Jupiter is in Sagittarius during the following dates:
- March 29, 2019 – April 22, 2019
- November 4, 2019 – March 29, 2020
- June 29, 2020 – November 19, 2020
All of the astrology in this article is calculated and interpreted using the sidereal zodiac. Use this guide to cast your sidereal birth chart.
There is a saying in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas usually attributed to Jesus of Nazareth,
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, Verse 70
To bring forth something means to come into right relationship with it. We do that by acknowledgment (I see you), recognition (I know who/what you are to me), and reverence (I honor the impact of your presence within me.) Thus, my interpretation of this oft-repeated proverb is:
When I come into right relationship with what is within me—by acknowledging it, recognizing it, and revering it—that right relationship will save me. When I am not in right relationship with what is within me, what is within me will destroy me.
This begs the question: What exactly is within me that I am beckoned to come into right relationship? Enter, Jupiter.
Jupiter Marks the Seasons
There is a time and a season for all things. Astrologically speaking, Saturn defines the time and Jupiter defines the season. Just like rain in Spring is understood and functions differently than rain in Autumn, Jupiter is the seasonal context for how we interpret our experiences and the people and things in the world around us.
Jupiter in your birth chart speaks to the cultural moment you were born into and how that moment informs your identity. But as we watch Jupiter move in real-time, we observe seasonal shifts that provide changing context for experiences we have in the communities we are part of.
Jupiter articulates the uniformity of the structure of each individual human psyche, as well as the collective psyche of humans as an organism, or singular being. Jupiter articulates both its shadow and its light. The light of the psyche being the conscious self that encompasses all that we aware of and have access to seeing and knowing. And the shadow of the psyche is the subconscious and unconscious self that is just out of reach of our knowing. It is often more powerful than the conscious self because it acts outside of the command of the will.
The binary of authentic self versus inauthentic self has no place here. Instead, Jupiter draws us into communities that validate who we believe we are. That is your identity—the story of who you believe you are.
Jupiter in Sagittarius, November 4, 2019
Because Jupiter is at home here, it’s function and significations take command of the collective conversation. And because it does not answer to any other planet’s agenda, Jupiter acts according to its own interests and demands that we do, too.
With Jupiter in Virgo 2016-17 our identities were challenged to reconsider the role of science and data in determining how we understand the world around us and form beliefs about what is right and true;
Jupiter in Libra in 2017-18 challenged long-standing precedents for the role of women in society;
Jupiter in Scorpio in 2018-19 has forced us to reckon with gun violence (in America) and climate change as the primary threat to the survival not of Earth, but that of humanity and the animals and planets humans need to thrive.
During the past few years, especially since Saturn entered Sagittarius on January 27, 2017, protest has become a global phenomenon. The fiery contagion of conviction catches wind and suddenly the streets are filled with citizens demanding that their communities, workplaces, and schools become a living testimony of their beliefs.
If Jupiter defines the season, then in Sagittarius Jupiter says that we have reached Critical Mass—tipping the scales to gain enough momentum to finally move. Just like potential energy is stored in the ball as it is pushed to and sits at the top of the hill, that energy becomes kinetic just as it reaches the edge and begins to roll. The longer it rolls, the more energy it gains.
We are now reaching the top of the hill. It’s been an arduous and difficult task. But as we’ve climbed this hill we’ve refined and acquired convictions that have propelled us to keep on pushing.
Saturn in Sagittarius has laid the foundation for the work that Jupiter in Sagittarius sets before us. Apathy and cynicism are the enemies of conviction. They spoil the healthy sense of entitlement that says, “I deserve to live in a world that reflects who I believe I am.”
But who do you believe you are? This takes us back to the saying from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas quoted at the beginning of this writing. Jupiter beckons us to come into right relationship with what is within us. Each time Jupiter changes signs it gives us new eyes to see and understand ourselves within the context of new experiences in a changing world.
What new understandings can Jupiter in Sagittarius offer us? What context does this transit provide for us to interpret what is happening in this world and in our lives?
Bridging the Gap Between Scorpio and Sagittarius
Jupiter in Scorpio has offered us opportunities to understand ourselves and what’s happening in the world within the context of our survival as a species and our individual survival. Mars ruled Scorpio has shown us (triggered) the defensive postures we have necessarily taken on (culturally and in our personal relationships and lives) as a means to survival. But it has also given us the opportunity to try on more vulnerable postures, ones that we take on when we stand in the truth of our feelings and our needs.
What needs have you become aware of in the face of finally confronting feelings that you have avoided for so long?
Jupiter in Sagittarius ushers in a season of focus on the role identity plays in the actions we take. The story of who you are is undoubtedly shaped by emotional experience. That’s why Scorpio comes before Sagittarius. Culturally, we say that beliefs grow from knowledge and access to information. But information is no match for experience, especially the kinds of emotional experiences that shape our brains, personalities, and how we interpret the information that we encounter. Those are the kinds of experiences that Jupiter in Scorpio brought into focus, sometimes in disruptive ways.
Bridging the gap between Scorpio and Sagittarius means understanding that you didn’t choose your beliefs, however, you can challenge them. What resonates with you as truth has more to do with the story you believe about who you are (which is your identity), rather than any book you’ve read or data you’ve analyzed. Besides, stories are better than facts.
Identity is a Belief System
What is your interpretation of the facts you perceive as relevant to making you who you are? In other words, there are things that have happened (facts), there is your interpretation of things that have happened (story), and then there is your repeated re-telling of your interpretation of those things that have happened (identity, ie what I call the dogma of identity.) Identity evolves as a consequence of how you understand your past, present, and future.
For example, “I prefer doing things myself.” Which is fine as a preference, perhaps. But it’s often more than that. That story is often rooted in experiences of abandonment or the lack of competence in our caregivers. Then, we create entire moral frameworks around that story. We develop a whole belief system around individuality and autonomy that we use to judge others and the world around us. They define our religious doctrines and our politics, too.
Where is the truth in all of that? Truth as in, what you can perceive with your own mind and being and understand with your own judgment. Everything else is dogma.
Action is the intention of the will translated through the choices we make each day. Sometimes we look back on things we’ve said or done and don’t like what those actions imply about who we are. So, we decide to tell a different story, painting the facts in a different light.
Revisionist history means to tell a story about something that happened in the past within the context of some conviction or belief of the storyteller. We see this most prominently around American slavery and war all over the world. But with Jupiter in Sagittarius (while we still have 2 more eclipses in that sign) nations all over the world are forced to come to terms with who they say they are within the context of the actions they take and the choices they make. And since individuals make up nations, it us who must take the first steps to hold ourselves accountable to the truth of who we are.
Jupiter in Sagittarius Keywords
Here is a list of keywords that will come into focus during Jupiter in Sagittarius:
- Morality
- Ethics
- Integrity
- Accountability
- Religion
- Conviction
- Belief
- Political Identity/Identity Politics
- Teachers
- Clergy
- Mentors/Mentorship
- Benefactors
- Community
- Church
- Temple
- Masjid/Mosque
- Preacher
- Imam
- Rabbi
- Monk
- Spirituality
- Cult
- Culture
- Truth
- Revisionist History
The Work of Jupiter in Sagittarius
The following questions serve as an outline for the work Jupiter in Sagittarius provides the opportunity to undertake:
- Why do you believe what you believe?
- How do you discern the difference between fact and truth?
- What are your moral convictions and how do they inform your politics?
- How do your political, moral, and/or religious convictions determine what you believe is possible?
- What communities do you identify with? Why?
- How do the communities you identify with provide context for who you believe you are?
- What are the stories you tell about how and why you have become who you are, and what place do those stories have in your present reality?
- How has your spiritual or religious upbringing (or lack of one) shaped your understanding of your life at present?
- What beliefs about who you are are exposed as fallible by pressing political realities you face in your country?
- What beliefs about who you are are reinforced as true and righteous by the political realities you face in your country?
- What is the revisionist history of who you are?
- What is the belief you are upholding in this history?
- What do you lose by telling a new story?
- What new truths inform this new story?
- What does it look like for you to come into right relationship with the beliefs that define how you interpret your own actions and choices?
