The Jupiter Conjunctions

Through the 1990s we have been experiencing a major conjunction between two very powerful, slow- moving planets, Uranus and Neptune. The theme of this conjunction is spiritual confusion and breakdown of the social order, but because the subtle, often invisible energy of Neptune is involved, it's likely to show its results slowly over a period of many years. Notice, however, that for some time now organized religion has been losing a huge number of followers because it's widely held to be boring, repressed and unresponsive to peoples' real needs. In its place, for good or ill, all kinds of New Age concepts are coming into mass popularity, such as UFO cults, fundamentalist survivalist Christian Judaism, angel channelings, and 75 or so television shows, on at all times of the day and night, about every aspect of the "occult," from Nostradamus to the pyramids to Bigfoot's mother. Suddenly, everybody is becoming an energy healer, channeling the Big Kahuna from 4-D, and darting around the astral plane. At the same time, quite a few people are actually filtering out the noise and finding God. It's very similar to the 1960s, when we experienced a long conjunction between Uranus and Pluto. Suddenly everybody who wasn't already in uniform (and many who were) became a flag-burning, peace-loving, long-haired revolutionary ‹ but when the novelty wore off as the conjunction passed, haircuts, brief cases and badges became the new rage. But a few very committed people, who really understood what was happening, held onto the principles they had developed during this era, and many of them are doing very excellent work today in areas of the environment, judicial reform, and other aspects of political life. Even though a lot of people were just along for the ride with the protest movements of the 1960s, the anger was sincere, and it was largely student activists who in fact stopped the Vietnam War. I believe the important thing now in assessing the spiritual movements of the 1990s is to look past peoples' surface-level beliefs for the love that's there beneath them. Part of why this winter is so important is because the relatively fast-moving Jupiter, the largest planet (1,300 times the size of Earth with a 12-year orbit), is currently passing the Uranus- Neptune conjunction in late Capricorn and early Aquarius. Jupiter, which will be in Aquarius for all of 1997, magnifies whatever it contacts, and also turns the tide toward prosperity, opportunity and great promise for success. In particular, extensive research shows that the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction (exact Feb. 16) brings scientific and creative breakthrough, so if you're developing something inventive or brainy, or feel like this winter is a good time to hole up in your studio and go nuts on canvas, the four-track or your computer, I say go for it. It was under similar astrology that Freud met Jung, that men walked on the Moon, and that Gallileo first saw the moons of Jupiter. For many people, this will be the most creative and spiritual time of their life, and for others it will be an opportunity cross a gateway and go to new levels of commitment and experience in your relationship to yourself and God. Either way, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the Uranus-Neptune conjunction returns in 171 years, late in the 22nd Century, and Jupiter may be nowhere near by. So get it while it's hot.