Jupiter, the planet of blessings and expansion, will begin it’s yearly retrograde this April. What’s more is that the planet is transiting through its home sign Sagittarius, making an even stronger retrograde statement.

The planet reveals our unresolved karma that faithfully returns to us. It also connects us to our merit that we have yet to reap. Jupiter represents our heart chakra, and when we work with the collective chart, we are focused on the collective heart, which is sadly in a state of serious imbalance due to our selfish stance of judgement and boredom.

When Jupiter is retrograde, or any planet for that matter, it appears as if it is going backward from our point of view here on earth. Interestingly, planets are actually brighter when they are retrograde. But what does this mean for us aside from the fact that we have three planets beginning to retrograde in April (Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto)?

When anything is going in reverse, it needs to be very careful, so it needs more light. Think of when you back up your car and the white lights come on to warn others and illuminate the trajectory so you can back up to your ideal position, and change direction if need be when you’re ready to move forward again.

Retrogrades give us the ability to change course come time for forward motion.

A Jupiter retrograde gives us the ability to back up and review what’s been returning to us and change our actions so that we can change whatever is presenting itself in our reality. But the change won’t just happen on its own, we first need to utilize the retrograde period. There is a set of very specific collective challenges that, upon mastery, let us optimize our individual realities. The great thing is that this opportunity is available to the entire collective.

If we proceed through any retrograde unaware, it can create stress, no different than ignoring the weather forecast and wearing the wrong clothes.

This Jupiter retrograde period can be broken down into two types of challenges, the first is our ability to release burdens weighing heavy on our heart.

During the first part of this retrograde period from April 11th until June 7th, we are reviewing, looking within, and asking ourselves how free we really want to be. An overextending heart can bring problems in the long run as we tend to agree and adhere to pressures that imprison us.

Generosity is one of the qualities of the Jupiter chakra, but when it’s motivated by a need to be accepted or an overblown sense of responsibility, it reveals a hidden agenda possibly masquerading as generosity.

Though retrogrades give us the light to find what’s normally hidden from us, we still need the courage to do something about it. Just think of it as a stocktake where we recount our actions and choices to see where we’ve been off. Specifically, we are looking at where we have felt burdened by inspiration or positivity. For example, someone gives us a good idea and we feel victimized by the mere thought of implementing it.

If we have felt this way before, we can be certain that some hidden expectation has yet to be fulfilled.

During Jupiter retrogrades, we want to eliminate these hidden expectations so that we can heal our hearts and be able to activate our talents and blessings. What’s more is that because Jupiter rules Sagittarius, the retrograde is extra tempering. One of the challenges of Jupiter retrograde (in any sign) is the propensity to stray from what helps us grow and go find a comfort zone of spiritual fiction.

Expectation really is like waiting for the perfect situation to come along to act, but the problem is that we could be waiting forever. Rather, when we act without hidden expectation, we make the best out of any situation and bend it to our heart's desire. In order to do that, we need to be organized, passionate and hard-working, there is no exception to it.

If you have been suffering from a low will to live, fear of intimacy, or possessiveness, you will be able to lay the groundwork to release these patterns during Jupiter retrograde. Again, we need to ask ourselves how free do we want to be? Free of controlling others, or trying to control how they see us or wanting approval from our friends or parents? It’s time to let go of self-imposed burdens, which include projects that we have started but can’t complete, or to let go of priorities so that we can complete them.

The ego will try to convince us there isn’t enough time, But in truth, there is an unlimited amount of time. We just need to slow down and meditate to access it.

During the second part of this retrograde period from June 7th until August 11th, we will be called to open our hearts to challenge our positions.

This second period is when Jupiter is transiting an area of the zodiac where we set up our boundaries and hold firm to them like zealots. It’s a matter of ego, or principal, even if we have a big picture, we reject the notion of an even bigger picture. Anyone who knows someone with a lot of Sagittarius in their chart has encountered these situations when all you can do is agree to move on!

So while Jupiter, our heart, transits through this sector of Sagittarius, we will be summoned to open ourselves to pre-challenge our stances. If we can do this with honesty, and interrogate ourselves as strongly as we do others, come Jupiter direct, we will have made the world a better place.

How you ask?

In a world, where everyone is quick to judge and defend limited perspectives with so much vigor, we don’t realize that this contributes to collective negativity. Narrow-mindedness, comes in many forms and it can even be disguised as open-mindedness, but upon honest reflection, we’ll see that at its root it’s just contempt seeking an excuse to express itself.

So, whenever we use Sagittarius honesty to look within and become brutally brave, and maybe even open ourselves to a bigger picture, we attain peace and contribute that energy signature into the world.

Many times, we spend so much strength wanting to be right, we rarely get the opportunity to use that same strength to prove ourselves wrong. Jupiter retrograde in this part of the zodiac will offer us this opportunity.

When Jupiter goes direct, we can establish our boundaries again, and hold to them, but with a bigger heart and generosity to educate others rather than attack them for having an alternative point of view. We will come to find that we no longer need to be defensive, but truly open-minded to whatever we deem unimaginable.

If we cannot accomplish this bigger perspective, Jupiter will render reality with yet another round of the same old spin. It might be with new people or in a new place, but the story will be essentially the same if not more intense.

To help make the most of this Jupiter retrograde in Sagittarius, I would like to suggest an Astrolochi Heart Chakra Meditation that can be done every day.

Heart Chakra Healing: I Perceive.

Sit with legs crossed or in half lotus position in front of your altar, light an incense stick, (if you have a candle there light it as well) reach up with your arms as far as you can and bring the energy down into your body by slowly lowering your arms.

After that sit with your hands in prayer position in front of your heart chakra.

The prayer position indicates your single-mindedness towards all that is unified and of highest good - the heart chakra is located in the middle of your chest, ruled by Jupiter.

Your focus will be on your heart chakra. Silently or out loud say: I Perceive

Set a timer and do that for 7 minutes every day, best are mornings, for the entire Jupiter retrograde transit.

Throughout your day contemplate what you perceive and how.

Collective Pulls You Might Feel and How to Overcome Them:

• Pull: Delaying and hold onto things.

  • Solution: Let them go and move on

• Pull: Hoarding ideas.

  • Solution: share them with others.

• Pull: Trying to do everything yourself.

  • Solution: Delegate.

• Pull: Defending your point of view

  • Solution: Challenge your own points of view.

• Pull: Remaining defensive and closed-hearted.

  • Solution: Do the meditation before you make a choice.

• Pull: Feeling rushed.

  • Solution: Meditate.

• Pull: Find yourself with a hidden agenda.

  • Solution: Give freely, or set your terms openly.