Jupiter Retrograde
March 25, 2005 (with chart)
http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/mar25.html
Hi Eric:
I am new to your site but just love browsing all the articles you have. I have
been studying astrology with a small group of people who are just at this stage
learning about our charts and ourselves. I wish to get my formal qualifications
in astrology. During class last week we were doing progressions and just as we
were leaving I noticed that in my natal chart Jupiter sits in my 10th house at
12 degrees and 41 arc minutes of Pisces, conjunct the midheaven (which is at 16
degrees and 16 arc minutes of Pisces) and conjunct Chiron retrograde 10 degrees
and 44 minutes of Pisces, all in the 10th house.
I am a very curious person and love to learn but was told my
learning would be difficult due to my Jupiter. My Jupiter went retrograde at
this degree 12.41 of Pisces but according to the ephemeris it showed the
retrograde as the following day, but at the same degree. What does this mean
for me? No one can tell me much and it seems to be hard to find good
information about retrograding planets. What does it mean for Jupiter to
retrograde at that point? Is this treated as a transit, or would I be under the
same influence as if it was retrograde natally? (Seeing as it went retrograde
in the first 90 days of my life.)
Will this interfere with my ability to study and retain
information? I really wish to study astrology and would love any information
you can tell me regarding this.
Thanking you in advance,
Colleena
2 July 1962
4.55 AM AEST
Dear Colleena,
Jupiter retrograde in your 9th house (not your 10th, though
it's close enough to have some influence there) is suggesting that you not take
the advice of astrologers too seriously. You display the perfectly charming
Piscean trait of gullibility.
For instance, the astrologer who told you that you would
have trouble retaining information. This is a matter of opinion, and maybe they
saw it in another client or student at some point. However, I personally don't
see any astrological basis for the claim, particularly phrased in such negative
terms; i.e., an astrologer could say, "You will need to work a little
extra hard, but you can do it."
You have strong Pisces in the 9th house, including Jupiter
and Chiron, which is a mighty conjunction that very few people are blessed to
have. Chiron and Jupiter retrograde suggest you already know what you're doing,
and that you need to learn to tap into your feelings and your body and come
back with the information you've already learned so many times during so many
lifetimes. You need to learn a little basic choreography and develop the skill
of counseling, which can be done quite effectively without astrology; so the
astrology is a gift that it's wise to use sparingly.
Also, 'retaining information' is only part of what we do
with astrology. Most of what we do is communicate with people; and much else is
something that happens intuitively. Isabel Hickey was so bad at casting charts
that sometimes she would get planets in the wrong sign, which is difficult. But
I don't think anyone would say she was a bad astrologer. (My old friend Rob
Norris once had a reading from Isabel. He called for an appointment, this was a
while ago, and she said, "Well, I have a two year waiting list, but call
me if it snows. People always miss their appointment when it snows." One
day it snowed and that's how he got in.)
I am, however, mildly troubled that you would take that kind
of statement at face value and not challenge it with an attempt to learn on
your own, or to seek out multiple opinions, and see what happens -- and perhaps
that's what the astrologer who made the comment was getting at. No matter what
an astrologer says, it is an interpretation. To be an astrologer, you need to
think critically and not take authority at its word. You can learn this skill.
That is my interpretation.
The main thing that tells me you have the ability to learn
this is that you have strong Virgo in your 3rd house -- you have Pluto there.
That's more than enough to balance out any misplaced trust, faith in authority,
or simple deception that might come from having strong Pisces. Pisces always
needs to be balanced by Virgo. You need to think through your own questions and
assess any situation you're presented with for yourself, rather than take
someone's word for it. While we're remotely on the subject of progressions, it
happens that in your progressed chart, both Mercury and Uranus have joined
Pluto in Virgo, further strengthening that aspect of your chart, adding
considerable power of innovation (Uranus) and a kind of tireless ability to
think, work and develop your skills (Mercury).
Actually doing astrology is a process of reasoning: you
could call it astrological thinking. There is a working out involved; a kind of
calculus, in which you consider the questions, and the different factors that
appear to be influencing it; you weigh and balance the arguments on both sides
of the issue, or however many sides there are; and you become the judge of the
situation. You need to go through those steps more than you need to memorize
anything. The steps themselves require less memorization than learning a few
basic moves. Look at the ruler of your 9th house and tell me if you have a good
head on your shoulders.
In response to your inquiry about how to learn the work, I
am not a great fan of teaching astrology in schools. There are some people who
do very well studying that way (Jonathan has a formal astrological education,
for example, and I am sure he benefits from it every day). And I understand the
appeal of cademic certification; we live in a world that covets the piece of
paper that says you can really do it. However, with astrology of all things
that piece of paper is particularly worthless unless you can actually do the
work.
I teach astrology the way I think it needs to be learned. I
share the information here, in response to specific charts, inquiries and case
studies. I leave my notes in the margin for everyone to see and evaluate, and
we take the time, space and energy to post many charts for anyone to look at.
While you might think that the astrological system demands
an orderly approach, I don't think that's true. The system itself is highly
structured and ordered and sooner or later you're going to start making your
own lists of what the planets and houses mean, without anyone telling you to do
that.
I suggest you go about learning through diligent self-study,
finding a good mentor or two (which will truly happen at the right time, and
they can be writers from any era -- as long as you connect on the spirit
level). And suggest working with as many people on their charts as you can
muster up for the exercise. To be an astrologer, you need the technical basis,
the philosophical basis, the connection with spirit and, most of all, the
connection with people and what they go through on Earth. Spend as much time as
you have listening to what they have to say about their lives. Their charts
will become quite transparent if you do that.
When there is a decent astrologer around, even someone
mildly willing to be a decent astrologer, people show up. Even if you are only
vaguely helpful to those who seek your help, the good Lord will send you scads
of people who need you, because they need you, and you need them to be a better
practitioner -- though I trust that your help will be significant. The most
important quality to cultivate is sincerity. If you can do this, the truth
comes through your work.
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