The ancient Greek astrologers called the planet Jupiter “the great benefit”. They perceived that the energy of this planet offered the most positive and beneficial influence of all the celestial bodies in our solar system. They argued that wherever they traveled, regardless of the sign, opportunities for success, prosperity and joy ensued. Of the five outer planets, Jupiter moves much faster than the others, taking about a year to transit a sign. Tracking Jupiter’s transits can provide a clue of potential benefits to us at any time. This month he will enter a new sign, but will stay there for about ten weeks before reverting to the previous sign.

On May 13, Jupiter will enter Pisces. He will backslide to Aquarius on July 28. It will reenter Pisces on December 28 and stay there until May 2022. Jupiter is one of the ruling planets of Pisces, so on May 13 Jupiter will be home. Like most of us, a planet is happiest and most productive when it’s at home. Considering the other planet that co-rules Pisces, Neptune, is already in Pisces, this promises to be a pretty interesting transit.

The qualities expressed by Jupiter, Neptune, and Pisces promote activities that can enhance our spiritual growth and the development of our consciousness. Activities such as a daily meditation practice, spiritual retreat or ceremony, or volunteer service can all provide access to a direct and personal connection with Transcendent Unity. They can also provide motivation and energy for inner work focused on emotional health, psychological clarity, and dream analysis. Some or all of these activities can help us develop our intuition, providing additional information about our own inner process as well as how we perceive others. Clarity of our personal place in the universal scheme of things can arise from becoming more connected to the mystery of life.

The arts are another characteristic reinforced by these influences. Tuning into our “inner muse” can lead to delightful experiences by harnessing our potential to be limitless creative.

Using this transit in these ways assumes that we are focused on expressing their energies. If we are off-center, other qualities could emerge. On a personal level, these influences tend to be extremely idealistic. We can project an idealized expectation onto a person or situation and relate to it as such, leading to being deceived and exploited. We can also be overly optimistic, disregard realistic limits, and be exhausted by our illusions and good intentions. Phantasm, self-deception, self-destruction and escape by substances of all kinds, legal or not (drugs, alcohol, food), can also be an off-center expression of these transits.

Collectively, drugs could become a main feature of these transits. This could manifest itself as an expansion of Big Pharma in terms of profits or the proliferation of substances that could be more delusional than effective. It could also imply a further rise in the opioid epidemic.

Whether we use this transit to express our compassion by helping the homeless or volunteering at the local food bank or letting ourselves be sidetracked by over-optimism, exuberance and delusion depends on our priorities. The highest option is to realize that this combination of energetic influences can support the awareness of ourselves as spirit beings involved in a temporary earth plane experience. As such, we can work collectively to move and expand the collective psyche. Otherwise, we could fall in love with our own projected fantasies, good or bad, and find ourselves in states of confusion, paranoia, and even models of self-destruction. As the most positive, optimistic, and joyful planet, let us use this transit of Jupiter to access the higher qualities of consciousness that are part of our birthright as human beings.

Aries: Home and family are top priorities for you this month. Taking advantage of the available creative inspiration can lead to some fun projects. Feelings of compassion can lead to expressions of encouragement to those you feel close to.

Taurus: Personal information at the start of the month can lead to positive changes in routines. The energy in the middle of the month could lead to excessive expectations and disappointments. The end of the month could bring stability to the plan or start executing long-term plans.

Gemini: Practicality versus idealism is a challenge for you this month. Growth may come from working to integrate left brain logic with right brain intuition. Healthy skepticism can keep you on the productive path and help you avoid naivety and confusion.