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By Julie Loar, www.QueenOfCups.com
The god of light dives into the waters of the Fishes
Pisces is sensitive and emotional and feels things keenly.
Jupiter is thought to bring abundance and prosperity and to have an
expansive and preserving influence. Jupiter helps us look on the
bright side and adds a generous dose of humor.
How do they come together, and what will they bring us for 2010?
“When you come close to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or you will fly.” Patrick Overton
The constellation of Pisces resides in the “watery” portion of the sky,
which also includes Aquarius, the Water Bearer, Cetus, the Whale, and
Pisces Austrinus, the Southern Fish. This group of stars has been
associated with fish in all ancient cultures. The two fishes of Pisces
are depicted swimming in opposite directions, but connected by a cord.
The alpha star of the constellation is Al Resha, the “knot” in Arabic,
and this star symbolically binds the pair together.
Pisces is sensitive and emotional and feels things keenly. Taken to
extremes, Piscean sensitivity can result in self-inflicted martyrdom.
Pisces is also the most collective of the signs and has always been
associated with those in society who suffer or who have been
disenfranchised in some way. This includes those who are imprisoned,
repressed, rejected or mentally ill. The humanitarian response of
Pisces springs from a spontaneous desire to ease the suffering of
others because of a deeply felt empathy for their anguish. Pisces is
connected with those who withdraw, or who choose to live an alternate
life style such as mystics, poets, artists and recluses. This group
includes those who just don’t seem to fit in for whatever reason.
Through their separation or isolation they can offer great art on the
one hand or drain society’s resources on the other.
Astrologically, Pisces is the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, and
therefore represents the final stage in the hero’s journey and the last
phase of evolving humanity on the path of return. This final stage is
the transcendence of the self, or ego-based personality, through
renunciation of self-centered motivations. Therefore, compassion and
willingness to sacrifice are hallmarks of conscious Pisces.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and is the largest in our
solar system. Along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, Jupiter is
classified as a gas giant. Jupiter is the third brightest object in
the night sky after the Moon and Venus. However, at certain points in
its orbit, Mars can briefly exceed Jupiter's brightness. Known since
prehistoric times as a bright "wandering star," Jupiter is twice as
massive as the rest of the planets combined. The famous Great Red
Spot, which is larger than Earth, is actually a giant storm that is
known to have existed since the 17th century. Jupiter has a system of
faint rings, but unlike Saturn's intricate and complex ring patterns,
Jupiter’s simple ring system is composed of an inner halo, a main ring
and a faint Gossamer ring.
On July 19, 2009 something hit Jupiter, and no one saw it coming.
Thought at first to be another storm like the Red Spot, astronomers now
believe that a comet or asteroid, as large as several football fields,
impacted the giant planet. The object emerged from darkness, unknown
and not cataloged, and before anyone could photograph the body intact,
it had shattered and become a cloud of debris. The new spot on Jupiter
is now called the ‘Wesley debris cloud’ after the amateur astronomer
who first observed it. The collision released 2000 megatons of
energy. If an object that size were to hit Earth there would be
widespread devastation.
Mythically, the Roman Jupiter was the earlier Greek Zeus and the
Egyptian Min-Amon. King of the gods, Zeus was the authoritarian sky
father who appeared in many cultures around 1,800 BCE. Zeus was the
son of Cronus, or Saturn, who escaped death because his mother Hera
wrapped a rock in swaddling cloth and fed it to Cronus. Cronus had
already gobbled up the rest of his children to stay in power. To
protect him, the infant Zeus was hidden in a cave on Lykos, and fed
milk from one of the horns of the goat goddess Amalthea of ancient
Crete. Her horn was the origin of the cornucopia. In one myth, nectar
flowed from one horn, and ambrosia, the drink which gave the gods their
immortality, flowed from the other. Later her skin became Zeus’s
aegis, or shield of protection. Amalthea was immortalized as the
constellation of Capricorn, and the related goddess Aega became the
bright star Capella, “Little She Goat.”
Astrologically Jupiter is larger than life and difficult to contain,
but he is uplifting, and aspires to greatness. Jupiter is thought to
bring abundance and prosperity and to have an expansive and preserving
influence. Jupiter helps us look on the bright side and adds a
generous dose of humor. As a god of light Jupiter is said to deal with
the realm of super-consciousness, and therefore he can be a widener of
horizons. His domain includes religion and philosophy, and he supports
an expansive view of life.
Jupiter’s positive qualities include a jovial expansiveness, a sporting
approach to life and unquenchable optimism. The glass is definitely
half-full, and it’s a large vessel. Exaggerated, or used unwisely,
these same qualities can become extremist in viewpoint, wasteful and
disregarding of resources, trusting too much to luck. Because Jupiter
always wants to take the larger view, there is a risk of dismissing
details as insignificant.
Jupiter in Pisces
Before Neptune’s discovery, Jupiter was seen as the ruler of Pisces.
Therefore, the giant planet maintains a co-rulership with the sign of
the Fishes. So Jupiter’s presence in Pisces is comfortable and
familiar. Here, Jupiter’s expansive energy operates in the emotional
arena, and on the challenging side of things, can stir the feeling
nature to an exaggerated expression, and blow emotional responses out
of proportion. Acting in his role as a god of light and wisdom
however, Jupiter can bring insight into the deeper and unconscious
level of our feelings, illuminating things hidden in the shadow side of
our psyches.
As ruler of wide-ranging Sagittarius Jupiter wants to look through a
telescope, exploring far and wide, expanding his vast knowledge and
eventually gaining wisdom through diverse experiences. Therefore, as
he aims his lightning bolts into the deep waters of Pisces, a search
for deeper meaning is possible. When we gaze at the night sky in a
place removed from the light of cities, we can see about 2,000 stars
with the naked eye. This is symbolic of our limited vision and scope
before technology expanded our view of our solar system and Universe.
Jupiter expands the nature of whatever sign he visits, so this is an
apt analogy for Jupiter in Pisces, shining light into formerly unseen
places, and causing us to reach for the stars.
Jupiter is characterized by largesse, and he wants more and bigger of
everything. As the planet of opportunity he gives the ability to
prosper, however, this can lead to excess if not constructively
channeled. In Pisces he broadens relationships and expands
consciousness, bringing his light to our collective existence. Here we
are seeking wisdom, and the evolution of consciousness itself, not just
an increase in knowledge. Jupiter in Pisces is receptive,
impressionable and has a capacity for heightened imagination and
mystical states. There is a desire for peace of mind rather than
exaggerated stimulation and a quick adrenaline rush. There is
potential for expansive introspection and a capacity for devotion.
This combined energy wants to understand the meaning of life, not just
explore for the sake of it.
This archetypal combination creates an energy of healing, which
engenders a desire to act for the public welfare. There is a spirit of
sympathy and charity in this synergy which could offer a conducive
influence for healthcare reform. Jupiter in Pisces is seen as the
quintessential good Samaritan but prefers to act from behind the
scenes. However, this blend of energies can be oversensitive to the
point where common sense disappears in a well of self-indulgence.
There is an unwillingness to compromise integrity for material gain, so
this influence may also help with the healing and reformation of
current financial conditions, potentially providing a higher principle
to aim for.
Jupiter orbits the Sun in about twelve years, so the transit through
Pisces marks the end of a full cycle through the zodiac. When Jupiter
enters Aries in January of 2011, a new circuit will begin. Jupiter
will move into Aries during the summer of 2010 for a short time, giving
us a preview of this energy, and then Jupiter will retrograde back into
Pisces until January 2011. While in Aries in 2010, Jupiter will join
Uranus and become part of a cardinal T-square. This will create a
three-way face-off between Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, opposing Saturn
in Libra, while all three square Pluto in Capricorn. This will form an
intense energy which challenges the status quo and has the potential to
deconstruct outgrown paradigms. It’s a tremendous growth opportunity.
Star Lore
Early in February 2010, as Jupiter reaches about 4 degrees of Pisces,
he will conjoin Fomalhaut, one of the four Royal Stars of Persia,
bringing the god of light into alignment with one of the great stars of
the sky. Fomalhaut is the alpha star in the constellation of Piscis
Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and is one of the brightest. Fomalhaut
is the only first-magnitude star in the autumn sky of mid-northern
latitudes and is a solitary and brilliant beacon in an otherwise
unremarkable part of the night sky.
Fomalhaut made news in November 2008. This star is at the center of a
solar system with an extrasolar planet. This was the first planet
outside of our solar system to be seen with visible light and
photographed. The striking image, showing the planet orbiting just
inside Fomalhaut’s debris ring, was captured by the Hubble Space
Telescope and published in Science in November 2008. The planet, now
known as Fomalhaut b, orbits its parent star once in 872 years at a
distance of eleven billion miles. Astronomer Paul Kalas of Cal Tech
thinks there might be other planets in orbits between Fomalhaut b and
the star; possibly even a planet with liquid water.
The name derives from the Arabic Fum al Hut, “the Fish's mouth.” The
star’s influence is generally considered beneficial and has been
associated with eminence, fortune, and power. Said also to heighten
awareness of the sufferings of others, Fomalhaut will infuse Jupiter’s
energy with added power and compassion. Martha Evans Martin, in The
Friendly Stars, says Fomalhaut “suggests only sweetness and serenity .
. .” Astrologer Diana Rosenberg says this star gives a longing for
utopia and a search for the ideal forms of human relationships.
Certain ancient traditions, such as Tibet, believe that stars are
vastly evolved and conscious beings, each having their own great and
unique nature. Some occult traditions teach that the planets act like
lenses to capture and focus the energies of the stars. A planet in
conjunction with a star blends and concentrates their light and
radiates this toward Earth like an intensified frequency. Considering
Fomalhaut’s lore, this star’s power, combined with Jupiter in Pisces,
may offer a glimpse of heightened wisdom, giving us a chance to sense
what is best for collective humanity. Like a flash of lightning in the
darkness, this vision illuminates the landscape. This light may be
momentary, but it can reveal the path and give us hope and a sense of
direction.
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