Jupiter Retrogrades in Gemini

Moments in the Flow--Expansion Goes Within

Hello again,

Jupiter view of South Pole, NASA

Major planetary shifts are happening this week. Our largest planet, Jupiter, is going retrograde (when it appears to be moving backwards…an illusion produced by our orbit and point of view). The demoted-to-dwarf planet, Pluto, goes direct on Friday. This post will focus on the Giant and have some information about the Dwarf at the end. (It’s only because there isn’t as much to say about Pluto now, not a planetary prejudice.)

Jupiter’s Role in Astrology

Ruler of Sagittarius and old ruler of Pisces, Jupiter entered Gemini at 7:15 p.m. EDT on May 25th. King of the gods, Jupiter is the Judge. It is concerned with natural laws (gravity, sun rises in the east), beliefs, rituals, philosophy (religion), and, most importantly, the principle of expansion.

Sagittarius, Darkmoon, Pixabay

On the wheel, Jupiter is ruler of fire sign Sagittarius, the 9^th sign of the Zodiac. It comes before Saturn, ruler of the10^th sign, earthy Capricorn and the principle of contraction. 9 is the number of completions. 10=1 starts a new cycle. Again, (as with Aries before Taurus, Leo before Virgo) the fire activity comes before things manifest into form.

In this pairing, it takes the action of expansion of perspective to form perceptions which determine the beliefs that will become crafted into the agreement of the collective consensus mind, creating the structures of government, and authority. This becomes a codification of tradition, rules, regulations, and practical methods for achievement. 

The Hierarchical View

Many astrologers have a negative impression of the combination of Jupiter and Gemini because it is in the sign opposite the one it rules. That means it is ‘in fall.’ Gemini is the mind we use to navigate our world. It is focused on details, gathering information, classifying and communicating. Gemini wants to inspect and learn about each tree, while Jupiter is like the drone that flies above and sees the whole forest. A pairing of these things is thought to be negative and inferior. 

I think these designations of good and bad when it comes to planets in signs also deserves a broader look. We live in a world where up implies down and vice versa; night is followed by day. All signs and planets have their polarity within, with some qualities seeming more desirable than others. However, all these qualities can be expressed positively at certain times and depend on the individual level of consciousness.   

For Jupiter in Gemini, expanding communications, conversation, and information gathering can reach an uncomfortable, overwhelming extreme. The humor that Jupiter is known by may seem to deny the seriousness of thoughts. But the gift of Jupiter in Gemini is expanding the mind. It is the combination that results in expanding consciousness.

Expanded Consciousness

Jupiter has been in Gemini during many periods where ideas and concepts were shifting, and for the better. More recent examples are the various civil rights movements of the late 1960s, the introduction of eastern philosophies and practices to the west in the late 1970s, the interest in astrology after the ‘harmonic convergence’, in the late 1980s, the expansion of information via the internet at the change of the millennium in 2000, and the shift into timeless time in 2012. (Timeless time is an experience of constant change.)   

Jupiter’s 2024 Gemini Transit

Jupiter remains in a sign for approximately a year and takes approximately twelve years to transit the zodiac. After entering Gemini, Jupiter moved along at the rate of 5 days on a degree until it began to slow down in August. It has spent 14 days on 21 degrees of Gemini, where it retrogrades on October 9^th.

While retrograde it remains on 21 degrees until October 23^rd. Jupiter then goes back all the way to 14 degrees Gemini, where it is as 2024 ends. Slowing way down again in January 2025, it will go direct at 11 degrees on February 4^th.

A Planet in Retrograde

When a planet is retrograde it is said to be internalized in action and less visible in the outer world. We certainly have had a lot of information and communications over the period of direct motion and can benefit from this time to process. During this time, we may better understand why and how we arrive at a conclusion. Greater understanding and meaning about current events and accepted concepts can reveal what they symbolize, the effects produced and their implications, applications, and usefulness. We can assimilate and digest the level of consciousness that has opened up in ourselves and in the world.

During Jupiter in Gemini retrograde, the experience of expansion in the outer world may decrease or stop for a while. Whether that is good or bad depends on the situation and circumstances. We may feel deflated in our attempts to achieve greater successes. But the recent dramatic expansion of flood and winds during Hurricane Helene and Milton in the US, or an unusual growth of some kind on the body, are examples of where we may be grateful for expansion to slow down or cease. 

When Jupiter resumes direct motion, our beliefs and ideas may have transformed in certain ways, or we may be more aware of how we want to expand them in the future.

What We Can Expect

Pisces, Darkmoon_Art on Pixabay

Those with Sagittarius or Pisces as the Sun Sign or Ascendant can feel a more generalized slowdown. The areas of life designated by houses in the birth chart with Sagittarius and Pisces on the cusp will experience a slowdown. The house in the birth chart where Jupiter in Gemini is in transit may have been receiving benefits or moments of overwhelm and this gives the retrograde energy a potential for either frustration or relief. Or both.

Jupiter retrograde gets close to a square to Saturn in Pisces during December, making an exact square on December 24^th. The combination sounds a bit Dickensian to me with some feeling a lack of benefits and gifts while others experience abundance. In the northern hemisphere it can also indicate wintry weather conditions disrupting travel. In the southern hemisphere, it may bring some of the mega storms we have been experiencing here.

In direct motion, Gemini Jupiter is about to have another direct square to Saturn in May, but Saturn shifts into Aries on May 24-25. Their next square won’t take place until after Jupiter enters Cancer on June 9^th.   

If you want more information about how this will affect you personally, Contact Me about a reading of your natal chart.

Pluto Direct in Capricorn

Pluto is the new ruler of Scorpio. It has tremendous and often hidden power. Transformation is a keyword. It also signifies great wealth and products that come from underground, like oil. As God of the Underworld, Pluto may describe people of that character in their business and behavior.

Pluto has been in Capricorn with a brief dip into Aquarius since 2008. In the sign of government, we saw a transformation of a presidential figure in the US election. We also saw more secretive elements enter this realm, and the realm of corporations, where people began to accrue vast sums of money, and some kept it hidden. Many people saw the consensus mind and traditions begin to erode and the uncertainty brought up fear.

But before we go on, we must look back. 

The Paradigm Shift of January 2020

In January of 2020, Saturn made an exact conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn. This aspect combining structure and transformation hadn’t occurred since the mid-1500s. It marked a significant Paradigm Shift which would call for transformation of old, hierarchical and patriarchal thinking. After over 2,000 years in this mindset, it is not surprising to experience a powerful backlash.

The paradigm shift of the mid 1500s was when Henry VIII and Martin Luther successfully challenged the Roman Pope. Since going against this church had resulted in excommunication and death, it was amazing to many that it held. Henry set about taking the land back and destroying cathedrals and monasteries. A hidden reason for this was not only his desire to put aside wife number one and marry another. It was a way to take the wealth back from Rome.

Queen Elizabeth I, Jo-B on Pixabay

But the backlash was there, behind the scenes. A monumental shift like this was not accepted by those who wanted a Catholic King on the throne. After Henry passed, and once his Catholic daughter Mary’s reign had passed, Elizabeth I attained the throne. She had a more open-minded approach to religion and there were many attempts to assassinate this more liberal-minded ruler. The need to stop them called for a vast spy-network, created and overseen by the Queen’s ‘handler,’ William Cecil, and later his son Robert. It was the largest such network ever known at that time, very Plutonian in both its power and invisibility.    

And so, in our own time we see echoes of this in the backlash of those looking for and wanting to hold supreme power and dictate the behavior and religion of their people. As it was in the 16th century, we now have an extreme, polarized division of humanity.

With Jupiter in Gemini, we could expand our consciousness to see this as the last gasp of the resistance. And we can see the shift is making inroads. It is the evolutionary direction. Eventually, just like the shift in the 16th century, it will prevail.

Pluto’s Direct Transit in Capricorn

Pluto will leave Capricorn and enter Aquarius, sign of independence and change, on November 19^th at 3:29 p.m. EST. And as Pluto goes direct, those with sun signs or ascendants in Scorpio will begin to feel they are moving forward again. So will the issues of the house with Scorpio on the cusp.

Scorpio, Darkmoon_Art on Pixabay

Pluto’s next retrograde is May 4th, 2025, at 3 Aquarius and will go direct at 1 degree Aquarius on October 13th. The long transit of Capricorn is over.

Pluto in Aquarius

Will Power go to the Group. Will equality and objectivity be our focus? We will have signs as the transit begins, and some of it will concern new methods of working with energy. Giant Jupiter will be in the nurturing sign of Cancer…which could also bring benefits to home and family and the People of a nation.

The rest of the slower moving planets—Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, will also enter different signs in 2025. One thing we can predict: 2025 is a year of shifting and change. Maintain your positive vision and keep your own frequency high. That is the best way to handle changing times. 

I will post more about each planet when their new transit begins. Paid subscribers will be able to access live chats and specific information about the affects on each Sun Sign.

See you next time!