Neptune in Pisces

While some planetary shifts come in with a bang, others are quite subtle, but equally powerful and life-changing.

Neptune in Pisces, arriving on April 4th and remaining in this sign until 2024,  brings another overlay to the current shifting of the astrological tides.

Like many of the larger transpersonal cycles, the last time Neptune was in Pisces was in 1847-1861, so this is a once-in-our lifetime transit.   Neptune is associated with spirituality, creativity and visualization, but also with fantasy, glamour, and illusion.

Likewise, Neptune is the main protagonist in all experiences involving D words:  dreams, drink, drugs, dementia, death, dissolution and disillusionment.

Water and the ocean are the domain of Pisces and with Neptune (ruling gas and oil!!!) environmental issues are here to stay. Yet, as is characteristic of the lower form of Neptune, there will be much lying and deception surrounding the health of our water systems and fishing supplies.  (Actually, when Chiron first dipped into Pisces last year, we experienced the BP oil spill and now some of the longterm consequences are being revealed as in baby dolphins washing up on the gulf coast.  And scientists are "not sure" if this is a direct result of last year's catastrophic environmental disaster!!!!!)    But, because Neptune dissolves properties and ideologies, we will eventually loosen our dependency on oil even though this may be preceded by more lies and coverups.

Neptune is associated with creativity, glamour and celebrity.  In Pisces, it is the sign of the storyteller.   Much of what is up for review now concerns our personal mythologies.  For the majority of people, there is a tendency to actually believe you are your story, which is illusion.  Maya is the domain of Neptune and we are all living a personal, familial, tribal, national, global and quite possibly even an intergalactic script.  Where does the dream end and "reality" begin?  Some of us will decide we want to create different dreams or recalibrate our current ones.  The polarity point of Virgo can allow us to finetune our inner thoughts and hence outpicture a different reality.
 
Many will NOT want to awaken from their respective dreams or nightmares, particularly in light of upcoming world events.  Escapism will continue to take all the familiar forms of addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex and romance.   And technology (the internet was born during the Neptune in Aquarius years) will continue to provide more opportunities to live in a world of one's own imagination.   Virtual reality and time travel will take on greater appeal.

The urge to loose oneself will be very compelling.  Suicide, rather directly or indirectly through substance or food choices, will be on the rise.  End of times scenarios will proliferate.  Whether it's another church or new age healing center, there will be no shortage of customers seeking redemption. 

And while many of these behaviors are foolish or destructive, there is a common albeit misguided underlying theme--the wish to return to Source.
Neptune has to do with the soul and spiritual longing.   All forms of Neptune, even the addictive expressions, are an unconscious desire to merge with God.  But as these are substitutes for the real thing, any person, thing, or concept will inevitably disappoint (another Neptune word) and the disillusionment turns one back on oneself.  And this is the dark side of glamour (false idols) with glamour meaning anything that causes us to not see the world as it really is.  So Neptune in Pisces these next 14 years may also be involved in the deconstruction of illusion and dissolving of the personal or collective dream. 

But in this 3-d world of polarity, there is also, thankfully, a good side to all of this energy.  A re-emergence of a more spiritual view of life, understanding of our ultimate unity, exploration of inner realms and dream states, deeper understanding of the collective unconsciousness are all possible manifestations of the higher form of Neptune in Pisces.

Film, poetry and the visual arts will also undergo a major renaissance.  Other eras with a strong Neptune influence included the Baroque period and the Age of Romanticism.   Photography and moving pictures were developed in previous Neptune cycles, so a new form of  visual art using yet to be invented technology (Uranus in Aries) will most likely emerge.  And I would even posit that we move beyond the three dimensional use of materials and consider energy manipulation a new form of art.  The magician David Blaine demonstrates this on a rather squeemishly sensationalistic level, but nevertheless he is his using the power of mind and energy to create a new form of performance art.

A rise in mysticism, return to esoteric practices, art as a means of transcendence are all possibilities when Neptune enters the sign of its rulership.  Many may finally connect with their beloved, soulmate or twin flame.  Rapture, ecstasy and ephiphanic experiences can occur, placing one in direct presence of the divine.

Neptune will be floating thought the sign of the collective unconscious and the dream world from now through 2024. 

Like with any planetary cycle, with awareness, we can choose how we would like it to appear in our lives.  We can recreate a new reality and follow the dreams of our soul--the dreams that brought us into incarnation.  We are the world will be more than just a song.  And redemption, an uber Neptunian word, is possible with us relinquishing our ignorance and awakening to our true identity as spirit in a material form.

One of the more positive manifestations of Neptune in Pisces could be the emergence of a unified planet and more highly evolved human consciousness. 
 

First aired on One World in Concert April 22, 2011

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Communication and the Nodes of Gemini/Sag

Events of the past three weeks have been dramatic and mind-blowing.  We have clearly accelerated into new terrain globally and personally.

This is primarily due to the advance of Uranus (planet of the future) moving into Aries (planet of beginnings) last month, setting off the World Axis of prominent global events.  There does not seem to be any area of the world that is not undergoing explosions and birthing pains.  Not only is the Middle East experiencing radical shifts in power, but the sleeping democratic process in the States is being loudly awakened.  While we were dozing, sleights of hand with power and money were taking place behind the scenes.  As Michael Moore pointed out, America is not broke--someone just took all the money off the table.

As personal resources tighten, we are beginning to notice that we have been hoodwinked into submission by our personal addictions, dramas and illusions (courtesy of Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius)  and have finally awakened with a throbbing hangover.  And most of us know that you don't mess with anyone when they're suffering a nasty headache unless you want to incur a wrathful tongue-lashing at the very least, and a pummeling at worst.

With Mercury retrograding on March 30th and continuing in reverse motion through April 23rd, we can backtrack over some of the surprising news that came our way these last few event-filled weeks.  Mercury in Aries does not have much restraint so fresh ideas, unexpected messages, strong,willful plays for independence were fired at or BY us once spring began.

And while the frequent occurrances of Mercury retrograde are generally an annoyance and nothing more, in this volatile time, every word, tweet, ireport and blog has the possibility of setting fire to the structures of our lives.  Certainly we have noticed how profoundly the recent revolutions were sparked by communication on social networks and through phone technology, even when the internet was shut down in various regions.  Technology has changed the rules of the game.

However, we must step up to the plate and use this technology with more integrity and awareness.

We now have so many outlets for content and devices for communication, yet sadly very little of it is real, original or substantive.  Most tweets or facebook entries are gossip or reposts or marketing pitches.  Television "experts" don't have a full grasp of their own knowledge bases and are basically skittering across the surface of their subject matter.  Even intellectuals are limited to their particular boxed in reality which doesn't allow for new growth, but rather a regurgitation of past fixed concepts.

A larger cycle which amplifies the importance of communication involves the recent shifting of the karmic and dharmic nodal axis from Cancer/Capricorn to Gemini/Sag. The nodes reveal the next leg of the journey in our ongoing cycles of evolution, with the North Node showing the way of the future and the South Node being a release point. 
In this case, Sag is the where the growth experiences will occur.     Gemini is concerned with everyday life, sibling dynamics, practical information, studying, short term thinking and local travel.  Sagittarius represents the more global perspective, teaching, international relations and overarching truth.  There is a restlessness to both, but the Gemini restlessness is one of ADD, while the Sag experience is one of soul searching.  At some point, both archetypes need to be comfortable with reality as it is, with process being okay as opposed to needing an end goal (this despite the fact that Sag is depicted with the one-pointed arrow).  The one truth that Sag needs to find is that all is good and all is God and that all experiences can still come to One in the stillness of being connected to Source.

So in this time of Mercury retrograde, it might be useful to contemplate some questions:

 What words do we say to ourselves?  Which are true?  Which are potent, which are enervating?

 And just because our mind tells us something, should we really listen?  Do our thoughts support us or cripple us?
 
What type of language do we use?  Do we realize that words and concepts are relative?  How do we know that when I say red I am seeing the same shade as you?

What stories do we tell about ourselves?  Even in delineating the details of one's biography, there is an element of fiction to it all because it is not the truth of our being.

These questions do not require immediate answers.  In fact we will be unraveling, dealing with and working through our assumptions over the next year and a half.

A good rule of thumb is, if you learned it in childhood (Gemini), it's probably reached it's expiration date.  If it involves the words Mommy or Daddy, time to chuck it into the dustbin.  It's not worth recycling.   It doesn't FIT you any longer, no matter how much you try to squeeze into it!!  You look or rather, sound silly! 

If you are still holding on to childish notions, they will be removed or proven to be inadequate to the complexity of the current times. 

Superficial, half-baked, dilletantish E news stories, supermarket tabloids, gossip columns are the domain of Gemini as is advertising and marketing. 

Doubletalk or lies are the lower domain of Gemini as well.  The con artist is usually the first one to say "trust me".   That speaks volumes!

Gemini is also about the sin of omission (the not so secret weapon of advertising).  Farm grown in this age of agri-business unfortunately doesn't mean healthy or organic. "Natural" when used to describe food is a word that has totally been bastardized to the point of absurdity or danger.  Cyanide is natural and so is mold.

Do you agree with your own labeling?  Gemini is the label, Sag is the all-inclusive paradox.  Yes , you can appear ditsy, but be accomplished.  Yes, you can be highly successful and yet have self-worth issues.  The truth includes all discrepancies.

Hence, the invitation right now, with Mercury retrograde and the nodes positioned in Gemini and Sag is to discern what is truth and what is fiction.
In the unified vision of the world, all facts are fiction because they limit the experience.

Something can be factual and not be true.  Likewise, the truth cannot always be backed up by so-called facts.

Facts can be dissected, compartimentalized, manipulated.  The truth just IS and is experiential and comprehensive.  Truth is natural law and once again, despite a religious overlay over natural impulses and movement, it exists no matter the prevailing philosophical trends of the day.   An obvious example in this regard was the medieval belief that the earth was flat, common "knowledge" in those  times, which was later proven false. 

The truth encompasses the cause, the effect and the potential involved in all actions or realities. It includes the disease and the cure.  It is the fullness of the experience rather than a portion of it.

Sagittarius, in its higher form, is the acceptance of paradox.  Actually at the point of integration and alignment, there really IS no paradox.  Paradox is the
"apparent" contradiction of differing realities.  But if we take things to the point of unity and a higher consciousness, no dualities, polarities, fragmentations exist.

What you want to nourish yourself now with the North Node in Sag are large scale ideas, comprehensive philosophies, and a world view that is meaty and sustaining.  And exotic mind food (Sag) is always welcome and adds some spice to life!

We are infinitely more sophisticated than previous generations in using and understanding how a visual or verbal message can influence people.  Yet how many of us wield that power with integrity and responsibility?

Mercury in Aries and the North Node in Sag prompt us to think big and intuit and accept the magnificence of our being, something that is absolutely essential at this critical point in human history.

First aired on One World in Concert April 8, 2011

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