Neptune transits are very much feared by modern astrologers, much more so than those of Uranus and Pluto. Even though contemporary astrology doesn't believe in "benefic" and "malefic" planets, Neptune seems to be the exception to that rule. To be fair, astrologers do mention words like inspiration, imagination, artistic inclinations and so forth, but never fail to stress how everything connected to Neptune seems to be an illusion. Neptune is foggy, makes you weak and dependent and also unable to see clearly. In a nutshell, Neptune's world is not real. But what if, viewed from another perspective, this Neptunian world is COMPLETELY and UTTERLY real?
When we are born, we see the world as an extension of ourselves. We want to have everything and what's more, we believe we DESERVE to have everything. Very soon, however, we realize that we have entered a world of deprivation. There are limits to what we can have and we are told we are being selfish if we want our every whim to be satisfied. And that is because we are not alone and there are other individuals whose wishes clash with our own. We may want our mother constantly on our side, but our mother is also an individual and has her own needs and no matter how much she loves us, we are a burden for her sometimes. We may want to have every toy in the toy store, but our parents can't afford it, so we settle for less. We may want unconditional love from everybody in our environment, but we very rarely get it, if at all. In short, we enter Saturn's world and, if we want to survive, we have to adapt to it. This is of course a necessary process, because this world, which is a world of separateness, is ruled by Saturn and we must pay our dues since we are a part of it. What we seem to forget by struggling hard to survive however, is that saturnian values are not NATURAL. We are not predisposed to liking them and, at best, they are an acquired taste.
So what happens when we are under a heavy Neptune transit or progression? The newborn baby in us wakes up and reclaims what is rightfully its' own. Which is nothing other than ecstasy on a 24-hour basis. We look at our lives and the saturnian structures that took us so long to build and we are horrified at the outcome. No, this is not a time of illusion as the modern textbooks would have you believe. Instead, we are violently DISILLUSIONED with our so-called "accomplishments". Suddenly, our job, our relationships, our friendships, everything that our life is built on leaves a lot to be desired. It's not the same as Uranus and Pluto. With Uranus, there is still hope that if we make some changes, things will start to look up and with Pluto we believe that our unhappiness is due to unintegrated aspects of ourselves. With Neptune, however, we finally come face to face with the horrible truth that life on earth (Saturn) and ecstasy are incompatible.
This is a very painful moment. Everything becomes meaningless and we realize that no matter what we do, we will never become happy. That's why we mess up during these transits. We are so desperate to cling to our saturnian selves, to our old view of reality, that we are willing to do anything to deaden the pain. We find a new job, we form new relationships, we take up the use of substances, but everything fails. And it fails, not because of Neptune, but because we tried to respond to a Neptune transit in a saturnian way. We search in the saturnian world for something to fulfil the neptunian longing. But no such thing exists. And we finally begin to feel compassion for alcoholics and drug users because they are no longer weak. They are simply SANE. They are embracing a reality that we've been busy avoiding for so long.
But then we reach a dead end. We realize that we can't go over to Neptune completely, because then we will cease to function in the saturnian world, as is the case with substance abusers. Whether we like it or not, Saturn doesn't go away and even though fake, we are forced to experience his fake reality. What we should do during a Neptune transit is actually NOTHING. Neptune is not about action, it's about inertia. We must limit our external responsibilities as much as possible and allow ourselves time for self-pity and depression. Yes, why not? We must face the pain of being incarnate. We must give ourselves time to grieve over our lost paradise. We have earned it after worshipping at Saturn's altar for the best part of our lives. And when, inevitably, we return to our saturnian lives, we will hopefully have a different attitude towards it. We may still go after our ego desires, but with a spirit of NON-ATTACHMENT. Since nothing is capable of bringing us eternal bliss, we should stop investing ourselves emotionally in the outcome. This is not the same as apathy. We will still feel pain for our losses, but we will not suffer interminably because of them, as if our whole lives depended on our winning.
When we are born, we see the world as an extension of ourselves. We want to have everything and what's more, we believe we DESERVE to have everything. Very soon, however, we realize that we have entered a world of deprivation. There are limits to what we can have and we are told we are being selfish if we want our every whim to be satisfied. And that is because we are not alone and there are other individuals whose wishes clash with our own. We may want our mother constantly on our side, but our mother is also an individual and has her own needs and no matter how much she loves us, we are a burden for her sometimes. We may want to have every toy in the toy store, but our parents can't afford it, so we settle for less. We may want unconditional love from everybody in our environment, but we very rarely get it, if at all. In short, we enter Saturn's world and, if we want to survive, we have to adapt to it. This is of course a necessary process, because this world, which is a world of separateness, is ruled by Saturn and we must pay our dues since we are a part of it. What we seem to forget by struggling hard to survive however, is that saturnian values are not NATURAL. We are not predisposed to liking them and, at best, they are an acquired taste.
So what happens when we are under a heavy Neptune transit or progression? The newborn baby in us wakes up and reclaims what is rightfully its' own. Which is nothing other than ecstasy on a 24-hour basis. We look at our lives and the saturnian structures that took us so long to build and we are horrified at the outcome. No, this is not a time of illusion as the modern textbooks would have you believe. Instead, we are violently DISILLUSIONED with our so-called "accomplishments". Suddenly, our job, our relationships, our friendships, everything that our life is built on leaves a lot to be desired. It's not the same as Uranus and Pluto. With Uranus, there is still hope that if we make some changes, things will start to look up and with Pluto we believe that our unhappiness is due to unintegrated aspects of ourselves. With Neptune, however, we finally come face to face with the horrible truth that life on earth (Saturn) and ecstasy are incompatible.
This is a very painful moment. Everything becomes meaningless and we realize that no matter what we do, we will never become happy. That's why we mess up during these transits. We are so desperate to cling to our saturnian selves, to our old view of reality, that we are willing to do anything to deaden the pain. We find a new job, we form new relationships, we take up the use of substances, but everything fails. And it fails, not because of Neptune, but because we tried to respond to a Neptune transit in a saturnian way. We search in the saturnian world for something to fulfil the neptunian longing. But no such thing exists. And we finally begin to feel compassion for alcoholics and drug users because they are no longer weak. They are simply SANE. They are embracing a reality that we've been busy avoiding for so long.
But then we reach a dead end. We realize that we can't go over to Neptune completely, because then we will cease to function in the saturnian world, as is the case with substance abusers. Whether we like it or not, Saturn doesn't go away and even though fake, we are forced to experience his fake reality. What we should do during a Neptune transit is actually NOTHING. Neptune is not about action, it's about inertia. We must limit our external responsibilities as much as possible and allow ourselves time for self-pity and depression. Yes, why not? We must face the pain of being incarnate. We must give ourselves time to grieve over our lost paradise. We have earned it after worshipping at Saturn's altar for the best part of our lives. And when, inevitably, we return to our saturnian lives, we will hopefully have a different attitude towards it. We may still go after our ego desires, but with a spirit of NON-ATTACHMENT. Since nothing is capable of bringing us eternal bliss, we should stop investing ourselves emotionally in the outcome. This is not the same as apathy. We will still feel pain for our losses, but we will not suffer interminably because of them, as if our whole lives depended on our winning.
Nice alternate take on Neptune. Indeed, most astrologers do not have much good to say about those transits. I have strong Neptune natally and usually wish I only had transiting aspects to worry about...;-) It is hard knowing how to put that to good use for one's whole life while living in a Saturnian realm, particularly in cultures where that energy is not given any positive meaning.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Any inclination to further my 'career' has been completely sabotaged since Neptune entered my Aquarian sixth.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post.
Ninth