How To Be Happy In Life

garden cabbage

I’m deleting old posts to clean up my database. I found this, written in 2011. It references, Pluto in Capricorn and now here we are…
~~~
eva writes on Why Are People Unhappy:

“You know honestly I think people in this country have somehow weirdly been trained to be unhappy. My grandmother, and my mother, just had a high pain threshold and they just took the sorrow with the gravy.

(snip)

People are unhappy because all they know how to be is personally disappointed that their lives did not live up to, say, Star Wars. Or Donald Trump. Or whatever. My grandma would just laugh if she were here. Not because she thought these people were stupid but because her knees and arms were bruised and there was almost no money left, and still when she went out to the garden, her cabbages were absolutely gorgeous.”

I agree with, eva. I have interest in this subject and I’ve written about happiness and satisfaction from a number of angles. I have it but somehow happiness seems elude others. I’ve marveled about this since the day I got to town from the desert and began to socialize outside my family. It opened my eyes.

We could just leave this here but I think most agree that we are headed for dark(er) times around the globe, with Pluto in Capricorn, etc. and I just don’t know people who have a lack here are going to cope. I actually don’t think they are going to be able to. They’ll jump from buildings, kill themselves and others and create all kinds of mayhem, rather than try to address their chronic disappointment which is clearly internal.Ā  I am wondering if you are unhappy when you life is pretty good, or even very good, what are you going to when it’s not that good, or even bad or terrible, really?

Jupiter is the planet that lifts a person’s spirits. Jupiter types are naturally happy and buoyant. It follows that if you’re chronically down, the Jupiter function in your chart is probably underdeveloped. Jupiter rules faith and your beliefs. It rules perspective and offers you a world view.Ā  If you get anywhere near this energy, you are bound to feel better.

I don’t care who you are or where you are or what your problem is. I guarantee that if you expand your view (Jupiter) you will have no problem finding someone who has it infinitely worse than you do. With the access to the Internet, it should take less than 60 seconds to find this other person who has problems that dwarf you own. This has the effect of your putting your problems in perspective.

I don’t know why people don’t do this.Ā  Eva’s grandma did it.Ā  She was having a bad day, until she included a cabbage (expanded her paradigm) and as soon as she did – voila.

Have you developed Jupiter in your chart? Why or why not?

53 thoughts on “How To Be Happy In Life”

  1. ok… ive developed Jupiter, even tho ive have a 12th house Saturn, and aspects like Sun square Pluto… so ill fall down the abysm and lift myself up.

    I think that the 1st time i heard the following sentence came from u: “We choose to be offended”… and it applies to everything as we choose to be unhappy, and so on. Anyway, ive always said love, but in this case life, is like a rose, its full of thorns, but still beautiful.

    @ my wealth joke… ive say money isnt all, i rather and like to be rich in spirit.

  2. Being a Jupiter kid I am usually happy. But I never started living happy until at the age of 16 when my grandmother broke down and said she is poor, and there won’t be any money when she dies.

    But I sat on her bed comforted her and said “don’t you love us” and she replied “yes”. Well you have just given us everything we’ve ever needed.

    I think my Jupiter is fairly developed. Because even in the darkness there is still light.

  3. As a pisces, with Jupiter and Venus there too, comparing my life to that of those less fortunate doesn’t help at all, as it simply reminds me of all the things wrong with the world which I feel impotent to change (leading to more unhappiness!). I did tell myself I was lucky to have a home etc. but this just enslaved me to it.

    A couple of months ago Chiron transited my fourth house Jupiter and I lost the damn house! The worst thing I could have imagined happening happened, and it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I thought my son and I would be out on the street, but friends and family were extremely supportive. While we’re still living out of suitcases and it’s far from ideal, we’re actually fine, and I feel more lucky than I have ever felt before.

    As you say, I needed to put things in perspective, but there was no way I could think myself there. I needed a catalyst, and so the universe provided one for me. So who knows, maybe Pluto in Capricorn will have its benefits after all.

  4. A couple of months ago Chiron transited my fourth house Jupiter and I lost the damn house! The worst thing I could have imagined happening happened, and it was the best thing ever. I thought my son and I would be out on the street, but friends and family were extremely supportive and I feel more lucky than I have ever felt before.

    As you say, I needed to put things in perspective, but there was no way I could think myself there. I needed a catalyst, and the universe provided one for me. So who knows, maybe Pluto in Capricorn will have its benefits after all!

  5. sun/venus in sag trine my jupiter/leo. probably the best thing of my whole chart. i feel happiness is a decision. i’m sure we all have many reasons (money, family woes, career) to bring us down while we often ignore what’s really important: a loyal mate, healthy kids, sharing laughs with friends, etc.

    it doesn’t have to be difficult. at least, i don’t think it does.

  6. Iam a Sag rising, and Jupiter in Scorpio in the 11th house. I am pretty happy person. I can bounce back like no other. My bank account can have $10.00 in it, but all the bills paid and food on the table, and I am happy because I have everything I need with my family.

  7. Neptune conjunct my Jupiter seems to confuse it and drag it down sometimes, or give it false optimism. Plus I have Sun square Saturn, which can get depressed. But… happily, Jupiter is transiting my MC and 10th and making nice with my 1st house planets. Over the coming years, when things globally look pretty bad, my progressed Sun will conjoin progressed Jupiter in my 4th house, which I’m counting on to help!

  8. My 8th house Jupiter opposes my Libra moon, and squares my NN/Venus conjunct. If anything, the Jupiter in my chart seems to behave like a Saturn placement. Where a different Jupiter placement could offer some levity in a chart, this one makes certain there’s none; if I’m reading it correctly. I have all the angst of a Jewish Virgo, no matter how miserable the next guy is, or what kind of positive spin I try and put on things. ‘Putting the spin on’, while necessary for most of my life; is arduous and taxing — as I’ve made a career of it. Playing dumb about how shitty things are is easier, and about as good as it gets here. One might think while reading this that I’ve elected to be miserable, but quite the contrary. I’m saying that with my setup, being anything short of ready to open an artery; is a job that requires constant vigil, and offers no rest. Pollyanna, I’m not.

  9. My Jupiter is conjunct my descendent, pretty much exactly, at 7 degrees Aquarius. Saggitarius sits in the fifth house.

    I am affable and encouraging to people at work. I have a had a helluva time with partnerships. I think I need to do more to develop Jupiter. Not sure how. I value friendships as well (moon mercury in gemini in 11th house).

  10. Can’t help but be all Jupiter – Jupiter in its natural home, in the 9th conjunct my midheaven trine with Mars/Uranus/Pluto. I’ve got the wherewithal to act on my Jovial buoyancy. Saggie sun too.

    No it’s not all rosie and lightness. lots of hard times I’ve had to overcome but I agree with eva’s grandmother, there is always beauty in one’s life.

  11. It’s often something quite ordinary that raises your spirits when things look dark isn’t it? A kid laughing, a sunset or fresh snow, a cabbage yep! (Sag Moon, Jup tr Nep and Sextile Venus )

  12. I have Jupiter right on top of my Sun at 22 degrees of Cancer. Not a day goes by when I don’t marvel at how lucky I am. I used to think this Jupiter position is what blessed me with incredible fortune- amazing parents, a beautiful house, loyal friends, an abundance of personal possessions, etc… But now I wonder, is it really “luck”? Or am I just able to appreciate everything I have more than the average person?

    Maybe I don’t have the most amazing parents in the world, or the most beautiful house, etc.. but it sure feels that way to me! šŸ˜€

  13. I have a question-
    Take “Sun square Jupiter”, for example. My sun is in Scorpio- if someone else’s sun is in Leo or whatever, does that sun square mean something different?

  14. Jupiter in Leo, first house. I have had bad things happen to me, but I feel I am a survivor, there is ALWAYS a way out, or a better way, and somehow I find it. Whenever I do get “down”, I look around and see someone having a worse time than me, and I feel better. I know that sounds bad…but it is true.

  15. I have Jupiter in Pisces conjunct Chiron in the 2nd house. I think I find the best things in lie come from being compassionate and helping other people.
    When troubles knock, I am comforted by thinking about what I have (food,shelter, health, friends) rather than what I don’t have. I have also learned to follow my intuition.
    Over Twenty years ago, my grandfather told me that people “starting out” in life now want everything that it took people like him a lifetime to get (nice house, car, etc.). In the interim 20 years, i think this sentiment has only gotten worse. So, if that is one’s expectation- I think they are asking for a lifetime of disappointment.
    You have to take satisfaction and joy in the smaller things in life – like absolutely gorgeous cabbages!

  16. Quite hard to be naturally with a Cancer Saturn Rx opposing my Sun/Venus and draining purpose and energy from conjunct my Rx Mars…..

    But luckily my Sun/Venus, although Saturn-ruled, are in H5, so I have compensated all this tendency to depression by filling my life with beautiful places and things, fun and good company, good food and wine, and love. And animals! My surroundings have always been immensely important to me so I’ve ensured I always love somewhere which brings me some degree of joy.

    In short, I’ve tempered the depressive tendencies in my chart by ensuring bursts of joy, and feeding the aesthetic elements of my chart, even if I’ve never attained happiness for very long.

    I’m not sure happiness is an inherently stable thing, in any case – it comes and goes for most of us. Maybe it’s a Cap take on the subject, but I’m not sure we are meant to be ‘happy’ … and it’s always hard to be, if you are a thinking person, concerned with the way things are going in the world

  17. Oh yes, I have Jupiter and the Sun conjunct in Pisces. No matter how damned hard I try to be the lay-in-bed-all-day, wildly woeful, depressed and gloomy person it just never seems to happen all the way. It’s frustratingly hilarious (square Saturn!).

  18. Agree, totally agree. I believe its the culture of “comparisons” and glamor that has mainly contributed to most of the greed and sorrows we are facing. If we just remain happy (not by having every material thing but by habit), we need not remain worried about what the other person is eating or driving or wearing. Its all in the MIND.

  19. Oh, I already commented on the other post, about that: I’m not sure that I would survive. I have some happiness, and have buckled under other things.

    Jupiter in the 5th, sextile venus, trine neptune & mc, square saturn, opposed pluto.

    I’ve always done my best to appreciate what I have, and have been very happy in the past, but I’m not now. I’m hugely aware of what you point out, and at times, it only makes me feel worse, because I know that I *should* be happier.

  20. I’m talking basic things that make one happy- like a real, loving partnership. not the perfect partnership that doesn’t exist, just perfect for *me*. other things, too.

  21. Jupiter trine Mars (also in mutual reception).

    I’m quite lucky that my actions (and decisions) doesn’t create any more havoc than I can handle.

    Jupiter in 7th house helps me to be quite content with my siblings (well… most of them). Mars in 3rd house wants to go on crusades.

    I’m happiest when I can find information (3rd) which helps my siblings (7th) , which in turn keeps them looking out for my best interests (my Moon creates it’s own havoc).

  22. Jupiter in capricorn retrograde. Don’t seem to feel the lifting of spirits or season of luck with this one, especially during a jup return–always seems like much of life is a climb.

    Consequently, I don’t rely on jupiter in my chart for these purposes, get strength from other areas to persist and carve out a path. I am a citizen of Determi Nation

  23. Jupiter in Leo in the 2nd house. Every now and then I get on the pitty pot then I get to thinking wow I got it pretty damn good. When I bitch about cleaning up the messy house I stop and think,hmm I have people that I love messing it up and I have a house to clean. Some people don’t have a place to set there heads to sleep. Then after I while I tend to feel guilty! How messed up is that,lol! 12th house Sun perhaps…

  24. Jupiter is at 29 degrees Aquarius in my 4th House conjunct my IC at 24 degrees. It’s the base of my chart. It and Saturn (also in Aquarius) are the only Air represented. This placement helps me to remember that happiness can be a choice… If I ‘think’ happy thoughts and not dwell (which my Scorpio would prefer), then I will find happiness.

  25. I think alot of people mistake dissatisfaction with unhappiness. It’s easy to slide into whining when this happens. And it’s easy to peg people who are dissatisfied with something, as inherently unhappy.

    I admire people who are genuinely happy, but never give up striving to improve an unsatisfactory condition, whether it be internally, or out there in the big ole’ world.

    Jupiter in Aquarius, 4th house. But I’ve also got Saturn there.

  26. Jupiter and Venus conj in the 11th H, and is my trapeze across the crocodiles, time and again. In good aspects to the woman warrior Scorp-Saturn cowlick signature, when I sidestep the suffering and come up with creative ways to gather with friends I am bouyed.

    I’ve become more and better connected with the Jupiter-Venus in Sag energy and I like its happy-making addition to my life; and people around me are SO glad about it, too!

  27. You know what’s weird? When I was younger, suicidal urges would come and go, and they plagued me for years.
    But since Pluto went into Cap (or crossed my ASC, don’t know which)–I get depressed, but not suicidal. Not sure why. But I’m not going to question it.
    I do have a yod in my chart pointing to the 5th house, so “divine discontent” will probably always be with me (what I’ve read indicates this is something you have accept with yods.) I’ve been happy enough.

  28. My mama had all her kids attention and support in one form or another all her life. She was ornery though and tried to go through all her money before she died just so there wouldn’t be anything left to the estate. She had a good life by her own admission but felt her kids got in the way and kept her from being the social butterfly she wanted to be when she as if she were 16. The sad truth was her father died when she was 11 and she was given more responsibilty than she was ready to handle. She always wanted to return to some carefree time that never happened. That craziness effected her perspective for her whole life.

  29. Sag conj. Neptune rising, Jupiter conj. Mercury Leo 8th. My deep, sunshiny optimism is a source of great strength, but also a bit of a curse. Neptune can get in the way, and I’ll be “happy” but in a state of self-delusion. As I’ve matured, I’ve learned to be more satisfied with what I do have, and less inclined to long for those big dreamy things that are unlikely to be. It’s the longing that breeds discontent, IMHO.

  30. My nickname as a kid was “Miss Mope” I was miserable when I was younger but I think I just got sick of plugging into the saturn/cap in my chart & switched over to the jupiter/9th.

  31. I agree with this. (Also with maureen who said that people confuse dissatisfaction with unhappiness, but that’s off subject.)

    But this post made me angry. Elsa and many other people on this blog seem to be extraordinarily well balanced people with good, old fashioned values. I hate always feeling like a filthy modern degenerate, lol.

  32. :). Aw! Thanks for the cabbage picture for my grandma. She’d be pretty happy to see that.

    I miss her.

    I’m not sure how much of this trait has filtered down to me. But somebody told me once the ability to thrive on very little, with no validation, no love or company or help — all that has to do with Scorpio. Scorpio seems to just absolutely refuse to give up and die under the most extreme conditions. I’ve noticed I am like that and my son is too. It’s not necessarily a capacity for happiness, it’s just an instant adjustment to reality.

    Might be a different concept from being naturally happy, but I think it figures in there somewhere.

  33. Elsa, thank you for this post. You had told Xenia many months ago that you would write about Jupiter, and I’ve been waiting. This really clarified something for me, in my chart, and in my life.

    My life has been difficult, mostly ruled by my sun/pluto conjunction, squaring Saturn. Pluto regularly goes through my life, ripping it apart, so that I get to put it all together again. Throughout my life, there has also been what I refer to as my “bounce back”. No matter what happens, eventually I will be back, brighter, stronger, for it all. Even over the last two years of hell, I’ve noticed it. I’ve never felt “lucky” in life. Life has been one struggle after another, so I’ve had difficulty resolving my Jupiter/Sun, very wide conjunction (Jupiter is at least not squared by Saturn). As a result of this post, I realized that this conjunction is probably responsible for this bounce back phenomenon in my life. Because I am now able to see it as clearly as I have been focusing on the sun/pluto/saturn morass, I think now I can embrace the fact that I can rely on that bounce back, in a way that I haven’t been able to up until now. Knowing that, I can also begin to focus my energy in that direction. Aha, now I understand what this time when transiting Jupiter is trining my natal Jupiter means.

  34. Avatar
    mudlikesubstance

    I agree with the overall problem and diagnosis. I think my chart is a bit of an odddball with the t-squares. I’m not prone to happiness. Contentment and a bit of peace here and there yes, which I cherish mightily when I get it but happiness, no, not really. When everything is going singingly the other shoe ALWAYS drops. Adversity and “Things fall apart” (an excellent book btw) kind of cycle through my life and I’m actually more at peace when I’m building and fixing things that have fallen apart. Not just in my life, but for others around me. The adversity and challenge is where I function best and feel the best about myself is when I’m “making better” of something.

    I don’t know if this makes sense or not but I often wonder if those who “have it all” or atleast seem to must not be just utterly miserable as they didn’t work to get it and so have no sense of self-worth for what they have. I value what I create by my own two hands and that gives me contentment in the extreme. But not outward bouncy, happiness.

  35. I can relate to evas story and her grandma, and what you wrote. I have both sides of the equation. sometimes, yes, I do feel disappointed in the way things have (not)turned out, but I always remind myself of how much good there also is in my life,and how fortunate I am, and how much suffering there is out there.

    Cabbages never fail to make me happy (as a symbol for the whole garden). Just seeing something in the garden thriving is always a cause for gratitude.

  36. for some reason cabbages and gratitude makes me think of this:

    “The time has come,” the Walrus said,
    “To talk of many things:
    Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
    Of cabbages–and kings–
    And why the sea is boiling hot–
    And whether pigs have wings.”

  37. I have a strong Jupiter/Sag/9th house signature in my chart. I grew up around WWII survivors and Vietnam vets. My dad was interrogated (tortured) by the Japanese during WWII and he was only 14 (long story).

    It’s not a rosy picture, really. Everyone in my community had their demons to deal with, and most of them did so without hurting anyone else, while raising families and staying married, working jobs. I wouldn’t say they all had a joie de vivre, but there was a certain stoic gratitude – the lack of disappointment, the ability to enjoy simple pleasures – that I don’t see so much among my generation. I don’t think it takes war to get us to be grateful, it just takes a longer perspective, an interest in our history.

    This may sound off, but my dad always said, “I don’t care if you end up a bum, as long as you get your education.” I know what he meant was that he wanted us to be happy. He wanted us to expand our minds, see ourselves as citizens of humanity, not limited to a particular social group or country. If we were happy to live humble lives, he wouldn’t hold it against us. Our education wasn’t about status to him (though that’s what it’s become in this country). For him, his education was a way to transcend his painful past. It was his way to rewrite the script, be open to all the possibilities of life.

  38. That’s wonderful ruth, I hope this new knowledge and understanding will be a rich seam you can mine for your future

    My H2 Jupiter is Libra is horribly afflicted and also conjunct Chiron (and, much more closely, Juno). It squares all those planets I mentioned above, and has only squares …

    But I agree, one has only to come onto this site for example, to find people far worse off than oneself. And one advantage of ageing is a facility in counting ones blessings and in finding delight in the smallest things

  39. I’ve had an illness for 7 years now that has completely changed my life and the way in which I am able to live it. I’ve just kept going, though ……like the energizer bunny. I do almost everything I did before except with a great deal of pain and exhaustion…..but, I just keep pluggin’.

    This year, on June 13th, I lost my beloved son, Nicholas. He was killed in Wasit, Iraq. I don’t feel much like “pluggin” anymore…but I find myself just doing that very thing. My sister and her 24 year old daughter moved in with me in July and we had a very intense and odious argument and I feel even less like the energizer bunny….but…I just keep going. The argument ended in me asking her to leave my home.

    My youngest son’s friend, Ben, passed away 2 weeks ago from Cancer…he would call me his second mom. I told him not to worry….that we would make sure that he gets better….but I allowed my grief for my son to overwhelm me and just put everything on hold. Cancer does not “hold”.

    It has been one hellish year. Mountains of grief and shock that seems unending….but I planted my garden in spite of all of the turmoil and pain and yesterday a family of four young toddlers, in tow with moms and dads, stopped by my garden to smell and appreciate the zinnias and sunflowers. I walked down the drive to greet them and told them to choose the flowers that they admired most. All four children left happy with orange and purple zinnias mixed with bright yellow sunflowers. One of the little girls announced proudly that she would make a “bouquet” with her flowers.
    Now I know why I keep pluggin’ like the Energizer Bunny….
    This life is not just about me…and I am all the happier for understanding this at times like these.

  40. You know, I never made the connection between Jupiter and gratitude, but after Pluto conjuncted my Jupiter in Sagittarius by transit in ’03, the result after the explosion was of a life completely changed by my gratitude for everything. I had to rebuild my *everything* including my body and mind from the ground up after a bad bout of illness, and it made me such a happier person in the long run, because I never take much for granted in the day-to-day.

    I think people would be so much happier if they would stop listening to the social cue “You lack for ____” and look around and realize how amazing their lives already are. Gratitude is a powerful transformational tool.

  41. Just coughed up a big hair ball. I think this blog may have cleared my guilt about being happy. It’s not so much bahaha insane happiness. Just balanced pleasure in being on planet earth. It’s worth honoring, protecting, and cultivating. Sun conj Jup 10th sextile moon 8th. It may seem small and unimportant but it is all the success I need.

  42. I think deep down inside people really want to be happy. Really, who constantly wants constant doom and gloom anyway ? Dr Wayne Dyer said, ā€œhappiness is a state mind, if you want to be happy, you need to think happy,ā€ ā€¦ not as easy as it sounds. It can take work to get there. I have natal Jupiter 29 Cancer trine the Sun 29 Scorpio.p, so my Sun is on the Sagittarius cusp. Of course, my Sun did progress in Sagittarius for the first 30 years of my life. I can tell you there have been times Iā€™ve have ā€œfalse hopeā€ from Jupiter working overtime. I associate dolphins with Jupiter and Sagittarius, so when needed, I play dolphin music (even in the background). That seems to help! Itā€™s worth a try.

  43. I have a heavy saturn chart. I speak gloom by default. But I have my good moments. Doubt it’s my natal jupiter- shabby, planet. Detriment, intercepted, negative virgo jupiter. Taurus /&venus save me. I love my walks, taking in the sun, dark chocolate smelling and watering my flowers that I care for, the rascal that is the tuxedo cat. And for a short time, things don’t feel just ‘fine’ they feel as they should, that everything makes sense, that I have a place to exist in this cosmos, that I am at peace. A rare and seldom to be seen gift of my moon conjunct neptune (in capricorn). Today was a tiring day but full of verve. I take advantage of transits better than my natal placements. High confidence with transit sun trine moon for example, actively doing things with mars transiting my 1st (which it does already). Today it was the transit gift of Jupiter sextile venus. ā˜€ļø

  44. I don’t know anything about developing my Jupiter. I think it may have something to do with how energized I feel after climbing a mountain which I make sure to do once a week. It charges my battery for another week. I think being grateful and content with what we have is key and to appreciate the moments of joy. Sadness comes and goes. My pain and Despair comes from seeing those who are truly suffering like the homeless …I don’t think one can be happy when others are suffering so much.

  45. “If you want to be happy, be.” ~Tolstoy

    Jupiter in Aries housing third here.
    Abundance of happy go lucky attitude (Jupiter) sometimes exhibiting a superior attitude needing to be kept in rein (Aries) leading to the thought process of the third house.

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