Working Through Neptune in the Natal Chart

The three planets beyond Saturn are considered transpersonal, and truly working through them is quite challenging, as this requires a certain level of awareness and understanding of the laws of cosmic balance. It is no coincidence that Saturn serves as the threshold for entering another reality—without its qualities of responsibility, punctuality, and practicality, it is impossible to harmonize Neptune, the most mysterious and uncontrollable planet. Neptune dissolves consciousness in illusions that may seem more real than reality itself, distorts perception of the world, exhausts the native with fears and phobias, and leads to various forms of addiction.

At the same time, it is impossible to become a true creative personality without a strong Neptune. This planet brings waves of inspiration, empathy, talents of a musician, dancer, actor, psychologist, or priest, enhances intuition, and brings prophetic dreams. However, there is always the risk of losing oneself and crossing the line between reality and fantasy.

Strength and Weakness of Neptune in the Natal Chart

The higher energies of the ruler of dreams lead the native toward spiritual development through religion, art, and psychology. Neptune is a generational planet, affecting the collective unconscious of those born in a particular era.

Its lower vibrations compel one to seek anesthetization from harsh reality and personal complexes in dreams, alcohol, drugs, infatuation with unattainable individuals, endless binge-watching of TV series, or mindless internet surfing instead of pursuing real creative goals.

A strong Neptune bestows talent, but may also overwhelm the native with waves of celebrity syndrome or fanaticism, and can tempt with the ability to deceive others for personal gain. A weak Neptune fails to provide interesting ideas, inspiration, or the ability to discern liars and scammers, friends and foes.

Neptunian qualities are most powerfully expressed:

• in the signs of Pisces and Aquarius, and to some extent Cancer—the native is incredibly compassionate and kind, but impractical in everyday matters and easily deceived;
• in the middle degrees of cardinal signs and Houses;
• with positive aspects to the Moon—talents, musical and healing abilities, and extrasensory perception are enhanced.

The planet is weakest in Leo and Capricorn, and its influence is minimal in Virgo, Gemini, and Sagittarius. While both weak and strong Neptune can create distorted perception of reality and intoxication by illusions, those with less Neptunian influence generally find it easier to distance themselves from its hypnosis and manage reality. However, retrograde Neptune complicates building relationships and understanding oneself and others, due to a lack of connection between emotion and reason.

Signs of a Weak or Challenging Neptune in Real Life

If a person cannot see beyond their own nose, they are clearly deprived of the imaginative power of the patron of creativity. The native becomes emotionally callous, stingy with feelings, cruel, and narrow-minded. This is an entirely down-to-earth, pragmatic mind, unable to appreciate art and music or grasp the depth of religious traditions.

A disharmonious Neptune not only deprives the soul of cosmic harmony but also causes mood swings, up to manic-depressive psychosis. This occurs when the blue planet is unaspected or afflicted by negative aspects with malefic “siblings,” which manifests in life as follows:

• a tendency to replace the absence of happiness and recognition with illusions: the native invents a parallel reality and lives in it most of the time, while nothing interesting happens in real life;
• filling emotional emptiness with alcohol, meaningless interactions, or role-playing games;
• heightened sensitivity, projecting one’s own feelings or assumptions onto others, and reacting emotionally to these fantasies;
• split personality, divided consciousness, and inappropriate behavior, including in public;
• conflicts with parents and spouses, or consciously choosing alcoholics and addicts as partners if there are negative aspects to the Sun, Moon, Mars, or Venus;
• disorders of the sensory organs—vision, hearing—as well as all viral diseases;
• poisoning, danger on water, a predisposition to sectarianism or religious asceticism, and a distorted understanding of faith;
• fraud, lying, household disarray, chaos in the mind and home, and a tendency to steal.

Those with a challenging Neptune either deceive others or are deceived themselves. On a collective scale, they may create concentration camps and torture chambers to realize their perverse fantasies. However, one should not fear tense aspects. With successful integration, the native develops the ability to spot murderers, thieves, and scammers from afar, foresee danger, and protect themselves and loved ones.

Working Through Retrograde Neptune

A weak Neptune seeks nourishment in random connections, the hypnotic rhythm of nightclub chaos, and the low energies of gossip, intrigue, and judging others. Typical traits of a retrograde Neptune are:

• chaos in life—the native cannot keep their home, body, or mind clean, and is easily influenced by negativity from others;
• inability to live in the real world: constant retreat into memories, refusal to communicate, or feeling that all the good things are in the past;
• heightened emotional sensitivity, hearing voices, and increased suggestibility.

Salvation for the native with retrograde Neptune lies in abandoning vices, lies, and escapism. It is necessary to act consciously every day, taking concrete steps toward one’s goals. The native’s purpose is easiest to determine by the Tenth House of the horoscope and to approach its realization creatively.

Creativity and spirituality are the two main remedies for revitalizing retrograde Neptune. It is important to exclude people with addictions from one’s circle, to create, to live in the present moment, and to find joy in what is, without blaming oneself for the world’s imperfections.

Working Through Neptune with Practical Actions

It is impossible to harmonize Neptune once and for all. The fog of illusion creeps in unnoticed, so it is crucial to maintain a high level of spiritual development, to cleanse the mind of low energies, intoxication with one’s own superiority and greatness, to become a co-creator with the Divine, yet not to impose one’s creations or inner projections on the world by force. The main task is to see the world as it truly is, without personal expectations. This does not mean rejecting mysticism and extrasensory perception; on the contrary, it allows for confident clairvoyance and clear-knowing without distortion by the ego. To achieve this, one should:

• stop the flow of consciousness through meditation, prayer, ascetic practices, or physical exercise;
• cultivate refined sensitivity and aesthetic perception through watching quality films, attending concerts, making music, photography, or dance;
• study medicine, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, or psychology;
• communicate with enlightened teachers and simply with positive, successful people;
• analyze dreams and signs of fate, discern patterns, and understand what the Universe is trying to say;
• study astrology and ancestral patterns, and pray for the forgiveness of ancestral sins;
• spend more time near water, swim, or practice water dousing;
• abandon lying, judgment, resentment, vindictiveness, theft, promiscuity; live by the commandments, act nobly, but without unnecessary self-sacrifice.

By following these guidelines, the native will be able to manifest their fantasies into reality, serving as an example of a compassionate creator and teacher. ✓