Sep.08 – Jupiter stationary Direct (12:32 of Sagittarius; direct until Jun.15.2009)

For up to a week before and after this date, you may feel a surge of idealism, inspiration and confidence. A quest for knowledge, truth, optimism and faith could become a beacon of energy in your life. Jupiter has been retrograde since Apr.05.2007 and is now changing direction again and resuming its normal direct motion. You may have been exploring and developing the deeper qualities of spirituality, beliefs, confidence, knowledge, faith and/or optimism during that time. Or you might have found ways to expand your horizons—directly through travel or indirectly through the study of other cultures and languages.

For the next 3 months (as Jupiter retraces its steps through the Shadow), you can start to apply and integrate what you’ve learned over the past 4 months. For example, if you have been taking a course or exploring your religious beliefs, this might be a time when you are able to put your discoveries into practice or place them into your worldview. This turning point may be uplifting, overwhelming, inspiring and/or illuminating. You could discover new meaning in areas of life that had become stale or worn out, or you might realise that your old ways of understanding don’t work for you anymore and need to be let go. Whatever you’ve learned or gained over the last 4 months, it is now available to be expressed and used more openly and directly in your life.

Aug.28-Sep.29 – Jupiter stationary, square Mercury-Venus-Mars, trine Sun-Saturn

Jupiter is the hub of a tremendous amount of energy while it makes its Direct Station! Although Jupiter doesn’t officially change direction until Sep.08, it hovers at the same degree for a few weeks. During that time, Jupiter, the King of the Gods, holds Royal Court and receives literally half the solar system into its orb of influence!

So who are the players? Their combined energies will be with us for the duration of the entire New Moon in Virgo lunar cycle. We will do well to get to know them!

Let’s start with Mercury, Venus and Mars, who are traveling buddies in a multiple conjunction through Libra. This conjunction is in orb roughly from Aug.28 to Sep.27 – throughout the entire lunar cycle. Mercury, Venus and Mars have sometimes been called the building blocks of the psychological ego. Mercury is your thoughts, your ability to analyze and communicate. Venus is your heart, love, values and your need for social interaction. Mars is your impulses, your passion and your will.

Collectively these planets are linking arms and dancing to Libra’s tune. Libra wants life to be fair, equitable, harmonious and balanced. Your desires, motives and intentions will probably be focused on creating and negotiating a win-win situation with others around you. Using Libra’s qualities, you may wish to bring this about using art, love, beauty and alluring charm.

However, Libra can also be ultra sensitive to situations that are unfair, one-sided, conflicted and otherwise out of balance. “Libra the peace-maker” is not above becoming “Libra the war-maker” if it might clear the air and bring things back into balance again. And with Mercury, Venus and Mars teaming up in Libra right now, there is plenty of ammunition available through words, intentions, actions and subtle tact that could have a strong impact on others—for better or for worse.

On the other side of that same coin, Libra’s wish to be fair to all sides can also result in a stalemate of indecision. If those Libra planets can’t come to a collective agreement about how to resolve a conflict, they could get stuck in indecision or resort to passive-aggressive tactics.

Enter Jupiter!

Jupiter is stationary, which means it’s slowed down and hovering while in the process of changing directions—in this case, to end its retrograde cycle and resume direct motion. Jupiter is especially strong while stationary. This accentuates and amplifies Jupiter’s priorities of justice, moral values, truth and reaching out toward a force greater than itself (e.g. spirituality, wisdom).

Although Jupiter has a reputation for bringing “good luck” and beneficial effects, like every other planet it has its shadow side too. Jupiter can sometimes be dogmatic, holier-than-thou and full of condemnation and blame. Jupiter in Capricorn in particular can sometimes be a bit rigid in its view of right and wrong, as well as strict in the solutions it believes will create justice.

Jupiter is in a square aspect to Mercury, Venus and Mars while it is stationary. This brings some very forceful and potentially volatile energies together throughout September! In Jupiter’s search for truth and justice, it must deal with Libra planets in search of fairness and balance. However, these two factions may have very different ideas of what the end result should look like and how to get there.

This begins to sound like a group of people who share the same goals but may become divided from within due to disagreements about how to reach those goals. (Doesn’t sound like any political party I’ve ever heard of…) At its worst, it may be wise to watch out for impulsive bad judgment, arguments due to hypersensitive reactions, and defensiveness due to an expectation of being judged by others.

At its best, this potent combination of energies could also generate enormous motivation to find solutions that will satisfy all concerned, while staying true to the highest shared values and inspired vision. In other words, just because there’s conflict doesn’t mean it won’t lead to increased strength, resolve and wisdom. This could be a very dynamic time when change happens fast and acts as a lightning rod for some far-reaching hopes and ambitions.

Jupiter is also trine the Sun and Saturn while it is stationary. This brings into the mix some much-needed stability, a sense of honor and duty, and a desire for tidy, effective solutions. Although the Sun conjunct Saturn is sometimes seen as an oppressive or inhibiting influence, in this case it could act as a stabilizing anchor to keep potential problems from getting out of hand. For example, authority figures or disciplined leaders might step in to soothe hot tempers or perhaps intervene in the interests of peace and resolution.

And just to add a little spice, Pluto is stationary direct less than 24 hours after Jupiter stations! Pluto brings a transformative energy, seeking deep change that squeezes out whatever influences could contaminate the desired result.

These transits all becomes exact within just a few days of each other. That means from Sep.04-09 all of these themes are likely to be very prominent around you. If these transits were a recipe, think spicy Cajun Jambalaya or perhaps a fast and hot Sichuan stir-fry!

While all of this is taking place, Jupiter hovers precisely at 12:32 of Capricorn. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is “A fire worshipper” or “A fire worshipper meditates on the ultimate realities of existence” (depending on which books you read). This symbol brings in a magical quality of transformation, primal purity, and a light of hope in the darkness. It also suggests that it will be helpful to focus on some kind of “guiding light” that represents the whole of everything we believe is good and positive in the world. That doesn’t necessarily mean an absence of danger – we could still “get burned” if we lose ourselves in that light or become consumed by it. However, without it we could simply wander, lost and defensive, in the darkness.