Jeffrey: On April 4, Neptune—the outer planet that governs mysticism and dreams and illusion and transcendence of the ego (among other things)—entered Pisces, which according to modern astrologers is the sign that it rules. Neptune is a very slow-moving planet, so it will be in Pisces for a long time, but this time around it’s only dipping into the first degree of Pisces. It’s going to station retrograde at the end of the first degree of Pisces around June 3, and then it’s going to go back into Aquarius August 4, so we’re basically just getting Neptune dipping its toe into the water, before it really dives in for the long haul.
Michelle: This is the trailer before the movie, actually.
Jeffrey: Yes. So what does this trailer advertise for us Michelle?
Michelle: Well you know, it’s funny because Neptune is one of those outer planets and just like Uranus and Pluto, it tends to—when these 3 planets move into new places in the zodiac—it resonates with some pretty noticeable cultural shifts. So if we think about Neptune and Pisces, they have such similar vibrations, so compassion and intuition or sacrificing yourself for the greater good or for the love of another person or an ideal … we may see a lot more of this. Neptune energy wants to dissolve itself and merge with whoever is around or—if you’re sort of a devotee of a religion or type of spiritual practice, wanting to merge with the divine—and that can be a lovely thing, but we always come up with the underside of any planetary expression. So on the problematic side, where we get Neptune and Pisces together, we can see life through rose-colored glasses. Those glasses are so beautifully colored pink that they [hide] the necessary but ugly truth. So sometimes it’s hard to see people as they truly are because you’ve dressed them up in all the Neptune tinsel and gossamer and turned them into this fantastic mythical being that they can never live up to.
Water as a Commodity
Jeffrey: On a mundane level, Neptune rules water and oil and drugs. I’m definitely not a mundane astrologer by any means, but I would imagine that water and oil and energy consumption are going to be much in the forefront. I actually just read this fascinating article in Fast Company magazine about how big corporations are learning to be more efficient with water. For every liter of Coke that’s made you have to use 3 or 5 liters of water. It seems that there’d be an unlimited supply and it’s not like it actually ever leaves the earth but there are vast amounts of the world that are struggling with having clean drinking water and are suffering diseases while there are companies that want to privatize it. It seems like a vast resource that we take for granted but it actually has economic value. I think over time we are going to be confronted with how we use this resource.
Michelle: Absolutely. I think that we’re definitely going to see that. The issue of water as a commodity is going to probably be turned on its ear and examined. I mean, do we have the right to make water an available, commercial commodity when there are people who do not have access to it? Do we have the right to bottle water? I think these kinds of debates are going to be right out there for all of us to really think about.
Personal Transits
Jeffrey: So for Pisces Sun people, this is going to be a pretty significant transit. Obviously it would depend on where your Sun is within the sign, because if it’s at the end, Neptune will take many years to get there, but on a personal level, this is truly about dissolving your sense of identity. A lot of people can feel pretty lost during a Neptune transit knowing that the ground beneath their feet is being pulled out from under them; they don’t know quite who they are. The upside is definitely feeling a sense of oneness with something that is greater than yourself, feeling inspired artistically, musically, mystically. And for those of you that also have your Suns in any mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius) Neptune over this long period will be making a square or opposition to your Suns, so that in and of itself is going to have a greater sense of tension involved in how you express your sense of purpose. So we will definitely be talking about Neptune in Pisces for quite a long time.
How to Tell if You Are Neptunian
Michelle: [For those who are] new to astrology and aren’t sure whether they would be strongly Piscean or Neptunian: you have strong Pisces or Neptune energy if you have the Sun or your rising sign in Pisces or if you have Pisces or planet Neptune on any of the four angular houses (1, 4, 7 and 10) or if you have a Pisces stellium, which is a grouping of 3 or more planets in the sign of Pisces. Or maybe your Sun is conjunct Neptune. So you strongly Pisces-flavored people really need to work harder than others to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground because the Neptune in Pisces energy really exaggerates the desire to climb into your own little world. That’s fine if you can afford to do that, but you also have to stay present to the real life people that are in your environment now.
Jeffrey: Exactly. Just to give people a sense of perspective, Neptune is not going to enter Aries until 2025. So this is a very long stay.