Jupiter, the Perpetual Student

For all of 2020 and much of 2021, Jupiter, the planet of grace, luck, knowledge, the guru, and prosperity, has been in and out of his sign of debilitation, Capricorn. If you imagine Jupiter as a person, this basically means that Jupiter was not feeling well, was not feeling supported, was hindered in territory where he was not able to bestow his gifts and wisdom.

Though this sounds very difficult for the world to endure, and it has been, there are some hidden gifts that occur when Jupiter goes into debilitation.

In a person’s chart with Jupiter debilitated, the person will often doubt their knowledge and their capacity to create prosperity for themselves. This inner feeling of doubt will cause them to seek knowledge in a more intense way than others, becoming a lifelong student. It will cause them to innovate and seek ways to create abundance, after some struggle to support themselves. In this way, even though technically in a weak condition, Jupiter becomes a positive motivating force in the person’s life. They might say, “I just don’t feel sure of myself yet, so I’m going to study for a few more years.” When they do master a subject, they really do master it. What started as an insecurity makes the person more humble and thoughtful, more creative and innovative. Most debilitated planets work this way, which is why they are thought to have hidden positives in Vedic astrology.

The opportunity we have had and continue to have on a macro level during this time of Jupiter’s affliction is similar to that of someone with Jupiter debilitated in the natal chart. We can either move towards humility, acceptance, and a desire to learn and innovate, or this time can bring up rigid compensation methods for the sense of insecurity that we all feel.

This time has shown us what happens when the feeling of prosperity, ease, self-assurance, and flow is hindered on a large scale. It has shown us how we handle tenuousness, inside of ourselves and as a collective. We have had options all along the way for how to handle this, and we continue to have options.

As we each move forward, approaching this last lap of Jupiter’s affliction (which lightens up more at the end of 2021), how will we each handle the continued insecurity? 

If we choose to cultivate the hidden gifts of the time, it could look something like this:

We as a society will find the capacity to non-judgmentally explore our insecurities, through inclusion and exploration of differing perspectives. We will become more open minded, letting go of the need to be right or to prove anything to anyone. We will trust the unknown enough to let the structures we’ve built that no longer work fall apart, knowing that fall is a necessary step in healing. We will find compassion for each other in moments of doubt, not turning on each other in blame and projection. We will continue to seek the truth, letting our doubts drive us forward into deeper awareness. We will innovate. We will let the shakiness of our foundations move us towards a foundation in Oneness, not in the fluctuations of material life. 

The other option when there is insecurity is to compensate for it – by becoming fixed, dogmatic, irritable, and falsely self-assured. Particularly with Jupiter the compensation is around becoming more stubborn in our belief systems, which is an aspect of what Jupiter rules in our charts. Rather than saying, “hmmm, I’m not sure about this, maybe I’ll dig deeper to find what really is motivating me.” We might instead say “do it my way or else.” We can see this happening all over the world. This is a mechanism to create security in ourselves, in our group, in our views, to avoid the more vulnerable feelings of shakiness, doubt, and insecurity. The problem is that when everyone is totally sure of their own perspective, it can be very difficult to discuss options, find middle grounds, find relationship and empathy. True intimacy and relationship is under threat wherever their is dogmatic fixity. 

How are you as an individual handling your own doubts, fears, and insecurities? We have through about the end of 2021 to keep trying to get this big cosmic lesson right. What would it be like to allow yourself to feel insecure, to not know, without compensating for that feeling?

When the outer support of Jupiter wanes, it puts more of the responsibility on each of us to restore the principles of Jupiter through our own actions. This means restoring the feeling of auspiciousness, trust, and truth in your own life, and in your family and community, in whatever way you feel called to. It means remaining open and flexible, instead of clenching down or trying desperately to prove something. When Jupiter the teacher wanes on the outside, we have the impetus and opportunity to turn inward and cultivate the sense of Oneness within. The beauty of being the perpetual student is that your consciousness can continue to expand throughout life, never stagnating inside of a stale perspective. And you never take yourself so seriously that the joy and spark of life goes away. I hope we can each embrace this time and in doing so enliven the bonds we share with our loved ones in a caring, openhearted way.