Astrology with Alice: Meet Jupiter, Santa of the solar system

This month, all eyes are on Jupiter. It’s on the move, entering Gemini at the end of the month. This means that it’ll bring its expansive energy into the sign of the celestial twins and shift the direction of our luck and opportunities, on both a personal and a collective level.

When astrologers look at the year ahead, we look to the outer planets that are further away from the sun—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—because they pack a bigger punch on us collectively. Some astrologers will cringe at my inelegant name for so-called “difficult” planets that are associated with obstacles and adversity, which I’ve dubbed “the Scaries.” It seems unfair, then, that as the lone non-Scary, Jupiter, has the fastest orbit and zips through the zodiac signs faster than the others. Jupiter stays in a sign for only one year while the Scaries can hunker down in place for years, plural (and sometimes decades!). Therefore, it’s important to take advantage of any edge that Jupiter gives you before it skedaddles off into the next sign!

Jupiter is named after the Roman king of the gods, and his Greek counterpart is Zeus, who ruled on Mount Olympus. We’re so far removed from those archetypes, though, that we don’t immediately pick up on the “kindly benefactor vibes” that those names would have inspired in the ancient world. Our best modern-day counterpart—as taught to me by my teacher Steven Forrest—is Santa Claus.

Yup. You read that right. Santa Claus is a good analogy for Jupiter because astrological Jupiter is associated with the same kind of generosity, cheer, and optimism that Santa Claus represents. So unlike stingy Saturn, who makes you work hard for what you get, Jupiter bears gifts and blessings. That’s why Jupiter’s transits are considered lucky. Even negative contacts from Jupiter are largely considered fortunate.

So when Jupiter changes signs, it’s a big cosmic shift, because it signals a change in the direction of the wind in our proverbial sails. Jupiter is moving into Gemini on May 25, where it’ll stay until it moves into Cancer in June 2025. And while it’s in Gemini, we’re invited to generate fresh ideas and novel ways of communicating, as well as innovate new ways of doing things. Lady Luck wants us to be curious to the new and not so married to the old.

Now here’s where we need to adopt a more nuanced stance when talking about Jupiter, because when people sit around and wait for Jupiter to rain down riches, they end up with disappointing Jupiter transits. When Jupiter crosses sensitive points in my clients’ charts, I’ve witnessed examples of both glittering successes as well as non-events (yawn). What I’ve noticed is that the clients who gave Jupiter something to work with were the “lucky” ones, while those who didn’t have anything ready to put out into the world were left disappointed.

Jupiter is like a gifted PR expert. You need to give it something to broadcast, to expand, to blow up. It doesn’t guarantee success, but it increases the odds of success. My mentor Rebecca Gordon often says that if the chances of success were 50/50 before a Jupiter transit, it might increase to 80/20 when Jupiter is activated in your chart. But if you give it zero to work with, however, the odds remain zero.

Wherever Jupiter is in your chart is actually where you need to learn to believe in yourself, because you’re actually capable of so much more. Jupiterian luck doesn’t drop from the sky—it’s simply the unlocking of your potential.

That’s all great, but I feel that limiting Jupiter to luck, riches, and success misses the greater point of Jupiter. The true gift of Jupiter is confidence. Some people say that wherever Jupiter is in your chart is an area of life where you’re talented and lucky, but I don’t think that’s true. I think that Jupiter represents an area of your life where you tend to underestimate yourself. Therefore, wherever Jupiter is in your chart is actually where you need to learn to believe in yourself, because you’re actually capable of so much more. Jupiterian luck doesn’t drop from the sky—it’s simply the unlocking of your potential.

Gemini is an air sign that’s super curious (sometimes annoyingly so—just ask people who live with Geminis). The best way to take advantage of Jupiter’s stay in Gemini, therefore, is to cultivate open-mindedness and to ask “Why?” Be open to new ideas, be open to trying new things, loosen the grips of any perfectionist tendencies, and don’t be afraid to fail. Gemini is the most curious of all signs and it wants to try everything, and with Jupiter there, the luck will be in the trying.

Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) will benefit the most from Jupiter during this time because they’re intellectually oriented. Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) will also enjoy this energy because they like novelty and excitement. Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) might struggle with departures from status quo, and the all-over-the-place quality of Gemini energy might feel emotionally destabilizing for water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces).

However, regardless of your sign, Jupiter can still lend a helping hand. It tells us what areas of our lives are ripe for development and expansion. Find your sign in the list below to see where to focus your hustle this year!