2014 began with the worst weather for a long time across the UK and North America with little hope of it letting up just yet. The US is covered in ice and freezing temperatures, while here in the UK it is unseasonably mild – in fact, some of my trees have begun to hope that spring has arrived

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This to alert you that I am raising my price for astrology chart readings on 1st March 2014. If you want to avoid that, then you can order your reading now. Your Paypal payment secures your place on my waiting list and you will get it as soon as possible. My fee is available on request by email at [email protected]

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Today I am looking at Neptune in Pisces – this beautiful blue planet is so like our own in colour and may be the highest energy that we can express here on earth. It is a gas giant – I saw some pictures from one of the space telescopes the other evening on TV and it took my breath away with its beauty.

Neptune was discovered in 1846 when we were experiencing a great deal of experimentation with the non-material side of life. Spiritism, mediumship, table-banging, were being developed. As indeed was photography – which is after all, the capturing of an image rather than the real thing. I have seen Sun/Moon/Neptune on the charts of photographers, homeopaths, chemists, fishermen, for example – and even on the charts of children whose fathers had died and all that they had was a photograph of him. Or a mystery about parentage – a family secret that they knew was there but was hard to grasp.

Astrologers are taught that Neptune is the higher octave of Venus in terms of emotional content – in other words, on a much more rarified level of expression. It raises love to altruism; day-dreaming to imagination, and an appreciation of beauty to a desire to express the impossible in some art form or another. The problem with Neptune’s energy is that it creates a desire for perfection that is other-worldly, so that reality can never match up to it.

The downside is that we can so easily fall prey to the yearning that Neptune can stir within us, particularly if it is a major theme on the birth chart – with Neptune in hard aspect (conjunction/square/opposition) to the personal planets, for example. It can produce “lotus-eaters” or escapist behaviour. However, I have also seen a hard aspect between the Sun and Neptune on the charts of musicians; Neptune and Mars on those of dancers and competitive swimmers; Moon and Neptune on those of healers. However, they do struggle with the “real” world and often fail to thrive financially – money being the most dense of earthly pursuits and Neptune the most gaseous and immaterial. So, at odds somewhere within the psyche.

Neptune is said to have taken the rulership of Pisces over from Jupiter at some point in the 20th Century, although I have to say that Jupiter still puts up a good case for keeping hold of Pisces. Maybe the two fish that symbolise Pisces show us how the dual rulership of Jupiter’s fish can pull in the direction of enjoying the bounties of earth, while Neptune’s fish pulls away from this into the realm of renunciation. This could explain why so many Pisceans seem to need some conflict to struggle against that gives them a sense of purpose.

The downside of Neptune’s desire to escape reality can typically manifest as addiction, alcohol or drugs or both. It can also show up on the charts of those whose parents couldn’t handle the responsibility of having a family and who left at the first opportunity. I have also seen a chart with Sun conjunct Neptune whose father was a priest (Neptune’s penchant for renunciation) who was moved out of sight very quickly by the Church.

Right now Neptune is transiting through the first quarter of Pisces, so early Pisceans/Virgos/Geminis and Sagittarians are all falling under his fascinating and sometimes confusing spell. The birth dates for these are: 23rd August – 1st September (Virgo); 20th – 28th February (Pisces); 23-31st May (Gemini); 23rd November – 1st December (Sagittarius).

I think that at bottom, the yearning, the “Divine Homesickness” that you can go through can change you in very subtle yet profound and long-lasting ways. A Neptune sojourn in your life can typically last for 5 years, so something has to shift over that length of time.

If you also have Mercury and Venus close to your Sun in any of the above signs, then you will be truly challenged to keep your feet well on the ground, or have a friend who will be your “reality check” person. Whether you listen to them or not is entirely up to you!

This can be a time for having “Peak Experiences”, that split-second sense of union with the divine, a sense of oceanic oneness that can quite literally transport you to into ecstasy. This can result in a strong sense of spiritual certainty – without having a clue how to express it outwardly in your life. You may also have a sense that your life as it is right now may no longer be giving you what you want from it. And yes, this feeling can come in many guises, but Neptune’s guise is that you may know what you don’t want without having any idea of what you DO want. So you feel discontented without knowing why.

While all of this may sound negative, it doesn’t have to be at all. If Mercury is also involved, then you can unearth a talent for poetry or imaginative writing that you thought had died many years ago in school. With Venus, you may fall in Love and believe that the other person possesses divine attributes when in reality they may not. You may also change your entire “look” during this time, opting for something more airy fairy to float around in. Your colour schemes may go from strong colours to lilacs, blues and purples. Don’t laugh, I’ve seen it happen.

For the rest of us, whose birthdays fall from 23rd to the 1st of other months, we will likely have some of the same without the discomfort – so changes may occur that seem magical and yet, nevertheless, have an impact on our lives, our loving, our thinking and our worshipping that may stay with us forever.

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