Mercury makes its last (of three) oppositions to Neptune on September 8. Mercury is at 29°04’ Leo and will be visible in the morning sky briefly, as it will be conjunct the first magnitude star, Regulus. (1) Neptune is retrograde and has slipped back into Aquarius. The first opposition was on July 28, with Mercury at 0° Virgo and Neptune retrograde at 0° Pisces. Mercury was retrograde from August 2 until the 26th. The second opposition, on August 8, was with both planets retrograde at 29°53’ of their respective signs. Now the last opposition is upon us, again at the 29th (critical) degree.
So the great grace, obscuration, and mystery of that illusive planet has had influence over our thinking and interactions for the past several months (taking into account Mercury’s shadow period).
Neptune was the Roman name for the god analogous to the Greek Poseidon, the very moody lord of the seas, rivers, and steams. As water surrounds the earth, he was called the “Embracer” and the “Sustainer of the Earth.” With his trident he could create stormy seas or cause the earth to tremble; another of his names was the “Earth-Shaker.” Neptune’s trident could also “subdue everything, pacify it, immerse it in fog, and blanket it in forgetfulness.” (2)
Aside from the continual bad economic picture, the news (Mercury) from the east coast was all about the weather. There was a 5.9 earthquake on August 23, followed by hurricane Irene that has brought the worst flooding in nearly a century throughout southern and central Vermont. Throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England, streams became rivers and the rivers took over, washing away roads, downing trees, and leaving many still without power. (The Sun at 29°31’ Leo opposed Neptune on August 22; in a heliocentric chart, the Earth was then conjunct Neptune.) Right now, Texas is engulfed with fires and wind, while the southeast is being deluged with more and more rain.
Looking at the planets from a different perspective, within a few days of the August 8 opposition, I was in the middle of a classic kind of Mercury-Neptune event. It involved a greatly confused series of communications, a narrative being (apparently) manipulated to favor one version of events (while undermining others), and a vast range of possible meanings and outcomes. I expect that the final opposition of the planets this week will bring a different version of events to light.
In her book, Neptune in Focus, Rosalind Thorp writes beautifully about the energy of the planet, “by far the most complex of all the planetary influences.” She writes: “In its positive expression, Neptune’s energy inspires a need to know or find out, a wish to discover. It causes fascination. In its negative expression, this energy is known as deception. It causes suspicion.” (3)
The far away planet Neptune, carrier of the exquisitely subtle, stands once more across the zodiac from Mercury, ruler of the nervous system, the hands, and the respiratory system. This suggests that a balm of forgetfulness or forgiveness can be poured into the nervous system. The opposition aspect can symbolize other people, of course, as well as our own extended awareness or view. I’m thinking it would be a fine time to receive (or give) a massage or other healing modality. We can also be in the company of those who are comfortable with the greatest range of Neptune, from its uncertainty, doubt, and artful concealment, to its certainty of transcendence and the unseen.
Here’s to the flooded parts of the earth drying out, the parched places receiving much-needed rain, and the unsolved mysteries in our individual lives all being offered for the common good.
Have a good week, everyone.
References:
(1) EarthSky
Thanks to Edmond Wollmann for posting this.
(2) Gods and Planets, by Ellynor Barz, Chiron Publications, 1993, pg. 17.
(3) Neptune in Focus, by Rosalind Thorp, Pallas Designs, Inc., 2003, pg. 15.
Mary Plumb can be reached for private sessions at mary@maryplumb.com