NEPTUNE IN PISCES – Part 1 of a Series of Articles on Neptune’s passage into Pisces
Waking up can be a challenge when the dreams call to you. Neptune’s recent shift into Pisces this year commemorates a Neptunian transition back into the sign of Pisces, where it has the greatest affinity. For a brief time in 2011, Neptune entered the sign of Pisces, but retrograded back to Aquarius in August. This year, and for the next thirteen years, it will stay in Pisces.
In Shamanic Astrology, Neptune and Pisces are nearly one and the same when it comes down to astrological energy. Neptune is the planet of dreams and visions, of transcendence, universal love and compassion. It represents the field of intuition, inner guidance and the Higher Self or God Consciousness. Neptune is a celestial planet, and the shadow aspects can be illusions, addictions, escapism, unrealistic dreams and confusion. i.e. the ‘unreality’.
Astrological Pisces has many of the same characteristics, except this energy operates more on the human level and practices in the material or middle realm.
Pope John Paul II was beatified just hours before Osama bin Laden was reportedly killed. Soon after, a man in South Korea was found in a stone pit, crucified and wearing a crown of thorns. His neighbors stated he was a deeply religious man. A Christian minister, Harold Camping, who had been practicing his faith for 50 years, predicted both the end of the world and the rapture on May 21, 2011, rallying many thousands of believers. (This obviously failed to transpire). On the same day, Pope Benedict made a call into space for the first time since humans traveled to space in the 1960s. With these events, and following the ingress of Uranus in Aries, coupled with its square on Pluto in Capricorn, we welcome Neptune into Pisces.
In April of 2011, Neptune entered Pisces for the first time since it left in 1862. Neptune will be in Pisces for approximately 14 years, through March of 2025. This marks the completion of a full turning of the Neptunian wheel through all the 12 astrological signs. In its purest sense, Neptune in Pisces is an ideal place for spiritual transmutation. It is a time to reach to your higher self to find that we are all of the same species occupying the same planet. It is a time to have compassion and universal love for all other beings. However, each time Neptune ingresses into Pisces, it does so in a unique way because the other outer planets (primarily Pluto and Uranus) are in different spots and/or signs with different angles.
This time, Neptune is joined by Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. As I wrote about in my earlier article, the physical structure of modern civilization is undergoing collapse and revolution. Neptune in Pisces brings a potent spiritual aspect to this unfolding.
While Neptune is only in Pisces this year until the beginning of August, after it retrogrades back into Aquarius briefly, it will move back into Pisces during 2012 to stay. However, with the events listed above, combined with the other outer planetary energy, it is clear that the world is involved in upheaval forcing mankind into facing fears and the shadows of the material realm and encouraging us to evolve the strength to overcome all obstacles while also inviting spiritual evolution.
In Shamanic Astrology, Neptune and Pisces are nearly one and the same when it comes down to astrological energy.
Neptune is the planet of dreams and visions, of transcendence, universal love and compassion. It represents the field of intuition, inner guidance and the Higher Self or God Consciousness. Neptune is a celestial planet and the shadow aspect can be illusions, addictions, escapism, unrealistic dreams and confusion. i.e. the ‘unreality’.
Pisces, in turn, comes from a place of selfless love and pure giving. The Shamanic Astrology Handbook states, “The Pisces gift to humanity is the ability to merge with another person, feel what they are feeling, and then give the person the love and understanding they really need.” Ideally, Pisces is a transpersonal energy, which means beyond personal or, impersonal. Pisces wants to merge with ‘spirit’ as it’s ultimate expression. At times, this has been seen in history as sacrificing one’s self – one’s life – for erasing/negating the ‘sins’ of others. The sacrifice, in essence, becomes the symbol of taking on the world’s ‘bad blood’ and only through death can the negative energy be transformed to bring about healing and love without prejudice or judgment.
To know what may happen in the next 14 years, we can look for clues by traveling back in time to the period between 1848 and 1862. Neptune was in Pisces, but Uranus and Pluto were within 10° between 1848 and 1854, then slowly spreading apart. During the first 3 years of that period, Pluto and Uranus were in Aries, Uranus transiting into Taurus in 1851 and Pluto into Taurus beginning in 1853. Uranus stayed in Taurus until 1859 and then moved into the sign of Gemini.
Around the world, colonialism and civil wars were waged. The Industrial Revolution was taking a firm grasp in western society, moving more people into cities.
The main event in China was the Taiping Rebellion in late 1850 (until 1864) led by Hong Xiuquan, a failed civil service candidate. Hong established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with himself as king. He claimed he often had visions of God and the younger brother of Christ. Hong’s associate Yang Xiuqing claimed to be able to act as a voice of God. In addition, the 2nd Opium War was fought between 1856-1860.
In the United States, the end of the Mexican-American War brought about a complete focus on winning the soul of the Union, then there was the run up to the Civil War. Mexico was embroiled in their own racial issues, resulting in the Caste War of Yucatan and the War of the Reform. Henry David Thoreau published his well-known books, Walden and Of Civil Disobedience. Thoreau became known as a leading transcendentalist.
In Japan, the end of the Shogun or Shogunate was at hand. The identity of Japan was transformed forever with the arrival of the United States and the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Amity (or Treaty of Kanagawa). In India, a revolution in 1857 that began to take back their native lands from the East India Company was defeated when the British troops entered in force. Great Britain then took control of most of subcontinent (which included Pakistan and Bangladesh).
In Britain, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, in 1859, which set off heated spiritual and religious debates around the world.
All of the examples above had some major spiritual element involved. How the spirituality or religious beliefs were expressed and how deeply they were felt were leading causes of wars, creation of literature and other explorations. Of course, the influences of Pluto and Uranus in Taurus were also on display. Creature comforts, pleasures of the mind, spirit and body were upended and underwent dramatic transformation.
While that time period had its own unique flavor, as we come forward in time to present day, with all of the advances civilization has achieved, there is a potential for dramatic transformation of global consciousness within the next 14 years.
This is the first entry in a series of blogs that will expose what history has shown with Neptune in Pisces (in combination with Uranus/Pluto) and also to, as we navigate these current times, paint a picture of possibilities.
Look for part 2 of this coming soon . . .
Erik