The Mutable Signs

The word “mutable” comes from the Latin root mutabilis, which means change. Mutate and mutation also arise from this root.

Mutable is a quality assigned to a sign. There are three qualities: mutable, cardinal and fixed. These qualities are one of the building blocks of astrology and are based on how each type of quality engages with the world.

Mutable signs mediate change and change their modes of expression frequently.

In astrology, there are four mutable signs: Gemini, an AIR sign; Virgo, an Earth sign; Sagittarius, a FIRE sign; and Pisces, a WATER sign.

These mutable forces are adaptable like chameleons. This is their true Nature! Which can be confusing to those who are more fixed in their sense of self. The mutable identities of others (and ourselves!) can quickly shift into many forms and take on different personas and not feel as if they are being untrue to who they are.

I am reminded of the daemons in the series, His Dark Materials, by Phillip Pullman. During the childhood of a human, their dæmon could shapeshift into any kind of animal. This change could be due to emotion, need for a particular skill such as night vision, or simply whim.

Thisssssss is the Nature of Sagittarius! It is a Holy WILD Power to develop a relationship with so as to fortified and supported by it, rather than buffeted about.

Gemini ~ Virgo ~ Sagittarius ~ Pisces

A definite Sag sensibility. And do remember, we all have Sagittarius Natures. Have you found yours?

I have always been amazed at the phenomenon of energy. How I can write some of my best works (from my perception) with a migraine after a few hours of sleep. Or how when I enter a ritual feeling exhausted and numb, coming through the otherside with a force of vitalizing inSPIREd energy. Yes, this is where I depart from my mother’s tao of self care. Sometimes it looks like anything but.

Sagittarius is the sign of inspiration! that is a SPIRIT I can follow! I feel it expand not only my consciousness, but also the perceived weight that my body and its illness or sufferings pull me down to. Even there, I have found when I connect with the intelligence of my illness, my pain, my physical edges, that there is spirit there as well. The archetype just waiting for me to turn and speak with it, dance it, write it.

Yes… life and our bodies and our psyches our bodypsyches are not what they appear to be to the uninitiated.

Painting by Evelyn De Morgan – 1897

In a dark and desolate country, an aged king broods over his hoard of gold, while the dark Angel of Death approaches, a cloud-like mantle floating around her. It is strewn with stars and a moon shines dimly in the angel’s dusky wing, all typical of the elements into which the miser will soon be resolved. Away in the distance, a freed spirit rises into the sky. – Walter Sparrow

Jupiter – Natural Ruler of Sagittarius and the 9th House

Jupiter is transiting in Sagittarius at 4°

Jupiter ingressed into Sagittarius on the 9th of November, 2018. This is no small shift, for this force of nature is the force of expansion itself… GROWTH! Inflation! BUOYANCY! Enthusiasm! Inspiration! The Force of the Spirit! And it has entered into the very sign it rules: Sagittarius.

And while I have my issues with the old gods, particularly Jupiter, who was guised as Zeus in the Greek myths, I have since seized back my Jupiter power and my rightful place on what was once his throne. No more persecution by the old religions who sought to shame me for my wanton way, I have taken my position in the spirit world that the patriarchal Jupiter/Zeus once ruled and turned what was once upsidedown rightside up. Hallowed be Lilith’s name.

Jupiter as an archetype in our charts rules all our link to the sacred, which is the root of religion: religio. This realm was stolen from us by the old patriarchy, ripped away like the ripping of the great forests away from our earth. Stolen from the people to whom the holy rites belonged. Stolen from our bodies through horrific abuse and persecution… by none other than that patriarchal god, Yahweh, and his minions. Yahweh, the war god, who as been the organizing principle for the majority of humans on this planet for 2000 years. That was his/the patriarchy’s central goal and purpose to conquer and control all.

No more.

Jupiter’s movement into Sagittarius marks a shift in how we relate to the holy WILD. How we relate and co-create with these powers. I have discovered, as many have, there are many other ways to invite these powers in.

Jupiter transiting its home sign of Sagittarius: November 8th 2018 – December 3rd, 2019

Jupiter’s Shadow Nature

A planet in its own sign can be one-sided and extreme. Without reflection, without pause, it pursues its aim with unearned confidence. It knows only how to be itself. Seeking its aim without shame. Needing no approval, it is sometimes impervious to being checked.

With this combination, that can translate into an increase in the proliferation of dogmatic philosophies. Proselytizing. Inflation. In general, Jupiter in Sagittarius is incredibly fortunate unless it is just impervious to common sense.

Faith without critical thought is delusion. Growth without a moral compass is corruption. Consuming as much as is possible is a greed that leads to deep, spiritual depression.

These are the shadows of Jupiter we must all watch for.

In our drive for success, we can easily get swept up in the inspiring energy of our visions and lose touch with what is truly best for the totality of who we are. Before we know it we may find ourselves walking a path which takes us further and further from our true self into an inauthentic false self through which we encounter and interact with the world around us. Living from this false self gradually starves our spirit (Jupiter), causing our vitality to drop considerably as a result.

Jupiter is asking us to consider how we go about looking after ourselves and maintaining our integrity.

Where is Jupiter’s transit at 4° Sagittarius occurring in your chart? What House is it in? What astral bodies will be aspect by this transit?

Jupiter Cycles

Because Jupiter has a 12 year orbit, whether or not you have any planets or points in Sagittarius, Jupiter is in the same part of your chart that it was 12 years ago. That means you are experiencing a growth spurt in the same area of your life that you did then (late 2006 – late 2007).