JUPITER is Joy-Giving-Knowing
A brief write-up on the planetary god Jupiter
Jupiter is well known as the planet of happiness, joy, wisdom and knowledge. He rules Pisces, the natural 12th sign which is a water sign that can relate (in its higher nature) to Bliss. He rules Sagittarius—a fire sign, and a sign related to Self-Knowledge and Self-Realization as fire rasis relate to the Self. Jupiter has both a fire and water quality to him as he rules both a fire and water sign. Fire relates to perception and inspiration and water relates to intuition. He does well in the natural water signs as he is exalted in Cancer, delighted (Mudita) in Scorpio and rules Pisces. He is delighted in fire rasis, Aries and Leo, and has his Mulitrikona sign in Sagittarius which is ruled by Jupiter.
One’s ethics, values, beliefs, principles and sense of purpose are all indicated primarily by Jupiter; he is the planet of faith, religion and philosophy and one of the planets of devotion. Jupiter represents children and the husband for a woman—two core aspects to a woman’s life that she is devoted too. Jupiter rules the 2nd chakra thereby making Jupiter a very creative planet as most use their sexual energy to create children. Jupiter, as he relates to sexuality, represents procreation whereas Mars represents passion and Venus represents desire, romance and love.
Positivity, a giving nature, expansion, benevolence, warmth, and a good attitude are related to Jupiter. ‘Sharing is caring’ might be a cheesy statement but not in its essence; It is more blessed to give than it is to receive is a biblical statement that showcases a profound Jupiterian truth.
Jupiter is naturally a more intuitive planet by nature and not so much intellectual in his knowledge (he is starved in signs of Mercury). Jaimini gives certain descriptions of Jupiter’s intelligence:
Jupiter is ‘not one who speaks much”, implying that Jupiter doesn’t elaborate in a lot of verbiage to get a message across but rather to get to the essence of the matter with fewer words but done with magnetism. Names of Jupiter: Mantra, ‘tools of thought’, Vacasampati, ‘lord of eloquence’, and Brihaspati, ‘lord of prayer’ all relate to a type of speech that has power, focus, direction, and magnetism. The Tao Te Ching has the sutra:
“Those who know do not talk,
Those who talk do not know.”
What can’t be said, can’t be said. The deeper wisdom of life cannot be expressed in superficial means. It can only be understood within one’s being.
Jupiter is ‘all knowing and one who understands’. This implies Jupiter as a planet of intuitive power and wisdom. He is exalted in Cancer which is ruled by the Moon, an intuitive planet that is also ‘all-knowing’. Understanding relates to Jupiter as he understands deeply, not just intellectually; he represents embodied knowledge.
Sacred scriptures such as the Bible and Rig Veda relate to Jupiter and many of these are written in sutras or parables that are simple in their nature, but require contemplation to understand. Sutra, for instance, means a thread. This implies one contemplates a sutra to weave their way to an understanding whereby one gains in wisdom.
As one gyana yogi, Swami Gyanananda, said, “If you want to understand, stand under those who Know”. This implies the devotional yearning of one to gain in wisdom from another who has that wisdom. It is interesting to note that Jupiter as a planet of understanding, rules Pisces which relates to the feet. The feet are symbolically used in India for reverence (Jupiter) and for humility before one who is wise. ‘At the feet of the Guru’ implies this. If you want to understand, stand under those who Know.
Jupiter is well known as the Guru planet and has the name, Guru. Guru is the Divine Teacher and Guide who guides one to Self-Realization, to God. Gur means ‘to raise, to uplift’. Guru also literally means ‘heavy’, implying that Jupiter is the heaviest and largest planet in the solar system but symbolically represents heavy in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Jupiter relates to spiritual teachers and spiritual counselors in general: priests, pujaris, rabbis, abbots ect. all fall in this realm as Jupiter is a brahmin planet. He is considered the Guru of the gods and thus has the name Sureshta, ‘desired by gods’.
On a more mundane level, Jupiter is known as the graha of wealth and rules places of treasure, large objects, the endocrine system, the liver, fats and oils, the sweet taste and kapha dosha as some examples.
Jupiter matures at the age of 16. This is when one is sexually mature enough to healthfully conceive a child. In fact, the healthiest time for a woman to become pregnant are the late teens to mid 20’s. One’s creativity is also matured during this time, not so much in what they do, but in how they create which they take on for the rest of their life. One is now mature enough to start developing a philosophical sense to life (even on just a very superficial level) and to understand how they operate in the world and their place in it.
Jupiter has some 67 moons or so including Ganymede (which is even larger than the planet Mercury). Though Saturn has the most moons showcasing the responsibility side to Saturn, Jupiter has the most large moons, this shows his qualities of abundance, bigness, magnetism (people who have prominent Jupiter’s often are quite magnetic) and a ‘lots of children’ type of quality.
Astronomers sometimes describe Jupiter as the solar system’s ‘vacuum cleaner’. This is because of Jupiter’s large gravitational pull, he magnetizes meteors, asteroids and comets that flow to him instead of being more of a threat to Earth. In fact, Jupiter takes on nearly 200 times the amount of impact from such objects compared to Earth; Jupiter is the planet of grace, protection, good karma, and luck. A good Jupiter can go a long way in saving an otherwise poor horoscope. A more troubled Jupiter can show issues with one’s sense of purpose, dharma, direction, ethics, innate goodness and lack wisdom. They can be more greedy with a lack of ethical boundaries to life. One’s ability to counsel people spiritually may not be as innately strong or not there at all. Jupiter may get too outward in its joy seeking (especially when starved by his enemies, Venus and Mercury).
In the planetary cabinet, Jupiter represents the counselor, but the counselor as the brahmin priest who counsels the king along spiritual matters. This relates the inner dimension as each individual is a king unto themselves and the inner Jupiter brings about the spiritual wisdom to live rightly. Jupiter relates to psychological, behavioral, and spiritual counseling that helps one with understanding themselves more deeply and to simply be more happy and content. He ultimately guides us to understand one’s Self.
Jupiter rules the ether element and is sattvic (pure) in nature. This again relates to the spiritual dimension of Jupiter and the subtlety of his nature as ether is subtle. The name, Apremeya, ‘immeasurable’ relates the ether quality as ether is immeasurable. Truth and Wisdom are immeasurable, Bliss is immeasurable, God is immeasurable. Jupiter, in his higher nature relates to infinity and the higher spiritual unity of everything (he rules Pisces after all). Jupiter’s exaltation sign is in Cancer and is the only graha to be exalted in the 6th chakra (where Cancer and Leo reside). Being exalted in Cancer (ruled by the Moon which represents the ego) and Jupiter being the Guru, shows the Divine Guide to direct one’s sense of self into Self-Realization.
Jupiter is—Joy Giving Knowing
“From Joy I came, for Joy I live, in sacred Joy I melt.”- Paramhansa Yogananda