The Jupiter Return - A Cause for Celebration?

It's my Jupiter Return. Three cheers, hip hip hooray and let's all drink a toast to that!


Jupiter is like a balloon

Call me an old curmudgeon if you like, but the Jupiter Return feels like one of those celebratory occasions that force us to be jolly, whether we want to be or not. These days promise so much, but deliver so little. For me, they include New Year's Eve (it's just a date) and Christmas. The pre-crimbo stress and expense rarely seems worth it and the magic feels sadly absent, but perhaps that's because it only really exists in the Hollywood version. Birthdays also come under this category for me, but no doubt that's because my birthday falls on Christmas day, when everyone is too busy to make the effort or give a s**t, myself included.

I sound very Saturnian, at its grumpiest best, don't I?  Certainly I don't sound like someone who has a sort-of maybe Sun-Jupiter aspect in my birth chart. Perhaps I should explain a little bit more about my Jupiter and Jupiter in Gemini generally, so you know where I'm coming from.

Jupiter in Gemini is in its detriment, meaning that it can't easily function to its optimum level in this sign. Jupiter in our chart speaks about how we express and pursue faith; hope; optimism; growth; opportunity; prosperity; morality; higher understanding and the higher self. In Gemini, Jupiter needs help, support and focus to express these qualities.

Gemini's energies can be too scattered and superficial for Jupiter. At worst, Gemini can lack the moral compass required to get the most out of Jupiter. However, there will be times when the Jupiter in Gemini native will seem to 'get it' and we see a glimpse of the best that Jupiter can offer, but it's very often at that moment that Jupiter in Gemini seems to get bored, or restless, or will tap into its self-sabotaging twin, or whatever, and will revert to some of the less attractive expressions of Jupiter.

Those with Jupiter in Gemini are also at risk of suffering from anxiety, or at the least will worry too much and overanalyse everything. Because of this, it's difficult to trust in oneself and in the world in general. It can be hard to make decisions based on the instinctual higher mind. Instead, it's easy to make what seem like rational decisions, but which are in fact not, because the lower, worry-full monkey mind has made the decision maker lose perspective on the issue at hand.

But life is nothing if not a journey of discovery, growth and learning, so a mistake made is a lesson for future success and those scattered Gemini energies can sometimes come together quite magically for Jupiter in Gemini people or those experiencing a transit from Jupiter in Gemini. Communication is key for this placement, connections need to be made, shared and verbalised. Through doing this, we can connect to something bigger than ourselves. In this space life becomes infinitely more meaningful.

My own Jupiter at 25 degrees of Gemini falls in my 1st House. That almost-maybe aspect to my Sun is an Opposition. It's just over 8 degrees in orb, out of sign and separating. That's why I don't count it. Sun-Jupiter natives are supposed to be over-confident, jolly, bubbly, bouncy, super-optimistic, indulgent. While I like to think I have many fine qualities, I wouldn't say they include any of the above. Consider that my Sun is in Capricorn in the 8th House! Jupiter in Gemini in detriment needs help and it's not going to get much from my Sun!

My Jupiter has a much more intimate relationship with my Mercury in Sagittarius. This planetary pair in these signs are in mutual reception (each falls in the other planet's detriment).  Mercury, therefore is where Jupiter in Gemini in detriment must look to for its support. The trouble is, Mercury in Sagittarius is also in detriment, so its a bit like the blind leading the blind. What this mutual reception and alignment (the two planets are in a 165 degree Quindecile aspect) begs me to do though is communicate effectively. This is both an obsession and a challenge. I have had times, particularly when I was younger, when I was so quiet I was almost mute, but as I get older there are more and more times when my mouth runs away with me and it takes a great deal of perceptiveness to know when to shut up. Often I'll say the wrong thing or be too honest and hurt the other person. Then there's the feeling that nobody's listening anyway. I wrote about this in The Curse of Mercury in Sagittarius.

The lesson is to find the perfect balance between quietness and noise. To speak up when needed and to recognise when it's time to let the silence speak. I strive to communicate with an open mind, intelligently, diplomatically and elegantly. I try not to worry too much and I try to have hope. I don't always get it right, but I do mean well. Perhaps this is the message for my Jupiter Return.

A Shameless Plug and a Special Offer:

To help me 'celebrate' my Jupiter Return I'm discounting my e-book Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through the Dark until the end of June.

It is now available on Kindle from Amazon at $3.99 and equivalent in other currencies (normal price $5.99) or you can buy a PDF via PayPal direct from this blog for £4 or equivalent (normal price £7), just click the Buy Now button at the top right. Please note all PDF orders are sent out manually so there may be a delay of up to 24 hours between placing your order and receiving your book.

Here's a bit of blurb to whet your appetite:

Find out how you and your loved ones may be affected by Saturn in Scorpio.

Saturn in the intense, inscrutable and controlled sign of Scorpio may feel worrying, especially given the disruptive and unsettling changes the world and many individuals are facing.

This new book from Mandi Lockley - Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark - is designed to help you successfully navigate the cold and deep waters of this transit and tap into its healing and transformative potential.

The major themes of Saturn in Scorpio are explored in-depth including issues of safety, fear and control; sex and intimacy; the power of love; rejection, anger, vengeance and forgiveness; the power of the unconscious and money, debt and taxes.

Discover how these themes and more may be relevant to you personally and how best to cope with them, but also discover how they will be reflected in the wider world.

Anxious about your Saturn transit? Saturn in Scorpio’s transit to your own birth chart is covered in detail, including its transit through your natal houses and to your planets. Many books and websites deal with astrological Saturn in general and Saturn transits in particular, but this book is specifically tailored to the unique experience of Saturn in Scorpio. It also includes an extended section on Saturn to Saturn transiting contacts and the Saturn Return.

This comprehensive astrological guide also examines how Saturn in Scorpio fits into other current and upcoming major planetary alignments including the ongoing revolutionary and disruptive Uranus-Pluto Squares and the Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune Grand Trine of 2013. Find out how we might see these energies manifest in the world around us.

Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark also includes a bonus chapter on the Secondary Progressed Moon cycle - an important and very personal cycle of emotional maturity - and explains how it links with your personal Saturn cycle.

This book is suitable for all levels of astrological knowledge. Whether you are a beginner to astrology, a serious student, or a consulting astrologer working with clients, Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark will be a valuable resource to help you through this challenging transit.

For the beginner, the book has instructions on how to calculate your Saturn transit and includes a Saturn in Scorpio ephemeris, for quick and easy calculation.

What readers have said:

Get this book! It will be a go to reference that you’ll return to again and again.
Auntie Moon

“Just to tell you how much I am enjoying your e-book ‘Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark’. Congratulations for the excellent, informative, enlightening, deep book. It is worth every cent.” ME via Facebook

“I’ve purchased this e-book and can recommend it very highly. She’s an accessible writer. I’ve gone though it forwards and back, and re-read many passages over again, and each time I gather a bit more. It’s great to find a writer you can feel like quoting.” EJR, online

“I finished reading it, loved it, and will be re-reading it to my other half who has his Saturn return looming.” LL via Facebook

“I find it to be a wonderful guide...the descriptions of the Scorpio and Saturn themes are covered in an orderly fashion and Mandi Lockley offers not just some examples on how they may or may not manifest, but she also offers ways in which to work with these themes in a positive, more conscious manner. This e-book is just in time!” NR via email

“I’m in a heavy Saturn period and everything she said rang true, even things I don’t want to admit or face. But that’s what Saturn in Scorpio is for, right? Book Rec at ElsaElsa Boards

“Bought it, downloaded and read it (well most of it) and it rang true indeed. I liked it. Very good read.” ES, online