In his poem, “Sweet Darkness,” the poet David Whyte wrote, “When your eyes are tired, the world is tired also. When your vision has gone, no part of the world can find you.” Here he described the phenomena wherein your participation in the world, or lack thereof, is reflected back to you, the cosmic wink of “as within, so without.” When we pay attention, there is much to pay attention to — this whole place is a parade of happenings.
Jupiter is the astrological correlate of this principle. He’s known as a bringer of good things, a kind of Santa Claus of the planets, offering opportunities and gifts. But there is a caveat. You have to take the chain off the door. You have to answer when opportunity knocks. You have to be paying attention. Jupiter is a kind of cosmic flashlight — as we follow his light, we grow in both perception and understanding. For those with untired eyes, Jupiter is the scent trail for the bloodhound of the mind. On May 16, we follow him into Taurus for a year of illumined materialism.
Taurus is nature, baggage, money and matter. The Bull’s sign follows Aries’ creative spark. After we get here, the next step is acquiring the physical things we need to survive. It is our connection to the “stuff” that makes us feel safe. Taurus is concerned with the practical and the tangible, unconcerned with hypotheticals and abstractions.
Taurus is the most steady sign of the Zodiac and the most averse to change. We need our material needs provided for and steadily so before we can devote ourselves to other things. However, Taurus has been anything but stable over the last five years. In May of 2018, Uranus — the planet of surprises, disruption and instability — entered the sign. Since November of 2021, eclipses have created turbulence there every six months.
Individually, this means that the place in each of our charts and lives we prefer the most constant has been quite unstable for the last half-decade. Collectively, you can see the disruption in supply chain issues, volatility of currency and escalating environmental disasters. Uranus will remain in Taurus until the summer of 2025, so the story is far from over. Enter Jupiter.
Jupiter asks about the new opportunities provided by Uranus’ brave new world. Jupiter asks what can be planted in the fertile earth freshly plowed by recent eclipses. Jupiter brings optimism and enthusiasm; in earthy Taurus, these are concrete solutions to material problems. There is a possibility to increase our feelings of security if we take the time to pay attention to what is happening.
It is a great time to check in and ask yourself — what do I actually need? Is my attachment to my stuff serving me? How can I provide more stability for myself? Where in my life could less be more? Where am I trapped in a scarcity mindset? Conversely, where do I deny myself support, and how would my life look different if I allowed that support?
In my therapy practice, I often remind clients that “support precedes change.” The support comes first, and then the change. If we really want to be effective at changing ourselves and our relationships, how could we make it feel easier and more wonderful to change than to stay the same? Jupiter in Taurus offers support if we are open-minded enough to look for it, and have enough faith to open the door and receive it. In the face of the all too common habit of forcing or shaming ourselves and our partners into changing, asking how we can provide support before expecting change is a radical act.
If we let ourselves slow to Taurus’ steady gate, Jupiter’s buoyant conversation will delight and inspire us until May of 2024. Be grateful for what you have, notice how it supports you, and offer it to others.
For more astrological insight or to book personal readings, please visit starhearthastrology.com