Jupiter entered Aries last week for the first time since leaving that fiery sign of war last fall and retreating back into Pisces. You may remember that Jupiter and Uranus were conjunct in Aries back in late May and the summer of 2010, coinciding with the rise of revolutionary fervor in Thailand, Krygystan,  Israel.  This was also the time of the first big Wikileaks.

Aries is all about self-preservation and self-initiation, and Jupiter’s entry into Aries means that it is getting closer to a challenging face-off against Pluto in Capricorn, where power (Pluto) is compressed and channeled through governments and corporations (Capricorn).  The writing is on the wall, and when Uranus joins Jupiter in Aries this fever of revolution and surge of protests against the establishment (Capricorn) in a call for liberation (Uranus) will continue to escalate.

Last week it was Sudan, Jordan and Tunisia, and now it is Egypt, Lebanon and Yemen whose people are rising against the oppressive government in that country.  This puts the United States in a difficult position – on the one hand, we supposedly stand for freedom and personal liberty, yet the regimes that we support in the middle east are repressive and corrupt.  Still, those regimes provide some stability in a region that has the ability to erupt like a powderkeg in the upcoming Uranus/Pluto square.

I can’t help but think this is a good thing, even though like all difficult planetary cycles it won’t be comfortable and is certain to be accompanied by bloodshed.  But balance must be achieved, and it’s the job of Uranus (and Jupiter, to a lesser extent) to emancipate the oppressed and when in a square to Pluto in Capricorn, to destroy (Pluto)  the old structures (Capricorn) that are already rotted and decayed.

Uranus enters Aries in the later part of March, but Jupiter will move ever close to a square to Pluto that culminates in mid-February.  Jupiter brings confidence and demands to be heard – Jupiter after all was the King of all of the gods on Mt. Olympus.  Jupiter refuses to take a back seat to the Lord of the Underworld, no matter how much destruction will ensue.

So fasten your seatbelts folks, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for the next few months.