The Archer, the Wheel and the Angel…

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”

― Edward Abbey

I am sure we will be very glad to see the back of Mercury retrograde.

Many have said that it has been quite a ride this time as good old occult-loving, death defining, sexy so and so Scorpio has plunged the backwards rolling winged messenger into quite a plutonic, chaotic tizz – or is it the other way around? Anyway, that is if you believe that the planets have an effect on our day to day stuff, it could be, of course, that the computer just simply isn’t booting up properly or things have simply gone adrift. Whether we have free will and are autonomic agents is a whole new blog but for now let’s say that we will be terribly pleased to see Sagittarius come over the hill with his bow and arrow!

Let’s think about Jupiter instead!

Jupiter is the archetypal planet of expansion. We can see him now, the bearded, wise old man brandishing his lightning bolt ready to throw it at the unsuspecting who need to broaden their horizons.

We focus on Jupiter as he connects to Temperance through Sagittarius. Say what you will but it is hard to deny Temperance as a cool card and usually timely and apt in her presence in a spread. I feel the same way about Jupiter’s arrival on the scene. It is like the cavalry has arrived and as far as I am aware it is round about now that Jupiter makes his annual connection to Venus that gorgeous planet of love and beauty (also mindless excess, debauchery and flagrant indulgence but we won’t speak of that now!) Maybe you have been feeling the effects of this in so far as romantic opportunities may have come knocking, benevolent friends making good, chances to excel at work and in general just feeling that bit more inspired about life.

Well now, that might have jollied us all up a bit…go on Mercury retrograde do your thing, we have got good old Jupiter with his bolt and a centaur with a crossbow to help us out!

There is something very pleasant and heartening about Sagittarius taking the reins from Scorpio.

It is the time of year when we are gradually getting ready for the Yule and Christmas celebrations, the heating comes on more frequently and the house gets all cosy. Out come the jumpers and the overcoats and we can smile with satisfaction as we make preparations for the cold and dark.

That Sagittarian vibe breathes life into the cold bones and we can think of adventures. The centaur is born to roam and has a strong desire for change and with Saggi we have the need to be inspired and to flex those spiritual and intellectual muscles. We can dream of being an intrepid explorer be it in this world or another one!

Then we have those powerful Jupiter vibes.

He has designs on expansion and growth and is positive and optimistic. He loves delving into ideas, is the guardian of the abstract mind, loves to learn and has faith in his own authority. He exercises careful control and maintains a balance. He totally encourages curiosity with the world we inhabit and how we can best explore it. Jupiter also rules Wheel of Fortune as well as being connected to Temperance and they make an interesting combination. The Wheel discourages fatalism. It is not about just letting life happen, which it will do of course, but we are reminded that we create opportunity, effort and energy are always rewarded; wherever you place your power to will you can get a result, thought, action and consequence. We are masters of our own destiny. This entails exploring, learning, having faith and courage and most of all to have the confidence to evolve and expand.

Sit the Wheel next to Temperance and we can begin to understand that balance, harmony and moderation are key elements to living life well. These are keys that I have taken a long time to understand! Yet, Jupiter who sits in my Capricorn keeps reminding me that if I get the balance right then my life work and path will be joyful and meaningful.

Temperance tells us that there is no rush, it is indeed a journey and not a destination point, there is no destination…

Temperance is the healing of psychological wounds created by emotional trauma. We are reminded that the arts can help heal this as through art and creativity we can touch base and understand the source of our suffering.

The alchemical process of turning our base metal into refined gold is something we can all do if we want to transcend above the broken dreams of yesterday.

Live joyfully and love wholeheartedly is the current influence and such a nice change from the frustrations of the obstacles of going backwards!

HIT LIST FOR JUPITER JOY!!
  1. Take a walk in nature; truly drink in the air and appreciate the beauty.
  2. Look upwards onto the tops of buildings, statues, plants. Motifs may come into view that you haven’t seen before and you will keep seeing them!
  3. Hug an oak tree. Oak is the tree of Jupiter, make a wish as you do so!
  4. Design your own lightning bolt for a card, clothing or art logo.
  5. Plan a trip; it doesn’t have to be abroad but anywhere, see what happens as a result!
  6. Visit a gallery or library and make a note of what you received from your visit.
  7. Throw a gathering for your mates; show them you care!
  8. Put a map of the world on your wall; find out which countries resonate with you astrologically, this is called cartography.
  9. Laughter Yoga is therapeutic and popular; why not give it a go.
  10. Make a journal of all that requires balance in your life and include the steps you take to do so.

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