Jupiter, Earth, and The Inner Journey of Sagittarius

In this article from the LCM archive, Ruth Hadikin explains the different planetary space-holders for the inner journey of Sagittarius…

Sagittarius Season is upon us once again bringing with it an opportunity for deeper wisdom and the possibility to recognize and focus on our spiritual goals. The fun-loving gregarious sign of Sagittarius is associated with freedom, truth, optimism, travel, adventure, spirituality, religion and philosophy. What do all these have in common? The search for ultimate truth and freedom. The true freedom that Sagittarius seeks, is liberation of the mind, and that is achieved through the inner journey of Sagittarius.

Following the journey of the Soul through the 12 signs of the Zodiac, after the final struggle in Scorpio the way forward becomes clear. Scorpio brought necessary purification and transformation in preparation for the experience in Sagittarius where:

“the Archer has to acquire and hold a steady eye,
hand and stance prior to firing the arrow which,
when rightly directed and correctly followed,
will carry him through the portal of initiation [in Capricorn]”

– The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

Last month we saw how Scorpio was the last of the signs of challenge (or crisis) and here in Sagittarius we have the first of the signs of service. The soul is now matured and ready to fulfill divine purpose with confidence. Throughout this series we have been looking at how specific planets provide the necessary conditions for each stage of our soul’s growth and development. Three planets are important to Sagittarius: Jupiter (at personality level), the Earth (at Soul level) and Mars (at Hierarchical level). For our purposes here in understanding our evolution from personality-centered beings to soul-centered beings, we will be looking at Jupiter and the Earth. It is just interesting to note that once again we have the influence of Mars at a much higher level of consciousness than He would normally be associated with!

Scorpio is a sign of purification which sets the soul on a path of discipleship (discipline), so here in Sagittarius the experience is one of discipline, focus, and direction. Jupiter is a planet of expansiveness and higher mind, so His role in conditioning us at personality level is one of expanding awareness and consciousness. It is through the influence of Jupiter, that one realizes there is something ‘higher’ to aim for: a bigger, larger, grander picture of ourselves beyond our small, limited, mind.

Jupiter invites us to expand our vision, our awareness and our experience of our self. Initially the earliest inkling of self-awareness, shows up as self-consciousness, as we mentioned in Leo. Jupiter’s expansive influence in Sagittarius invites us to expand our experience on all levels, so we can expand our awareness. Taken to extremes at personality level this expansive tendency can lead to self-indulgence and leave our Sagittarian friends with an expanding waistline! However it is important to note that although Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, it is largely comprised of gas. The symbology here implies expansion beyond the density of physical matter. Jupiter encourages us to expand our minds.

Jupiter’s role is to create the conditions to guide us from small mind to higher mind. When we are in small mind we are limited by mental concepts and ideals. We impose limitation on ourselves by creating mental concepts and then adhering to them as though they were truth. When we know the difference between small mind (personality level)  and higher mind (soul level), we see a distinction between religion and spirituality and begin to understand why both are  associated with Sagittarius.

When we follow a religious path, at first we adhere closely to a creed or code of conduct. Although religious traditions are mental constructs, they have been created for the ultimate purpose of taking us beyond religion itself to experience higher spiritual truth. It is a path that someone created. The danger lies in mistaking the path itself for spiritual reality, and this is one of the pitfalls of the inner journey of Sagittarius.

Under the guardianship of Jupiter, Sagittarius resonates with the highest truth of  our spiritual nature but before this is realized, the Sagittarian personality has to let go of all mental conceptions that are mistaken as truth. Sooner or later the Sagittarian personality realizes that his beloved mental concepts actually obscure his perception of truth.

“The weighing of opinions only prevents the perception of truth”

– J. Krishnamurti

Following the preparation of the soul in the preceding eight Zodiac signs, Jupiter steps in to bring a magnificent expansion of consciousness, the likes of which we have never known before. This is different than the higher consciousness which we experienced in Libra under the influence of Uranus. The touch of Uranus is like being zapped by a lightning-bolt flash of insight, which gives us a taste, a glimpse into higher consciousness. When the lightning flashes, for an instant we can see more than usual, but when the lightning stops we are in the dark again.  Jupiter is very different. As might be expected with Jupiter, our awareness is being expanded on a much grander scale. Jupiter invites us to expand our own mind to embody the highest consciousness as our own highest mind. To expand our sense of self on a Universal scale, so that we become it. From this perspective we see the Universe, as ourselves.

Once we have embodied the expanded awareness of Jupiter on a grand scale, we are ready to receive the higher teachings of Gaia, our Earth Mother, and discover our true role as custodians of this beautiful planet. We first felt Earth’s influence in Gemini albeit in the form of a subtle hint to our grander purpose from the Hierarchical level. Now in Gemini’s opposite sign of Sagittarius, after the full expansion and embodiment of higher mind brought to us by Jupiter, we have the awareness to realize who we are and why we are here. From this higher expanded consciousness we know ourselves to be an aspect of Gaia herself. We realize the truth of no-separation, and that we are here to contribute to the evolution of Earth herself by being a conduit for Divine Love and Light. 

“The result of all experience in any sign of the zodiac should work out as an expansion of consciousness”

– The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

With the expanded awareness that Jupiter brings, we know beyond doubt, from our own experience, that earth is a living being, as is the whole solar system, and we know our own vital role within it. Earth has always provided. Not only does she feed, nourish and sustain us, but she is the physical field of experience through which we cultivate higher qualities. For example through our own suffering we develop compassion for the suffering of others. She provides the foundation for our spiritual evolution. Following the expansive embodiment of higher mind in Jupiter, we mature and are ready to offer service back to Earth herself. We are ready to return the love of our Mother.

In Esoteric Astrology the Tibetan talks about two stages on our spiritual journey: discipleship and initiation. We become the disciple during the experience in Scorpio, which means we have purified and transformed our lower animal urges and are ready to discipline ourselves by focusing on our spiritual goal. Our experience in the inner journey of Sagittarius, under the guardianship of Jupiter and Earth herself, assists us in staying focused on the path (discipleship) and holding steady until we reach our goal of initiation in Capricorn.

“every life experience or cycle of life experiences should work out as an initiation into a wider field of awareness, of expression and of resultant contact”

– The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

In this context we don’t mean initiation as this term is most commonly used, as in a ceremonial rite of passage into a man-made group or society, but rather in the sense of starting or beginning something. In this sense we initiate a new stage of human development and evolution in which we are fully aware of ourselves as soul-centered beings.

It is precisely the conditions provided by Jupiter and Earth that causes Sagittarius to raise his vision beyond physical goals and set his sights on goals of a more spiritual nature. This naturally leads to the initiation of the next stage of our spiritual evolution in Capricorn. The soul purpose of Sagittarius is to uplift humanity through the revelation of truth and wisdom. If you have Sun, Moon or Rising Sign in Sagittarius, your work is to question everything. How do you know what you know? You are here to release mental conceptions, thoughts, ideas and words, and seek the highest love-wisdom of Universal Mind, beyond the limitations of the lower mind.  LCM

 This post is an excerpt from Ruth’s book “Soul Astrology: How Your Rising Sign Reveals Your Soul Path and Life Purpose” Click HERE to read more and/or order your copy.

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