This weekend, April 20th and 21st, held the exacting of what is arguably the second biggest astrological transit of 2024 — the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in the fixed earth sign Taurus.  Following not two weeks on the heels of a cathartic Solar Eclipse in Aries, widely visible across North America, this conjunction certainly has April leading the year in transits that correlate with shakeups, purges and commencements alike.

In its own ways parallel to March 2023, which saw Saturn depart its home signs for Pisces and Pluto enter Aquarius, April 2024 might conjure the thought that ‘not all months are of the same scope’ in terms of planetary transits and their astrological import — from embers and undulations of eclipse season, to this electric meeting of two giants.

While Jupiter, planetary principle of expansion, affirmation, coherence — the ‘say yes’ planet — has an ~11.8 year orbit around the Sun, Uranus, planet of egoic liberty, wall-rattling, and ‘big disruptor energy’ has an 84 year orbit around the Sun.  The thing is, they only conjoin once every 14 years.  Whereas a Jupiter/Uranus opposition might sometimes mistake freedom for growth, a conjunction of the two may still do such, or bring these qualities together just as much… like a ‘liberation frequency’ scattering the seeds of Taurus’ fixed earth nature.  

Yet with the erratic, ‘consistently destabilizing’ vibe of Uranus, it can be hard to discern just where the seeds are being scattered.  Freedom sometimes looks like shock disruption of what was previously status quo… and this is where Jupiter’s principles of affirmation and faith will help all the more.

Jupiter’s quality of coherence is well described by its traditional (Hellenistic era) preeminence as the ‘Greater Benefic’, to Venus’ role as ‘Lesser Benefic.’  The benefics tend to increase, affirm, or bind what they touch, and that Jupiter ‘ours go to 11’ energy is like a dial turned up — often for the ‘good’ or what is perceived as such.  But whereas Venus’ harmonic nature and emphasis on pleasure can occasionally lead us to miring in the Veil of Maya as it were, Jupiter’s propensity for magnification and aggrandizement can also waft the wanton or fan chaotic flames — always a chance when conjunct the planet of high disruption, Uranus.

Called ‘the Breaker’ by scholar and astrologer Richard Tarnas, who fancied the planetary archetype of Uranus more similar to Prometheus than the god it was named after, the astrological Uranus is not known for discretion in what it shakes up.  Slow-moving though the outer planets are, manifestations of Uranus transits can happen so quickly that a sense of pronounced loss is not always ‘lingered in’ as part of the transitory climate — there is simply life before and after.

While this dichotomy of ’before and after’ can apply to any planetary aspect or transit, Uranus is not known for visiting the same kind of malaise as ‘Greater Malefic’ Saturn might with its leaden gravity and negation, or the ‘third death planet’ Pluto can as planetary pressure-cooker of unseen sabotage, shame excision and ego death.  Even Mars, the ‘Lesser Malefic’, might show more likeness to Uranus in its abrasive division — but there is a willful component here, and Mars is a more relational planet.

Uranus, a trans-Saturnian planet and therefore one of the ‘transpersonals’ as they’re sometimes called, is like a violent wind whose chaotic shockwaves demonstrate little judgment process or penalty assigned by deliberation.  Sometimes one can only hope to harness, ride the wave, or let one’s body go limp before impact.  Uranus wreaks havoc and promotes growth just the same, one might feel with a larger dose of the latter given Jupiter’s central role here.

In the third decan of Taurus, however, the themes coloring this Jupiter-Uranus convergence focus not only on sensual wonderment and manifestation, with all its tactile strides and strife, but the worriment as to how successful one’s harvest will be.  Given that Taurus III (20-29°), seeing this conjunction at 21°, is a Saturn-ruled decan, in some ways this aspect looks toward outcomes that will take some time to manifest.  As quickly as uranian signatures can arise, mundane reflections of Jupiter-Uranus transits often take a while to show the biggest breakthroughs they hold.

It’s important to keep this in mind, given that astrological aspects involving outer planets in particular can be slow to make themselves known, with seemingly delayed expressions that in this case can go against some of the electric or explosive evocations of archetypal Uranus.  This is natural, as not all associated manifestations or reflections of a planetary transit are going to be instantly cast into the public eye.  For example, Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions have historically coincided with big inventions, which can take many months and years to be refined or published about, let alone made widely available.

Another reflection ‘so below’ of this momentous transit might contribute to the ever-present narrative of war.  This Jupiter-Uranus conjunction follows a Mars-Saturn conjunction in Pisces not two weeks ago, and precedes the ‘kool-aid’ of Mars-Neptune in Pisces by mere days.  More concomitant is Venus in Aries moving from the North Node in Aries to conjoin Chiron at the time of this Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, ruled by Mars across the aforementioned contacts.

I reflected a bit on the role of technology in battle… expansive (Jupiter) land grabs (Taurus) and the role of technology (Uranus) in warfare.  As much as Jupiter’s faith and optimism permeate, the planet of big bounty also holds tendencies for dogmatism and unconscious tyranny.  Truisms like ‘the path to hell is paved with good intentions’ have certainly applied to people with pronounced Jupiter and Jupiter-ruled placements.  Given that Jupiter can also signify order and religious entities, in a different sense than Saturnian control systems, there exists the possibility of shock or abrasive happenings relating to governmental or religious establishments, and collective beliefs thereof.  Especially relevant here would be Taurean themes of land, physical assets and supply chain.

Keep in mind that this conjunction is not just a ‘once in 14 years’ event of epic-then-fading proportion… it highlights what life arenas might see the most breakthrough (Uranus) and good fortune (Jupiter) across the next fourteen years until the next Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.  It’s important to examine the Taurus-ruled house of one’s chart for indications as to what themes and life arenas might be seeing this shakeup, in all its road-bumps and bounty.

Here are just some of the dynamics to look out for, in both personal and collective landscapes…

*a mix of optimism and uncertainty
*a potent sense of unpredictability
*shakeups and upheavals that seem to hold more promise than letdown
*breakthroughs that involve leaving behind something previously clung to
*the sense of being quickly, even inexplicably freed of what was previously burdensome
*a sense of feeling ‘more alive’
*themes of excess and liberty
*growth that takes place by moving towards what is novel
*themes of freedom and growth aligned, or confusing the two
*as Renn Butler wrote, ‘manic and compulsive excesses’
*visionary ideals leading forward quickly, sometimes too quickly
*faith meets friction, expansive belief meets the chaotic unknown
*inflation/conflation of ideals, overtly fantastical hopes or expectations
*innovative breakthroughs in culture, technology, sociopolitical discourse
*the possibility of shock or abrasive happenings of / relating to collective beliefs, governmental or religious establishments

Many of the week’s transits leading up to this Jupiter-Uranus conjunction have placed their own emphasis on ‘action’ and moving forward as per the vernal verve, from Mercury’s retrograde jaunt through Aries and across Chiron, to Venus then Mercury on the North Node, to Venus in Aries conjunct Chiron at present.  When Mercury — planet of reason, rationale, cunning, critique and cartesian logic — touched Chiron, the ‘wounded healer’, we were asked with both inspired grit and a touch of poignance to examine what mental patterns have held us from the momentum needed.

Venus-conjunct-Chiron ruling the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction may add a relational flavor to the upheaval and growth, and with both the swift planet and the star of Aphrodite having touched on the North Node just before the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, we may be prompted to examine where attachments and hungers have been so great they came at the cost of personal and collective equilibrium alike.

With the upcoming Full Moon in Scorpio on April 23rd lighting up what was the previous eclipse axis, active through last spring, and the ripples of a very recent solar eclipse still ever present, we are being asked to clarify just what shackles may have been shed during eclipse season, what endings and beginnings have been most profound, and how to put our best foot forward.

Swim well stargazers ~

—A.B.

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