***This article was published on April 30th, 2021. See the bottom of the article for an addendum (12/23/21) as Jupiter returns to Pisces for the second time. ***

Drumroll please! This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Jupiter, planet of prosperity, abundance, faith and elevation returns to its nocturnal domicile, Pisces on 5/13/2021.

Planets in their domicile are in their happy place. At home, they can express themselves with the greatest ease – just as we do in our own homes!  This is good news for any planet, but it’s especially wonderous for Jupiter, the Greater Benefic. Jupiter champions joy, celebration, fortune and gain, feasting, indulging and revelry. Further, Jupiter represents the element of our consciousness which seeks to connect with something bigger than ourselves. From spiritual practice, to education and travelling the world, or hey, even diving deep into the fantasy world of Star Wars counts as Jupiterian exploration. Truly, we connect with our Jupiter principle when we experience a sense of limitlessness. Now that Jupiter returns home to Pisces, all of these Jupiterian topics will become more accessible to us. Overall, the collective mood will elevate, and it’s already so palpable!

This burgeoning sense of optimism and hope parallels the unfolding of the vaccination program. As of this writing, over a third of Americans have already received their first dose. If you were wondering when these mask mandates are finally going to lift, the ingress of Jupiter into Pisces is a solid indication that it’s just around the corner. Sort of. Probably.

Pisces is the sign associated with the end of winter and the nearing of Spring in the northern hemisphere. Congruently, it is a sign of opening, imagination, creativity, wonder and possibility. Yes, it’s the inner dimensions which are the most vivid for the double-bodied fish. Pisces is the sign that reminds us that if we hold out just a little longer, good things will come. And indeed, the sweetness is upon us. The weddings, the retreats, travel and excursions – oh, to be enamored with life again! I do not see the full potential of this honeypot transit manifesting until 2022, however, this first chapter of Jupiter in Pisces represents the light at the end of the tunnel and our first taste of the ecstatic heart-opening possibilities facilitated by Jupiter in Pisces.

This transit will be exceptional for creatives, specifically music, theater and other collaborative endeavors which have been constricted as a result of the pandemic. I’m reminded of my days as a musician. Whenever the band had a few weeks off, we would reconvene with such an incredible enthusiasm, often spontaneously creating new tunes on the fly. I’m imagining this sort of creative spark with Jupiter in Pisces.

While the weight of the collective trauma may have initially squelched the creative drive for many, others took advantage of the extra free time to experiment with new rhythms. Tragedy happens to be some of the finest inspiration some artists. I see Jupiter in Pisces as a restoration of the creative well. We will likely see a wave of epic album drops, art galleries abundant with new works and brilliant screenplays in the works. Remember the magic you experienced at your first music festival? That’s how it's going to feel for a lot of folks to do literally anything this year.

The pandemic spurred a crisis of values. What is truly important to you in this life? The silver lining of loss and loneliness is how we consciously choose to love deeper, to become more present and to align with a more meaningful way of life. Many of my clients are applying for that dream job, going back to school and working deeply on themselves. Have you also taken issue with the things which feel superficial in your life? Jupiter in Pisces will further emphasize a compelling desire for soulful connection and will represent a period of integrating these newer core values into our lives.

Jupiter in Pisces is an immensely supportive transit for spiritual practices of all kinds. Maybe you’d like to level up your mediation practice with visualization techniques or maybe walking in the woods is a spiritual experience for you. Energy workers, get ready to beam! While Jupiter in Pisces may enhance these rituals, there's no need to force it. Rather, just be open. Be playful and allow it. Truly, anything can become a spiritual practice. It’s all about intention.

And thanks to those stimulus checks, we are feeling the abundance factor of Jupiter too. It's a great time to be generous to yourself and others. Replenish your cup!

Jupiter in Pisces can be divided into three chapters.

The first one, May 13th, 2021 – July 28th, is a gorgeous preview to kick off the summer. But the true juiciness of this transit won’t arrive until chapter two (December 29th, 2021 – May 10th, 2022), which arrives just in time for those epic New Year's Eve parties and leads us into the spring and summer of 2022. The third chapter (October 28th, 2022 – December 20th, 2022) is the final love note from Jupiter in Pisces – emphasis on the anaretic degree of Pisces, and fixed star Scheat. The following are some key alignments which will highlight the major themes of these chapters and elaborate on what this transit will be about.

Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius, 5/26/2021, 7:13 am ET: This is the only eclipse we will have which disposits to Jupiter in Pisces. While it might sound unique and special, the chart doesn’t give off the warmest, fuzziest vibes. This is a south node eclipse, which can highlight loss – and in the opinionated sign of Sagittarius, we are shown the downsides of being overly zealous in our beliefs. With threats of a “fourth wave” upon us as variant mutations spread, I worry about the downsides of such an opening transit. Is it too soon in certain cities?

While expansive Jupiter encourages us to celebrate life beyond our own backyard, we still have Saturn in Aquarius to contend with. Cautious Saturn is also in domicile, and super capable of setting boundaries – namely masks and social distancing. This means that we have two planets in domicile – each striving to do two very different things and answering to no one. On one hand, this contrast is reflected in the polarized political views around the world toward the handling of the pandemic, on the other, it can also be understood as an inner tension. It’s important to remember, however, that Saturn is slightly stronger, placed in its diurnal domicile. Working in tandem, these planets suggest that we follow our bliss, but be as mindful and considerate as possible.

Part II

December 29th, 2021: Jupiter re-enters Pisces and immediately begins to square off with the lunar nodes. This transit lasts for about two weeks. Choices, choices, choices!  At this juncture, Venus has recently stationed retrograde conjunct Pluto (12/19/21), doubling down on the shifting values theme. Collectively and individually, this is a period focused on making important decisions around compassion, belief, and having the courage to make way for the life we are dreaming of. 

March 5th, 2022, Jupiter Cazimi at 4°59’ of Pisces: The Sun’s conjunction with Jupiter represents renewal and purification. A new cycle begins! It’s at this time that the intentions of Jupiter in Pisces are purified and reborn. At the exact cazimi, we can access the highest qualities of this planet. Will faith in humanity be restored at this time? Interestingly on this same day, Venus and Mars conjoin to the minute from 29°59 Capricorn - 00°05 Aquarius. This double union of planets seems like an especially positive omen for meaningful, reciprocal and stable relationships (Capricorn), as well as how we innovate our friendships and alliances in a post-2020 world. Yes, this conjunction of Mars and Venus occurs at the same degree as the Great Conjunction! There seems to be something forward-thinking and socially conscious here. 

April 12th, 2022, Jupiter conjoins Neptune. Alexander Ruperti considers Jupiter’s conjunction with Neptune to be one of the peak moments of Neptune’s transit through any given sign. As Neptune spends about 14 years in each sign, and Jupiter traverses the entire zodiac in 12 years, Jupiter will typically conjoin Neptune only one time during its sojourn through each sign. These two planets share a lot in common. Together, we might expect this period to be deeply sensitizing, compassionate, dreamy, empathetic and imaginative. But above all, this aspect represents opening and perhaps, the complete dissolution of certain boundaries. It’s at this time that I see most of the restrictions and mandates lifting. While the spring/summer of 2021 is certainly expected to be beautiful and expansive, next summer will offer even more magic. Bigger weddings, carefree dining, venues permitted to capacity – life is but a dream! Jupiter’s conjunction with Neptune in oceanic Pisces emotes those romantic and starry-eyed vibes. Looks like we’re about to fall in love with life again. *** See Addendum***

April 30th, 2022, Venus conjunct Jupiter in Pisces. This chart is beyond juicy. OMG. Both benefics, Venus and Jupiter, conjoin in their respective signs of exaltation and domicile – at Venus’ exaltation degree! Any electional astrologer or mage would gape at this alignment, boding fruitfulness, love, abundance, beauty and blessings upon blessings. But beware– it’s also a solar eclipse (not ideal for magic) at 10°28’ Taurus. Despite its eclipsed nature, the Moon joins team exaltation. Compounding the dignity of this chart, Mercury enters their domicile in Gemini, Mars has triplicity in Pisces and Saturn is in domicile in Aquarius. I don’t know what to make of all of this yet, but you can find me in the labor and delivery unit that day bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. What an auspicious day to be born! This chart boasts exceptional dignity; and the solar eclipse amidst it all feels very important despite its inherent chaotic nature.

Part III:

Jupiter zooms through Pisces and enters Aries on May 10th, 2022. However, Jupiter will reprise its Piscean presence from October 28th - December 20th. Seems as though we’ll have some unfinished business to wrap up.

To conclude, let’s recall the last time Jupiter transited Pisces in 2010. Which house does Pisces rule in your birth chart? Was this a favorable period for you pertaining to the themes of your Pisces house? Provided that your natal Jupiter is comfy and that adjacent transits weren’t dragging you, this was likely a valuable period of growth, discovery and maybe even magic!   You might also look back to 1998, 1986 or 1974 for additional perspective on what this transit could bring your way. May Jupiter in Pisces refill your cup, restore optimism and make the panorama sparkle.

Addendum

-12/23/21-

My Dear Readers,

I write to you from my home in Cleveland, Ohio, where covid-positive hospitalizations are at an all-time high, and one of the highest rates in the nation. Inpatients are currently testing at a dangerously high 85% positivity rate. Every single one of our holiday plans have bit the dust one-by-one due to various exposures in my circle. I feel like the walls are closing in again as I strive to protect my toddler and keep our spirits high.

In my original article, Hope on the Horizon: Jupiter in Pisces, I sung the possibilities of a grand re-opening with Jupiter’s second dip into Pisces, December 29th, 2021 – May 10th, 2022. And it’s true, there are some gorgeous alignments from Jupiter in Pisces. But I fear that not all of us will get to enjoy the cherry on top of the banana split.

As I sat in my disappointment and sadness this week, I decided that there is no way that the world will magically change in time for this transit. We missed our chance. As above, so below. Astrology can behave as an overhead mirror reflecting what is playing out on Earth. When I first wrote this article, I connected with the sense of hope the vaccine promised, and the portents of opening inherently suggestive by Jupiter in Pisces. Surely, it would be a matter of time before everything returned to “normal,” right?  

Hope. It’s an excellent word to singularly summarize Jupiter in Pisces. All I can think about right now are all the texts I received as plans cancelled, “here’s to 2022, fingers crossed, right?”

No.

As I accurately pointed out in my original Hope on the Horizon: Jupiter in Pisces article, we still have Saturn in Aquarius to contend with:

While expansive Jupiter encourages us to celebrate life beyond our own backyard, we still have Saturn in Aquarius to contend with. Cautious Saturn is also in domicile, and super capable of setting boundaries – namely masks and social distancing. This means that we have two planets in domicile – each striving to do two very different things and answering to no one. On one hand, this contrast is reflected in the polarized political views around the world toward the handling of the pandemic, on the other, it can also be understood as an inner tension. It’s important to remember, however, that Saturn is slightly stronger, placed in its diurnal domicile. Working in tandem, these planets suggest that we follow our bliss, but be as mindful and considerate as possible.

Saturn in Aquarius indeed has the final say: boundaries, science, the necessity of collaboration and yes, social distancing. I regret to inform you that 2022 will not be your year (in the way that you think). We will be dealing with this virus at a minimum, through March of 2023 when Saturn leaves Aquarius.

Disillusionment

When I think about the blissful, heart-opening, possibility-creating, dreamy concoction of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction on April 12th, 2022 from where things currently stand, I recall that Pisces is a double-bodied sign. One fish swims up, while the other fish swims down. I look around and see the stark division around this panoramic view. Some people are out there traveling, raising their vibration and living their best life. Others, like me, have prioritized differently. I now foresee this Jupiter-Neptune alignment *also* manifesting also as disillusionment, disappointment and extreme overwhelm. Get ready for nurses to quit striking and simply quit altogether. The lack of boundaries implied by Jupiter-Neptune might do amazing things for us personally, but in terms of containing, this does nothing to help control a quickly mutating virus.

While Neptune in Pisces has amplified spiritual practice in the collective since 2011 – popularizing yoga, crystals, astrology, tarot and beyond, it has also amplified fantasy, savior-complex and overall delusion. We’ve all drank the kool-aid in one form or another within the past 10 years. Pisces is a sign which amplifies the desire to connect to something bigger than ourselves, to find meaning, to connect with our infinite soul. But something else we can experience here is a profound grief, a significant empathy rivaling a discontent so grand that it paralyzes our ability to discern to a viable path forward – and lots and lots of thoughts and prayers. Jupiter in Aries will encourage us to think for ourselves and take directive action.

Astrological alignments can manifest in a variety of different ways. I still stand by everything I originally wrote; however, I too was under the Jupiter-Neptune spell of hopefulness. When the buoyant balloon of possibility bursts, we are often left with disappointment, loss of faith, the harsh grain of disillusionment… Jupiter in Pisces will certainly help us to keep the faith alive, but I’m pegging the Jupiter-Neptune alignment as an emotional dam-break.

Sometimes exhaustion is simply due to being strong for far too long.