Jupiter first moved into Aries last spring with the first phase of the  conjunction of Jupiter to Uranus.  This meeting of the two planets of liberation in the sign of initiation was the instigator for the alignments in cardinal planets that I called the Cardinal Drama.  With up to seven planets and luminaries interacting in the early degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn) last summer, it was a powerful force for change.  Jupiter and Uranus then retrograded back into Pisces where they completed the second two phases of their conjunction.  With Jupiter now back in Aries, we begin to move forward to complete the work of last year’s planetary events.

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac.  This is the beginning of new experiences – in Aries we tend to approach our lives from a place of innocence.  Jupiter in Aries is accurately depicted by the Fool card in the Tarot.  The Rider Waite fool depicts someone who approaches their life with complete trust and innocence.  It’s a beautiful day, the Sun is shining, and they’re about to walk off a cliff.  The little dog is barking in warning, but the Fool has complete trust that the Universe will take care of him and protect him.  Jupiter in Aries offers a fresh new beginning of faith and trust in the Universe and in our own ability to follow the path that our soul has set out for us.

Over the past few years Saturn and Uranus have been in opposition to each other, pitting the conservative thinking and desire to retreat to the past of Saturn against the tremendous force for change that Uranus inspires.  Uranus rebels against the past and wants to experience something new and fresh – Uranus wants a life that is better suited to a changing world.  We have seen this playing out in global politics, but also in our own lives.  The goal when two planets are in opposition is to integrate both polarities and find harmony in the balance. Until we do that we are pulled back and forth – pulled by Saturn back into the past, reflecting that which is safe, that which we’ve depended on, and then pulled by Uranus which wants to break free into something totally different and new.

When Jupiter conjoined Uranus, encouraging that urgency for change, Saturn became the weak point.  Regression into the past was no longer an option.  When Jupiter and Uranus retrograded back into Pisces they were not as active, and the pressure to create change in our lives lost some of the impetus of the beginning of the cycle.  At that point Saturn was interacting with Pluto and we were pulled for a bit into the darkness and may have had a re-emergence of some of the fear of change that Saturn can bring.

With Jupiter in Aries, there is a desire for constant growth.  Jupiter expands, and Aries is endless energy and initiation of new actions.  We don’t want to be still – we don’t want to submit to any rules.  There’s lots of enthusiasm and passionate and pure, unadulterated drive and this will be accelerated when Uranus enters Aries in March.  Jupiter will remain in Aries until June 5, at which point it will move into Taurus and have a grounding influence which will be very helpful as we move into some of the summer’s more challenging planetary cycles.

This kind of energy with Jupiter and Uranus in Aries is very exciting for people that have a lot of fire and air in their charts.  They love this opening door of freedom, and the feeling of change in the air.  Others of us that are more conservative or cautious by nature may find this big push of energy flying around somewhat frightening.  It’s important to remember that this is the time to break free of old patterns and beliefs that hold us back.  We can’t go back through the door – the old ways are gone.  Human consciousness is accelerating now and we have to break through the barriers that keep us stuck in a box.

Physical exercise will help us to release any energy that we cannot handle, and help to ground us so that we can better utilize the flow of electricity and magnetism that is affecting us right now.

The last conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus occurred in 1968 – in fact, the Apollo mission landed on the very day of the second phase of that conjunction.  At that time, the Uranus/Pluto conjunction of 1962-1968 occurred first, creating the breakdown of the old ways, and then the shift into consciousness occurred with Jupiter and Uranus (in Virgo at that time).  This time the shift in consciousness of the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction occurs first, and then when Pluto squares Uranus next year the changes in the outer world and global transformation occur in response to the alterations of the inner world.

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