8 - Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, Oh My!

Feeling that tension between dreams and reality? Welcome to the Jupiter-Saturn square! Today we take a deep dive into what it feels like when the planet of expansion (Jupiter) and the planet of contraction (Saturn) interact and explore strategies for managing it with compassion. 

• 02:47 Jupiter square Saturn
• 11:04 Mars conjunct Jupiter
• 13:27 Mars square Saturn
• 15:07 Strategies

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Claire Gallagher, and this is Third House Gossip, where we spill the astrological tea. So pour something delicious, and let's chat. This is a community driven show documenting how real astrology affects real lives. To share an astrology story or ask your burning cosmic questions, head to astrology with claire dot com slash gossip. That's astrology with C-L-A-I-R-E dot com slash gossip.

Hey, astro lover, welcome back to another episode of Third House Gossip. How is mercury retrograde treating you out there? Hopefully not too bad. I'm doing okay. I'm actually moving this week. You think I would have planned it a little bit better, but that's okay. It just goes to show that you can know as much astrology as possible and you still got to live your life.

And that's a lesson I'm trying to really inhabit and take in right now is that astrology doesn't have to be about futuring, living in the future. It doesn't have to be about being scared or being worried. In fact, hopefully we're not using astrology that way. And if we are, I, uh, think we should probably shift it.

But astrology can be a tool that helps us presence. It helps us be with what is right now. And I hope that this podcast helps you do that, helps you be with what's coming up as it's coming up and befriend that and attend to that. So got off on a little bit of a serious note there, but I've been thinking big thoughts lately about how we use astrology and if it's really useful.

 Anyways, I digress. Speaking of Mercury retrograde, it is time to submit Mercury retrograde stories. The mic is yours, my community. My community is a little bit shy right now. That's okay. I am patiently awaiting your questions and your stories.

So make sure that you head to astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip to get this going as it was intended, which is to be a community driven podcast. So we're just a little timid at the beginning and that's okay. But once we get rolling, I think it's going to be a lot of fun. 

Let's see. Do I have any mercury retrograde stories other than, I'm sure there will be some snafus as we move this week. And so I will report back, but otherwise, Oh, I know. The main thing at the beginning of Mercury retrograde, actually when it was stationing, was when Tropical Storm Debby hit us and it was literally stationing right on top of us. It was like moving three miles an hour, which means not moving at all, and it was just hanging out for days and days and days. So Mercury retrograde can show up in all kinds of ways, including the weather, which I find pretty fascinating.

So today we are gonna talk all about what is happening in August, because August is definitely a celestial show that you don't wanna miss and you're not gonna miss. It's coming whether you want it or not. And we're gonna talk specifically about what's happening with Jupiter and Saturn and Mars. This is the big news of August. And it's actually going to be something that extends past this week and past next week. Arguably, it is going to be something that you experience and continue to learn from for the next 10 months. So this is not just a listen once and then move on episode. This is something I want you to come back to, specifically at these times. Now, August 19th. December 24th and June 15th of 2025, which is about 10 months from now. So these are the dates where Jupiter and Saturn will be in an exact square. And I'm going to unpack that today. And what's happening this week is that Mars is going to come along and activate and in some ways we could say agitate that square and make it really active. 

And so we need to talk about the backdrop first, which is Jupiter square Saturn. And then we'll talk about what's happening this week when Mars gets in the mix and heats things up. The thing about astrology is we really need to know what the backdrop is because otherwise we can get really distracted by all of the planetary motion that's happening on top when there's really just a few storylines that are happening on a deeper layer, and these deeper layers are where the real lessons are, and the astrology happening on top of that are just little activations or just little blips in the road or the radar.

 Let's break it apart for a second. What's Jupiter? Well, Jupiter is the planet all about expanding and improving. It wants to grow and it wants to go. It is our hopes and our dreams and our aspirations, what we really want to bring forward.

Saturn is the opposite. Saturn represents limitations and responsibilities and duties. It represents discipline and hard work and effort. And so when these planets interact, there can be a real push pull effect where there's this desire to expand and to grow and to move forward. But there's also this caution and this hesitancy and this desire to get it right, quote unquote, and to do it well. There's a lot of pressure and sometimes a little delay and slowness when Saturn is involved.

I like to imagine planets in square as two people sitting down for a creative problem solving session. So instead of sitting across from each other, like in an opposition, or next to each other, like in a conjunction, these planets in square are, like, uncomfortably straddling the corner of a table, and they're, like, leaning over the same computer, trying to figure out how to fix a problem.

So in this way, a square is extremely dynamic. An opposition, on the other hand, can feel like a stalemate, or like a tug of war, where maybe there's no motion happening. This is not that. A square is two planets very engaged in overcoming a conflict or a challenge. They may not want the same things, they may not do things the same way, but they've got to figure out a way forward together.

So when we have Jupiter and Saturn in this tense square, this dynamic engagement, we are wrestling with the yeses in our life and the no's in our life. So on one hand, Jupiter is like, I want this, I want to achieve this, I want to move forward in this, and Saturn is like, no, not yet, or not quite like that.

Jupiter is idealistic. Saturn is realistic. So as the square perfects several times over the next ten months, we're really going to be wrestling with what we dream about, and how that actually matches up with our reality and our lived experience.

Jupiter is all about what's possible. It's about the dream. Saturn is about what's really here, what's really happening. And during this square, what we're ideally doing is learning how to move forward with both the dream and reality in mind. We might literally be getting real about our dream, and thinking about what that actually looks like, how does it feel, what steps do I need to take to accomplish this? We might be feeling the reality that a dream can require some really hard work, it can require some effort. This transit is kind of like where the rubber meets the road.

In my opinion, Saturn has the upper hand in this alignment, and that's for a lot of technical reasons, but Saturn is probably going to get its way in this square, and I don't want that to discourage you. I want you to see if you can befriend what Saturn is trying to unfold, and that's usually structure. And usually organization. And so it's not necessarily saying to Jupiter, no, Jupiter, you can't have what you want, but it's saying something like, all right, Jupiter, I hear you, but how would that actually work? Can you break that down into practical steps? And that's something that you might find yourself doing under these squares is taking something big and lofty. Something that you deeply desire and breaking it down into manageable pieces.

It can be really easy to get discouraged when Saturn limits Jupiter like it's doing right now in this square. But I like to believe that Saturn wants things to benefit us for the long haul, for the long term. And so whatever you're maybe putting boundaries around or limits around right now is so that you can grow faster and stronger in the future.

I like to think of aspects between planets as conversations. And another thing Saturn might be saying to Jupiter is, Jupiter, I see you doing a lot of things, and Jupiter in Gemini, goodness gracious, it wants to do all the things. It wants to learn all the things. It wants to talk about all the things. It wants to experience all the things.

And Saturn's like, okay, Jupiter, I see you doing a lot of things, but which one actually has legs? Which one really has the potential to last and endure and support us long term? And this is where things get really hard because when we're faced with this question, sometimes we have to cut things out. We have to eliminate things.

Saturn often asks us to simplify our approach. It wants us to clarify our vision and then be ruthless, pretty much, in cutting out or culling the things that don't line up with it. This requires a lot of honesty with ourselves about what's working and what's really not working.

So this is the backdrop for the next 10 months. So here's where things get interesting. This square is coming together, but before that, Mars is coming through and heating this square up. And the data for this is Mars is going to make a conjunction to Jupiter at the 16th degree of Gemini on Wednesday, August 14th. And then Mars is quickly going to make a square to Saturn on Friday, August 16th, and that will be at the 17th degree of Gemini and the 17th degree of Pisces.

For the sake of simplicity, let's pick these apart for a second. So Mars conjunct Jupiter. By itself, Mars and Jupiter together create a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of enthusiasm and desire to take bold action. It's usually a really awesome time to begin a new project or a new endeavor, and I would say that if you have that drive to do so, that you don't have to say no, but it's important to remember that Mars and Jupiter are not alone.

So to get a visual of this, take a scrap piece of paper and write Mars and Jupiter on one side and draw a line and write Saturn on the other. So that's what this is looking like. So we have Mars and Jupiter together and then Saturn on the other side, kind of making them get real about their limitations and their restrictions. It's kind of like curb your enthusiasm. Okay. Right.

 So Mars is adding a sense of urgency to this square, where we really feel like we've got to figure this out, we've got to figure it out now, and we've not only got to figure it out, but we've got to take action, we've got to fix it right now. It can feel really activating for Mars to get in this mix. Mars sets fire to Jupiter's desire to go for it, but its ability to do and to act is kind of limited by the constraints of Saturn, AKA reality.

So we have this great enthusiasm, this bold dream, this action that we really want to take, but there's also this damper where we might not feel like we can do that thing. When Mars and Saturn interact in a tense way, it can feel like there's a block in the path, or a delay in what we want. And this can feel really, really frustrating. It can feel like you're stuck and unable to do what you want, or unable to do it in the timeline that you want. You can also sometimes feel like you're working really, really hard, but not seeing any return.

And so, when all of these planets are acting together, it can feel like the gas pedal and the brake pedal are on at the same time. And that can be exhausting. It can be confusing. So if we don't bring our awareness to this and we don't feel these feelings and slow it down, we can experience really uncomfortable outbursts and implosions.

It really depends on your chart which way you're going to experience it and how you react and respond to things. I'm more of an imploder myself, but when Mars and Saturn have a square, we can get so frustrated that we are tempted to shut down, where we're tempted to collapse and feel like giving up. Or, we can push through and maybe create some difficulty for ourselves down the road. So what do we do?

Ain't that just the question? What do we do? Something that's helping me right now during this time of wanting to move forward, but not feeling like it's the right time, or not feeling like I have what I need to do so, or having all of these things I want to do, or ideas of how I could move forward, but not knowing which one is really the most substantial.

What I'm doing is playing the whole tape through. So I imagine the scenario and take it as far as I can. Will the outcome of this action feel good later? Like really later, like six months later or a year later or two years later. So I want you to really try on the idea or try on the decision and act it out in your mind. Explore all the possible facets. How will this feel mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically? What will saying yes to this actually require of me? And do I want to do that? And do I have the energy for that? So play the whole tape through.

If you want to take action during this week, that is totally cool. I'll just say that the pace will probably feel a little slower than maybe you want, but it will go faster if your choice and your actions are singular and precise. Because that's what Saturn likes to support, is precision. So plan it out. Think it through. 

Another thing we can do during this week as Mars and Saturn square one another is allow any irritation that pops up to act as a teacher. This is not very fun, but it's very useful. So one thing that irritation can show us is where a boundary has been crossed. And that's especially true when Saturn is involved, which is boundaries and limits and saying no. And so when Mars comes and agitates Saturn like it's doing, we can see where we might need to shore up our boundaries a little more.

Another thing that could be really supportive this week is to just reassess your long term plans and your goals, and to just ask yourself if they still feel right for you. Mars is kind of like the short term vision planet, whereas Saturn is the long term vision planet. And when they're in a square or in tension, they have to figure out how their plans can work together, where they overlap. And so the question here is, is what you're doing in the short term, a. k. a. Mars, supporting what you're doing in the long term, a. k. a. Saturn?

So whether you decide to push forward and do some major moving this week, or you decide to take the Saturn side and be a little more cautious and wait it out and take a pause. I think having a physical outlet for this alignment is really important. It can be really therapeutic. So whatever that means for you, whether that's breathing really deeply and then sighing out with loud noises, whether that's some type of movement or exercise, whether that's some type of art or emoting, like singing, screaming into a pillow, that's totally cool too. Giving yourself something to express this frustration through can be really helpful so that we don't push ourselves to maybe take actions that aren't in our best interest long term. So feeling that frustration, feeling the sensations and allowing them to express in a safe way.

If you know me at all, if you've been with me for years, you know that I love to do planetary journaling. It's one of my specialties. It's one of the ways I care for myself and one of the ways I receive guidance. And so, one thing we could play with this week is a journaling exercise, where we give voice to both sides of the square.

So on one side we have Jupiter and Mars, really excited, really ready to move forward and wanting to do it now. And then on the other side we have Saturn, who's like, hold up, let's make sure all of our ducks are in a row. Let's make sure that we know what we're doing. Let's make sure that we have a plan in place.

I don't want to say that one side is right and one side is wrong. They both have really useful things to bring us. And so I think it's helpful to give voice to both sides. So whether it's a separate page or maybe you divide one page in half, you can have a Mars Jupiter side and a Saturn side. And you can write on the Mars Jupiter side, all of the wild and amazing and outlandish things that you want or you want to do. And on the Saturn side, you can write down all the objections or blocks or fears that stand in the way of you doing it. This doesn't necessarily bring a solution, but it does bring awareness to both sides. And I think that's most important with astrology, is paying attention to what it brings up within us.

So just get curious. Write it out. Let it all out. The Saturn side. The Mars Jupiter side. And then maybe compare and contrast. Where are these sides similar? Where do they overlap? Where does Saturn's plan match up with Mars and Jupiter's ambition?

Where do Mars and Jupiter's desires match up with Saturn's duties and responsibilities and discipline. And allow that to guide you forward. Because that's probably the thing or the decision or the choice that has the most substance and the most endurance. So join me in playing with that if you like. 

And that is all from me today, Astro Lover, short and sweet. Remember, this is hot right now because Mars is coming through and activating this aspect, but Jupiter and Saturn are in this square for a while. We're in this push pull for quite a long time. So you have plenty of time to integrate the lesson. You have plenty of time to figure it out. There is no need to rush or push unless you want to. Sending you lots of love. Talk to you soon on the other side of my move.