In the past, I have been somewhat reluctant to speak publicly about my own personal experiences regarding planetary transits and their influences on my life. This reticence may be borne out of my own intense desire for privacy (Sun in Scorpio) and a tendency to avoid revealing my own inner emotional dynamics to strangers (Cancer Rising). But, I am currently quite enjoying the influence of Jupiter’s transit through my 12th house of Gemini and thought I might share what this has meant for me.
On May 26th, 2024, Jupiter left the fixed, nocturnal, earth sign of Taurus, from which it has spent the better part of a year, and entered the mutable, diurnal, air sign of Gemini. This change in signs represents a significant tonal shift, out from the grounded and practical considerations of material substance and into the stimulatory and fragmentary pathways of the mental principle.
Jupiter represents our search for truth, meaning, ethics, and God. In the metaphor of the royal court, Jupiter is like our own personal guru and his very presence brings expansion, growth, and increase to whatever house he is transiting. Jupiter has an affirming, hopeful, optimistic quality, where “Yes” is the answer to every question and the promise of victory is always within reach. He represents wealth, abundance, largesse, prosperity, and brings good blessings to all.
The mutable, diurnal, air sign of Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury and is thus concerned with matters of the mind and communication with others. Jupiter is in detriment or exile in Gemini and thus behaves like a stranger in strange land without the immediate resources of his own home environment. This is due to the fact that Jupiter is concerned with the big picture ideas about the universe, spiritual gnosis, and what it all means, but in Gemini he must accept that these ideas cannot be simplified into easily digestible sound bites to be shared over a cup of coffee. In this environment, Jupiter must figure out how to operate in a way that can condense grand, unified theories of cosmological import into something less weighty, more approachable, and accept that that these ideas may be contradictory and fragmentary.
At this time, Jupiter entered my 12th house, an area of life which represents seclusion, isolation, and is a place where one engages in inner, spiritual confrontations. It is called the House of Bad Spirit and is generally not a fun place to be. But, as Jupiter entered my Gemini 12th house (and trined my natal Moon), I found myself returning to a book I had previously abandoned, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, as well as the rediscovery of another author whose work I greatly admire and one whose career has been dedicated to the promotion of the uniquely American spiritual philosophy known as New Thought or Positive Mind Metaphysics: Mitch Horowitz.
Mitch Horowitz has written dozens of non-fiction books and articles on the philosophy of New Thought and has narrated nearly every classic work on Positive Mind Metaphysics. The philosophy of New Thought, created during the late-19th to mid-20th century by a diverse and sometimes contradictory group of writers, centers around the notion that any idea, sufficiently infused with emotionalized thought and a vividly imagined picture of its outcome, has the power to create reality. It is a radical philosophy, and one that places mankind in a generative, co-creative role with the divine universe and places ultimate responsibility upon each and every human being to create the world they wish to see.
New Thought suggests that if one finds themselves in unpleasant circumstances or at an unhappy station in life, that it is at least partly the result of limited, disorganized, or negative thinking. Alternatively, if one wishes to extract themselves from their present circumstances and be delivered unto some brighter future, one must adopt a Positive Mental Attitude and find a Definite Chief Aim in life.
At the time of Jupiter’s ingress into Gemini, I found that I was unhappy with my job, unhappy with my finances, and unhappy with my own negative mindset. It was at this time that I remembered Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, a book I had purchased years ago but had abandoned it half way through for reasons I can no longer recall. In it, Hill presents a clearly defined action plan to not only find one’s purpose in life, but to gain in wealth while doing it. I reread the book, this time all the way through, and was riveted. I felt as if Hill was speaking directly to me and that I was guilty of the precisely the same poverty of thought and weakness of imagination that he warned against.
At this time also, I found myself rereading Mitch Horowitz’s condensed history of the philosophy of New Thought, titled “The Miracle Club” and also listened to dozens of New Thought audiobooks, all narrated by Mitch Horowitz. Some particular favorites works of New Thought are: Florence Scovel Shinn’s “The Game of Life”, Wallace D. Wattle’s “The Science of Getting Rich”, James Allen’s “As a Man Thinketh”, Joseph Murphy’s “The Power of Your Subconcious Mind”, and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking”. As for Mitch Horowitz’s work, I have enjoyed everything, but my personal favorites remain “The Miracle Club”, “The Miracle Habits”, and “Neville Goddard’s Infinite Potential”.
Neville Goddard
On a purely subjective level, I can honestly say that applying the principles of these books has had an immense impact on my overall well-being and I have found that I now approach each day, not with resignation, irritation, and/or grudging acceptance, but with optimism and gratitude.
So, how does all of this align with the themes of Jupiter in Gemini in the 12th house? To summarize, Jupiter represents expansion, growth, increase, spirituality, ethics, morals, abundance, prosperity, and wealth. Gemini is a mutable, diurnal, air sign and this suggests a changeable, active, and communicative expression of Jupiter’s nature. The 12th house represents solitude, isolation, and spiritual confrontations with inner or external enemies.
Jupiter’s presence in our lives can often appear in the form a of teacher or guru, and here, we have the (unwitting) appearance of a spiritual teacher in the form of Mitch Horowitz, who embodies the same Jupiterian significations of kindness, openness, and desire to share one’s spiritual insights with the world at a large. The New Thought philosophy suggests that a desire for wealth and the attainment of worldly success, achieved in a just manner, is in itself an inherent moral good and is in fact necessary in order for the individual to reach their full, creative potential. This philosophy of prosperity would appear to also align with Jupiter’s significations of wealth and abundance.
Wallace D. Wattles – The Science of Getting Rich
Additionally, the virtue of a Definite Chief Aim, as promoted in “Think and Grow Rich”, as well as Horowitz’s own work, appears to echo the symbolism of Jupiter’s own sign of Sagittarius, which lies in opposition to the sign of Gemini. The sign of Sagittarius is represented by the archer, a mythical half-man, half-beast figure, who is always in need of a grand adventure, and whose aim must be centered on some distant goal in order to bring fulfillment.
In Gemini, Jupiter’s influence is expressed through the element of air which represents communication, the mental principle, and the free-flow of information. During this transition, I have literally consumed over a hundred hours of audiobooks, all narrated by the Jupiterian figure of Mitch Horowitz, promoting the concept of a positive mind metaphysics. These audiobooks have primarily been consumed while driving alone, a uniquely 12th house Mercurial (Gemini) activity.
The notion that humans play a co-creative role with the universe has profound philosophical implications and, depending on one’s feelings towards notions of fate and free will, may be at odds with traditional astrology’s more deterministic bent. This is obviously not a new problem, as philosophers and astrologers have been wrestling with these ideas for millennia. I myself am currently struggling with reconciling these two ideas, as I have experienced first-hand the effects of both, and can attest to their validity.
At this time, based upon my current understanding and experience, I would say that the placement of the stars at one’s birth reveal the fate of the individual but that the individual still has some agency in moderating the expression of the planets and the promise of the natal patterns. For example, an out of sect Saturn in poor condition in the 2nd house, opposed by Mars in the 8th, will still indicate challenges regarding finances. But, perhaps, if one proceeds to diligently put into practice the ideas within New Thought, these obstacles, which will still be present, may be moderated with hard work, determination, and a positive mental attitude or, perhaps, one may at least learn to live with such difficulties.
This is my current approach and I may one day find this to be naïve and revert back to a more deterministic astrology. But, despite the nasty space weather coming over the course of the next few years and the obvious challenges we face, I am trying to be more optimistic, and this, if nothing else, has at least made life more pleasant on a purely subjective level. For that, I am eternally grateful to the work of Mitch Horowitz and the other New Thought philosophers and highly recommend these works to anyone that feels unsatisfied in their present circumstances.
