StarIQ.com
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Timing
A number of StarIQ readers have asked for more information about the current Jupiter-Neptune opposition. The first of these three aspects occurred on September 11 and repeats on February 16 and June 2, 2003. Jupiter and Neptune are wide; their effects stretch out over time, making them harder to measure. Events tend to occur when faster moving planets, including the Moon and Sun, trigger the slower ones, like Jupiter and Neptune.
It's useful to think about the opposition as a process, one that belongs to the 13-year Jupiter-Neptune cycle. Conjunctions begin each cycle; they are the "seeds" of what's to come. The opposition is the halfway point when the Earth is between the two planets. It is the Full Moon phase of maximum brightness, the most overtly expressive point; the most polarized. The opposition is as far apart as two planets can be. It is the maximum point of openness, yet it can also be madness. Maximum information. Too much information?
The Symbolism
Jupiter and Neptune share the rulership of Pisces and represent expansion. Jupiter is more worldly, it's associated with success on the material plane. Yet it also aspires to something more, as shown in its other home sign, Sagittarius. The Archer's arrow is aimed upward, a symbol for adventures of the body and the mind that take us beyond familiar territory. Neptune lives where Jupiter aims to go. It is the planet of the ethers, the all-encompassing world of spirit that contains matter. Neptune has neither aim nor direction. It expands everywhere, dissolving boundaries and barriers of body, mind and soul.
Jupiter is religion and Neptune is spirituality. The former has judgment, while the latter does not. Together they can represent religion run amok, or any belief system that perceives itself to be above (or beyond) the law. Faith is a beautiful thing when it is wedded to compassion, but Jupiter can be consumed in the flame of its own truth and become indifferent to the suffering of non-believers.
Jupiter is now in Leo, a sign of personal will and expression. Neptune is in the collectivist sign of Aquarius where the group is valued more than the individual. Leo is the hub (Leo) and Aquarius the spokes. Leo is the heart, Aquarius is the circulatory system. Leo is the star, Aquarius is the constellation.
A negative expression of Jupiter in Leo is an inflated ego that sets itself apart from the larger environment in which it lives. The need to be right (a Jupiterian flaw) cuts off input from the rest of the organism, leading to blanket judgments based on limited information. Aquarius, too, can get caught in its own notion of what's best for everyone, but with cool detachment rather than Leo's drama. Neptune can either sensitize or anesthetize, with compassion holding the balance.
There's something extreme about Jupiter-Neptune that can build a case based on false information. Neither planet wants to be bothered with details; both seek absolute solutions. We can skip past meaningful dialogue or analysis on the road to a higher truth, a grand crusade. Unless Neptune is finely attuned to the existence of others, it's possible to become drunk with the power of one's own righteousness. Yet, as always, with compassion real wisdom is possible.
Recent Jupiter-Neptune Oppositions
Since 1900 there have been eight series of Jupiter-Neptune oppositions prior to the present one. The first was in January 1901. The second was in January 1914 with Jupiter in Capricorn and Neptune in Cancer, five months prior to the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand that led to World War I. The third, with Jupiter in Aquarius and Neptune in Leo, occurred between April 1926 and January 1927. In March 1926 Robert Goddard launched the first liquid (Neptune) fueled rocked (Jupiter). On May 1926 and January 1927 U.S. Marines were sent to "restore order" in Nicaragua. In March 1927 U.S. Marines joined an international peacekeeping team in Shanghai, China.
The fourth opposition had Jupiter in Pisces opposite Neptune in Virgo in April 1939. In March 1939 Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. Later that year Germany invaded Poland, which started World War II. The fifth opposition was in March 1952, with Jupiter in Aries and Neptune in Libra, during the latter period of the Korean War. The sixth opposition was from June 1964 to February 1965. In August 1964 a supposed attack on a U.S. vessel in the Gulf of Tonkin led Lyndon Johnson to request war powers that were given him by the Congress in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This was the legal foundation for an expanded American presence in Vietnam that lasted until the end of the war. The Voting Rights Act, an important piece of Civil Rights legislation, was passed in early 1965.
The seventh opposition was in June 1977. The Alaska Pipeline opened that month. Jupiter was in Gemini and Neptune was in Sagittarius. In 1977 Oliver North cohort Ed Wilson sold 20 tons of C-4 explosive to Libya's Moammar Quadaffi. The profits were used to fund the Contras in Nicaragua. The eighth opposition was from late September 1989 to June 1990, with Jupiter in Cancer and Neptune in Capricorn. In August 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait. Interestingly, a quick look at the conjunctions between Jupiter and Neptune during this period of time shows little of the military activity of the oppositions. Of course, we can only hope that the present one does not fall into this category either.
Jupiter in Leo can represent the powerful leader driven by the desire to dominate others. Neptune in Aquarius might be the madness of crowds, drugged by the media and our own delusions. Yet it is not the planets who live our lives. We chose to think and act and talk and be who we are. We find ourselves on a beautiful planet with lots of angry and frightened people. Perhaps, if we can stand back from being who we think we are, we may find answers that really matter. With Jupiter in Leo, meaning comes from individual hearts connected to minds through the Neptune in Aquarius network. We have many resources...and much hope.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Jawer is a founder of StarIQ.com. He has been a professional astrologer since 1973 and is well-known as a writer, counselor and lecturer in North America and Europe.
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“Inner speed, outer caution; inner caution, outer speed”
--Words of Wisdom From the Great Caduceator
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