One of our talented Age of Aquarius members, Marc Dobson, wrote a wonderful story about Jupiter called “Jupiter’s magic“.  Marc gave his permission to share it with the Astro Butterfly community, so we include it in today’s newsletter.

WARNING: this may be one of the most enjoyable astrology write-ups you’ve read lately. Thank you Marc, for making astrology so accessible and captivating! 

Jupiter’s Magic

“Mention the prospect of a JUPITER transit and most astrology fans beam with anticipation. Of all the planets, Jupiter is the one with a Santa Claus reputation, dispensing good cheer and good fortune in equal measure.

Or does he? 

Read the fine print in the astrology books and they warn you not to be overly hopeful about Jupiter; they caution that you can overreach yourself or fall prey to unreasonable expectations during a Jupiter transit and fall deflated back to Earth like a pricked balloon. 

Yes, this can sometimes be true; but let’s remember that in order to receive Jupiter’s bounty, you often have to embody and reflect his nature: his optimism, his adventurousness, his faith in a bigger and better future, his willingness to take a gamble and a risk.

Jupiter insists that if you want to play the snakes-and-ladders game of life, you first have to throw the dice. 

Allow me please to illustrate this with my real-life Jupiter story.

I have a twin sister, born three minutes earlier than me, but we share basically the same birth chart.

We both have our natal Jupiter in Sagittarius in our 10th house, tightly squaring our natal Pluto.

Our natal Pluto is at the apex of a yod and whenever transiting Jupiter conjuncts our natal Pluto, things happen. 

Of course, I knew nothing of this when I was 20 years old, as I had no knowledge whatsoever then of astrology or Jupiter. All I knew was that I desperately wanted to improve the life that my twin sister and I were living. 

We had grown up in a small town and neither of us had completed our education due to the disintegration of our home life. (Our lovely mother had succumbed to alcoholism and would die from it a year later.)

We had moved to the big city of Johannesburg to seek our fortunes, but our pickings were slim. 

We lived in shared rooms in a boarding house and I worked in an academic bookstore, packing shelves, and my twin sister worked as a waitress in an upscale restaurant where neither of us could afford to eat.

Jupiter Transits – Take A Chance

Unbeknownst to us, transiting Jupiter moved into Virgo and conjuncted our natal Pluto, triggering our yod and simultaneously squaring our natal Jupiter. 

Two things happened immediately.

1. I spotted an advertisement calling for submissions to a journalism cadet course at South Africa’s top newspaper.
2. I also read an article calling for entries to the Miss South Africa beauty pageant. 

I took a Jupiterian gamble, though I didn’t realize at the time that I was doing it. 

Knowing that I was under-qualified for the journalism cadet course, I tried to inject as much positivity as possible into my forlorn-looking resume. 

Knowing that my insecure twin sister would never enter a beauty pageant, I secretly completed the form on her behalf, wrote ‘model’ for her occupation (almost true, as who’s to say she might not model in the future?) and posted it off together with her picture. 

Jupiter’s Magic

I received a reply from the newspaper company stating that they were scheduling an exam to test me on my political and current affairs acumen.

To her utter shock, my twin sister received a reply from the pageant organizers telling her that she had been selected as a semi-finalist for the Miss South Africa contest and was scheduled to be interviewed by the judges. 

“Don’t worry” I told her. “I’ll coach you on what to say.”

Meanwhile, I was frantically coaching myself, learning the names of all the political parties and all the cabinet ministers in the government.

My twin sister survived her judges’ interview and learned a week later that she had become a Miss South Africa finalist.

I learned from the newspaper company that I had passed the exam and had been shortlisted for the cadet course.

… But Not Quite

So far, so good – but not quite. There was a problem. 

All the Miss South Africa finalists were required to book into Johannesburg’s top hotel for a week-long junket of media appearances.

My twin sister wailed that she could not afford to take a week off waitressing work as she would then have no money for her rent; besides, she had none of the clothes required for the media shoots and would have to wear the same outfit every day. 

“Don’t worry” I told her.

“Tell the pageant organizers you have an important modeling commitment and that you can only join the other finalists in the hotel for the night of the gala show – then borrow the evening gown for the gala from a friend.”. 

Shortly afterwards I received a letter from the newspaper company informing me that I had not been selected for the cadet course.

I spent an hour sobbing, dried my eyes, and wrote straight back, telling them that I would re-apply next year as they were the best newspaper company in town. 

My twin sister had her own moment of tumult.

She was busy waitressing at her restaurant when there was a hubbub at the door. A gaggle of beauties had arrived, accompanied by minders, to have lunch.

Yes, the unbelievable had happened.

Of all the restaurants in the city, the Miss South Africa pageant had decided to dine at the restaurant where my twin sister waitressed. And of all the waitresses rostered on duty, it was my twin sister who was assigned to the table to serve her fellow contestants. 

Did they recognize her? Sure, because the newspaper had printed a picture of my twin that week saying that a readers’ poll had tipped her as one of the three girls most likely to win the title.

Of course, she didn’t get crowned Miss South Africa – this is a true story, not a fairy-tale – but I was so proud of her bravery when she sailed onto that stage during the gala show, her borrowed evening gown too short for her tall frame and bobbing above her ankles. 

Jupiter – Believe In A Better Tomorrow

When she was being interviewed on stage, the compere asked my twin what she would like to see in her future. “A job at a public relations company”, she said.

A man sitting in the audience owned a P.R. agency and got in touch with my twin afterward, offering her a job.

She was soon ensconced in a smart, glossy office, beginning her new career. Forty years later and she is now a payroll specialist, responsible for the continent of Africa for a global corporation. 

As for me, I received a second letter from the newspaper company, telling me that one of the successful applicants had dropped out and they were offering me his place.

I joined South Africa’s top newspaper as a cadet journalist and loved every minute of my life in journalism before I switched careers and became an advertising copywriter.

Today I grow grapes and make wine in Australia together with my partner.    

And the moral of my story? Throw your dice. Show up with some chutzpah. And believe in a better tomorrow. Jupiter will love you for it and he’ll sprinkle a bit of his magic dust your way. 

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