What Jupiterians DON’T Know–but Think They Do

©9-26-2010 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Our Sun’s sign and aspects reveal what we do to try to feel special. We become overly attached to certain parts of ourselves to bolster our ability to believe we count for something in this overwhelmingly vast Universe. For Sagittarians, Sun-Jupiter types, and others who score high on the Jupiter test, Knowing things and Being Right are major keys to feeling good about themselves. Some of them push it to the point of becoming obnoxious know-it-alls. Alas, there are some very important things they don’t know.

 The Sad Case of Sophie, the Sophist 

 Sophie, a 50-year-old with Sun and Jupiter conjunct in Sag, considered herself a very wise and knowing individual. Granted, she was well educated, but she seemed almost desperate to prove to the rest of us how much more she knew than we did.

When we talked about something that was troubling us, she couldn’t be bothered to listen to more than a sentence or two before jumping in with The Answer. Not only did she have The Answer, she also had instant advice about what we should do, and she got pretty mad if we didn’t do exactly what she said.

One trouble was that, since Sophie didn’t pause to listen to the details, her answers were way off target more often than not. The other was that in shutting the discussion down, she dismissed our feelings and made us feel like crap for having a problem in the first place. Those of us who value her friendship for her many good qualities have learned not to talk to her about our personal struggles.

 Why I Knew It All, Back in the Day, and Why I Don’t Now

 I have Sun and Jupiter conjunct, and for probably my first three Jupiter returns (3×13 years), I was pretty obnoxious myself. Since it’s in my 12^th house, I concentrated on learning all I could about emotional illness and social problems by earning a Master’s Degree in Social Work.

I then discovered (single-handedly, I’d have had you believe) feminism, metaphysics, and astrology, and focused on mastering those to the utmost they can be mastered. It’s not that these subjects aren’t valuable, but none of them equips us to meet and overcome all of life’s major dilemmas and challenges. There’s always so much more to learn.

Then at midlife and beyond, I had a series of transits to natal Jupiter from the outermost planets—Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. They cured me of thinking I knew it all.

What Transits to Natal Jupiter Teach Us

An apt description of these slow-moving transits to natal Jupiter would be A CRISIS OF FAITH. During these intervals, which can last one to two years, all you ever thought you knew for certain—all you avidly believed in—is called into question. Depending on how Jupiterian you are to begin with, they can bring on a bleak despair.

Since Jupiter represents our need to Know and Be Right, the revelation that we DON’T know and have been horribly and humiliatingly WRONG can be quite devastating. To the extent our self-worth is based on having The Answers, we can feel like crap about ourselves.

What we learn from these transits in the end is that we CANNOT have all the answers, not for anyone else, not even for ourselves. And with the hard-won humility, we can be more genuinely helpful to others, because we’re not coming from a place of arrogance.

 The Mutable Signs and What they Think They Know

 I’ve often felt that what the mutable signs—Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces—have in common is that they’re all deeply involved in a life-long quest for knowledge. They just have different ways of going about it.

We’ve already looked at Sagittarius and their addiction to advanced learning and to having the answers. Since it’s such a part of their self-worth, the crisis of faith transits to natal Jupiter bring can be quite a trial.  Here’s how the other three mutable signs fit in.

Gemini is curious about everything and seeks new information and experiences avidly. They don’t feel bad about not knowing things—there’s just so much out there to learn that it makes life an adventure. They’re happy to swap tidbits, so everybody gets to know more. A transit to natal Jupiter can help them see they’ll never learn it all, so they often graduate from perpetual studenthood.

Virgo is more discerning about the reams of knowledge out there—having more of the skeptic and critic in their nature. They amass details on how to improve oneself and share them whether the listener wants them or not. Transits to natal Jupiter may teach them that there is no one perfect, lasting answer about how to create perfection—and that most people are sadly uninterested in becoming perfect anyway.

Pisces yearn to know the answers, too, but perceive quite directly how very vast and unknowable the Universe is. They become dazed and awed by those perceptions, so they can come across as spacey and confused. Myself, I think they’re onto something. It’s just a shame they can’t communicate it to the rest of us.

How about you, Readers?  Where do you stand with your Jupiter?  Have you had outer planet transits to natal Jupiter, and what were they like?  Do you know now that you don’t know everything?   Tell us about it in the comment section.   

Related Posts:

• How Strong is your Jupiter? Here’s the Score!
• Hyperactive Jupiter Syndrome—The Down Side of an Upbeat Planet
• Crises of Faith–Journeys to Jupiter’s Red Spot
• Readers Ask—Q & A about the 9th House
• Jupiter in the 12th—When Does Good Luck Turn Bad?
• Why Saturn has as much to do with Luck as Jupiter
• Jupiter and the Astrology of Self-Justification
• The Law of Progressive Annoyance—Mars or Jupiter? 
• Four Kinds of Smart—Air, Earth, Fire, and Water
• How Mutable are You? Here’s the Score!

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