Jupiter in Scorpio
EARLIER THIS WEEK, Jupiter went from Libra to Scorpio. This is the first presence of a slow-moving or transpersonal planet in Scorpio since Pluto left that sign in October 1995. Planets give a presence to the energy of a sign, and provide a mode of expression. Pluto, for those who remember, was difficult: toward the end, one long, incomplete, fear-driven newscast about AIDS. The one thing mainstream society emerged from that phase of history with is the notion that gay people are people.
Jupiter is as close to the opposite energy to the Pluto as you can get: open and expanding rather than solid and dense. The two planets are traditionally associated with adjoining signs — Scorpio and Sagittarius — which in one sense function like opposites. The adjoining signs often do, sometimes more directly contrasting than signs located at 180 degrees apart from one another.
As I go over in my Astrology Secrets Revealed column on Cainer.com this week, in many ways the whole world gets trapped in the more tumultuous side of Scorpio and the 8th house, and we need a way out. Perhaps Jupiter, with its dual emphasis on spirituality and pleasure, will help us find a way. It is difficult to get enlightened when you’re not having any fun. Jupiter addresses this little problem.
Jupiter and the Sun have entered Scorpio, a fixed sign, nearly simultaneously — reminiscent of Saturn and the Sun entering Leo, another fixed sign, together back in July. The two events are separated by about 90 days, the length of one season, or one quarter of the circle of the sky. In astrology we call this a “square,” or 90-degree aspect. This suggests strongly that we are at a turning point in the year and in history, particularly the history since 2000 (when we experienced the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus). We’re talking about the two largest planets, the first planets which genuinely bring us into the transpersonal world of the outer solar system rather than the much more individual world of the inner solar system.
I would note, as well, that the chart for the presidential inauguration (covered in detail, with charts, on Cainer.com ) always has the Sun in the first degree of Aquarius. Thus, Saturn crossing the first degree of Leo this summer and Jupiter crossing the first degree of Scorpio earlier this week both made significant aspects to the Sun’s position in that chart, as well as the position of Chiron. There are others, but those are worth keeping in mind: large forces are at work.
To complete the activity in the first degree of the Fixed Signs, Chiron and Nessus soon go over the Sun of the Inauguration/coronation chart. In that chart, the Sun represents the president or king, as you wish.
A little later in the year, Jupiter and Saturn will form the first of three exact square aspects to one another between now and next autumn. The exact dates are Dec. 15, 2005; June 22, 2006; and Oct. 25, 2006. The third of these charts contains a massive Scorpio alignment of Mars, Venus, the Sun, Jupiter and Mercury, all squared by Chiron, Ceres and Neptune.
Indeed, this is the culmination of a great deal of activity on the Fixed Cross that is getting warmed up right about now. In a little while, Mars in Taurus retrogrades into an opposition to Neptune in Aquarius (its second of three), makes a square to Saturn in Leo, and approaches a square to Jupiter in Scorpio. And as just mentioned, the Aquarius energy is about to be turned up by the ingress of Chiron and Nessus to Aquarius.
We are entering Grand Fixed Cross territory for the first time since August 1999, when we experienced the infamous grand cross-total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999. Remember, “Before there was 9/11, there was 8/11.” While the current version of the Grand Fixed Cross does not come with a total eclipse, the planets here will be activating that eclipse by transit, an eclipse that was extraordinarily active in the charts of individuals as well as in the collective experience.
Do you remember that summer of 1999? It was extraordinary in many ways (nostalgia article below). Then there was the following spring, with the Taurus stellium around the time of the Nasdaq “dot com” crash and the international banking protests in Washington, DC; followed by the events of 2001 that were spurred by another powerful eclipse (June 21, 2001, in the first degree of Cancer), and the opposition of Saturn and Pluto that came to be THE symbol of the Sept. 11 attacks. This concentrated burst of planetary energy seems to have blown us five years into the future, and we find ourselves in this very strange moment.
Ongoing details as the Scooter Libby — Valerie Plame story develops on the Planet Waves cover blog.
Here is the nostalgia link to the summer of 1999.
“Flahspoints” by Eric Francis
http://www.planetwaves.net/burning_flashpoints.html
Planet Waves by Eric Francis
Weekly Horoscope #582 — Oct. 28, 2005
Happy Birthday Scorpio!
It does not take a philosopher to understand that you’re driven by your passions, and often these have a mystical quality. But I suggest you take a step beyond what seems cosmic in origin and bring your life back to the truth of your body. Everything in this world has a physical basis. I’m not here to argue with gurus, mystics or A Course in Miracles ; but it’s my view that nothing we experience would mean anything did it not boil down to the physical facts of life, death and sex. The question is: what are those facts? Get real and they will offer reality right back to you — even in the form of others who get where you’re coming from, however unlikely that may seem.
Aries (March 20-April 19)
The cosmic curtains are being pulled back on subjects and experiences that for a long time have seemed obscured in mystery and contradiction. You and the people who make up your world now have an opening to go a lot deeper into sharing your experiences, desires and fears with one another. The dark nature of the wider world should be pointing you to the basic truth that the only time we can be open with one another is in this very moment, and when we finally show up there, that not so small fact becomes abundantly obvious. What held you back all this time? God only knows.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Change comes in all shapes and sizes, but the kind of change you’re going through now seems to defy description or dimension. It’s on such an existential level — dealing with existence itself, matters of life and death, and of the beliefs upon which your entire psyche stands — that it’s not the kind of thing you can easily talk about. You may be experiencing desire so deep you can barely relate it to another person, much less the object of that desire. The matter really comes down to this — can you experience desire without fear? And if not — can you distinguish the two?
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
The deeply psychological nature of a particular relationship or partnership situation is coming into focus, but if you let your center be drawn out of your body and your emotions, you will find yourself lost in the hall of mirrors. The circumstance is more responsive to communication than you may recognize, even though you could easily find yourself intimidated by the highly charged emotions of a certain individual or people. They really have one thing on their mind, which is that you will get outside your mental framework and honestly feel where they are coming from.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Be cautious about getting involved in a situation that really has nothing to do with you. You will recognize it as such because the emotions that seem to be drawing you in are far more intense than is appropriate for your level of contact with the people involved. It will take some effort to steer clear of the situation, and you may not recognize you’re involved until what feels like too late. But you just need to ease your way out, and lure yourself in a direction that is both available, more emotionally appealing, and far more interesting. Some people thrive on conflict; you do not. Remember that.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
If the pattern of the planets reveals anything, it is the picture of a situation where you must at the same time limit who you are, and also expand who you are. One way to effect this is to be aware of your limitations and at the same time stretch them a little every day. Another is the image of gradually filling a container. Humans need structure that limits us from the outside, and we need to push ourselves from inside. At the moment, this may well involve a relationship; it may just involve an idea; certainly, both are within the range of potential.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
The emotional drama that’s in your life is basically a creature of your own making. You have yet to really sort out the difference between feelings and obsessions, and you now have an excellent opportunity to do so. The whole problem with feelings is that they defy control. Obsessions are all about control, whether you attempt to control something or it seems to control you. It amounts to the same thing. And the net effect is that you seem to lose what you previously thought of as control. If you would start with making an honest statement about your most basic needs, that would help.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
What has the power to push you over the edge really has the same ability to help you change your mind about an issue that’s long overdue for progress. I understand if you’re feeling uncertain about where the situation will go. Then there’s the image of your mind being a little like a loaded gun or a laser that could, as you may well feel, be as destructive as it is useful. For now, you need to go easy, and nudge the situation forward until you know for sure that your thinking is based on your sense of worth and value rather than your sense of lack and loss. The difference should not be subtle.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Jupiter’s recent entry into your birth sign, to put it mildly, is changing everything. This influence, combined with that of the Sun, is finally giving you a clue what it feels like to live on a familiar planet. The odd thing is how much you are realizing has already changed, and somehow changed when you weren’t paying attention. If you can plant your consciousness right in the here and now, you will however see that you’re ahead in your timing, particularly where the mysteries of your emotional involvement with another person are concerned. I remind you again not to rush that situation.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Current developments are revealing just how shrewd and intuitive your judgments and decisions have been the past few weeks and for considerably longer than that. But you have no need to get carried away with defensive moves, as you’re now cloaked with a degree of protection that you have experienced before, but not for a long time. This will allow you to see through situations, turn enemies into friends, and work very effectively behind the scenes. For the foreseeable future, you will have many opportunities to advance your agenda — even doors you were sure closed long ago. Therefore, stick with what is truly important to you.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
You have seen how you can use a combination of intelligence and empathy to solve what seems like a serious problem. Be careful this week to not solve problems that don’t exist. You’re likely to be feeling and noticing something in the ethers, but you’re unlikely to know quite what it is. I suggest you check for residual emotions and psychic fallout from events much earlier in the month, where you had to play a very tough game and may have made some enemies. You can heal those relationships if you want, and if you take the time to do so. Then everyone can move on with life, love and work.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
As I suggested last week, you’ve been involved in a long-term setup for some unusual success. When it comes, don’t blame it on luck; though you don’t have to take credit either. All you need to notice is that you actually were taking care of yourself when you thought you were taking care of everything and everyone else. You can, however, put some energy into working on your very highest priorities, because the law that “what you focus on increases” is exactly the one you want to be following. It sure beats the law of the jungle.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
We are journeying through the peak time of Scorpio, but this year there’s an unusual twist: Jupiter, your patron saint long before Neptune ever morphed into semi-reality, is now in Scorpio as well. Two words sum it up: freedom and protection. You’ve been through a lot, and may not have decided how you feel about all of it. Yet the coming seasons bestow upon you the gift of boldness, safety and most important, immunity from your own judgments of yourself. This alone will feel like a ton of bricks coming off your chest, which will make it far easier to swim, to sail or indeed to fly.