Spotlight on Neptune #1
Image Source
So, let's talk about Neptune ...
Describing the planets -- and the psychological complexities and cycles they represent -- is always a challenge. Doing a complete job of it takes pages -- and most people aren't up for that ... honestly. Still I feel I have to give some kind of foundation for what I'm talking about -- for the sake of those who are interested ... and to try to keep us all on the same page.
Describing Uranus, with all his eccentricities, is demanding enough, but that job is a walk in the park compared to having to take on the meaning of Neptune. For one thing, Neptune itself rules things that are vague, mysterious and unknowable.
Things like insanity, hallucinations, out-of-body experiences and spiritual epiphanies -- events which are undeniably real, and often profoundly meaningful, to the person who had them ... but which often can't be shared adequately in any way with anyone else because words themselves can't contain them ... and there simply are no common points of reference. All these -- and so much more -- fall under the misty rulership of Neptune.
Experiences where you truly had to be there to appreciate it ... because nothing but first-hand experience can translate what happened ... even though they are relatively common to everyone in the course of a life are matters assigned to the roster of this mysterious energy. There is usually something inspiring, healing, frightening, ineffable and arguably sacred to what Neptune brings to your life.
It rules the mystical aspects of religion (as opposed to the written theory and theology of Sagittarius). It rules the experience of being touched, moved or even transformed by some encounter with art, writing, drama, etc. All of us can point to a book -- or even a sentence or idea that literally changed our lives -- possibly in an instant.
From that point on we saw absolutely everything on a more profound level -- and we ourselves were not the same after. Nor was there ever a way of "returning to who we were ... the person we used to be." Neptune's power is that awesome, but you can perhaps see why he's so tough to describe ... and make any sense of it. So, that's who I'm writing about today -- with just a tiny taste of what he's really like.
Image Source
So, what's happening today?
Neptune is one of three planets traveling in the sign he rules. (In Astrology, the planets and signs are "paired up" because the traits, interests and attitudes of each are virtually indistinguishable from each other. When this kind of correspondence exists a planet is said to "rule" the sign. The planet is mobile; it gets to move and travel and experience life in a lot of different conditions. The sign doesn't. It provides the landscape through which all the planets travel ... eventually.)
Anyway, Neptune is now traveling through Pisces -- the sign he rules. (The others who are doing the same are Jupiter, now in Sagittarius and Saturn, now in Capricorn. This is fairly unusual -- to have three planets, especially three outer planets traveling in their home turf at the same time. But look around you and tell me these aren't "unusual times" we're living through -- all of us.)
Neptune takes 14 years to transit a sign -- and he is a little over halfway through his time in Pisces. Today, he's located at 17° 56' of the sign ... essentially at 18° of Pisces. If you have a Natal Planet near 18° of Pisces, he has his finger directly in the pie of your life. Seeing him and his effects may take some work, but he's there, I promise you.
If you have a Natal Planet near 18° of Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio or Capricorn, he's working his magic indirectly ... coming at it from a different angle, a different area of life -- a different house of your horoscope. And if you have a Natal Planet near 18° of Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius, his presence is there -- and even more camouflaged and underground than usual. Believe me, that's saying a lot.
Even if you're able to see his craftmanship and its effects on you and your world, you may be extremely reluctant to admit it or talk about it. That in a nutshell describes what Neptune energy is like. He rules things like secrets -- even those you keep from yourself.
(There's another reason why describing him ain't easy. Even when you hit the nail directly on the head you may touch on something you don't want to reveal ... or investigate. Terrific, huh?)
Image Source
So, tell me something about Neptune in Pisces ...
Oh, yikes -- where do I begin? Ok, let's see what happens. Sometimes where Neptune concerned, you just have to have faith, take his hand and let him show you what he has in mind. Let's start with something positive -- because, believe me, Neptune has a lot of the other stuff in his bag of tricks and illusions.
Neptune deals with issues of spirituality, artistic inspiration, psychic experiences and one's connection to the Divine Source. Pisces deals with spiritual ideals, matters of faith, the power of forgiveness and unconditional love and discovering the transcendent meaning in absolutely everything. (Now you can see why these two wide-ranging concepts, these two Astrological elements are virtually congruent.)
So apparently we're going to start with the "religious" part of our program tonight -- because it seems my Inner Writer isn't ready to tackle some of the other stuff that comes with this transit. Fair enough. Some of it's pretty awful -- and controversial given the current political climate.
One of "situations" that Neptune in Pisces brings to the stage is the rise in the importance of religion in contemporary thinking. Whether you're an advocate and follower of a particular system of belief -- or an athiest / agnostic providing some of the pushback, the importance of religion and religious teachings has become part of the discourse -- and a socio-political force -- in ways that it wasn't just a while back.
(The clarity of this is being camouflaged a bit because Pluto's travels in Sagittarius recently hit on some of the same themes, and if you don't understand the difference between the two it can look like a lot of overlap. Hmmm. Maybe that's a post subject to consider soon.)
The main difference in all this is the new momentum toward the true ideals of conventional religion -- regardless of which religion you follow. Buddhists (formal & otherwise) are rediscovering their meditation practices, the value of taking a zen approach to deal with reality, the way of the tao as a spiritual blueprint on which to model your life.
Many Christians are disengaging from the political agenda that has diverted so much attention away from their genuine religious ideals and revitalizing the ones Jesus espoused -- unconditional love for all, healing the injured, supporting the weak, sharing with the less fortunate, emphasizing the one-ness of all humanity, etc. (I know. There are still a whole lot of the others making a lot of unpleasant noise. But their time has passed. Trust me on this.)
Muslims are standing up for their right to live by a faith they describe as "a religion of peace" -- as opposed to the one that has been essentially hijacked by extremists and put forward as an introduction to Islam for many.
Many who aren't as passionate about a particular ideology are looking at how religion ought to unite us, not divide us as it has. This quiet, gentle insistence that we are all children of The Divine, regardless of our skin color, our country of origin or our individual dogma and that accepting one another as equals, humans, part of the same universal family -- this is part of the mission of Neptune in Pisces.
It's not loud. (Neptune never is.) But it's there. If you listen.
Image Source
Where is Neptune at work in your Natal Chart?
The effects of Neptune energy at work in your chart will reveal themselves in three different locations. (The last time Neptune was in Pisces was around 160 years ago -- and nobody here is that old. Not even me.) It will always be on display in your life -- and your personality -- in the affairs of the house where it resides ... the location of your Natal Neptune. It will also be on display in those life areas ruled by the house with Pisces on the cusp (or in some cases where Pisces is intercepted.)
It will also be apparent in the affairs of the house where transiting Neptune is traveling in current-day time. This changes, of course, as the months and years pass ... but keeping track of Neptune, where he is and what that means when you place him in your Natal Chart gives important information about how you are dealing with this gentle, altruistic and highly spiritual Inner Self.
In those three locations you will be reviving, strengthening and expressing your religious beliefs. If you don't consider yourself "religious," then consider that I'm writing about your spiritual convictions or your ethical principles, the "laws you live by" and your deepest sense of morality and inclusiveness, your feeling of being part of something greater than just yourself.
These will be very much on display in the affairs of life somewhere. They will be guiding decisions and influencing choices -- on a subconscious as well as conscious level. So ... you're not going to resist them ... or ignore them either -- really. (Because you have to sleep sometime. And sleep is another Neptune-ruled issue, so he can work on you when you're not even looking -- or conscious.)
In those three life areas, you will be a living example of what you really believe. It will feel important to you to walk your talk, live up to the principles as best you can and show others how to do the same if they choose. Neptune's ultimate goal is to make you a better, more spiritual, more complete person -- and to resist this, or try to repress it for whatever reason (what is the matter with you??? ) is to literally court a complete mental breakdown, a descent into madness -- which sounds like a really bad choice IYAM.
If you know the placements in your Natal Chart well enough you can probably work out these connections for yourself -- and see how they operate for you. If not, you may need to do some research to come up with the answers -- or find a competent astrologer to explain it to you. (There are plenty of us around. There are also plenty of "the other kind," too ... if you know what I mean. So shop wisely.)
The questions you want to answer from this little morsel of Neptune information I've described here is this: Where in your life are you behaving most in line with your spiritual principles and mystical beliefs? Where are you displaying your most selfless, generous, loving, benevolent self? Where do you offer selfless acceptance, exceptional tolerance, healing love and devotion for those who need this kind of support? Where are you virtually saintly? Where are you most closely connected with the Source of Everything?
There will be two answers where this is always the case -- and one that changes slowly, gradually -- and which will show a progressive journey through different sectors in the past. The important question though is where is this happening now? The answers may be obvious ... or not. Neptune and his work aren't always conspicuous. (Which is why people don't understand themselves fully. Or see themselves instantly ... even in the face of unequivocal evidence.)
This exists somewhere in you. It exists in all of us. It is different for everyone. It may have lots of details attached to it and be connected to many other concerns and qualifications. To understand yourself better -- and gain the benefits Astrology can provide -- you need to know what this is -- and work consciously and cooperatively with your Inner Self of Neptune.
.gif)
