Sorry, but I just can’t stop with the Star Wars references for all things Jupiter in Aires (and it was just May the 4th. . .). Archetypes are archetypal for a reason, after all, as George Lucas, reader of Joseph Campbell, understood. And the archetype of the warrior sage perfectly captures what Jupiter in Aires is all about.
Jupiter enters Aires on May 10th and will spend most of the rest of 2022 and part of 2023 there. Jupiter spends about one year in each sign it passes through, so it returns to a sign after about twelve years.
The last time Jupiter was in Aires was for parts of 2010 and 2011.
If you have Jupiter in Aires in your natal chart, you will be undergoing a Jupiter return, in which transiting Jupiter will meet with your natal Jupiter at some point during its sojourn in Aires.
Jupiter returns are generally considered positive times, particularly for those born during the day, as Jupiter is the benefic of sect, the most helpful planet in the chart. There can be a feeling of completion of a chapter of life leading to a new level of maturity.
Warrior for Justice / Holy Warrior
In fiery, cardinal Aires, which initiates action, Jupiter finds an environment hospitable to its nature as a masculine planet of the daytime sect that likes to see progress in the world.
In addition to all things expansive and generative, Jupiter also signifies justice and the law. In Aires, which is always looking for a good fight, Jupiter finds itself in a sign in which it can call up the calvary for any given cause. Ruled by Mars, Aires ups the ante and passion, endowing Jupiter with weapons of war and the urge to wield them.
This placement puts Mars, planet of war and discord, in charge of Jupiter, planet of belief. Thus, we find the archetype of the warrior for justice, waging war for its principles. On the other hand, this can also manifest as the holy warrior, fighting for a cause it believes to be divinely inspired.
Those with Jupiter in Aires in their natal charts often have an action-oriented philosophical outlook or religious practice. Passionate about their beliefs, they’re also ready to defend them. Look to Mars and its position and planetary condition in the natal chart to see how Jupiter behaves.
Ironically, someone with a day chart (sun in the top half) with this placement has the most helpful planet (Jupiter) ruled by the most challenging (Mars). This suggests that Jupiter struggles to not fall prey to Mars’ most extreme tendencies. In night charts (sun in the bottom half), Jupiter is the less helpful benefic, after Venus, and Mars is more constructive. In this scenario, Jupiter is both weaker but also less prone to martian excess.
Jupiter can also show where we go overboard and how. In Aires, Jupiter has loads of energy and passion and the fire sign urge to put the pedal to the metal and go somewhere (who cares where?). “Too much” passion, zeal, enthusiasm, not to mention doing “too much,” can all be symptoms of Jupiter in Aires going off the rails. It can be helpful for this bunch to remember that not all causes need foot soldiers.
Philosophers of Action
Those with this natal placement often show courage and pluck in their endeavors, animated by their higher beliefs. An idiosyncratic list includes: Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, a gothic thriller about the nature of man; Charles Baudelaire, an Aires stellium renegade poet and author of the seminal work Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil); writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, whose work explored themes of crime, suicide, poverty, human manipulation, and morality; Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, a portrait of bourgeoise malaise; Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, a literal warrior wizard, in the Lord of the Rings films; Jet Li, the martial arts film star who has often played warrior monks; and Kate Winslet, perhaps best known for playing a young woman surviving the wreck of the Titanic.
Choose Your Battles
We can see both sides of this archetype in the groups on either side of the current abortion debate in the US, as dramatically revealed in the wake of the leak of a Supreme Court memo stating that the court would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade. (Note that courts of law are ruled by Jupiter.)
Those on the side of choice, bodily autonomy for women, and a right to privacy consider themselves to be fighting on the side of justice for women’s and broader civil rights.
Yet, those on the side of dismantling abortion rights also believe themselves to be fighting for justice, often conceptualized as a holy war on behalf of religious beliefs around when life begins. It’s hard to see, with Jupiter in Aires firing everyone up, how the two sides can come to any understanding when they’re both convinced their side is right.
Jupiter in Aires This Go Round
This transit will be the first time Jupiter has been back in a fire sign since 2019, when it transited its fire home sign of Sagittarius (ah, the good old days). Since then we’ve had Jupiter in two Saturn-ruled signs, including Capricorn, in which Jupiter experiences its depression or fall, and a too-brief period of Jupiter in its water domicile of Pisces (sadly less than a full year — we were robbed!), in which Jupiter is well-resourced but internally directed and emotionally oriented.
After a couple of years of saturnian caution and separation, followed by a confusing period of expansion and lifting of those previous pandemic-induced boundaries, which also featured nebulous Neptune fogging up the airwaves during a time of geopolitical conflict, we may be, understandably, a bit puzzled about what’s happening, and about where we stand. Jupiter in Aires should clear up any fuzziness on all points. There’s little time for philosophical inquiry when you’re on a military campaign.
All of us, no matter where our natal Jupiter lies, will likely experience an expansion of sorts in the Aires whole sign house of our charts. In traditional astrology Jupiter rules over the “begetting of children” as an expansion of family and reputation. (Meanwhile, Venus signifies the upbringing of children as well as pregnancy and childbirth.) So, Jupiter transits, or an activation of Jupiter in the natal chart (depending on various circumstances) can include having children, something to keep in mind given the political tenor at the moment. (Want to know more about how Jupiter in Aires may manifest in your life? My bookings are open through July!)
Here are some ways that Jupiter might show up for you over this year and next:
First House (Aires Rising): body, self, character, appearance, spirit. Step out with confidence into the spotlight of your life. Your disciples await.
Second House (Pisces Rising): finances, possessions, income. Money may be coming in. . . and leaving your life just as quickly; fire signs tend to burn through resources.
Third House (Aquarius Rising): siblings (and those like them), short trips, early education, communication, feminine spiritual practices. Your siblings may be on a tear, or you may be bringing down the house with the fruits of your mind.
Fourth House (Capricorn Rising): parents, home, family, private life. It’s time for an extravagant home expansion. How about a fire pit?
Fifth House (Sagittarius Rising): children, creativity, pleasure, sex, recreation. Parenthood, a hot new fling, and/or a furious burst of creativity might be in the works.
Sixth House (Scorpio Rising): illness, injury, work, daily routine, subordinates, pets. It’s a good time to invest expansively in your physical health.
Seventh House (Libra Rising): relationships, partnership, marriage, the “other.” If you’re single, you could have expanded options; if partnered, you and your partner may go on a metaphoric vision quest and emerge into a deeper partnership.
Eighth House (Virgo Rising) death, inheritance, assets of others. Wisdom and courage can be found in endings. Shared resources may expand.
Ninth House (Leo Rising): travel, foreign things, higher education, religion, astrology. A globe-trotting adventure quest seems like just the ticket.
Tenth House (Cancer Rising): career, reputation, public life. Your public life receives a boost; you’re known for your wisdom and bravery.
Eleventh House (Gemini Rising): friends, groups, alliances, hopes. You find yourself surrounded by courageous allies; your community expands like its Comic Con every day.
Twelfth House (Taurus Rising): enemies, sickness, loss, seclusion, exile. You have a powerful ally, perhaps armed with a light saber, to help you ward off your demons.
Jupiter has an important moment on May 29th, when its ruler Mars joins with Jupiter at 3 degrees of Aires, signaling an expansion of martial or action-oriented themes in the broader world and our lives.
Jupiter only gets to 8 degrees Aires before stationing retrograde on July 28th. It retrogrades back into Pisces on October 28th, eventually stationing direct on November 23rd at 28 Pisces, and then reenters Aires on December 20th.
And then it’s full speed ahead on the Aires train in 2023. Jupiter speeds through all of Aires, entering Taurus on May 17, 2023. Fortunately Jupiter misses forming an exact square with Pluto in Capricorn, as Pluto dips into Aquarius in March 2023 (attention cyber punks: your time has come). That means we’re spared a direct confrontation between our better angels and the forces of possibly corrupting transformational urges, particularly during the US Pluto return.
Here’s our Jupiter in Aires warrior monk extraordinaire, Let Li, in the opening sequence of Tai Chi Master (1993):