Terry Lamb's Astrology, Etc.

Article

Article

by Terry Lamb

"The man stands alone amid conflict.
Something approaches:
a pig covered with mud;
a carriage full of ghosts.
He draws his bow and then relaxes it;
it is not an assailant
but a close relative.
Advance into the gentle rain."
I Ching, Hex. 38, Line 6,
as rendered by Alan Ravage

If you are an astrologer, one mention of the word 'Neptune' brings images of confusion, illusion, sacrifice and suffering. I would like to suggest that these are manifestations of a misunderstanding of Neptune's true nature. To get in touch with its true nature, let's first look at Neptune from a spiritual point of view, couched in the context of the outer planets as a group.
Uranus, the innermost of the outer bodies, offers the first glimpse beyond the crystalline world of Saturn, the world of structure and therefore limitation. It gives us our first insight that there is an alternate, as yet unseen, reality beyond the consensus three-dimensional world that we were taught to live in from the time we were born. It rules the Plane of Matter, which is expressed by the Sun/Earth, Moon and Saturn. In transformational terms it represents the trial by air, when we encounter and accept the idea that there is another way of seeing the universe that differs fundamentally from what it appears to be. At this point, we don't understand it, but we do know that it exists. It leads us to explore and to connect with other levels of Self which access other dimensions and states of consciousness. It brings us back to this awareness if we have strayed from it, a cosmic homing device.

Skipping over Neptune in our journey outward from the Sun, Pluto is the third of the outer bodies, presenting to us our chance to link with the soul and truly embody it. This is the third initiation process, trial by fire. Through the soul, we tap the depths of collective consciousness and act on its behalf for good or ill. If we are truly soul-aligned, it is always for the good, regardless of personal cost. Pluto rules the Plane of Life, which is expressed by Mars and Venus. It has to do with all regenerative processes, as regeneration results in a change in form, hence the association with transformation. It is by experiencing continual changes in form within and without us that we sooner or later get the picture that we are not the form, but the essence (soul) which lies within it.

In between these two, Neptune is the second outer planet, ruling the Plane of Mind, expressed by Mercury and Jupiter, the domains of higher and lower mind. It represents trial by water, the second initiation. We can think of it as relating to the great ocean of etheric energy which fills the universe, with the blue lines of the ketheric web connecting and structuring the bodies in it, holding in suspension clouds of celestial (spiritual-emotional) energy attracted, contained and emitted by the various entities of the universe. Trial by water is initiation by dissolution, the subtle wearing away of structures and the illusions they cast.

If Neptune is thus the vibration of the mental plane on the spiritual level, then to associate it with confusion and illusion, while apparently accurate for some experiences, is denying its true nature and shows how little we humans have come to use the true potential of the mind. To name these as qualities of Neptune is to project our own clouds of doubt and shame into its crystal clear pool of tranquility. After all, we also associate it with peace, the experience that comes when the mind is still.

Therefore, I would like to suggest that is it more fruitful to think of Neptune as representing truth, vision and clarity—not that we automatically experience these qualities through Neptune, because achieving that is Neptune's challenge. While we confront illusion through Neptune, that is not its nature. But instead, every contact, whether natal, progressed or transiting, presents us with an opportunity to tap that pool of still clarity which lies within us and bring forth its gentle truth compassionately.

If this world is, as many philosophies say, maya, or illusion, then we know that the unseen realms are what is real. If we know that some unwritten laws, called spiritual or universal law or "Nature", really rule the flow of energies on this planet, then we know that an unseen reality presents the truth. By dissolving the veils of illusion, we can come to know this truth. The Hanged Man in the Tarot (ruled by Neptune) is upside-down because he appears reversed to the rest of the world when he begins to follow the truth. He knows that truth lies in something beyond appearance, found at this clear center within us, the soul.

If these things are so, then perhaps we can make the first step toward truly understanding and using Neptune's energies in our lives. When you are feeling the dissolving influences of Neptune, you may feel as though you are adrift in an indefinite ocean of life's illusion. As my first astrology teacher, Terry Krall, used to say, turn over on your back and float. Let the waves of thought pass over you, breathe, and wait. You won't drown, but you will outlast the tricks of the little mind. Out of that experience will arise the inner reality that is the only reality, and you will have availed yourself of a wonderful opportunity to get closer to who you really are.

Although Neptune appears to be a pig covered in mud or a carriage full of ghosts, an experience that we surely fear and want to avoid, we must befriend it, for it is our Self. Neptune gives us true glimpses of the light within, that Light which casts no shadows and presents truth. It is our challenge to manifest it in the other planes of existence.