Silver Linings from Jupiter

Jupiter went retrograde today, April 10, and will be there until August 11. What does that mean? Well, from the vantage point of Earth, Jupiter appears to be spinning backwards.  What's really happening, though, is that Earth is completing its orbit around the Sun faster than other planets outside of its orbit. Periodically, Earth will outpace them and that's when retrograde chaos begins! 

Mercury is the planet that goes retrograde when everyone loses their shit. Excuse my language, but if you haven't experienced a Mercury Retrograde, be grateful. You'll get your chance to experience it when it happens again in July though. Be careful what you wish for.

Jupiter being in retrograde is different though. It's about joy and silver linings! It is a time to do some soul searching to look over events of the recent past and see them in a different light. Jupiter's energy is going to help us be optimistic and hopeful, and when we revisit painful events, Jupiter will guide us to see the positives. It may even guide us to see something we missed the first go around.  During this retrograde, we will be led to open ourselves to the possibilities around us and surrender expectations in order to receive gifts that are meant for us WITHOUT our ego getting in the way.  

Jupiter represents our belief system and during its retrograde is a good time to reflect on what you believe in. You will feel at a crossroads and you may say such things to yourself like, "It's now or never" or "I want to live a life that is meaningful!"  Guess what? You are right! Jupiter retrograde is also making us feel like we need to take action. You have the right, the opportunity and the responsibility to live that meaningful life - that life of purpose. Remember we are soul beings having a temporary human experience in which we are here to learn and to gain soul expansion. Think of this world as school- we are here to learn as much as we can to become our true selves and to always align with love and compassion. What's the secret to living that meaningful life? Love, of course! As if you didn't know that by now. Love is the only thing that is real!

So why don't we make the most of Jupiter Retrograde and do an exercise:

1. Make a list of no more than 5 amazing, positive things that happened to you in the last 6 months. Don't get caught up on the number - list whatever you can but no more than 5.
2. During that same time period of the last 6 months, choose 1 or 2 difficult or challenging things that happened.  When you look at these, what lessons, gifts or silver linings do you now see? If you are struggling to find any, that's ok. Just be proud of yourself for making the effort to at least try to see something good.
3. Once you've made these lists, what positive emotions or shifts have been stirred? Then come up with 1-3 things you can do to change your daily routine as a result.  What can you add or remove that will bring you more joy and make you feel more purposeful and more aligned with love?
4. During this retrograde period, begin integrating these changes into your routine and see how things shift when Jupiter is ready to go direct again on August 11. 

Jupiter being in retrograde is a perfect time to address these areas of our lives and to think about ways that we can step it up, take charge and get that feeling of purpose again! I know I am more than ready! You are going to have to be willing to make a shift and do things differently though in order to bring in that new energy to your routine.  Jupiter energy will help us realize all we need to do to keep moving in the right direction is to find the light in each step, look for the grace in each day and start seeing that even the worst events have that wonderful silver lining!