Promiscuous Gods

Chapter 7 from "Astrological Repair Manual" by Alexander M Zoltai

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Approaching Jupiter, largest planet in this system, 300 Earth's-worth of gaseous colors swirling in riotous flow...

Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the Best and Greatest) for the Romans; Zeus for the Greeks-god of sky and thunder.

For everything that Saturn pulls in and tightens, Jupiter loosens and expands. Rather than focusing on a clearly defined territory of meaning, Jupiter magnifies things to their widest potential. Instead of limiting, he amplifies.

Jupiter's full cycle is very close to 12 years and its meanings have to do with opportunities and how we give them birth, fill them with optimism, and reap their rewards.

In mythology, this character represents what most of us think of when the word promiscuous is used-many sex partners. In fact, this "god" impregnated many mortal women. (It's interesting that the word promiscuous comes from Latin roots that mean to mix very well.) Jupiter was also the supreme ruler of all the other gods, sat on his throne on the highest peak of the world, and issued proclamations that none dared to question.

I've been mentioning some of the mythos of the planets as we've been traveling, and I think you've noticed that I don't adhere strictly to the myths' exact interpretation. It's not that I think the myths have little to offer; it's that there's more than any one particular myth-meaning in every planet. The planets and their symbolic meanings predate the urge that societies had for making myths. The planets' cyclic meanings run deeper and spread farther than all the myths ever told. Fact is, we have the whole solar system inside us, including all the changes this system has gone through in its history. Our unconscious minds resonate and vibrate with the energy of the cosmos. And, when I say that, I'm just repeating something that's been said in every culture and religious tradition since stories started to be told.

This is something that Saturn would caution against-dangers abounding for those who go too far, dream too high, probe to deep! Jupiter shrugs and says, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

There have been many times in my astrological career that I've wanted to rename everything, even astrology itself. Names carry so much power to bend minds and too often blind us to the true identities circling around us. I believe there's a place in all of us (part of that deeper, collective unconscious mind) that knows well the names of Jupiter and Saturn, knows their exploits and their reputations. This is the part of the unconscious that needs a good airing out in the light of day. And while the dirty laundry is flapping in the breeze, we can dive even more deeply into what preceded these notorious characters. Let's do that:

There is a set of forces within each of us:

Structure, Definition & Clarity <-> Expansion, Optimism & Extension

Neither is more important, neither is better. Certainly, at different times of our lives, one or the other will become more prominent, but, if we want the best for ourselves, we'll always keep both close by, even if one of them is standing more forward and taking the temporary lead. Jupiter (nothing for it but to use the common name and rely on your ability to stay above the worst of the common interpretations) is the function we all need to assure ourselves we can find greener pastures for our energies, the symbolic power to take a viewpoint that is high enough and broad enough to serve as the ruler of our hopes and aspirations. Without Jupiter, life would be sterile, and there would be no progress.

It's much more than just interesting to trace this function's path through its 12 year-long phases. It begins with the potential you were given at birth to initiate your life's expansions-the sign and house Jupiter occupied in your birth chart. [ If you haven't yet looked back to The Instructions to find your chart factors, this might be a propitious time to begin. If you don't want to yet, I'm sure your reasons are valid. ] Naturally, children in their first year of life have a maximum of desire to expand and seek all the opportunities possible. Even people who later ripen into the more austere members of humanity begin with some measure of exuberance and abandon. The second year of Jupiter's transit brings some kind of contrast to the first since there's a natural polarity to the flow of the signs and houses (more on this later). Year three sees the potential for a certain productivity along with the sheer delight at so many open fields of discovery. The fourth phase brings the first gearshift or rooting-in of our sense of opportunity-half-way to the middle of the cycle. Five gives us a chance to test the waters with some showing off and six brings a breather while we check our bearings just before the apex of the cycle.

After six years of experiencing Jupiter's power of seeking opportunity, we've almost completed one quarter of our first Saturn cycle. Our growing sense of structure is nearing its first attempt at nailing things down. It's always interesting to look at what society has scheduled for us at various times in our lives and compare that with what our internal cosmos wants us to do. Reaching the ripe young age of six brings with it a deep desire to share with others our first full sense of what optimism means to us. Of course, most six-year-olds don't think of it this way, but that doesn't stop it from happening. We're at our first peak of feeling our oats, and we need outlets to share that feeling without it getting stepped on.

Year seven should be a time of finding special others that can share our particular brand of positivity; eight, a time of deepening those ties; nine, an opportunity to take some first steps in social expansions; ten, the first reception of solid social rewards; eleven, the beginning of learning to network our abilities; and, twelve, a rebirth, with many gold stars on the wall! In the chapter that deals with the most expansive of the functions, I can be nothing but positive. That sketching-out of the first twelve years of growth may have sounded nearly idyllic. But I must speak the truth about what's possible. If not now, when? If not me, who?

Plus, there's Chaos ahead and we can use all the upbeat attitude we can get our minds into!

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Read more chapters from this book:

The Voyage

Chapter 1: Xena and the Hordes
Chapter 2: The River of Death
Chapter 3: Idealism Abounds
Chapter 4: Venus and Her Father's Penis
Chapter 5: Transpersonal Awareness
Chapter 6: Father-Time Is All Spaced-Out
Chapter 7: Promiscuous Gods
Chapter 8: Chaos
Chapter 9: The Ancient Warrior
Chapter 10: Home Sweet Home and Lunacy
Chapter 11: Acid Love
Chapter 12: Messenger of the Gods
Chapter 13: Plasma Love
Chapter 14: Galactic Visitors