What is hope?

Hope is what Pandora found buried underneath all the sorrows and troubles of the world. Hope should have been crushed by all that, but instead it remained, its survival alone an act of defiance.

Hope is the light held onto in the darkness, felt in the heart even if it can’t be seen. Hope is reason for being, even if being feels like an obligation. Hope is the thing that can keep the darkness at bay.

We could all use a little hope right now, and hope is on its way.

On November 8th, 2018, Jupiter enters Sagittarius, and will remain there until December 2nd, 2019. Jupiter in Sagittarius is a very Jupiterian Jupiter. The archer’s territory is the buoyant planet’s home turf. In this sign, he’s big, he’s loud, he’s fun, he’s bountiful, he’s thinking deeply about everything and roaming free and wild.

And he’s injecting a boost of optimism and hope into these dark and troubled times.

There are other, non-Jupiter factors in the astrology of the current era that have been weighing heavily on people’s spirits. The sorrows and troubles from Pandora’s box seem to be having the most prominent time of it. Jupiter’s time in Scorpio, which started in October of 2017 and is ending with Jupiter’s transition into Sagittarius, didn’t help with the mood. Jupiter’s time in Scorpio brought a lot of the darker underbelly of things out into the world stage, bringing all of our attentions to sexual misconduct, fascism, abuse, and violence. The de rigeur association of Jupiter in Scorpio for astrologers has been #MeToo.

Pandora or Eve, always the scapegoat for the bullshit pulled by the men in charge. I’m with Jimmy Buffet on this one: “Some people may claim that there’s a woman to blame, but I know it’s my own damn fault.”

Jupiter in Sagittarius is empowered to deal with the muck drudged up by Jupiter in Scorpio. This is a time when Justice is empowered, so expect the abusers outed by #MeToo to start facing legal consequences in new ways these thirteen months. Jupiter rules the legal system, after all, so if you’ve been waiting for a court case to manifest, now’s as good a moment as you’re gonna get. #ItsMuellerTime.

Jupiter in Scorpio also increased widespread interest in magic and witchcraft, and Jupiter in Sagittarius is Grade A astrological territory for workings of good fortune, wealth, optimism, and bounty. Take the magics you learned this past year and apply them to this alignment. Quite a few astrological magic practitioners will be offering talismans and talismanic materia capturing Jupiter’s magic. A few will be giving tutorials on doing some of the magic yourself. To start, Sphere & Sundry has a brief primer on some basics as well as some preliminary materia, and Austin Coppock has a webinar on Magical Approaches to Jupiter in Sagittarius. This post will be updated throughout the 13 months with further recommendations.

Part of what made 2018 feel like such a slog is that the harsh, heavy planets have been in harsh, heavy signs making harsh, heavy aspects, and Jupiter, typically an avuncular fellow, has also been in a harsh, heavy sign. Not so for the next thirteen months. There’s joy to be found now that felt out of reach before. Fun to be had that seemed a waste. Freedom to move where there once were chains.

Mind you, the big harsh, heavy aspect defining this era (Saturn and Pluto stuff, more on that another time) is still going on, but now we’ve got some wind in our sails.

And it’s a hot wind, too. Sagittarius is a fire sign, active and yang and passionate and driven. There is a sense I can’t shake of Jupiter’s time in Sagittarius being like an updraft—a current of hot air used by birds to maintain their flights over long distances. Something like that will be available to us—Yes, times are tough and yes, history looks bleak, but then Jupiter passes through on one of his daily astrological moments, and we catch a second wind and find the fire within to keep going.

It’s like a Steampunk airship. Sure, that thing isn’t supposed to be able to move like that. But with vision, imagination, hope, dreams, and a whole lotta fire, that blimp is gonna zoom you right to the next big stop on your heroic journey. There’s a greater mission. A bigger quest. And Jupiter in Sagittarius is a force that flies you towards that goal with passion and aplomb.

Jupiter also rules matters philosophical and spiritual, and in Sagittarius again those significations are doubled-down on. It’s a good time to go on spiritual retreats, invest in your intellectual life, learn a new theoretical framework, experiment with new belief systems, or just get serious about your meditation practice.

It’s an exciting time for exploring new horizons, traveling the world, launching a space travel company to compete with Elon Musk, buying a thousand lotto tickets and going broke, etc.

Jupiter is not a planet that’s good with limits or boundaries. Balance that exuberance with realism. Markets are likely to bubble fast and crash hard during this cycle, as investors get overenthusiastic about new stuff and then run smack into Uranus in Taurus’s disruption of markets and Saturn in Capricorn’s deleterious effect on major economies. If your natal Jupiter is doing well, you’re likely to be better off financially, but don’t get too excited too fast when it comes to investments with more potential than proof.

All in all, it’s gonna be a good time. Or at least a lot of good vibrations getting us through tough times mostly intact. Trust me. This is the best space weather we’ve had in a while. We’ve earned this.

If you enjoy my writing and find it valuable, consider supporting me on Patreon. I’m also available for readings.