What habits and relationships do you need to let go of?
Jupiter points to the future, expanding us to become what we intrinsically are, and what we can be. It is that which lives in us connecting us with cosmic thoughts, and the wisdom we have accrued over lifetimes. It is our enthusiasm, our reaching out to the world and beyond. This lives within the bounds of our Saturnian definition of self and the world, as our vision of ourselves active in the world.
A retrograde period is a time to revisit what we have become within, and what we have created in our expansion out into the world. In this reflective time, we may gain insight to expand in a true and productive way in the garden of our lives.
Sometimes it is wise and necessary for a gardener to prune a tree. As it is true for trees, it is also true for us. As dead, diseased, and damaged limbs and branches should be cut from a tree, so our obsolete and destructive behaviors need to be stopped. For the tree, growth forces are then more available for new healthier growth. When we stop bad habits, our forces are also freed up for new growth. In fact, we become freer, as our consciousness, emotions, and actions are not directed by the psycho-emotional dynamics behind the negative habits.
The gardeners who create espaliered trees use this knowledge to enhance a tree’s productivity of fruit, making it easier for harvesting, and to fit a more symmetrical aesthetic. We can use our knowledge to shape our inner life so as to make ourselves more productive. Bonsai is a related activity, except that what is pruned, both healthy and unhealthy, is aimed to direct the growth forces to create natural shapes, even transforming a small plant to look like an ancient old tree.
What is the psychological parallel to pruning healthy growth to create a desired aesthetically pleasing shape? It can be argued that pruning is a Saturnian gesture. There is truth in this, but the inner knowledge that recognizes what is desirable for soul and spiritual growth is the foundation for personal discernment and discipline. The discernment and discipline to create new habits is also Saturnian. The sign and house in which retrograding Jupiter is in will give you the information to answer the above questions. It is your inner wisdom which allows you to recognize the answers.
We come into this world with whatever degree of wisdom we have accrued, and throughout life’s trials and pains we develop wisdom. During Jupiter’s retrograde period, we do go inward to find the voice of wisdom urging us to get real with ourselves and the world. What habits do you need to let go of, and what new habits do you want to develop? What relationship dynamics do you need to cast off, so you can relate in the way you truly want?
July 8, 2021
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