Jupiter in the second house of a composite chart is excellent for all matters relating to property and possessions within the relationship. Robert Hand qualifies the claim immediately and precisely: it does not necessarily indicate that the two will be wealthy, but it does indicate that they will have enough of whatever they want.
His way of putting the result is the useful one. Resources are not likely to be a source of insecurity here.
What This Placement Describes
Jupiter in a composite chart signifies the areas that will provide a solid basis for growth through the relationship. Hand says a strong Jupiter helps to ensure that whatever happens to the relationship, both people will be aware of how much they were helped by being together. The house position designates which aspect of the relationship is emphasised as a growth area, an area the two can depend on for sustenance and which, unlike other parts of the relationship, will not be the cause of conflict and difficulty.
The composite second house refers to values, meaning what the two people value and their relationship to what is valued. Hand says this works on two planes: the role that value systems play in forming the relationship, and whatever finances and property the two hold. Not every relationship involves common property, in which case only the first plane applies. He also notes that in a composite all finances are joint finances, because you cannot clearly distinguish which person is which, and he urges reading the second and eighth houses together on any financial question.
Jupiter there makes the area of resources and values the part of the relationship that grows.
How It Tends To Play Out
Hand rates business associations as especially favoured by this position, which follows from the combination of growth and resources.
He then names an effect that is more psychological than material, and it is the best part of the delineation. One of the fortunate attributes of this position is that making money and gaining property are not areas of anxiety. Because of that, the two can feel detached from those issues and can express themselves through material generosity toward others. The generosity is possible because the anxiety is absent.
The Opposite House
Hand's paired house rule comes from the mechanics of the composite. Two midpoints exist for any pair of planets, and although the nearer one is used, the farther one keeps some effect, an effect that increases as the two natal positions approach opposition. So a second house Jupiter should also be read through the eighth, and where the two natal Jupiter positions are near opposition, reading both is essential rather than optional.
The eighth house is joint resources and major transformations, the passing away of an old order and the building of a new one. Hand's reading of Jupiter there says both areas become areas of growth, that the two will never cease to grow and change, and that they should have little trouble borrowing money jointly whenever they need it. Since he already says the second and eighth cannot be cleanly separated in a composite where finances are concerned, this axis is a close one. Read together, the second is what the two hold and the eighth is what flows through them.
Hand gives no threshold for when the second reading takes over and no method for blending the two. Both stand.
Where It Gets Difficult
Hand names two risks here, and both are versions of the general Jupiter problem, which is excess in the area the planet occupies.
The first is materialism. Jupiter here can make people excessively materialistic, both individually and in a relationship, and he says this can cause the two to sacrifice matters that are important to their happiness in order to gain wealth. The growth area becomes the whole point, and other things get traded for it.
The second is carelessness with money and unwise use of it. His diagnosis of why is the interesting part. This will not happen because of any lack of luck, he says, but because the two like to take chances. The appetite for risk is native to the placement, not a fault that has crept in.
His remedy is proportionate. If the two take the time to stop and think, they will know what to do in a given situation. He tells them to make caution and success in handling money more important than the excitement of gambling.
His general note on the planet frames both risks. Where Jupiter's energy is flowing easily it is unlikely to cause trouble, and where it is flowing with difficulty the problems usually come from doing something to excess.
The house sets the issue. Whether the growth around resources runs easily or turns into overreaching is described by the aspects to Jupiter, which is a separate question.
Recommended Reading
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- Robert Hand, Planets in Composite: Analyzing Human Relationships (1975), chapter ten.
- Robert Hand, Planets in Composite: Analyzing Human Relationships (1975), chapter four, on the composite second house and the paired house rule.
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Next: Composite Chart Placements and How to Read a Composite Chart.