Jupiter In Sagittarius

Jupiter in Sagittarius
November 24th 2006 to December 19th 2007

Get out the travel books, log on to Google Earth and update your passports. From the mysterious depths of bottomless Scorpio Jupiter breaks through the waters into the full glare of shadow-dispelling, truth-seeking, evangelical Sagittarius.

November 24th at 17:45 (NZST) is launch day, and as Jupiter fires its engines and points its nose to the skies, our mood and outlook will turn from emotional to idealistic, introspective to seeking, cautious to optimistic, anxious and suspicious to positive and trusting. Where we have been stuck in a groove we will want shake off the shackles to grow and stretch, to push the boundaries, to explore new territories mentally, physically and spiritually. There will be the usual hotspots of turbulence that all planets encounter as they travel through signs, but with Jupiter returning to home-base, there is a stronger sense of inner conviction that relies less on other people and things, and more on issues, people, places and beliefs that ring an inner bell that resonates with our own basic tenets of life. In other words, Jupiter will act like a spiritually-inclined, heat-seeking missile that will fire up even the most fragile and basic of belief systems. If we haven’t developed or thought about what we believe in, this is the year to set out on a pilgrimage as we will be more receptive and easily moved by the sounding of the bell.

Jupiter is always about learning, whether formally or in the school of life. A real or symbolic desire for travel and exploration are essential requisites if we are to really draw down Jupiter’s traditional meaning when in this sign. Jupiter in Sag is like the sights, sounds and smells of an exotic, sun-drenched bazaar in a country far from home. If we want, our senses can open wide with the new experiences as we literally drink in what we encounter – the colours, the dialects and languages, and the customs. The local marketplaces of any town or country in the world provides the raw goods that are the basis of whatever is cooked, used or practiced at home, and by viewing the world as a marketplace where we can purchase these magical experiences, we will find ourselves with a cupboard full of interesting recipes and ingredients from which to sustain our personal life and the lives of those we come into contact with.

This can happen if we decide to stay at home too by going further and learning more than we usually do about our own customs and cultural variations. We get to truly experience life if and when we seek it out, and even just the act of drawing up a totally flexible game plan that will include meeting people, greeting visitors or beating the pavements of territories outside our local maps will help to expand our consciousness. Just like Google Earth (which is bound to become a very popular tool!) we can map out our lives because all at once we can see where we have been, where we are now and where we would like to go simultaneously. The ability to imagine life from above looking down will help dispel insularity and create a larger perspective. Pinpoint, but then realise, that where you are now is simply a dot in the ocean that surrounds you. As the years stretch ahead in this new 12-year cycle, we might ask ourselves what the quality of the journey will be like – spiritually-rich or spiritually-lacking. We are bound to feel restless and irritable if we avoid new experiences and people, or withhold our own knowledge. Given the intellectual nature of Sag and that this is the sign of the storyteller, the communicators of the world will want to write, publish, blog, and generally tell the world useful bits of very colourful information - and what better time to gather up information. However, substance and quality rather than bragging and boasting should be aimed for.

Jupiter in Sag happens every twelve years and always signifies a new beginning within the learning centre of our lives (this is different for everyone but there is always somewhere in our chart where we learn the most). Jupiter brings a new perspective and fresh angles on both the old and the novel in this individual area. Globally, emerging trends can be found now and the more forward thinkers amongst us will be quick to spot and take a punt on what these might be. Jupiter is the lucky planet and we might find ourselves in the right place at the right time, or, perhaps the qualities of Sagittarius draws what we need most just when we need it.

This is the year to get generous, gregarious and go-getting after all the introspection of Jupiter’s transit through Scorpio. What did we learn over the last year (or should that be the last 12 years) that can be put to good use now? This is the year of the double-act since Sagittarius is a double-bodied, fluid sign and it is the year of growth-spurts. It is far from being a time of putting down roots so increased travel and house moves are likely in our search for space and openness. Cramped and claustrophobic will make us feel down in the dumps. And, like the archer who sets his sight on the bulls-eye and then pulls his hand back as far as it will reach, mentally, physically and spiritually we can expand, stretch, push and grow steadily and surely, in small but positive increments. Unless you have put in a rock-solid training, as the archer does, and truly done your homework and trained your sights, in which case you could grow giddy from the sudden fame, expansion and multiple offers that you will likely receive, it would be best to fire one arrow at a time, gaining composure before taking the next aim. Jupiter in Sag will encourage us to aim at all the wrong spots to reach our goals so we have to be sure that our goals are reasonable and attainable first. Jupiter will give us an ounce of confidence that, if mishandled, can quickly inflate to a ton of expectations that are beyond being able to be achieved. Jupiter can sometimes encourage us to dive into what we thought was the deep end but which turns out to be very shallow and very painful. During the first flushes and rushes of the possibilities that open up during the first part of this transit (November to April 2007) our enthusiasm and positive attitude overshadows practical considerations. There can be a too much of a “she’ll be right” attitude”.

Since Jupiter returns to Sagittarius every 12 years, it is sometimes possible to look back to past transits to get a sense of how this transit will shape up over the next year. Working backwards, here is a list of previous years:

1995/96
1983
1971/72
1959/60
1947/48
1935/36
1923/24

If you were born during one of these years, you will experience an increased effect of this transit because it will highlight your inherent philosophies in life and your tendency to be an eternal student. You don’t feel alive unless you are living at full speed and in constant motion. Your learning comes from direct experiences and the playground that is planet Earth, and this manifests as a desire to travel, read and do everything on a larger scale than the rest of us – you also make great teachers because of this eternal thirst for knowledge. Of course, Jupiter will be modified by other signs and aspects in your chart, but generally speaking, you have strong Sagittarian qualities that can overpower even your own birth-sign. You are full of passion, confidence and exuberance. 2007 is the year to live up to your own high-minded ideals.

For the rest of us, a new cycle begins each time Jupiter enters a new sign - for instance, from one transit of Scorpio, which lasts about one year, to the next transit of Scorpio will be approximately every 12 years. But when it travels through the sign it rules, there is a greater emphasis on the qualities of Jupiter and the qualities of Sagittarius. Planets animate and bring to life the particular areas of our charts they are passing through, signs provide the backdrop and temperament we adopt while dealing with the area of life that is being highlighted – which is called a House – e.g. work, home or in relationships. So, for each individual, the slot of your horoscope that holds Sagittarius, will be the area that will be super-emphasised. An astrologer can tell you this, or you can get your chart drawn up and find it yourself – look for the spoke that has an arrow with a line through it.

Globally, Jupiter and Sagittarius are connected astrologically to religion so there is bound to be an added emphasis on this in 2007. Note that Mars had been travelling in a direct and retrograde motion through this sign just prior to September 11, 2001. Mars was at one degree of Capricorn on September 11, 2001 but because the engineering of these attacks would have been planned during Mars’s transit through Sagittarius, the stimulation of these degrees by Jupiter in 2007, could trigger a similar stirring of fervour – even if this just means seeking justice and righting the wrongs from this period. Of course, history can not happen in exactly the same way and as with any forecast, there are any number of ways the coming year will manifest itself but I would be surprised if there were not a big focus on the events, people and countries involved in the happenings of 2001. The main theme though will be upon justice, truth, and a meaning and a higher plan in the course of our daily lives.