The Planet Which Would Be Sun

Jupiter in the night sky above Old Saybrook, Connecticut

(photo credit: Tushar N Dadarwala, January 2012)

Scientists think Jupiter – the largest planet in our solar system – rather narrowly missed becoming a star. Think what would have happened…! In all likelihood these twin stars would have gone through their billions of years as a binary star pairing, and nothing which today exists between them would have had a hot dog’s chance of existing.

Mercury…Venus…Earth….Moon….Mars….the asteroid belt – none of it would have been there. We all would have simply been crispy dreams in some other dimension’s inner eye.

In this 'Alien binary star sunset,' one of the artists at NASA imagined what
it might look like to live on a world which is part of a binary-star solar system and
watch the suns going down.

(photo credit: NASA, December 2002)

Thank goodness that didn’t happen, right? But thinking in those terms is a good way to give ourselves some inkling about how big Jupiter really is.

Is size everything when you’re a planet? Probably not. Neptune and Uranus are both noticeably smaller than Jupiter (or Saturn, for that matter), but they both manage to be pretty extraordinary.

But Jupiter is pretty fascinating. Imagine for a moment a planet which has an equatorial radius equal to 11,209 times that of Earth. What would it mean if a planet that much larger than Earth turned once around in 24 hours?

But wait…that’s not the whole of it. Jupiter doesn’t take 24 hours to revolve once around on its axis. No, Jupiter, a planet which is over 11,000 times the size of Earth at it’s equator only takes 9.925 hours to complete it’s ‘daily’ turn.

Metaphysically – which is to say astrologically, so windy what? Okay, maybe so windy what is a way to think. But if metaphysics is a direct correlation of What Is into the lessons by which all life functions at whatever various level, then it is in such facts as these that we find the support for Jupiter as the planet of expansion and – in particular – expansion of knowledge, whether that be an inspiration about what may be or could be…or the experience of how things might or do work (Sagittarius)…or whether that’s the kind of knowledge we gain through emotional commitment, emotional confrontation, loss, hope, faith, despair, communal emotions and all the emotionality which comes with stretching our concept of reality against the necessity of not living in some la-la land (Pisces).

That ‘pushing of the boundaries’ is very much tied to (or reflective of, if you prefer) this idea that Jupiter ‘could’a been a contender’…to borrow from a famous movie…in ‘the universal aspiration to be a star.’

And maybe…just maybe by implication…that means that Jupiter represents our efforts to be a star in our own life. Maybe we won’t all glow, throw off solar flares and bend passing light beams (yes, the Sun can do that)…but as we push back our own boundaries, be that through abstract learning, through life experiences or through emotional trial, joy, loss and self-recognition…we are growing into our own ability to be ‘as big as we are’ – embodying our metaphysical natal Jupiter.

Whatever sign your Jupiter is in by birth, that will describe the nature of your growth. Air sign Jupiter people (Jupiter in Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) will grow through learning new ideas. Water sign Jupiter people (Jupiter in Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) will learn through the experiencing of emotions, be they your own or the witnessing of someone else’s reactions and the empathic ability to understand that.

Earth sign Jupiter folks (Jupiter in Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn) will learn through tangible examples and tangible results. They may be good results or rancid results, but it’s the process, the results, the understanding of the thing on a concrete level that helps someone born with an earth sign Jupiter to learn, comprehend and otherwise expand their knowledge base.

Last (but never least!) are the fire sign Jupiter people – those born with Jupiter in Aires, Leo or Sagittarius. The idea, the possibility and the testing out how that works in reality – even as a concept, is how such a person learns. You may remember Heinlein’s famous term ‘grok’ from Stranger in a Strange Land? Well, ‘grok’ is the perfect fire sign Jupiter term…to envision and imagine as to become and thus understand.

Whatever element you are born with Jupiter as resident of, you will always learn on that basis. But that doesn’t mean you won’t (or shouldn’t!) learn when Jupiter is in some other element – heavens no! If Jupiter is the biggest planet in the solar system (using the term ‘planet’ here in the science, not astrological sense), then it always has a bearing on our life. Learning and expanding our lives is not something which happens now and then. Or only while you’re in school and then not so much. No, Jupiter is always there. It’s a massive influence in our solar system and thus represents continuing to experience and learn and feel ever more about what it means to be a human and have feelings as a primary function in our lives.

So let’s say you’re a person born with Jupiter in an earth sign. What does it mean that Jupiter is now about to go direct in an air sign (Gemini) …or even that it has been transiting an air sign ever since June of 2012? Well…this becomes the law of mental commutatives (yes, I was good in math - thanks for noticing…). In other words, your native earth sign Jupiter now gets to learn about the idea (air sign) of earthiness. Or maybe you’ll be learning about the concrete value (earth) of airy ideas? You may be in the process of getting some sort of (airy) perspective on your earthy values. Or what you think is valuable and what you’re learning is not so important or  necessary.

What about a person born with a fire sign Jupiter? Maybe you’re recognizing the difference between the fire sign vision and the workable (air sign) idea? They not only aren’t the same, the difference between the vision (or emotionally laden expectation) and the thing which really will work (functionality) is often a big huge shock in any metaphysical venue where we see fire signs in play. Why? Because fire signs are there to motivate us, but not to be our reality. For instance…the idea of space travel is fabulous. Who doesn’t like Star Trek, Star Wars and all the rest of that splendidly extra-terrestrial pantheon? But getting to the point where we can roam the universe using warp drives? What we will actually meet out there once human beings finally figure out the mechanics?

That reality – the what it is and what it will take, the myriad of ideas which have to be thought up, thought through and tested out in application…that’s where the fire sign rubber meets the air sign road. Sometimes the fire sign in us ‘sees’ the process from our inspiration to finished product and says ‘oh, piece of cake – I can do that!’ and all is well. But sometimes the fire sign in us gets a glimpse of what it would take – in reality – to get from Inspiration A to Result B and we quail.

Neither is right, neither is wrong. And that’s one of the big Jupiterian lessons: things are what they are. When you quail at the effort, you’re feeling what your emotional limitations are. You’re gaining a better understanding of what you are willing – or emotionally able – to put yourself through on the way to learning more.

Do you see this Moon Gate in the Great Wave Pavilion as our moving through our own challenges or limitations? Or perhaps you see it as the inspirations of elemental fire meeting the airy quality of conceptualized space? 

(credit: 猫猫的日记本, March 2012)

Because the water sign triad (Cancer…Scorpio…Pisces) ends in a sign which Jupiter is initiation ruler of, the whole of the water sign grouping has a bit of Jupiter in it.

What do I mean by ‘initiation ruler’? That’s just about Pisces as one of the three signs in the zodiac which has two planetary rulers. With such signs (Scorpio and Aquarius are the other two, in case you care) the ‘primary’ or ‘initiation’ ruler is the symbolic dynamic we use for getting involved or not getting involved. In Pisces, this is Jupiter-in-water-form, which is emotional knowledge. So we ask ourselves – do I know how I would feel about that? Or, can I deal with that emotionally? And on the basis of the “answer” we get from our Self, we proceed…or we run like the dickens, in which case there’s still a emotional lesson, it’s just one about fear or vulnerability.

Elemental air and water tend to get a bad rap as a combination. You’ll hear people say ‘oh, that just produces fog.’ And yes, it might. Put a Piscean person with a Gemini person and much building of understanding is needed for those two people to get along. These two Sun signs will tend to want to 'explain' their perspective and get the other person to 'see their perspective'...and is it possible? Sure. But when and where water and air meet, there’s sure to be a bit of testing - not by the ‘other’ but in or about the Self.

In other words, that person will cause you to grow through posing questions or introducing you to situations which aren’t slap-dash-easy. Whether you are willing to walk that walk isn’t about them…it’s about you. And that's highly telling, as most people think relationships are about agreeing about everything and not learning about ourselves through interaction.

(No comment on that. Well, aside from what I've already said...!)

But within the Self? What if you have a water sign Sun and air sign Jupiter? Or say, an airy Sun and a watery Venus or Mars? That’s a challenge IN your life. That’s your life as a thing created to cause you to learn – throughout your life – through feeling what you really feel about things…and (air sign) understanding where those feelings come from…and what you (water sign) feel about that.

With Jupiter currently transiting an air sign, those with Jupiter natively in an air sign are most prone to feeling overwhelmed. Or dealing with the idea that there’s so much to do and not enough hours in the day to do it all. Such people are probably having a harder-than-usual time dealing with schedules daily and personal (as in body clock). Turning the brain on, turning it off, getting in gear – you’re probably doing more thinking about how your thinking works than you usually do, and that’s saying a lot!

Not to worry: with its 11.85920 orbital cycle (call it 11.86 years for convenience!) Jupiter spends just under a year in any given sign. So you-we-everyone only has a couple more months to go with Jupiter in Gemini for this round.

Yes, Jupiter will be moving on. But that won’t happen until the latter part of June, 2013.

In the meantime, let’s review…Jupiter went retrograde back in October 2012. When planets are in retrograde, we’re supposed to be ‘using’ that energy on an internal basis. So with Jupiter in Gemini, a sign about mentality, about communication, about schedules, about priorities, we should have been dealing with all these things.

So what did we get? Here in the United States, we got a Congress which debated its own necessity to prioritize the nation’s legislation, we had gun violence which spawned a lot of discussion of gun rights and not half as much discussion about mental health, we had folks inventing and selling themselves on their own facts and figures…we had it all.

In other words, there was a lot of not doing the Jupiter-in-Gemini positive (dealing with the facts and making choices to prioritize) while doing much of the Jupiter-in-Gemini ‘let’s just talk about it and not get anything done’ spinning of the wheels stuff.

However…! While being fairly sure that such nonsense was also going on around the globe, could it be that all such things would occur on a national stage in order that individuals should see the errors and do differently in their personal lives?

This gets down to one of the truly interesting metaphysical questions which could be posed here – about whether that largest of local planets (again, using the term scientifically) functions from the macrocosm (the Big Picture) in order to get us to consider the small details and the little ways we either build our life or fail to become more effective in ‘empowering’ our own chance to become the ‘star’ in our own lives?

Jupiter will go direct on Wednesday, January 30th at 11:38 a.m. (UT/+0). In going direct at 6 Gemini, the focus is on us, on our mentality, on our choices to do, not do, be or not be something in particular, get to everything in general…or do anything at all - about whatever. 6 Gemini being a degree which lends itself to perspective on our emotions and mentality as things separate or joint, this is an excellent time for each or any one of us to deal with whatever our challenges may be.

Where this degree is concerned there is thought to be a tendency to ‘write feelings off’ and accept feeling ‘emotionally inept’ or ‘stupid’ in an overall sense. But the choice is plainly ours, and for some people, this station, this week, these days around the 30th will be when they realize they aren’t emotionally stupid, maybe just reluctant to confront their own feelings. Or to think through why some feelings are so incredibly difficult for them to deal with.

L'education d'Achille par le centaure Chiron (The Education of Achilles by

Centaur Chiron) by Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754-1829)

In going direct in square to Chiron, dealing with sensitive situations, especially where you feel vulnerable (or even guilty) is very apt, if very tough. And given that Chiron is transiting Pisces, the choices we make, the 'solutions' going forward should test us emotionally. Being that we're talking about a square here, there's a clear indication that your effort to take charge of whatever issues may arise depend on your willingness to face, own and walk through your own weaknesses, your own mistakes, miscalculations, vulnerabilities or whatnot in the process.

Do not try to assign all the responsibility to someone else. If you’re not into taking on responsibility, ask questions – Gemini is a great venue for questions and with Jupiter going direct in Gemini, this is an excellent way to get a difficult conversation under way so that in due course the ‘tough stuff’ can be gotten to and worked out. Just avoid accusations and snarkiness!

With Vesta (the price of keeping one’s promises) at 9 Gemini and exactly conjunct Aldebaran – with both only 3 degrees from Jupiter’s station, this is a chance to learn about what it takes to be the person you want to be.

Of course, if you’re kidding yourself about being that person…? Then don’t be surprised if you get called on your…um….nonsense. False front. Bravado. (Whatever you want to call it.)

With the Sun at 10 Aquarius, all of this is very likely to affect social, societal and interactive situations which have some bearing on your feelings of success or acceptability, either in the worldly sense or in your life. Plus let’s remember – this is all happening with the South Node conjunct Sedna in Taurus. So while it’s easy to want to do just that which is comfortable, that ultimately is going to be (or create) some problem. Since this is also a time when you can let go and can take a new direction with a little less discomfort than at other times (which in business may simply have to do with this being the start of the year), while no one would say ‘jump off that cliff, buddy!’ with Atropos (endings) conjunct Algol (self-serving emotional responses) in late Taurus this may be a time to cut some losses – or some ties or connections – so that you can move on more cleanly or productively.

Sometimes we do just need to clean up our act, yes.

Like all stations, we tend to give two-days-before and two-days-after as a station window, though with a massive object like Jupiter, that may extend to three days post-and-prior.

Whatever goes on now, it’s worth understanding that giant planet Jupiter will be rapidly spinning through its transit of Gemini over the next several months. It’s at 6 Gemini now, which means it will need to move through 24 degrees of the 360 degree orbital circle to reach Cancer by late June.

That, by any planetary measure is truckin’. But when we throw in Jupiter’s size? And Jovian mechanics? And Jupiter’s astrological reputation for ‘going big to the point of overstepping’?

That suggests that starting this week…and for many especially this week…there are great gains to be made IF we take on the hard tasks, prioritize, and maintain a sense of self-proportion.

But given all that, we well may be able to reap a big fat Jupiter proportion of the best of what is to come!

So that’s it for now – and yes, this is a very long post. But what do you expect…we’re talking about Jupiter going direct in Gemini, so there's much to be said and to consider!
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