Jupiter is about to return to Aries, and this time he’s going to storm through like a charging elephant.

This is huge, and it’s pretty much a given that we’re going to make up for a lot of lost time after last year’s blockages. The planet of growth and expansion will be hindered here and there in the next few months, but not for long. He simply is moving too fast and has too much momentum behind him.

Normally, Jupiter spends a year in a sign, but because he went retrograde last year in early Aries, he did most of his retrograde time in Pisces. When he returns to Aries on January 22, he’ll blow through the entire 30 degrees in just over four months before entering Taurus on June 4. Aries is impulsive, pioneering, and very fast.

Of course, Jupiter isn’t actually moving faster than usual; it just looks like it from down here. “Speed” is an illusion created by the relative orbits of the earth and other planets around the Sun. Nevertheless, symbolism is a big part of astrology, and if it looks like he’s speeding, then we interpret it that way. Think of a bull elephant charging at the speed of a cheetah, and you’ve got the picture.

During his first two months in Aries, Jupiter squares Pluto (February 26) and opposes Saturn (March 28). This means we’ll be back in cardinal T-square territory, but the configuration will be wider than it was in 2010, with fewer planets involved. Also, Saturn will be retrograde as of January 25 and won’t return direct until after Jupiter enters Taurus. That means the moderating influence of Saturn will be weakened, allowing Jupiter’s energy to expand with few constraints.

Wherever Jupiter is in your chart is where you can expect to expand, grow, and experience major breakthroughs. Depending on how he interacts with other planets in your chart, you may experience this influence as external events — for example, you may get a big raise or promotion or move to a larger home – or you could feel it more internally, as a spiritual awakening. If that’s the case for you, external changes will follow as your outer world shifts to match your inner landscape.

Although there are still plenty of surprises and plots twists in store, you should know by now the general direction in which you’re headed, and you won’t encounter as many obstacles as you did last year.

In terms of the collective, the general direction is also is pretty clear at this point, although I’m not sure I could name even one collective “goal.” There is still a great deal of polarization everywhere, even in matters of life and death. Especially in matters of life and death. A small group of people benefit from war and economic instability, and those few currently wield a large amount of power. I have to think that their goals are quite different from those who want to see more equitable social systems, and yet, they, too, are part of the collective.

The one thing we can count on is that the landscape will continue to shift as the cardinal T-square continues to play out in 2011 – starting with Jupiter’s arrival in Aries on January 22.

Pat