Dear Madame Zolonga,
A couple of years ago I started reading horoscopes seriously because I found a couple of columns I really liked. And then I got a natal chart from a site and taught myself a few things about my chart. So I thought I was on my way to making this astrology thing make sense.
One of the columns kept telling me how amazing, stupendous, fantastic an upcoming Jupiter transit will be, and I held on through the whole thing, hoping something equally amazing would drop into my life. But nothing! I mean, near total desert of delivery. I don’t think the astrologer is a sham, she’s right on most of the time. I’m a Leo and hoping this time around Jupiter hands me something amazing. What gives?
— Drastically Disappointed
Dear Drastic,
Okay, so first of all, I assume you weren’t promised the most sex of your life or the winning Lotto numbers for the Tri-State area. Jupiter is often hyped as the God of Big Luck, so folks tend to supersize their wish lists when they hear Ole Fatso’s coming to town.
But maybe your idea of ‘luck’ was more modest, say, a hope you’d at least meet the next Mr. Disappointed. Or get a raise. Or a dream va-kay far away.
Transits are tricky, though. If you’re really invested in some vision for the time one planet docks in a sign, you’d best call up your local astrologer and have a chat. Here’s why: when it comes to planets and transits, there’s no such thing as ‘one size fits all’. They porter, but it’s not a prêt-á-porter affair. Are you following me? You can’t just pull any sign off the rack, stick it on a planet and expect it to fit well.
Let me unpack this idea further.
Not all modern astrologers use it, but there’s an older system of recognizing strengths and weaknesses of planets in certain signs. For instance, Venus could be more helpful in the signs of Taurus and Pisces, but require more finesse (work) in Virgo or Aries. This is true no matter what your Sun sign is.
In other words, it’s nothing personal. If planets were people, and the signs clothes they wear, some signs fit some planets better than others. Why? I don’t have time to explain here. But the truth of this notion is borne out through my own observations, and I consider these conditions when I look at transits and write about them.
If you came to me, I’d also look at the opportunities and challenges in your own natal chart. Your capacity to really make the most of, say, a Jupiter transit is influenced by the condition of Jupiter in your own chart.
Example: you’ve got a square between Jupiter in Sagittarius and Uranus that naturally tends to go overboard with enthusiasm; it’s built right into your natal chart. How would you handle a transit from Jupiter in Leo — another fiery sign? We might talk about the tendency to over-promise, or to burn out with too many projects.
Conversely, if your own natal Jupiter isn’t much interested in Leonine flair, how could we compensate? Maybe instead of a dream job overseas, you aim for a raise or a better position in the company. This isn’t to say that you can’t go for the gusto; it’s more about making what you have work the best you can. That’s where a good astrology consult comes in!
Of course, there’s also the matter that planets never ‘hand’ us anything. If you’re a faithful reader of Planet Waves, you know that already. We make room for opportunities in our hearts, minds and bodies. Life is so much more that what happens to you; it’s what you do with it.
And now, before I degenerate into further cliché, I will bid you adieu.
Transiting out,
— Madame Z
Thank you, Madame Z. I’ve been curious about the reason why I committed to memory a quote from Eric Hoffer, the Longshore Poet, when I was a college freshman and not into absorbing much besides SoCo and Jimmi Hendrix. The quote leaped out of a book and etched deeply into my pre-frontal cortex as a cautionary talisman and has hovered near awareness ever since. It goes: “There is probably an element of malice in our readiness to overestimate people; we are, as it were, setting up for ourselves the pleasure of later cutting them down to size.”
Now I know what that first house (Scorpio) Jupiter was trying to tell me. Fits perfectly.
That’s incredibly insightful, Jeannine. Ballooning a object in order to cut it open and investigate it, is a good description of Jupiter in Scorpio. Almost like angioplasty. Excellent image. Thank you!
Jupiter’s transiting my 12th, about 6 degrees away from my first. My experience of this is that nothing has come easy, but what has come, has potency. That is to say, my “luck” is more like hard work paying off. I would compare my Jupiter transit to a Saturn transit as crazy as that sounds, only in the sense that nothing has come free. Even my lucky breaks have been the result of nothing less than footwork, conscious action, and risk-taking. For example, I bought a house 5 years ago that I’m going to sell in the next few months, at a profit. The whole process of buying a home, taking care of it, selling it, is a lot of work. I can testify that a Jupiter transit does not mean good luck will show up out of nowhere. You still have to work for it.
Michael,
True. And with Jupiter transiting your 12th house, the benefits are more subtle. Saturn “joys” in the 12th house, which may account for that Saturnian accent to your experience.
Thanks for posting this. And good luck (as you work it!) with the rest of your sale.