Here are some musings that occult author and teacher Jason Miller sent around via email:
There are a lot of misconceptions about Jupiter and Jupiterian Magic. I wrote a book and teach a course that focus on Jupiter, so of course I get asked about them a lot. I thought it might be helpful to answer these questions all in one place…
ISN’T JUPITER THE GOD OF the 1%? THE RICH ASSHOLES DESTROYING SOCIETY?
No. The god for hoarding wealth is Pluto. It’s the reason that in English, the uber wealthy are called Plutocrats. Jupiter, by contrast is a God of good governance, and if anything is a force that tries to ensure that wealth serves both individual freedom and societal good. Juno Moneta, the wife of Jupiter, is literally where we get the word money from.
WHAT IF JUPITER IS IN RETROGRADE? CAN I DO THIS MAGIC THEN?
Are you able to call upon Hekate when Hekate is in retrograde? Or Hestia? Or Demeter? The question doesn’t make any sense because those Gods aren’t planets, and therefore cannot be in retrograde. Well, just because a planet is named after Jupiter, doesn’t mean that it is Jupiter. Get it? Jupiter is more than a planetary force and while I don’t want to argue with the astrologers, my position is that naming something after someone doesn’t restrain their influence.
Yes. What we do in Sorcery of Jupiter, or for that matter any magic calling upon the God Jupiter, is not dependent upon the planetary position, any more than Hekate’s influence is hampered by the behavior of the asteroid named after her.
WITCHES AND MAGICIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OUTSIDE THE BOUND OF SOCIETY, THIS SOUNDS LIKE ITS ABOUT MAKING ACHIEVEMENTS WITHIN SOCIETY. WHATS THE DEAL?
There are two ways to be outside of bounds. You can step outside the bounds or you can extend beyond them. Rejecting society and all of its pursuits, to exist purely in the wilds, is a valid magical and mystical path. The Jupiterian path though is about expanding your reach so much that it encompasses society, and extends above it and beyond it.
Yes, there are Witches that are defined by their rejection of society, but there are also those who thrive within it precisely because they can see beyond it. Why do you think magical people were called upon to advise Rulers in times past?
ISN’T JUPITER A WOMANIZING GOD WHO CHEATS ON HIS WIFE WITH ANYTHING THAT MOVES?
You are thinking of Zeus, not Jupiter. These are inter-related forms but not the same. I don’t claim any facts about where one begins and the other ends, but one of the reasons that I prefer to call upon Jupiter rather than Zeus (and most Roman deities instead of Greek counterparts) is that there is a lot less drama, rivalry, and sexual impropriety. The relationship between Jupiter and Juno is solid. The relationship between Zeus and Hera is…. Well…. Strained is an understatement.
I also need to point out that we can’t simply judge the past through the moral lens of the present. People simply didn’t think the same way back then. It’s also a mistake to assume that Gods don’t change over time and between places.
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