At the end of 2025 I wrote two articles on Neptune. The first, Neptune – Portal to the Collective Unconscious, was a a contemplation of the power of this mystical master. The second, Deja Vue – The Final Release of Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, was a call to action (a very un-Neptunian thing) regarding the final passage of Neptune through Pisces.

In this article, I am coming good on a promise I made in my first Neptune article. Here I will give you practical guidance on how to recognise and work with Neptune in your own chart. I’ll begin with a few general suggestions that everyone can incorporate immediately, then dive into more specifics within the birth chart.

Hearing the Song

Over the holiday break, I watched season 2 of A Man On The Inside on Netflix. Ted Danson stars as a retired widower who takes a job as a private investigator and becomes their “man on the inside”. In season one, he infiltrates a senior’s care home. In season 2 he joins the faculty of the local college as an engineering professor. The show is a heartfelt and often amusing take on life beyond retirement. But that’s not why I’m mentioning it here.

In season two Charles (Ted Danson) meets a music teacher, Mona (Danson’s real-life wife Mary Steenburgen), and they become romantically entangled. During one of their early encounters, Mona suddenly stops talking and her face goes blank. She gazes off into the distance before abruptly turning and walking away from Charles without another word. At first Charles worries she might have a screw loose, but the truth is far more magical. Mona hears melodies. And when she hears one she stops whatever she is doing and heads to her studio to play it/write it down.

Why am I telling you this? Because Mona is in the grip of Neptune, and she shows us exactly what we need to do when he visits.

Working with Neptune

Many poets, writers, artists, songwriters and musicians have experienced just what Mona did. Inspiration often arrives from nowhere, and if not heeded, will head off just as abruptly to find a vessel willing to give it life. And even though Mona is a fictional character, I have heard tales of similar experiences from living, breathing humans. I’ve heard what happens when they do capture the moment, and what happens when they don’t.

But you don’t have to be an artist, poet, musician or novelist to be touched by Neptune. We all have Neptune somewhere in our chart, so we all have the access to the magical messages he delivers. And while we mightn’t receive, or indeed want, artistic inspiration, Neptune has messages that are relevant to us all in our every day lives.

Consider this a nudge to develop your psychic sensitivities, aka your ability to experience life beyond the five physical senses. You mightn’t hear the messages with your ears or see them with your eyes. Instead you’ll hear and see them in your mind, and feel them in your heart.

Neptune and Dreams

Dream exploration is the most accessible way to interact with Neptune’s messages. Saturn might hold sway while you’re awake, but when you sleep Neptune has you firmly in his grasp. Our dreams can be described as everything from sorting through the filing cabinet of our days, to mystical journeys into the netherworld.

Do you remember your dreams? If so, do you recall them in colour? Sepia? Black and white? Are your dreams shadowy? Elusive? Dark? Do you feel intense emotions in your dreams, emotions that stay with you when you wake? Do your dreams have repetitive themes? These are all useful questions to ask yourself as you begin your own personal exploration of Neptune.

The very best way to work with dreams is to keep a dream diary. This is easily done by either keeping a notepad and pen by your bed, or digitally with your Notes app or the Voice Memo function on your smartphone. Record your dreams in as much detail as you can, paying particular attention to colours, images, places, people, and emotions that occur for you. Once you have recorded the dream, close the notepad or app and either go back to sleep or begin your day.

The best way to process dreams is to let them ferment a little. Some images and feelings stay with us as we move through the first few hours of our day. Let them. Try not analyse or overthink this. Feel the feelings and allow them to flow through you. If you need to, sit down and continue to journal about the lingering images and feelings, particularly if they contain personal meaning for you. Process them in whatever way feels relevant, safe and comfortable for you.

I recommend reviewing your dream journal at a regular interval, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly. You will find that you completely forget some dreams and realise that others are just cognitive processing and hold no deeper meaning.

And then there are the dreams that continue to elicit an emotional response from you, or those that “pop” for you. Sometimes you’ll review a dream and an intuitive knowing will tell you this is important. Good. That’s Neptune doing his work. These are the dreams to draw out and journal further on, particularly if they are repetitive, or represent an ongoing theme. This is the power of dreams. They have the ability to bring things to your conscious awareness that you may never have otherwise realised were rolling around in there. If you are seeing a therapist, these are the topics you can take in and discuss.

Symbolism and Synchronicities

If you don’t remember your dreams, there are plenty of other ways Neptune tries to get through to you. Coincidences, synchronicities, even a proliferation of a particular Sun sign in your life are all nudges for you to look deeper. Seeing the same book repeatedly, the same animal or insect, being drawn to a particular colour, are all signposts guiding you.

As an astrologer I always notice when clusters of particular sun signs enter and leave my life. Try taking a Sun sign inventory of your friends, family, work colleagues, even neighbours. If you find a proliferation of one or two Sun signs, look to where those signs sit in your chart. You can also review the function of the ruling planets. For example, if you have a glut of Librans in your life, look to where Libra is in your chart as well as where your Venus is. Note if either house or planet is receiving a significant transit. This could be the universe’s way of drawing your attention to some aspect of yourself, or your life, that you are ignoring, repressing or disowning.

And pay particular attention to your responses to the Sun signs that enter your life. If you have positive experiences with a particular sign, it could indicate a nudge for you to embody the traits that you enjoy and admire. Conversely, if a particular sign really gets to you, it’s likely a sign that you are repressing, disowning or misusing the energies of that sign.

Another way Neptune sends signals is through animal visitors. I had three dragonflies cross my path within two days last year and I scurried home to Google the meaning behind their visitation (transformation, change, new beginnings and adaptability). I went through a period in my previous home where frogs kept appearing in my laundry, and rabbits crossed my path every time I walked the dogs. When you notice animal visitors, try stopping and asking, either silently or out loud, what message they bring. If that fails, resort to Google as I did and journal on the message they’re sending.

Neptune in Your Birth Chart

Neptune remains in each sign for approximately twelve to fourteen years, and as such is known as one of the “generational” planets (along with Uranus and Pluto). This means that everyone born within seven (Uranus), fourteen (Neptune) and up to thirty (Pluto) years around you, has that planet in the same sign. Hardly an indicator of individuality.

For this reason, some astrologers do not interpret the generational planets unless they aspect one or more of the personal planets. As a psychological and evolutionary astrologer, I do not adhere to that method. Every one of the planetary archetypes has a home in your birth chart, and in Neptune’s case, that home shows where and how you merge with something greater than yourself, and how you can access the world beyond your five physical senses.

To dive even deeper into your personal work with Neptune, simply locate Neptune’s house placement in your birth chart (free birth charts are available at astro.com – you’ll need your birth date, time and place). It’s also a good idea to locate the house where you have Pisces on the cusp and for the more advanced among us, check which other planets aspect Neptune. When you gather these three factors together it becomes clear how many paths the invisible world can travel down to break into our consciousness.

As an example, I have Neptune in Scorpio in the 11^th house, with Pisces on the cusp of the 3^rd house. Neptune aspects my Mars, Ascendant, Mercury, Jupiter and the Moon’s Nodes. So I would read the suggestions for the 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, & 11^th houses. That’s plenty of ways to receive Neptune’s magic.

And don’t forget: Neptune isn’t just about genius, intuitive nudges and positive signs from the universes. Neptune also indicates areas of confusion, manipulation, where you might be invisible or addicted, and where you have blind spots. As I covered in the first instalment of this series, you will receive repeated messages from Neptune regarding the affairs of this house. Whether you heed the warnings is up to you.

Neptune Guide By House

If you have Neptune in the 1^st house, Pisces rising, or Neptune aspecting Mars – You are most likely tap into Neptune’s guidance through bodily sensations such as chills, shivers, sudden warmth or tensing for no reason. You’re also likely to receive messages when you’re moving your body. I have Neptune sextile Mars and I get very clear ideas and intuitive guidance when I’m doing a workout or walking my dog. Neptune in the 1^st house is where spirit meets action. With this placement you aren’t being asked to take dictation, save the intuitive guidance for later, or create a 10-point plan. When you get the message, do something with it. Take action. I’m not saying everything will always work out exactly how you think it will. Just trust that the action you take has a place in the bigger picture. Mars is bold, and the 1^st house is where you take independent action. When the guidance comes, use it. That’s all you need to do. Blind spot? Lack of personal boundaries.

If you have Neptune in the 2^nd house, Pisces on the 2^nd house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Venus – The 2^nd house is the grounded, earthy aspect of Venus, the home of money, resources, self esteem, values. This house is also about the physical world, and your ability to provide for yourself. Popular interpretations of this placement will tell you that you are not good with money, that money slips through your fingers, or that you are easy game for the latest get-rich-quick scheme. That may be true, but I’m here to tell you something more. Those things are only true if you don’t trust that still, calm, inner voice that will always guide you to what is the best value option for you. Neptune is always sending us messages, so when someone knocks on the door with the latest money-making scheme, rather than being swept up in the promises, say ‘thanks, I’ll think about that’. Then walk away and do something else. Pounds to peanuts, when you return to the idea in a day, a week, or a month’s time, you’ll know the exact right thing to do. This also goes for spending money on pretty much anything. If you yearn for that new handbag, pair of shoes, car, anything, don’t buy it right away, no matter how strong the pull. In fact, the stronger the pull, the more you need to step away. Sleep on it. If you come back the next day, and you still want it, and can afford it, go ahead and buy it. But I guarantee that, more often than not, the desire has evaporated and your survival instinct has kicked in. Blind spot? Wasteful with resources.

If you have Neptune in the 3^rd house, Pisces on the 3^rd house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Mercury – You will receive your messages through ideas, perceptions, conversations and downloads direct to your mind. I have Pisces on the 3^rd house cusp, and Neptune aspecting my Mercury. When I first wrote fiction, I used to see a scene playing like a movie in my head, and I’d write it down. That has progressed to wholly formed sentences just flowing through my fingers onto the keyboard. The same happens when I’m writing about astrology. If I try to strong arm an article into existence it remains elusive. If I just sit down at the keyboard with a title and a notion of what I want to write about, the rest just comes to me as I’m doing it. With this Neptune placement, trust the ideas that just pop into your head. You have a direct connection from your conscious mind to the collective unconscious, the world of symbols and synchronicities. Ideas, notions, clarity or enlightenment may just pop into your head during a conversation. The urge to speak to someone about something seemingly random may occur. Follow it. They need to hear it. Blind spot? Woolly thinking.

If you have Neptune in the 4^th house, Pisces on the 4^th  house cusp, or Neptune aspecting the Moon – Your strongest messages will come from the very roots of your being. Neptune/Moon aspects bring the power of the unconscious to our individual emotional nature. This is a highly intuitive placement and connecting to the unconscious could be such a fundamental, natural thing, that you barely notice yourself doing it. You are most likely to feel messages emotionally. Your dreams may leave very strong emotional marks on you. Other aspects to Neptune, or your Moon, or other planets in the 4^th house may indicate how you act on, or communicate these messages. It may be that you are the spiritual “mother” to those around you, and to your family in particular. You may be called to provide the spiritual foundation of your own life, separate from your family. The possibilities of this placement are endless, but the fundamental truth remains –  you have a solid, foundational connection with the unseen world, and you connect via your own personal emotional nature. Blind spot? Not everyone feels the same as you.

If you have Neptune in the 5^th house, Pisces on the 5^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting your Sun – You are a channel for creativity. This placement sets you very close to the creative source, and, like Mona from A Man On The Inside, your only job is to keep the channel open and allow the inspiration free passage through. I always laugh when people say they’re not creative. We are all creative in our own way. But if someone with Neptune in the 5^th says they’re not creative, I don’t laugh. I worry. This placement is a soul-given imperative to bring beauty, or function, or enlightenment, or efficiency, or entertainment into the world. This is the placement where we genuinely create something from nothing. And it’s because the inspiration, or nudge, comes from a world completely unseen but every bit as real as this physical one. Blind spot? Not everything you create is genius.

If you have Neptune in the 6^th house, Pisces on the 6^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Mercury – You will receive Neptune’s messages as you go about your daily life. Vacuuming the floor, driving the car, standing in line to order coffee, brushing your teeth. You’re most likely to be hit with Neptune’s inspiration when you’re going through your daily motions. It’s almost as though you need to be doing something that requires just enough of your attention to free up a part of your mind to connect to something greater. This placement is also very likely to attract either a spiritual mentor (a most efficient, 6^th house way to achieve spiritual enlightenment) or a mentor who drops spiritual wisdom without them realising. But you’ll know. That’s Neptune at work in the 6^th house. Blind spot? You can’t systematise inspiration.

If you have Neptune in the 7^th house, Pisces on the 7^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Venus – With Venus in her relational Libran aspect, you are most likely to access the unseen through one-on-one connections with others. Your relationships are the source of your greatest spiritual growth and your partners will deliver Neptune’s messages even if they aren’t on a spiritual path themselves. Our one-on-one relationships are the perfect mirror and Neptune’s 7^th house message is delivered by our significant other, our business partners, or anyone else you have a close 1:1 connection with. This is also the domain of open enemies, and there is not a richer vein to tap than our view of those with whom we war. Are our enemies holding up a mirror to us? Is this Neptune’s way of urging us to embrace the negative qualities of our enemies that we are disowning in ourselves? Blind spot? Believing your partner is perfect.

If you have Neptune in the 8^th house, Pisces on the 8^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Pluto – Almost everyone has a natal sextile between Neptune and Pluto, so this section is more relevant to those who have Neptune in the 8^th house, or Pisces on the 8^th house cusp. Here we meet our own subconscious, our own programming and our own repeated behaviour patterns. With Neptune here you will desire to merge intimately with significant others, but instead you find yourself feeling isolated, alone, unable to connect with others, or unwilling to share your own resources. These feelings are Neptune’s way of pushing you to one extreme, so that you seek a path in the other direction. The direction of true connection and intimacy. If you’re someone who’s naturally good at intimacy, then your guidance will come through those intimate connections. The 8^th house is also the house of death, so this placement can quite literally open a clear channel to those who have passed from this life. There may be mediumship skills, or the ability to hear the voices of, or see, those who have passed over to the other side. If that’s the case, this is Neptune’s way of asking you to connect with  both the people who have passed, and their loved ones who remain. The 8^th house is ultimately about true intimacy and Neptune here will keep nudging you toward that no matter how hard you resist. Blind spot? Not trusting Neptune’s intuitive nudges.

If you have Neptune in the 9^th house, Pisces on the 9^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Jupiter – The 9^th house rules religion, higher meaning, study, travel, foreign places. With Neptune here you will yearn to travel, to learn, to seek a higher or broader meaning of life. You will receive your intuitive nudges when you participate in any or all of these things. I have a Neptune/Jupiter aspect in my chart and I have a strong yearning for knowledge, which has resulted in three university degrees, and one unfinished. And some of my best ideas have come to me in lectures, while reading, or while writing essays. With this placement there is an open channel between the unconscious and your higher mind. Information, ideas, and inspiration will literally flow into your mind while you’re busy praying, studying, exploring or philosophising. If you receive three impressions of a particular place from three different sources within 24 hours, that’s Neptune telling you to book your travel and go there. This is also the placement of the moment of ecstatic enlightenment, the first-hand experience of God (or whatever you believe in). Blind spot? Gurus.

If you have Neptune in the 10^th house, Pisces on the 10^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Saturn – Neptune in the 10^th house can indicate spiritual or artistic careers, but in the every day life, with these placements, your unconscious nudges will come from the concrete world. Things happening ‘out there’ in the world may land on you with a personal message. Following 9/11, I pulled my best Wedgwood china out of the back of the cupboard where it was safe from the inevitable breakages of every day use, and began using it. A full 24 years later, I am still using that china daily, and in all that time I have only broken one dinner plate, one bowl and two bread and butter plates. The message I received from those devastating attacks was not to keep things for special occasions. Use them every day. Treat yourself. You’re worth it. Because you’ll never know when it will be over. Neptune here will deliver messages to you via world events, financial market movements, even the foibles of powerful people. Listen to those messages and act on them, even if it’s something that impacts only you. It’s still one small change for the better. Blind spot? Glamorising accumulation.

If you have Neptune in the 11^th house, Pisces on the 11^th house cusp, or Neptune aspecting Uranus – Your friends, friendship groups, or any larger groups to which you belong will deliver the messages Neptune needs you to hear. This is a particularly interesting placement because Neptune always wants to merge with something larger, while Uranus asks us to individuate, to separate ourselves, to recognise our differences. With this placement there will be an urge to belong, but you must robustly maintain your individuality. If you surrender your self of self, and merge your identity with that of the group, Neptune will warn you that you’re in danger. The warnings will likely come through group activities, behaviours or ideals that you don’t personally agree with, but go along with anyway. What’s the harm, right? The psychology of groups is fascinating, but beyond the scope of this article. All I will say is that if you ignore those signals, you could find yourself relinquishing all independent thought and action, and unwittingly becoming whatever you need to “fit in”. At its worst, this is the energy of the cult. At its best it’s compassionate friends who deliver insightful messages with love and light. Make sure your desire to belong doesn’t override your sense of self. Blind spot? Always believing the group has your best interests at heart.

If you have Neptune in the 12^th house, or Pisces on the 12^th house cusp – Neptune is right at home in the 12^th house of endings, self-undoing, blind spots and the unconscious. With this placement there is a true yearning, not to mention an open connection, to the world beyond our five senses. Your dreams are alive with symbolism and meaning, you have strong psychic sensitivities. I urge you to trust them. Meditation, astral travel, dreamwork, mindfulness practices and retreating from the stresses of daily life all clear the radio signal for you to receive Neptune’s messages. The challenge with this placement is staying grounded. Look to your Saturn, Venus, Mercury and any planets in earth signs to root you into the physical world. The temptation to drift off into the ether, or live in a dreamworld is strong. Addictions are a big pull with this placement, particularly if you have hard aspects to Neptune. My advice is to develop a structured spiritual practice, such as regular meditation or keeping a dream journal. This gives you the freedom to surrender to Neptune’s pull on a regular basis, while also maintaining a functioning life on the earthly plane. Think of it as switching the TV on and watching it for an allotted time every day. Having the TV on all day is distracting, and can be a massive time waster. But if you schedule regular TV sessions you get to watch what you want to watch, while still getting plenty of other stuff done when the TV is turned off. Blind spot? Addiction.

Ok. That was a lot. I hope you’ve picked up something useful that will help you delve deeper into your own chart and closer to your soul.

Don’t forget that I am available for 1:1 chart readings via Zoom. I am now booking for Q1 2026 here.