by Robert Wilkinson
Today we take an in-depth new look at the qualities of Jupiter in Sagittarius, since we can use them to great benefit during the next 12 months.
Jupiter will occupy Sagittarius for the first time since November 2006 through December 2007 beginning November 8, 4:38 am PST, 12:38 pm GMT. Here the planet of expansion and new openings to wider views and greater truths finds itself in its home sign of Sagittarius, amping up the Distributive Fire element in all our lives! Sagittarius is said to be “Fire By Friction,” or the Cosmic Fire that generates civilization by distributing ideas from Divine Mind to the human imagination. This is joyous inspiration cut loose without limits!
Sagittarius is about freedom and adventure, and dances with life, swirling and moving through many types of experiences, seeing what is and what isn’t, if only in the moment. Sagittarius, when operating in its natural state, sees the humor in all things, as well as the wisdom of moving on to new experiences when it’s time.
Jupiter will move forward until it gets to 25 Sagittarius, going stationary retrograde on April 9-10. After that it retrogrades back to 15 Sagittarius, where it goes stationary direct on August 10-11. From there Jupiter rockets forward through the rest of Sagittarius until it enters Capricorn on December 2, 2019. So Jupiter again occupies one sign for a little over a year (unlike Jupiter in Aries which went less than 3 months during Summer 2010 and 5 months in 2011).
Jupiter’s Qualities
So what’s the big deal about Jupiter entering Sagittarius? First, let's revisit Jupiter's nature. Jupiter rules 2 signs. In other words, Jupiter finds its “home” in two signs, those being Sagittarius (Fire) and Pisces (Water). Those two signs offer us a glimpse of Jupiter's nature. We can learn a lot by examining how Jupiter functions in those two signs.
Jupiter was in Pisces from mid-January through early June 2010, and revisited that sign from early September 2010 through mid-January 2011. In Pisces, the water quality is emphasized, just as it was when Jupiter occupied Cancer from June 2013 through July 2014.
Jupiter last revealed its innate fire characteristics in 2007 when it was in it home sign of Sagittarius, and another type of Fire was expanded between June and September 2010, as well as January through June 2011 when it was in Aries. We got our most recent dose of Jupiter in the Fire sign of Leo between July 2014 and August 2015.
Being a combination of Sagittarius and Pisces, Jupiter rules "the open sky" as well as "the vast depth." Jupiter symbolizes ever-expanding forms of Higher Truth as well as deep feelings we share with all other humans throughout time. It is both the joy of endless discoveries and the poignancy of eternal endings.
So Jupiter is both Fire and Water, and Mutable by nature. In Fiery Aries, Jupiter was in its element, in a sign that takes the initiative in embracing the new. In Aries the expansive principle flames on in dynamic ways, opening new doors after closing the old ones in Pisces. More recently, in Scorpio Jupiter was also in its element, in a sign that gave Jupiter more stability and sticking power, holding energy in a “cocoon” until it breaks out and breaks free in Sagittarius.
Jupiter’s Recent Transits
While it no doubt benefited from the Earth practicality when it was in Taurus from June 2011-12, and expanded its view in Gemini from June 2012-2013, it again found itself in the friendly Water element of Cancer from late June 2013 through July 2014. Jupiter in the Fire sign of Leo was in a sign harmonious to its nature with the added benefit of the steadiness of being in a Fixed sign.
It then occupied Virgo from August 2015 through September 2016. Virgo is not a sign friendly to Jupiter, since it is opposite its home sign of Pisces. Virgo is the 7th sign from Pisces, and the 10th sign from Sagittarius. Thus Jupiter in Virgo externalized whatever began when Jupiter was in Pisces and was made concrete in Aries, and marked a point of fulfillment of the things set into motion when Jupiter was in Sagittarius.
Jupiter in Libra between Sept 2016 and Oct 2017 was a sign both beneficial and stressful for Jupiter. Libra is the 8th sign from Pisces, and the 11th sign from Sagittarius. That helped us all re-calibrate and re-balance many things, and we all danced with ideals to be embraced. In Scorpio we either attracted or failed to attract the substance needed to fulfill these ideals, and now it’s at the end of the old cycle and beginning of a new cycle as it returns to Sagittarius.
In astrology, we can see a lot by which third of the zodiac a planet it transiting. The first third involve Aries through Cancer, the second third is Leo through Scorpio, and the third third is Sagittarius through Pisces.
The initial Fire of Aries starts a process that is secured in Taurus, explored in Gemini, and anchored in personal feelings in Cancer. Leo begins the second set of “4 elements in motion,” but in signs of interactivity with others. What begins in Leo finds significant form and function in Virgo, comes to see a greater ideal in Libra, and grounds and focuses the magnetism in Scorpio.
In Scorpio, Jupiter’s naturally expansive expression finishes that third of the process. What began as confidence and dramatic forms of expression learned in Leo, given a refinement and practical significance in Virgo, and refined and made pleasing in Libra is given power in Scorpio by the depth intensity of the search, or quest, for what is beyond form. In Scorpio, adventurous Jupiter will expand into the unknown, seeking expansive power, expansive voids to fill, expansive ways to turn defeat into victory, and loss into gain, as preparation for future adventures in Sagittarius. And as Sagittarius is the 5th house of Leo, Sag is the joyous natural expression of heart energy.
What the Greatest of the Great Say About Jupiter in Sagittarius
Grant Lewi, in his masterwork Astrology For The Millions, says Jupiter in Sagittarius sees opportunities related to “ideals, knowledge, philosophy, and adventure,” where “work for its own sake means little” unless that work is specifically tied to an idea, whether “duty, security, making the best of things, or whatever.” He states this position goes for “the ideal that sustains you,” and if that doesn’t work any more, there is a natural gravitation to non-material opportunities. In any case, there is a need to unite “the ideal and the material” so this position doesn’t “drift with the alluring currents of (the) imagination.”
Marc Edmund Jones, in his masterwork Astrology: How and Why It Works, says Jupiter in Sagittarius "indicates the development of a consciousness which is characteristically self-sufficient, and generous in its response to human relations. It is motivated by “its own unimpeachable sincerity in dealing with other people,” and “interested in the simple activities of every day,” demanding “a consistently free living.”
Jupiter’s Outer Planet Aspects in Sagittarius
Jupiter in Scorpio has done an off-again, on-again trine with Neptune for the past year, making a recent tredecile before making a very powerful biseptile with that planet when it transits the first few degrees of Sagittarius. Coupled with Jupiter’s early quintile and then on-going sextile with Pluto, it’s been a good year for Jupiter’s relationship with those outer planet heavyweights.
It’s now moved past the septile to Pluto and the triseptile to Uranus, triggering the Grand Irrationality, and in Sagittarius will begin to close on its long cycle with both Saturn and Pluto even as it makes squares to Neptune through Oct 2019. In early Sag it biquintiles Uranus, in mid-Sag it sesquisquares Uranus, and won’t trine Uranus until it is in early Capricorn in Dec 2019. Of course all the inner planets will make aspects with Jupiter. These are too numerous to list here.
Mars-Jupiter Cycles and Aspects
Mars-Jupiter cycles are very important in how things activate in the world. The one we’re in now began when they made a conjunction in early Jan 2018 at 18 Scorpio, and as Mars is in Aquarius right now, we’re still only a quarter of the way through their cycle. Mars begins the Jupiter in Sagittarius year in late Aquarius, and immediately makes a waxing square from Pisces in late November.
Mars then makes a waxing biseptile to Jupiter in mid-December, followed by the tredecile in early January and then trine in late January 2019. It then sesquisquares Jupiter in late February, makes a biquintile in March, followed in late March with a quincunx and a triseptile. It makes no more major aspect until Mars opposes Jupiter in early May from late Gemini.
After that, it again triseptiles Jupiter in in early June, makes a waning quincunx in mid-June, and a biquintile in late June. It makes a waning sesquisquare in early July, followed by a trine in late July, and a tredecile in mid-August. The biseptile follows in late August, and then the waning square in mid-September. Early October shows a Mars binovile Jupiter, mid-October shows a quintile, and most of November a sextile. The Jupiter in Sag year ends with Mars making a septile to Jupiter just as it enters Capricorn.
Mars-Jupiter Cycles Across Time
This past year while Jupiter was in Scorpio, we had to pay attention to where Mars was, since Mars is the ruler of Scorpio and therefore Jupiter’s dispositor. That makes the 2+ year cycle that began when Mars conjuncted Jupiter at 18 Scorpio of extraordinary importance, since Mars is the “governor” of all events involving Mars and Jupiter since then. This cycle will end at the next Mars conjunct Jupiter at 23 Capricorn in March 2020.
That cycle beginning at 23 Capricorn will also be in play for 2+ years, but it will be launched with and “governed” by Saturn at the 30th degree in its home sign of Capricorn. Interestingly, that cycle will feature Saturn in both Capricorn and Aquarius, its other “home” sign. It will still rule all things related to those signs the entire time, as well as any planets moving through those signs!
So that cycle should see a blend and shift of the fundamental energies governing the visible field as of the Spring of 2020, laying down some basic Aquarian structures in the world. Those Aquarian ideals and efforts will be launched in December 2020 when Jupiter enters Aquarius, not long after the next election. A new era beckons!
Other Important Things about Jupiter Moving from Scorpio to Sagittarius
Because of the span where Jupiter will be retrograde in Sagittarius, we’ll enter its “shadow zone” in mid-January, which will last until it goes SRX in the second week of April at 25 Sagittarius. It will RX back to 15 Sag where it goes SD in July at 15 Sagittarius. It then moves back through its shadow zone until early November, when it begins to finish its stay in Sagittarius.
Obviously, all the lessons I've discussed so far are playing out in the house(s) that transiting Jupiter is moving through in our charts. Remember Jupiter was the “nozzle” in all the focused Jones patterns during the years it was in Cancer through Libra. We all learned to feel more deeply and experience a stronger connectedness with All-That-Is when Jupiter was in Cancer (6/13-7/14) which allowed us to open to an expanded authentic self-expression while Jupiter occupied Leo (7/14-8/15).
We crafted that feeling-expression through work and attention to detail into a practical plan to improve our lives in Virgo (8/15-9/16), and shaped and refined it into something beautiful, pleasing, balanced, and/or transformed in Libra (9/16-10/17). It ceased to be “the nozzle” in Jones patterns in Scorpio, but still continued to intensify, purify, concentrate, and make our evolutionary process more focused during its time in Scorpio (10/17-11/18). This sets the stage for seeing a greater truth, vision, or perspective about our place in the Divine Plan, and setting sail into that wider evolutionary awareness during its time in Sagittarius (11/18-12/19).
Though Jupiter is no longer the nozzle for any Jones pattern, and won’t be for many years to come, it’s still the entry planet for the occupied span of outer planets between Sagittarius and Aries/Taurus. It will continue in that position until it conjuncts Pluto for the third and last time in November 2020. At that point in time, Pluto will lead the occupied span of outermost planets until Jupiter’s next waning phase with Pluto which begins 2026, initiating the “Spring” of the 21st century!
Jupiter Teaches Us to See the Bigger Picture in All Areas of Life
By examining the life areas of each house, we can see the progressive lessons Jupiter teaches us on a year-to-year basis. Since it takes about 11-12 years to make an entire circuit through all the signs, we can learn how the expansions and openings that happened when it crossed our Ascendant, Sun, or planets are related to what we learned in subsequent year periods about those life qualities.
Our natal Jupiter in its sign shows us where we naturally learn and embrace various kinds of "quests." Regardless of what sign our natal Jupiter is in, Jupiter transits teach our Jupiter a greater openness to wider truths and futures as it moves through its 12 year “pulse” of evolutionary expansion. We now leave a year when Jupiter in Scorpio “taught” our natal Jupiter about fluidity, concentration, and focus, and enter a year when Jupiter in Sagittarius will teach our natal Jupiter more about “life as adventure,” so we may learn, imagine, and open to other possible futures and greater Truths than we’ve known before now.
Regardless of how we're living the adventure of our life, Jupiter in Scorpio has shown us how our quest or adventure is related to our willingness to reclaim power out of loss, new victory out of old defeats, and gladly make space in our material, emotional, and mental areas of our lives so we may attract what we need. We paid our dues when Jupiter was in Libra, and for the past year have opened to what was beyond our known and familiar frames of reference.
And now, an even greater, larger, or wider quest begins! Whatever we learned about magnetism, letting go, voluntarily creating physical or psychic space, and going beyond the known now opens far vistas and wider horizons in new adventures exploring those things which are more appropriate to our evolved sense of Self on our Life Quest.
We can renew our sense of intention, and open our imagination in ways which will open doors to a greater understanding and effective inspiration. We’ve purified, and been offered opportunities to eliminate all that is not Truth, Goodness, and Beauty as we define these.
We expanded into more perfect forms of relationship and archetypal roles during Jupiter in Libra; we “broke on through to the other side, yeah” in Scorpio; now we blast off into “Space, the final frontier.” These are the voyagers of the Starship Aquariuspapers. “Its five years mission: To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Time to launch into inner and outer space!
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Great clear post with fantastic horizons and opportunities opening ahead for all. Thanks Robert.
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | November 12, 2018 at 11:31 AM