Jupiter in Cancer

June 25, 2013—July 16, 2014

The following is an excerpt from my 2013 Astrological Almanac. This handy tome contains descriptions of every day, monthly summaries, an ephemeris, a yearly walk-through, and more. The 2015 Astrological Almanac is now available- secure yours today.

Jupiter is traditionally considered to be exalted in Cancer.  The word “exalted” is key here.  While Jupiter is powerful in Sagittarius and Pisces, the signs that it traditionally rules, the effects of Jupiter in those signs could hardly be called exalted.  When a planet is in its rulership, it is strong— all of its significations, both positive and negative, are strengthened.  When a planet is exalted, the planet has less brute strength but provides more refined results.

In Jupiter’s case, the blessing is abundance, and the signs that are most strongly poised to receive it, Sagittarius and Pisces, are also the most likely to squander it.  Both Sagittarius and Pisces are generous to a fault, and when the good times start rolling, they tend to expect them to continue into eternity. 

Cancer is different.  In Cancer, Jupiter teaches the wisdom of mutual nourishing.   The man feeds the land, the land feeds the man.

This intimate ouroboros forms a key part of Cancer’s symbolism.  Pregnancy, breasts and the womb are all a key part of the Cancer’s resonance cluster.   The mother nourishes the child which she grew in her body.  Yet the child will grow to nourish the mother, for when she is old, she will be the babe in that child’s arms.  It is the cycle of reciprocal caretaking.

The key with Jupiter in Cancer is always to grow slowly, and from the core.  Jupiter’s primary correspondences are to the  processes of growth and expansion, and the states of abundance and generosity.

Growth is a natural consequence of abundance, in fact, growth is not possible unless there is more than enough for sustenance, the state which abundance implies.  This is so even on a biological level.   For an organism to grow, it needs more calories than it would to sustain its current form.  This is why the caterpillar is such a chubby fellow— he’s storing the massive amount of energy he’ll need for his transformation.

The virtue of generosity, also one of Jupiter’s key correspondences, also relies on the state of excess.  In order to give, one must first have.  In order to give without the act being a self destructive one, one must have more than enough.

One of the factors that’s makes Jupiter’s time in Cancer so dignified is the crustaceous sign’s deep connection with Need.  Our bodies, hearts and minds all need to be fed.  They require different types of sustenance, to be sure, but each has a hunger.  Any planet in Cancer becomes aware of what it needs to be nourished.  If one can differentiate between legitimate needs and artificial wants, then one can acquire exactly what one needs to grow strong.  A well nourished heart offers its abundance of love naturally, while a well nourished mind offers genius.  Abundance is a necessary pre-condition for sustainable generosity.

The Oracle

An excellent example of a prominent Jupiter in Cancer native is Warren Buffet, the famous investor.  Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffet does not sell a “get rich quick” investing strategy.  He advocates only investing in businesses you know and understand.  Here we see Cancer’s boundary of familiarity, it’s comfort zone, the area which it knows by feel alone.  Only deal with that which you know.

Buffet also advocates long term investments. This is contrary to the majority of what is sold as “common sense” in the investment world.  Forget the fashions and the short term trends.  Invest in solid companies in businesses you understand.   Trust and familiarity, two Cancer keywords, applied to the frenetic world of investment, produce startling returns.  Not only that, but those heeding Buffet’s advice are not fair weather investors, just trying to make a quick buck off the company.  They’re supporters of a business, who intend to leave their money with it.  This level of solid commitment benefits the companies tremendously, as investors like this do not freak out and jump ship at the first bad quarterly earnings report.  Jupiter in Cancer plays the long game, to everyone’s benefit.

The Tao

The way, then, pointed to by Jupiter in Cancer is to take care of  and nourish the source, and to receive abundance as the source expands and grows.  Nourish the mind and the mind grows.  Nourish the finances and they grow.

Jupiter in Cancer teaches the philosophy of the Tao, which always preaches a return to the center, and movement from the core.   Strong Yang proceeds from well fed Yin.

Jupiter in Aspect

Jupiter aspects several other slow moving planetary bodies in 2013.  The following is a summary of the configurations which Jupiter makes with the other outers.

T-Square With Uranus and Pluto

In August of 2013 and then again in the first quarter of 2014, Jupiter moves into the crosshairs between Uranus and Pluto, forming a powerful t-square.

Uranus advocates for rebellion, radical breaks towards independence.  Pluto advocates for control in the midst of long term transformations.  Jupiter in Cancer seeds fresh growth and blesses careful cultivation. 

Although this configuration has a gestalt effect, it is comprised of several distinct aspects, the first of which is the Uranus-Pluto square itself, which is detailed elsewhere.

Jupiter and Pluto

Jupiter in Cancer’s opposition to Pluto in Capricorn illuminates concealed opportunities for growth.   This opposition steals Jupiter’s benefic light from the lands above, pulling it into the darkness of personal and collective underworlds.  The opportunities here involve those things which are normally hidden.  The diamonds in what has been rejected, tossed away.   On an external level, this aspect points toward trade in illegal goods and services, as well as those that are legal but frowned upon, such as pornography.  It also points towards the opportunities resident in  those things which others see as worthless.  One example would be investment in a deeply undervalued company.

On a personal  level, the growth that is possible comes through admitting dangerous material into the psyche, expanding the sphere of what is psychologically acceptable.   It is not the growth of components of the conscious identity, but its expansion through incorporation of previously rejected material.

Jupiter and Uranus

Jupiter in Cancer’s square with Uranus in Aries triggers sudden, eruptive growths spurts, and the rapid appearance of opportunities.   However, Uranus’ chaotic rays also destabilize the slow, consistent pace of cultivation that Jupiter in Cancer normally presides over.  Opportunities may disappear as quickly as they first appeared, and the growth spurts seen here may mirror the problems of the awkward teenager who’s just shot up six inches in the last six months.

All Together Now

One of Jupiter functions in astrology is to fix or repair problems caused by other planets.  It is a benefic, quite literally a “do gooder,” and its interference with the Uranus-Pluto square should help buffer some of the difficulties these harsh planets deal out.  Jupiter will also help illuminate the opportunities that the wrenching changes have uncovered, making clear that destruction is, in fact, always creative.

On the other hand, neutralizing Uranus and Pluto may take most of Jupiter’s power.  It will be difficult to chase opportunities without being drawn directly into the firey, transformative ordeals that Uranus and Pluto offer.

Although many of the seeds will fail, this configuration will oversee fresh shoots rising from scorched forests, blooms of culture emerging in spite of the political battlefields in which they were planted.   If these energies can be properly stirred and cooked, a potent serum results, a divine venom capable of catalyzing radical and transformative growth, a mutant Miracle Grow which nourishes even in the most inhospitable environments.

Jupiter And Neptune

Jupiter makes a perfect trine with Neptune on July 17^th.  Jupiter offers Neptune the capability to extend mystical insights into the living tissue of life, offering the opportunity to grow alternate realities from dream cultures.   This combination etherealizes Jupiter to some degree, while giving weight to Neptune’s fantasies.   Normally this pairing comes with a high risk of utopian delirium, but the only time which it occurs in 2013, both Jupiter and Neptune also share tight aspects with Saturn, guaranteeing that the pressure of the real will not be ignored, but instead incorporated into the fertile dreams offered here.

Jupiter And Saturn

Saturn and Jupiter trine on July 17th and again on December 12th.  Harmonious aspects between Jupiter and Saturn are very positive.  The structure that Saturn provides supports the growth that Jupiter prompts.  It is the logic of a trellis, where growth is supported, guided and restricted.  The two bodies check each other’s more extreme tendencies, Saturn’s pessimism balancing the overconfidence that Jupiter can generate.  The product is a balanced approach, poisoned by neither hope nor fear.