Neptune

The Great Deceiver

Contact with the great ocean of the collective unconscious, that eternal storehouse of images and dreams, may bring forth psychic earthquakes and sweep us into the stormy realm of Neptune. Astrologers perceive Neptune as a soft, almost feminine planet and he appears strongly in the horoscopes of idealists, musicians, actors, painters, dancers, as well as among alcoholics, drug addicts, therapists,nurses, and those who follow a spiritual vocation. The typical Neptunian is "otherworldly" and his/her vision is tuned to an inner reality which may create fantasy castles that delight the multitudes, or which may lead the person into a dark underworld of escapism and substance abuse.

This dreaminess should alert us to the fact that Neptune is acting as the carrier for an additional archetype, other than the stormy, wrathful sea-god Poseidon. It is the spirit of Dionysus - so conspicuous in our modern culture but noticeably absent from the sky - that is embodied in the planetary Neptune. Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, was the mother of Dionysus.

When Dionysus became conscious of his godhood, he showed himself as more than just the mother's child; he also embodied the Wild Man. After introducing the cultivation of the vine to humanity, he traveled the world, spreading drunken ecstasy wherever he went. Ecstasy is both the gift and the fatal flaw of the Neptunian individual. The 1960s demonstrated a very Neptunian time - the drugs, free love, idealism, colorful bohemian garb all suggested Neptune very strongly. It was during this time that Dionysus made his dramatic reappearance. The rock stars of that era were androgynous young men with long hair - sons of the Mother.

It is dangerous to be possessed by an archetype as the ordinary human ego cannot handle it. The rock stars, believing that they were gods, were swallowed by the Earth Mother. Their descent to the underworld was by way of sex and drugs - two of Dionysus' favorite tools.

Archetypal possession - the surrender to the collective Neptunian illusion - takes place when we are incapable of removing the "god-mask". Marilyn Monroe, who had Neptune rising (along with Venus on the MC), descended into a world of drugs and alcohol because she was not able to lay down the mask of Aphrodite, the goddess that consumed her.

How then can one manage the force of ecstasy? One answer is a love relationship based on the highest Neptunian ideals. (Neptune has been called the higher octave of Venus). However, many people are drawn into relationships that have a "savior-victim" quality - which is very unhealthy.

The second solution is even more dangerous - that of exploring the unconscious and facing the world of dreams and images which make the life a joy and a torment. This endeavor should always be done with the guidance of a trained therapist.

Aspects with Neptune in a chart indicate the urge toward ultimate, transcendent freedom wherein one can lose the limitiations of the ego-personality and become free from the boundries of both intellect and ego. Neptune indicates a yearning to experience a state of oneness with all of life, a merger with the whole of existence, and the dissolution of all feelings of separateness, boundaries, and ego-centricity. It is the way in which we try to escape from all limitation; tradition, ego, the material world, and the harshness of everyday life. Often the challenging aspects reveal deception, confusion, and dissipation.

If you are in a life situation that is presently confusing and debilitating, perhaps you should have your Neptune aspects analyzed. Please send you name, address, e-mail address, birth info (date, time, location) and a money order in the amount of $50 to

Carol Reimer
22 Pioneer Blvd.
South Huntington, NY 11746

Upon receipt I will send you an analysis of your Neptune aspects on a 30 minute cassette.

Neptune rules the sign Pisces