Transiting Neptune in Pisces
 What Do We Have to Look Forward To?

Neptune entered Pisces on April 4, 2011, Retrogrades back into Aquarius on August 6, and re-enters Pisces on February 4, 2012, where it will remain until 2026.  Since Neptune is the ruler of Pisces, it's transit here is a very influential one.

To see what we can expect from this transit, let's first look at the meanings of both Neptune and Pisces.  Neptune and Pisces are associated with universal love and acceptance.  Neptunian love differs from that of Venus.  Venus says "I'll love you if you love me."  It's an expression of personal love.  Neptune says, "I love you because you exist."  It's an expression of universal love.  Neptune and Jupiter are both associated with religious faith.  Yet they also differ.  Jupiter has to do with beliefs.  Neptune has to do with connecting directly with God, or what might be referred to as the oneness of the universe.  Pisces is the sign most associated with sympathy and compassion.

Neptune and Pisces are associated with spirituality, imagination, idealism, and creativity.  They are associated with psychic phenomenon, the subconscious mind, dreams, visions, and intuitive insights, as well as all arenas that combine imagination, creativity, and beauty.  This includes music, art, literature, movies, theater, decorating, and design.  So with Neptune in Pisces, we can expect a rise of appreciation in all these areas.  Creativity is likely to reach new heights. 

Creativity represents the positive manifestation of imagination.  The negative manifestation is escapism, which may take the form of drug or alcohol addiction or simply ignoring problems hoping that they will go away.  Idealism is also ruled by Neptune.  Idealism can be a positive way of looking at the world, the capacity to see possibilities regardless of the circumstances.  Or what is disguised as idealism can really be illusion caused by an unwillingness, or inability, to face situations as they are.  Illusions can be self-delusion, such as seeing people and situations as you wish they were, or they can be deceptions purposely perpetrated by others, thus Neptune's association with victimization. 

Since Neptune is an outer planet with a 168-year cycle spending 14 years in each sign, it's transits are associated with world trends.  Typically the sign Neptune falls in becomes idealized for that 14-year period, regardless of the validity of those ideals.  For instance, when Neptune was in Capricorn, big business, CEOs, and the work ethic were idealized.  If you weren't willing to work 70 hours a week to achieve success, society looked upon you as if by not being "ambitious enough" you were in some way flawed.  By the same token, when Neptune was in Sagittarius what was idealized was a four-day work week and more leisure time.  When Neptune was in Scorpio, sex and drugs were "good."  Hallucinogenic drugs would connect you to God.  During the current Neptune in Aquarius timeframe, ordinary people such as police and firefighters came to be idealized (in the aftermath of September 11, 2001).  I had expected Neptune in Aquarius to be associated with the rise of the "ordinary person."  Being US centered, it had not occurred to me that the rise of the ordinary person would be world wide and result in a lower standard of living for the ordinary person in the developed world.  So, now we come to Neptune in Pisces.

Planetary cycles can never be repeated in exactly the same way, as the rest of the sky is not simultaneously duplicated.  Yet, we get a hint of what will happen this time by looking back to the past.  The last time it was found in Pisces was between 1847 and 1862.  This was the first time that Neptune had entered Pisces after its discovery on September 23, 1846. 

Early on with Neptune's entrance into Pisces the California Gold Rush occurred.  The Gold Rush started in 1848 when a mill crew led by James Marshall found a few nuggets of gold on the American River at Coloma near Sacramento.  By 1849 a mania had developed. People from all over the world, mesmerized by the illusion of quick riches, descended on California to seek their fortunes.  Human and environmental costs soon followed.  As  toxic chemicals from prospecting operations destroyed the natural habitats, as much as 80-90% of Native Americans died from small pox epidemics.  An Act passed by the California Legislature in 1850, euphemistically called The Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, allowed settlers to capture and use Indians as bonded workers, i.e., slave labor.  As the boom ended, attacks on foreigners and confiscatory taxes began as a means of driving out immigrants, particularly those from China and Latin America.  And some say that during the gold rush mania, more people made money selling picks and shovels than those who mined for gold.  So, here we see the victimization side of Neptune – the victimization of the Native Americans by outside forces and the victimization of many of the gold miners caught in their own web of dreams of great riches.  It's possible that perhaps now we will see a different type of gold rush – the prices of gold and silver skyrocketing as they are seen as an alternative to the declining value of fiat money.

The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels was published in 1848.  The Manifesto presents an analytical approach to class struggle and the problems of capitalism, in which laborers (or working class) are exploited by the bourgeois or proletarians (the people who employ the laborers).  It sees capitalism being replaced by socialism, and socialism ultimately replaced by communism. (Uranus was in Aries in 1848 as it is now.)  (It is also interesting to note that the countries with the fewest economic problems due to the financial meltdown in 2008 were the socialistic countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark).  The correlation between Neptune in Pisces and communism is easy to see.  Neptune's idealism can express itself in compassion for less fortunate.  Uranus in Aries represents a more forceful way of standing up for the rights of the individual.

The European Revolution of 1848 also occurred with Neptune in Pisces and Uranus in Aries.  During this timeframe, the middle classes and working classes banded together to fight feudal systems in Europe.  The unrest began with the French Revolution of 1848 and spread to the German states, Denmark, the Hapsburg Empire, Switzerland, Romania, Ireland, and Belgium.  Most of these rebellions were put down quickly as tens of thousands of people were tortured or killed.  Yet these revolutions are thought to have sown the seeds of what would become Europe's future.  The 1848 revolutionary wave is being compared to the current revolutionary wave taking place in the Mideast.  Hopefully for the people of the Mideast countries, their rebellion will have better immediate consequences.  But we can see how Neptune in Pisces can represent the merging of those who lack power.

On the more spiritual side, Neptune's last trek through Pisces coincided with the birth of modern spiritualism.  There was increased interest in mediumship and psychic phenomenon.  In 1858 the vision of Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.   The Transcendental movement started with Uranus in Pisces, but peaked with Neptune in Pisces.   The association of Neptune in Pisces with spirituality and psychic phenomenon is easily recognized. 

The Civil War in the US began with Neptune in Pisces.  Abolitionists had been speaking out against slavery in the US since 1830s; but the Civil War, which ended slavery, did not begin until April, 1861 when Confederate forces attacked a US military installation at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.  The War ended with Neptune in Aries in 1865, with the Union in tact and the end of slavery in the .  Neptune and Pisces are both associated with slavery.

So while the beginning of Neptune in Pisces saw an expansion of slavery, by the time Neptune left Pisces, slavery in the US had ended.  We can take this as a sign of compassion for those less fortunate, which we can expect to increase once again over the next 14 years.  Along with this, I believe socialism will make a come back (despite how it is currently maligned). 

Neptune in Pisces also focuses on the oneness of the universe.  Buddhist ideals are likely to become more popularized.  Cross-cultural distinctions are likely to begin to evaporate and mixed race marriages become more prevalent.  Quality of life issues will become a greater priority as the wish for peace and tranquility grows.  Social distinctions will begin to obliterate as more people change their focus from the material to the spiritual.    Environmental concerns, particularly global water issues, also move more to the forefront as oneness with the universe also includes a oneness with Mother Earth. 

Neptune in Pisces will be at cross hairs with Pluto in Capricorn, which enhances the power of the haves at the expense of the have-nots (until it reaches an extreme, where the trend reverses) and also with the Uranus in Aries square to Pluto in Capricorn, which leads to more rebellions and uprisings. 

The planetary energy leads to has two distinctly separate divides—those seeking peace and enlightenment and those rebelling against the status quo.  However, it is possible for at least some of those seeking enlightenment to become more at one with those rebelling as they see how the current power structure has rendered many powerless.

So, all in all, despite the increased violence and social and political polarization going on in this country and others, we can expect increased spirituality and compassion as a counter trend force.

To see how Neptune in Pisces is affecting you, or to find out more about your astrological chart, contact Joyce at joycel@joycelevine.com or call 617-354-7075.

Joyce Levine is a full-time professional consulting astrologer with more than 30 years experience.  She serves as a catalyst for her clients to recognize their natural abilities and use them to overcome personal obstacles to success  and to take action at precisely the right time to achieve the results they desire.  Joyce is available for consulting work with individuals, couples, families, and businesses.  Joyce is the Clerk of NCGR, President of NCGR's Boston Chapter, and Level IV Certified in Consulting.  She has been a certified professional member of the AFA since 1979.

Joyce is the author of Breakthrough Astrology, Transform Yourself and Your World, A Beginner's Guide to Astrological Interpretation.  Transformational CDs:  Self-Help Series:  Meditation, Creative Visualization, Healing Anger, and Contacting Your Guardian Angel; and Integrating Astrological Cycles Series:  Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn, and Jupiter. 

Joyce can be reached at joycel@joycelevine.com or 2353 Massachusetts Avenue #91, Cambridge, MA 02140, 617-354-7075.  Her website is https://joycelevine.com.