JUPITER

After passing through the sphere of Mars, the outward tide of solar power passes through the sphere of the asteroids. This is not the sphere of one revolving planet, but of a swarm of tiny, almost unrelated chunks of matter. Some say the asteroids are debris from what was previously a planet, which met with a sufficiently dire internal or external disaster to blow it to smithereens. In the symbolism of the solar system, the asteroid belt represents the kind of non-integration that results if the impulsiveness and individualistic aggression of Mars run rampant and unchecked.

The function of Jupiter is to integrate according to spiritual principles whatever is or has become scattered and unrelated. Jupiter operates most positively when it organizes the actions and accomplishments of individuals into a meaningful, self-sustaining whole. Thus, in cooperation with the many, one flourishes. Although the keyword usually associated with Jupiter is expansion, Jupiter fundamentally symbolizes social participation. We can call this expansion if by expansion we mean the acceptance of individual efforts by the community. This is the kind of social success Jupiter can represent.

On the other hand, individuals can expand their activities into society according to the 'law of the fish:' big fish eat little fish. This is the negative type of expansion Jupiter can represent when social participation operates as a compensation for personal insecurity. Then Jupiter's sense of fellowship may turn into unrestrained ambition for recognition at all costs, and visionary projects may be compromised by expediency.

   

Leyla Rael




 

JUPITER IN LIBRA

Keynote: Wisdom is gained through comprehension of the laws of relationships.

Symbol: Richly garbed participants in a pageant perform mystical rites.

The Jupiterian Libran enjoys bringing people together in congenial surroundings, especially if these gatherings serve a worthy purpose such as the furthering of a political, artistic, or humanitarian enterprise. They can be a genial host and bon vivant, attending to everyone's needs and making their guests feel welcome. With the planet of faith, in the sign of diplomacy, they encourage others by believing in what they are trying to accomplish and by inspiring them with visionary ideas.

Jupiter represents the planning function which gives meaning and direction to the Libran craving for harmoniously proportioned relationships. Social consciousness (Jupiter) grows out of the capacity to interact with others (Libra). Feelings of relatedness expand the self, while the inability to relate diminishes it. Expansion brings life, contraction death. Jupiter in Libra imparts insight into this law of nature which decrees that no one can live for themselves alone if they are to develop into a superior human being.

Swami Vivekananda, whose broad humanitarian outlook exemplified the best side of Jupiter in Libra, expressed his religious sentiments in these words: “Those who want to help mankind must take their own pleasure and pain, name and fame, and all sorts of interests, and make a bundle of them and throw them into the sea, and then come to the Lord. This is what all the masters said and did. Our best work is done; our greatest influence is exerted, when we are without thought of self. Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work.”

The shortcomings of Jupiter in Libra stem from being too eager to please. A person may be so avid to win the acceptance of their peers that they are bored with their own company. They focus their hopes and expectations on others (especially the marriage partner) because they fear that they cannot make the grade on their own and must cling to external support. They may be generous because they crave approval, rather than out of any real instinct to give. Their effusiveness is then reminiscent of the old rhyme which alludes to the mutual praise of two famous Oxford historians:

Ladling the butter from adjacent tubs,

Stub's butters Freeman, Freeman butters Stubbs.

At best, Jupiter in Libra bestows humane social instincts and a profound love of order. The religion is one of faith in the ability of mankind to evolve toward a higher condition of being, but it also rests solidly upon tradition. An inherent sense of justice and a conviction that every soul has its rightful place within the great chain of existence contribute to the Libran belief that life has both meaning and purpose. The outlook is rational but interfused with the optimistic expectation that if human beings will willingly cooperate with nature's divine Plan, they are ultimately destined to progress into a new age of universal peace and prosperity.  

 

Astrology, the Divine Science

 

  Mindfire