Affirming Self-Determination
Jupiter in Aries Act Two
The Timeline
December 20th at 8:33 AM CT commences Act Two of Jupiter in Aries. The planet of expansion burns through the cardinal fire sign until May 16th, 2023. Act One of Jupiter in Aries opened May 10th. Then the gas giant lost steam and stationed retrograde on July 28th moving backwards to their home sign of Pisces.
December 28th, 2021 to May 10th, 2022 - Jupiter in Pisces
May 10th, 2022 to October 28th, 2022 - Jupiter in Aries
July 28th - Jupiter stations retrograde
October 28th, 2022 to December 20th, 2022 – Jupiter in Pisces
November 23rd – Jupiter stations direct
December 20th, 2022 to May 16th, 2023 – Jupiter in Aries
Floating through the final 2 degrees of the mystical water sign, Jupiter enjoys the comforts of their Piscean home until the morning of December 20th and won’t return until December 2033.
The Expression
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. In traditional astrology, the gas giant is known as the greater benefic. Benefics (Jupiter and Venus) are planets known to bring good fortune. Jupiter signifies expansion, wisdom, and faith. Generous and granting blessings in our lives, Jupiter expands anything they touch. However, the greater benefic has a hard time saying no and can push us past our personal limits. Expansion is not always comfortable, but when we are willing to move beyond our comfort zones we cultivate growth and transformation.
Moving from mutable Pisces to cardinal Aries, Jupiter switches gears from a dreamy, flowing state to an energetic, charged up state. Pisces, represented by the fish, is mutable water and deeply empathetic, intuitive, and creative. Pisces, like the ocean, is vast and deep without boundaries. Jupiter in Pisces inspires idealized visions, dreams, and hopes for the future. With Jupiter in Pisces, we are encouraged to be visionary and embrace our boldest ideas for a better world. We can let our imaginations run wild and find inspiration all around us.
Jupiter in Pisces is an opportunity to nurture our creative outlets and remind ourselves if we can dream it, we can build it. Think back to December 28th of last year to May 10th of this year. What were you dreaming up? What hopes, ideas, and visions came to you during this time? What sparked inspiration? What made you believe in something bigger than yourself?
Capitalist society conditions us to abandon our imagination and dreams of a better world. The status quo of economic inequality and racial oppression is maintained when we are complacent, hopeless, and convince ourselves that nothing can change.
Mariame Kaba, an abolitionist organizer and educator says, “hope is a discipline.”
Jupiter in Pisces is a time to practice hope and dream beyond the confines of capitalism. What would our world look like if every human being had the resources they need to thrive? What’s possible in a world free of oppression, exploitation, and violence? If we didn’t have to sell our labor 40+ hours a week to survive, what could we do with our sacred time here on Earth? What can we do in the present to cultivate more space for joy, inspiration, and creation?
Illustration by Shirien Damra.
In Poetry is Not a Luxury, Audre Lorde said, “it is our dreams that point the way to freedom.”
During these final days of Jupiter in Pisces dare to believe in your wildest dreams. Come December 20th, it’s time to put those dreams into action. Jupiter making its second ingress into Aries reignites the fire within us. Think back to May 10th to October 28th. What was driving you to action during that time?
Aries, symbolized by the ram, is cardinal fire ruled by Mars, the planet of energy and conflict. Fire is our inner spark, our energetic body, and our passion. Bold and fearless, Aries initiates action based on instinct and impulses. Jupiter in Aries expands our spontaneity, impulsiveness, and self-expression.
Aries lives for self-determination while Jupiter’s nature is to affirm and expand. How do we exercise our agency? Do we advocate for ourselves? Do we vocalize our needs? We live in an interdependent world. Jupiter in Aries encourages us to not only fight for our own self-determination but to fight for the self-determination of everyone.
We all deserve autonomy over our bodies and the freedom to make decisions for ourselves. However, the reality is many people are stripped of their self-determination, and we must ask ourselves why that is. Who benefits from the disenfranchisement of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities? Who maintains power by enacting laws that ban abortion, criminalize trans people, and disproportionately incarcerate Black folks, the poor, and unhoused? These policies are direct attacks on people’s agency and livelihoods. Jupiter in Aries is an opportunity to take courageous collective action to liberate everyone from the chains of capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy.