I’m going to take a break from Pluto in Capricorn to discuss Jupiter, which paves the way for Pluto when it enters Capricorn on the 18th.

Jupiter takes roughly a year to go through each sign of the zodiac, and it will remain in Capricorn until January of 2009. As it does so it will make three trines to Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn. Saturn and Capricorn take us to the highest levels of practical awareness; they provide the structure and discipline that is required to build a life of achievement and success. Saturn will also be trine to Pluto several times which will bring even more structure to the chaos that has prevailed over the past couple of years and foster an environment that can bring success as Pluto’s transformative urge combines with Saturn’s patience and planning.

Jupiter is the planet of optimism and faith – it teaches us to expand our horizons and to learn the value of positive thinking. Under Jupiter’s influence we gain new confidence and the ability to trust that life is carrying us in just the right direction. When poorly aspected, Jupiter can inflict a reckless and overconfident approach to life but the Jupiter cycles we are seeing over the next year are largely positive.

As Jupiter makes its way through Capricorn we will see the melding of Jupiter’s optimism with Capricornian practicality, resulting in a more reasoned approach to all things Jupiterian: the media, religion, culture, and travel. From the relentless optimism of Pluto in Sagittarius era, we are moving into a much more conservative and contracted time with Pluto’s entry into Capricorn, and this shift in motivation will begin as Jupiter moves into Capricorn this week.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn as we have said, and Saturn is already in Virgo where in its role of Celestial Taskmaster it is inspiring greater attention to health and increased caution in risky behavior. Although this growing tendency towards contraction rather than expansion may seem depressing, the combination of Jupiter’s optimism with Saturn’s discipline can lead to great success if we follow a plan rather than just rely on sheer optimism itself.

There has been a serious dearth of the earth element over the past six or seven years, resulting in an environment that lacks stability and structure. With Saturn now in Virgo and Jupiter and Pluto moving into Capricorn that situation is being remedied to the extreme. We will see a more conservative approach to all things, not necessarily political conservatism, but a conservatism that demands restraint and patience rather than the reckless and impulsive actions which have dominated the Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius era.

Jupiter will make its first trine to Saturn in mid-January of 2008, offering the potential for great success in our endeavors, particularly for those of us with planets in the early degrees of earth and water signs. Even for the more impulsive airy and fiery types, the trine of Saturn to Jupiter will make it easier to find the discipline and stability to achieve our goals.

Jupiter’s expansive urge seeks freedom from restraint, and in Capricorn that thirst for expansion creates new boundaries and structures. The last time Jupiter in Capricorn made a trine to Saturn was in 1948, the year that Burma, Sri Lanka, Israel and Palestine all declared their independence.

In April, Saturn trines Pluto for the first time (although Saturn has been within orb of a trine to Saturn for the past six months or so). The second trine of Jupiter to Saturn takes place in mid-September as Jupiter stations direct after its retrograde passage, with the final trine occurring in November 0f 2008 just in time for the elections. This will be a particularly interesting time since Saturn will also be opposing Uranus, bringing about some interesting surprises!