In the Greek myths JUPITER was the father of the gods. He rules the heavens, which is equivalent to our conscious waking reality. His brother’s NEPTUNE and PLUTO rule the dream world and the underworld respectively. He was the one to grant wishes and requests, or hurl thunderbolts in disapproval. In mythology JUPITER took power by castrating his father URANUS, who was at that time the ruler of all the godly realms. URANUS had himself taken power by castrating his father. This is a good example of how the law of karma, or cause and effect works. In Astrology JUPITER represent blessings, gifts or things that come easily to us. However, at times the things that come easily to us are at someone else’s expense, just ask his father URANUS. The god JUPITER was also very lusty and seductive. He was constantly taking on disguises in order to seduce human women, he was very prolific in his conquests, leaving behind children all over the world. His good luck with women was clearly not a blessing to his wife, or his fatherless children. This was the source of many arguments and retaliations between he and his wife. They were usually at war over their philosophical differences. JUPITER governs all activities relating to the law, higher education, the mass media, long journeys, religion and philosophy. As the lawmaker on Mount Olympus, his job is to govern the activities of the group as a whole, so that the individuals may better function together. His influence is to seek the governing principal that holds various different people, even cultures together. For this reason issues of religious, cultural, ethnic and racial groupings or conflicts fall under his domain.

JUPITER is the largest planet in our solar system, making it easy to see that it represents expansion. In fact the planet is mostly gas. Gas tends to expand infinitely, when not held in check by some external force. The influence of JUPITER on the personality as seen in the Natal chart is similar. When not held in check JUPITER energy can lead to over-optimism, exaggeration, over-eating or numerous other excesses. Balanced JUPITER energy, however, lends buoyancy, light-heartedness and humor to the personality. Jupiter also bestows luck on his natives. Jupiter luck can seem to be random or strangely specific in it’s manifestation, but in truth every event is a reaction to some past action. For this reason JUPITER in the Natal Chart represents the good karma that we have accumulated.

Every person has JUPITER somewhere in their Birth Chart, however Sagittarius and Pisces are only signs governed by his influence. Sagittarius natives tend to have buoyant personalities, easily expecting things to go in their favor. Such optimism is often self-fulfilling. For this reason Sagittarius has a reputation for being humorous, fun and outgoing. However the archer can constantly be seeking new targets to shoot at, and their often-reckless attitude can lead to certain blindness to the wounds that their arrows may have left on other people. The Sagittarius is the blunt person who can say or do some of the most insensitive things, and then wonder what you’re so upset about. But in the next minute they’ll have you rolling on the floor with laughter, or hopping on the bandwagon of some world-beating scheme they’ve cooked up. They have a way of making even the most ridiculous things seem possible, even easy to accomplish. But sometimes they can lack common sense. They can often live a rosy world of their own making, oblivious to the mundane concerns of those around them.

Pisces is also governed by JUPITER in my Chakra Astrology, this is because Pisces people are very lucky at putting together group concerns and ideas, they often have a certain mesmerizing power and charisma that puts them in leadership positions, weather or not they’ve asked for them. Many of the most highly successful people I’ve ever met are Pisces: they just seem to have a lucky nack for finding the right opportunity at the right time and filling a need that the group has. This leads them to succeed – as long as they don’t slide into the many temptations that success brings their way. When they do that, we find them partying all night, losing their beautiful figures and generally wasting their talents.

All Sagittarians and Pisceans will have to deal with JUPITER’s influence on their lives. This includes issues of over-indulgence, the tendency to exaggerate, conflicts of philosophy with others and the resolution of the castration complex (even for women). For more specific information about how JUPITER influences your personality you may be interested in having a Natal Birth Chart Interpretation.