Wheel of Light Astrology by Rio Olesky - April 2018
Jupiter takes about a year to transit through a sign. During that period it is retrograde for about 4 months. When a planet is retrograde we have an opportunity to feel its energy in a more personal way. We can be more aware of how we are experiencing and expressing it. It is a time to reflect and review. When we do this with Jupiter this year, we can discover some interesting perspectives. Jupiter’s nature is to be expansive. It can impel us to travel and explore other cultures. It can inspire us to read and take classes in order to expand our intellect. It can develop our consciousness so that we can embrace philosophical, metaphysical and theological concepts. It can also help to expand our world view by enabling us to perceive life in joyful, optimistic ways. Its enthusiasm can help us to look to a bright future that we can have a hand in creating. From ancient times Jupiter has been referred to by astrologers as “the great benefic”.
This year Jupiter is transiting through Scorpio. As a water sign Scorpio is oriented toward emotion. As a fixed sign it is oriented toward the deepest levels of emotion, feeling things intensely and passionately. As an extension of this awareness one might seek to connect with and understand the deepest level of our life experience. This could be in terms of intimate emotional bonding with a partner, or seeking awareness about the nature of life itself. People with strong Scorpio influence in their natal charts are often drawn toward science or mysticism. Scorpio is the sign of birth, sex and death, the ultimate and most primal element of the life cycle. Similarly, Scorpio challenges us to continually be aware of those parts of ourselves and our lives that are old, outmoded and dysfunctional even as we generate new parts of ourselves and our lives. As we let go, we are free to create new options whether they be values, behaviors or needs. This is heavy stuff and not easy. Scorpio has a reputation for being deep, dark and cold, just like the ocean, the ultimate body of fixed water.
Into this place is Jupiter. Jupiterian joy in the Scorpionic stew. It might seem as if Jupiter is just too upbeat to deal effectively with the demands for internal clarity and personal process work that Scorpio requires. There is a place, however, where these two archetypal forces connect: they are both oriented toward the truth. Jupiter may value the truth in a philosophical sense, whereas Scorpio is focused more on the emotional. We can integrate this energy (Jupiter) with this filter (Scorpio) in several key ways.
One is to realize that dealing with the deepest level of our emotional being can benefit from the positivity of Jupiter. It’s OK to deal with anything that confronts us with the joyful attitude that we can learn from and overcome our challenges with confidence. Exploring our inner space can be an adventure, something Jupiter loves to do.
Another way to work with this planet/sign combination is to allow it to help us align our sense of personal integrity (Jupiter) with any feelings of jealousy, revenge or shame (some of the darker qualities associated with the Scorpionic archetype). As a water sign Scorpio’s energy tends to be inward; Jupiter is more outgoing. By connecting the higher nature of Jupiter with the lower potential of Scorpio we can see our way, both conceptually and behaviorally, to eliminate those patterns in our life that are secretive, self-centered and fear based. Jupiter can enable us to feel powerful support from a joyful, expanding universe. This in turn can help us to feel safe and comfortable relating to others in ways that are generous and accepting.
In turn, Scorpio can help to deepen the awareness of Jupiter. In the course of life everything is not always positive. We have to deal with the reality of loss, sometimes in the form of another person, sometimes in the form of making a bad mistake, sometimes simply dealing with our own inevitable demise. Those are things that Scorpio deals with, sometimes obsessively. Jupiter in Scorpio is certainly aware of these realities, but it can bring the big picture into what otherwise might be deep and seemingly endless times of mourning. If we feel good about the process of personal growth, of honestly acknowledging our weaknesses, challenges and suffering we can feel good about doing the inner work necessary to let go of the unpleasant and learn to acknowledge and accept the bountiful. Even in the joy there can be pain.
This combination of planet and sign can address the realities of life that can be painful in ways that enable us avoid getting stuck in the grief. It can remind us that loss is as much a reality as creativity. We can realize that by acknowledging the ultimate cycle of life, and engaging in it consciously and consistently, we come closer to creating the person we want to be and the life we want to live in the context of what life really is. In that sense we are also open to feeling the presence of Divine Light guiding us even as it embraces us in relationship of devotion and joy.