Big Wild Swirl
As we approach the end of November, we are edging toward a yoga (literally: union) between two planets that can generate a huge amount of energy. Saturn and Jupiter are the heaviest planets in the zodiac, meaning that they carry a lot of weight—karmically and otherwise.
The type of spark generated between them is not ephemeral or weightless, particularly not in the earth sign Capricorn. What these planets will be mobilizing in Capricorn has incredible weight and consequence (like the earth element itself) requiring real ‘muscle’ to move. In advance of this we can feel a stuck and heavy energy as what is intelligent (and mostly unconscious) in us attempts to adjust to this changing momentum.
It is actually an entirely new gravity that Saturn and Jupiter are bringing in Capricorn. Capricorn is an incredibly weighted sign, being moveable earth and ruled by a psychologically and karmically heavy planet- Saturn. Both Saturn and Capricorn carry heavy consequences and teach us about integrity. They can pull us back to ‘center’ in very harsh ways. Many of the lessons come through grief and loss of what is not recoverable. The stakes are always high here, as they are now.
Saturn has been in Capricorn since the beginning of January 2020, and we all know the scale of loss that has been experienced since then. No one wants to have to learn the lessons Saturn has to teach, but those who are squeezed through his wringer come out the other side fundamentally altered. Saturn is a spiritual teacher of incredible depth because he pushes us right into the heart of life, which is actually surrounded by the grief-stricken reality of devastating loss. It is only a thin membrane that protects us from this reality of life most of the time. When the veils is thinned in certain moments (and with certain transits) we can feel like we are completely exposed to the most devastating aspects of life. There has been some of that with this transit—more for some than others, depending on natal chart placements.
If you are feeling worn thin and like your energy stores are near exhaustion, fear not. Jupiter enters Capricorn on November 20th to bring his resources to the sign, and bless Saturn with some positivity. It is true that Jupiter will be in debilitation for the year that he transits Capricorn, so he may not be able to express his buoyant optimism with the same strength that he normally would, but he is still Jupiter. Jupiter is debilitated in Capricorn because he has to get a little bit dirtier than he would like. He’d rather not deal in death and loss, and Capricorn is the sign of the graveyard, so Jupiter is forced into these less-wholesome places. He prefers the purity of meditation and vegetarianism, but in Capricorn he is forced to eat meat, so to speak. He is thrust into the darker realities of life and forced to find nourishment there, and despite his discomfort there he can do good work.
And it is this combined influence of Jupiter’s purity and spaciousness with Saturn’s hard-hitting material-bound nature that makes for such a potent and transformative effect. Notice that I did not say “positive” or even “enjoyable"—there will be change and it will be strong but it may not (particularly initially) be comfortable. It will, however, be necessary.
Whatever is to come, it will require a new type of mobilization which the whole world is gearing itself up for right now, albeit mostly unconsciously. And it is the aches and pains and awkwardness of this that we may be feeling right now. Let it be weird, that is okay. This will require some adjustment and muscle soreness. I suggest simply making space for yourself to be different, make some space for change with the understanding that you are not the decider as to how it’s going to look. The fact that there are forces at play larger than my individual will has always felt like a relief to me. Maybe we can all back off from ‘trying’ for a little while and just enjoy being part of the big wild swirl that is Time and Life.