The planet Jupiter entered the sign of Taurus on the 4th of June 2011, and will move through the sign of Taurus until the 11th of June 2012. Jupiter takes twelve years to travel around the whole zodiac, spending approximately one year in each sign. The annual retrograde cycle of Jupiter is four months of the year; a period of time in which the archetype of Jupiter synthesized with the sign it is moving through, needs to be reviewed. Jupiter stationed at 10°21' Taurus on the 27th August 2011 before turning retrograde on the 30th August 2011. It will station again at 00°22' Taurus on December 23, 2011 before turning direct on December 25, 2011.

In Evolutionary Astrology, Jupiter is considered to be the archetype of the right brain, the intuitive function. It is the abstract part of the brain which seeks to understand life philosophically and metaphysically. The meanings behind all the facts and phenomena are what Jupiter searches for in order to understand the larger picture. It is always reaching for a deeper, more holistic, understanding of life and wants to be as inclusive as possible. For this reason, Jupiter is considered to be the principle of growth and expansion. It creates faith, hope, and optimism towards the potential it intuitively grasps and wants the freedom to explore. Through Jupiter, we start to believe in something, it becomes a personal truth that provides meaning and direction about how to make sense of the world. Personal truth is very different to universal truth as symbolized by Neptune. A typical distortion of Jupiter is to become too attached to one’s own personal belief’s as the one and only truth. This can create insecurity and defensiveness when confronted by the facts (Gemini, the natural opposition), that contradict that personal truth. Defensiveness stems from the need to feel secure about one’s personal meaning and interpretation of the world. Jupiter is well known for it’s tendency towards excess and exaggeration, which can be a form of compensation for the truth and feelings of inferiority; for example, when someone refuses to face the facts and instead is wildly dishonest or loose with the information and data. In extreme cases, total self-righteousness and refusal to listen to other points of view can occur as one starts to believe in one‘s own lies. The intuitive function of Jupiter knows something without knowing how it got there; the details and facts may be unobtainable or simply irrelevant. Visions can occur that are perceived to come from larger or more intelligent forces of the universe. Sometimes these visions represent the truth, other times they can be a reflection of a subconscious personal desire. The lesson for us all to remember is that the truth is relative.

Jupiter is the archetype of what is termed in Evolutionary Astrology as natural law. Natural law relates to the natural principles of creation and how creation operates, as opposed to conditioned indoctrination. A natural manifestation of Jupiter is truth and honesty, and a distortion of Jupiter is outright lies, dishonesty, and false doctrines. When Jupiter functions at its most natural level it is an inspirational teacher, philosopher, explorer, and seeker; the bearer of wisdom, knowledge, and humor!

Archetypically, Jupiter is the ruling planet of the sign Sagittarius, which is a mutable fire sign. Mutable fire is energy moving outward, it seeks to move, grow, and expand; it is not accustomed to restriction of any kind. Therefore, it is an interesting dynamic we now have with Jupiter in the sign of Taurus. Taurus is a fixed earth sign, energy moving inward. Taurus wants to sustain and maintain whatever was initiated in the previous sign of Aries. The natural expansive nature of Jupiter is getting slowed down in the cautious sign of Taurus. The inspiration and intuitiveness of Jupiter now needs to be grounded, to be made real, to manifest something productive and sustainable here on this Earth! The energy of Taurus will be pacing the expansive energy of Jupiter, creating an ebb and flow of growth followed by sustainability.

Taurus represents our basic essential needs of survival and security both on an inner and outer level. On an outer level, Taurus relates to physical resources such as food, clothing, shelter, money, our physical bodies, etc. On an inner level, Taurus relates to our value system, self-sufficiency, self-acceptance, self-love, self-understanding, perseverance, and endurance. With Jupiter transiting through Taurus, our belief systems (Jupiter), about what we value (Taurus), are going to be of prime importance. Each individual has unique life circumstances and unique value systems. For one person, it may be realizing that having 2 cars is doable and 3 cars are not really necessary; for another it may choosing between dinner that evening and a pair of shoes; yet for another it may be realizing that self-love and inner security are more productive than trying to gain acceptance through material means. With Jupiter in Taurus we are learning to be honest with ourselves and with others; to value authenticity and integrity.

Jupiter in Taurus is showing us what is valuable whether that be luxuries, basic survival, or inner resources. For those searching for inner growth and meaning on a personal or spiritual level, belief systems (Jupiter), need to be practical (Taurus), and simple (Taurus), for conscious growth and expansion (Jupiter) to occur. Jupiter in Taurus wants to find and search for philosophies that make sense in the world here and now?not in some abstract future. Ultimately, the only resource is the transcendent source itself that can only be found within, yet while in a physical body, we still need to create, build, and sustain our physical lives.

One of the fundamental lessons of Jupiter in Taurus is learning how to do more with less. With an unstable economy we are adjusting to how to make what we currently have (Taurus) go further (Jupiter). Is your house or apartment overflowing with stuff? A good opportunity to create more space (Jupiter), could be to sell some belongings (Taurus), that you really don’t need (Taurus). More and more people are bartering instead of paying for goods and services. With Jupiter in Taurus, we are realizing that money is just an energetic exchange; our inner value and creativity is a resource which can be profitable energetically. Self-sufficiency (Taurus) is developed when we are able to create our own resources, inner and outer, that we need to survive. The essence of Jupiter in Taurus is to expand our level of self-love to the point where we gain enough inner-security to stand strong and solid in the midst of the storms around us.

One main distortion associated with the sign of Taurus is that of getting stuck, fixed, and resistant to change. When an astrological archetype starts to manifest in a distorted fashion, it’s natural oppositional sign creates tension and confrontation. The natural opposition of Taurus is Scorpio. Scorpio’s nature is in itself confrontational and when dealing with a stagnating bull, will literally pull the earth from underneath whatever or whoever is clinging to those unproductive security patterns. When embracing Scorpio, Taurus learns that resistance is futile, and one’s own limitations (Scorpio) must be faced head on. For example, if you cling to that old wardrobe of clothes that you might “need one day,” you may find that a sudden gas leak in your house blows them up! And with expansive Jupiter in Taurus, you may lose much more than just the clothes. Jupiter is a mutable archetype, which is helping the fixed energy of Taurus become more adaptable. Jupiter in Taurus is about having a deeper and more authentic inner relationship with ourselves. If we are too co-dependent on anything outside of ourselves, whether it is the relationship, the job, the bank account, the house, etc, the Scorpio polarity will make us pay attention. Anything that is no longer serving us will be forcefully removed in order to bring attention to those unconscious emotional security patterns (Scorpio) that are causing stagnation (Taurus), and preventing deeper soul growth (Scorpio).

Between August 30th and December 25th when Jupiter is retrograde, all belief’s, intuitions, and values associated with our inner and outer resources, will be deeply reviewed in order to de-condition from that which is no longer working. The outward expansive energy or Jupiter will be pulled inward to reflect upon what needs to be released in order to serve more fruitful and sustainable growth moving forward. New intuitions will surface at this time as energy is freed from old patterns, values, and beliefs; it is important to pay attention to your what your intuition is telling you at this time. Values and beliefs that have held strong in this, and previous lifetimes, will be deeply questioned. What may have previously been a strongly held and valuable truth, may now appear to be meaningless. While this may feel disconcerting, it is a necessary step in adjusting to what is important and sustainable moving forward. Beliefs about relating to our own self, how we know ourselves, expanding our inner resources of strength, perseverance, and endurance, will all come under the microscope. Beliefs about sensual pleasure and sexuality (Taurus), and how connected we feel to our bodies will be under review.

With Jupiter retrograding in Taurus, we will deeply question how to expand and manifest our resources in a way that is sustainable. One example that happened recently where I live in Boulder, was a rally outside the County Courthouse to keep Boulder GMO free. Many members of the community shared their beliefs (Jupiter) about the dangers of GMO’s in response to land (Taurus) being purchased to grow all GMO crops. County Commissioners were being asked to review their beliefs (Jupiter retrograde) about what is a more sustainable (Taurus) and productive (Taurus) use of the land. It was pointed out that GMO crops are destroying (Scorpio) the organisms within the soil (Taurus), creating harmful mutations (Scorpio), and threatening our whole food supply (Taurus) due to contamination from cross-pollination. The side-effects of GMO’s are responsible for killing (Scorpio) living organisms, including people. The solution the people of Boulder are asking for is a sustainable one; let local farmers use the land to grow organic food. Simple!

Author: Heidi Larner
Based on the teachings of Jeffrey Wolf Green, founder of Evolutionary Astrology