By Len Wallick
“We’re catching up.”
– Captain Jack Sparrow
Jupiter stations retrograde tomorrow morning shortly after 5:00 am EDT. The course of reversal will take place entirely in Taurus. Direct motion will resume just in time for Christmas. On the whole, planetary retrogrades have bad reputations which are not entirely deserved. This case is no exception. Between now and the end of the year we will best serve ourselves and others if we can remember two things. First, this is a chance for catching up. Finally, that Jupiter in a sign ruled by Venus is an opportunity to make good things happen.
Jupiter was upstaged when it entered Taurus back on June 4. At the time we had just entered a wormhole of sorts. On June 1 and July 1, two partial solar eclipses on two consecutive New Moons literally shadowed the ends of the Earth. In between, a total lunar eclipse kept the Full Moon red for nearly an entire night. In the course of it all, the Sun changed direction and sign, as did a host of planets. For many, the events of our lives followed suit. Many of us changed direction and place during that time and we are still in the process of getting our bearings. Jupiter took it in stride. Now, we will get a symbolic chance to catch up and do the same.
The most fundamental fact of retrogrades is that they are illusions. In reality, we are simply catching up. It’s like being in an automobile on a road parallel to a railroad track. At first your vehicle’s greater speed makes the train seem like it is slowing down to a standstill. Then, as you catch up, the train appears to be moving in reverse. Finally, as you are passing the train, the apparent backwards velocity dissipates.
Earth is essentially on a parallel track with Jupiter. Because of our smaller orbit we go around the Sun faster, and because of that we are catching up. We have seen Jupiter’s apparent motion slow down over the past two months, now we are reaching the reversal part. The retrograde motion will then accelerate for two more months until we are directly between Jupiter and the Sun. Then another slowdown over two additional months before direct motion resumes. That will put Jupiter where it was in the first week of June, giving us a symbolic chance to catch up on what we missed while we were in the wormhole. Of course, that would require us not to be intimidated by the reputation of retrogrades.
Just prior to Jupiter’s retrograde station, we have had occasion to fall victim to intimidation. An unlikely earthquake and an exceptional hurricane have triggered latent fears for many, just like eclipses do. With all compassion and respect for those who suffered real loss, the impact of both the Virginia earthquake and Hurricane Irene amounted to less than the fear. The more lasting function was to put us on notice and in our place, just like eclipses do. The question is whether we can take notice without being taken by fear.
Jupiter’s archetype looks very good in the lush costume of Taurus. One of the reasons is that Venus is the ruler of Taurus. Venus represents the good stuff we are attracted to. Jupiter, in the words of Robert Hand, represents us “reaching out to include more” of that good stuff in our lives. Taurus, being a fixed earth sign, symbolizes the chance to actually be with that good stuff in the body for a while. Astrology, however, does not happen to us. It is we who must make it happen.
We cannot see the good stuff if our eyes are closed to it. We cannot at once reach out and be withdrawn. We cannot be truly in our body if we are captivated by thoughts of what we fear. If we approach Jupiter retrograde as something to be observed rather than endured, it will be possible to dispense with the ‘nots’.
We can reverse our perception of nature’s recent notice to learn our place. That will allow us to catch up with our planet, which has plans of its own. We can reach out and maybe catch up with each other to realize how much we have in common, and at stake. We can get to know and appreciate our bodies as the only ones we have. Finally, we can realize that we have nine more months with Jupiter in Taurus, catch up on what we have missed and realize that what good stuff there is originates with each of us and goes out to each other. If we can do that, we can make the next turn when we get to it.
Offered In Service
Well, Len. Here’s looking at you, T.S.
I have read today and for many days since I first said it that I m not alone in considering you in that class with words, thought and star-talk.
My sincerest appreciation and gratitude.
xo
Thanks you so much, darkmary, for expressing in words what has been swirling around in my head. Though I did not have the same experience with Eric’s posting, I know all too well the yearning for the arts as the only comprehensible forms of expression. Ironically, I was recently asked to again write some poetry.
But I find myself mired in the mundane, the tedium of forcing myself to critcally assess and analyze, all the while feeling adrift, ungrounded, and hungry for something with real meaning. (It is reading a hundred pages of mortgage documents for a client and wondering why the hell anyone would sign such obviously greedy and punitive documents skewed so in favor of the lender – ugh!) That’s not the assessing Eric has urged. But, it is a sign at this still point of Jupiter’s station to assess just what I do every day to earn the money to pay for the “mundanity”.
So, I am grateful for your words and especially for Len’s poetical and sage observations each week. I am also grateful for the wonderful “buffet” of writers here at PW. What a feast!!
And now, as the Virgo energy builds with Venus trine the soon stationary Jupiter, I shall do Crystal Pomeroy’s meditation for New Moon in Virgo. http://www.daykeeperjournal.com/2011/08/prosper-new-moon-virgo/
Blessings and blissings to all, and heartfelt thanks.
JannKinz
Len,
Thank you for your kind affirmation that I am not crazy. These days I think we all need to be reminded of our sanity. I read Eric’s entry this morning and couldn’t follow the complexity of his astrological description to save my life. I re-read it at your urging and still couldn’t make the connection between what I am experiencing and his description. No fault of Eric’s, of this I am sure. My beginner’s understanding of astrology didn’t help. But more than that my usually discerning, analytical mind (Mercury and Sun/Virgo) seems to have gone haywire in recent months. Lately, it is only poetry, music, and visual art that makes any sense to me.
All of this to say that I often experience your writing as poetry. Not that you neglect technical descriptions; it is that your words resonate in my heart and solar plexus, blessedly bypassing the currently malfunctioning rational mind, and facilitating understanding on a level that is not usually the first way I come to understanding. Not only that, your writing is a joy to read! Thank you so very much.
We turn and turn in the animal belly, in the mineral belly, in the belly of time, to find the way out: the poem.
~Octavio Paz
thanks for this beautiful beautiful piece, len. it strikes right to the heart.
xm
be: Thank you. Nobody does Sibley like you do Sibley. Good catch on the Juno-Atlantis conjunction. Thank you for also mentioning Photographica, the Peter Parker of asteroids.
darkmary: was just reading Octavio Paz myself earlier today, how about that. Believe me, you are not crazy, you are aware and comprehending very well. Please see Eric’s blog today (Monday) on the Earth trine, he adroitly explains what you are feeling.
Bearings. Where can I buy some bearings? All this earth in my chart and I don’t seem to be able to touch the ground. Neither does my rational mind seem to be able to make sense of recent times. It *really* feels like my body needs to catch up with the rest of, well, everything. Thank you Len, aword, and Amanda for your thoughts, which feel like a sorely-needed tether.
But for the poets, I might think I was crazy.
THIS SIDE
There is light. We neither see nor touch it.
In its empty clarities rests
what we touch and see.
I see with my fingertips
what my eyes touch:
shadows, the world.
With shadows I draw worlds,
I scatter worlds with shadows.
I hear the light beat on the other side.
~Octavio Paz
Seeing as how the USA Solar Return chart for this year, based on the Sibly chart, is telling her story already and it hasn’t even been 2 months yet, I want to share some great astrology. I can’t make this up folks.
Jupiter was forming this grand (really grand) trine in earth with Jupiter (lots of) and Moon (water) conjunct Photographica (photos!) and Pluto (powerful). There was a yod too with Mercury (communicate) at the focal point and Pluto (powerful) sextile Chiron (gain through pain). These two patterns were connected too. Mercury (communicate) squared Jupiter (lots of) who trined Pluto(powerful) and Chiron (gain through pain) sextiled Jupiter (yeah more lots of). There was also another trine between Saturn (form) in Libra (relating) and Mars (action) in Gemini (data)
Flash forward (as in flood) to now and we see the little asteroids working. I mean they really work people. Where the Moon (water) and Photographica (photo) were at the USA birthday is where Venus (love and beauty) is now. Where Saturn (form) was in July is where Atlantis (under water) and Juno (connectivity) are now.
As Jupiter likes to give us the big picture and rules networks of all kinds, he must be directing the event happening now. There has been an amazing number of people who have taken pictures of their pain due to the powerful Irene, that have already made it to the mainstream media and the internet via Facebook and blogs and email. These pictures come from ordinary citizens (represented by the Moon) who have witnessed their homes, towns, bridges and rivers devastated (Chiron) through the power (Pluto) of water. Incredibly, they are quite beautiful (Venus) but mostly they make us conscious (Chiron) of what has happened to this part of the country. I believe Jupiter gets the credit for materializing all this understanding and I believe Pluto has reasons for the powerful message it brings. But think of all the little details we would not know, that could not have happened this fast if it weren’t for the likes of Photographica, Atlantis and Juno.
Len tells us we have several months to catch up on what all has been happening lately. The little asteroids will make sure we don’t miss the details.
be
Dear Len, I’m glad you thought it was an “appropriate” link; I wouldn’t want to steal your thunder! I did get curious about Jupiter and read about him in Wikipedia and then looked up Jupiter retrograde where I found the link. I love the emphasis on healing. I spent sometime on the phone with my best girlfriend making amends for being a complete asshole with her late last week. I blame belated effects of Mercury retrograde 😉 but really I think it was some resentments at her and others in my life coming out sideways. I’ve had a lot of needy people around me lately and in one way or another I feel a bit used up. It’s time for me to be kind to me. Re-fuel, refresh, re-energize, re-create, and renew all sound like good words to me right now. It’s time to gift myself!
Last Wednesday, I signed paperwork committing myself to having a large portion of my backyard landscaped. A really gifted landscaper is going to help me put in a Japanese rock garden and clear the ground for a rock labyrinth outlined with large pond rocks. I found a pattern that looks like a tree with the trunk as entryway and branches as paths. I paid a third down and have half of the next third saved up. If nothing untoward occurs, I’ll have the rest in time for completion in November. I’m so excited to have more of my backyard accessible and usable in a way that will save water and be a creative use of the idea of a xeriscape which is so important here in the southwest. In the meantime, I will be pulling weeds to prepare the ground. I hope Jupiter will approve of my project.
Caroline: thank you for your kind words.
aword and Amanda: all the definitions work – that’s the beauty of it. thank you for your contributions.
susyc: thank you for the link, which (appropriately) expands on the understanding.
Future Events Appearing Real takes some real imagining, and thanks to the kindness of the Universe, is rarely if ever truly justified. Lots of people are imagining apocalypse right now when they could be just doing the calypso and enjoying themselves instead. But maybe they like it better that way what with all the drama, drama, drama involved in the whole idea of arma’get it on.’ Not that my imagination doesn’t spring to worst case scenarios occasionally. Here’s a nice link I found for Jupiter retrograde. It is current to 2011 even though the link references 2007.
http://www.lynnkoiner.com/astrology-articles/jupiter-retrograde-april-august-2007
no worries, aword! after all, i was just reading some advice about still taking things slowly as we and Mercury get up to speed. we’re not quite there yet!
incidentally, bearing also means the following, in the sense you’re using it:
a : the situation or horizontal direction of one point with respect to another or to the compass; b : a determination of position; c plural : comprehension of one’s position, environment, or situation
i think we’ve all had our inner compasses spun about a bit recently… 🙂
apparently I need to stop and catch my bearings.
(wiki: “A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can handle.”)
Transiting Jupiter heading back to MC in opposition to natal Jupiter/NN/Neptune.
Indeed a bearing or two could be enough to keep my head from spinning.
Thanks for this one, Len.
xo
oh no…i’m the dummy there — THAT Jupiter is in a sign ruled by Venus. Got it. My bad.
para one last sectence should read “Taurus is ….ruled by Venus”.
(not Jupiter is ruled by Venus)
Being a novice to astrology, I always appreciate your writing Len. I come here looking for the information on planetary placements opportunities and advice on how to best utilize them. I am rarely disappointed. I feel such a deep, compassionate expansion welling within me since yesterday, as if I have overcome some obstacle or challenge that I don’t even understand yet.
“We can reverse our perception of nature’s recent notice to learn our place. That will allow us to catch up with our planet, which has plans of its own. We can reach out and maybe catch up with each other to realize how much we have in common, and at stake. We can get to know and appreciate our bodies as the only ones we have. Finally, we can realize that we have nine more months with Jupiter in Taurus, catch up on what we have missed and realize that what good stuff there is originates with each of us and goes out to each other. If we can do that, we can make the next turn when we get to it.”
Priceless!
Thank you so much,
caroline