I’ve noticed that people who habitually give always seems to have something to give while people who do not give tend to be bereft.
This is seen astrologically in the fact that Jupiter and Saturn balance each other.
There’s an old adage that says if you want to feel better (Saturn / depression), you should do something for someone else (Jupiter / generosity). Since we’re talking Jupiter, the bigger the better.
Do you see a connection between giving and good cheer?
I loooove to give. I didn’t always have the resources to give as much as I would have liked to. But as I get older I have gained enough to give more. I just love the feeling, it can linger for days. Sun in Leo.
I dunno about giving and good cheer, but it’s certainly true that I’m not naturally generous and I am depressed as hell. Causation or just coincidence?
I find it very hard to trust that I won’t be left with nothing if I give away what I have.
I’ve been realizing this very slowly over the last couple-few years and I think I like it!
This just fits with the old saw “what goes around, comes around”. Sharing what we have with others is a good thing. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up but we always gave away fruits & vegetables from our garden to others . . . and my S/O & I still do. He has Venus in Pisces & I have Moon/Neptune conjunct plus his Moon is conjunct Jupiter as is my Sun. The Saturn connection – we both have Saturn aspecting our Moons too. 🙂
“For to him that has, shall be given, but from him that has but a little, even that little that he has shall be taken away.”
NB
It’s all stone soup – if we all bring a little of what we’ve got (not only monetarily or emotionally, but also spiritually) to the table, there’ll be enough for everyone.
I spent many years in a religion that taught tithing (10% of your income) and used the promise that if you give to God he will give you abundance beyond what you give. I do believe this works – every “abundance theory” tells you to trust the universe to provide for you and what better way to show trust in the universe than to give from what you have. The basis is in the trust, though, because you can’t give to get or it doesn’t work. I remember one time my ex and I gave $100 at Christmas to a friend of his that had four children and not much money, even though we didn’t have much ourselves, because we felt sorry for him not being able to provide for his children. Within 24 hours we received an unexpected gift of $100 from a family member. It felt so good to give that money – I never expected to see it again. It started a lifetime of giving – money, time, attention – and despite giving away much of what I have, I have always had enough. While I will never be rich in most folk’s estimation, the good feeling I have is worth more to me than money in the bank would ever be. I honestly believe that I would not have so much if I were not as willing to give it away when necessary. It’s sort of a karma thing – you pretty much get back what you are willing to give. If you aren’t willing to give much, you won’t get much and you’ll work harder for it. If you’re generous, you will get back generosity.
By the way, lest anyone think this was glib, it was very hard for me (a Taurus) to give at first – I tend to gather not sow – but after years of watching the theory work, it is easier, if not automatic.
yes, giving always makes me feel better, gets me outside of myself. it even fills me with great cheer when I feel moved to give someone a good SMACK, but I don’t of course… so I guess even the SPIRIT or anticipation of giving is a positive thing!
kidding, kidding… mostly.
I think the motivation behind the giving is crucial. Some people give to love and to empower others, while some people give b/c they’re scared, avoiding themselves, boosting their ego and any number of reasons that have nothing to do w/real love. Without real love, giving isn’t about empowerment, it’s about unhealthy boundaries and a weak sense of self.
Also, things are rarely black and white; I think giving for most ppl is probably acted on a bunch of levels, some loving, some not.
well, now that i’m not totally poor i give away everything i don’t need (i probably could have then, too, i just got caught up in thinking “who knows when i’d have to make do with a half-right something?”) In fact, the more i learn how to let go, the more comes into my life. i think there really is something to the idea of making space for things to come in.
that and i remember not having money to buy enough food, and the like, and now that i can, it doesn’t cost much to cook up a couple pounds of beans every couple months for church sponsored dinners at the shelter, that kind of thing.
and it makes me feel like i’m doing something for people who are where i was (or worse) and i know one of the reasons we made it through is we had our own angels show up out of nowhere when we really needed it…..
and i am certainly happier now. but i’m not sure about the chicken/egg. i do appreciate what i have more now. but not having to constantly worry about whether my kid gets enough food makes a huge difference.
However, to not give or expect to be given to brings about an awareness of the core of self. I think giving to the point of diaarhetic spray is boring, and in America we’re doing it because it’s an activity – the more you do-do-do the less time there is to sit with your painful, undeveloped self. 🙂
hell yes, there’s a connection. a big one! energy flows and life doesn’t work in a vacuum. if you hang on to things and stay fear-based, that’s the vibration you attract-more scarcity and fear. if you feel poor (and therefor act poor), that’s the vibration you attract. whatever you’re seeing is what you continue to see most of the time.
whatever one’s financial state, they can always give something. it doesn’t have to be money. and it’s not just finanical anyway. emotionally stingy people are not blessed as much with caring from others. people who are keeping score will always feel behind.
manifesting 101- whatever you want more of in your life, recognize what already is (to emphasize the energy) and provide it for others. works fabulously in my experience.
Absolutely! If you only received and had no outlet to give, you could no longer receive after a while. Sad.
I don’t think that giving always has to do with money either.. Giving your spirit, love, energy, whatever.. is giving. Sometimes just giving a smile to strangers is helpful. Ever been in a bad mood and decided to smile at everyone? They smile back! Then it cheers you, its contagious.
You are giving then too.
Or how about been cranky and saw a baby smiling at you. You cant help but smile back at a baby. Man, those babies give constantly to others and receive. Babies have a way of generating such loving energy to you.
I think its more nuanced. Giving is a wonderful thing but I know people who give and give but don’t know how to receive. I’ve struggled with that at times. Or there’s the situation where you give but in the back of your mind, there’s a string attached. And there’s the person who gives but does it begrudgingly. So much of it goes back to your mindset… if you’re giving out of a sense of obligation or a feeling like you don’t deserve what you have, things don’t balance out. If you’re giving out of a sense of love, generosity and wholeness, the Universe responds in kind.
Oh, I just talked about that with a friend a couple of weeks ago. She told me she admired my always giving, and to her surprise I told her that it was just a hoax. I´m not giving, I´m dropping. I´m not generous, I´m sloppy. Matter doesn´t mean that much to me, but I like the energy being exchanged in giving and taking, so if somebody needs anything and I´m in the mood, he will get it from me, I don´t care. I like space, and in giving away space is created. I get lots of gifts, too, more than I give away, and they come from all directions. As far as my relation to the Universe goes, I´m a spoiled Jupiterean brat.
My friend is truly the giving one, she would cut a piece of meat out of her body if one of her friends needed it. She gives from her substance, I give from my abundance. So from my sight what she gives is worth a lot more than what I drop ;-).
I haven’t paid attention to this before.
I haven’t noticed if when i give to others I end up receiving anything materially, but I do give and I never lacked anything, I think I receive more then I give.
I see friends with jupiter in the 2 house get showered with stuff and they are very giving people. So I guess so. It makes sense that there is a connection. the bible says this alot, as do all the positive thinking theories. and money certainly attracts money, I see this everyday. If you have money and ask for a lown you’ll get lower interest rates, since you have more credit. and you’ll buy better cars and etc that won’t break in a week like they would if they were lower quality and cheaper. Donald trumps says that when he was poor he used to gather money to go to a certain restaurant, and know that he has loads of it, he goes there and they offer him the meal.
Positive thinking theories says something interesting: that if all the money in the world would be divided equaly amongst everyone, it wouldn’t be long until it would be back to the way it was.
How nice that you mention this, Elsa, because I was just thinking about this a couple of hours ago.
There’s nothing more satisfying than giving and helping other people.
And I find that whenever you give, you get more in return, always.
Guess what? I’m having my Jupiter return this week 🙂 So I want to give more!
Hey neat, I think this has a lot to do with the idea of love languages. The Virgo in me best expresses love through ‘acts of service’ and when I do things for others like making lunch for them or getting their mail while I’m at the post office just makes me happier. It’s generally a good thing for me to brigthen someones day even a little.
not at all….on my worst days I find if I go out and am giving: a smile, let in line in front for 1 item, tell a joke…I find I feel a lot better and more supported inside myself….my energies are filled a bit more because of giving.
I’m generous with everything, I’m also prone to depression. But I tend to be an optimistic pessimist. Saturn conjunct Sun (1st house), Jupiter 2nd house.
I have Jupiter, in 1 degree Scorpio 4th house , and I really give alot. My Saturn is in Taurus the 11th house and I feel like there is nobody to help me. Thus, I am often depressed. I don’t give in order to seek something in return but it would just be nice sometimes if others were thoughtful of me sometimes instead of taken me for granted.
Thanks. My cancer moon and cancer ascendant probably makes it a little more challenging. My current friends are three guinea pigs or friends that live several states away. I also chat with people online that share common interests. I think I read somewhere that it may just be generational problem for cancer ascendants.
Jane and Jayne, I also have an 11th house Saturn, square Venus. I l admire the quality of generosity because a model for it was lacking in my life. I’ve been consciously trying to develop it in myself. There were enough natural disasters this year for me to contribute money; now I am volunteering for a nonprofit once a week. When I’m asked for contributions, I think of what I want to give and then raise the amount a bit. I doubt there will ever be a “return” but if you’re ever feeling down, it sure feels good to give!
Thanks.
Elsa has always had this strange kind of vibe with the ongoings in my life. Whenever I seem to have a problem (often enough these past 10 years – I began frequenting ElsaElsa back in ’08), I turn to this blog and its forums. And when I do, I am *always* shocked at the most recent blog post Elsa has written. It’s uncanny how incredibly relevant they always, always are to the exact and current situation I’m experiencing or living through at that time. This included. I am dealing heavily with this theme in my life right now.
It’s as if post had been written just for me. And along with that, her views and advice alway fall directly in line with what I believe as well.
I write the above because this is probably the first time I have ever disagreed. Which is weird for me 🙂 and felt worth mentioning for some reason. But, I suppose it might not be that I disagree, exactly. But rather my experiences have been different, I guess.
So many of the truly good, loyal, kind people I know don’t have very much…of anything. I obviously know several good people who do have a lot. But I can literally not think of a single person I have known that had a lot (or anything, really) and were generous. Be that with their time, money, belongings, attention, or even just emotional support.
I don’t have a lot of anything. And I feel bereft I suppose, much of the time. But I am generous. To a fault. I just want to be there for people. I never want to see someone I know feeling alone, or struggling, or without something they need. If someone comes to me with anything, I will and always have given what they need. Even when i don’t have enough for even myself.
Meanwhile, when I’ve been in need – and it usually is the need of a friend or for someone to just care, all of a sudden no ones around and I’m left feeling alone. Or stuck. Or dealing with something on my own, when all I ever really need is support. I try hard to be the way that I would hope people would be with me. I’m learning that perhaps I’m dealing with the worst sorts of people? But I started actually viewing this kind of behavior as like Hoarding or something. Or like a kind of greed. They have this thing – whatever it may be – and when they know you need something, attention or love or support whatever – even material -it’s like this attitude of “it’s mine. I’m not giving it away” or “well that’s your problem, I’m not getting involved. Good luck with that.”
Maybe I’m misunderstanding the message of this post or maybe I’m just around the wrong people. But the past few months, I’ve kind of decided “I’m done. They’re going to be selfish? Then I will be too”. I don’t know. Just my personal experience.
:-/
I understand dealing with the worst type of people. I discovered a guy that I was dating was 100% narcissist. And then I learned a large part of my mother’s family had narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies. Most on my dad’s side are caught up in religion and can’t think for themselves.But I am living near my Chiron line and uranus ic so that may play a large part of the problem. I’m working on a plan to move to a new location and see how things go there.
Giving helps a person get outside themselves. When I’m depressed, that is a good place to go.