Jupiter dives into Cancer at 9:40p EDT tonight, returning after an eleven year absence. Jupiter is said to be very well placed in Cancer, and you can read more about it in this short article. Jupiter is about expansion and growth, and is associated with higher levels of the law, as well as foreign cultures. Cancer is about home, kinship, and clan. Gemini is about almost everything, but peers and local issues are prominent with this sign.

In the news recently, we can see a number of issues that relate to Jupiter transitioning from Gemini to Cancer. Jupiter is associated with judges, and the Supreme Court in the United States has been very active on issues like voting rights and affirmative action, and just today issued a ruling on a very Cancerian topic, saying that a Native American child did not have to be returned to her biological parent.

Perhaps the most compelling Jupiter transition is the immigration reform bill that will be passed by the U.S. Senate, an agreement hammered out with Jupiter in the last degree of Gemini. However, the bill is doomed to failure when it arrives in the House of Representatives, when Jupiter will be in the more xenophobic sign of Cancer.

And sadly, Nelson Mandela appears to be on the verge of passing out of this world, just days shy of his 8th Jupiter return, at age 94. Mandela has Jupiter at one degree of Cancer, and his sun is also in the sign. Ninety-four is a ripe old age, and on a personal level it is sad but not a tragedy. Yet we recognize that Mandela stands for something beyond his personal self, and we find too few leaders with his courage and determination. His passing reminds us that such leaders will become increasingly rare as time goes on - and more of the responsibility falls to us as individuals.