Jupiter enters Taurus

 Iris and Jupiter by Michel Corneille the Younger (1701)

Let’s review…there’s just been a solar eclipse and Neptune has gone retrograde mere celestial minutes ago in its home sign of Pisces, where by lessons in excitation and disappointment we are slowly taught the difference between fantasy and reality and the difference between when we can allow ourselves to relinquish ourselves to flights of fancy and when it’s vitally important to put our emotional ego in check and box up the expectation quotient.

The solar eclipse is taking down walls – maybe with or without our awareness. Things are changing. And with Mercury having just moved into Gemini, our minds (and maybe our lives) are all in a whirl.

And now...as Polyhymnia enters Leo and asteroid House moves into Gemini, Jupiter is entering Taurus.

Taurus is an earth sign. It’s about the having – or wanting to have. We think of it in terms of nice things and good food and money in the bank, but those are pretty much the symptoms. The thing which underlies all that is whatever it is which allows us to feel safe and secure – and how we feel about ourselves for having done or not done what it takes to gain that security.

Where Aries is about ‘doing’ the ‘self-development’ thing, Taurus is about ‘developing’ the Self. And with Jupiter entering Taurus, there’s work to be done, things to be expanded on and – in general – more which needs to be done, whether to support and maintain where we’ve gotten to or to get where we want to go.

As Jupiter enters Taurus, the ruler of said sign (Venus) is sitting at 23 Taurus with Dwarf Planet Sedna one tick behind at 22 Taurus with Mnemosyne also at 22 and Byblis at 21.

 Jupiter enters Taurus - June 4, 2011

Aries Wheel chart (Location Not Specific)

Venus is the precept of making things ‘real’ in our lives. It’s all about that moment when ‘cause’ becomes ‘effect.’ The actor finishes the scene and…will the audience applaud? Boo? Sulk in silence? Get up and leave?

We want to think Venus is beauty. That’s what we’ve associated with her namesake goddess, Aphrodite. But Venus is rather more to the point the quality and nature of what we do or put out there which gets the result/response we so do or don’t want.

Okay…so Venus here we have Venus sitting with Sedna. And Sedna is about a whole sort of learning-and-maturation process…the going from being the ‘I want it my way!’ immature person who demands everything of others to the owner-of-Self adult who in owning themselves has to deal with the isolation which inherently comes as part of individuation and individuality. With the power of the adult comes the responsibility of being the adult, one might say.

LINK to Full Article on Sedna

Sedna/Venus is the unification of great extremes: Venus represents the very personal and Sedna ultimately represents what we are capable of giving to others.

So taking this back to Jupiter…is this a picture of our expanding on an opportunity to take our personal (Venusian) abilities and of that make something which is for, or which appeals to others (Sedna) so that we end up expanding our (Taurus) resources and sense of self empowerment, self respect and satisfaction?

That seems rather likely. The Mnemosyne part of this would seem to be (since it’s fused with Sedna) reflecting (Mnemosyne) on what it is we know so far in life, what we’ve heard or learned or whatever else… and from that developing our ‘better way’ of presenting ourselves or our…whatever.

And that Mnemosyne along with Polyhymnia are active on this date? - a muse - is active on this date? They're both muses - and both (come to think about it!) about musing. Mnemosyne represents how reflecting on what we have learned and already experienced provides us with a basis for what we do 'in the now' and Polyhymnia in Leo is the heart and soul of thinking through what we bring into being now so as to make it worthy in the eyes of others and worth our time and effort.

But then there is that Byblis part...oh what a genuine fly in what is already some rather sticky ointment!

Known as a point which embodies the attempt to justify that we actually know is not okay, Byblis’ involvement here (hopefully) is our leaving behind, our expanding beyond that which we would like to think is okay or is going to work…

In other words, our getting real.

And that’s an idea(l) which fits more than very well with Neptune having just gone into retrograde. When a planet is direct, outside circumstances beckon, teach and provide. While Neptune is in retrograde (which would be until early December, 2011) we will be asked and challenged to deal with our internal realities. The object is to stop fantasizing…or at least know the difference between dreams and factual reality and when which is applicable.

So…how long with Jupiter be in the sign of Taurus? Until June 11, 2012.

  Jupiter's last moments in Taurus (June 2012)

Aries Wheel - Location Not Specific

At the point when Jupiter exits Taurus, a couple of things seem of note.

First: Venus (ruler of Taurus) is at this moment conjunct Circe and Tantalus. Circe represents being under such a spell that you are rendered virtually animalistic. And Tantalus? Obviously related to the word ‘tantalizing,’ Tantalus is the choice to do something good with one’s ability to Tantalize, or something which is really truly vile. The choice with Tantalus is always ours and always rooted in our mentality – which fits with Gemini.

Considering that Gemini is the sign Jupiter will be in next and that Jupiter in Gemini often shows up our mistakes, mental vulnerabilities and various forms of attentive/sloppy, selfish-selfless, productive-unproductive self/other balances…

…That pretty much describes where we’re going.

Taking this one step farther (which is a lot of how astrological analysis is done), the Venus-Circe-Tantalus grouping in Gemini points to Mercury. And at this moment Mercury is EXACTLY in opposition to Pluto/Facies in Capricorn.

Pluto/Facies is a rather volatile mix with Pluto being the emotional experience which results from choices and Facies being the heart and soul of those who play the ‘victim/aggressor’ card.

LINK to April Blog on Pluto/Facies

Mercury in opposition here, especially with Mirzam and the high focus of asteroid Lust just behind and Amphitrite one degree ahead speaks to the ability to do something great. But considering that Mirzam represents great promise which may or may not materialize…and how Amphitrite speaks to the need to let go of the old and adopt a whole new way of life pretty much on faith…

Again this pattern asks whether we will move on or not.

We’ll take one more step into this analysis. With Pluto and Facies in Capricorn that picks up the other entirely exact opposition in this chart, which is  Saturn at 22 Libra facing off against Dwarf Planet Eris (Discord) at 22 Aries conjunct Kassandra, she who is always true and never believed.

LINK to Full Article on ERIS

Eris/Kassandra in the ‘I Am/I Do/I Conceive of Myself As’ sign of Aries here pictures our willingness to stand up for something. Probably ourselves! With Saturn (retrograde) at 22 Libra, the real question is have we done the work? Have we been honest with ourselves and others? 

At its best, this is a revolutionary energetic which can right great wrongs, heal big wounds and totally change your life in ways you (Kassandra) would never believe. You may have to endure things which you couldn’t have imagined going through (Eris/Kassandra). And you certaily are going to have to deal with others (Saturn at 22 Libra).

That’s maybe the last thing to note about this Jupiter ingress. Every image we’ve talked about with the exception of Mercury, Pluto and Facies (and Jupiter, at least when starting into Taurus!) has been in a 3rd decanate degree – otherwise known as a degree between 20 and 29 of some sign.

So it’s only the Jupiter at 0 Taurus and Mercury-Pluto/Facies part of this which is in our hands. Asteroid House entering thought-oriented Gemini begins a process which ends with Mercury standing in Cancer one short degree away from where next month's solar eclipse is going to take place. It all says so much about this next year being on when we are going to be faced with having to respond and deal with life. And yet, while doing that, there are those among us who will also stake their claim and use these days going forward to build anew and in doing so, move their life into it's next and every more interesting and personally expressive phase.

Will that be you?

In the truly wonderful if sometimes perplexing work Through the Looking-Glass, author Lewis Carroll wrote a scene where Alice comes upon the Red Queen (I think they’re at the end of a wood). The Red Queen is running, running, running as fast as she can – and yet she’s staying in one place.

When Alice asks her what she’s doing, the Red Queen replies that we have to run as fast as we can to just stay in place. To get anywhere else, one must run twice that fast. 

It sounds impossible. And yet, when we come to an astrological moment like this one, we realize that we do have a choice. Some of us will be driven by necessity. Some of us will be motivated by desire. Or a sense of purpose.

Whatever you do going forward, just remember: the more your world is part of the world around you, the better your chances are to balance yourself against that world and end up fitting in, being welcomed and being supported in the growing and capitalizing on your individuality. 

Which in the end, we call personal success.

Sun in Taurus/Tantalus in Gemini

The story of Tantalus is not a very…uh,….savory one. This is one of those stories about a ticked off grumpy human (Tantalus) who decides to get the best of the Olympians by serving them the ultimate illicit feast – call it a ‘family’ stew recipe best left to the cannibal set.

To say that the Olympians aren’t happy about it is putting it mildly. Faster than a Brit can brew tea Tantalus is summarily caught and sentenced to his own little hell-hole in Tartarus (the Greek Hell, thus the hell-hole.) For an eternity – and maybe more – from that day forward Tantalus was sentenced to standing in a pool of water beneath the boughs of a beautiful and prodigiously productive fruit tree. But he gets none of it. Burning with thirst, every time he stoops to drink, the water disappears. Every time he reaches for piece of fruit, a frisky breeze briskly dances the tree’s boughs just beyond reach.

Artful, those Greeks. They really know how to punish.

In astrological practice however, Tantalus isn’t all bad. It can be, mind you – but it doesn’t have to be. Depending on where its placed by sign and house, depending on how it’s aspected and by what, the astrological Tantalus can resent – and by its movement through the signs and chart time out how we reach to fix those dastardly “sins” we see in real life.

Like many metaphysical symbols, it’s all in how you use it. Or if you use it, rather than allowing it to use you.

That Tantalus is all about us is made evident by the orbital path of this Apollo group asteroid.

And just that, by the way, should say something. Apollo is the god of truth and enlightenment. Asteroids in the Apollo group thus speak to whether we live in enlightenment…or whether we prefer the darkness of denial and human corruption. And still yes, we would know. There are those among us who know right from wrong and who choose to do wrong. There are also those whose mental faculties are incapable of knowing or understanding…they have a true ‘diminished capacity.’ That’s a different thing.

But back to Tantalus. It’s orbit goes from just outside that of Mars (1.675 AU versus Mars’ 1.665 AU) to 0.904 AU, which in solar systemic terms is just outside Venus’s orbit…and right in there with asteroid Sisyphus at 0.874 AU – a fact I mention because Sisyphus and Tantalus are the two great Greek ‘bad boys’ who were each given very specific spots of dishonor in Tartarus.

Both, may I add, were at least partly held as being so despicable for being bad hosts. Back when it was the ultimate no-no to do anything wrong to someone when they were a guest in your home.

 Tantalus

by Hendrick Goltzius (c.1588)

When you were a guest in their home…? That’s different! But when you’re the host you’re supposed to play nice.

Emily Post and Dear Abby would have liked Greek hospitality (although I think it was allowed to put your elbows on the table in those times which would have irritated both Emily and Abby to the max!)

But I digress (I seem to be doing that today…) This Tantalus orbit, starting just beyond Venus and turning back just beyond Mars rather describes our desirous nature. And yet, it doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. So it either empowers us - or it burbles around, eating us up from the inside out.

Given Tantalus’ nature, we would expect Tantalus in Gemini to give us a series of choices as to what to do – one about us and what we want, and one about what we can do to make things better. We should also like as not expect to hear various pieces of ugly information, including some things we have inadvertently “swallowed” without knowing how bad they really are.

Another interesting note for those into sky watching and calendar marking is that Tantalus will reach 11 Gemini – the degree at which there will be a Solar Eclipse come June 1st – on May 12th, a day after Mars enters Taurus and as a separate celestial act, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter all meet up at in Aries.

Speaking of which, (the Solar Eclipse, I mean) since we’re at April 20th, this would be just about the time to start feeling the ‘breakdown’ in matters having to do with the June 1st eclipse. That this times out to be when the Sun is entering Taurus? Well, that just adds a thoughtful note that our values, sense of security, satisfaction and self worth are now all up for…well, let’s just call them ‘flux fodder.’

Considering all eclipses rattle all cages (lives, sorry…) whether they distinctly aspect our natal charts or not, we all get a bit of a ‘check/cross-check’ now and going forward as to whether we’re on our right track. Have you done enough to sort out your ‘stuff’? We all have ‘stuff’ – have you ignored yours or dealt with it? Those who have dealt with it or are dealing with it are likely to weather this period more easily than those who have coasted, ignored or tried to skate by – especially if you’ve tried to get someone else to foot your bill.

Let’s remember the big markers on the wall, too. Pluto, Neptune and Uranus – the transpersonal group (meaning they pertain to events we don’t totally control) - are all in early numbers of respective signs. Pluto is in ‘life structural’ Capricorn. Neptune is in ‘pitting us against our emotional makeup’ Pisces. And Uranus is in Aries – a sure sign we’re supposed to change.

So with an eclipse coming up in Gemini, mental sign of choice and learning, what’cha think the chances are that as the Sun hits Taurus and tests our satisfaction and security that that’s exactly what’s going to get tested?

Maybe we need some new choices?

New priorities?

New attitudes?

With Tantalus hitting Gemini here, I’m willing to make one of those astrologer’s bets that we’re going to hear a lot of…(excuse the expression) mental masturbation going on. People are going to be working themselves up and wanting you to get excited too.

Should you?

Probably the best sorting mechanism astrology gives us right now is that of Neptune. In Pisces, Neptune tells us to deal with the real. Good, bad, indifference, reality is what we have to deal with at the moment. Neptune rewards us with elation when we deal with reality and accept reality and the people in that real world for who and what they are.

That means rich or poor, we’re all human. That means wherever you come from, nobody has the copyright on goodness or evil. We all make simple mistakes – even big mistakes. We are all capable of some pretty terrible behavior.

If what you hear passes the Neptune Acceptance Test, it may hold merit. I’m going to bet Tantalus’ ingress into Gemini is going to raise the level of rancid rhetoric like we have seldom heard.

And to those who dare say such things, I suggest we ask why they would say that. Understanding who people are is far, far more powerful than rejecting them out of hand. It helps us understand – and become more secure with ourselves.

And that’s what Sun in Taurus is ultimately about!