Jupiter in Aries, April 2023

After a year of quiet but powerful centring in its own sign of Pisces, Jupiter, planet of faith and protection, moves into Aries-Ashwini, on April 22nd until May 6th 2023. Jupiter in its friend Mars’s sign energizes and emboldens your plans, as you find a crusading zeal for knowledge and new experience. The initial passage through Ashwini taps the immediacy of Aries, where a plan of study or travel you have dreamt of suddenly becomes possible, if not top priority. Take your courage and make the leap. Being first to arrive, study, or get promoted, suddenly matters, and you thrive on inner certainty and affirmation.

Jupiter in Aries is not content to believe or understand, you have to share your views, and even win others around. Impulse can be good in this respect, and Jupiter protects you if you don't stop for doubts or questions, especially when you are coming from a genuine, child-like place of wonder. There is an onus to take care, however. An actual spiritual shift may seem abrupt in the moment, but looking back, you appreciate the change has been coming. The Aries house of your horoscope is lifted and supported, but don’t slacken off or take anything for granted – Jupiter can take a cavalier and entitled attitude, but working as hard as you’ve ever done brings this planet’s best effect.

The Solar Eclipse in Aries-Ashwini of April 20th (10:28 BST), is a fanfare for Jupiter’s sign-entry less than 48 hours later, plus a Mercury retrograde period in Aries also begins on April 21st. All these events see a potential sudden change of thinking, and-or the influence of a new idea or mental model. Mercury is in Aries altogether up to June 7th, and its combination with Jupiter is a trade-off between the bigger picture and fine detail - intellect versus intuition. Mercury retrograde periods are in fire-signs through all of 2023, where Jupiter’s direct gaze sees you benefit from enhanced background reading, travel and a generally spiritual outlook.

Jupiter into Aries 22/4/2023, 00:45 BST, London

Up to October 30th, Jupiter is with Rahu in Aries, shadow planet of desire and rebellion, a conjunction which occurs every approximately seven-and-half-years (a time period that reflects Saturn’s aspects to itself, and also modern Uranus’s sign-duration). Jupiter-Rahu forms Guru Chandala Yoga, essentially a combination for an ‘outcast’ or maverick, where your sattvic, Guru-like principles may be compromised and your knowledge source or offering is at risk of becoming shallow and gimmicky. Watch out for any over-confident know-all who tries to monetize an old idea, and even a dazzling business offer may see you giving up more than you expected. This combination also sees your ideas going through a creative disruption, or necessary revolution, and you emerge with political savvy and a useful balance between the ivory tower and the real world.

Jupiter and Rahu were together in 2001 at the Twin Towers disaster, and most recently in mid-2016, the year of Donald Trump’s rise. Their last conjunction in Aries however, was in 1929, the year of the Great Crash, and previous to that in 1893, when there was also a major stock market panic, as well as the first Parliament of the World’s Religions - an ecumenical event at which Swami Vivekananda won a standing ovation. Rahu’s effects come largely through a series of eclipses in and around its sign, but none actually affect Jupiter in Aries directly in 2023.

Along with Aries, the other fire signs, Leo and Sagittarius also receive Jupiter’s aspect directly through 2023-24. Where a fiery planet has been under stress, Jupiter provides relief and respite, and the Sun, Moon and Mars especially can integrate Guru’s glance, and feel inspired, healed and energized. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are less compatible, but it all depends which influence you wish to see grow: Jupiter may see health problems through swelling and bloating, romantic issues with a clash of values or beliefs, and obstacles in your business life if you take a too-expansive attitude. Jupiter and Mars are in sign-exchange from July 1st to August 18th 2023, a dynamic and crusading combination that works especially well for fire and water-sign ascendants.

Jupiter retrograde from September 5th to January 1st 2024, brings back an opportunity from earlier in the year. If the situation wasn’t right before, you have the experience and credentials to seize the moment second time around. Appreciate the scale of your fortune, and raise your expectations to a new level. Jupiter’s retrograde arc can also delay or frustrate your initial effort, especially in immediate Aries, and you may have to strategize around an obstacle or think in terms of a longer game.

Jupiter in Aries receives the full glance of Saturn in Aquarius all the way up to May 2024. This malefic influence, along with Rahu, counters Jupiter's ebullient style, and plays up the tension between expansion and contraction. The general inclination to trust to providence meets budget restrictions and real-world responsibility, and we look back at 1929 (and 1893) as major economic realignments. This transit is closest from approximately June 10th to 27th 2023 and then from January 1st 2024 all the way until April 1st 2024, a period when the two planets move in step. Once again, finding a middle way between extremes of boom and bust can be positive, and you are mindful of having to earn and integrate your good fortune.