Dazed and Confused About Sums it Up

As Neptune finishes out Pisces, we are left with a hangover

I am away on a little solo retreat at a monastery here in Washington State for a few days, so I am rerunning this post on Neptune because I feel Neptune’s energy from the end degrees of Pisces has been driving much of the hangover-like energy we’ve been feeling since the beginning of January.

Note this post is from June 2024, back when I was essentially posting the show notes from my podcast, so it may read a bit bare bones.

Outline:

• Neptune context: briefly, the mythology and astronomy

• Neptune astrological associations

• Transiting Neptune, and Neptune in your birth chart

Neptune Mythology

Neptune, also known as Poseidon, was the Olympian god of the sea, floods, drought, earthquakes, and horses. Like his siblings, he was swallowed immediately after birth by his father Saturn/Kronos, but later freed by Zeus and eventually the siblings overthrew Saturn and the Titans. The brothers drew lots and Poseidon won the sea as his domain. (Zeus/Jupiter got the Land and Sky and Hades/Pluto the Underworld.)

Some myths representative of Neptune’s character:

• He entered a contest with the goddess Athena to rule Athens and produced the very first horse as a gift. But the king refused him the prize, and in anger, Poseidon caused a drought.

• While Demeter/Ceres was searching for her daughter Persephone, he took the shape of a horse and assaulted her.

• He seduced many nymphs and mortal women often in the guise of an animal or flowing water.

Neptune’s Astronomy

Neptune is the 8th and most distant planet from the Sun, and the 4th largest. It was the first to be discovered with math, and in true Neptunian fashion (we will get to why in a bit), was overlooked several times before they finally spotted it just where it was calculated it should be. It is composed mostly of hydrogen, helium, and methane (which is what causes it to appear blue, as methane absorbs red light and reflect blue).

It has 14 moons, of which Triton is the largest and was the first to be discovered, just 17 days after Neptune was discovered. One Neptune day is 16 hours, and one orbit around the Sun takes 165 Earth years.

Astrological Associations of Neptune

Neptune is associated with the sign of Pisces and the 12th house. Astrologers who practice Hellenistic astrology do not name Neptune as the ruler of Pisces (it remains Jupiter), but those who practice modern astrology tend to name Neptune as the ruler of Pisces. It’s not like it is a big drama or anything, I just point that out, as it can be confusing if you consult multiple astrology sources.

Photo by Daniels Joffe on Unsplash

This is super relevant right now, because Neptune is at the last degree of Pisces [Jan 2025 Update: On March 3, Neptune will be at 29° Pisces for the last time in our lifetimes, after giving us a couple of previews in 2024, not to return to Pisces until 2176]. The Sabian symbol (messages channeled in 1925 by psychic Elsie Wheeler to astrologer Dr. Marc Edmunds Jones) for this position is:

A majestic rock formation resembling a face is idealized by a boy who takes it as his ideal of greatness, and as he grows up, begins to look like it.
Eventual concrete manifestation of all higher poetic images and enduring truths of the race. Sure culmination of effort.

The astrologer Dane Rudhyar wrote about the Sabian symbols in his book An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and its 360 Symbolic Phases, something very Neptunian of the Sabian symbols:

… the series of symbols should bring order and meaning to what very often seems a chaotic and confused sequence of life events, by revealing the meaning, quality, direction and purpose of any puzzling situation which the inquirer seems unable successfully to cope with by means of rational judgments.

I am starting there, because I feel this to the bone, with Neptune in my first house and squaring my Sun. I also think it gets to some of the key concepts we associate with Neptune: spiritual, mysticism, illusions, delusions, how we fit into the whole of the universe, what lies beneath, blurring of lines, escapism. As with all of the planets’ archetypes, there is a cautionary tale. For Neptune, it is that if we don’t know who we are, we may allow ourselves to blur into something we are not. The Sabian symbol shows another Neptune theme, the idealization to the point of delusion.

I suppose there is a very fine line in spirituality between belief and delusion. I face this when I practice mediumship. I have to trust what is coming through, yet there is always a shred of doubt - am I imagining all of it? Which leads to another major Neptunian concept. Because at some point we have a spiritual experience, whether it is looking at the Grand Canyon, having a baby, having an up close wild animal encounter, or seeing an eclipse, and you wonder how all of us got here and why. What is our purpose in the greater whole?

From a practical perspective, if Neptune plays prominently in your birth chart, you may be very imaginative or be drawn to the mystical. You may also have a hard time being seen (hence the synchronicity of the planet being hidden in plain sight). You may idealize people and situations, just like the little boy in the Sabian Symbol. Or, like me, you may be drawn to escape from life using alcohol, or idealize people to the point of delusion and then abruptly wake up.

Here is a bit about the medical astrology correlations from Judith Hill’s excellent book Medical Astrology, A Guide to Planetary Pathology:

Neptune’s domain includes: gas leaks, viruses, hidden poisons, contagious illness and psychic suggestion, hypnosis, fatigue, sleeping. Neptune is the planet of sleep and his transits to important planets produce drowsiness. He confuses and cloud any issue, making correct diagnosis problematic.

With Neptune in my first house, I find it interesting that I have had chronic sleep issues my entire life, have had difficult to diagnose medical problems, and eventually became a hypnotist!

Let’s go through some specifics by looking at Neptune through the houses. Also, you can somewhat apply these to the signs by equating the first house with Aries, second with Taurus, and so on. With these outer planets, because they remain in the same sign so long, many of your peers share the same sign but of course the house is very changeable.

Here is summarized info from Steven Forrest’s The Book of Water: Healing, Regeneration, and Recovery on Neptune in the houses, use this info for the placement of Neptune in your birth chart, or where Neptune is hanging out in your chart now (27° - 29° Pisces).

As a reminder, you can download your birth chart free at any of the online sites, such as astro.com or astroseek, and the houses go 1 to 12, starting on the midline (9 o’clock) on the left of the circle and going counter-clockwise.

1st house: I have to follow my own spiritual path, even if others believe it is selfish and I fail to live up to others expectation and requirements. Oof, this is me, after first numbing myself to spirit with spirits (alcohol), which is a pitfall associated with not listening to your Neptune.

2nd house: I may need to invest some resources in my spiritual journey. If I don’t I may find stagnation because I didn’t believe in myself or what I truly needed to evolve.

3rd house: I may perceive mystical messages and will need to communicate with others who understand and be teachers. If I keep it to myself I will become confused and my speech will reflect that confusion.

4th house: In the quiet haven of home, I can connect with my soul family or ancestral lineage for guidance. If I fail to tap into this resource, I may become a sort of walking ghost, just going through the motions of familial tasks.

5th house: I need to incorporate play, joy, and creativity in my spiritual journey. If I deny this, I may use my appetites for play to escape reality altogether.

6th house: I develop a spiritual practice that sustains me on a daily basis. It could be through service and may involve spiritual mentors along the way. If I don’t, I may become disillusioned with those who I serve on a daily basis, and lose my Why.

7th house: I identify like minded kindred spirits who I can connect to on a soul level. I don’t pretend if that connection isn’t there. If I neglect this requirement for a soul level connection or overlook signs that it is not there, I may end up with someone unhealthy for me.

8th house: I encounter deep experiences with life-force in order to renew. It may be through sexual encounters or experiences with sacred objects or places that just give me goosebumps. If I avoid this, I may place faith in the wrong people or things and end up depressed or drained.

9th house: I need to open my mind up to expansive spiritual ideas, moments, places though travel or learning. If I remain on the level of religion, I miss out on growth.

10th house: I may naturally be a spiritual leader, whatever that looks like for me humbly sharing my gifts with those who would benefit from leadership. I need to avoid becoming a self-important guru or spokesperson for God.

11th house: I will find a group of friends or allies who are on the same spiritual wavelength as I am. If I don’t and instead focus only on social groups, I do not learn and life with my group can become superficial or escapist.

12th house: I understand that I need solitary time to nurture the deep connection to Source, or Spirit, or God that I naturally feel. If I deny this, I may just escape or become closed off.

I trust that you may need some time to sit with Neptune before its significance in your life at present becomes clear. It is not in your face Mars, as it operates more subtly. All the more reason to intentionally examine its impact and make it conscious.

I would love to hear in the comments how you have seen Neptune play out in your life!

References:

Astronomy

Mythology

Medical astrology info from Judith Hill’s book: Medical Astrology: A Guide to Planetary Pathology

Neptune through the houses info from Steven Forrest’s book: The Book of Water: Healing, Regeneration, and Recovery

Related:

Saturn and Neptune Turn Retrograde in Pisces