Jupiter Square Saturn--Expansion verses Confinment

Saturn has spent most of the past two years crossing and recrossing over or parked on my Midheaven and Neptune.  Saturn in Scorpio (using the Koch House System) has brought awareness to my Natal Neptune in the form of building stronger structures in my life and practicing integrity.  And Saturn opposing my Natal Jupiter in my Fourth House has me reevaluating my relationship with mother, mother images and home.

Now Jupiter in Leo comes along and squares Saturn in Scorpio, this tells me that those of us who have done the work around building new structures and practicing integrity can experience positive expansion in our lives. And those of us who ignored Saturn in Scorpio's teachings (remember Saturn is a wise elder teacher), head back to the drawing board.  This doesn't bode well for anyone experiencing a Saturn Return at this time and the Jupiter in Leo Square could deter from the necessary work in securing a more solid foundation.  You know the old saying that if you build your home on sand, it will collapse.

Jupiter began squaring Saturn (for this cycle) on September 21 with a 5 degree orb.  The Natal Houses affected in the chart bring up the type of themes and situations where you feel a push-pull effect.  For instance, if you have Saturn in the 10th and Jupiter in the 1st, you will feel like you're stagnating in your career or having a challenging time getting seen in the world.  You experience hope followed by disappointment as you transform your identity and image as part of your plan to experience expansion in your career.  But Jupiter brings the challenge to transiting Saturn who has remained in Scorpio for over two years rebuilding structure in the Natal House where it transits.

Here we ask, "Have I been too disciplined?"  "How can I break out of this rut?" "Have I built too solid of structure while setting my life in stone causing stagnation?"  Jupiter challenges Saturn to lighten up and light the load, whether that's work load, carrying other peoples' burdens to gain their respect or admiration or acting more mature than your age.  For a child carrying his parents' burdens and acting mature beyond his years, suddenly Jupiter in Leo has him questioning the loss of his innocence and childhood. This scenario plays out with the child experiencing his parents divorcing and acting like the mature one while his parents act like petulant children.  Something's clearly wrong with this scenario which is why Jupiter comes in and reminds this child to play and use creativity to solve problems.  Lighten up.

Since Jupiter rules philosophy and higher learning (read spiritual), he challenges the old Saturn structure of how things have to be and this is the way we have always done business. Parts of the body ruled by Saturn such as skin, knees, teeth, and bones could rebel in the form of skin or bone disorders or even broken bones that allow a person to drop some responsibilities or stop pushing himself too hard.  But Jupiter is a beneficent planet so we search for the silver lining in whatever situation appears to breakdown Saturn's hold on our psyche.  With Saturn in Scorpio, we have delved into darker territory like our subconscious and taken this stuff way too seriously in the form of cause and effect stories.  We warn people not to make the same mistakes as us while planting seeds of fear in their brains.  Jupiter chooses to laugh that stuff off.

Let me share with you how the Saturn in Scorpio and Jupiter in Leo transits have affected my life with squares to my Natal Neptune in my 10th House and Natal Jupiter in my Fourth House.  I have Jupiter in my 5th House when I used the Equal House Chart, which I'm refraining from doing with this article.  When Saturn was first beginning a transit in Saturn I had moved into an apartment that I meant as only temporary. Saturn was still in Libra and I felt hopeful that I would soon find employment, save up money and move to a better housing situation.

Then Saturn moved into Scorpio and I suffered one disappointment after another with both my career/public image and housing situation.  I would interview for jobs and usually come out as runner-up but not land the job.  This happened several times.  Literary agents requested reads on my manuscripts and one told me that she almost signed me up with her agency but then changed her mind at the last minute.  I pitched articles that lead to hope and disappointment and this cycle continued with Saturn crossing my MC, then conjuncting Natal Neptune at 15 degrees Scorpio which meant that Saturn also opposed Jupiter in my Fourth House of home and mother issues.

When Jupiter in Leo moved into a Square with Saturn involving 4th, 7th and 10th Houses, the pattern hope-followed by disappointment cycle intensified, but with a new twist.  I have worked on clearing old patterns of undeserving and unworthiness while developing greater self-love than ever.  Even during my most desperate moments of my permanent housing search, I have not succumbed to selling myself short and moving into "any home" to solve my problems.  I know what I can tolerate so I focus on manifesting what is best for me, regardless of what anyone else thinks.  And you can bet my parents (4th and 10th Houses) were upset when I moved out of my last apartment and landed myself in my current struggles.

But Jupiter in Leo has given me a sense of freedom and I no longer feel like I'm suffocating as I did in my previous apartment.  I no longer feel controlled by the telecommunication company which kept raising my internet and phone rates.  And I required this breathing space so that I can manifest a better life situation for myself and build my home on rock instead of sand.  I suffer no Neptune delusions any longer though with a Neptune transit on my Saturn/Moon I still feel like I'm floating through life, at least until February 2015 when that transit completes itself.  I am learning how to grow up without losing my eternal innocence or a sense of fun.  So often Saturn crushes our inner child under the weight of "have-to" and "should" or this idea of caring what the neighbors think about us.

So now that I shared my experiences with the transit, here are details you can look up in your own chart.

The Jupiter Square to Saturn which begun on September 21st was exact on October 9 then stays within a 5 degree orb until December 7/8 when Jupiter turns retrograde.  Meanwhile Saturn moves into Sagittarius (Jupiter's planet) on December 24.  On November 18, the Sun in Scorpio conjuncts Saturn while Jupiter remains in square with Saturn and the Sun squares Jupiter.  Since Jupiter is in Leo which rules the Sun, I'm thinking that we will assert our identity through rebellion against old structures in our lives, most of which are self-imposed.  We will heal beliefs and patterns around self-worth and wonder why we martyr ourselves for others who refuse to carry their own burdens.  Some of us will ask others to take responsibility for themselves and let us off the hook.  I see parents doing this with their adult children in a big way in late December.

The exact square of Jupiter to Saturn on October 9th is further highlighted by the Total Lunar Eclipse as I wrote about in an earlier post.  Jupiter was a star player with his involvement in the Grand Fire Trine with Mars and Uranus.  With all that Fire power behind Jupiter, we literally could melt away the lead of Saturn and transform it into gold in the areas of life where the Grand Fire Trine appears in our Natal Charts! This means that we finally transform old issues in our lives that Saturn brought up for the past two+ years.  Picture a bright Sun in your Solar Plexus where you can dump your concerns and problems and command that they are transformed into wisdom and power.  Then you will come up with solutions that you had not considered before or you expand your consciousness to the point where you stop refusing help and spiritual guidance.  In other words, you open the proverbial door and finally walk through it without making excuses to stay stuck.

As with all transits we have bigger themes that affect us Universally and smaller themes which play out in individual lives.  The trick is to pay attention to those areas of your life where the the Jupiter-Saturn square occurs. Since these are slower moving planets this gives us time to work on these concerns and to transform our lead into gold.  Don't sit back and do nothing.  Bring spiritual tools and wisdom to the task at hand and experience rewards later this December, around the big holidays.

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