On Considering Jupiter

By Alison Nielsen (premavratini@yahoo.com) 

"Om Graam Greem Graum Saha Gurave Namaha"

One cannot extol the extraordinary beneficence of the planet Jupiter enough. Jupiter is the protector, the giver, the wisest one, bestower of grace, destroyer of a thousand ills, the heavy one, the teacher, the one who enlightens. No other planet in a horoscope demonstrates the capacity of human beings to behave in a truly divine way as Jupiter does. Jupiter is goodness (without ulterior motive), love, grace and unconscious sacrifice personified. Both Lord Rama and Lord Krishna had extremely powerful Jupiters. Lord Rama had exalted Jupiter in the ascendant, contributing to his incredible commitment to right action, as did Thomas Huxley, the famed biologist who said, "Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly."

Lord Krishna had Jupiter in its own sign in the eleventh house. One Jyotish guru lineage says that if Jupiter appears in a horoscope in the eleventh house, no matter what happens, the person will always be saved. Krishna was so successful, so beloved by all of creation that He had to arrange the Leela of His death Himself.

Jupiter's astrological significations are reflected in modern astronomy. Jupiter, whose Sanskrit names include Brihaspati, the preceptor to the gods, and Guru, which means both "teacher" and "heavy," has 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets combined. His gravitational field is intense. Both his force of gravity and his size cause him to serve as a giant blockade against incoming comets that would otherwise rock the earth. Jupiterian people are known for having large bellies, and the force of Jupiter's rotation causes him to form an oblate sphere, with a noticeable bulge at the equator. Jupiter rules the color gold and appears to be a golden color. Although Mars occasionally exceeds him, he is frequently the third brightest object in the night sky, after Moon and Venus, with a potential magnitude of -2.8.

Jupiter is the great purifier. Whatever he touches in a horoscope will grow in integrity and generosity. Even the sorriest horoscope with a good Jupiter will allow for redemption when his period runs.

One sees the quality of one's own Jupiter best when one either runs the dasha or sees the transit of Jupiter over its natal position. At this time, the blessings Creation has in store for you will be given.

In Jyotishical mythology, Jupiter was so wise and good that his wife, Tara, got bored of him and ran off with the Moon and became impregnated. Then, in classic fashion, Tara discovered the Moon was a very flighty and unreliable lover, and not the man she wanted to raise a child with, so she returned to Jupiter, who in his beneficence reaccepted her and her unborn child, no questions asked. That child turned out to be Mercury, the planet of intellect, who is Jupiter's (wisdom's) stepchild and the genetic child of the Moon, the emotional mind. In a horoscope, if Jupiter does not influence Mercury or the Moon, the person may have a tendency to waste their intellect rationalizing their emotions, rather than use their intellect in the service of wisdom. Jupiter's attitude toward his wife is the attitude that we, as human beings, would do best to hold toward each other. Forget all wrongs done. Remember only the blessings of life. Be kind and thus goodness will multiply.