The transits of the planets

Effects of the transiting Jupiter

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Inward

The effects of Jupiter transits to points in the natal chart do not lend themselves to easy generalization. Even so, there are themes that tend to show up across Jupiter’s transits. First, Jupiter’s energy usually draws out whatever a natal point contains, making it visible to others. For example, a Jupiter transit to Venus in any form may bring obvious expressions of happiness and loving energy. Transits of Jupiter to Saturn can, on one hand, challenge your inhibitions and push you to overcome them. On the other hand, they can lead you to engage the world in a disciplined, structured, and progressive way that avoids unnecessary risks.

Second, most Jupiter transits are likely to make you feel better about the areas of life represented by the natal factor Jupiter is transiting. The main exception is when that point signifies a serious personal issue you usually avoid, in which case the Jupiter transit may be experienced as a challenge to face that problematic part of yourself.

Third, whatever the transited points symbolize tends to become an area of growth and expansion, given Jupiter’s association with growth. The exception is when Jupiter transits a problematic point; the initial phase is often experienced as healing that must occur before growth can follow.

Fourth, Jupiter transits over different kinds of points in the natal chart may prompt you to take risks in those areas that you would not normally take. This can be beneficial if you prepare adequately. It is not so helpful if you are, metaphorically, driving off a cliff to see whether your car can fly. Jupiter’s energy can indeed tempt people into foolish risks.

Outward

The outward manifestations of Jupiter transits fall into three categories. The first is success and achievement in the areas symbolized by the points in the natal chart being transited. If what those points signify is not yet ready for success and achievement, then the Jupiter transit is likely to indicate preparation for success in those areas later, possibly under the next major Jupiter transit to the same points.

The second outward manifestation is less productive. If your natal Jupiter falls into the general category of the self-aggrandizing Jupiter or the Jupiter of entitlement, the transiting Jupiter will stimulate that kind of activity around the natal points it transits. This can only go on for so long before it creates a backlash from those around you who are tired of having their lives and property appropriated by your activities.

The third outward manifestation is usually quite positive. It points to interests associated with the points in the natal chart that Jupiter is transiting. Many Jupiter transits signify a period of learning and mental growth. At their best, they can even indicate the gaining of wisdom and a deeper understanding of life. For this to reach its proper goal, however, even Jupiter’s energy must ultimately be transcended, because on its own it can only take you so far. This is what separates someone who observes a religious tradition, following the rules and being deeply involved in its ceremonies and rituals, from the mystic who tries to penetrate beyond the outward appearances of a religious tradition into the divine heart of the energy that originally gave rise to that faith. That second step requires more than Jupiter. It will also require transits by Saturn and Neptune.

Jupiter at the Personal Level

Because Jupiter most fully embodies the interpersonal level, it is not at its best when functioning at the personal level. Practically speaking, whatever good luck and growth the energies of natal and transiting Jupiter may bestow will do little good if you do not turn those results into benefits not only for yourself but also for those around you, helping to enrich the social order, whether that order affects you closely (personal friends, business contacts, etc.) or represents the larger social order of which you are a part. In other words, what Jupiter’s energies may grant must be shared with others. When this principle is neglected, one begins to encounter the negative Jupiter that simply takes whatever one can get from other people for one’s own personal benefit. Even if you are outwardly in accord with social norms and conventions, if your growth and progress do not in some way affect the growth and progress of others, then the energy of Jupiter in your life is not fulfilling its proper role.

Jupiter at the Interpersonal Level

This is the level on which Jupiter most naturally operates, and when it does operate at this level, it generally has a positive outcome. Whatever you do to grow and however you make progress in your life, you tend to carry other people with you. Even if it is limited to close associates and family, it is still operating in a positive and regenerative manner. And the larger the sphere of people affected by your use of Jupiter’s energy, the better it gets. There is, however, one issue here. Even the lowest manifestation of Jupiter’s energy can indicate someone who shares with others purely to enhance social status, and not out of real, innate generosity. Think of Julius Caesar winning over the Roman people by paying for lavish games and entertainments, not to mention handing out food. Did Julius Caesar really do this for the benefit of Rome or for the benefit of Julius Caesar? This is the question. Now, we seem to have several extraordinarily wealthy people, mostly in the tech industry, who seem genuinely concerned with bettering the world they are in and not merely with enhancing their reputations. They keep donating and supporting causes they believe in, even though they do not appear to need the publicity. Assuming they are not acting entirely out of a public-relations effort (a dangerous assumption), what they seem to be doing is the highest kind of interpersonal-level Jupiter.

Jupiter at the Transcendent Level

In this publication’s delineations where I have discussed planets operating at a level higher than the one to which they are naturally affiliated, I have indicated that planetary energies work well when functioning above their usual level. So, Jupiter is very effective and powerful when operating at the transcendent level. However, all planets below the transcendent level require assistance from the energies of the transcendent planets (Saturn at its highest, and Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) to cross the boundary between the interpersonal and the transcendent levels. Jupiter’s energy possesses enormous potential for expanding beyond the level of consensus reality, which is the domain of the interpersonal. It does so by exposing the individual to much more than they would normally encounter. Jupiter, which is frequently associated with religion in its exoteric forms, can bring you to the possibility of something larger and transcendent, such that when one of the transcendent planets is also involved, either in the birth chart or by transit at the same time as Jupiter, you can have experiences that enable you to cross over to the transcendent level. Without the assistance of a transcendent planet, religiosity will remain religiosity. Even so, the results are likely to be positive, so long as your beliefs do not harden into orthodoxy.