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“The Universe is full of magical things patiently
waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” Eden Phillpots
Although science and our logical minds know that nothing
in the universe is really solid there is still a tendency to act
as if only concrete physical objects are real. Neptune guards the
border between what is solid and the ethereal realm of subtle energies
that we might attribute to imagination. The oceans are the least
solid aspect of earth so this domain belongs to Neptune, Poseidon
in Greek myth.
Neptune operates through concealment and can render
ordinary awareness diffused like light shining into water. So the
planet is related to altered states of consciousness including trances,
artistic inspiration, and drug-induced states ranging from anesthesia
to LSD or the Indian Medicine plant Peyote. Depending on the person
or the situation perceptions can range from miracle to mirage, compassion
to confusion, transcendent thoughts to despair, or inspired dreams
to nightmarish delusions. To navigate Neptune’s sometimes murky
realm and peer through a seemingly impenetrable fog, we need the
psychological equivalent of SCUBA gear to discern whether we’re
meeting a mermaid or the Loch Ness monster.
Neptune is said to be the higher octave of Venus.
Human love, the domain of Venus, gives way to divine love which
surpasses ego needs and self-centeredness so often typical of human
affection. Neptune acts in a spiritual sense to dissolve the illusion
of the material world, revealing what is hidden from view in the
depths, or heights of our consciousness, opening a portal to a larger
reality. Neptune can engender mystical longings like a river making
its way back to the sea, its source.
Neptune’s symbol is the trident which is formed from
the crescent or chalice of the moon superimposed over a cross which
shows the soul crucified within the earth plane. Because the nature
of the experience involves what might be termed temptation, sadly
this same symbol is used as the Devil’s pitchfork.
Neptune in Aquarius
Because the orbits of the outer planets, Uranus, Neptune
and Pluto, take seven, fourteen and twenty years respectively to
pass through one zodiac sign, they are seen to represent a collective
view with the potential to transform a generation. Although we may
feel the influences personally but the motion is typically too slow
to register as individual events. In the case of Neptune moving
through a sign astrologers look for some collective transformation
of our psyche operating in a largely unseen realm.
Neptune's passage through the fixed air sign of Aquarius
began at the end of 1998 and will continue until February of 2012,
which readers of Atlantis Rising will recognize as the close of
the current cycle of the Mayan Calendar in December 2012. Neptune
will then move into its own sign Pisces, the twelfth sign of the
zodiac, and the last stage of a 164-year orbit around the sun.
Neptune was first sighted in 1846 when the planet
last transited the scientific sign of Aquarius and true to its nature
was not detected directly but by deduction because of anomalous
motions in the orbit of Uranus. The last time Neptune transited
Aquarius, 1834-1848, we saw a surge in interest of spirit communication
as well as the blossoming of hypnosis which accesses the subconscious.
Neptune’s last transit through Aquarius also gave us the discovery
of anesthesia for surgery in 1844 and foreshadowed the Communist
Manifesto which appeared in 1848. This also coincided with the movement
of Uranus into Aries.
As Neptune passes through Aquarius this time there
has been heightened interest in extraterrestrial life and the possibility
of contact. Carl Sagan’s book of the same name, which became a popular
movie, explored these ideas and introduced a wider audience to the
highly Aquarian Very Large Array of radio telescopes (the one in
Arizona), which listens for intelligent signals from deep space.
Although the book was written prior, this combination of technology
and altered states of consciousness is a good example of Neptune’s
influence in Aquarius.
Neptune operates very much in a beneath-the-surface
manner and during this transit we have already witnessed controversy
because of technologies like the HAARP project and the use of undersea
sound vibrations which have raised concerns about harmful effects
to marine life, Neptune’s children.
Mutual Reception, Neptune & Uranus
In Atlantis Rising #38 I explored the influences of
Uranus’s current transit through Pisces, the sign which is ruled
by Neptune. Concurrently Neptune is transiting Uranus’s sign Aquarius.
When two planets are in each others signs they are said to be in
Mutual Reception. This usually occurs with the planets that are
closest to the sun. This exchange of residences seems to act like
a conjunction, amplifying and intensifying the combined energies.
At the least it’s akin to walking several years in someone else’s
moccasins.
Because Neptune and Uranus are one sign apart they
have been moving somewhat in tandem. As both planets approach the
later portions of their current transits (May-Oct of 2009), they
will form a semi-sextile or thirty-degree aspect. This carries the
idea of continuity and the natural shift of polarity from one sign
to the next. This semi-sextile aspect can be somewhat unsettling
but can also open a line of communication between adjacent signs
and present an opportunity for growth in succeeding stages of development.
Since this aspect includes the phenomenon of Mutual Reception I
believe it can expand the positive opportunities. But as time gets
closer and we have the benefit of experience and context we’ll see
how the influences take shape.
These planets function in vastly different ways even
though each acts to break up old patterns, creating opportunity
for growth and expansion. Uranus operates through what appears to
be random mutation. Externally a sudden unforeseen influence upsets
the status quo and shifts factors in the collective equation. Tornadoes
are a Uranian weather manifestation. This influence is neither random
nor sudden but our awareness is not tuned to perceive the cause.
As the quote at the beginning of this article suggests, our wits
need to grow sharper.
Neptune in Aquarius on the other hand can dissolve
mental patterns and make way for more idealistic mind sets and expanded
thoughts, although the effect is slower. Hurricanes and Tsunamis
can be seen as the destructive side of these combined energies.
In the face of nature’s awesome power humanity can become humble
and hopefully more conscious and caring. Operating together these
giant planets are facilitating changes we can’t yet imagine. Even
if nature had help creating the magnitude of these disasters, as
some researchers speculate, our response is still a choice which
defines our character.
Saturn in Leo opposed Neptune in Aquarius
The planet Saturn is also contributing to the combined
influences. As Neptune moves through Aquarius and Saturn moves through
Leo (July 2005-Sep 2007), the two planets will move into opposition.
This aspect will be in effect for nearly a year, forming three exact
oppositions at the end of August 2006, February 2007 and the last
in June 2007.
I have called the axis of Leo and Aquarius the continuum
of personal power. In a sense, Leo represents the king and Aquarius
the collective of the kingdom, moving along the continuum from potentially
dogmatic dictatorship through unconscious rebellion. With Saturn
in Leo we are dealing with issues of fatherhood, kingship and rulership.
Saturn is said to be in “detriment,” a position of weakness, in
Leo as the Lion is the opposite sign to Aquarius. One end of this
polarity examines how authority is held and power over others is
wielded, while the other side examines how we respond to impulses
toward individuation and personal freedom. Even monarchs have to
obey natural law, and everyone is ultimately subject to some authority.
Elements of this opposition include compromise for
the sake of placating a partner or vanquishing an antagonist. Spiritual
discipline and walking the talk, not just mouthing hollow platitudes
will be crucial. We may be called upon to make sacrifices and in
some way atone for past mistakes. Where we resist growth we will
feel frustration and repressed feelings. The constant question to
be asked is, “What are we clinging to individually, nationally and
globally that prevents our development as a species and our ability
to create peace and plenty for everyone?”
Stated simply, and in a negative light, Saturn in
Leo opposed Neptune in Aquarius polarizes issues of self interest
against altruism, placing the needs of the few at odds with the
needs of the many. Seen positively enlightened leadership can take
a strong stand and set an example for a populace which reacts in
a mob mindset. We witnessed the entire spectrum of human behavior
in the aftermath of Katrina. We are not choosing sides but we can
choose higher ground. The ultimate realization humanity is meant
to reach, and that the collective generational planets represent,
is that what we do to each other and the earth we do to ourselves.
Just like solidity, separation is an illusion.
Revolution or evolution
An iceberg is a good metaphor for either Uranus in
Pisces or Neptune in Aquarius as fixed and fluid energies combine
and crystallize. As an iceberg Neptune’s influence and effects in
Aquarius are largely submerged beneath the level of ordinary consciousness.
But as the tragedy of the Titanic showed (Neptune in Cancer), our
inability to comprehend and deal with the reality of the influence
does not diminish the effects.
The outgoing Piscean paradigm of hierarchy concentrates
power and resources, centralizing and controlling their distribution.
Aquarius has everything to do with distribution of resources of
an energetic or informational character. How we distribute knowledge,
food and resources is at issue, and certainly fossil fuels versus
free energy technologies provide modern classrooms for this lesson.
As Uranus begins a new 84-year cycle in 2011 and Neptune
moves into its own sign in 2012 we will also witness winter solstice
sunrise conjoin the rare alignment of the galactic plane and the
ecliptic. As the outer planets serve to magnetize the evolutionary
process we live at a time of rapid change and heightened frequencies,
hopefully moving toward more Aquarian views. At a deep level humanity’s
collective awareness rebels against mental hegemony. The rebellion
is largely one of consciousness. It is my opinion that one manifestation
of the revolution is the enormous popularity of Harry Potter and
The DaVinci Code. Both address the issue of power structures which
decide how people are valued and what they can believe. Forces at
the heart of this collective metamorphosis are Neptune’s compassion
and the Uranian impulse to reveal truth.
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