If you feel your life is lacking meaning and purpose, Jupiter in Sagittarius is the transit you were waiting for.
Jupiter’s ingress into Sagittarius on November 8th, 2018 is indeed one of the best news of the year. This is because Jupiter is the ruling sign of Sagittarius, so he feels ‘at home’ in this sign.
And when the King of Gods feels good, we all feel good. Jupiter is the planet of faith, optimism, belief, abundance, luck, and generosity. Also called “the great benefic”, Jupiter is the most auspicious planet in astrology.
Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our solar system so it makes sense it’s all about growth and abundance. With Jupiter on your side, anything is possible. Really!
It is not that good luck and fortune fall from the sky but Jupiter that helps you see opportunities you would otherwise not see.
Jupiter doesn’t bring luck per se, what Jupiter does is make you believe that anything is possible. And when you believe anything is possible you have much better chances to ‘get lucky’. Luck is our positive attitude that keeps us open to new opportunities or sees patterns in apparent random acts of chance. Don’t believe me? It’s proven by science too.
Jupiter is linked to religion because Jupiter seeks a higher order. Monotheistic religions are especially connected to Jupiter because their underlying assumption is that there is one overall law that governs everything. In Mythology, Jupiter or Zeus was the king of all gods.
Jupiter represents the principle of growth and expansion. He's a giant gas bubble after all - the largest planet of our solar system.
Jupiter - The Big Picture
Jupiter is the opposite of Mercury. While Jupiter is at home in Sagittarius and Mercury is at home in Gemini, conversely, Jupiter doesn’t feel that good in Gemini, and Mercury doesn’t feel that good in Sagittarius.
In astrological terms, we say Mercury is in detriment in Sagittarius, and Jupiter is in detriment in Gemini. The reason for this is because Mercury and Jupiter have completely different approaches.
Mercury is associated with the lower, rational mind and Jupiter is associated with the higher, spiritual mind. Mercury is the ‘show me the data’ planet - and only believes in what it can see.
Jupiter believes in something that cannot be seen - the unseen laws the govern life. Mercury is about the details, Jupiter is about the big picture.
Let’s take another example. Mercury rules short trips. Trips to work, to the supermarket or to your parent's house. Mercury trips are the trips you take in your everyday life.
Jupiter, however, rules long journeys, journeys to another state or another country, journeys that enlarge your perspective.
A Different Outlook On Life
If Mercury trips are about operating in your world and getting things done, Jupiter trips are about expanding your world so you get a higher perspective and a different outlook.
These journeys - literal journey or journeys with the mind - are about learning something that you otherwise wouldn't have known.
People who live abroad for one year or more report that their outlook on life has completely changed. Living abroad is much more than being on a different geographical location.
We learn to adapt to a different value system, to different customs, we are subject to different laws. It is something about being exposed to a different world that completely changes the way we relate to our everyday reality.
Upon experiencing Jupiter, you are not the same person you were yesterday.
Mercury and Gemini rule primary education when we learn how to read, write, compute and operate into the world.
Learning a new skill - for example learning how to use Excel or learning how to use a mobile app - it's also Mercury because learning is concerned with a distinct skill that leads to a specific outcome.
On the other hand, Jupiter rules higher education, theoretical education, when we put different concepts together and we reach a higher understanding.
2019 - A Year For Jupiter
If Jupiter is the “12 rules of life”, Mercury is how we actually make use of these rules in our everyday life.
We need both Mercury and Jupiter in our lives. When Mercury transits its favorite sings (Gemini and Virgo) we get the best of Mercury. This happens for a few weeks and sometimes up to two months every year.
But it is something truly special when we have Jupiter in Sagittarius. This happens only 1 year in 12 so the upcoming year is THE time to get the best out of Jupiter. This is your time to focus on Jupiter, to embody Jupiter, to make the best out of Jupiter.
2019 is the year to focus on the big picture. To set high goals. To go for higher education. To take a spiritual path. To become a teacher. To find a teacher. To travel. To go for new experiences. To go on a vision quest.
Sagittarius - The Place To Be For Jupiter
Now let’s take a look at Sagittarius, to understand why Jupiter feels so good in this sign.
Sagittarius is a fire, mutable sign.
Gemini, Virgo, Pisces, and Sagittarius are mutable signs, meaning they have the ability to change from one state of being to another. Sagittarius seizes opportunities before they arise and completes things before they become obsolete.
Sagittarius is a fire sign. Fire in astrology is associated with our spiritual body (earth is associated with our physical body, air with our mental body, and water with our emotional body). So fire = spirit. That’s why fire signs act on instinct and have a developed intuition. They have a direct connection with their spiritual body.
We have three fire signs, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. If Aries is the spark of life, if Leo is the fire of creation, Sagittarius is the eternal flame - the ongoing mystery of life that keeps the spirit not only alive, but growing and evolving.
To recap: Jupiter is growth, opportunities, the big picture, beliefs, faith, commitment to a cause. Sagittarius is the ever changing, ever evolving flame of spirit.
Jupiter in Sagittarius is the fire that grows, expands, and changes shape. It’s not a literal fire. Is the spiritual fire of transmutation which purifies us. It is the spiritual fire of love and truth.
In the upcoming year, we will seek to find a higher, spiritual meaning to our existence.
Jupiter In Sagittarius Key Dates
Jupiter enters Sagittarius on November 8th, 2018 and leaves Sagittarius on December 2nd, 2019. When in its own sign, Jupiter stays a bit longer (13 months) than it does in other signs.
Every year, Jupiter is retrograde for about 4 months or ⅓ of the time. Jupiter goes retrograde on April 11, 2019, at 24° Sagittarius and goes direct on August 12, 2019, at 14° Sagittarius.
If you have planets within 14°-24° Sagittarius you will feel this transit more intensely, because Jupiter will cross over these planets or angles three times (instead of only once).
The most important transit Jupiter makes while in Sagittarius is a square to Neptune in Pisces. Apart from this square, Jupiter doesn’t make notable transits with any other planets.
These are the dates for the three Jupiter-Neptune squares:
- January 13, 2019, at 14° Sagittarius / Pisces; Jupiter and Neptune are both direct
- June 15, 2019, at 18° Sagittarius / Pisces; Jupiter is retrograde and Neptune is stationary retrograde
- September 21, 2019, at 17° Sagittarius / Pisces; Jupiter is direct and Neptune is retrograde
Jupiter comes back in the same sign every 12 years, so if you are 12, 24, 36, 38, 60, 72, 84 and so on you have your Jupiter return. And that's great news - Jupiter return is one of the most sought-after transits because it always comes with opportunities.
Sometimes, the opportunities are not so obvious. If you’ve been drifting on a path that is not aligned with your spiritual purpose, Jupiter will correct that. But in hindsight, Jupiter returns are always beneficial.
Previous times Jupiter was in Sagittarius were November 2006 - December 2007; December 1994 - January 1996; December 1982 - January 1984. What was going on in your life back then?
Jupiter In Sagittarius - Believe
Jupiter in Sagittarius is all about believing. Why believing becomes so much more important when Jupiter is at home, in Sagittarius?
To believe means to accept that is something is true, especially without proof.
It’s easy to believe when things go as planned. When you have proofs. It’s easy to believe when you see signs everywhere that you’re doing the right thing, when the Universe says YES, when, every step you take, you find evidence that you are on the right path.
But that’s the trick. Even skeptic Saturn ‘believes’ when there is evidence. But belief and faith are not about believing when there is actual evidence to prove your belief.
Belief is when you accept something as true wholeheartedly. Belief is the absence of doubt. You believe in your mission even when there is no evidence you are on the right track - when there is no proof of success. When you lack evidence, when you lack proof - this is, in fact, THE most important time when you need to keep the faith.
Is your commitment strong enough? Are your beliefs true? If the answer is no, you may want to question your beliefs, or even better, your commitment to your beliefs.
Believe It Anyway
You want to find a job but no employer calls you? You believe you will eventually get a job anyway. Doesn’t matter if you actually see any evidence. You keep on believing.
What about if you want to have children but you’re single for like 7 years? All you need to do is keep on believing that you will eventually have a family.
You want to earn 50K this year, it’s November and you’ve only made about half? You believe you will reach your goal anyway.
It is your commitment to your belief that will help you stick to your vision, no matter what. It’s your commitment that will help you seize the opportunity when it will eventually arise.
Now I’m not suggesting you should always embrace this attitude. We all have Saturn in our chart (and Saturn likes to work hard and to be ‘realistic’). We all have Pluto in our chart (and Pluto shows us that no matter how much we want something, there are things we can never get).
But Jupiter is about believing. And Jupiter is now in Sagittarius, working at its best, shooting the best arrows. Jupiter in Sagittarius will teach you how to BELIEVE. Jupiter will show you how to stick to your vision, no matter what.
Belief Vs. Hope
Now, there is a difference between belief and hope. When you hope that something will happen, you are not taking action, you’re not taking full responsibility for the outcome.
Belief is a certainty. You ‘know’ that something will happen, you know you will be able to see the signs and recognize the patterns. Belief is an inner knowing that you will just ‘know’ what to do when the window of opportunity will open.
When you believe, you take full responsibility for the outcome. You co-create with the universe. You become Jupiter, the Almighty. Believing means commitment. Belief cannot exist without a 100% commitment.
Jupiter In Sagittarius Square Neptune In Pisces
However, during his transit in Sagittarius, Jupiter will square Neptune. And with Neptune in Pisces, we have to be careful of false beliefs, or wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is ‘hoping’ that something good will happen. With Neptune, it's easy to drift into a ‘no action’ state where imagination becomes more important than reality.
Neptune is also the planet of higher love and transcendence.
Although the Jupiter-Neptune square can lead to a spiritual crisis, the square will also help you arrive at better terms with what belief, faith, and spirituality really mean to you.
Neptune will firstly ‘dissolve’ your beliefs so you can find a higher meaning, a higher order, a higher purpose for your life.
Do you pray when you need something, or do you pray to express your love and admiration?
Do you believe in something because it puts your soul on fire, or because it’s part of your tradition? Because this is how it has always been?
Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune will challenge all the beliefs that are egotistical, dogmatic and outdated. In the coming year, you can find better beliefs, ones that reflect the truth of who you are, or you can find better reasons to believe in what you already believe.
Our goal as a collective is to replace blind faith (the negative manifestation of Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune) with faith on purpose (the higher manifestation of Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune).
Jupiter is Sagittarius will strip us of false dogma so that we can find out what truly matters.
Jupiter in Sagittarius is your call to say YES to the Belief Train. To commit to your goals. To go on a vision quest. To find a higher meaning to your existence. To believe in what matters.
