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I studied Economics at University, which is an interesting choice for someone with as much Pisces as I have and for someone who always wanted to be a writer…I think I have mentioned before that I am not great at decisions or goals.

Anyway, one of the only macro-economic principles that I grasped with any sort of passion is the concept that you can spend your way out of a depression. I am sure that Keynes (or whoever it was, I have forgotten the detail, maybe Friedman? All I remember is that nasty thick pink textbook…) was actually thinking about, well, macro economies rather than my emotional state when he first invented the theory, but it does fit.

Unfortunately, though, the theory, regardless of whether you are looking to rescue an entire economy or simply feel better after a crappy day, assumes venturing into the territory of other peoples money, ie the 8^th house.

Traditionally the 8^th house is about debts, inheritances, other peoples resources. When Jupiter comes through this part of your chart, it is these issues which will be highlighted. Perhaps you may get an inheritance, perhaps you may go into more debt. With Jupiter opportunities abound- good and bad- and things expand quickly and easily- again- with both good and bad results! If you currently have an unaddressed 8^th house issue, it may get a whole lot worse quickly.

A Jupiter 8^th house transit is a good time to use joint resources to pursue an opportunity. You may have formed a partnership when Jupiter was in the 7^th, now might be the time to pool joint resources to purchase a property or invest in a business. Now is the time to put that business plan together and approach a Bank for finance- you probably will be successful in your application.

As with all Jupiter transits you do need to ensure that over confidence doesn’t cloud your judgement- a successful application for finance does not necessarily mean that the venture will be successful- the funds will need to be repaid at some point.

Transits of the 8^th house will also impact the 2^nd, 5^th and 11^th houses- and speaking literally, any change (either positive or negative) to your finances from 8^th house sources will also change your 2^nd house possessions and resources (and relative stress levels), and your ability to play with friends…so to speak.

The 8^th house is associated with Scorpio and therefore with life changing and transformative events. It is also about death. Some astrologers associate sex with the 8^th as well- la petite mort, perhaps? Personally I see sex as a 5^th house activity, but you may have another opinion… So, during an 8^th house transit you might start to look deeply into Scorpio or Pluto type things- eg really deep, spiritual, meaning of life and death issues- possibly even the occult or other spiritual practices.

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, Jupiter will be transiting your 8^th house while he is in Pisces- and really, is there any other sign who can spend their way out of depression with quite as much style? Mr Keynes (or was it Friedman?) would be impressed.

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What would you do if all the rules as you know them are gone? What would you do if there are no limits and you can do whatever it is that you want to do and be whoever it is that you want to be? How much would you risk for that? What would you risk for an opportunity like that?

The 5^th house is about risk. Yes, it is also about creativity, how we express ourselves, our children and where we have fun. Associated with Leo and the Sun, the 5^th is about the ego. The 5^th is where we fall in love. It is where we give birth to things- literally in terms of babies, but figuratively in terms of new ventures, love affairs, projects and creative expressions of ourselves. It is where we give birth to our hopes and dreams before sending them off into the world. It is a fun and exciting place, but it is also where we accept and take risk.

Every time you give birth to something you are taking a risk. A piece of you is involved that will never be the same again. If it is a creative venture, you risk damage to your self esteem; a business venture risks your personal resources; and a baby, well, that pretty well risks your entire life.

Remember the last time you fell in love. Maybe it was requited, maybe not. Remember that wonderful bubbly feeling in your chest, the need to check your cell phone 1000 times a day in case you missed a call or a text from him. That special ring tone just for him, even though you know he rarely rings it, even though you know that if anyone else hears it they will know your secret. When you just want to talk for hours, when even saying the words out loud leaves you exposed. Falling in love is risky. Dating is risky. Getting to know you is risky.  Sex is risky. Every little step of the process asks you to expose more of yourself and in doing so risks more of yourself. You are gambling with your own self esteem.  But it makes you feel so good and is so much fun and can be so addictive. Nevertheless, gambling it is. If you win, you progress through the routine of life into a relationship- but that is a 7^th house matter. If you lose? Well, I am sure we all know the pain of a broken heart and a bruised ego, but you still dust yourself off and head back to the table for another spin.

Jupiter transiting the 5^th house may not be enough to bring love into your life, but it will certainly help you to find the courage to express yourself freely and authentically. You may find yourself with added self confidence and perhaps an increased propensity to accept risk- all of which may help develop any relationship which starts at this time. You may finally find the courage to make the first move.

Creatively you will be on fire! Whatever you produce at this point will be truly reflective of you. Even if you have previously been influenced by others from an artistic viewpoint, your voice will now be heard loudly.

Without doubt, this is a fun time. Relatively speaking this is also a lucky time. Go ahead and buy a lottery ticket, your chances may be improved, but remember that the odds are still against you.

Transits to the 5^th house will also form challenging aspects to the 11^th house (opposition) and the 2^nd and 8^th. During this transit friends may become lovers, your dreams may be brought out into the world and your hobbies may move from the back room into the shop-front. Risks taken in the 5^th house, particularly regarding gambling and business ventures may impact your personal resources (2^nd house) via a personal investment, or the 8^th house (risking other peoples’ money). Take care not to over-extend yourself financially or romantically during this time- a bad risk is still a bad risk.  

Go ahead- play, fall in love, express yourself, take a risk or two, spin the wheel, but remember not to lose touch with reality. At the end of the day when the transit has passed your debts will eventually have to be repaid- whether you have taken the risk at the roulette table, the corporate table or with someone elses’ partner. But oh how much fun you can have…

My latest post for ivillage is here.

© Stanko Mravljak | Dreamstime.com

I know I should be having something interesting to say about 3^rd house transits, but I don’t. The 3^rd house is associated with Mercury stuff and regular readers know all about my Mercury. Maybe this is why I find the 3^rd house and what it is associated with boring. Nothing interesting or mind blowing tends to happen to me when Jupiter moves through the 3^rd. It is all routine stuff. I have no planets in the 3^rd, and when Jupiter moves through the 3^rd it really doesn’t set off many interesting aspects- perhaps a sextile or 3,  maybe a couple of trines and an opposition to Neptune- nothing really to get my heart racing. Anyway, the last twice Jupiter has gone through the 3^rd I have put on weight… and that is never a good thing.

Needless to say, rather than being speechless and suffering from a rather nasty case of writers block, I should be more garrulous (I promised astro FB pal NR that I would  use that word- which is about as close a definition of Jupiter in the 3^rd as you could get).

So, in order to make this slightly interesting for anyone who does have planets and chart points that are activated in a really interesting way by a third house transit of Jupiter, lets first look at what are 3^rd house type of issues:

-          Communication, obviously…lots of it

-          Other Mercury related stuff like writing, speaking

-          Study, specifically early learning, school and the learning we have to do (as opposed to 9^th house learning which is usually the higher learning we want to do to expand ourselves)

-          Brothers and sisters

-          Neighbours

-          Everyday routines and contacts

 As I do most weeks for this series, I sat down with the trusty ephemeris in an attempt to work out just what was happening when Jupiter was last transiting the 3^rd and I came to the rather dissatisfactory conclusion of not a whole lot. I was busy- learning a new job, learning all about new processes & procedures and relationships and politics and new routines. Having spent all my previous years in banking, IT was completely unfamiliar. I felt at times (actually most of the time) that I was out of my depth, out of control and struggled with the pressure of proving myself in a completely new field.

Rather than a leisurely 30 minute drive to Concord West to park the car and walk Sarah across to the day-care that the Bank provided on premises, I had the morning rush of being at Concord West exactly as the centre opened at 7am allowing myself 5 minutes to run to the railway station and share my morning commute with other squashed rail travellers into the city (and smelly ones on the way home). I would then cram a million things that I didn’t understand into my day, before doing a similar rush back to the station, all the while hoping and praying to the Gods of City Rail that the train would be on time and I would make it back to day-care in time to collect my bundle of joy . Then it would be home in time for arsenic hour (all Mums know the meaning of that one), baths, hunter gathering activities, bed and start again.

In between all of that, I was also completing a post graduate diploma in IT Project Management and attempting to get to the gym by 5am most work mornings (the only time that I had). Busy busy busy.

Nothing really exciting there- except perhaps the constant threat of a nervous breakdown and the slow unravelling of routines and fitness for stress and a growing need for a calming drink the minute I stepped inside the door.

Going back to mid 1988, it was a similar story. Out of my parents home for the first time I was adapting to life in Canberra. As part of the Bank’s Graduate Scheme I was changing jobs every couple of months. Within the space of 6 months I was expected to master back office operations, reporting, customer service/ teller duties and loan documentation. At each department I had to learn new processes, procedures, new pecking orders and new names and politics. Each department involved a change of routine.  

In the middle of all of this my heart was broken very dramatically for the first time and I settled down to some serious comfort eating and drinking.

Hang on… all of this is Jupiter in the 3^rd! Expansion of contacts, changes to routine, having to learn new things and busy busy busy.  Changes and expansion of the everyday.

Your experience of Jupiter through the 3^rd is likely to be very different to mine, but you can expect:

-          Changes to your routine

-          Busy-ness in your routine

-          Opportunities to learn new tasks, or study

-          New neighbours or contacts

-          (hopefully) better relationships with your brothers or sisters

The amazing Robert hand also talks about a Jupiterian expansion in your thought patterns- how you see the world and also how you view previously self imposed limitations. As with all things Jupiter, the 3^rd house transit asks you to look at 3^rd house issues and ask where you are selling yourself short.

From his Planets in Transit, Hand writes:

…your attitude to the world will be much more generous, understanding and tolerant of other peoples’ differences. You are less likely to be influenced by prejudices. Instead you will want to know everything on the basis of your own experience.

As with all things Jupiter, confidence is great, but over-confidence can be arrogant. So, if you have writing or speaking or training to do, be confident, but don’t forget the preparation.

If Pisces is on your 3^rd house cusp, you will be looking at a 3^rd house transit of Jupiter this year. How is your communication? Is there any writing or study projects which you have been looking closely at? Is there opportunity for you to travel? Have you been viewing your world from a narrow focus? Have you found yourself becoming increasingly intolerant of what is happening around you? Have you outgrown some routines? Is life becoming a little predictable? Be careful what you wish for…

Pic by me, Sea World, Gold Coast

I may have the worst possible Mercury in history, but I have this really weird ability to remember stuff that means nothing and things that I really should forget. Lines from songs, obscure band names, music trivia and things I have done when I was drunk and when a better Mercury would have allowed me to forget. This sometimes comes in handy like when the line from a Midnight Oil song “Read About It” found its way into an Economics essay in Uni and earned me a mark far better than I deserved “The rich get richer, the poor get the picture, the bombs never hit you when you’re down so low…The bosses want decisions, the workers need ambitions, there won’t be no collisions when they move so slow…” Naturally I gave full credit to Messrs Hirst, Garrett and Moginie.

Anyway, one of the trivial things that came into my head the other day was a quote from nobody in particular “99.8% of statistics are made up.” Now I don’t know if that is true and, being a triple Pisces and a big picture girl, I am not sure I really care. But it then reminded me of another statistic I read about the 10 top causes of stress in your life. Somewhere in the top 5 was moving house, losing your job and starting a new job. And that, in turn, brings me to Jupiter transits of the 2^nd house… because that is exactly what happened when Jupiter last transited mine. Within a period of a month, we bought & sold a house (yep, in that order), moved, I was retrenched and I started a new job 3 days later.

Another statistic that I am not especially proud of is the pile of restructure letters I managed to collect from the Financial Institution I previously worked for. I was there for 11 years (including 12 months maternity leave) and had managed to amass 13 letters in the previous 6 years advising me that my job had been restructured and all positions had been spilled. On each occasion I had been fortunate and either held onto my role or was promoted to a new one. But by the time the last restructure occurred I was ready to go and opted for a voluntary redundancy. Being so water dominated, I emotionally connect to most things in my life, and had defined myself in terms of my job, my position, my earnings and seniority. I was holding onto this even though I was now a Mother and had different priorities and values. In typical Jupiter fashion, a new opportunity opened up and, as stressful as the whole chaotic process was, losing my job back then was actually a good thing. But all is crystal clear in hindsight.

The 2^nd house involves money, possessions and things that are valuable to us- our values and our ideals. It is also our view of ourselves and our goals, so when Jupiter is transiting this house, we are looking at expansion and accumulating in this area. Sometimes it is as literal as growing of personal resources through a redundancy payment (as mine was), but it also was more than that. Beyond the lump sum were issues around how I saw myself, my reserves of self confidence and what was really important NOW.

As with all things Jupiter, you need to be careful what you ask for. If your goal is around accumulating money, you may get that- but at what cost? Jupiter 2^nd house transits ask you to think and deal honestly and with integrity – 2 Jupiter words. These transits also ask you to look at your values and spirituality- more Jupiter principles. Consider also how you treat the possessions and money that you have now, as mismanagement of both can be common under a Jupiter transit. Too much of anything can be, well… too much to handle.

Many years ago a friend lost his wife to someone else during a Jupiter 2^nd house transit. He had been  earning great money, but at the cost of neglecting her. Looking back, he admits he treated her as if she was a possession. During that transit, he had to look long, hard and honestly at his ideals and his views towards marriage and admit that he didn’t always act with as much integrity as he could have. He has since remarried and now has a good relationship with his ex, who is also happy. In hindsight, as painful as it was, losing his marriage was one of the best things that had happened to him.

During a 2^nd house transit, think about what is really important and just what you are prepared to do for that goal or ideal. Look beyond the material and the physical and ensure that you are being true to your own ethical reality. If you want to indulge a little (or a lot), go ahead… but be sure that you are buying those designer shoes because you really want them, not just to show the world that you can.