When I had the idea to write a series of articles on the planetary archetypes, I gave credit to Neptune for the inspiration. You see, I have a very, very, very, active imagination, an imagination that can make me do everything from jump at shadows to write and self-publish feminist fantasy fiction novels (check them out here). And I have Neptune to thank for that very active imagination. Neptune aspects both my Mercury (mind/communication) and Jupiter (expansion/good fortune) so I pretty much think every idea that comes through is genius that the world needs to hear about. Whether that is true or not is irrelevant. The important thing to note here is this; Neptune gave me the idea, then wandered off into the ether. It’s up to Saturn to bring that idea down to earth and actually turn it into something.

No wonder those two don’t get on.

My Journey with Neptune

For many years I called Neptune the “bane of my existence”. I have a deeply Saturnian chart that makes Neptune very much the odd man out. As you will learn below, Neptune isn’t a fan of Saturn. Given what happened I can’t say I blame him, but the fact remains that all the planetary archetypes exist in all our charts so it’s up to them to get along, or rather it’s up to us to mediate between them. Unfortunately, when I first began studying astrology, the unevolved, overly-Saturnian, early student in me preferred to banish this wafty, disconcerting interloper rather than attempt to understand and integrate its spiritual messages.

But as Howard Sasportas says, “If you lock Neptune in the basement, it will tunnel out and pop up in the backyard”.

And that’s what happened to me.

This article is inspired by the work I have done to reclaim my Neptune and welcome it back in from the cosmic cold. It is primarily a contemplation of the power of this mystical master. Part 2, which will publish next week, will give you detailed guidance on how to work with Neptune in your own chart.

Early tip: don’t lock it in the basement. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.

The Mythology of Neptune

Neptune is known as the God of the Seas. He rules everything from the great unfathomable ocean depths to the gentle waves lapping the shore. In short, he has dominion over everything watery. But how did that come about?

The following is a brief retelling of the Greek myth of Neptune’s birth and early life. The Greeks knew Neptune as Poseidon. 

Poseidon was one of the five children swallowed by their father Cronus (aka Saturn) – the others were Hades, Vesta, Ceres & Juno – after his father, Uranus, told him one of his children would one day overthrow him. All this occurred just after Cronus castrated Uranus, a terribly morbid family affair.

Anyway, the youngest sibling, Zeus, who was spared the indignity of being swallowed, eventually tricked his father into regurgitating his brothers and sisters at which point they all emerged fully grown and not particularly happy. Thus ensued the War of the Titans, and, as foreshadowed by Uranus, Cronus’s children overthrew him. Zeus, Hades and Poseidon then took it upon themselves to divvy up the world so they could rule it. Zeus got the lands and the sky, Hades the Underworld, and Poseidon the seas.

Two important early points arise from this. Firstly, it’s easy to see why Neptune and Saturn wouldn’t get along. Neptune, none too happy about being swallowed straight after birth, was robbed of his mother’s loving touch and had no experience of the outside world. His early life is marked by isolation and loneliness, and even though he had a brother and three sisters in there with him, it seems he took his father’s suffocating control measures to heart. How would you feel if that happened to you? Angry? Yep, hold that thought. 

The second point here is that unlike Poseidon, Zeus enjoyed a normal, abundant and privileged early childhood. He was a bright, sociable, sunny lad who from all accounts was very good with the ladies. And even though the watery depths suited Poseidon’s disposition far more than the lofty heights of Mount Olympus, he was jealous of what he perceived as his brother’s glory and good fortune. To be fair to Poseidon, who wouldn’t prefer a sun-drenched mountain top retreat to a life in the Mariana Trench? Zeus welcomed Poseidon to Mount Olympus whenever he visited, but these trips only served to make Poseidon want what wasn’t his even more. This lead to Poseidon feeling cheated by the deal the three brother’s had struck and he ultimately became fixated on the things he didn’t have. What he did have was dominion over all the waters on earth, so when he was in a mood, he’d cause a devastating flood, or a raging storm at sea and he’s even said to be responsible for a few earthquakes, no doubt resulting in tidal waves. Again, hold that thought.

Throughout the course of his life, any attempt Poseidon made to acquire lands, real estate or other symbols of earthly power foundered. He did live in a magnificent watery golden palace with his beautiful wife, but somehow that was never enough for him. Unfortunately the Cosmos had other ideas for him, a sort of “stay in your watery lane” message, and that’s where the astrology of Neptune comes to the fore.

The Astrology of Neptune

Neptune rules one of the four fundamental astrological elements: water. Water is an element of great emotional power, and along with the Moon and Pluto, Neptune rules over a particular facet of the emotional nature within each and every one of us. While the Moon rules our conditioned emotional self, and Pluto indicates both emotional and psychological behaviour patterns, Neptune gives us access to that great cosmic soup, the collective unconscious.

The Collective Unconscious

Symbolically the ocean represents the collective unconscious; the place from which we all emerge and to which we will all return. As the portal to the collective unconscious, Neptune opens the way for us to experience our rich inner lives, not by giving us a map, a compass and a packed lunch, but rather by flooding our consciousness with symbols of various forms all intent on guiding us deep within ourselves. Neptune’s domain is not a place of logic, black and white rationalism, or accumulation. I prefer to envision it as a vast underwater world, multi-faceted, multi-coloured, and difficult to look directly at or to pin down. The only way to truly explore and understand the unconscious inner realms is via the symbolism Neptune presents to us: dreams, archetypes, myth, images, synchronicities and the like.

The portal to the Collective Unconscious

If you’re wondering why we even need access to, or understanding of, the collective unconscious, I am wondering why you are reading this article. But seriously, as humans we desire many things on many levels–food, water, and sex on the physical level; connection and intimacy with others on the emotional level; conversation and exchange of ideas on the mental level; a sense of meaning and purpose on the spiritual level. If you’ve ever wondered if there is something greater than you, or us, out there, that’s Neptune nudging you. If you have dreams that stay with you long after you wake, that’s Neptune too. And if you notice synchronicities and have ever attempted to ascribe meaning to symbols, then you’re well in Neptune’s grasp.

Have you ever wondered why some movies, tv show and books are wildly popular? Why some ‘work’ while others don’t? The answer lies in a simple truth that good storytelling accesses the common humanity in us all–our emotions in particular–and feeds it back to us on a roller coaster that our spirits recognise.

That’s what lies in the collective unconscious. The stuff we all know about ourselves, but have forgotten. And once you’ve opened this portal it’s like a Pandora’s box. You can’t ever hope to stuff what comes out of it back in and walk away.

Neptune as the Mystic

It’s easy to see how Neptune became associated with this archetype. Poseidon’s childhood was scarred by loneliness and isolation where he yearned for the loving touch of a mother. When he grew he yearned for lands and material wealth that was always denied him. The Cosmos apparently did this to encourage him to turn within and seek his inner wealth, to connect with something deeper and more meaningful than lands or money. Whether or not Neptune ever actually made that connection is unclear from the myths, but astrology has extrapolated that myth into Neptune as the mystic, who hears the call from within and sets off down a path, up a mountain, across an ocean, or simply into his own heart, to find the connection for which he yearns.

That is the essence of Neptune–yearning for connection. It’s not an earthly connection he seeks, such as connecting with other people or acquiring material goods. It’s the long-lost connection to the vast oneness that we all remember on some level. That is the basis for every spiritual quest, the yearning to be connected (or reconnected) to something larger than ourselves.

There are many indicators of ‘home’ in the astrological chart, the primary ones being the Moon placement and the 4^th house. But these are the ‘home’ of our conditioned self, the person we are brought up to be, the person we are taught to be, by our families, societies and culture. If you believe in past lives, it’s the self conditioned across many lifetimes. If you want to find your true home, look to your Neptune. That is the real home we are all seeking. The home of our soul.

Neptune as the Artist

In her stunning book The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption, the incomparable Liz Greene named 72 composers who have Neptune aspecting their Sun, Moon or Saturn in their natal charts. Over the years I have noted a large contingent of writers, poets, and songwriters who carry Neptune/Mercury signatures in their charts. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find designers with Neptune/Venus contacts. And as someone who writes fiction, fantasy fiction to be precise (a most Neptunian pursuit if there ever was one) I can vouch for the maddening yet magical experience of setting out to write one book, then allowing the flow to take you only to find you’ve written not only a totally different book, but the right book, the book you were meant to write all along.

Whenever you’re seized by the creative urge, know that Neptune is at hand, and he beckons you toward that portal. Let him lead you through it and you’ll create something far more magical, far more special, far more original, than anything you could have come up with on your own or with the guidance of some mere human.

As I mentioned at the top of this article, Neptune gave me the idea for this series of articles, then abandoned me. Or so I thought. I have learned that any time I think Neptune has abandoned me, it’s just my Saturn trying to be too controlling. Over a week ago I wrote an outline for this article, including headings, bullet points and most importantly the message I wanted to deliver. I intended to write, edit and publish it a day later. Instead, I found myself in the Emergency Department of our local hospital, and since then I’ve had a battery of medical tests, seen my doctor twice, and made an appointment to see a surgeon in the new year. It’s all good, I’ll be fine, luckily it’s a minor issue I can control with diet in the short term, but my Saturn has spent the last week freaking out because this article is now more than a week overdue! To make things worse, every time I sat down to write it, I kept getting lost, confused, and wrote nothing but downright drivel.

It wasn’t until I gave up being Saturn, and let Neptune back in, that I managed to get this article done. And it’s nothing like I thought it would be. Instead, it’s way better.

To be clear, I needed Saturn to get me to my desk on time, to make sure I was fed and watered, and to set up the document in Scrivener, but then I politely asked Saturn to leave the building and welcomed Neptune in. These two aren’t great together, but if you can learn to work with them both, ushering one out before allowing the other in, you’ll go a lot further. And life will be much easier.

So if you fancy yourself as an artist in any way, shape, or form, let go of your need to control the process and the outcomes. If Neptune has had anything to do with the inspiration, he will come to you and be the muse you need to bring your message to the world, whatever form that may take.

Neptune as the Psychic

Whether you believe in psychic sensitivities or not (again, if you’re reading this article I suspect you don’t just believe, you’ve experienced them first hand), Neptune’s connection with psychic realms cannot be disputed. Neptune is terrific at dissolving boundaries, being dreamy and seeing beyond the limited reality of the five senses. Those with a strongly Neptunian chart report psychic experiences from early childhood, with these encounters often seeming more real to them than their everyday human lives.

The real and present closeness of the collective unconscious is what gives Neptunian types their psychic sensitivities. If composers hear the song, and writers channel the story, psychics pick up messages whether in words, images, symbols or feelings, to pass on to those of us trapped in the earthly realm with nothing to help us bar our five physical senses.

If you are one of those people, make time to work on keeping that portal open. There is a reason you were born with this ‘gift’. Use it. Use it to help others. 

Neptune and Blind Spots

Thanks to Poseidon’s stubborn refusal to accept the great gift on offer to him (command over all the water on earth), Neptune also carries with it some difficulties. Depending on your disposition, these difficulties can range from mildly annoying to downright derailing.

Neptune in your chart will show you where you have blind spots. And by blind spots I mean those things that we either stubbornly refuse to see, or that everyone else can see but we think they’re crazy for seeing. For example, I have Neptune in the 11^th house of friends, group and associations. Neptune natally rules my third house of siblings and I’ve lost count of the number of times my sister has warned me about certain people, or at the very least offered up alternative views of them, only to be proven right on every occasion. Where we have Neptune we can tend to glamorise, or gloss over pesky things like facts. Once those facts burn their way into your consciousness, you can’t un-know them. I have been deceived, betrayed and generally let down by more ‘friends’ than I care to remember in this life. For that I blamed Neptune every time, for his deception, and often downright lying. But the truth was, every single time Neptune offered me the nudges, the warnings, the insights, to see the other sides to these people. And I chose to ignore them. More fool me.

So check where Neptune is in your chart by sign, house and aspect. This is where you are most likely to gloss over uncomfortable truths, not see clearly or just downright lie to yourself. It might also be where you are just plain blind. I strongly encourage you to do the painful work of peering into those blind spots. You’ll be a better person for it.

Like I said earlier, if you lock Neptune in the basement and he’ll tunnel out and pop up in the back yard. One way or another the truth will out. And the message here is this: when Neptune nudges you, no matter how difficult the message may be, PAY ATTENTION. Cutting your losses early is far less painful, and less costly, than discovering you’ve built a castle in the clouds.

Neptune and Addiction

Neptune is known for dissolving boundaries, and also for ruling the world of fantasy. As a child, having a fantasy life is an important stage of development. It marks the beginning of the realisation that we are indeed separate from our mothers (or primary caregiver). Having an active inner fantasy life for a child is their first real experience of independence. This inner world is a place only they can go. Think about your early fantasies. Did they entail freedom, independence and a life or existence different than the one offered by your parents or family?

The trouble with the fantasy life is when we fail to integrate into our own independent physical reality, preferring to withdraw to our perfect fantasy world where are perhaps safe, or the great ruler, or simply clever. There is nothing wrong with having an active fantasy life. Novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters and filmmakers have made a fortune out of doing just that in their adults lives. But when ‘real life’ fails to live up to your expectations in one way or another and you retreat to that fantasy world instead of toughening up and sticking with the lessons of the earthly (Saturnian) plane, that is when things come undone.

Often we retreat to fantasy worlds to hide from pain, anger, loneliness or other emotions we don’t want to feel. The most extreme way to retreat is to resort to substances such as alcohol or drugs to numb that pain. Wherever you see an addict, you can bet that Neptune isn’t far away. Every time the person thinks they can get on top of it, can face their life, can move on, Neptune turns up and offers the smooth, cotton-wool padded, painless way out.

Giving advice on how to deal with addiction is beyond the scope of this article, but if your Neptune encourages you to escape rather than face reality in any area of your life, seek help. You’ll be glad you did.

Neptune and Yearning

Getting back to the myth of Poseidon, he became terribly annoyed that Zeus got all the good stuff (in his eyes) while he was left with the dumb old ocean. We can wax lyrical all we like about the beauty, depth, and importance of the oceans (sidebar: the health of the oceans is directly correlated to the health of our planet. Sick oceans = dying earth), but there will always be something about Neptune that makes us want what we don’t have. That inner hoping, or wishing, or praying, or coveting? That’s Neptune singing his watery song.

There is nothing wrong with yearning per se. Of course there isn’t. You can yearn for a better life, a flatter stomach, or a better job. That’s harmless enough. But when the yearning either (1) fails to be backed up by a real world plan, or (2) becomes a baseless obsession, then, instead of moving to a nicer place, joining a gym, or registering with an employment agency, we instead rage against the unfairness of it all, retreat into our fantasy world and get kicked out of our current place for forgetting to pay the rent, binge eat and put on more weight, or become a slacker at work and get the sack.

That’s the downside of yearning.

The upside of yearning is that it can be used as inspiration (a very Neptunian word) for a change, a quest, or a new beginning. If you yearn to travel to Europe, then get on the internet and research flights, accommodation, tours and the like. If you really want that flat stomach, visit your local gym or ring a personal trainer. If you hate your job, a thousand new ones are only a click away on the internet. Again, Neptune is great for yearning, but not so great at doing. Once you have the inspiration, thank Neptune, then usher him to the door. You’ll need Saturn, Mercury and maybe Mars to get the rest of the stuff done here.

If you yearn for a spiritual quest, by all means keep Neptune close. Only usher him out if you need to make travel arrangements. With him in charge none of your flights will connect and there’ll be mix ups with all your hotel bookings.

And when you pack your spiritual quest bag, take Jupiter with you too. Poseidon may have been jealous of his brother Zeus (aka Jupiter) but they were buddies, and if a spiritual quest is your thing, then Jupiter is an excellent travel companion.

The bottom line here is that Neptune is not to be relied upon for sensible, earthly plans. Don’t let him balance your check book and certainly don’t rely on him to get your taxes done on time. But when you need inspiration for a creative project, your next holiday, or to know whether that person you just met is ‘the one’, head to his portal and download those messages.

And learn to trust what you receive.

Working with Neptune in Your Chart

When I set out to write this article, I intended to do a detailed guide on how to work with Neptune in your chart, including where and how to find that portal to the collective unconscious, and navigating your way through once you’re there. But that will take another article almost as long as this one, so stay tuned for part 2 next week.

In the interim, start a dream journal. This is easy enough with smart phones – you don’t even have to write anything down. Just wake up, and create a voice memo recounting the contents of your dream. Pay particular attention to colours, feelings and images that stick with you.

More on that next week.