Jupiter Retrogrades in Mṛgaśirā
Tōḍi Rāgiṇi: Kangra, Punjab Hills, mid 19th century
Oct 09, 2024 - Feb 04, 2025
We’re being churned by the many planetary shifts happening this month, including moving through the final eclipse season of the year, the awakening energies of Navarātri, and now, from October 9th to February 4th, Jupiter commences its annual retrograde motion (vakrī) in the constellation of Mṛgaśirā मृगशिरा (Taurus), the Searching Star — drawing us into an introspective search for truth and wisdom.
Jupiter, the planet of expansion, knowledge, sound, speech, and the teacher (Guru), now redirects its expansive energy inward, amplifying the nuanced themes of Mṛgaśirā—curiosity, the search for elusive wisdom, and the longing for deeper truths. Retrograde planets are traditionally said to increase in power, and Jupiter’s retrograde invites a deeper, more introspective search for clarity and understanding.
As the Jiva Karaka (significator of life) and the embodiment of discernment, Jupiter's retrograde calls us to refine our focus and reconsider what we are truly seeking. This is a time to align ourselves with enduring wisdom, restoring balance to areas of life where growth has felt superficial or scattered.
Mṛgaśirā, symbolized by soma (divine nectar), is magnetic and receptive, drawing life to itself and awakening a thirst for deeper understanding. Soma, associated with Chandra (the Moon), embodies the lunar principle of water, nourishing our spiritual evolution.
We are asked to refine our inner compass, grounding curiosity in the tangible and reconciling our desire for security with our quest for deeper meaning. This retrograde invites us to release distractions and realign with clarity. It’s a time to integrate the insights we’ve gathered and discern which teachings resonate with the soul.
Perhaps we’re being called to track back into our own creative intelligence—beyond thought and understanding, beyond knowledge gained from others and even wisdom distilled through the lens of the mind and intellect—an invitation to rest your awareness in the vast spaciousness of your own being.
Jupiter has been in Mṛgaśirā since mid-August—notice what energies are resurfacing as we reflect on the paths we’ve been exploring. We are invited to reassess the wisdom we've been pursuing and to refine our search for authentic understanding. On November 28th, Jupiter steps back into the constellation of Rohiṇī, shifting focus toward nurturing what has taken root, guiding us from inquiry to manifestation.
This is a time to slow down, recalibrate our efforts, and reflect on the resources we have cultivated—both within and around us. Are we nurturing the right seeds, or has our search become restless? Jupiter’s retrograde in Mṛgaśirā presents an opportunity to refine our focus, ensuring that our wisdom manifests in enduring ways aligned with the natural rhythms of life.
All My Relations
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
~ Rilke