Historic Eco Pad Yatra in the Himalayas from Manali to Ladakh in 2009; Photo
by Drukpa Publications Pvt. Ltd.

On Jan 17 and 18, the planet Venus will square (make a 90 degrees angle) Jupiter in tropical Virgo from the sign of Sagittarius. Both planets are seen to have a positive effect on one another, as classical “benefics”. However, Jupiter’s presence in Virgo and the tension of the square makes this a slightly uncomfortable integration, but one that may be easier to resolve. Venus in Sagittarius highlights a longing for expansion and new experience, boundless freedom to pursue its desires.

Yet, Jupiter in Virgo must contend with practical realities. But, in our logical understanding, we must realize that for an adventure to truly succeed, we need to be prepared. You wouldn’t attempt to climb the Himalayas without the proper training or equipment. Well, maybe you would, but I can assure you that would be rather stupid. And conversely, self-improvement needs some higher philosophy to guide it, some lofty aspiration or ideal, otherwise, the routine becomes monotonous and meaningless.

So, Venus is the ideal adventure or new experience and Jupiter is the need to realistically organize some things to get there. The good news, something in your life is just so boring and devoid of passion that it pushes you to make a change, to begin looking to a new horizon and to pull some details together to get you to the mountaintop. Jupiter recently turned retrograde, and thus you will either need to extend yourself outward to seek help and guidance from those wiser or more knowledgeable than yourself, or you may feel the need to step back and reflect a bit before really moving forward.

But, squares are all about taking action. Dissatisfaction is your guiding light. Follow that urge to change something up in your life, maybe something small or something big—either way, it will have a large impact, because that’s just how Jupiter does things. If you don’t, you’ll probably find yourself nagging, nitpicking and complaining about how boring and dull everything is. Or, maybe you’ll get into an unnecessary ideological debate over petty points of conflict. Or, maybe this aspect will pass without making much of statement for you, but will still require your participation in some subtle way. And on that subtle level, you’ll need to express this; you’ll need to make a change.