April 12 10:42 AM EST
This is a once-in-a-lifetime event ! The conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune, the two co-rulers of Pisces, IN the sign of Pisces. While Jupiter and Neptune form a conjunction roughly every 13 years, they will not do so in Pisces for another 100+ years, so this our one experience of this highly mystical union. Pisces is the sign associated with our deep unconscious and the spiritual dimensions of life, and the two planets unite at 23 degrees of this impressionable and sensitive sign.
Neptune first entered Pisces in 2012. See the blog post that I wrote at the time about what we all had in store for Neptune’s long transit through Pisces! This transit lasts all the way until 2026. And re-reading this post, it is clear, it has all indeed come to pass. Just as it has, in VERY profound ways, with another one of the longest transits we are undergoing, Pluto in Capricorn. That is another one of the oldest blog posts I have here, and it makes for a brief but fascinating read, especially now that we are heading towards the conclusion of that transit (Pluto leaves Capricorn *for good* in 2024). As students of astrology, often it is these MACRO trends, these long transits which help us to to see “the forrest for the trees”, to zoom out enough on ourselves and the current culture to observe what has actually been slowly, subtly, but powerfully shifting our collective awareness and consciousness.
And that happens to be one of the functions of Neptune. While Pluto represents deep catalytic change – situations or events, whether internal (psychological) or external- from which we “will never be the same”, Neptune represents erosion/corrosion/the irretrievable but subtle shifting that nonetheless totally recreates our landscape. We can liken Pluto to the workings of a volcano- the signs may be building up imperceptibly for a while- but when it blows, it is a clear turning point, and it can be destructive and even life-threatening. Plutonian events in our personal lives or in the collective, can produce trauma, and bring the shadow out into the light. They can also heal trauma by provoking a reckoning with “what is” rather than remaining in denial. Neptune, on the other hand, we can liken to the ocean slowly eroding the coastline. Or the Grand Canyon. It is so slow and subtle we may not even recognize that change is happening, and then one day it is as clear as can be. In our personal or collective lives, this could be likened to spouses waking up next to each other one day and recognizing that over time they barely know each other any more, or that the physical/emotional “cruise control” that we have been on, has landed us somewhere worlds apart from where we want to be. Neptunian events can also blindside us, but usually because we have been ignoring the signs, or putting on rose colored glasses rather than working with reality. In both case, the opportunity to confront reality comes eventually.
As the two furthest out, and slowest moving, planets in astrology, Neptune and Pluto also represent highly evolved and nuanced parts of our personal and collective consciousness. From a mystical perspective, there are in fact three parts of personal consciousness (a trinity). And they each relate to different planets. There is the Monad, the Christ Consciousness within, the part of ourselves that knows itself in perfect unity with Source and all other things (Neptune). There is the Soul, which is an individualization of the Divine, an eternal spark on a quest for growth and ultimate re-unification with the monad (Pluto). And there is the personality self which is different in each lifetime, is also known as the EGO, is highly subjective, concerned with its perceived personal needs, and believes itself to be separate from source and everything else (the Moon). This year, and this conjunction, is calling our attention back to the beginning, back to the part of us that KNOWS itself in perfect divine harmony, to see what we can learn from that part of us.
While we are all enthralled by the moon on a regular basis, and Pluto has been very dominant in our consciousness for the past several years, 2022 puts the emphasis firmly on nebulous Neptune. When two ‘outer planets’ have a conjunction with each other, this is a significant event, akin to a “new moon” between these planets- a reset. And it puts a huge amount of emphasis on the two planets in question, especially the slower moving of the two planets, in this case Neptune. In 2020, we had two major outer planet conjunctions, the conjunction between Pluto and Saturn in January of that year, and between Saturn and Jupiter in December. That meant that 2020 was a year highly influenced by both Pluto (power, energy, transformation, soul growth) and Saturn (control, authority, structures, rules, karma). 2021 saw no major outer planet conjunctions. One of the dominant energetics of 2022 is this Jupiter Neptune conjunction, the only outer planet conjunction we have this year.
Jupiter represents beliefs and the impulse towards growth/expansion, and Neptune represents the unseen reality that rests behind our visible world, and the part of ourselves that KNOWS itself in union with the divine. And wherever Jupiter shows up in the chart, it MAGNIFIES and EXPANDS the energy. Presiding over the unseen realm, Neptune rules illusion, disillusionment, unity consciousness, the vast ocean of all being/creation/zero point field, our spiritual connection to this Source, our subjective experience of reality, and the UNITY from which our soul evolved. Our soul has direct access to the Monad (the part of us that remains in Unity consciousness) and it is Neptune that whispers these messages to us.
Modern western culture has embraced the materialist philosophy that matter is primary, and consciousness is an epiphenomenon of the brain (ie. that there is nothing that comes ‘before’ the material world). This is in stark contrast to philosophies or religions which are built on the foundation of idealism (ie. that there is a spiritual essence or energy of some kind which comes BEFORE matter, and influences its creation).
If you are a materialist, you are likely not reading this blog post! But the despair and meaninglessness of life, as viewed through the eyes of a materialist, often leads down a road of addiction and deep confusion about ones purpose and path. We might liken this to a ‘negative’ relationship with Neptune. I do not mean negative in the sense of ‘worse’, but rather in the sense that the ‘fog’ of life, the seeming incoherence of it all creates DIS-EASE between all of the various parts of ourselves, and we often fall into playing a role, or choosing a certain part of ourselves to put on display while covering up the rest (illusion). Idealists, on the other hand, aim to have some sort of relationship with the Divine, the God they perceive as either external to them (transcendent) or within them (immanent). This relationship is also governed by Neptune. We can swim in Neptune’s waters towards our own unique relationship with God. This can turn into an ecstatic dance. Or it can drown us in yearnings and desires that seem just out of reach. The idealist has more of a ‘positive’ relationship with Neptune, in the sense of the word that means active, for they are consciously seeking to develop this connection in whichever way. In fact, one could argue that if we as humans do NOT have a positive/active relationship with the Divine (which is our birthright and true nature), that that longing and void which rests in its place, is what naturally leads towards a path of addiction and suffering as we try to replace that connection with synthetic substitutes. We personally negotiate this ‘existential crisis’ in our lives in the realm of Pisces, with Neptune keeping watch. And this becomes a core life theme for those who have Pisces as a sun/moon/rising sign or have Neptune in a dominant placement (ie. conjunct the natal sun or ascendant).
Neptune does not judge. This is a very important point. Nor does it give much guidance beyond subtle whispers (IE. dreams, intuition). However, those with a deep connection to Neptune (or God) may choose to actively strengthen their Neptunian ‘muscle’ and cultivate innate, but undertaught and utilized, skills such as journeying or channeling, automatic writing, etc. which connect them more consciously to this wellspring of Divine love (and guidance/information). But overall, Neptune is deeply impartial and does not even necessarily have a ‘preference’ if we have chosen the materialist or idealist path, for it will show up in whichever ways ‘flow’ easily into our lives. It does not try to convince in any way. Its gift is deep inner KNOWING. Of our divine connection to ourselves, each other, something ‘bigger’. But it is up to us to discover these things for ourselves. And once we do, they can never be taken away from us. But Neptune does not judge. It may take decades, lifetimes, eons, to feel this knowing. And then to choose to LISTEN to the guidance, the whispers, the voice of our soul, our TRUE SELVES, which aims to guide us through the choices we make in our lives – learning to be “in the world, but not of it”.
But for most of us, this is not {yet} the reality, and we continue to be caught in the ILLUSION of separation, and in allegiance to the whimsical and short-sighted desires of our EGO (the part of us that believes itself to be separate, the personality self). That part of us gets us into all kinds of messes! There is nothing ‘wrong’ with it, it is divine too, because we are, but it is like a toddler running the show. And the ILLUSIONS that our own personal EGO buys into are as unique and varied as we are. We each may BELIEVE (Jupiter) something radically different and build an entire world up in our minds that supports that belief, ignoring everything to the contrary. This is a natural part of human nature (confirmation bias), and it is only considered a mental health issue when it is extreme in nature. But in actuality, Neptune oversees ALL of our private worlds, our fantasy lands, the ‘reality’ that we each live in that is separate from others. And again, it does not judge. As humans we have been gifted with Free Will, and if we want to spend our lives believing xyz and living as though those things were true, then we can have that experience. Neptune will weave those webs with us. Neptune will non-judgmentally agree to our beliefs (Jupiter) and comply, spinning us out into full blow fantasy, illusion, addiction, isolation and despair if that is where our mind/thoughts/beliefs are taking us. But Neptune will also remain steady in its SOUL level guidance, speaking to us softly through our intuition, always ready and willing to guide us back out of our self-created illusions and towards a HIGHER PATH that our soul wants for us. One where the defining characteristic is a recognition of the unity of all things in love.
Life on Earth is a “choose your own adventure” kind of place, and so Neptune does not judge, it allows us to choose and to continue to spin out farther away from, or closer to, our Soul truth. And there is an important point to be made here: Being a “spiritual person” (ie. involved with yoga, astrology, etc) does not make you any more adept at working with Neptune in a ‘positive’ way, than a “non-spiritual” person. Our ability to listen to our own Soul and our own intuition, and take action in that direction, and treating all people with respect and non-judgement are the qualities of Neptunian mastery. This has NOTHING to do with vocation, or spiritual interests. So while many people use spiritual tools to help them access this inner wisdom (meditation, sacred medicine, breathwork, etc), these are simply gateways.
So to summarize briefly : Since we are all ultimately leading a solitary existence, even though we are part of One in a greater mystical sense (Pisces), we are each living in our own subjective reality, and that reality is overseen by Neptune, who whispers Soul level assistance to us to help us guide our experience in the direction of Peace and Love, but is totally impartial and non-judgemental should we in fact want to make our reality about whatever we should choose, ie. money, power, sex, manipulation, drama, health crisis, victimhood, etc. How we ultimately ‘spin out’ and create these realities is through our BELIEFS (Jupiter)- the repeated thought patterns in our minds that Neptune takes as the ‘template’ to construct ‘our reality’. We choose what we believe (most people rarely stop to address their conscious beliefs, let alone try to prise apart their unconscious beliefs) and from there we continue forward and through the nifty psychological mechanism of confirmation bias (ignoring any information that does not fit our beliefs) we continue to affirm our reality (Neptune). Ultimately these Neptunian/Jupiterian machinations “collapse” (quantum physics style) into our daily bread-and-butter reality through Saturn, overseer of physical reality, structure and karma.
So we might add this all up and decide : 2022 is the year to check in on our SPIRITUAL HEALTH. What are our beliefs? What kind of “world” has this created for us? Is it a world where we feel EMPOWERED, or DISEMPOWERED? How much responsibility can we take for our life experience and the creation of “our world”? If we are not having the experience that we want to have, how can we change our beliefs, so that we can change the energetic template that Neptune is taking and using as a construction manual for our experience?
Of course, there is no shortage of invitations out there in the world to buy into any kind of narrative about what “reality” is – especially at this given moment. This is partly thanks to the eclipses in Gemini and Sagittarius between mid 2020 and late 2021 totally remaking our collective relationship with ideas/”news”/”reality”/beliefs. So now here we are. What do we believe? About ourselves? About the world? About whether it is even possible to “live from the soul”?
Now is in fact the ideal time to adjust any beliefs that are not helping us to create a world that we want to experience. For example, we can take a look at our beliefs about abundance (“There is never enough”), about conflict (“war is inevitable”), about freedom (“i can’t do what i want”), about health (“it’s just going to get worse”), and reassess them- and reprogram them.
The truth is that our SOULs are speaking to us LOUDLY right now. Neptune usually whispers but Jupiter is all about turning up the volume. We can liken Jupiter’s influence on Neptune in part to be like a bullhorn, blasting out both our conscious and unconscious beliefs, as well as our Soul’s guidance, so that we may see how well they compare. And course correct as necessary. One of Neptune’s oft-used tactics is “that nagging feeling”. If we have “that nagging feeling” about anything right now, it can be getting louder. And we would be wise to take a look at what it is communicating to us.
Well, this has been a joyfully unexpected long and rambling post – much in the vein of Pisces and Neptune and Jupiter! The bottom line is : our beliefs matter. They are the building blocks of the metaphysical process of co-creation, which ultimately leads to the brick-and-mortal reality we experience (Saturn). Our world is shifting and changing at an unprecedented rate, and “the war” that is really going on out there, may indeed be the one to wrestle control of our attention and our beliefs. Only we can choose where we put our attention (in the form of our thoughts) day by day, minute by minute, in the “ever present now moment”. Choosing to align them towards the highest values of human life, Peace and Love (Pisces), may sound airy-fairy but it is in fact a choice moment-by-moment, thought by thought.
The ancients did not know about Neptune. Neptune was only “discovered” in 1846, but if they did you can be sure this week would be a week of MASSIVE feasts and celebration. The ancients worshiped Jupiter (Zues) as their highest God, and the temple halls, the pyramids, the stone circles would be abuzz all this week in joyous celebration of life, and our incredible interconnection with each other and the world around us. We can honor that spirit by tuning into ourselves, our deepest selves, and asking where and how we can realign, what beliefs about ourselves and the world we can leave behind now, that have become too heavy to carry into the future. Then a lightness that may be hard to describe, but ever so exquisite, may come into our experience.
*art by @daniellenoel.art
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