Guru, Jupiter, is the planet of wisdom, teachers, faith, good counsel, children and fortune that comes through learning. Because it is the great benefic of the system, a weak or afflicted Jupiter is often what readers look to when a person feels cut off from guidance, or when questions about children, advisers or belief are in the air. The usual caution applies: remedies in this tradition are practices, not promises. What follows is the order that teachers commonly give.
Start with conduct and service
Jupiter is the teacher, and most of its remedies are about the teacher-student relationship in the widest sense.
- Honour your teachers, past and present. A school teacher you remember, a guru, a mentor. A message of thanks, or a visit, is the Jupiter remedy most teachers name first.
- Share what you know. Teaching without charge, writing something helpful, or coaching a junior colleague. Jupiter’s wealth is said to grow when it is given.
- Respect elders and those of learning. Listening before disagreeing, and keeping a seat for the older person in the room.
- Keep to your own principles. Jupiter is linked with dharma, and the remedy is a short list of things you will not do, kept quietly.
- Look after children. Jupiter is the karaka of children. Time spent with the young in your family, or a modest contribution to a school, is considered a Jupiter act.
- Be wary of excess. Jupiter expands whatever it touches, including waistlines and promises. Moderation is a remedy in its own right.
Mantra and devotion
Jupiter is linked in tradition with Brihaspati, the teacher of the gods, and with Vishnu, whose day Thursday is in many homes.
- Vishnu Sahasranama: the thousand names, popular on Thursdays.
- Narayana Suktam: a Vedic hymn to Narayana.
- Bhaja Govindam: the poem tradition attributes to Adi Shankara, urging self-knowledge.
- Gita Dhyanam: the meditation verses that open many readings of the Gita.
- Navagraha mantras: the verse to Guru calls him teacher of gods and sages, golden in colour.
The beej mantras for the planets differ between traditions and are not published here yet. A reading from the Bhagavad Gita is another long-standing Thursday practice. Pick one thing and keep a regular hour for it.
Charity and the Thursday fast, as tradition describes them
Thursday (Guruvar or Brihaspativar) is Jupiter’s day.
- Charity on Thursday. Lists vary by family and region. Chana dal (split Bengal gram), turmeric, yellow cloth, bananas and sweets are often named. Books and school supplies for a student are a fitting modern version.
- A Thursday fast. Kept by many households, often with one meal in the day, yellow foods such as besan sweets or kesari, and a prayer to Vishnu or Brihaspati. Some avoid salt or oil. If you are unwell, pregnant, elderly or on medication, do not fast, and consult your doctor.
- Feeding cows or the poor. A common Thursday custom, where practical.
- Honouring a banana plant. Practised in some regions with water and a lamp on Thursdays.
Guru Purnima is the year’s great day for honouring teachers, and the Guru Purnima puja vidhi describes it. None of these practices is compulsory.
Read your own Jupiter before choosing a remedy
Jupiter is strong in Sagittarius and Pisces, its own signs, and in Cancer, where it is exalted, and weak in Capricorn. Because Jupiter is the planet of counsel, the house it holds matters. Read the Jupiter in all twelve houses and Jupiter in each sign guides, and the Jupiter Mahadasha guide for the sixteen-year period. The Jupiter transit calculator shows where the planet is moving now. If Jupiter shares a sign with a node, see Jupiter and Rahu or Jupiter and Ketu.
The gemstone, last
The stone of Jupiter is the yellow sapphire (pukhraj). It is a classical remedy in the tradition, and choosing it from house lordship is a later method that teachers do not all share. It comes last, and only after a full reading of Jupiter’s sign, house, strength and dasha together with the ascendant. Some astrologers consider Jupiter’s stone gentle, but that is a general impression and not a rule, and plenty of people with a weak Jupiter never wear one.
Our yellow sapphire guide covers who considers it, heated and treated stones and the traditional way of wearing it, and the gemstones hub covers the others. We sell nothing but the reading, so there is no stone here to sell you.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is the best remedy for a weak Jupiter?
Tradition starts with respect for teachers, honest learning and generous sharing of knowledge. Vishnu mantras, Thursday charity and the Thursday fast follow, and a yellow sapphire comes last, as an optional step.
↳ Which mantra is used for Jupiter?
Many people say the Vishnu Sahasranama or Narayana Suktam on Thursdays, or use the verse to Guru in the Navagraha Stotra. Others use short name mantras that differ by family, so follow what you were taught.
↳ Do Jupiter remedies help with having children?
Jupiter is the karaka of children in the texts, and devotion and charity are the remedies the tradition names, but nothing here is a treatment or a promise. If you have worries about fertility, please see a doctor, who can help in ways a remedy cannot.
↳ Is the Thursday fast necessary?
No. It is a traditional practice and not a duty. If you are unwell, pregnant, elderly or on medication, speak to your doctor, and a lighter meal with a prayer is an accepted alternative.
↳ Should I wear a yellow sapphire?
Only after a full chart reading, and only if you wish to. Whether Jupiter's stone suits you depends on the ascendant, Jupiter's house and strength and the dasha, and many astrologers say it is not needed.