Jupiter Reborn
The greater benefic gets a fresh start.
Tuesday marked the tropical re-entry of the greater benefic into Mars’ sign, Aries. Since Aries is thought of as the great initiator of the zodiac, this movement marks a new beginning in terms of our relationship to expansion, hope, alliances, and beliefs. Therefore, Pisces transits can sometimes be characterized as great endings where we are dissolved into a greater structure. Between October 28th and December 20th, Jupiter re-entered its home, allowing us to tie up loose ends in the Piscean parts of our lives. This final decan of Pisces carries many connotations of sacrifice for a greater good or indulgence in the illusion of merging with something else. Jupiter’s regress and direct station in this portion of Pisces may have facilitated the liberation from certain emotional burdens that prevent us from aligning with something more collectively meaningful. Surrendering to the fact that every epic tale has a grand ending will allow us to close certain chapters in our lives as we move forward.
Jupiter’s movement from the final decan of Pisces to the first decan of Aries can thus be thought of as a rebirth of hope and faith. Maybe a last minute helping hand saves you from peril at the last minute, giving you the freedom you need to move forward to start afresh. They don’t call this first decan of Aries “The Axe” or “Lord of Dominion” for nothing! This is an archetype I really enjoyed riffing about during the Aries Decans episode of the Fixed Astrology Podcast. Sometimes to begin again you need to burn down decaying structures to provide the nutrients to grow something new. Perhaps you need to venture into uncharted territory to set up new opportunities for growth. Since Jupiter also has its bounds in these first few degrees of Aries, you may find that this is an appropriate time to take a leap of faith to do something differently. Jupiter will likely represent the freedom to make these audacious choices, which you will work through until Jupiter comes back to this part of the zodiac in 12 years time. Think back to the false starts you got between May and October. Perhaps you will have the freedom to solve any problems or truly initiate something in the Aries-influenced parts of your lives, and this will have broad consequences for the Sagittarian and Piscean areas of your life as well, since Jupiter rules those domains.
I find the dignity change between Pisces and Aries for Jupiter to be interesting to think about. Jupiter is the domicile lord for Pisces, while Jupiter is the primary triplicity lord for fire signs during the night. For those of you on astro-twitter during Jupiter’s initial cruise through Pisces, there were lots of complaints about the ability of this planet to deliver while at home! I think people forget that with domicile dignity, there is a responsibility that comes with that sort of authority. Triplicity dignity is one of friendship, and is very much akin to having a lot of friends or social support, regardless of your level of influence. So while Jupiter in Aries does not have authority to influence things, its agenda is well supported while in Aries. Jupiter lacks this sort of influence in Pisces, which is probably why people turned their noses up at the more subtle and less self-focused blessings that Jupiter had to offer during its time in Pisces. While Jupiter is a planet of wealth, honors, and expansion, it is also a very spiritual and meaning-driven planet. Regardless of the astrology you practice, it is a planet that does encourage surrender to to a higher purpose so that you can receive blessings of all sorts.
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day.
Jupiter’s ingress into Aries comes just days before the December solstice, which is huge because it is the dispositor of the Sun in tropical Sagittarius. Prior to the ingress, the Sun — who is empowered by virtue of having triplicity in Sagittarius and transiting its own decan— was being received by an empowered ruler, and they were connecting via a square aspect. With the Sun in the decan of Sagittarius associated with the deposing of kings and making of legends, the demands it makes of Jupiter from the superior square could be thought of like an authority demanding recognition from a figure with moral and cultural authority. Or quite literally, a monarch demanding benediction from a holy or wise person as justification for their (often destructive) actions. Interestingly, in these last days of Sagittarius season, we are inching closer towards the peak of imbalance between light and dark. However, before the Sun can complete the square, Jupiter loses its authority to provide the Sun with that recognition or crowning that it seeks. Jupiter’s reset of goals may have rendered the seemingly impossible task that we have put our hearts and souls into seemingly useless, since rewards are to be derived from some new venture.
Following the solstice on December 21st, the Sun connects with Jupiter once it enters the first decan of Capricorn. This decan, which is a Jupiter-ruled one in the Chaldean system, has a quality of surveying new terrain to hopefully build new structures on top of. Since the Jovial archetype is antithetical to Capricorn’s principles of ascension through hardship, being on the cusp of receiving a seemingly great reward only to have the rug snatched from you last minute can be a jarring experience. Interestingly, all these planets are answering to Saturn, who is leaving us parting gifts as it progresses towards the Pisces ingress in March. Rather than lamenting potentials that are closed off to you, these energies are sending a clear message to take what you can get and start fresh in places and situation where you are unrestrained by past fears or emotional baggage. Rather than waiting for January 1st to make some resolutions for moving forward in 2023, it might be wise to ride this wave of pioneering spirit to set certain things in motion.
The Crown of Success.
Much of the fanfare of this transit comes through after Jupiter clears its shadow around Valentine’s Day, and it will begin moving into the second decan of Aries. I find that it is helpful to conceptualize the decans of Aries and the associated minor arcana in tarot as the struggle to assert one’s will on their surroundings. In the first decan, we clear out an untamed place to begin our work. In the second decan, we step into the power vacuum and put our best feet forward in hopes of attract a following. In the third decan, perhaps we finally get that following and realize that symbolic gestures can sometimes be enough to keep people invested in this endeavor— as transient and hollow as they seem.
On March 2nd, Venus makes her annual conjunction to Jupiter. While both Venus and Jupiter generally are associated with prosperity and value, a glance at Valens’ Anthology quickly reveals the differences between the two benefics and provide insight into what their conjunctions tend to bring. Venus generally represents personal values and desire, facilitation of 1 to 1 relationships, and material abundance. Meanwhile, Jupiter generally represents more abstract and collective forms of value, friendships, alliances, trusts with large amounts of money, and spiritual and moral ideals. Of the two of them together, Valens says this:
Jupiter and Venus are good, in harmony, productive of rank and profits, bringing new acquisitions, gifts, adornments, control over slaves, rulerships, the begetting of children, high priesthoods, preeminence among the masses, honors of garlands and gold crowns. These stars make men who are worthy of statues and images, but they also make them subject to ups and downs with respect to marriages and children.
This meeting of the lesser and greater benefic takes place in Aries II, suggesting that both benefics will be helping certain figures in their quest to claim sovereignty in some area of their lives. The attempt to align personal pleasures with collective hopes may encourage people to throw their support behind an individual who embodies this balance of the personal with the social. With Venus struggling in Aries due to her detriment in the sign, perhaps some coaxing from Jupiter (who is empowered with triplicity dignity) may provide temporary concessions to an insatiable desire for personal pleasures and intense relationships. Since Jupiter also has connotations of justice (I know all of you “Libra = Venus = fairness” stans may find this hard to believe, but Jupiter is the arbiter of Justice. Not Venus!), and Venus in her detriment in Aries might be lusting for revenge, there may be a vindication of sorts that Jupiter is able to bring in these matters. On a personal level, this conjunction may signal the end of a longstanding conflict between you and another party where some major action takes place in your favor. However, if Venus is the aggressor trying to defend herself from further exploitation at the hands of a more influential figure, it is quite possible that you may be humbled in the court of public opinion.
We can also look at previous iterations of these conjunctions to suss out what some key manifestations will be. The last Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Aries was in 2011. In the days leading up to the conjunction, Queen Elizabeth II became the second longest reigning English monarch, the Brazilian Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the New Democratic Party in Canada ousted the Liberal Party from the role of the official opposition for for the first time, and then President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden— which was thought to be a symbolic turning point in the “War on Terror”. The last Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Aries II took place in May 1987 and February 1964. In 1987, the Loughgall ambush takes place in Northern Ireland, frontrunner for the Democratic Presidential Nomination Gary Hart drops out of the race due to the discovery of an extramarital affair, and Margaret Thatcher called a general election that she would go on to win with a slightly smaller margin. In 1964, not only does Muhammad Ali become heavyweight boxing champion of the world, but sheds his given name (Cassius Clay) due to the association with a man who was a slave owner in spite of his role as an abolitionist. The themes of this configuration are clear: there may be the crowning of unlikely leaders, along with the narrow survival of others. Symbolic victories may come through the elevation of some prominent figures, or through the figurative or literal annihilation of others.
League of Legends.
The final act of Jupiter’s 5 month sprint through Aries comes to us as we transition out of Aries season into Taurus season. First, we get a Jupiter cazimi on the 11th of April, followed by our first solar eclipse in Aries eight days later. It’s pretty uncanny that Jupiter is relevant for both configurations, because the final decan of Aries is one that Jupiter owns/co-rules if you use the triplicity scheme for the decans. This is one of the decans that Austin Coppock suggests has “big propagandist energy.” Here, the power of symbols is favored over direct action even if it feels like these symbolic gestures are lacking in impact. While the Jovial and Venusian energies of this decan are similar to the themes outlined in the previous section, they build on a lot of the themes of the previous decan. Uniting people behind allies during battles for sovereignty. Cementing of heroes and legends. Narratives around overcoming seem especially relevant. Symbolic destruction or elevation of unlikely hero or underdog is also possible.
Looking back at history is very useful to see the themes. Some of the astrology of 1940 very similar in this regard, with a solar eclipse occurring within a week of the Jupiter cazimi in this decan. It was during this period that Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, and the monarch of Norway had to encourage the people to throw their moral and material support behind Great Britain. In the hockey world, the New York Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup, a title that would evade them for 54 years. We can also blame this configuration for some iconic cinema! The original Rocky film was inspired by Chuck Wepner’s stunning defeat of Muhammad Ali in March 1975.
As I was struggling to articulate the overall vibe of Jupiter’s time in Aries, a discussion with a friend of mine about so called “great men” of history made me curious about the natal chart of Charlemagne. As fate would have it, one of the suggested birth dates for him had a Sun-Venus conjunction in the middle decan of Aries, with Jupiter in Aries as well! He is known for uniting large swaths of Western Europe and facilitating intellectual and spiritual activity amongst the Roman Catholics. It has been suggested that one of the keys to success in his conquests was through this facilitation of learning, and the encouragement of translation of various religious and secular texts into local vernaculars. With Jupiter also being a planet representing legends and narratives of great cultural influence, I really do feel that some of these events might allow some of us to play key parts in narratives that will become relevant to the generations that will follow us. Whether you cement your name in world history for your deeds or misdeeds, or you become a legendary figure within your family or your communities— Jupiter in Aries invites us to claim our role in these narratives.
As someone who is extremely jovial in nature, I hope that anyone who comes across this article feels empowered to push for their new beginning in life during these next 5 months. Fortune favors the bold! If you are looking for specific insight on how this configuration and others may affect you in the coming months, please consider booking a consultation with me!