S4 Ep14 - Who Am I? The role of Jupiter, Mercury, Tara & the Moon in your birth chart
Mercury-Jupiter Conjunction in Gemini in 2025
As Mercury and Jupiter are coming together for a conjunction in Gemini (8 June 2025) I started thinking about how these planets do and do not work together well in a birth chart. In Vedic Astrology, Mercury (Budha) represents our worldly intelligence, logic, analysis, and communication. Jupiter (Guru), meanwhile, is our higher intelligence, faith, philosophy, and wisdom. Where Mercury deals with the data and details of daily life, Jupiter helps us reconnect with deeper truths.
To help me explore the interplay of these two ‘planets of the intellect’ I invited my husband, José Marques, to share his experiences of these planets in his birth chart and in his memoir called "A Restless Traveller".
José is a Gemini Ascendant with a Parivartana Yoga (mutual exchange) between his 1st House Lord (Mercury, ruling Gemini) and his 7th House Lord (Jupiter, ruling Sagittarius). This means Jupiter is in Gemini (his 1st House) and Mercury is in Sagittarius (his 7th House). An exchange between the 1st House (the self, personality, life path) and the 7th House (distant lands, partners, the setting sign) can indicate a life path deeply intertwined with being far from one's birthplace and discovering the self through travel and partnerships.
And we see this play out in José's life. His early life was marked by significant movement. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, during a dictatorship, his family moved within Portugal to evade the secret police. They then migrated first to France and later to Australia. Arriving in Australia was a profound cultural shift, including the memorable experience of a Vegemite sandwich!
José describes a lifelong feeling of restlessness. Which brings us to the choice of his book title, "A Restless Traveller", and highlighted by his Jupiter starved in the sign of Gemini (Kshudita Avastha).
The Mythology of Mercury, Jupiter, Tara, and the Moon
To understand the Astrological context of this restlessness, our interview dives into the fascinating Vedic Astrology mythology involving Mercury, Jupiter, Tara, and the Moon. Tara, the mother of Mercury, is a powerful wisdom goddess. She was married to Jupiter, the wise guru. However, while Jupiter was traveling, Tara had an affair with the Moon. This created a complex love triangle, raising questions about balancing personal desires (the Moon - our personality/jiva) with dharmic duties and tradition (Jupiter - the guru, 9th house).
After in inter-galactic war (no less!), Tara returned to Jupiter pregnant, and the paternity was uncertain – was the child Jupiter's or the Moon's? This child was Mercury. This origin story is instilled in Mercury the fundamental question: "Who am I?". This quest for identity becomes a key Mercurial drive, leading to intellectual questioning and the pursuit of truth.
This myth helps explain the challenging relationship between Mercury and Jupiter. While they can bring out the best in each other, Mercury can "starve" Jupiter when Jupiter is in Mercury's sign (like Gemini). Jupiter, which seeks higher interconnectedness and contentment, is pulled down into Mercury's world of detail and data. This clash of approaches can manifest as the very restlessness discussed in the book and the interview.
Parents, Profession, and Identity
José's life provides vivid examples of these dynamics. For a Gemini Ascendant, Mercury is associated with the mother, and Jupiter with the father. José discusses how each of his parents approach their role differently. His mother was sometimes anxious (Mercury's potential to worry about worldly things beyond control) while his father was inspiring but sometimes absent as he sought to improve the lives of those around him through his work with the underground Communist Party during Portugal’s Salazar dictatorship and as a leader of the Portuguese community in Canberra, Australia (Jupiter's dharmic concern for justice).
José’s early career as a lawyer provides another striking illustration of Jupiter in Mercury's sign. Jupiter is linked to law and justice. However, practicing law pulled José into the reality of details and processes (Mercury). He felt conflicted by the focus on winning and money for his clients rather than on true justice and human care (Jupiter's higher ideals). This experience is a good demonstration of Jupiter being "starved" by Mercury's influence in Gemini. (Kshudita Avastha)
The theme of identity — that core Mercurial question "Who am I?" — is central to José's experience as a migrant. He describes the challenge of adapting to Australian culture while trying to let go of his Portuguese roots, feeling like he couldn't be both. Returning to Portugal later in life, he describes realizing he could integrate both parts, happily calling himself "a mutt, a cross-breed, a mongrel".
The Quest for Connection and the Power of Writing
The 1st/7th house exchange in José's chart also manifests as a deep drive to understand the self through relationships and intimate connection. His book, "A Restless Traveller," is not just about travel, it's also a quest for romance and meaningful connection. His poignant story of meeting Sigrid on a train and experiencing falling in love for the first time beautifully illustrates this search and finding a profound connection with another human being. This encounter even echoes the Tara mythology, as Sigrid was in a committed relationship yet drawn to connect on a deep emotional level (the Moon's influence).
Finally, the very act of writing his book, a Mercurial pursuit (Mercury rules communication and writing), became a powerful process of self-discovery. José shares how confronting negative feedback and aspects of himself in his old diary entries led to a profound deepening of his self-acceptance. This mirrors Mercury's journey in the myth – despite the uncertain origins and initial doubts, Mercury's inherent beauty and intelligence led Jupiter to claim him, symbolizing acceptance. Writing allowed José to integrate different periods and versions of himself and embrace his flaws.
Conclusion
José Marques's life story, as told in "A Restless Traveller" and this podcast episode, offers a rich, real-world illustration of complex Vedic Astrology principles. We see the Parivartana Yoga between the 1st and 7th Lords manifesting as a life lived far from home, a journey of self-discovery through connection with others and different cultures. We witness the challenges and gifts of Jupiter in Gemini, demonstrating how the guru's wisdom navigates the world of Mercurial detail. And we understand the deep, lifelong quest for identity and self-acceptance that is so central to Mercury's nature, beautifully explored through José's migration experience, relationships, and the transformative process of writing.
There are so many more layers to explore in José's journey and the astrology that illuminates it, from his parents' influence to his experiences in Europe and the enduring impact of his first love. And at it’s core, it is also an interview between wife and husband - so that makes it kind of fun too!
If you are interested in understanding more about Mercury, Jupiter and self acceptance, you might get a lot out of this episode! I hope you will let me know what you think :)
You can order "A Restless Traveller" on Amazon and Lulu.com!
What resonated with you most in José's story or the Vedic Astrology of his birth chart? Share your thoughts in the comments below! And if you would like to be the subject of a Vedic Astrology Reading with its own YouTube video, purchase yours today!
