Jupiter in Leo

Jupiter and moon Io photographed in thermal-infrared from the Paranal Observatory

(photo credit ESO, November 2000)

That Mercury is going to be exiting the shadow of its recent retrograde on the same date (July 16) that Jupiter enters Leo would seem to be nothing less than a billboard: new things are on the horizon.

Or are they? Are they really there - or are we being fooled by something we want so badly we’re willing, able and ready to test (read: risk) not just success but some measure of our inner confidence in Self? Are we willing to deal with 'feeling questions' pertaining to how well (or not well) we use - or have used - what we’ve learned up to this point?

Something is going to change here (or at least evolve from here) in reflection of Pluto reaching 11 Capricorn, a degree it will remain in until September 17th when Pluto dips back into 10 Capricorn for just over a week as it goes direct (on September 23rd) before returning to 11 Capricorn for the period of September 28th through November 25th.

Something is going to change. Representing the ability (particularly in verbal form) to reveal falsehoods and what one writer refers to as 'superstitious and misguided beliefs' on the part of one or many, the degree 11 Capricorn is associated with the sort of mathematical ability and "precision thinking" (technical or theoretical) which organizes quickly and which tends to be so driven (read: impatient) to achieve that little in the way of delay or alternative thinking tends to be tolerated.

And where it isn't tolerated, that may well lead to a  distortion in some relationship, creating some sort of distance between parties simply because sheer ability on one side now appears not as brilliance, but rather as arrogance, bullying or manipulation of some 'other.'

As Jupiter moves into Leo on that appointed morning at 10:31 a.m. (UT/+0), not everyone will feel the shift. But we are likely (more than likely) to see some more or less immediate manifestations of this combination of Leo imagination and creativity with Jupiter’s power of expansion.

In Leo, the question is what we will create, why we are motivated to do everything (and sometimes anything)... and whether we are able to balance Leo’s inner vision of ‘the possible’ with external real world factors. The positive side of Leo is known for brilliance of nature and a cheerful sort of drive which is curious about the new and willing to tackle tough tasks for the good of all, from which comes respect for one’s Leo efforts - whatever they may be and however they may be expressed even if that’s just keeping after yourself (creatively, of course) in the name of being a person others enjoy being around.

As for the negative side of Leo, though I’m sure any number of Leo people will respond with ‘there is no negative side of Leo’... after the chuckle comes the truth: while Leo is a sign which evidences much deftly quick humor, such humor is more likely than not a deflection.

All signs deflect - evading, to some degree, is simply part of human nature... which makes it what, and the degree to which we deflect the source of our those Factors Avoided which come back to haunt us.

In Leo (a fire sign) there is a marked tendency to get ‘married’ to that feeling, that image, that thing we imagine could be ‘so right’... and then to be shocked and disappointed when real life doesn’t match the ethereal beauty of our seamlessly perfect inner concept.

Is that fair? No...but we do it anyway. And when it comes to Part 2 of Leo (Leo Part 1 being the creative drive to create anything from world records to films, leisure time, children, art work, profits in the stock market or anything else you might think to create)... it’s how we respond to those realities which count.

Reality (as generally represented by Aquarius as the Leo polarity) is never the problem per se...even if when it comes to Leo there is a tendency to ranting and tantrums while adapting to the inevitable. Some of us never get that frustrated (I’m not sure who they are, but such people surely exist)...and it’s to be expected that there will be a bit of tail lashing and roaring during Jupiter’s 2014-2015 transit of Leo.

The 'up' side to this is that as opposed to this past year’s Jupiter in Cancer there will be less emotionalism, less reliance on (or success with) subjective provocation based on emotionality. Where we are able to motivate our Self or others through ideas, we may well be able to build momentum by focusing on our “projects” (be they our families, jobs or some personal goal we want to reach). But that is only likely to reap success if and where what we do (our ‘cause’)  meshes well enough with existing or ongoing social, group, systemic or marketplace (Aquarian) functionalities.

Part of that - and part of what we are going to be exploring this year in each of our daily lives has to do with a couple of zodiacal basics. The first is how any accessing of Leo represents an astrological shift from the first four signs of the zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) to the second group of four: Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio.

As the first four signs of the zodiac are about learning about our Self and how to go about simply being a person in an (Aries) body with human needs and attributes of the (Taurus) physical, (Gemini) mental and (Cancer) emotional kind, the second four are all about how interacting with others and our more-or-less ‘everyday’ world teaches us about who we are in conjunction with that world - sparking ideas on what to do IN that world.

Hence the Leo creativity thing. Mind you, this is still a sign which is below the natural zodiac horizon - so it’s still personal. It’s still part of our more-or-less private world, which reflects as Leo being the sign of the imagination’s image... the ‘film’ in our head - and yes, the ones we see on the screen (or on whatever device you’re using these days).

Again, it’s this ‘private’ quality which is so very comfy-cozy which gets us trouble, lulling us with that divinely delicious perfection of inner vision into thinking life... reality... is the premier Leo challenge. Reality is never a ‘problem’- reality is just reality, and yes there can be terrible things happening IN reality, but that’s the way things are.

Reality has several homes in the zodiac: the first one is the earth, land, ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust quality of mortal life... the Cancerian venue. The other is Capricorn - the daunting requirement to make the effort to make something out of our Self so that we continue the business of survival.

Leo is in a peaceful and harmonious aspect with neither sign... and in that can represent how we fight in reality or with our personal reality...and what we can come up with to improve our life, and just maybe all of life as well.Deep in the human spirit is a desire to make contributions to this life. Some do it through having children. Some do it through their work. However we see this ‘making my mark in this world’ that’s the Leo thing.

With Jupiter transiting Leo, we can all expect to be thinking about who we are and what we’re doing with our life... against which will be ranged all sorts of interesting challenges. Some will come from our just wanting to enjoy ourselves and do nothing. Some will come from those who though perfectly willing to invest in their own vision, clearly have no concept that anyone (or anything) else has a vision of their own.

Jupiter in Leo creates our mythic self... and then explores it. Leo is the sign of dating, competition and speculation... so we have to be prepared for some setback this year, with most of our errors coming from overstepping our bounds or (to put it differently) by exceeding our understanding of real world parameters which really exist and which we really do need to know about and heed. Leo is the sign of the parent’s love for the child or our love for anything we nurture on an ongoing basis... and yet does that love in and of itself guarantee that your child is going to grow up to be a wonderful person?

No, it doesn’t. And that very lack of insight we have on ourselves (typically) as parents which causes so many wonderful people to be blatantly blind to the problems with their offspring...that’s the example of the Great Leo Blind Spot - which for the next year or so is likely to be more evident than ever, if maybe not to others.

Or maybe not to us.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot as photographed by the Voyager 1 Spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, February 1979)

Between these two points lies the needle of success (as we judge that personally) under Jupiter in Leo, the combination which purports to say ‘what you see is what you get’ when in reality (yes, that reality) Jupiter in Leo is a combination which can manifest as the very essence of the performance. Celebrity as motivation and as that thing which is not the ‘real life’ of the given celebrity - both these qualities are entirely Leo and we’re likely to see see them play out this year in the charts of many currently known and as-yet unknown. Children, childlike as well as childish behaviors (on the part of adults and others) can be a venue of discovery and disturbance of the status quo in any of a number of ways...so long as we learn from it, life is likely to provide it somewhere along the way through this leonine Jovian year. Aquarius against Leo manifests (as all sign polarities do) in any of a number of ways, but especially through the end of 2014 (that being the last of the fixed sign eclipses for a bit) issues which test our ability to balance moderation against excess and perceive where we need to be proper or cautious without being so cautious or ‘separated’ in whatever way that we end up undermining ourselves or our own greater (Aquarian) interests.

In other words, in some way we’re all going to discover we have a bit of a case of personal myopia (shortsightedness)... with just a bit of social astigmatism (fuzziness of focus) to make it extra-special challenging.

And yet...in the sense of ‘can I correct my vision?’ the lesson would be decidedly yes: wherever we see Jupiter by transit there is an ability to grow providing we are actually willing to go through whatever growing pains are involved. In Leo this Jupiterian expansiveness can mean an expansion of enthusiasm, success and all those wonderful feelings of freedom-in-accomplishment we all so love to revel in. Then again, Jupiter in Leo can also manifest as  ever-increasing convictions that what is ‘mine’ must be defended at all costs simply because my ‘rightness’ or even just my right to be wrong is getting challenged.

All and all, we can count on several (more) miles of that road to foolish human stubbornness to be paved (and heedlessly paved over) this year, mostly by those who for whatever reason are focused on the image or ideal to the exclusion of real life, realities and other living, breathing entities on this planet.

Jupiter in Leo is a recipe for great opportunity.

It’s also a sure-fire promise that insistence on theory (or out-of-hand rejection of something) can be instantly and lastingly detrimental. Under Jupiter in Leo we are all likely to find something we enjoy or are at least entertained by. Then again, we might have to face a couple of situations which ask us whether we’re willing (or even psychologically equipped) to face setbacks or defeat.

Might we really not be be the hero we are in our own mind? (It could just be true.)

Then again, maybe we don’t want to be a hero, merely heroic from time to time. Jupiter in Leo is a time we can learn the difference between such things and in that, to become far more comfortable in our own human skin, finding ways to be more creative, productive and available - not just to others but to ourselves. Through letting go of definitions Jupiter in Leo can become a time to launch a new venture, take on some personal adventure or to make more of life among old friends and new acquaintances. It’s a time to stretch our limbs and flex our muscles, be they physical, mental or emotional. The deeply provocative element of Jupiter in Cancer will fade as perspectives shift, offering fresher outlooks, some of which will allow and encourage us to soar.

Others will merely leave us (or others) sore - for which we may not feel sorry at all. So long as the competition is ethical, Jupiter in Leo supports the ‘all out’ willingness to give the cause what it is you’ve got.

And where we do bend, break or otherwise color outside the boundaries (a little of which at least is inevitable), eventualities will get us back, eventually putting us back on our right course.

It’s all part of Jupiter in Leo empowerment with regards to knowing who we are - and aren’t.  Sometimes we just have to cram one foot in our copiously open mouth while hopping madly in the direction of some giant cliff to learn for ourselves that - never mind what anyone says about limits - we do actually have limits which we had better learn to respect and mind.

Jupiter in Leo can open doors. It will also undoubtedly teach us all at least a few tough lessons about what the term ‘immature’ really means...in every sense. The ‘ping-pong’ of Leo-Aquarius says how we (Leo) ‘take’ things isn’t so much about how or what the (Aquarius) other person says as much as it tests and delivers a readout on our relationship to whatever it is we haven’t yet mastered...which psycho-emotionally ‘reads’ internally (to us) as vulnerability.

Yes, we get to learn about how some glitches work over the next few months...which which comes the opportunity for skillful development and the acquisition of insights which in their own right (over time...probably in a couple of years) may prove out to amount to additional skills.

As for things which will happen along the Jovian path through Leo, here are a few notes on the subject (no doubt to be added to as things go along):

Black Moon Lilith (external factors we deny or are denied by) conjuncts fixed star Dubhe on July 17th. Dubhe being an emblem of mothering either in the personal sense or through whatever we may personally think of as a “mother” force (such as ‘Mother Nature’), as opposed to things which are thought of as ‘father’ (like ‘Father Time’) the metaphysical ‘mother’ is more about whatever contains us as well as that which can support or protect us... but which in some other situation might just overwhelm us.

Said to have a rather ‘Mars-like’ nature, Dubhe lends a deal of motivation and strength of will to whatever passes over it’s position...which at the moment is 15 Leo, one of the zodiacal cross-quarter points.

As a transition, each of the zodiac’s four cross-quarter points moves us from a time of learning or watching into a ‘bigger’ (read: slightly more matured) world of operating where by leaning on what we do know we attempt to forge ahead.

And no, we generally don’t like it. Each of the cross-quarter points falling at the center-point of all four fixed signs indicates that.

Still...what’s our choice? We can learn, grow and try - or we can remain where we are, which if we consider Leo as the fifth of twelve signs is rather like arresting our own development at about age eleven and a half, instead of pursuing the rest of the path to adulthood.

On the other hand, that ‘about age eleven a half’ thing? That is the length of a Jupiter cycle, you know. Jupiter cycles once around the Sun in 11.86 years, making the general realm of this mid-Leo cross-quarter age a highly critical one in the whole of human development.

Some of us make it. Some people don’t.

So as the Black Moon encounters Dubhe, for several days before and after (one suspects) much will be seen, heard, felt and realized along the denial/need-to-not-deny-for-reasons-of-immaturity front. In some cases such situations will start and continue on, in some there will be a start and resolution. (Or resolution to not resolve anything, a solution which seems to be gaining in popularity at the moment.)

Whichever way whatever falls, Jupiter itself will then arrive at Leo’s 15 degree cross-quarter point on September 27th, by which time the Black Moon will have moved on to 23 Leo, putting it in opposition to Damocles [reference: “the sword of Damocles”] ...with Damocles being positioned in Aquarius.

The Sword of Damocles by Wenceslas Hollar (1607-1677)

Whatever we have done (or not done) this would seem to be a resurrection of the matter. It may be in simple review, it may be a re-eruption of challenge. Black Moon Lilith, being a ‘function’ of Earth’s Moon is always somewhat visceral, always somewhat poignant...and here would seem to be bringing us around to realizing that things just aren’t as simple as we were thinking they were going to be.

What we thought cut and dried may have gone and gotten itself all soggy, in other words.

As of November 19th Jupiter then enters 22 Leo. And since 22 Leo is the degree Jupiter will go retrograde at on December 8th (and thereafter remain in - in retrograde - until December 29th), we’re in for a lot of Jupiter/22 Leo interjections.

As a degree 22 Leo speaks to sensitivities which though insubstantial may well prove beneficial except where we become so devoted to being obliging (read: overly obliging) that we become more involved with our own feelings (and anxieties) which revolve around our own desire to be appreciated, wanted, loved, liked, cheered on and in general...(yes)...the myth we are in our own mind.

(Do we hear a pattern here?)

Moreover, all of this dovetails rather interestingly with the idea that Uranus’ 2014/early 2015 degree emphasis is on 13 Aries, a degree which tend to surface in tough and trying situations which lore suggests are far more about the perfecting and purification of our own souls than anything we encounter in real time.

...All of which we would think has been metaphysically also commented on by the recent astrological stationing of TNO Typhon at 13 Aries’ polarity degree (13 Libra) we meandered through the contemplations of in the course of the following post:

- link to -

Typhon/Eurydike - Chiron/Psyche: Minding Stations

It all seems to go together...especially in light of the fact that this October will see us experiencing a solar eclipse (at 0 Scorpio) which is sure to - among other things - bring home to us the benefits and penalties of not acknowledging equal values to all sides of any conversation, negotiation, affiliation or operation simply because we’re unwilling to allow for any other point of view apart from our own.

Some will say that this eclipse is the evidencing of karma, and I’m not against that concept except for noting that the physical karma we experience under anything Scorpionic is always about the emotions which surround, underlie, motivate or are bestirred as a result of something we are choosing to try to control (as opposed to understanding why we feel so threatened by it).

Only in retrograde for just under four months, Jupiter will then go direct (at 12 Leo) on April 8th, a date which falls between 2015’s 29 Pisces solar eclipse on March 20th and the accompanying lunar eclipse (at 14 Libra, a degree which tends to manifest through action as opposed to 13 Libra’s more mental-emotional-spiritual orientation) which will occur on April 4th... all of which is likely to serve as a ‘parting of the ways’ as successes fall away from various failures and efforts to reorganize in the face of needing to try, try again.

Some of what is happening then will be as part of...or as a result of things which are happening now, or which have come to light over the past several months (read: since mid/late February). As shown by the Sun, Uranus and Psyche being conjunct (to the degree) in the chart of this moment the clarity of this time may be delightful.

Then again, it may simply be excessive. Remember, Jupiter is about expansion, and that can as easily be over-expansion or doing more than is advisable or even good for you (or the given project you’re working on). There is growth...and as any cancer specialist will tell you, there is the kind of uncontrolled and unchecked growth which causes harm.

Jupiter has never been known for any qualities of moderation. The Roman god was known for great wisdom but some terrible (and terribly self-defeating) habits which time and again had Jupiter (aka Zeus, if you’re inclined to the Greek) learning his lessons about just what he could do, but not get away with.

So it is with us...which is why Jupiter’s year of transiting Leo holds such promise for us all, whether that’s about what we achieve or the joy of feeling empowered by coming to understand why we haven’t excelled up until now and what that means about who we are... and who we aren’t.

Maybe you've already felt yourself moving towards some new mode - that thing which will entice your Leo spirit to 'play' over (at least) the next year. Or maybe (as just happened to me quite unexpectedly)...maybe someone will validate something you've been certain of, or have been working on or towards for some very long time.

Jupiter in Leo is about fruitfulness and fruition...and even that point at which the finish line is in sight, bolstering our appreciation of that Self which in spite of all and because of much has made it to this brand new point - the point at which we feel ready to be more of who we really are.
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