (or force) us to grow beyond our old selves.  These changes are always the next thing you wanted to experience at the time and the more you regard them with appreciation, awe and a willingness to take them on, the better your experience will be.  Even at the 11th hour, you can turn around even the harshest transit into something that leaves you in a better place.

For more insight on a transit, you can schedule a reading of it, which will help you get very clear about what this change is that’s happening in your life, how to handle it and make it turn out well, how long it will last, how various phases of it will feel and (not least!) when it will be over.  You might have several changes going on at once and if you do, this could help distinguish one from another.  The best thing you can get out of a reading is how to align with the deeper meaning behind the surface of your changes and accept the gift Pluto is bringing you.

Pluto’s Gift
Pluto’s gift changes according to the planet it is transiting of course, but one theme always remains the same.  Pluto offers the knowledge of essence—the heart, the center of this piece of you, its essential nature.  Pluto does this by stripping away all that is not essential and shows you that you will be ok without all that stuff.  Pluto says, “you don’t need that garbage!” and takes it away before you are ready because, left to our own devices, we’re never ready.  That’s ok—Pluto will always show up eventually, to take out the garbage.

Art by Betelgeux.

I can hear the response already:  “What?  Virgos?  Sexy?  You’ve got to be kidding.”  But I’m not.  Prepare to be shocked as you discover why.

If you’re a Virgo type, you probably already know that some Virgo habits are viewed by potential partners as un-sexy.  Have you ever been called “picky,” “fastidious,” “perfectionist” or even the dreaded “nag?”  Even these traits, when viewed in the right way, can be completely sexy.  Here’s how:

1.    Virgo, you’re clean.  And what’s not to like about that?  Sure, you demand that your partner be clean too, but that’s not a bad thing.  Just don’t get all OCD about it.  Be reasonable.  And allow them a space that’s all their own, to have as messy as they want to.  Then take a space for yourself, in which you can play with order and chaos in the rhythm that feels right to you.  And find balance in the areas you and your partner share.

2.    You’re independent.  The definition of a virgin in ancient times was “an independent woman, an unmarried woman, a woman complete unto herself.”  Obviously, not all Virgos are female but the truth is, Virgos of both genders don’t really need anyone else.  This actually gives you a huge advantage in the relationship arena—you don’t appear desperate.

3.    You’re a perfectionist.  Sure, you want the perfect partner.  But you also want to be the perfect you.  To those who relate with you, it appears as if all the judgment is directed outwardly.  But if they could get inside your head, they’d quickly realize that even more judgment is self-directed.  Ten times more.  This means a Virgo is self-maintaining.  Who wouldn’t want to be with a person who is always striving to improve themselves?

4.    Virgo is the virgin, right?  As a Virgo, you have a God-given ability to restore your virginity.  This is a conceptual, not a literal thing.  It’s in your mind (and as you probably know, the brain is the largest sex organ).  You can conceptually restore your virginity anytime you decide to close up your boundary.  You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?  Don’t live with your boundary closed, Virgo, because when you open up to love again, it can be entirely fresh and new for you.  Just like the first time, only better and better as the years pass and you get more comfortable with your body and its appetites.

5.    As I’ve been saying, you have boundaries.  You know where all the lines are.  This means that transgression really means something to you.  When Virgo lets her hair down, she really lets it down.  There’s no one more lapsed than a lapsed Catholic and there’s no one who understands sheer kinkiness than a person who is hyper-aware of impropriety.  You get where I’m going with this?  Absolutely nobody misbehaves better than Virgo.

Now it begins to make sense how some people fantasize about nurses and like to “play doctor.”  Virgo has inherent hotness all her own.

Love yourself, Virgo!  Put those perfectionist tendencies to work on learning to relax, and to relish your body and your life.  Because maybe—just maybe—you are already completely perfect.

Got a favorite Virgo you’d like to celebrate this year?
How about a birthday astrology reading?
Contact Jamie to find out how.

This is a repost of an article I wrote for the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal.  You can find the original here.

This month Saturn and Pluto meet in a clash of wills.  This is the third—and blessedly final—pass of their difficult square, which began last November.  This square is causing people everywhere to feel as if they are caught between the proverbial rock (Saturn) and hard place (Pluto).  This pairing IS the recession, in a nutshell.  Here’s a scene to illustrate it.

Pluto and Saturn have caught a Human Being and put him in a vise.  Saturn is pushing from one side and Pluto the other.  The Human is in torment.
Human Being:  When will this pressure let up?
Saturn:  I won’t let up until you succeed in the way you’re supposed to.  I have high standards for you.
Pluto:  I won’t let up until you face your demons.  There’s a ton of repressed, buried, hidden psychological garbage deep inside you that I demand you look at.
Human Being:  I give up.
Saturn:  You’re not even allowed to do that.  Every day you have to get up out of bed, drag yourself to work and at least show your face.  If you can do more, more will be demanded of you.  You must become excellent under pressure.
Pluto:  Meanwhile, your darkness beckons.  How about a drink?  Are you craving something sugary and fatty?  How about some pot?  Or perhaps you’re ready for something harder and more illegal. . .
Saturn:  Don’t take that stuff.  No matter how it feels.
Human Being:  Why not?
Saturn:  It relieves the stress for only a short time and then you feel worse.
Human Being:  I’d do anything to feel better right now.
Pluto:  I’ve got the stuff for you!  How about sex?  Mmm, yummy hormones?
Saturn:  Believe me, you don’t want it.  You’re barely holding it together.
Human Being:  Hey wait a minute, guys.  I saw an astrologer the other day.  She told me that if I give you what you really want, you’ll let up on me.
Saturn (taken aback):  That’s true.
Pluto:  But you have to figure out what it is.
Human Being:  I’ve been studying up on this.  Saturn, you want me to take responsibility.
Saturn:  Yes.  Then I’ll stop the endless stream of self-judging messages I’ve put in your head.
Human Being:  And Pluto, you want me to go through a metamorphosis, right?  A kind of death-and-rebirth process?
Pluto:  Yes.  It has to involve an emotional purge.  And until you do it, your demons will nip at your heels.
Human Being:  This is a dilemma—how do I surrender to both processes at once?  How do I let go of attachments and face my uncomfortable cravings for Pluto’s sake and also hold to my promises for Saturn’s sake?
A light bulb goes off over Human Being’s head.  It glows brightly.
Human Being:  Hey, I’ve got it!  Saturn, I want you to build me a structure.  Make it extremely strong, strong enough to withstand even the worst Pluto can deal out.
Saturn:  Huh.  Ok.  How’s this?
He waves his hand and a giant cauldron appears.  It’s made of iron and has thick walls.
Human Being:  That’s perfect.  Now, Pluto, put your strongest phoenix-solvent into the cauldron.
Pluto cackles with glee and waves his hand.  A molten, fiery liquid pours itself into the cauldron from thin air.  The Human Being gulps in fear.  He takes off all his clothes and folds them carefully until he is standing, shivering and buck naked, before the cauldron.
Human Being:  Ok, here goes!
He jumps into the cauldron.
Human Being:  Oh God that hurts!
Pluto:  You did this to yourself, you idiot!
Human Being (sweating buckets):  Self-sabotage is the flip side of transformation.  I’m changing into a finer form of myself.
Saturn:  Honor your promises!
Human Being (weeping uncontrollably):  I’m doing that, even though it takes everything I’ve got.
Pluto:  Life isn’t fair—you deserve better than this!
Human Being (raging and flailing):  That may be so, but it doesn’t mean I get to act out in my friendships, my family, my marriage or my career.
Saturn:  When are you going to finally be recognized for how hard you work?
Human Being (laughing hysterically):  I don’t know, but I do know that if I respect myself, then others will respect me too.
His body is being cooked down, burnt to a crisp.  But something else is happening too—something miraculous.  He is beginning to glow with a preternatural light.  He is beginning to look angelic.
Human Being:  Now I understand!  Being the best me possible is worth the effort.  Not just for what the things it will get me, but for the power of knowing who I really am.  I finally feel like the real me for the first time in my whole life.  Now I truly have peace.
By now, the weird fiery liquid has subsided.  What remains is an ashy dust.  He steps out of the cauldron, a shining being.
Human Being:  Thank you.  Both of you.  That experience was exactly what I needed.
Saturn (to Pluto):  Do you think we succeeded in scaring him?
Pluto:  No, damn it.  In fact, I think he’s one of us now.  He’s a god.
Human Being (looking at the glow of his own hands):  Woah.

Let your integrity force you to do what is right during these trying times.  They are times of testing for us all.  Allow the pain of it to burn away everything that isn’t truly you.  You don’t have to destroy your whole life to make it through this process.  Your essence will emerge unscathed.

Are you feeling the pressure?  If you want to know more
about exactly how this challenging transit affects you personally,
you can find out in a reading with Jamie.
Contact her to find out more.

Other posts in this thread:
Saturn and Pluto Square Off: Discipline Meets Death

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.

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