Neptune into Pisces- let's get creative

"Screw you guys. I'm going home."

How do you feel when you think of the ocean? Of deep currents of water, moving and shifting, connecting the entire globe? It's an inspiring place, and has been for a great deal of time. In fact, recent new evidence of man-made tools on Crete suggests that early humans may have had far more sophisticated sailing technology, far earlier than expected (like, people were sailing when they were supposed to be thwacking each other over the head with mammoth bones).

In astrology, Neptune is associated with water and the ocean, as well as the symbolic and archetypal associations of water- the "spiritual waters", the waters of intoxication (beer!) and the emotional waters of whatever you'd like to call the psycho-spiritual mass that binds us- the collective subconscious, our spiritual connection, our sense of being one part of a vast energy matrix. Here's a snippet about Neptune from a post I did last November on the generational planets:

- April 4, 2011 – moves into Pisces.

- Neptune dissolves the physical world wherever it touches. It represents changes in consciousness, which can include idealism, spirituality, creativity, delusion, confusion, drugs and alcohol.

- Pisces is ruled by Neptune, and is a sign typically associated with empathy and compassion as well as confusion. Neptune last entered Pisces in 1847- A year later the Communist Manifesto (compassion and idealism) was published. Impressionist painters flourished (and drank a lot of Absinthe). Opium came into use, Darwin’s theories “dissolved” the old structure of Christian theological doctrine, and Anesthetic (compassion + drugs) began to be used in hospitals.

What if… Medical Marijuana? New philosophies about people and society? New drugs or vices? New discoveries in science that question religion (… or new discoveries in religion that question science?)

So what lies ahead as Neptune approaches Pisces? Famous astrologer Steven Forest points to a few possibilities, in this video from the last NORWAC (Northwest Astrological Conference):

Click here to see the video

As in most astrological events, there are positives and negatives. The guiding principle of Neptune in Pisces is that we will feel more, and that we will be opened up to greater metaphysical possibility. Anyone with a strong Neptune or Pisces element will understand this especially well. The challenge with such exposure is that it can be, at times, overwhelming... and people will seek to escape from it. Last time Neptune was in Pisces, the subject of Opium was one of international interest and conflict (including the second opium war in China), and Absinthe became a fashionable and widespread intoxicating beverage in France and elsewhere.

Neptune in Pisces may or may not facilitate encounters with the green fairy.

But, undeniably, Neptune opens doors that move people to explore what's on the other side. Many interesting developments seemed to be inspired during the last passage of Neptune in Pisces starting in 1847, and manifested more concretely during the following passage of Neptune through Aries (the Cardinal sign of pioneering manifestation). A few examples:

Mormonism: 1847 onward saw the presidency of Brigham Young and the development of Salt Lake City as a Mormon "Promised Land"
Theosophy: Helena Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophy movement, travels the world and takes inspiration from a variety of spiritual traditions.
Atlantis: A French ethnographer who translated the Popol Vuh, a sacred book of the Maya, began to speculate about a connection between the lost continent of Atlantis and Mayan culture
Oil (You might as well call it a theology in and of itself): In 1859, oil struck in Titusville, PA gave birth to the modern commercial oil industry.
India Pale Ale: British export beer originally made for traveling to colonial India becomes popular amongst people back home in England. A tasty example of increasing global connections.

What could breakaway Christianity, occult beliefs, oil and beer have to do with Neptune? Consider these developments. Mormonism taught that inhabitants of Native America were descendants of some of the lost tribes of Israel. Theosophy sought a concept of spiritual truth binding spiritual heritages from around the world. Atlantis, especially with the popular publication in 1882 of Atlantis: The Antidiluvian World by Ignatius L. Donnelly several years after Neptune passed through Aries. Oil began to develop as a resource not only useful globally, but available globally. And beer traveled around the world. These events, amongst others during the time of Neptune in Pisces, represent an underlying increase in the sense of global unity. Scholars investigating Atlantis saw the great cultural heritage of the Americas as being linked to those of the Old World through a common heritage, while Theosophy worked to demonstrate the common truth in world religions. Beer and Oil developed as lubrication, literally and mentally, for a world connected.

I admit, the idea that Indigenous Americans would need a common heritage with Europeans can be demeaning, and may well be connected to over a century of colonial mentality. But, if you take these developments in context (It was 1847 people! They didn't even have toilet paper! Until, that is, commercial toilet paper was mercifully invented while Neptune was still in Pisces, in 1857), you see that influential people around the world were seeking a system of unity and global consciousness.

Without even discussing the actual existence of Atlantis, it's easy to see its significance as a unifying mythical tale. Lacking any discussion of religious particulars, Atlantis was seen as a real place of ancient wisdom lost and found again. It was a binding heritage of people across the globe. It represents the dissolved boundaries of space, time, and physical reality, without which people gained access to ideas that solidified in the following epoch of Neptune in Aries. Now, as then, we embark on 15 years of old boundaries washed away. We may find, in the waters that wash in, the inspiration for a new world, one that will take physical shape starting in 2026.

As things in the world become more and more dire, don't be afraid of these boundaries that wash away. Instead, look through them, and find the inspiration for a healing new vision of the world.

And have a nice, tasty beer to celebrate Neptune in Pisces.

Neptunian types and everybody: Are you feeling the upcoming change? What do you think of the developments last time Neptune was in Pisces? What dreams do you want to manifest? This is a great topic for a good discussion!