Mandala Art by Kim Aronson

Jupiter and Saturn have been moving into a trine in the fire element over the past couple of weeks, and this aspect will be exact tomorrow (March 16th). Jupiter is slowing down now and making a “station” as it prepares to turn retrograde in early April. Saturn’s motion has also slowed down as it prepares to turn direct in late April, and meanwhile the two planets will be within a degree of aspect until the second phase of the trine on May 6. The Jupiter/Saturn trine cycle will end next January in 2008, but by then both Jupiter and Saturn will have moved into the earth element which will alter the effect of the relationship between them.

Trines are not often very noticeable because they are easy and comfortable and we tend not to notice our lives until we are presented with difficulty. The energy between the planets flows easily and provides opportunity for the expression of each planet to be enhanced by the other. Jupiter is expansive and optimistic where Saturn is disciplined and works hard to achieve its goals, so the two combined are a very beneficial force for manifesting wonderful changes in our lives.

Saturn is an earthy planet and Jupiter a fiery one, and while they are trine in fire it is Jupiter which is the teacher, bestowing on Saturn the more Jupiterian qualities of inspiration, vision, and optimism which enables Saturn’s discipline and “nose to the grindstone” mentality to find a more expansive expression. When Jupiter and Saturn move into earth signs (Saturn into Virgo in October and Jupiter into Capricorn in December) , Saturn will become the teacher and add a dose of practicality and planning to Jupiter’s sometimes overblown confidence and tendency to take life a little too easily.

Dovetailing with this trine is a square of Jupiter to Uranus, the first cycle of which we saw back in January. The Jupiter/Uranus combination can be potentially explosive – because this is a challenging aspect (the square), we tend to see the more negative manifestation of both planets. In Jupiter we see a reckless overconfidence and tendency towards self-righteousness, and Uranus is similarly reckless with a desire for change for its own sake and at any cost. This event has brought with it problems with communication and equipment similar to a Mercury retrograde period. We will see this square return in May and then again in October and it will be interesting to see how the trine of Saturn to Jupiter calms the wild rebellion of Jupiter square to Uranus when they coincide in May.

All of this Jupiter energy offers opportunities and an expanded sense of possibilities; however, it can create conflict as different ideologies jockey for position. With Jupiter we can be extremely lucky but let’s keep the Saturnian practicality and discipline so that we can take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to us now.