Yearning

Bidding farewell to Jupiter in Pisces & its aggravating magic of volatizing our desires

May 11, 2022

Jupiter in Pisces was one of 2022’s most hyped and anticipated transits.

Not only was Jupiter expected to luxuriate deeply in its home sign of Pisces where its natural expression is uninhibited, but furthermore, its journey through the depths of the zodiac’s last sign would invite Jupiter into a conjunction with Neptune (also blissfully at home in Pisces) and entice Jupiter into a potent union with Venus - at the degree in the zodiac where she is considered to be the most exalted and powerful.

While many hyped transits tend to sound rather ominous and alarming within the astrological world, Jupiter’s transit through Pisces was (mostly) eagerly welcomed with an eye to the generous gifts and blessings it was expected to bring.

Jupiter entered Pisces at the very end of 2021. It first conjoined with Neptune on April 12th, 2022, and then with Venus on April 30th. Mars also joined the crew in Pisces on April 15th, and from April 25-27th, even the waning Moon joined this crowded float tank situation for highly auspicious encounters with its astrologically “lucky” friends (i.e., the benefics; Venus and Jupiter).

In other words, the Sun may have been heralding Aries and Taurus Season throughout April, but overall, the celestial landscape has been wetter than wet this past month.

Now we are on the eve of an important planetary ingress; on May 10th, 2022, Jupiter will follow Venus by exiting Pisces and blasting into Aries.

The King of abundance will return to Pisces briefly in the fall to dip his toes into the last couple degrees of this sign, but Jupiter at his juiciest, is arguably now a transit of the past.

So, how was your April? What did you notice? Did Jupiter in Pisces fill your cup from about January to April… but especially from mid-March onward throughout April?

1. It isn’t the loudest transit in your life

This doesn’t apply to my example above, since Jupiter in Pisces was actually a significant transit for me from a technical point of view, but it is quite common for someone’s significant personal transit to drown out a major global aspect that everyone is talking about - to the point where they don’t notice any symbolic resonance from it in their life.

Even among the numerous personal transits that someone may be experiencing to their natal chart at any given time, there will be certain transits that are so “loud,” so front-and-center in their lives, that there is only room for quieter transits to squeeze in as a minor subplot - or a short paragraph or sentence - within the astrological chapter of life they are journeying.

2. It speaks to something in your life that has been in development for a while

When we are working with slow-moving planets (i.e. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto), there will be the day when the transit to our birth chart is “exact” - but we will miss the bigger picture if we focus only on that day.

The distant planets may spend months - or even years - activating our natal planets while gradually applying toward the “exact” aspect.

This slow movement is mirrored in their real life correlations as a part of our life that has been in development over a long period of time. For example, a big life event like starting a new university program will begin with those early days where our desire surfaces and we set the intention. Then there is the process of selecting possible schools, putting together applications, anxiously waiting, receiving responses, making our decision, and showing up for our first day of classes… etc.

By the time a major transit perfects in our chart and is exact, this change in our life may not feel so “new” anymore and we may not notice the symbolic correlations.

3. The planets care about the mundane; perhaps more than we do

Many of us may have a tendency to only see “significant meaning” in relatively sudden, life-altering changes and pivots such as: starting or ending an important relationship, buying a house, moving across the country, leaving a job, starting a new career, etc.

However, the planets care just as much about everyday mundane life, as they do about the external big stuff. I’m always amazed at how the astrology of the moment will show up in the movies I watch, the books I read, the weather outside, the chores I tackle, and the conversations I have. These small synchronicities often remind me that the universe has a sharp sense of humor!

The more we attune to the subtle symbolism and energies of the planets, the more we notice these small correlations in our everyday life.

I’m not suggesting that a major Saturn-Sun or Uranus-Moon transit is going to show up solely in the movies you are watching at the time (although maybe in some contexts!), but as Will Durant says: “We are what we repeatedly do.”

All the mundane acts of our lives add up over time in ways that shift us in various directions. The planets are wise to this, and skillfully work with and through mundane everyday moments.

For example, a more subtle theme in April for me, was that I became obsessed with fibre art. I started following many fibre artists online, getting out library books on fibre art, ordering materials, making my first macramé piece and planning other tapestry designs I want to try.

This didn’t really stand out as noteworthy to me initially, because as a very mutable person with a wild Gemini moon, I’m constantly getting fascinated by something and starting new hobbies - sometimes on a weekly basis. But, who knows, maybe this growing interest is more significant to my life path than I know at this time. For now, I make note of it in my journal and continue on.

4. The planets work with the context and variables that are available

Just like two people born with nearly identical charts will express their natal placements very differently as they grow older, based on the environment they are born into and the variety of experiences they have that shape their personalities and choices - so too, will major transits express differently depending on where we are at in life when they arrive.

From an external perspective, my life and daily rhythm has been much quieter and demonstrates significant consistency in my day-to-day during the past six years or so, compared to previously. Before this quieter life chapter, it was common for there to be a lot of external movement in my life, such as: various ever-changing educational opportunities, travel, moving, new apartments, multiple short-term jobs, new friends, etc.

If you live a life that has a lot of external movement in it, it is likely that transits will be more externally obvious because there are more moving pieces/variables to work with and through.

I always notice that when I travel for example, both my transits and my daily tarot pulls emerge in startlingly vivid and literal ways because I’m encountering so much newness and uncertainty, which frees up many potentials.

5. If the transit you experienced was a major conjunction, this is similar to the new moon phase - and new moons are birthed in darkness

When I am supporting a querent via astrological forecasting one of the first things I do to locate them in time, is to go backwards. My goal is to find out what was birthed in their life at the beginning of the major cycles they are currently engaging with.

Once we locate the symbolic correlations to what was birthed, we can follow the story threads through to both the present moment, as well as into the future, using upcoming transits as guides and signposts.

Every conjunction (i.e. when two planets come together at the same degree of the zodiac) is the beginning of a new cycle - similar to the new moon phase of the lunar cycle.

However, during a new moon (when the Sun and Moon are conjunct) the sky is dark. All new planetary births begin in darkness. A new story has begun, but at the conjunction point, we are only a few sentences into the narrative and we have yet to fully discover what it is about.

The conjunction is only one type of planetary relationship that is referenced as a transit (i.e., when at least one of the planets involved is in motion in the current sky). The other major aspects include the opposition and square, as well as the sextile and the trine.

The opposition, square, sextile and trine all come into formation within a cycle that began with the conjunction. In general, the correlations of these types of transits may be more immediately obvious than with the conjunctions, because there is more dynamism or tension contained within their growth patterns (especially with the square and opposition).

Of course, you don’t need to wait until the first sextile or square to notice what a planetary cycle has birthed in your life - but oftentimes you do need to wait a few weeks or months (depending on the planets involved) to gain retrospective clarity on this.

Consider the long-anticipated, massively significant Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on January 12, 2020, for example. Most astrologers, including myself, draw correlations between this transit, and the beginning of the covid chapter with all its many world-changing ripples.

The day of January 12, 2020, however, was underwhelming for many people who were expecting something major (although I believe the first person died of covid within 24 hours of the conjunction).

Saturn and Pluto are very slow-moving planets. It wasn’t until the widespread lockdowns and grounded flights of March 2020 - when Saturn had moved 4 degrees beyond Pluto and Mars was transiting the duo in Capricorn with its ignition potential - that it became obvious to the entire world that something wildly unprecedented was occurring.

Furthermore, because Saturn and Pluto are such slow-moving planets, it means the potency of their conjunction would span out weeks in both directions. Although most people weren’t taking note of what was happening with the covid situation in China prior to March, there is some evidence that covid was infecting people as early as the end of November 2019, when again, Saturn was within 4 degrees of Pluto.

This is the macro story, but what about your Saturn-Pluto story?

It’s easy to locate it. Forget about where it occurred in your natal chart by house or aspect, since this can constrict your perspective… simply ask yourself:

What major new thing (or theme) was just beginning in my life around late November/ December 2019 that has been sustained throughout the past few years in a way that has significantly contributed to my growth and development?

For everyone I’ve asked this question to, it has been almost instantly obvious.

Did you realize this “new beginning” (which may have occurred simultaneously with a major “ending”) was a big deal at the time when you experienced it?

Maybe not. The passage of time often offers the gift of greater insight into the significance of past events.

Now that you have identified your Saturn-Pluto birth experience, you can track the story by paying close attention when Capricorn is activated by transit in the future, or when Saturn begins to form its next major aspect to Pluto, globally.

The recent Neptune-Jupiter conjunction in Pisces on April 12th, 2022, was symbolically and energetically vastly different from the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, but it still marks the potent beginning of a new astrological cycle and the beginning of a new story in our lives.

It may be too soon to ask yourself…

What major new thing (or theme) was just beginning in my life around mid-late March throughout April, that invoked my deepest hopes and dreams, with themes of unity, abundance, spirituality and self-transcendence, creativity, magic and fantasy?

…but even if clarity is still evasive (a common experience with Neptune) I would recommend making some notes about this time period while your memories are fresh and then return to them once the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction is more distantly in your rearview mirror.

6. We may have constricted the planet’s multi-faceted symbolism

For example, if we only think of Venus as being about romantic relationships, when we experience a significant transit to our Venus placement we may overlook correlations in our lives that resonate with Venus’ other symbolism (e.g. as relating to money, appearance, art, and beauty).

We may need to broaden our lens and slow down our analysis to become more fully present to what Venus may be revealing.

Similarly if we only think of Jupiter as being about abundance and wealth, we will be disappointed when we don’t win the lottery :)

7. The nature of the transit may be more internal or “nocturnal”, rather than externally expressed

ari, fixed as fuck @saltwaterstars_

I think ppl are experiencing disappointment with Jupiter in pisces because they're expecting diurnal results from nocturnal possibilities.

I love this tweet from astrologer ari felix: “I think ppl are experiencing disappointment with Jupiter in pisces because they're expecting diurnal results from nocturnal possibilities.”

In contrast to Jupiter in Pisces (a water sign), Jupiter in Aries (a fire sign) - which we are soon to experience - is a more externally visible and aggressively energetic transit.

Jupiter in Aries is a diurnal transit; a transit of the solar world, lit up with goal-oriented daylight activity. This has also been called a masculine or yang-energy transit.

Jupiter in Pisces, however, is a transit of the lunar world, gently illuminating the mysterious activities of the nighttime. This has previously been referred to as a feminine or a yin-natured transit.

Jupiter is at home in Pisces and thus there were high expectations for this transit, especially when it conjoined with Neptune, which is also at home in this sign. However, there are of course some Piscean shadows that grow louder like singing sirens when this duo supercharges the sign’s archetypal biology.

Pisces is the sign most intimately connected with altered states of consciousness, the search for divinity, paradise and bliss. Consequently this brings many addictions (or components of addiction) within the jurisdiction of Pisces. When nighttime dreams and longings don’t take root in daytime structures - an escape seems necessary.

Another challenge of Pisces is its ephemeral, intangible, nonmaterial nocturnal nature often makes its activity unintelligible to the rational diurnal mind, and this can frequently lead to confusing or even deceptive situations.

As the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces speaks to oneness, transcendence, infinity - but also to the inevitable release and surrender of all that is solid and within our grasp.

Therefore, despite my lotto ticket experiment, I recognize that Jupiter in Pisces - and Jupiter conjoining Neptune in Pisces - is not inherently a transit of acquisition or external gain (although these transits don’t exclude the possibility that tangible gifts will emerge).

What then, might be birthed with a Neptune and Jupiter conjunction in such an transcendent sign?

A soul-deep yearning, is one possibility.

Jupiter in Pisces: the practice of yearning & the volatilizing of our desires

Yearning is described by The Free Dictionary as “A persistent, often melancholy desire; a longing: a yearning for romance and adventure.”

Yearning is one of my top keywords for Pisces. No one knows how to yearn like a person with strong Piscean placements - or someone experiencing a Neptune transit.

The Cambridge Dictionary describes yearning as “a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily.” For yearning to take place, the object of your desire must be out of reach.

As a Piscean person I’ve gained a lot of skill in the practice of yearning over the years, and I believe that I’ve been able to work effectively with some of the gifts of this condition.

Recently I finished reading the fascinating book by Catherine MacCoun, titled: On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician.

Reading this book helped me put words to my process of making peace with Piscean yearnings - and why and how, I see this sometimes painful sensation of lack, as deeply nourishing in its own right.

I want to share some of her wisdom here, as I think it is highly relevant to the Jupiter in Pisces transit and the opportunity for reflection that exists now that it is coming to a close.

MacCoun writes:

“Two words you'll hear a lot in alchemy are fixed and volatile. To be fixed is to be matter-like. To be volatile is to be energy-like. Through various alchemical operations, the fixed can be made volatile and the volatile can be made fixed. In other words, the alchemy is happening between two states - matter and energy. The magic isn't in the energy any more than it is in the matter. The magic is in the between.” (emphasis added)

If something is referred to as volatile, it is often considered to be unstable and unpredictable, but we can also consider the verb “volatilize” within the context of chemistry where it describes changing the state of something from a solid or liquid… to a vapor.

Pisces and Neptune excel at volatizing the objects of our desires.

During the Jupiter-Neptune, Jupiter-Venus in Pisces transits that occurred throughout April, we may have had an object of desire transform from attainable and tangible (fixed in matter), to elusive vapor - or we may have become conscious of a desire first emerging in its volatized form.

The thing that is in-between us (matter) and the vaporized, volatized object of our desire… is our yearning. And lucky for us, Catherine MacCoun says “the magic is in the between.” From an alchemical perspective “phenomena are most amenable to change when in a volatile state.”

Although many spiritual paths teach that the act of desiring leads to suffering because it creates attachment to what is transitory, according to MacCoun, “Desire, to the magician, is as essential as water… You can't succeed with the alchemical transformation of the self unless you desire something that is not yourself… Desire melts us, makes us juicy.”

Without desire, there is no yearning. And without yearning the unattainable, there is no in-between in which transformative alchemical magic can take place through the creative medium of volatile eros.

“Alchemical magic always begins with a specific desire, like wanting someone to phone. No desire is too silly, too trivial, or too selfish to serve as your base matter. (That's why they call it base matter.) But if you're really doing alchemy, the outcome might bear no resemblance at all to what you thought you were going for.” ~Catherine MacCoun

Traditionally, for alchemists that worked with metals, the goal was to transmute the base matter of lead into a more valuable metal like gold.

In MacCoun’s book, she is applying the alchemical process to the human being. Within this context the base matter of one’s desire is the equivalent of an alchemist’s lead. The results of engaging with the alchemical process could be that our initial desire will catalyze a transmutation that produces the symbolic equivalent of gold.

Although Scorpio is the astrological sign most associated with the transformative process of alchemy, without Pisces (and Neptune) constantly volatizing the object of our desires so they are forever out of reach, the motivation to enter into Scorpio’s alchemical crucible, may not exist.

MacCoun writes most directly about the magic of unattainable desire when describing the stage of the alchemical process called Dissolution; where the ashes resulting from the previous stage, called Calcination (where one experiences great loss), are dissolved in fluid:

“The object of the desire matters less than its fervor. Whatever longing you happen to have on hand will do just fine for starters…
If your desire is all but impossible to attain, so much the better… A seemingly unreachable desire gives you a nice big gap to work with.”
“Dissolution is not about attainment. It is about experiencing and, to some extent, suffering the gap between desire and its object.” ~Catherine MacCoun

Have MacCoun and I, convinced you that Piscean yearning for seemingly unattainable, unreachable desires is a magical transformative process that you should invite into your life?

Maybe not. Perhaps “suffering the gap between desire and its object” still does not sound appealing.

Granted, the Sun is in Taurus right now, and the Taurean realm certainly prefers secure attainment over unmet desire. Furthermore, as I write this, Jupiter is leaving Pisces and entering Aries.

Aries has no patience for endless yearning. Aries is about taking bold action toward achieving our goals and getting what we want - with great speed.

There’s a time to get what we want, and there’s a time to yearn for it.

And maybe as a collective we are all shifting away from a yearning phase as Jupiter exits Pisces. However, if the Jupiter and Neptune conjunction (and Jupiter’s transit of Pisces in general) has indeed birthed a soul-deep yearning within you, nourishing this yearning as an energetic tether to the object of your desire, and fully allowing it to act within the dynamic in-between relational space to transform both you and what is desired… well, it just might be worth it.

You may find that you have gold in your hands.

Catherine MacCoun has another word for the energy of yearning that happens in the in-between; she refers to it as eros, volatile eros, to be more specific.

She writes:

“The energy that streams into the gap between the desirer and the desired is called eros… Alchemically, eros is the unconsummated quality of the between. Sex is eros in its fixed state. The energy is fixed because it is bound to a single purpose in the physical. Dissolution is the process of melting eros, dissolving it, making it volatile. In its volatile state, eros is creative energy, the indispensable catalyst for every alchemical process.”
“The ballads of courtly love sung by medieval troubadours were veiled alchemical teachings about how to render eros volatile. The recommended procedure was to fall desperately in love with a woman who was married to someone else. Her unattainability was the gap that loosed the flow of eros and prevented it from solidifying. It kept the lover in a constant state of unconsummated desire.”
~Catherine MacCoun

Attaining the object of our desire is not the only way that volatile eros and the energy of yearning can become fixed and lose its creative potential - acute frustration with the suffering of unmet desire risks solidifying eros into bitterness and cynicism, MacCoun warns.

“To keep eros fluid and malleable, we need to find the soft spot beneath the hardened complaint. Beneath the complaint is disappointment. And beneath any disappointment, you'll find one of your true desires. You feel how fundamentally disappointing it is to be incarnate. It is remarkable how even the most trivial gripe can conceal this fundamental disappointment.” ~Catherine MacCoun

MacCoun then describes her strategy for getting at the soft spot beneath the hardened complaint while letting her reader know that this process may lead to a sudden burst of tears because “you are getting in touch with the disappointment that lies beneath your superficial irritation.” I would also call this experience - getting in touch with your grief.

She continues:

“It is poignant, this feeling. That poignancy is what we experience when solidified eros begins to dissolve and become volatile once more. If you want to be an alchemist, you will have to learn to bear it, for without volatile eros, you can't make magic.” ~Catherine MacCoun

I’m sure Catherine MacCoun has some strong Pisces in her.

Perhaps this piece of writing is merely a romanticization of incarnate suffering, which Piscean types are so well known for.

…or perhaps the alchemists were on to something.

At any rate, this is me, using this post to pay my respects to Jupiter’s transit in Pisces as I bid it farewell!

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