Astrology with Alice: Make your own luck with Jupiter

Jupiter is moving into Cancer on June 10, and it’s a bright spot in an otherwise volatile year. With so many planets moving into new signs (which is not normal for one calendar year), it’s been one cosmic shift of energy after another. It’s kind of intense.

However, Jupiter’s move into Cancer is a favorable one because the ancients called Jupiter “the great benefic,” which is derived from the Latin “bene,” meaning “good.” Wherever Jupiter lies in our personal birth charts represents the area of life where we would benefit from developing more confidence in ourselves. This isn’t to say that Jupiter is always great, however. The dark side of Jupiter is excess in the forms of overindulgence, overconfidence, and overexposure. Dark Jupiter teaches us that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. However, by and large, Jupiter is ultimately one of the “good guys” and we expect it to help us out more often than not.

So why is Jupiter going into Cancer a good thing? First, Jupiter is a lot stronger in Cancer than it was in the preceding sign of Gemini. Planets enjoy being in some signs more than others, and in this case, Jupiter is coming from an incompatible sign and going into a sign where it'll feel like a celestial VIP. That means that the optimistic and prosperous energy of Jupiter has an easier time reaching us this year. (And all you Cancers and Cancer risings are going to be super lucky.)

Secondly, Cancer is a water sign, and with so much strong planetary energy stacking up this year in Aries (fire), Gemini (air), and Aquarius (air) through other planets, the elemental balance of the planet is off. Jupiter’s grace and assistance coming from a water sign will really help us to bring more balance to the planetary vibe. Jupiter in Cancer brings much-needed moisture to a hot and arid cosmic climate, which I’m sure is music to our ears especially after the California wildfires earlier in the year. The dampening effect of water energy also helps to slow down the spread of airborne diseases, which tend to proliferate under very airy skies. (This is why I wasn’t optimistic about our ability to contain COVID-19 early on during the pandemic because Jupiter and Saturn were both in the air sign Aquarius in 2021.)

Jupiter in Cancer brings much-needed moisture to a hot and arid cosmic climate, which I’m sure is music to our ears especially after the California wildfires earlier in the year.

So what can we expect from Jupiter personally?

Well, Jupiter is much more than just “luck.” To understand this planet, we need to understand its archetype, and as I previously wrote about Jupiter, this planet has the ho-ho-ho vibes of Santa Claus. I know it sounds weird to liken the planet named after the Roman king of the gods to a cartoonish figure, but think about it for a moment: Santa represents goodwill, plenty, kingly generosity, and the type of sunny power that makes you feel like everything is going to be okay when you’re in its orbit. That’s Jupiter power.

Last month, we talked about how Saturn represents caution and doubt, but, now, Jupiter represents confidence and optimism. Jupiter is the force that beckons us to leave the safe and familiar with promises of adventure and excitement. Saturn, on the other hand, is the voice of caution that reminds us to be sensible. The process of maturing, therefore, is about balancing these two urges. Both Jupiter and Saturn tell us that we’ve only got one life to live. Jupiter says, “You’ve only got this one life, so let’s f’n live it!” Meanwhile, Saturn says, “Yeah, you’ve only got one life, so don’t risk it.”

Neither are absolutely right, but the truth lies somewhere in the middle. And when it comes to Jupiter, you can’t figure out your Jupiterian lessons by ruminating on life—you’ve got to get out there and live it. To Jupiter, the only shots you fail are the ones you don’t shoot.

As I said earlier, wherever Jupiter is in your birth chart represents the area of life that you’re encouraged to develop more confidence and belief in, but where Jupiter is in the sky (and where it corresponds to your birth chart) is the area of life where you should expand, develop, and take more risks. Most importantly, it’s the area of life where you’re encouraged to believe that you’re lucky. Out of all the planets, Jupiter only works for you if you meet it halfway, so allow me to explain exactly what I mean by “believe in your luck.”

Dr. Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology and the author of The Luck Factor, conducted an experiment that established a relationship between attitude and luck. He asked two groups of people—a group who believed that they’re lucky and a group who believed they were unlucky—to count the number of photos in a newspaper. They were all given the same task, but unbeknownst to the participants, Dr. Wiseman had embedded two messages in the newspaper. In very large print on the second page, he inserted the message: “Stop counting—there are 43 photographs in this newspaper.” And again about midway through the paper, he placed another message that read, “Stop counting, tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250.” And guess what happened?

All the self-described unlucky people missed both messages. Each message took up half the page and weren’t easy to overlook, but they were so fixated on the menial task of looking for photographs that they missed both opportunities. Dr. Wiseman’s experiment suggests that our ability to see our opportunities might be what makes us lucky.

So maybe the belief that we’re lucky is what makes us lucky. And that is what we mean when we say that you need to believe in your luck if you want to connect with Jupiter’s gifts. More simply put, you need to believe in yourself. Out of the planets that we keep an eye on as astrologers, Jupiter has reliably stood out as the one that doesn’t really push its agenda on you. If Jupiter’s crossing your career line but you don’t do anything to expand your career, it’ll just quietly pass on by as if it were never there. It’s unique in that it only ever meets you halfway, and you have to bring it something to work its magic on. Therefore, remember that you can’t be a passive participant if you want to be lucky.

Ready to find out what area of your life Jupiter’s going to light up over the next year? Find your sun sign and rising sign below. (If you don’t know your rising sign, you can use this free online tool.) Also, Jupiter orbits the fastest out of the so-called outer planets and it only stays in each sign for about a year, so take advantage of it!

(Note: In the horoscopes below, the word “year” is not referring to the calendar year. It references the year that Jupiter will spend in Cancer starting in June, and through June 2026.)