Jupiter in Scorpio: Let the Healing Begin

10.25.05


As badly as I wanted to take the day off ('Barry, that means no website writing, you dummy!'), I couldn't let today's entry of Jupiter into Scorpio pass without a mention. It's too big an astrological deal.

Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods—in Greece, he was called Zeus—spends just over a year in each sign, enlarging and enhancing the social importance of the issues symbolized by that sign. Jupiter amplifies what's already there, making it easier to build new growth upon it and to expand beyond previous limitations. Picture Jupiter issuing his royal proclamation to all his subjects across the land, officially bestowing good favor and easy advantage on all things Scorpio for the next year, and you'll get the idea.

With Jupiter in Scorpio, the deep intricacies and impulsions that underlie human relations get the magnifying-glass treatment, exposing the broader strokes behind why some of us have and some have not. Scorpio is all about the power we bear through our psychological knowledge of human nature… for when we more fully understand what makes us tick, we're better able to take control of our drives and desire—rather than letting them control us—and consequently behave more consciously.

When Scorpio excavates the dark crevices of his own psyche, he seeks the buried treasure of submerged emotions… his primordial responses to formative events from his past, which continue to shape his life as repetitions and reactions of compulsive fury or envy or lust or vengeance, sadism or masochism or fright, or any convoluted combo of them all.

Finding the treasure. Collecting it as truth. Connecting seemingly uncontrollable psychic urges to their original source (childhood? adolescence?), feeling them all the way in… and back out again… and reemerging transformed. Powerful. I know myself, and what motivates me. Therefore, I can direct my personal power with awareness, as I see fit.

Of course, when Scorpio doesn't feel like going inside himself… and instead prefers to get inside you, then his hairier side comes out. At his worst, Scorpio is a master manipulator. He combines his keen psychological wisdom with sharp investigative skills—and an uncanny knack for keeping his own true thoughts behind an opaque mask—to figure out what will push your buttons or yank your cord. Then, he applies that knowledge to gain power… over you, rather than in himself…

… that is, if he isn't spiritually sound enough to fear the wrath of the the Three-Fold Law, which stipulates whatever you send out (the good and the bad) will come back to you times three. Yikes to those who use their gifts to control others for their selfish ends.

Cosmic cheers, however, to those who delve into others' depths as a mission of love, persevering through messy or difficult exchanges to expose the roots of each other's pains and passions. This is Scorpio at his best—a wholly-engaged intimate companion, an ambassador on a round trip to the underworld (thank God for that return ticket!), an interactive conduit for healing through confrontation.

Throughout Jupiter's travels through Scorpio (today through Nov 06), we can expect our psychological dynamics and complexes to show themselves in glaring boldness, inviting us to dive in. Those of us on the path to self-discovery are likely to reap grander understandings, particularly as we unveil our darkest shadow-selves in intense relationship with others. As long as we bear shame over some part of our being, we surrender our own power to this shameful secret self. It holds us hostage, eats away at our self-esteem, and leads us to overcompensate by damaging (or damaged) relationship behavior.

Now is the ideal time to purge our demons, confess our sins (if we believe in such things!), own our willing participation, stop the blame game, and release those nasty burdens. Benevolent King Jupiter will bless those who volunteer to don our scarlet letters in full view (then burn them in a cathartic release and stop feeling sorry for ourselves!) by making it a bit easier than it usually would be… and by revealing the good fortune that comes to everyone brave enough to cope with his or her crap. The resulting increases in emotional strength, intimacy and fearlessness will indeed be palpable.

While Jupiter is often considered 'good luck' (because his influence tends to things easier), he never forces anyone to collect, so don't expect the doorbell to ring and a stranger to hand you a fat check and a certificate granting you immediate relief from the weight of your issues. You must do something to get (and keep) the ball rolling—Jupiter just helps it along.

And Jupiter also has a negative side, in that his easy ways often lead to laziness and self-indulgence for those who favor the passive approach. Jupiter in Scorpio will highlight instances of folks lording power over other folks through exaggerating their motivations, perhaps habitual entitlement ('I've always had more than you… why should I stop now?) or the looming threat of 'being found out' ('If only they knew what I'm hiding, I'd be ruined! That's why I must destroy them first!'). The ugliness will be harder to contain, and the subsequent power struggles and conflicts will get bigger and nastier.

Whenever Jupiter in Scorpio exacerbates interpersonal differences, injecting blatant intensity and gnarliness where they previously lingered below your awareness… pause and go deeper. It's not just a passing dispute—it's also a lesson about what drives you. Ask why it bothers you so much. Ask what you're afraid of losing. Ask why you care.

For these upcoming months, the answers are closer to the surface and easier to access.