Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, ten times the size of the earth. With its permanent storms, great red spot, axial rotation of approximately ten hours and its family of Moons, everything about Jupiter is larger than life, active, turbulent, stormy and grand. In Greek mythology, Jupiter-Zeus was king of the Gods and ruler of Mount Olympus. As the youngest and most fortunate of all his brothers and sisters, who were swallowed at birth by their father Saturn-Cronos, Jupiter was protected in his youth, leading a charmed existence. When he grew up he became his father’s cup-bearer and gave him a brew which caused Saturn-Cronos to vomit up all his previously swallowed brothers and sisters. From this moment on, Saturn was banished to the outermost reaches of the solar system and Jupiter became king of the Gods, ruling on Mount Olympus.

An image of Jupiter releasing his eagles into the world, from Atalanta fugiens (1618), an alchemical text by Michael Maier.

In the horoscope, Jupiter expands whatever it touches. Jupiter describes what we believe in, what we have faith in, where we are optimistic, confident and expect things to go well for us. Jupiter is our personal cornucopia, the horn of plenty which never runs dry. It is playful, restless, fertile, easily bored, always seeking new adventures and wider horizons. Jupiter is imaginative and creative and likes to do things in a big way. It lends conviction. As the planet of faith, Jupiter describes our belief system, our philosophy and our sense of what makes life worth living, indicating where we seek to grow, to expand and find meaning in our lives. Jupiter describes our sense of abundance and our spiritual wellbeing. Like a balloon, Jupiter tends to go on expanding until it bursts dramatically. However often it crashes and burns, there is normally enough faith to begin again and repeat the expansion all over again. 

Jupiter gives us a feeling of omnipotence, and describes how and where we ‘play god’, riding roughshod over other people’s feelings and sensitivities. There can be a remarkable hubris and arrogance where Jupiter is in the chart. It describes where and how we are likely be become inflated and where we can be boastful, patronising and condescending. Jupiter can’t bear limitation and as such can describe where we are discontented and greedy, always wanting more. An inflated or fanatical Jupiter reveals a distortion of the archetypal quality of this planet. At root, Jupiter is the gift of enthusiasm and faith.

Planetary pairs

David has a Jupiter-Mars connection. How would you interpret this?

Audience:  Could he have a philosophy or belief in war?

Clare:  Absolutely. He may be very interested, for example, in war games. He may be one of those people who dresses up in uniform and re-enacts the scenes of historical battles. At any rate, he is likely to be someone who fights (Mars) for a cause (Jupiter), a crusader. He will have a strong belief (Jupiter) in strength and potency (Mars). There is something larger than life (Jupiter) about his need to assert and defend himself (Mars).

Sally has an interesting combination of planets connected to Jupiter - Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars. Let’s look at these separately. The Jupiter-Sun aspect tells us something about Sally’s innate personal (Sun) faith and optimism (Jupiter). There will be something larger than life (Jupiter) about her, and she is likely to be generous and gregarious (Jupiter). She will have experienced her father (Sun) as a larger than life character, exciting and adventurous, perhaps even godlike (Jupiter). Depending on the other chart factors, she may even have found him overwhelming (Jupiter). She is generous, buoyant, enthusiastic, and possibly arrogant, unrealistic and over-optimistic.

The Jupiter-Moon combination describes Sally’s expansive and exaggerated (Jupiter) feelings (Moon). She can easily find herself on an emotional (Moon) rollercoaster (Jupiter) as her feelings expand and contract (Moon) dramatically (Jupiter).  She will be instinctively (Moon) optimistic (Jupiter), and needs (Moon) plenty of freedom, adventure and opportunity (Jupiter). Her mother (Moon) is likely to be generous, optimistic or philosophical (Jupiter), someone who taught her that life is an adventure to be explored whenever possible (Jupiter).

Jupiter-Venusindicates that Sally will have a love (Venus) of travel (Jupiter) and an appreciation (Venus) of other cultures and religions (Jupiter). She has a great capacity (Jupiter) for enjoyment (Venus), and is likely to be attracted to (Venus) people who can help her develop her knowledge and experience (Jupiter) and to any new adventures (Jupiter).

As with David’s chart, the Jupiter-Mars combination indicates that Sally is likely to have enormous (Jupiter) physical energy (Mars) and will believe in (Jupiter) fighting for a cause (Mars).

Now that we have looked at each of these Jupiter connections, are you getting a sense of Sally’s personality?

Audience:  Yes, she certainly seems larger than life. I am not sure I like her, though. Too over- the-top for me.

Audience:  This is a tremendously enthusiastic person. I expect she is very generous and loving, the sort of person who would leap in to rescue you if you needed her. But could you trust her at the end of the day?

Clare:  Well, it is perfectly possible that the next time you phoned her you would probably find she had left the country on another adventure.