Neptune AstrologyNeptune in Pisces
On a personal level, because it is so slow, Neptune is likely to cross any planet or angle only once or twice in a lifetime so we cannot refer back to earlier experiences to gain better insights, we must use intuition more and try to glean from historical events what Neptune does. Some Neptune in Pisces events47– 61 Paul begins Christianity Buddhism introduced to China. 374 - 389 Nicene Christianity officially adopted by Rome 538 -552 Spread of Buddhism –official introduction to Japan. St David brings Christianity to Wales 550. 701 - 716 Muslim expansion –Moorish invasion of Spain. Muslim state established in modern Pakistan. 712. 1192 - 1207 Crusades. The 4th seen as final act in Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church. 1520 - 1534 Martin Luther condemned as heretic and excommunicated Henry 8th cut ties with church of Rome. Calvin starts Protestant movement in France. 1684 - 1698 Louis 14th bans all religions in France except R.C. Salem witch trials. Newton published “Principia,” most basic book in all science 1847 - 1862 Communist Manifesto by Marx & Engels. Speed of light first measured Darwin’s Origin of Species published We notice a common thread…at these times the various belief-systems that dominate the world take important steps forward. Each of the movements that support these ideologies believes in them as though they were truth, yet Neptune doesn’t even believe in truth. Neptune wants us to know that the map we have of reality is only a story, only of local relevance, only temporary and never finally provable.
Possibly the most poignant political issue of the day has to do with borders too – Brexit and the election of Trump. In both cases many lies were told and the result seemed to shock and even dismay the winners who had no sense that the need for strong borders was such an emotional question for the voters. When we discuss what dissolves boundaries, nothing is more obvious in astrology than Neptune in Pisces.
All the other planets, even Pluto to a considerable extent, bring us into deeper relationship with normal everyday life, each in their own way, but Neptune’s focus is not that. It is deals with questions of reality and identity. What is real? Who am I? Am I real or an illusion? It is not only hippies and other druggies that are asking these questions; scientists at the leading edge of physics and technology have similar uncertainties. In Astrology, Neptune asks these questions of us and yet gives no answers. It is enigmatic in the extreme, it answers everything with the Zen wisdom “not this not that!” Neptune astrology transits bring confusion and illusion – but also spiritual clarity and dis-illusion-ment. At first, gripped by, and gripping onto, our false sense of who we are and what is real, Neptune washes away all the anchorage points of our lives, and we lose traction. With Mercury we lose our sense of clear-mindedness; with Venus we become foolishly un-boundaried in the fantasy of romantic love; with Mars it disinclines us away from self-serving action towards the hidden self-gratification of altruism. Neptune-Sun connections rob us of the all-important definition of ego that allows us to operate safely in a dangerous world.
And these transits go on and on. As soon as we rebuild our lives another tsunami comes along and we lose all the structures of limitation again and yet again until we find within ourselves a place of surrender and willing acceptance. From that moment all is well – then we flow with the deepest mystery and ride the tides of change. The more we allow Neptune to carry us along the better it feels. There is a beautiful serenity, a blissful sense of sweet goodness and a tiny but spiritually-transforming glimpse of All That Is.
7 Comments
RUBY asks
5/11/2018 04:27:45 am What does Neptune transiting my descendant mean? In 2019, transit Neptune are going through my descendant, so I want to know about it. James responds... Neptune transit Descendent The four angles are primary in chart interpretations and when one of the slower planets transits an angle then we may expect major life reorientations, which have permanent impact. These angles are the two major axes: IC|MC and Asc|Desc. The first has a lot to do with home and career, the second usually refers to our sense of who we are, how we relate generally to the world, and specifically to a partner. Any transit to the Descendant is also a transit to the Ascendant, so we cannot separate the two aspects of this one transit. Neptune is conjuncting the Desc, in opposition to the Asc – the exact hit is in 2019, so already in 2018 the forward-echo will have been experienced, and even in 2020 the after-shock will be reverberating. It is not always easy to have any real sense of what is occurring during a transit because we are too involved subjectively, and this is truer for Neptune and Pluto than for say Saturn, Uranus and Chiron. Neptune’s role in astrology is all to do with illusion and delusion. It creates illusion by the use of glamour. We all have an image that we believe describes who we are and what the world is like. In Hinduism it is called Maya, in Sufism, Ishq. It is the illusion of desire, what we project onto the facts of outer life to give it personal meaning. Because we have or have not certain qualities or experiences some of us believe ourselves to be important, some believe the opposite that we are not important. This can be physical strength or beauty, emotional drama, executive ability, teacher, leader, healer, wise man, fool…these are all examples of glamour; they are stories we make up about ourselves and the life we live. Just stories. As Neptune moves through its 176 year cycle it glamourises different aspects of life – fashions in music, clothes, sexual attractiveness, political ideals, religious teachings and so on. None of it lasts forever and some of it passes very quickly. On a personal level, because it is so slow, Neptune is likely to cross and angle only twice in a lifetime so we cannot refer back to earlier experiences to gain better insights, we must use theory and intuition more. We can see the Ascendant as a map of reality, a false personalised projection of our fears and desires crystallised into a set of behaviours and opinions that together make up the vehicle we are using to navigate our way forward; this is the personality. We create the circumstances of our lives by what we expect to happen, and that expectation is a powerful attractive force. The Descendant is the shadow of the Ascendant – all that we pretend does not exist – but in fact it does, as aspects of our hidden self. And we attract that too, typically through one-to-one relationship, either a lover or an enemy; and of course lovers can turn into enemies when they show us what we really don’t like about ourselves and try to deny. Relationship is always not so much about making us happy as making us honest. During a Neptune transit to the Descendant we are very likely to be offered a relationship which seems wonderful at first and yet is not what it seems. The partner might be a victim, an addict or other type of needy person wanting to be saved. And we have the glamour of being a rescuer, a healer or whatever. It is so hard to resist because we can get caught into the false belief that we can be rescued or that we can rescue another person. We feel saintly and humble in our self-sacrifice, and that feels so very spiritual! Yet Neptune also has the ability to expose illusion, to dis-illusion us, and reveal the deeper mysteries beneath all the lies and false promises that life offers. So this transit is also likely to be the time for a seed to be planted of true spiritual liberation. When we know we are living in a dream, we can relax and enjoy the movie we have created for ourselves, without accepting the story as anything more than entertainment and symbolic guidance. However, what is false is dissolved. We may therefore lose things we love and, even though they are unreal and temporary, that can be rather upsetting for the self-love of the ego. We must refocus to see that what has replaced the false is deeper, more precious and more real. I am aware that Ruby’s Ascendant is at Virgo 19, “A swimming race”. There is the sense of wanting to be in control (mastering the emotions of the water element), getting things perfect and competing for excellence. Neptune’s transit is across Pisces 19, “Master instructing his pupil” giving a sense of spiritual knowledge being passed to the next generation through the surrender of the student to the gentle state of having faith in the teachings. So, in summary… A period of some confusion is to be expected during which there will be disillusionment and loss of control, yet clear vision and faith will begin to replace them. The two main temptations that need to be carefully examined are the promise of a perfect romantic relationship and the promise of an unrealistic spiritual truth. No major commitments are safe for a year or two until the fog has lifted, so give things time and wait for challenges to arise in relationship and spiritual guidance so they can prove themselves true. Be careful about people who promise you a dream world; if it seems ‘too good to be true’ then probably it is not true. Also be careful about fantasy things – alcohol, drugs, self-sacrifice and rescuing others – all fantasy is riskier for a while. |
ArticlesAstrology Blog featuring transits and Sabian Symbols Categories
All
Archives
April 2020
|