THE ASTROLOGY OF 2024 WITH THE SAGITTARIAN MIND
Hello, everyone, hope y'all are having a strong start to 2024.
I know the start of the new year is so tempting to feel like we need to re-brand ourselves, we need a makeover, we need to start doing all the things we failed to do the last few months leading up to this moment. I haven't made any resolutions for the last few years because I like to take things as they come. It's easier to notice what I need or what feels right in a day-to-day, week-to-week, or even month-to-month timeline. Also, I don't like to set myself up to fail. Of course, resolutions are always made with the best intentions, and I think many people have also expanded what resolutions look like. Sometimes, it's a vision board; sometimes, it's just a mantra or keyword for the year. I like people figuring out what works best for them in setting and achieving goals.
For me, when it comes to determining where is best to direct my energy and efforts—that's where astrology comes in. My favorite planet to follow is Jupiter. We should all pay attention to the Jupiter transit in our chart actually, because it's the planet of good luck and abundance. Typically, Jupiter transits a sign for one year, telling us where we'll experience expansion in our lives. Since last year and until May of 2024, Jupiter has been in Taurus, which means it's been hanging out in my first house. You can check your birth chart for the house ruled by Taurus to see where you've been feeling it.
Jupiter has been calling on me to expand my sense of self and identity. Uranus (the planet of sudden changes) has also been in my first house. I've definitely been feeling a tug for bigger changes in my life—although I haven't exactly figured out where to execute them. Does my style need to be reworked? I find myself thinking more about my appearance and how much energy I do or do not want to put into maintaining it. I've also been thinking about my purpose in the world in a larger sense—where is my career going? Am I being smart with the money that I'm making? Do I want to commit to living abroad and start laying down roots somewhere more permanently? These are some questions I hope to answer this year.
Today, I am discussing the major planetary transits of the year, including Jupiter, with Jason Fleming of Sagittarian Mind. You may remember him from a past newsletter I did about eclipses, or you've probably seen his color-blocked Instagram posts I often share on my stories. I'm fascinated by the fact that he's not a full-time astrologer (although he has been in the past) and has worked as a job recruiter for over 20 years. It's interesting to hear him talk about how aligned those two jobs are. He is also my book guru when it comes to astrology, and he shares so many incredible resources on his Instagram account. He is partially to blame for why I spend so much money on books. Anyway, I brought him back to do a deeper dive into how Jupiter, Mars, and Pluto will affect us this year. As always, when we're talking about astrology, it's helpful to pull up your own birth chart so you can see what houses of your chart will be affected by the transits.
What's your overall take on 2024? Sometimes, off the bat, astrologers say the year is going to be a tough one. I know it also depends on people's charts, but how are you feeling?
Jason: I would say “dynamic” to describe the energy going into this year. Collectively, we're being asked to take some risks to apply what we're learning. I think the message is: You're gathering all this information or understanding, and now it's time to ask what's concrete and how can it be applied tangibly to the world? Whatever it is, you are amassing information, and this is just my perspective, but it's not just for amassing information's sake. It's actually for building something. Even starting this year off with Mars going into Capricorn on January 4th, you could say from a very basic perspective Mars is about energy being applied. We came in with Mercury going direct in January. So, to me, that says that we had been internalizing our ideas and thought processes until then. Now, coming into the year, it's time to move forward. Our energy and our efforts, the way that we apply ourselves, which is Mars, is about something tangible, about actually building something that stands the test of time.
I like that perspective. Let's talk a little bit about you before we dive deeper, what were you like as a kid? What were you interested in?
Jason: I was very happy and friendly. I was into sports and reading. My dad would coach all of my Little League sports. On top of that, I grew up in a house full of books, so my curiosity surrounding pretty much anything started to grow. I was either on some sports field or at the library.
In true Sagittarius fashion, a love for learning. How did you discover astrology?
Jason: Amid my reading, I picked up an astrology book one day. I didn't have this aha moment. I had a group of books, one of which was an astrology book. Probably the first book I ever checked out of the library was Parker's Astrology book.
Oh yeah, I just got it last year, recommended by astrologer Dani Beinstein, it's a good one.
Jason: The first book I bought was Robin MacNaughton's Sun Sign Personality book. I started from there in high school. College was the first time I got a written chart for myself. I didn't talk to an astrologer, but you could send off for this pamphlet. It had all your different placements and everything. I read it and said, "Wow, this is interesting." I was really, really blown away.
Did you feel like it reflected who you were?
Jason: Yeah, after that, I started reading anything I could get my hands on. That's when I started to really take an interest in it for my own development. Even at that point, I still thought, well, this is nice, but when I get out of school, I'm going to get a real job. I didn't regard it as something with career potential.
I feel like that's so many people's experience. You think of astrology as just being this really fun thing. If you want to learn more about it, it's a helpful tool. But when you're also coming up at that age, you're not like, okay, I'm going to make this my career.
Jason: I wasn't putting two and two together about what astrologers actually did at that point. I was like, this is cool, but I wasn't saying you're going to be an astrologer or even having that concept until I actually started doing my job, which then catapulted me into the arena of understanding what astrologers actually did. I became a recruiter. Someone who talks to job seekers—working within a corporation, working as an independent consultant— to help them obtain employment. I've been doing that for almost 20 years. When I started doing that, working one-on-one with people, that's a skill that astrologers and counseling astrologers use, but I didn't know that that's what I was doing as far as transferable skills. You could say that as an astrologer, just as many people tell you that they don't like their job as when you're being a recruiter, right? You're still within that space of speaking about vocation. It's a different resume, right?
Your birth chart is a celestial resume. Being a recruiter, I'm looking at your employment history and your resume, and I'm talking to you about yourself in the context of what I'm reading on that piece of paper. In astrology, I'm reading your chart, and I'm talking to you about yourself in the context of that document. The skills transferred.
Totally. I love how aligned these two paths are.
Jason: Then it was at a point where I said, "Wow, you know what? I can make a career out of this." I went to the International Society for Astrology Research (ISAR) conference in 2009. I would advise anyone who's serious about becoming an astrological practitioner to at least attend a conference once.
I was just about to say, should I attend a conference? I've never actually considered it.
Jason: Well number one, just to meet people. It's one of the few times, unless you belong to some kind of local astrological organization, you're literally surrounded by people who speak your same language. You do not even have to switch up. You're not going to say, "Oh, this means that..." It's like being thrown into this whole warp, and even their jokes are astrological.
I love that. I'm googling the ISAR conference right now. Okay, thanks for putting something on my to-do list for 2024. I'm going to attend an astrology conference.
So, obviously, you still have a day job, but how did you also start to build this astrology business at the same time?
Jason: Working a lot of hours. In the beginning, I didn't necessarily have the flexibility. We're talking about when you had to go into an office. The way things have changed in the work world has helped me in terms of the flexibility that I need to build this practice continuously. It was like 8 am to 5 pm, and then after that, I'm seeing clients, and that was for a number of years.
I was full-time for three years. When it's going, it's going. When it wasn't going, I used to internalize and say, "Wow, it's slow. You sure that you're a good astrologer?" Until I realized there are many conditions as to why things are the way they are. When everything is great, that's when you're slow as an astrologer because nobody necessarily says, "I want to pay you to talk about how great my life is." Typically, it's when there's some uncontrollable factor, and people are in a state of uncertainty where you find yourself being busy, and Covid qualified because the first question was, "Hey, when is this thing going to be over?"
If you want to know what area of your life could be activated by these transits, take note of what zodiac sign each transit mentioned is in. For example: Pluto is moving into Aquarius. Check your natal chart for what house has the Aquarius symbol, if it's your 5th house, then you can use this chart to see what area of life that house represents.
Right now, I'm sure that the ending of a year into the new year is probably a hectic time. People want to know what their yearly forecast looks like, which is why I like to start the new year by giving people a little astrological guidance. With that, let's get into what's happening in 2024. What transit are you most excited about?
Jason: April 20th, Jupiter conjunct Uranus. I am excited about that because Jupiter is the signifier of opportunity, and Uranus is the mother of invention, and they are meeting. With Jupiter and Uranus, you have to take a giant leap when it comes to wanting to do something, deviating from the norm, and asking yourself, what do I normally do here? And do something different.
On a large scale, because this is a collective transit, we could say to ourselves: am I learning the same old thing? Is my understanding of a particular area of my life stale? Because Jupiter is about how we perceive and understand on a broader level. Then you have Uranus that says, let's deviate, let's invent, let's be true to ourselves, let's be authentic. Overall, this is an opportunity to learn what you want to learn, take a risk, and don't try to pin down one version of the truth. To examine yourself, examine your life, and be courageous to take the risk to move toward what speaks to you.
I'm excited about all the Jupiter transits this year, but I'm a Taurus rising, so I have Jupiter and Uranus in my first house right now.
Jason: Well, I know that you're an astrology enthusiast. I've seen your posts, I've seen some books you're reading, and you're not just reading basic astrology books. You're reading-
A big part of that is also because of you! Every time you post books, I just got the Lunation Cycle because you posted about it. I have about five more books coming. Every time you post about books, I have to stop myself from ordering every single one of them.
Jason: Dane Rudhyar is one of my favorite astrologers and has had a big influence on the way that I think astrologically. But yeah, a great use of that collectively would be for someone to take a class or just expand their learning on things that are off the beaten path or not necessarily invest too much concern over what other people think about what it is that they want to know, what they want to learn, even if it takes you outside of your social or cultural conditioning or some type of group because Uranus is the deconditioning factor. It could be, my parents tell me to get a real job, but I want to be an astrologer. My parents tell me I should major in something like STEM, but I want to do something else. Rebellion is also Uranus territory. Not conforming, invigorating oneself.
Now, we always have to talk about the challenging part of the planets, too, because, on a challenging level, Jupiter and Uranus can be that person that engages in reactive contrarianism, as I call it. There's a difference between saying, I know exactly why I'm deviating from this perspective in favor of my own, versus I'm going to look at what everybody else is doing and just do the opposite, just because I want to go against the grain with no actual reasoning. You have to know why you're doing what you're doing.
Yeah, then shortly after this conjunction with Uranus, Jupiter will be moving into Gemini on May 25th. What's that sort of flavor going to be like?
Jason: Gemini is curiosity. Gemini is ruled by Mercury, so you're talking about exercising your curiosity. You are talking about more than one thing, diversity of thought. Jupiter's still that learning function, that understanding function. I consider it a message about not feeling like you have to pin down one version of your truth. There are several ways that something can be true, and it may not always be the way that you think it is. It's okay for things to be simultaneously true. I tell people all the time about their charts. It doesn't have to be this or that. It can be both or to a greater or a lesser degree.
Understanding nuance, understanding how we analyze things, and the different angles from which we can do that. Collectively, based on events, based on things that are taking place, that transition is needed now more than ever because we all know how we can look at a video or something. Everybody is seeing it from a different angle, and we don't know that my perspective is more valid than yours or yours than mine. Sometimes, we tend to rank perspectives rather than look at them all as pieces of information.
I feel like Jupiter in Gemini is more along the lines of additional information. It's not me competing with you based on who's truer, but it's like, hey, you have this to add to the mix. I have that to add to the mix. By garnering a diversity of perspectives, then we're able to come closer to whatever the truth means. Because, again, we just don't know. That's another thing that we have to go into this phase saying to ourselves: we really don't know. And it's okay to say that, right?
I certainly don't know everything!
Jason: I always tell people that when we look at a chart, it means nothing until we start talking to an individual about that chart. We see the symbols on the page, but we haven't assigned any real meaning to them because this person, the client, is the other end of the equation here to help you navigate your life. It's not about us [astrologers] knowing, when I sit with the client, okay, let me tell you about your life. It's like, Hey, tell me about your life. Sometimes astrologers can think their job is about doing that— when your job is to respect this other person's experience and offer some new information that might help them see things with additional perspective.
That's been one of my biggest learnings over the last few years about astrology is that as much as we can hear about this transit and what it means and what it's supposed to do, you don't know until it shows up in someone's life. Two people can experience the same transit entirely differently.
Jason: Absolutely. That's something I try to explain to people wherever I can. When it comes to clients, I need your help. It's like a doctor. I can't sit you down and know exactly what you have. I have to ask you about your symptoms, what you're experiencing, and what you're going through. Then I say, "Ah, okay, okay. Is this happening? Is that happening? Ah." You're collaborating with that person.
I think many people can be skeptical of astrology, and they can go into a reading saying, I don't want to tell them anything about my life. I'm just going to let them talk. And it's like, that's not how you'll get the most out of it.
Jason: That's something I've had to explain before. Or go to a psychic, someone who will pull that type of information. This is a discussion.
Let's get into Jupiter squaring Saturn on August 19th.
Jason: Yes, and I feel those planets deserve one another because Saturn helps. Whenever Jupiter comes around, everybody's like, here's your pot of gold, here's your extra; more isn't always better. Jupiter expands what it touches for positive or negative. Saturn helps curb some of the excesses of Jupiter because you're talking about a planet that very much does not like waste, is more matter of fact, unpretentious, and is also a teacher like Jupiter. Jupiter is more theoretical, whereas Saturn is experience-based as far as I've lived. Jupiter might shout off the mountain tops or have a megaphone. Let's say Saturn is more the proof is in the pudding, and I'm telling you about what's happened, and neither is better than the other. They complement one another in the best sense if you're talking constructively.
We're being asked to bring what we're learning down to earth or in a concrete way people can understand. Sometimes, we want to congratulate ourselves for sounding so profound about something—and no one understands what we're talking about. So, Saturn says, "Well, how are we going to use this then?" You might be congratulating yourself because you sound like Socrates or something like that. But again, where's the practical application? That's where Saturn comes in and says, "Listen, let's simplify this."
Now, you take the same two planets and can have fear, doubt, and pessimism combined with knowledge. Healthy skepticism, when you talked about people being astrology skeptics, can be useful. Being skeptical and being cynical are two different things. Being a skeptic is just someone who says, "Huh, I'm not willing just to believe this." With all the astrological information out here, we have authorities, we have well-known people, and everything that everybody says is not going to hit in a way where it applies to everyone. Some people feel compelled to believe or internalize something based on who said it rather than whether it rings true to them or not. Sometimes, what they say just doesn't apply to you like that, even the best of the best. So, don't be afraid to say that because you're not getting any closer to what we would consider to be the truth if you're just accepting things because of whoever said it.
I'm taking in what you said about Jupiter squaring Saturn because I have Saturn now conjunct my natal Jupiter for the second time since Saturn entered Pisces in 2023. So, I feel like I can apply a lot of what you said to my own life as well.
Jason: On June 2nd, Jupiter trines Pluto, so you still have that interaction between Jupiter and Pluto, too, in which you take Jupiter, Pluto's intensification, the passion, and the fervor of delving into things.
Do your research when you're going to accept something. We're being called to take risks, examine things critically, and find our belief systems and truths through all of this. And guides aren't always exact instructions. When we talk about people, when we talk about books, those get the ball rolling and get us started. But ultimately, this points back to us as the ones who... Again, we started the year with Mercury direct, thinking for yourself, thinking for yourself in that way.
Even with the eclipses that we have coming up, the full moon lunar eclipse in Libra on March 24th, then the New Moon solar eclipse in Aries on April 8th. Aries wants to differentiate itself; Libra is the joiner. Libra is, oh, I'm going to Austin. And you're like, oh, I've been to Austin. But Aries is like, no, I'm from here, you're from there, and it's okay. Aries understands that the way of relating is okay, even if there's no commonality there. Those two eclipses impact how we relating to people, even based on differences. Listen, rather than feeling we have to act like we have something in common, or if your viewpoint drastically differs from mine, it does not mean we can't relate. There can be healthy disagreement. There can even be healthy conflict.
And it's an election year! So, lots of conflict coming our way.
Jason: People are going to disagree on those things so that we can respect one another, but we still don't have to pretend we agree. So Aries/Libra says it's more harmonious when it's honest. And especially, this is a conversation I've been having with clients with late-degree Cardinal suns, moons, and Venus'. Since Pluto is finishing up in Capricorn, they're getting that contact from Pluto's transit to those places, and Pluto says, "Let's be real here, versus can't we all just get along?"
I recently went through Pluto conjunct my moon. What's Pluto in Aquarius like? We experienced a little bit of it last year, but now it will be direct for all of this year, right?
Jason: It'll enter Aquarius on January 20th, but it will retrograde back to Capricorn one more time in May to finish it up. When you combine the factors of what I consider to be the realness and transparency of Pluto and you talk about the rebellious nature of Aquarius, people are not in a position to fake a lot of things anymore. I talk to people all the time who just get up and quit their jobs. They're tired of it. We're living in a world that's sick and tired right now of everything. And again, I've seen the world from a position where people will do anything to ensure what they consider to be their security.
People will say, I hate my job, but I have to keep working here. Or this is the way things have to be. My relationship, it has to be. People are done with things they don't want to do at the job. People are done with relationships that don't serve them. I think there's something to learn from this whole thing, like it's a form of liberation to many people. They're not even thinking about what's next in that regard. They just know they don't like what's in front of them, and they're ready to burn it all to do something about that. People who are three days on the job, like, I was in the middle of training, and I didn't like it, so I just decided to leave at lunchtime. That's a real thing.
That's kind of what happened to me when Pluto was conjunct with my moon. When I walked into the office on the day I quit my corporate job, I did not know that was the day I would quit. I knew I wanted to leave; I was trying to find the right time, but the day I did it, I was just like, I'm fed up with this. I got to go.
Jason: Whenever you have these long cycles, Pluto stays in a sign for an average of 21 years, there are several different themes to that. But one of them is I can't pretend anymore. I just can't sit here and act like everything is okay. Pluto is also begging to be acknowledged where the shadow side of things is concerned. The shadow that is not acknowledged comes out very awkwardly. The United States had its Pluto return, and there are many things that, in the name of being the greatest country in the world, so to speak, we try to gloss over, but it seeps out of the cracks.
I think in this passage of Pluto through Aquarius, people are more willing to look at the underside of things as another way of getting to the truth. You have Jupiter going in the Gemini, which is like, hey, let's look at the diversity of all this stuff. Maybe we can uncover some information that's going to help us. Pluto is saying, “Well, let's make sure that we don't just accept established norms, and let's not pretend this is where established norms have gotten us right now. Let's deviate from that, and see what we can come up with.” It's never this smooth, easy transition when you're talking about uncovering more or additional truth. It might even come at a price to certain people. That's how things have been. It's just not like, oh, that's nice. Thank you for discovering that. Some people have put their lives on the line to expose the truth.
But I think we're being asked to uncover our own. I mean, you could take it like that, on a micro level where the individual's concerned, and this all depends on how things hit your chart. I think that's part of living authentically, and I think that's what Pluto wants, for us to not pretend where that area of life is concerned, or if it's hitting a particular planet, not to pretend where that certain planet is concerned anymore. Would you say that was happening with your moon?
Yes, and because my moon is also conjunct my midheaven, I think it was really about me stepping into this different purpose. I left a corporate job to build something for myself, leading me to where I am today.
But before we run out of time, let's also touch on the September 17th eclipse in Pisces and the October 2nd eclipse in Aries.
Jason: Eclipses land differently with people. I feel like the Pisces eclipse is a break from what I would consider to be the rigor of the world. A reminder that there's a place for escape. When people use the word “escape,” people automatically equate it with running from something—but there are healthy escapes, as long as it's not overdone. Why do people like fantasy? Because it takes us away for a while. I feel like this eclipse is a message that we can't forget about dreaming and fantasizing. We can't forget about the more non-tangible aspects of life, especially in such a materialistic society. Pisces and Neptune, to some extent, I feel like are undervalued when it comes to these things because they deal with things that we can't see.
Ain't that the truth?
Jason: Yeah. Even to sleep is a sin in the grind culture that we live in. Pisces says, "Relax and zone out and get lost in your soul." So that feels relevant.
To close out, Mars retrograde in Cancer starting December 4th, that's going to be interesting since Mars is not operating at it's optimal in Cancer.
Jason: If I had to name a placement that people seem to have a lot of problems with within themselves, it's Mars in Cancer. They've either learned not to like this placement or heard all these things. Of course, Mars is exalted in Capricorn and in its fall in Cancer. But again, we look at an internalization of the Mars energy with the retrograde. Mars in Cancer, typically, the lesson is that things can be achieved without going directly at them. Mars in Aries, let's say, would go straight through the front door and bang the door down. Mars in Cancer is more indirect, it's the crab that walks sideways—but you can be just as effective with a more subtle approach.
Let's say you're at a mall with your partner, and they're yelling at the manager because they're not happy, and you say, "Hold on, let me talk to them." And you talk to them, and there's an entirely different result based on your style and how you've done things. Suddenly, you're walking out of the store happy or with a refund or whatever because you chose a different route in the way you decided to apply yourself. If you disagree with a person like someone, a family member, or a partner, there's more than one way to go about the situation or get the job done.
I think this transit also speaks that sometimes when we have a desire or we're planning for something, it's not the best thing to reveal them all at once. Some people are like, oh, I'm going to do this. Here's my goal. They put it all out here. They say, "Put it out into the universe." Sometimes, you might want to keep that to yourself for a while. I think Mars retrograde, the internalization of what you're going to do or how you're going to act; maybe it needs to stay with you for a while. Again, Mars in Aries says, I'm about to hit you in the face; watch this! Mars in Cancer might take a different route, but again, it is just as effective. So, for us to assume that there's only one effective way to use Mars.
We've just got to see how things unfold.
Jason: My general tone is hopeful— but it's active too. It's not passive. I think there are dynamic contacts, and this year, this is what the astrology is urging us to move toward.