Thursday, February 25, 2010

Good Idea Not Forgotten: What the House Cusps are Saying




These are the house cusps for the time of publication of this article. Click on image if you wish to enlarge it.

How many of you remember Debbi Kempton Smith’s famous astrology cookbook from the 1980’s, Secrets of a Stargazer’s Notebook? Her book was packed full of information for the novice, and the hip, funny writing style kept the reader going. One of her best ideas was a guide to the house cusps, but the information was never organized in one place in the book. Instead, it got buried under loads of information in various chapters, and today is largely forgotten.

Here are Kempton-Smith’s unique interpretations of the house cusps – I haven’t seen anything like it in “how-to” astrology books published in the last couple of decades. It’s a quick “house at glance” technique that helps the consultant keep the house cusps simple, and a handy little trick up an astrologer’s sleeve when one is too tired to remember anything else about the house cusps.

ARIES
The house cusp with Aries on it shows where we are boss.








Here's a picture of Bruce Springsteen, the original Boss.



TAURUS
The house with Taurus on the cusp shows what we want more than anything else in the world when you are young. Around the age of 40 or so, we may finally start to get the things of this house, although many discover that they no longer want those things the way they did when they were younger.

GEMINI
Here is where we “can do one only if it’s good enough”.

CANCER
We need to nurture and be nurtured by the people or things of the house that has Cancer on the cusp, and we get rather moody and depressed if we don’t get nurtured here.

LEO
This is where we are proud. Kempton-Smith connects the pride associated with the house that has Leo on the cusp with where we should work for a living, but in my experience, this doesn’t happen very often.

VIRGO
This is where we are either insightful and analytical, or picky and critical.

LIBRA
This is where we see-saw back and forth. Some years we work very hard on the things of this house, and other years we just don’t care. This is where we are lazy, basically.

SCORPIO
Kempton-Smith writes that we have a choice “between the scorpion or the eagle” regarding the people or things of the house with Scorpio on the cusp.

SAGITTARIUS
This is where we have fun - pretty uncomplicated.

CAPRICORN
There are limitations associated with this house. Some overcome them; others don’t.

AQUARIUS
Here is where we keep others at arm’s length. We stay detached in the house with Aquarius on the cusp, often for our own sanity. Another meaning that shows up for many people has to do with getting something singular, unique, or one-of-a-kind related to the things of this house.

PISCES
This is where we are kind, and it comes back to us.

***

When I used this interpretation framework on my own horoscope, I noticed that some of the meanings “clicked” right away, and others didn’t. Planets placed in the various houses did not appear to negate the interpretations of the house cusps, however. As I continued to work with this framework, I started to see how all of Kempton-Smith’s interpretations fit my house cusps, but the relevant associations were pretty obscure at times (in other words, I had to really dig). Yet the meanings were accurate – I didn’t have to “stretch” my experience to fit the interpretations.

Using these interpretations to consult for others had some surprising results. A number of people said that one or two of these interpretations fit their own personal experience of the astrological houses perfectly. These people “believed” in the framework because they got some very strong “hits”. A few people I talked to said every one fit – I think these folks may have been exceptionally self-aware.

Other people said it was hogwash – they didn’t see where any of the descriptions were relevant to their own lives. With these folks, I wonder if they even spent a decent bit of time trying to find the “fit”. Because I work with four different astrological systems (western, Vedic, Mayan, and the Sabian Symbols) on a regular basis, I encounter this attitude more often than I would like, even among open-minded folks who believe in astrology. If they are unfamiliar with the system, they have to be “sold” on it. Until they are “sold” on it or have heard a lot about it from respected astrological authorities, the system isn’t personally relevant or “doesn’t work” for them. In some cases, their internal bias toward one particular astrological system prevents acceptance of a new one.

Yet Kempton-Smith’s interpretations do appear to work, and the genius of these simple observations is worth another look. Here’s an example from my own horoscope, which has a Virgo Ascendant, with no intercepted houses.

START WITH THE HOUSE THAT HAS TAURUS ON IT
When I consult using this system, this is the first piece of advice that I give. The house with Taurus on it represents strong yearning and desire, and the unfamiliar often sense the “fit” here immediately – it “jumps out” at them.
In my western natal chart, Taurus is on the 9th House cusp. Long distance travel and higher education are the two main themes of this house. I had a very strong desire to pursue education beyond the undergraduate level, even though I did not obtain actual advanced degrees, but I did this well before age 40.

It was with the other theme of long distance travel that Kempton-Smith’s description really “resonated” for me. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I dreamed of seeing the world, but never had enough money to really just take off and travel lots of places. In my twenties, all of my savings from low-income jobs went toward trips that I carefully saved pennies towards – the time I drove across the U.S. for the first time after graduating college, or the time I worked a paid internship that I had little interest in so that I could buy a plane ticket and a Euro-rail Pass. My yearning was channeled into Peace Corps service, so I could live and work in Africa, but even then I only got to see a tiny fraction of what I wanted to see in Africa.

As I reached 40, I finally had the experience to get the overseas contracts that paid enough for me to be able to really travel, only to discover that the desire was no longer there. There’s a very bittersweet quality to the house cusp with Taurus as one gets older – some of us get the thing we always wanted, only to discover that it is no longer what we want, or perhaps we don’t want it in the same way.

***

Here are the interpretations for my remaining house cusps. Readers with a Virgo Ascendant and similar house cusps will find this section a bonus. Readers with other Ascendants may be able to apply the insights of this section to their own individual house cusps, so resist the urge to skip it entirely. Examples of Kempton-Smith’s descriptions as they apply to other house cusps will be included in a later section of this article.

GEMINI on the MC (Mid-heaven)
Here is where one does “one” only “if it is good enough”. Definitely true – I found the career that was going to be “good enough” for me, but I wasn’t able to complete the training. Instead, I ended up doing a lot of different jobs – working as a personal assistant, doing administrative gigs, consulting in astrology, substitute teaching, teaching overseas, etc…

Most people seems to experience the “multiple” quality of this house – striving for “The ONE” doesn’t seem to get fulfilled all that often with Gemini. Every once in a while there is an exception to this, and these people always seem aware of their exceptional luck and blessing.

CANCER on the 11TH HOUSE CUSP
This is a nice placement on the house of friends. Since the 11th House also rules long-distance friends or friends on the Internet, I get a lot of nurturing from my Facebook account and my astrology blog and my interaction with online forums. Plus I have a real need to nurture here as well, which is why I have made so many quality astrology articles available on the Internet for free.

LEO on the 12TH HOUSE CUSP
The 12th House represents places of confinement, like hospitals and prisons. It is said to represent large institutions in general. Kempton-Smith calls it the “God Box”, because of its association with spirituality and suffering.

On a personal level, I wanted to be a doctor, so the “pride” associated with this house cusp placement was relevant. But I didn’t end up as one, although I have spent a lot of time on contracts with large institutions.

NOTE: This house cusp may have manifested more obviously if events in my life had worked out a little differently. In other words, the instinct was there, but the energy wasn’t. Of those I have consulted with, a number have mentioned this possibility with several of Kempton-Smith’s interpretations.

VIRGO on the 1ST HOUSE CUSP
As a consultant, I advise people that it can frequently be hard “to see yourself” when you are trying to understand how well the Ascendant sign fits your life. The same is often true of Kempton-Smith’s interpretations – we don’t always see how the description relates to our view of ourselves. Use it if it works. Don’t worry if it doesn’t.

In my case, this article is all about self-analysis, although I do want to make it relevant for others, and not turn it into “all about me”. Virgo gets a clear channel here.

LIBRA on the 2ND HOUSE CUSP
This one made immediate sense. 2nd House is earnings or salaried income, and it is very true that I work very hard some years when I know I am going to have the opportunity to earn well, and “sit back” during years where the economic environment appears to be stacked against me. It also made sense to me that I am always in the process of trying to strike a balance in this area of my life. When I have the energy to work hard and earn well, I do it. But there are other years when it is just as easy to stare at my navel, or pick my nose, if you know what I mean.

SCORPIO on the 3RD HOUSE CUSP
The description for Scorpio is one of the more obscure ones. I had a client ask me, “Don’t we all have a choice ‘between the scorpion and the eagle’ on pretty much everything?” She has a point.

Still, it may be worth considering if you have more of a struggle than usual with taking the high road, the path of the eagle, versus scuttling along the low road, like the scorpion, when it comes to the things of this house.

Suffice to say, my siblings and I are not close as adults. To some extent, I don’t take this personally – a number of my siblings are not close with each other either. But I do notice that I have to really focus on the eagle’s path during the infrequent occasions when we get together, and they have definitely pulled some stunts as adults that have fired every last nerve of my inner scorpion.

SAGITTARIUS on the 4TH HOUSE CUSP
In fact, I do have a lot of fun at home. I love just curling up on a couch, or puttering around the garden. But who doesn’t?

Nonetheless, I have noticed that having Sag on the cusp of a house can alleviate the impact of some pretty heavy planetary influence in the house. One of my good friends has a fallen Jupiter in the 4th house of her Vedic chart, and she has always had to live in crappy, sub-standard housing, but she has Sagittarius on the 4th house cusp of her western chart (the way I do), and she always seems to have fun in her far-from-posh accommodations. Having a cup of tea in her shack, I always feel as if I would love to stay longer. There could be some synergy operating here – she has the Sag energy for fun in her home, and the same Sag energy allows me to enjoy the qualities of other people’s homes, including hers.

Another important meaning of the 4th House is that it represents conditions at the end of life. Having Sagittarius here gives me something to look forward to.

CAPRICORN on the 5TH HOUSE CUSP
Although it is a bit of a downer, this is the house cusp I would check second after looking first at the one with Taurus. Do you see obvious limitations here?

Keep in mind that not all aspects of a house are ruined when Capricorn sits on the cusp. Some people with this placement will have great relationships with their children, even though they’ve never been all that happy with lovers.

In my case, the major themes of this house are real limitations for me. I don’t have children, even though I teach and enjoy them, and would love to have had my own. As far as lovers go, I am increasingly weary of single life, and would much rather be married. This makes sense when one considers the likelihood that a 5th House Capricorn cusp will have Pisces on the 7th House cusp – marriage is where I am kind “and it comes back to me”. Lovers are where I tend to feel I am wasting my time.

AQUARIUS on the 6TH HOUSE CUSP
This one really resonated for me, even though my sixth house is empty. The sixth house represents day-to-day jobs rather than careers, co-workers, servants (or those who are lower status than you are at work), health in general, and pets. I definitely have a detached, “arms length” attitude toward many of the things in this house. I don’t socialize with co-workers outside of work if I can help it. I don’t go to the doctor very often because I don’t have health insurance. I make quick distinctions between career opportunities and jobs that will pay the bills, and I don’t get emotionally vested in the latter – my motto is “see the job, do the job, stay out of the misery”.

The “silver lining” is also true for me – I have been blessed with some singular, wonderfully individual, one-of a kind pets. My dear cat Maui, now deceased, used to be able to “follow like a dog” for miles when we lived in the country – in her next life, I just know she is someone’s favorite dog now.

PISCES on the 7TH HOUSE CUSP
Because I’m not married, it’s hard for me to judge this house. But the 7th House is also said to represent intimate friendships and even “open enemies” in some cases, which may be why the 7th House is also linked to lawsuits. I have never sued anyone, or ever been sued either, so “kindness” could be said to be manifesting in this sense.

I have always been lucky with close friends though, and have had more useful things given to me by close friends, things that I could not have gotten along without.

My advice is to those I counsel is to be generous to those represented by the house with Pisces on the cusp, because it always comes back around here. This typically isn’t a house where you are going to feel “used”. Freedom from this fear makes many people naturally generous in the area of life represented by this house.

ARIES on the 8TH HOUSE CUSP
It took me forever to understand the meaning of this house cusp. Aries is where Kempton-Smith says you are boss. The 8th House represents legacies, inheritances, the spouse’s money, other people’s money, taxes, insurance policies, etc… None of it seemed to fit. I wasn’t married. I don’t have inherited money or property, or anything more than a mandatory car insurance policy. I don’t work with other people’s money. I don’t even have a will. For a long time, I just wrote this one off.

Then a couple of years ago, someone on an astrology forum posted a link to a great little article that David Roell wrote about the 8th House on his website at www.astroamerica.com. The link to this article, which talks about Alan Leo’s partial understanding of the occult nature of this house, is provided below.

http://www.astroamerica.com/howto.html
(After clicking on the link above, scroll down to the article “How Did Sex Get Into the 8th House?)

***

After reading the above, I started working with magic, and discovered intuitive talent in this area, which was aided by a “magical” Sabian symbol for the degree of my Jupiter, 4 Scorpio, “A Youth Holding a Lighted Candle In a Devotional Ritual Gains a Sense of the Great ‘Other World’” (see my earlier January, 2010 article “Sabian Symbols in Action” for further explanation of this concept).

In a way, it was almost as if I was “boss” – this was something I had a good deal of talent for, and the other world responds easily to me, for better or for worse. I had the power to get results here.

However, as with Pisces, there is a recycling current of energy frequently operating in the house with Aries on the cusp. You may be boss here, but you are also bossed or controlled by the things in this house, sometimes more than you might like to admit.

***

Now for some topics that will be relevant to readers with an Ascendant other than Virgo.

DOES KEMPTON-SMITH’S INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORK FIT THE OBSERVATIONS OF OTHER ASTROLOGERS?
Yes, it does. As an experiment, I selected a Sagittarius Ascendant, and used Isabel Hickey’s seminal work, Astrology: a Cosmic Science, as a basis for comparison.

Hickey mentions that Sagittarius Ascendant very often feels that they are never paid what they are worth, and this dovetails with the possible limitations of a 2nd House Capricorn cusp. With Gemini on the 7th House cusp, she notes the likelihood of more than one marriage. With lazy Libra on the 11th House cusp, she remarks that “too much socializing…may take one down the primrose path…and away from the goals and objectives that were meant to be attained.”

Hickey notes that a 5th House Aries cusp will tend to dominate their kids. She doesn’t note the Aries tendency to “recycle”, a more recent observation made by this author. A dominating Aries parent may have a tendency to see it go both ways as the children get older – I know a lady whose landlord is now her daughter.

Having Cancer on the 8th House cusp gives a nurture and be-nurtured quality to both soul-mate sex and contact with the spirits – this can give a psychic nature, as Hickey notes, but also a susceptibility to negative “other worldly” energy – it gets spooky when the spirits are moody!

Comparisons between the two authors weren’t remarkable – Hickey brings up a lot that Kempton-Smith doesn’t. Kempton-Smith’s house cusp interpretations were meant to be used at a glance, so hers is more of a “one-sentence wonder” approach. Yet there are enough similarities to demonstrate that Kempton-Smith’s underlying paradigm is recognized by other astrologers.

WHAT HOUSE CUSPS SHOW THE CAREER?
Kempton-Smith predicted it would be the house cusp with Leo on it – but she does say that this is where you should be working for a living, and not necessarily where you ARE working for one.

In my experience, a number of people have it on the house cusp associated with Taurus. This is where they focus a tremendous amount of energy until middle age (around 40), and then find that their goals have changed, or that the career doesn’t mean as much to them as it used to.

In Kempton-Smith’s model, the house cusps with Sagittarius, Pisces, and Cancer tend to bring one good things, so it’s nice seeing people working in areas associated with these houses. They tend to be satisfied customers.

COULD YOU INCLUDE ONE MORE ASCENDANT AS AN EXAMPLE?
Let’s take a look at a Scorpio Ascendant – these folks will have a choice between “the scorpio and the eagle” in terms of themselves and their actions.

Many of these people with have Sagittarius on the 2nd House cusp – they need to have fun at work. Wage earning has to be fun, amusing, or personally satisfying, or they won’t want to do it. This gets even more interesting when you notice that proud Leo is on the Mid Heaven, and lazy Libra is in the 12th House of suffering and large institutions. Put all this cusp information together, and you often have a profile of someone who is self-employed, or employed at a large institution but paid as a contractor or consultant, with somewhat more freedom to pick and choose work tasks. With Leo on the MC, women with this Ascendant may make a career out of marriage, even if they continue to hold paid employment.

Marriage is very important to this Ascendant. They may spend a tremendous amount of time trying to find the One, or they may really want “perfection” as they define it from a spouse. Taurus is on the 7th House cusp, stamping it with tremendous desire and yearning. Scorpio Ascendants who marry early may change their mind around age 40. Those who marry later tend to see the scope of the marriage change significantly around this age.

Since the 7th House represents intimate friends, this aspect of life is also influenced by the Taurus Ascendant. Expect these people to have at least a few life-long intimates with whom they have been friends since childhood.

Capricorn is on the 3rd House cusp, meaning that these people tend to have significant limitations in relationships with one or more of their siblings.

Aquarius is on the 4th House – there will be a sense of detachment regarding the home. Those with Aquarius on the 4th House tend to hire housekeepers or home-office managers. With the exceptional, one-of-a-kind quality that sometimes shows up on the house with the Aquarius cusp, these folks may at some point in their life own a unique, out-of-the-ordinary home. They also tend to be detached from the idea of old age in themselves, or they may enjoy some unusual or remarkable experiences in old age.

Pisces is a nice one to have on the 5th House, according to Kempton-Smith’s model. Lovers and children are the ones to whom these people are kind, and the generosity and love is returned in some way from these people as well.

With Aries on the 6th House cusp, they will want to be the boss of their daily activities – more evidence of a tendency to be self-employed or “in control” of the work environment. They may also exert firm control over diet or exercise, so they may experience how diet and exercise controls them. Recall that there is a “recycling” quality to the energy of both Pisces and Aries, perhaps because these two signs govern the ending and the beginning of the zodiac.

With Gemini on the 8th House cusp, these folks are likely to be determined materialists. They rarely do only one life insurance policy or tax shelter. Having Cancer on the 9th House cusp suggests a strong desire to nurture or be nurtured through higher education or long distance travel. This association is open to a number on interpretations, anything from the person who takes a vacation to attend cooking school, to the professor who is well-liked by his graduate student assistants or interns.

With Virgo on the 11th House cusp, the Scorpio Ascendant can offer invaluable counsel, because their talent for analytical insight is directed at colleagues, acquaintances, and the Internet community (all represented by the 11th House). Their knack for criticism is directed to the same place, making these people talented observers of the social scene – friends and colleagues who benefit from the Scorpio’s wisdom may also need to be alert to the Scorpio Ascendant for other reasons.

***

Now that you have seen a couple of profiles using Kempton-Smith’s approach to the house cusps, it should be fairly easy for you to scan your own horoscope and determine its validity. Personal notes from readers on their observations would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think.

SOURCE
Kempton-Smith, Debbi,Secrets of a Stargazer's Notebook,Topquark Press, 1999.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Astrology Secrets of the Fashion Industry


Have you ever wondered how the fashion industry seems to pick the same new “in” colors every couple of seasons? The industry does it based on the upcoming sign that Jupiter will be in, and they’re amazingly consistent about it from year to year, because major retailers are conformist by nature, and the “Jupiter color” sells really well.

WHAT’S NEYTERI FROM AVATAR DOING HERE?

Neyteri is a cool blue girl-kitty, but check out the green on her necklace. A lot of cool shades of green, everything from Irish green to sea green, has been in style during Jupiter’s very brief transit of Pisces in the winter and spring of 2010.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

A lot of people in the fashion industry do follow astrology fairly closely, and are aware of what colors are associated with a particular Jupiter sign. But a lot of other people just have an intuitive sense of what colors are going to be popular. The consumer makes the final decision, and certain colors seem to “resonate well” with a majority of buyers at certain times. What is interesting is that these colors can be predicted astrologically.

In the fashion industry, this is known as "color forecasting". This article shows the entire cycle, so that you can always be aware of what colors are going to be "in season".

SO TELL ME, WHAT COLOR WILL BE “IN” THIS SUMMER?

Jupiter will be in Aries this summer, and it is going to stay in this sign for about eighteen months, so every shade of red is going to be popular, everything from orange-y, pomegranate red to waitress-y, nail polish scarlet. The Mars-like Aries is all about red, and you may even see some of the burgundy and wine red shades associated with Jupiter in Scorpio several years ago come back “in” now. Since Jupiter will be in Aries for a while, those of you who love red will be in for a treat. Knitters and crafters should snap up that red yarn or fabric, because Jupiter will be in Aries long enough for them to craft a garment and actually get some wear out of it before the sign shifts out of Aries at the end of 2011.

WHY DID WE SEE SO MUCH ELECTRIC BLUE AND ORANGE RECENTLY?

Think back over the past year and a half. All the fashion magazines were showcasing these vivid blues and neon gold-oranges in everything from coats to accessories. Very “electric” colors – they either looked great on you, or you got sick of them and couldn’t wait for something else. On the color wheel, I’m an “autumn”, so I was snapping up the various shades of orange at Target (lots of peachy oranges, in my case). Jupiter was in Aquarius for a while with its retrograde activity, so the fashion industry invested strongly in these colors because they knew they could count on several consecutive seasons.

DOES THE FASHION INDUSTRY RECYCLE CERTAIN COLORS EVERY FEW YEARS OR SO?

It does in some cases. Jupiter in Pisces is associated with watery greens, but a lot of blue shades also predominate, which may be one subconscious reason why the movie Avatar did so well. Just a couple of years from now, Jupiter in Taurus will also be identified with blue, robin’s egg blue and baby blue, in particular. And roughly seven years from now, all sorts of pastels are associated with Jupiter in Libra, but cornflower blue and lavender tints are said to predominate.

The astrology behind it is fairly easy to understand. Venus is associated with blue, which may be one reason why some feel the Virgin Mary is often depicted wearing a blue robe. Venus is exalted in Pisces, and a co-ruler of Taurus and Libra, so her color has a very strong impact on our collective subconscious at least three different times during a twelve year Jupiter cycle. This happens even more often if one takes variations like the “electric blue” of Jupiter in Aquarius into account.

WHY DOES IT ALL HINGE ON JUPITER?

Not sure, but Jupiter is the planet of expansion, and it does show where we like to spend our money.

***

WHAT DOES THE ASTROLOGICAL COLOR ZODIAC LOOK LIKE?

When Jupiter is in Mars-ruled signs, red predominates. Jupiter’s location in signs that Venus rules or is exalted in brings in the blues. Jupiter’s location in its own sign of Pisces or in its exaltation sign of Cancer puts the focus on green, while yellow and gold show up in Aquarius, Gemini, and Leo. All of the colors of the rainbow are represented, but an attempt to link corresponding colors with signs ruled by a particular planet is only partially successful. There are quirky exceptions, as will be shown below.

ARIES

Every shade of red, from orange-red to bright lipstick reds to reds that are almost magenta. I’m not sure if this is going to include the stronger shades of pink as well, but we’ll find out soon enough, because Jupiter hits Aries this June, and the fashion industry often has the “Jupiter color” on the shelves a month or two early.

TAURUS

With Jupiter in this sign, delicate shades of blue, like robin’s egg blue, do very well.

GEMINI

All the yellows come out to play. You’ll see it on sheets, towels, and underwear too, since a lot of white people don’t like to wear yellow too close to the face. Blacks and Asians have so many gorgeous shades to pick from during this phase, although inevitably, a number of them will also say that yellow doesn’t look good near the face. Gemini needs everyone to keep an open mind, though. True brunettes look great in bright yellow tops, as do black women with blonde highlights. The home decorating magazines have a field day with the “Jupiter color”, so look for yellow mixer to yellow wallpaper to entire interiors redone in yellow or yellow accents.

CANCER

A lot of the greens that we saw when Jupiter was in Pisces get recycled when Jupiter hits its sign of exaltation in Cancer. Look for the same sea greens that are popular right now while Jupiter is in Pisces, as well as teals and other cool greens like jade green.

LEO

Look for bursts of intense colors like orange, orange-gold, and every shade of gold from honey to tawny gold. Leo likes to stand out and draw attention. Jupiter is in a fire sign, and nobody ought to forget it. Once again, look for a lot of these colors in home décor and wall accents, because some consumers balk at wearing these colors.

Retailers also know that a lot of consumers can’t drape themselves in these colors at work, so you will see a lot of the “Jupiter color” in accessories when Jupiter is in a fire sign. You will also see a lot of neutral gray suits showcasing the “Jupiter color” in a tie or chemise, or winter outfits that use a bright scarf in the “Jupiter color”.

VIRGO

Virgo is one of those interesting signs that does not have a particular color family associated with it. You will see a lot of earth tones, like browns and dark greens (forest greens and evergreens). But you will also see a lot of pure whites and contrasting blacks and classy grays, because Virgo is associated with a “clean, pure” look. Soft greens and blues also seem to show back up in Virgo and do well. This is a great time to recycle the stuff you have in these colors that you haven’t worn for years. It’s also a great time for the folks who never seem to do anything but earth tones and grays, and the crowd that wears black can let their credit cards recover for a while.

LIBRA

This sign is all about pastels. Notice that even folks who don’t like pastels will buy them now, and then wonder why they got stuck with them once Jupiter has left this sign. In her book on Jupiter signs, Madalyn Alsan mentions cornflower blue and lavender in particular. Look for pastel pinks and flowered pink dresses to bring out Venus at her most feminine when Jupiter hits this sign.

SCOPRIO

Anyone who knows anything about astrology can guess the colors that are going to do well in Scorpio. Look for lots of black, blood reds, wine reds, and burgundies.

SAGITTARIUS

The fire signs are associated with fiery colors, but Jupiter takes a bit of a color detour in the sign that it rules. Jupiter is known for royalty (Zeus was the king of the gods). So it should be no surprise that the “royal purple” dominates this period. This is THE phase to buy that deep purple anything that you have always wanted, or to dye your hair black to complement all these rich purples that you would never otherwise wear. Be aware that deep purples are very susceptible to being “last year’s color” once Jupiter has left this sign, though.

CAPRICORN

Solid, conservative blacks and grays rule this sign. Every shade of gray on the color palette is snapped up by the fashion industry now, from granite gray to charcoal to silver. This is appropriate in the sign of Jupiter’s debilitation, since black, white, and the resulting blend which is gray are not technically considered colors.

One of the nice things about Jupiter in this phase is that quality gray pieces you buy now will last for years, and you can accessorize them with the crazy neon blues and oranges of upcoming Jupiter in Aquarius. The author still has the beautiful gray coat she snapped up at Target while Jupiter was in this phase a few years ago, and she still gets complements on it.

AQUARIUS

The colors of electricity and fire show up in this air sign because of its strong link to Uranus and electricity. Electric blue, electric orange, and orange-gold dominate the scene now, particularly in accessories. Amber jewelry does very well now – the etymology of amber may be associated with electricity because the word for amber in Greek is “elektron”.












In the photo to the left, Malia and Sasha Obama are pictured with their aunt, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

According to news reports, Michelle Obama allowed her daughters to pick out the colors they would wear to their father’s inauguration. Malia unconsciously opted for a brilliant blue J Crew coat that epitomized Jupiter-in-Aquarius fashion sense. Sasha chose a pink coat, and accessorized with a vivid orange scarf, which just happens to be the other color in the Jupiter-in-Aquarius duo. Both girls were a hit, and J Crew in Georgetown sold out of both coats the day after the Inauguration.

PISCES

Watery blues and greens predominate, but look for a range of greens now. The people I know who love green often remark that they haven’t been able to find a green they like for so long, and these folks will often shell out for a big ticket item like a green coat or jacket now. These folks are right – green gets overlooked by the fashion industry between Jupiter in Virgo and Jupiter in Pisces, in my experience.

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OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Madalyn Aslan mentions that the color associated with one’s natal Jupiter often has a special resonance for some people. My own experience suggests there is something to this, particularly in a sign where Jupiter is strong. Among the people I know with a number of focal planets in Sagittarius, there seems to be more than a bit of the need to lead, a propensity for the red hair, and a strange attraction to the color purple, even if they don’t wear it very often. One guy I know is a red-headed, Renaissance fair type who has his favorite purple robe – not too many people I know would chose to wear it in their primary profile photo on Facebook, but this guy does.

QUICK RECAP OF THE COLOR CYCLE

Beginning with Jupiter in Aries, the cycle seems to follow the colors of the rainbow until the Big J gets to Virgo, where it becomes associated with a bouquet of different colors. Why Jupiter goes AWOL in Virgo is beyond me - perhaps consumers are so picky under Virgo that retailers give up!

The rainbow theme is picked back up once Jupiter enters Libra, but it skips a beat with its entrance into Scorpio. The rainbow theme is resumed and finally completed when Jupiter enters Sagittarius.

JUPITER IN ARIES
All shades of red. (Starts summer of 2010, and these colors are already in the stores.)

JUPITER IN TAURUS
Delicate shades of blue (Starts in 2012, if you knitters and sewers want to get a "leg up".)

JUPITER IN GEMINI
Every shade of yellow.

JUPITER IN CANCER
Mellow greens.

JUPITER IN LEO
Oranges and gold-oranges.

JUPITER IN VIRGO
Deep greens and browns (and other earth tones), soft blues and greens, crisp blacks and whites.

JUPITER IN LIBRA
All the pastels, but violets and lavenders in particular.

JUPITER IN SCORPIO
Burgundies and rich wine reds.

JUPITER IN SAGITTARIUS
True purples.

JUPITER IN CAPRICORN
Every shade of gray.

JUPITER IN AQUARIUS
Electric blue and bright orange or gold (the flame colors).

JUPITER IN PISCES
Watery greens and blues. (Occuring right now in Spring 2010, and you see a lot of these colors in the store).



SOURCE
Aslan, Madalyn.Jupiter Sign: How to Improve your Luck, Career, Health, Finances, Appearance and Relationships Through the New Astrology, Plume, 2004.