Jupiter’s Effect Through Taurus

I’m finally ready to pay attention to Jupiter in the quieter sign of Taurus now that it is moving retrograde back to 0 degrees by December 25th before turning direct once again.  What’s been going on with this energy since it first entered on June 5th of this year, 2011?  It feels like it’s been over-shadowed by all the ‘strum and drang’ of Uranus in Aires challenging Pluto in Capricorn.  In a gentler time we’d all be reveling in Venusian pleasures of the flesh and singing praises to the jovial god of abundance. This would be a regular ‘jubilee’ year of feasting and celebration. Now, however, we have daily news of the starving millions (no longer thousands) in places like Somalia, and we have endless worries about debt, unemployment, and natural catastrophes that occur with increasing regularity in every corner of the globe.  The world as a beautiful Camelot under the umbrella of Jupiter in Taurus is over-shadowed by an acceleration of crises that keep us jumping.

So how are we to work with this energy?  We have until June 12, 2012 to learn anew the meaning of something that perhaps we’ve remained unconscious about.  It feels like we can no longer take for granted what Taurus is all about as Jupiter opens us to the possibilities of growth which are always present in both good times and difficult times.

In researching for this article I gleaned through a couple of good books on Jupiter: Exploring Jupiter, The Astrological Key to Progress, Prosperity & Potential by one of my favorite authors in astrology, Stephen Arroyo, and The Book of Jupiter by a lesser known author, Marilyn Waram.  Ms. Waram is a Canadian astrologer, mother of three who loves the outdoors, ballroom dancing, and health foods.  I really liked her approach of initially entitling Chapter One as “All the Possibilities!”  I’ve been reading other books of late on the new model of quantum thinking and back in 1993 she was postulating the same approach without labeling it as such.

When she gets to writing about the essence of Jupiter, she explains how our world view gives shape to our reality which, in turn, determines our experiences and feelings. Here’s a quote that seems quite apropos for many today:  “….take two individuals who have both just lost their jobs.  The first person is traumatized.  They operate from a belief that the world is unreliable at best and dangerous to them at worst.  Consequently they are terribly threatened by the loss of their job and its financial security.  They worry about getting another job.  They focus on the high unemployment situation and on other people’s lengthy searches for work.  They note that some people have lost everything they owned or had to give up their lifestyle and take low-paying or unsatisfying jobs.  Since this individual believes that the world is unfriendly, they will not even look to see if there is any potential benefit for them in the situation.  They don’t allow that to be a possibility.  They will experience the event as painful because they assume that the world in general is painful.  They will, therefore, focus on all the potentially painful aspects of the experience.  They will tend to feel anxious, depressed, hard done by and possibly overwhelmed.”
“The second individual has a belief that the world is a good place.  Perhaps it works in seemingly mysterious ways that they don’t always readily understand, but basically what occurs is beneficial.  Therefore, while they too, will be concerned about the loss of their job and its financial security, they will assume there was a good reason for this loss and will search for that reason.  They may realize that the job was blocking the development of some other goal they hold as valuable.  Perhaps they really, deep in their heart, want to get into another career but don’t quite have the courage to leave a job they thought was secure.  With the loss of the security, they will realize that they now are free to pursue another career (which may be more appropriate to their current needs and talents).  They will feel liberated, relieved, hopeful and excited.”

So is this an issue of perception where one sees the glass half empty while the other sees the glass half-full?  I’d say so, but I’d also say that the second person is aware of greater possibilities.  Jupiter as an energy represents expansion, therefore it is associated with qualities like faith, optimism, openness to grace, and reliance on some higher power or greater plan.  The exercise of faith almost assuredly moves us away from petty concerns and worries towards something expansive and even great.  We start to reach for our ideals and usually get support from both an inner sense that we are deserving of something good, but also the synchronicity of life may bring supportive and benevolent people into our sphere who help us move away from our plight.

Jupiter is also symbolic of exploration and thus adventure.  When you embark on a travel experience into unknown terrain you don’t expect it to be all even keel and cushy, do you?  Of course not.  You are on an adventure and ready for anything.  You may lose all your possessions.  You may get hit on the head.  You may wake up in a daze and wonder what happened.  If you have inner pluck you’ll figure out your next move and get going.  You won’t sit there feeling sorry for yourself.  You may next meet some fabulous person who takes you to their hidden villa, feeds you exotic food, and encourages you to float in their enormous pool for a spell.  These scenarios don’t just have to happen in the movies.  Adventurous types live to tell such tales.

We all are probably ready to admit that we’re living through some rough times.  Energies are volatile.  The future is uncertain.  The old models aren’t working very well now in almost every sphere.  If Jupiter is symbolic of energy that moves expansively and Taurus is a sign that represents qualities of practical conservatism, fertility, and sensual beauty perhaps we need to explore new ways of enjoying the good life that take us on new tracks of adventure into how we can live differently from the old models based on consumerism and waste.  We need a renewed faith in our own resourcefulness, another Taurean trait.

Dancing and Singing!

There seems to be a huge revival of music and the arts going on even though money may be scarce.  Jupiter in Taurus expands our need to enjoy dancing, singing, playing music, painting, sculpting, and designing new architectural structures.  All of these pursuits lift our spirits and bring pleasure to our senses.  And we humans have always found new ways to be endlessly creative in the arts no matter what our circumstances.

Grow Your Own Veggies

The love of gardening, of tilling the earth and watching things grow is deep in our bones and people everywhere want that experience for themselves again. Small organic farmers are abounding in the county where I live.  Jupiter in Taurus loves the out-of-doors and spending time in the natural world.  It would also seem that the growing of grapes and the making of wine has never been so popular.  Good food, good wine, and you know the rest…….It’s definitely happening and people are finding a way to keep it happening no matter what.

Then there’s the business of beauty, of spas, of all those pampering experiences that Taurus loves.  I heard the other day that in the Far East the women from Mongolia come with their bags of cash to purchase beauty products…….no matter what!

It’s obvious that humans will find ways to experience the little joys of life no matter the circumstances. I’ve tried to bring your attention to a lot of basic enjoyments that existed long before money was the mode of exchange. The deeper issues today obviously have to do with the great disparities of wealth and poverty that are increasing on a global scale and plunging entire countries into crises of extreme suffering.  We can not ignore these plights of huge populations.  Those of us living in developed countries are able now to know what is going on in nearly every part of the globe; therefore Jupiter in Taurus becomes more an issue of distribution of wealth.  Steven Arroyo quoted Moore and Douglas, two well-known astrologers from a by-gone era as saying, “Money is like manure.  Spread around it does a lot of good, but piled in one heap it makes an awful stink.”

That’s the real rub.  We know there is enough to go around.  There truly is abundance for all if it is shared properly.  We also now know that a very tiny percent want to hoard the lion’s share for themselves.  Many are trying to figure out a way to stop such power grabs.  It’s a daunting task.  We need real leaders who have vision now and understand the principles of Jupiter in Taurus which encourage productivity and fair distribution so that all people have an opportunity to work and create a good life for themselves and their families.

Jupiter Retrograde

You can see that potential in the chart when Jupiter first went Retrograde on August 30th.  Jupiter in Taurus is trine Sun/Venus in Virgo and trine Pluto in Capricorn.  Isn’t that beautiful?  It as much as says there is abundance for all.

So where are the world leaders with the qualities we need to guide us through this terrible quagmire?  Let’s hope they appear soon.  In the past we had Mohandas Gandhi, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King.  Yes, they all were born with Jupiter in Taurus.  Even the Chinese people had their Mao Tse-Ting with his Jupiter in Taurus trying to figure out a way to redistribute the wealth of a few into the hands of the many.  Granted these were men of vision whose visions either didn’t last forever or took some twisted turns.  The process of life is ever evolving and change is the one constant from which all possibilities emerge.

Jupiter Turns Direct

By the time Jupiter turns direct on Christmas Day in the west, it will be at 0 degrees of Jupiter.  These first 10 degrees of the sign are its purest form.  What will we have learned about Taurus that we can take forward through next June?  By then we’ll be mid-way through the big year of 2012.  Will we have the pluck and resolve to be resourceful and creative?  Will we be joyful in our expressions of artistry?  Will we exercise our faith and continue to live for our future generations so that they may also have abundance?  Remember, Jupiter is exploration, not a static experience. May it be so.