Jupiter in Aries II: Back in the Hot Seat

1.23.11


As of yesterday (Sat Jan 22), Jupiter's back in Aries again, having finally crossed the threshold from Pisces into a whole new cycle through the zodiac… and rarin' to rouse our instincts and impulses back into rapid-fire action.

Jupiter in Aries turns up the heat on our drive to individuate… to bravely set out into virgin territory and do something new, for the first time. 'Think it through in advance?' you ask Jupiter in Aries. Hardly even possible really, let alone worth the slowdown.

Jupiter spent a few months in Aries last year (Jun 6-Sep 8), during which he conjoined Uranus, squared Pluto and opposed Saturn as part of the mid-2010 'cardinal climax' drama-queen astrology. (Remember that?) But throughout that entire time, Jupiter didn't get much of a chance to operate at his Aries best. Not only was he constantly being blocked by tangles with other planets, but his dispositing planet Mars wasn't in an especially good position to provide much added support. The result? A 'stop-start-stop-start' vibe in the air, which forced Jupiter in Aries into an constantly moderating dialogue with Saturn in Libra.

In Aries, Jupiter's optimistic nature comes through most effectively when we purposely dash in, on a spontaneous urge, rather than conservatively biding our time until we're guaranteed safe passage. (An illusory 'guarantee' in any case, right?) He goads us into fighting for ourselves, carving out wide avenues of potential when we dare to stand up against blocks to our independence.

We can apply this 'can-do' zeal to anything that needs a fresh dose of assertive energy—stalled careers, stale relationships, labyrinthine bureaucracies or other habits of ineffective dicking-around. At a certain inertia point, it seems we must turn away in courage (or impatience) if we hope to get the onward momentum going. We have to do it on our own. My way, to my liking, to personally satisfy me for once, unapologetically. Otherwise, we'll keep on feeling like a powerless victim: someone else's bitch; a passive pawn in a game we don't really give a rat's ass about.

Fuck that! There's a land of opportunity over yonder, perfectly clean-slate. I'm outta here! Smell ya later!

Is there a chance Jupiter in Aries will inspire us to too hastily ditch out, put ourselves first at the expense of mostly decent situations or valuable connections? For sure. This forward-thrusting energy is rather indiscriminate, and doesn't consider the finer points too well. At its worst, Jupiter in Aries bowls over whatever's in its path with a blind 'me first' attitude. And even then, you'll be hard-pressed to convince the person benefitting from the push that he should 'tone it down', out of concern he might jeopardize something he might need later on. The 'get it moving right now' perspective is likeliest to win out.

Jupiter's boldness is only further aroused by the conjunction with Uranus he's been involved in since mid-'10. Together, Jupiter and Uranus love to whip up general contrariness and revolutionary fervor—a pair of freedom-loving individualists who'd prefer anything novel, untraditional or shocking to the tired familiarities. Though their third and final peak of exact conjunction occurred back on Jan 4 (the same day as the solar eclipse) and they leave the five-degree orb by the second week of February, Jupiter and Uranus will remain 'on the same page' thematically. Uranus also reenters Aries on Mar 11 after its own brief stint there last year, to stay through 2018.

Jupiter moves relatively quickly through Aries, traveling across the whole sign by early June… and in symbolic correlation with his fiery speed, we should expect a rather quickened pace of development in the events of the coming few months. We may be quite surprised, in fact, by how fast one outcome leads to the next. And since Uranus will subsequently follow all Jupiter's steps through Aries (albeit at a slower rate, lasting several years), these months ahead will provide some sort of foreshadowing insight into the issues and areas in which we'll be continuing to innovate and individuate throughout much of this decade.

This will be more distinctly exemplified when Jupiter pulls back into square with Pluto in February, mirroring the longer-lived and much-more-intense Uranus-Pluto square that will increasingly define our lives through 2015 and beyond. During February, watch for instances where your motivation to manifest personal ambitions gets snarled in pushback from stubborn orthodoxies or entrenched patterns resistant to ceding their dominance. Any tensions you observe will offer a clue into the fiercer battle between personal freedom and lawful respect you should expect to wage in years to come.

Jupiter also hasn't yet cleared his opposition to Saturn in Libra, which faces one last hit in late-March… once again forcing him to balance his heightening of self-assertive impulses with a cool, fair, cooperative mindset. However, at neither of their previous two oppositions in mid-'10 did Jupiter have the same advantages over Saturn as he does going into this one.

For the month preceding this final Jupiter-Saturn opposition—from late February and through the very end of March—Mars (Jupiter's dispositor while in Aries) will be in Pisces, creating a reciprocally supportive mutual reception between Mars and Jupiter. This Mars-Jupiter interrelationship speaks in the strong symbolism of endings leading to beginnings, which also lines up with Uranus's entry into Aries during the same month. We may feel somewhat aimless or unclear in our actions, even as we intuitively know we must move forward, in order to grow in confidence and self-reliance… and naturally may experience collateral sorrow or sensitivity in the process.

Then, come April 1, Mars joins Jupiter and Uranus in Aries… and the still-quickening advance of developments hits its lightning-round. Throughout April and the first half of May, there persists a potent Aries signature should prove powerful enough to dominate Saturn-in-Libra's calm restraint. Whatever comes into being during February and March will progress quite speedily in April and May.

By the time Jupiter reaches Taurus on June 4, the outlook for the remainder of '11 should reveal opportunities not presently foreseeable… to strengthen and root the fledgling sprouts and saplings that, as of now, haven't even begun to live yet. That's right: A lot can happen in a few short months.