Jupiter entered the sign of Cancer at 6:40p on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. With its reputation for growth and expansion, and when combined with Cancer’s watery and rather maternal energy, you can be sure that the mighty, jolly Jupiter is about to bring forth a “mother lode” of nurturing, caring, protective maternal energy (and yes, the pun was intended).
Yet in this case, there can be too much of a good thing. Jupiter in Cancer can increase our capacity for nurturing and protecting our emotional interests and/or our awareness of what we give that nurturing and protective energy to. However, for those of you who are already fairly protective and nurturing of what we are emotionally connected to, Jupiter in Cancer could bring an excess of that archetypal maternal energy. The desire to be a “helicopter mom” over your emotional investments – regardless of your actual gender – may be high or higher than usual over these next 12-13 months (until July 2014).
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term “helicopter mom” or “helicopter parent”, it refers to parents who are so protective of their children that they “hover” over them in every way they can. This over-protection often leaves the children unable to function well as adults because they’ve had someone do everything for them or shield them from anything or anyone ”negative” – the children may end up unable to handle criticism or competition or any real world functional challenges because they have been so sheltered from the truths and realities of those dynamics that they’ve never experienced them until they are left alone.
Unable to cope in the “real world” without the protection or constant approval of their parents, the children of “helicopter parents” often end up living with their parents as adults or otherwise being highly dependent (if not co-dependent) on others for their identities or for creating an illusion of “success” in their lives. It is only once the child develops a sense of self-responsibility and full ownership for their lives does their life begin to stabilize and earnest success begin to be established in their lives.
In some “helicopter” cases, the children actually want more independence and autonomy, and it is the parents who are so needy emotionally, they cannot allow their children to do their own thing or become their own persons because it is the parents themselves who are afraid of being abandoned or alone. These more self-aware children often seek escape routes from their parents – lifestyles and/or life paths that allow them to sever ties with their parents (sometimes permanently) so they can establish and maintain their “freedom”. This can be devastating for the hovering parent, and the parent may project their maternal need onto others in substitution – another highly co-dependent behavior.
Capricorn in is opposite the sign of Cancer in the Zodiac, and represents archetypal “daddy” energy – goal-oriented, ambitious, results-driven, completion-minded energy. It is the energy needed to balance out the nurturing and caring “mommy”, and in that balance, it enables you to be able to care for yourselves yet to also get things accomplished in your lives. But with Jupiter in Cancer, the super-sizing effect of Jupiter builds up the presence of this maternal energy making it so strong over the next year, it may be difficult to focus on what all of your nurturing and caring is really intended to do – to teach “your babies” how to care for and nurture themselves so they can stand strong in the outside world.
After looking at the abundance of energy in water signs right now, and looking at the other “outer” planets in water signs right now (Chiron in Pisces, Saturn in Scorpio, Neptune in Pisces) I’d say that this 2013-2014 Jupiter in Cancer experience will be much like it being time for what you have been committed to nurturing and caring for to leave your maternal and protective care. In this case, when you “baby” is leaving the nest, can you let go and let him/her/it fly?
You may find that as these changes begin to occur, you become increasingly aware of your emotional investment(s) in what you have nurtured and cared for. This is great, but there is a caveat – as what you’ve been committed to changes, you may find that you, too, must change – especially if that means that you’ve done all you can and it’s time for your “baby” to leave the nest. As you turn to do so, you may notice that you have been committed to your “children” to the exclusion of everything else, and you may be left with nothing else to focus that nurturing energy upon.
That is where this 2013-2014 Jupiter in Cancer, at least from the onset, is fabulous!
About 12 hours after Jupiter enters Cancer, Mercury goes into retrograde motion in Cancer. When this happens, the “mommy” mindset goes within – it shifts the focus of this energy within you onto yourself. That means that for the first four weeks of this 2013-2014 Jupiter in Cancer, you are being blessed with an opportunity to focus on yourself and to recognize how you can better nurture, care for, and protect yourself emotionally. Mercury Retrograde acts as a set of “training wheels” to support you from the beginning in making this a healthy and positive Jupiter in Cancer cycle.
This is your chance to take care of your inner child – for you to give yourself the maternal love that you may have been seeking outside of yourself or through your own children by providing it to them “for them”. It may also be a chance for you to learn how to give yourself the mothering that you’ve grown so accustomed to giving to everyone else. And once you learn how to do this, then you get to grow in your capacity to do this so that you can care for others in healthy, positive, and balanced ways that also nurture and care for you – interdependency. “Mothering” is no longer a one-sided deal – it’s something that you get to share with everyone, including yourself!
Give yourself the gift of nurturing and mothering yourself during this 2013-2014 Jupiter in Cancer. In grounding your “helicopter”, you allow your loved ones and yourself to take flight and be free to be all you are intended to be in this lifetime.
Thank you for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers. Until next post…
~ Light, Love, and Blessings,
Grace
