Jupiter in Scorpio: Underworlds
Within the earth, beneath the mountain, through the dark lake, there is another world. Sunlight does not penetrate. You must bring your own light. This is the realm of the dead, a place of ghosts and shades, a place of buried wealth, secrets, hidden desires.
Gilgamesh, Inanna, Psyche, Demeter, Balder the Beautiful, Dionysus and Orpheus; the Japanese creator Izanagi, Gesar the King of the Mongols and the Mayan Hero Twins — these gods and heroes visited the underworld and returned.
This dangerous, dark otherworld is found in the myth or folklore of all continents — so is the story of a descent and resurrection. Joseph Campbell Included this in his concept of the “monomyth”, the hero’s journey. The story of the descent to the underworld has been used as a psychological metaphor in the 20th century for a battle with depression, madness or grief — a struggle with the darker reaches of the psyche.
Scorpio’s Cave
This place is represented astrologically by Scorpio — the sign of sex, death and taboo; surgery, excision and transformation; detective work, criminality, psychology and truth-telling; power and extreme wealth.
It’s no accident that film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s years of sexual predation have been revealed this week as Jupiter moves into Scorpio. (Weinstein — a larger-than-life bon viveur is a Jupiterian type (Sun in late Pisces, perfect for the film business).
Hollywood really does act things out the collective, even off screen. Last year, as Jupiter went into Libra — the sign of marriage and divorce — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced their split.
Jupiter in Scorpio: October 10, 2017 — November 8, 2018
Jupiter will be shining a great big light on secrets in the coming year. Watch out if you have been cheating on your taxes, your alimony or your partner, or if you have been handing out backhanders. Anything illicit, corrupt or illegal could come to light. Jupiter is also a planet associated with justice, so there will be court cases, and Scorpio is associated with revenge.
Remember, Jupiter carries a great big magnifying glass.
Think of this as a journey to the underworld collectively. This does mean we may encounter monsters, but at least we are moving forward now, and, according to the hero’s journey, this is where the treasure lies.
However, on a personal level, it’s not quite like that.
For the water signs, Pisces (aside from one H. Weinstein), Scorpios and Cancerians, this could and should be a lovely transit, increasing your sense of well-being, creative flow — and in the case of Scorpios, popularity.
Capricorn and Cancer, in particular, may feel a release of pressure, as Jupiter was at a tough angle to your Sun for the previous 12 months, and now is at an easy, helpful angle.
Power and Discontent
In fact, collectively, Jupiter in Scorpio could well be less argumentative than Jupiter in Libra, which was opposing crazy, erratic, rebellious Uranus in Aries all year and at a nasty square to power-hungry, corrupt Pluto. Indeed, Jupiter brought out the harsh aspect between those two heavy hitting planets that was active between 2012 and 2015. Libra is, of course, one of the most political signs, and that struggle was played out in the political arena through the election of Trump, Brexit, the French elections, Venezuela, Erdogan…
One danger of Jupiter in Scorpio is the abuse of power. Jupiter will be working with Pluto, while in Scorpio. Not only will these two now be in a dynamic aspect by sign, Jupiter is also in Pluto’s own sign during this year. This means nuclear responsibility needs to be taken very seriously. It also means that “the Deep State” around the world could become more powerful. In short, if you are living in a police state, be careful. However, the flip side of this is that the real workings of states — who holds the power — could become clearer.
It’s important to remember that Scorpio is simultaneously a sign of secrets and truth. Scorpio is about what lies beneath the surface: people’s real motivations, and the state’s real machinery.
Transition
You don’t need me to tell you that we are living through a period of transition. Although you can trace the roots of the problem deeply back into history as far as you like, this period began in 2008 when Pluto went into Capricorn and the banks crashed. Since that year, the capitalist system has been stress-tested repeatedly, democracy’s flaws have been repeatedly revealed. It’s about the transformation of power structures.
This coming year, we have a lot of big changes coming up astrologically, and this move of Jupiter into Scorpio is the start of that. In December, Saturn will move into Capricorn, after two and a bit years in Sagittarius, and next year Uranus will move in and out of the early degrees of Taurus, after a tempestuous tour through Aries since 2011. So that’s a shift from fire to earth, from inspiring to doing. This means Pluto in Capricorn will be getting more support and less hostility, so the transformations being wrought in the collective power structures will start to become more real.
There is another interesting element to this. Lilith, the Dark Moon, goddess of the broken-taboo, outcast, child-eater, wild one is entering Capricorn on November 9: she will stay there for nine months. This could work in various ways — but watch out for the people in power and pay attention next May and June when these two hook up.
Digging Deep
We talk about “soul searching”, when we refer to someone examining their conscience, asking themselves questions, like, “are my motives really pure?” “am I abusing my own power?” “is my need cruel?” That is part of the hero’s psychological journey.
But soul searching could be something more like a shaman’s journey of soul retrieval too. We might go deep into the underworld in search of the lost pieces of our selves. That could be the treasure.
Perhaps, Jupiter in Scorpio offers us collectively an opportunity to retrieve something precious that we’ve lost, or at least to laugh in the face of demons.
Great writeup Christina.
Jupiter crosses my descendant in a week or two. Your mention of Saturn reminds that it’s been in my 7th & 8th houses since late 2012. So much has changed in how I relate to others.
I have to hope that Jupiter will reinflate my faith in other people that has gone sorely missing over those years. I will be getting my 4th Jupiter return in a year or so as it exits Scorpio and then hitting my 8H Neptune.
Excellent article.
Talking of Mr Weinstein, he also has Mars in Scorpio square Pluto. In the circumstances an astrological cliché if ever I saw one.
My only concerns with the upcoming sextiles and trines in water and earth to Pluto, is that it will support, or rather enable more repressive themes. Im hoping youre right.
I agree with this point absolutely, but I did not want to emphasise it.
Its a dilemma.
But it should be good for women, and in the usual twisted way of these things, Mr W ‘s downfall may help facillitate that.
I am really happy that we’re talking about this stuff — and I think it’s important to remember that this is a common experience for women. I worked in the unglamorous world of publishing for many years and there were mini-Weinsteins aplenty.
I bet there were – and is.
I think every woman has encountered her own personal Weinstein.
I was in a small boutique in a bucolic sussex village last month, chatting to the assistants and another shopper, and within minutes the conversation moved to sexual abuse and harrassment. The sad tales these carefully coiffed country ladies told were deeply affecting. As one said “30 years later, and I think of it more now than then. Why didnt I speak up?’
She didnt speak up because she was a sheltered 19 year old and he was her greasy 50 year old boss.
It is good to talk about it, and even better if that changes things.
Once Saturn enters Capricorn at the end of this year, Saturn will be Jupiter’s final dispositor, tempering the expansiveness of Jupiter. Until then, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto are in a loop of dispositors, sometimes called “ruling by committee”. Should be interesting in 2019, when Jupiter in Sag and Saturn in Cap are in their signs of rule, along with Neptune in Pisces.
Don’t forget about us guys when it comes to being victims of sexual assault! The numbers vary depending on source and whether prison and military sexual assault is considered, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/21/us-more-men-raped-than-women
“…a 15-year-old male is considerably more likely to be sexually assaulted than a woman over 40. The CDC reports that 12.3 percent of female victims were 10 or younger at the time of their first completed rape victimization; for male victims, that number is 27.8 percent.”
http://time.com/3393442/cdc-rape-numbers/
Good point. Young men, and boys are also vulnerable.
I can’t help noticing that many of the – I stress – rightly or wrongly alleged individuals have either Mars in Scorpio or a Scorpio/Pluto hard aspect and that Jupiter is now in Scorpio. Michael Fallon the uk defence secretary, the latest in a long line of Scorpio Mars natives has just resigned. I’m not implying anything against Mars-Pluto-Scorpio – I have Mars in Scorpio and have never abused anyone – it just seems so uncannily to keep cropping up.
Interesting point.
Omg, so I have Jupiter in Scorpio (sun Sagittarius) in the 6th house. My profession is a specialized type of massage and decided to do a free massage for a super Sagittarius guy (who is amazing at
networking on Facebook for some advertising) and he’s done such a spectacular job I’m booking people like crazy and was already busy! We sure hooked into Jupiter’s expansion aspect,hahaha!
Go for it.