On June 25, 3:22 PM ET, Neptune stationed retrograde at 23°11’ of Pisces. Neptune will station direct on December 1, after reaching 20°24’ of its home sign.
Retrogrades are connected with an optical illusion from our perspective on Earth: they happen because the planet decelerates and, from our vantage point, appears to be moving backward. According to Astrology, these are phases of slowing down, reevaluating, reviewing, reassessing, rethinking, and redefining matters relative to the planet involved.
Those of us who will feel Neptune stationing retrograde the most are those directly affected by it due to having natal planets or angles around 23° of Mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. However, everybody will feel it, even if the effects of this transit tend to be subtle and hard to spot with clarity.
Neptune: Mystical, Nebulous, and Elusive
Neptune, the most mystical planet of the Solar System, is retrograde for about 40% of the time, which is approximately five months per year. We are dealing with a transpersonal planet, very far away from Earth: Neptune is connected with collective, unconscious dynamics, and with the evolutionary cycles of humanity.
Common themes associated with Neptune transits encompass spiritual expansion, feelings of bliss and unconditional love, increased fantasy, imagination, and creativity. Neptune is also associated with a tendency to over-rely on illusions, with delusions, a sense of fogginess, experiences of disillusionment, neglect, and difficulties keeping up with the pace of daily obligations.
Neptune is the planet connected to glamour, acting, and the arts. It is nebulous, indirect, elusive, infinite, inspiring, and all-encompassing. Neptune transits can feel extremely confusing and we don’t often understand them completely until they have passed. With time, we look back and everything makes sense, but when we are deeply immersed in the process, we can’t seem to find the logical thread linking our experiences, or the lesson behind what is happening. At some point, we may have a feeling of waking up from a long dream.
Understanding Neptune in Pisces
Neptune rules the unseen and the uncertain, the collective emotional body, and all the energetic undercurrents that link us to the collective unconscious. Neptune entered Pisces in 2011 and will be there until 2026: the transit of Neptune through its home sign enhances and magnifies the qualities of the archetype.
Neptune in Pisces increases our desire and need to spiritualize life, transcend human limitations, and get closer to something infinite and immortal. At the same time, this transit keeps bringing forth the dissolution of what isn’t true and consequently correlates with collective experiences of deception and disillusionment.
Pisces is the last Zodiac sign, hence Neptune transiting here corresponds to the completion of a cycle, to its last chapter. Some endings need to take place, in order to create space for new foundations to be built. Neptune’s transit through its home sign encourages us to have faith in a better future, even if we don’t yet see how it will look like.
Neptune Retrograde: Illusions Revealed
When we are under Neptune’s spell, everything can seem perfect, and it’s easy to forget that things are rarely as they seem. It can be hard to remain grounded and discerning, we tend to get carried away by our fantasy and expectation and lose touch with reality.
It is said that when Neptune is retrograde, the veil of illusion is lifted and Truth is revealed. Neptune’s transits eventually bring us closer to Truth. This may happen through experiences of disillusionment and disenchantment that are painful at first yet necessary for our evolution.
Neptune retrograde may put brakes on our wishful thinking and force us to confront something we need to face in order to grow. This may imply losing a layer of innocence and surrendering to what is, letting go of the need to be in control, accepting what we meet on our path, and maybe even changing our spiritual orientation to life as a result.
Neptune Retrograde in Pisces: Humility and Faith
Neptune and Pisces have no boundaries: this transit reminds us of our oneness with all that is and of the challenges linked to the fact that we are all interconnected. Globally, we have realized how deeply collective issues can affect our personal lives, no matter where we are in the world.
Neptune creates and Neptune dissolves: Neptune can give us everything and take it all back without warning. Only with time, we comprehend that if this happens it is always for our growth. Neptune stationing retrograde in Pisces encourages us to learn to trust the process rather than feel victimized by our fate, to have faith in life even when it doesn’t provide an immediate solution for our problems.
This retrograde cycle has the potential to bring us back to a state of humility, as it can help us develop the capacity to look at the bigger picture in a way that is not purely egocentric. While Neptune is retrograde, we may have the opportunity to change the way we interface with the human experience and its challenges, by adopting a different perspective of reality and connecting more deeply with ourselves and Nature.
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