By: Janette Dalgliesh – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
Recently we’ve had a period with very few retrogrades, those phenomena where planets appear to move backwards from the perspective of our standpoint here on Earth.
The obvious exception was the recent Mercury Retrograde, whose effects stayed around for a bit while he was still in the ‘shadow zone’, but even he is now in full forward momentum.
And that’s all about to end, with a series of the slower outer planets about to make the shift into that strange backwards dynamic over the next couple of weeks. Soon we’ll see both Saturn and Pluto heading into retrograde motion, but more on that next week.
This week, our focus is Jupiter, that jolly avuncular giant whose special talent is expansive optimism.
He turns retrograde on 10 April at 1:01 pm Eastern US time, at 24 degrees of his own sign, Sagittarius.
Jupiter in Sagittarius is all about expansion beyond the known – that can mean expanding physically through travel or a move to new environment; or it can mean expansion internally, into a more resonant and authentic version of ourselves.
Jupiter is associated with optimism and a capacity to see the Big Picture. He’s not remotely fussed about the details, and not really interested in the logistics of how we get from here to there, because he has complete confidence that it will all work out just the way we envisioned.
When we encounter Jupiter Retrograde, it doesn’t mean everything becomes the opposite. It doesn’t mean a shift from optimism to pessimism, and it doesn’t mean he suddenly becomes fascinated by minutiae.
That’s not how a retrograde works.
Rather, Jupiter Rx is a good time for slowing down areas of expansion, checking in with your projects and plans in order to get a little perspective and ensure you’re on track. It’s like dropping anchor for a bit to take your bearings and check your course.
It’s a little breathing space to reflect and review, especially those things which connect you to things beyond the known horizons, like big plans and projects, or deliberate shifts of identity.
Why is it useful to know this?
Because especially at the start of the retrograde period – the 9th to the 11th – if things seem to slow down, it can create a crisis of hope and faith unless we know what’s at play.
Rather than see any slowing down as a problem or a glitch to be overcome, settle into the changed pace and go with the flow.
Because that taps you in to the Jupiter dynamic – allow, allow, allow.
Jupiter operates best when we can reduce resistance and friction down to nil.
His modus operandum is expansion, and if you’ve ever worn tight pants to a smorgasbord, you know that expansion is not always comfortable.
Think of the Rx as a moment for switching over to your favourite super-stretchy yoga pants, and taking a deep breath.
Ask yourself if there are any areas of resistance or friction which are ready to be freed up.
Resistance comes in two forms.
One is holding back, out of fear or confusion or perhaps an unwillingness to commit.
The other is pushing things forward faster than they are ready to be pushed, forcing yourself or others or circumstances to your will before the expansion is fully ripe and supported.
So what do you do with this upcoming Jupiter Rx?
- Look within and reassess your recent goals. Are they still fully resonant with who you are and what you want to create in life? If not, tweak and refine them to suit.
- Allow some breathing space. Take the time pressure off in any way you can, imagine you are undoing the top button of your metaphorical pants and breathe deep.
- Review what gave you excitement and enthusiasm for your big projects and plans in the first place, not in order to whip up productivity, but purely in order to re-connect to and bask in that passion for the sheer joy of it – and if it’s no longer joyful, review the goals and tweak accordingly.
- Reassess where you are at with your projects and plans – are there clear obstacles or shackles holding you back? What’s the most frictionless way you could handle them? For example, if it’s low energy because you’re exhausted, the most frictionless solution might be to take a few days off; if it’s fear, the most frictionless solution would be to tap into your own sense of agency and authority – “I know what I’m doing here”.
- If you’re going through any kind of reinvention of self, or identity shift, take a little while to reflect on where you’re at and where you’re headed. Are there any details to tweak? Any recent revelations which mean your end goal needs refining? Any changes within which now indicate a reset of what you want to create?
- Reexamine any spots where you may have been pushing too hard or too fast (yes, there is such a thing). Is there something which needs to percolate more before it’s fully ripe? What could you do to take off the pressure and allow it to grow naturally and organically?
- Cut yourself some slack if you feel that things have slowed down.
If things mysteriously slow down, there is nothing wrong or broken. You are doing it right.
You’re merely being offered this opportunity to reflect on that which lies beyond the known: future plans, projects you’re halfway through, new versions of yourself which are being invented even as you read these words.
Remember that if you find your projects and plans are no longer resonant, it can initially feel annoying. All that time you’ve invested, all that work you’ve done, and now you find you want a different goal!
Choose to celebrate that awareness, rather than bemoan it.
Now you have the option to revise the plans before you get even further down a road that’s not heading where you truly want to go. Do revised plans mean a detour? Sure. But that’s okay – taking the scenic route is never a waste of time; it’s merely a different pathway.
This is your life and you get to choose.
It’s the ultimate form of allowing – letting yourself change your plans, IF that’s the most resonant and joy-filled way forward. This is not about rushing into that process simply because the opportunity is there. Rather, this is about allowing space for contemplation and consideration and then – if it’s resonant for you – a tweak or even a complete overhaul of your big picture plans and goals.
And of course, if you find your plans are already fully resonant for you, use this time to re-embrace and recommit to them, basking in that big Jupiterian glow of hope.
At all times, as much as possible, keep applying Jupiter’s favourite mode of being: allow, allow, allow.
Janette Dalgliesh has a simple mission in life – to help every person unlock their capacity for resonant joy, and live it. A keen student of astrology, brain science, chaos magic, law of attraction and positive psychology, she serves her people through astrology consults, coaching, teaching and writing. Her international clientele raves about her wildly accurate, individualized readings, but she doesn’t do general weekly predictions – for those, Janette recommends Kim Falconer (www.goodvibeastrology.com) and Mystic Medusa (www.mysticmedusa.com). Find Janette on Facebook or via her website – or you might like to pick up her free brain-rewiring resource, Identity Shift 101 here.
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