When the brothers, Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, divided up the world,
Pluto got the underworld, Neptune got the oceans, and Jupiter got the land
and skies. So for living mortals, Jupiter was definitely the guy in charge.
He was the lawgiver, but didn't really consider himself bound by the laws
he made for others. He was quite the lady's man, finding and taking his
pleasure whenever he pleased, with the most handsome women, men, and minor
deities, despite his jealous and vindictive wife's displeasure. Ever the
optimist, he always considered that luck would be with him--and it was,
though the hapless victims of his passions ended up bearing the wrath of
Juno's displeasure. Jupiter rather enjoyed a good party, and favored contests
and special events. And when he saw others misbehaving, he was particularly
fond of hurling thunderbolts at them as punishment! No one ever hurled one
back, either!
In Hindu mythology, Jupiter has a less worldly image. Considered the
Guru-planet, Jupiter can bestow wisdom, education, knowledge of sacred practices,
and is a tremendous protector against harm.
These two sides of Jupiter are being highlighted by a series of events
at the close of the twentieth century. People with a strong Jupiter in their
charts, which means anyone born in the sign of Sagittarius, Pisces, or with
Jupiter on a chart angle or other defining major aspect patterns, will be
feeling the changes even more than the rest of us. So what are these changes,
and how are they taking place? The answer involves a cosmic dance so precise
and significant it is truly breathtaking.
The sign of Sagittarius has two major types of people: One is the social
explorer, the adventurer, the "party animal", the athlete. This
very overt and social personality is often the life of the party. They live
for adventure, for the "good times" and can sometimes have some
rather blustery personality traits. They are optimistic, gregarious, generous,
with a tendency to indulge (or overindulge) themselves and their friends.
The other type of Sagittarius is the Sage. This is the scholar or the priest--the
person whose thirst for knowledge is not confined to social affairs, to
travel and new experiences. This person is drawn to understand the deeper
meanings of life. Both types of Sagittarian want to learn, to know more,
to understand the world, but one is directed to the physical world and the
other to the world of ideas or philosophies.
It's interesting to note that Sagittarius is represented by the Centaur--the
half-man and half-horse being of mythology. And indeed, we have two types
of centaurs in mythology, too! One is the drunken, wild animal, known for
destructiveness and debauchery, and completely and totally mortal. The other
is the centaur Chiron, born of immortal parents, and known for his wisdom,
knowledge, and compassion. Although I do not ascribe "rulership"
of Sagittarius to Chiron, there is undeniably a close connection!
So what is this cosmic dance that is changing Jupiter? Well, let's start
with 1977, with the discovery of Chiron. We can see this as a hint of what
is to come--a suggestion for change. Chiron's average position in the lineup
of planets places him between Saturn (limits, authority) and Uranus (revolution),
but his eccentric orbit takes him past Uranus and inside the orbit of Saturn,
between Saturn and, yes, Jupiter. Oddly enough, Chiron was discovered when
he was quite far from earth--just outside the orbit of Uranus.
In grade school we learned the order of the planets. Adding the trapped
comet Chiron, we would agree that the normal order of planets from the Sun
are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune
and Pluto. In 1979 this order was all jumbled up. Every two hundred years
or so, Pluto dips inside the orbit of Neptune for twenty years. Remember,
Pluto is the "Great Transformer". He delivers life-and-death messages
that forever change those they touch.
In 1979, we had a different planetary order: Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Chiron, Pluto, Neptune. The inspirational
Neptune was at the farthest reaches of the solar system, intuiting the secret
messages of the galaxy, whispering that message to Pluto. Then Pluto stepped
in to pass along that "message" to Chiron, who is also called
"The Bridge". Chiron started moving closer to the Sun. When Chiron
crept past Saturn to a place between Saturn and Jupiter, the message was
delivered to Jupiter in the form of the 1995 Shoemaker-Levi comets!! The
god was finally having thunderbolts hurled back at him! This series of comet
fragments pounded into the face of the mighty Jupiter just as another important
change was taking place.
In 1995, Pluto entered the sign of Sagittarius for the first time since
Pluto's discovery. The first time a planet moves through a sign after its
discovery, it changes that sign in some way. As the Great Transformer, this
change is even more powerful with Pluto. So Sagittarius, and its ruler Jupiter
now has received Neptune's message from the galaxy, delivered via Pluto
to Chiron, who stands by and watches as a sister-comet hurls moon-sized
rocks at Jupiter and as the Great Transformer takes over Sagittarius promising
even more profound changes. But that isn't the end.
Meanwhile, back on earth, in the first few days of Pluto's sojourn in
Sagittarius, the great sports figure (Sagittarius rules sports) goes on
trial (Sagittarius rules the legal system) creating the greatest (Jupiter
causes expansion) media spectacle (Sagittarius rules the press) of all time.
In blatant detail, we see what's wrong with making sports figures into heroes,
we see the failings of the judicial system, and we see the foolishness of
a media run amuck with voyeurism. Baseball players go on strike, giving
us an entire season without America's National Pastime (replaced by OJ's
trial).
And yet another message is coming. From the heart of the galaxy, directly
from the galactic center at 28 Sagittarius, comes another comet. Hale-Bopp
lights up the skies with a sight never before seen in this century. With
its coming, a fanatic religious (ruled by Sagittarius) group commits mass
suicide to join the spaceship (Sagittarius rules travel) they believe accompanies
the comet.
And before the century ends, there will be at least one more signal
from the stars. On December 31, 1999, at 12:00 midnight in most parts of
the world, Pluto and Chiron will be exactly conjoined at 11 degrees of Sagittarius.
The Sabian Symbol for this degree is: "A flag turns into an eagle;
the eagle into a chanticleer saluting the dawn. The spiritualization and
promotion of great symbols of a New Age by minds sensitive to its precursory
manifestations. This symbol urges us to bring our noblest ideals to actual
life through the power of spiritual will. Annunciation."
The new centaurs bring us a tremendous message of hope for the new century.
It is up to us, though, to decipher the message of responsibility that comes
with the power, glory, and expansiveness of Jupiter.
All text and lineart in these pages Copyright
1997-99 by Anne Beversdorf
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