Did you notice a shift in energy on July 16, when the giant planet Jupiter left behind Cancer to begin his journey through Leo? Our collective focus has shifted from a spiritual reorientation concerning our physical and emotional needs to a spiritual reorientation concerning our creative expression. Is our artistry for our personal aggrandizement or is our creativity supposed to be in service to humanity? Everyone is creative---it's not just about how we create art. It's about how we live. Since Jupiter takes the long view and sees the big picture, with the current state of the world, it's time to get leave behind the idea of 'art for art's sake' and remember that the original purpose of art and theater was to heal the soul, thereby helping to heal the body, mind and spirit.
As my friend Caroline Casey1 tells it, Jupiter is the energy of "passionate curiosity". Jupiter is the law-giver, the Bard, the Storyteller who helps us give meaning to Life. That's why Jupiter is said to bestow Faith--not a blind faith but a faith that looks to hope rather than punishment or despair. The stories we need to tell now are stories about our possible future--and not those awful stories of total destruction and tyranny, where we're stuck in a dead world. We've had an abundance of those negative stories where only a strong individual survives. Jupiter wants us to become curious about a more sustainable, interesting future. And of course, that's what our society needs. The fear mongers would have us go back to a patriarchal past of unconscious security and authoritative control. What we need instead are visions of a future where we live creatively and sustainably with Mother Earth and each other. We need stories of hope and vision.
And that's what Jupiter in Leo can bring us. Leo wants to express the feelings, needs and desires of Cancer's inner world, and it celebrates that expression through theater, art, ritual and creativity in all its forms. Jupiter's archetypal power works best through story and theatre, because faith comes from the heart and not from the head. And stories speak the symbolic language of the heart. And don't forget play! Both Jupiter and Leo excel at play, which takes us into the intuitive mind and the imagination, where all the answers lie.
Jupiter's energy within us intuitively understands the archetypal powers and laws of the cosmos and transmits it into symbol, sound and word. With Jupiter in Leo, we just might turn the tide of repression we are seeing around the world through the creative stories, music, theater and ritual we create in the next year. Most people cannot see their way to a sustainable future--the destruction and pollution is sometimes too overwhelming to deal with. It feels easier to let others handle the situation and resign ourselves to the inevitable.
But the cosmos is giving us just what we need for this moment in time. Jupiter in Leo will give many of the baby-boomers, who all have Pluto in Leo, the opportunity to transform our often self-centered and entitled standpoint to one where we freely pour out our gifts and talents to those who need them. As Jupiter transits over the baby-boomers' Pluto in Leo, we will find ourselves with more power (Pluto) to put ourselves into our creations (Leo). This is the moment we are called to fulfill our destiny in some way. What kind of power do you want? For baby-boomers, find out what house your Pluto in Leo occupies and look to the opposite house to discover your new creative focus.
This transit of Jupiter through Leo is a call for the baby-boomers to leave behind our childish sense of entitlement and take up our responsibility to become the wise elders--wise women and sage men--our society so desperately needs. Jupiter and Pluto in Leo can seed us with the drive to be a wise community leader, adviser, counselor, philosopher or storyteller.
People born from 1956-1962 have the planet Uranus in Leo, so Jupiter will also be affecting you. This year-long transit can bring you surprises and sudden opportunities. Take them! Your test will be finding the right balance between freedom and responsibility. Your gifts to the world will be your innovative ideas that will bring about change.
Mars in Scorpio
Whenever planets change sign, the energy shifts. When Mars finally goes into Scorpio on July 25th, our energy will definitely be affected. Because of its retrograde this year, Mars has been in the sign of Libra since the beginning of December 2013, rather than its usual 6 weeks in a sign. Hopefully, we learned how to be more cooperative in relationships, although it hasn't happened yet on the world stage. But if we individually learn the Mars in Libra lesson of grappling to stay fair and balanced (really), we can change how larger events transpire in the future. Think globally, but act locally--within yourself!
Mars moves out of Venus' domain and into one of his own. While Mars is said to rule both Aries and Scorpio (along with Pluto), its action is very different. While Mars in Aries forges ahead in the outer world, Mars in Scorpio digs deep within to discover what emotional patterns need grappling with. Mars in Scorpio wants to live intensely and passionately, exploring the emotional waters with others. Hopefully, Venus' influence on Mars these past 7 months will have turned him into a lover, not a fighter.
Mars moves into Scorpio a day before this New Moon, squaring it from 1* Scorpio: A bright blue sight-seeing bus with a dragon painted on the side and a tourist peering out of every window. An interesting, quite apt symbol to begin Scorpio! Scorpio is a fixed water sign that seeks intimacy and yet also fears it, wanting to penetrate and incorporate other people's viewpoints into its own. The dragon on the coach indicates the power of the unconscious, for good or ill. And the people staring out the windows are looking to connect with the world. That's what Scorpio wants--a deep, emotional connection with the world and with others. It just finds it hard to trust--hence the enclosed bus! Blue is the color of communication, so this image says to me that it's time to communicate our real feelings and trust they will be accepted by this New Moon energy.
With Mars' square to the New Moon and Jupiter, we are challenged to take action on our feelings. Listen to your instincts without acting impulsively. That will be a challenge since Jupiter is involved. Mars and Jupiter add loads of energy to this New Moon, so when you plant your seeds this month, make BIG intentions that spring from your real desire to help the world. Jupiter gives this New Moon a more universal flavor, so be generous with your wishes and include others. The abundance will flow back to you.
While Jupiter is traveling through the fire sign of Leo, we can discover our deepest Self, our truest identity, the face we had before we were born. Let's begin Jupiter's new journey of Self-discovery with this Leo New Moon.
Venus and Mercury in Cancer connect with the ongoing Uranus/Pluto square, opening our hearts and minds to the cosmic demand for change. Venus in Cancer, receiving an imaginative trine from Neptune in Pisces, is exactly opposite Pluto in Capricorn, shining a mirror on the faults in patriarchy's social structures that no longer serve humanity. Corporations are not people and Venus wants to make sure we understand that. Perhaps we can give Mother Earth personhood rights. She's certainly more alive than a corporation! Mercury and Pluto face off over the truth of our emotional needs. Once again, patriarchal culture is failing us.
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