Hi Beth,

I have a Sun Neptune conjunction by birth and, as someone who sought escapism in my youth through drink and drugs, taking that route definitely ensures getting lost along the way and falling off the edge of a cliff. Fear tends to be the overriding factor that leads to going down this dead end path. Along with a natal opposition from Saturn, when I fell, it was with a real bump, but I also recognise it played a very important role in my own spiritual awakening.

The challenges with Sun Neptune are that you can appear vague, misty, evasive and almost invisible to people. A bit like the sun when there's mist in the air. You know it's there, but it's obscured and hazy. Without proper discipline, it's easy to have messianic moments and delusions, especially if drink or drugs have been consumed. Such can be the intensity, lucidity and lovingness in these "messages", it's quite easy to be lead down the primrose path to a place of detriment. Sadly, the intensity of these bliss inducing moments can lead to the intuition and warning signs being blatantly ignored. In my experience, wishful thinking can be observed, with no basis in reality.

The antidote? I'm still aware that I am very much on a spiritual path and am aware of all the hardships that taking such a journey can entail. I consciously try and let go of outcomes, especially some of the more beautiful ones, because I remind myself that life doesn't always give us that. I also try to remember that looking at life through the lens of Neptune is like looking through a kaleidoscope. Once you think you understand the pattern, it shifts, just as Neptune is elusive. Meditation really helps, as does walks by bodies of water. AND, Astrology really helps with grounding because it's a wonderful tool to rely on if you feel as if your intuition may be off the Richter. Being of service in small ways (being of practical service is something Virgo is really good at) can be a very good way of dealing with this energy too.

Again, I can only speak from experience, but if Neptune's higher octave is followed, not much can really go wrong. I fully agree that gambling should be avoided, as being deluded that you are going to have a "win" of some kind is a real risk, as is being exploited by people whose intentions may not be as pure as those you are "feeling". Cults are to be avoided but local volunteer groups serve this placement wonderfully. Neptune has its lovely side, insomuch that it increases one's sense of compassion and desire to help others but, like anything taken to extremes, it can become toxic when there's simply too much of it.

When it squared my Sun natally, I simply felt "lost" for a time, and had the sense not to make any firm decisions until I'd ridden the transit out. I was prepared for the transit and knew that anything I had committed to would be likely to change. If you decide to volunteer for a spell, for example, that's fine if you realise that wanting to be a missionary of some kind will probably only be a temporary vocation whilst such a transit is in effect. Neptune is currently on my Moon, so I've signed up to be a volunteer at the local field hospital, but I won't be seeking a career out of it once the transit is over. By then, I will probably have a clearer picture of where I want to go.

I hope that helps? I grew up with Virgos and, to be fair, they probably helped me turn the ethereal into the practical.

Best

J

Hi Beth,

I have the Sun square Neptune.

* When I was young I had a stint of drinking too much in the weekends till I started to avoid alcohol as I wasn't pleased with the direction I was taking. Plus my father drank a lot when I was growing up (sun neptune right there) so I'm aware of sensitivity around alcohol with this aspect and drink every now and then and have my clear limits of how much I drink.

I stay away from drugs - when I was young I intuitively knew that I could have a bad reaction if I'd try.

* Regular grounding rituals (affirmations, crystals when in high need, visualisations) really help.

* I watch lots of films, listen to music on a daily basis (my biggest love, music), sing and dance at home to feed the neptune energy.

* I accept that I have an elusive energy and that I space out.

* I have to double check sometimes that I'm not deluding myself in certain areas. Sometimes I ask my earth husband to help me out. That second opinion you mention.

* I accept that there is a level of self-delusion that I can't control. I also give myself space to daydream and be idle a little everyday - it's a must so I factor it in.

* With this aspect there is an urge to not have an ego or to detach from ego-based energies but with the sun being involved, the ego is neptune-linked. Still an ego but a spiritual one somehow.

* My vocation is one of service and linked to mental health and psychology. I try to be of help but I make sure I keep some boundaries and don't self-sacrifice or do so excessively. I'm a Pisces sun too so the Sun (purpose, solar energy) emphasises this element of the aspect.

This energy is easier to manage as one gets older and with luck, one has earth in the chart or earthy close friends or Saturn making helpful aspects (a square or opposition grounds one's energy too.) I have known two people who have really gotten lost in life forever and I can't help but wonder if they are neptunians with no grounding...it's not pretty.

I thought I was mega familiar with Neptune with my natal harsh aspects until my current transit of transiting Neptune to my natal Sun (a conjunction.) Wow. I mentioned this learning in the forum this week. Wow.

Honestly I thought, 'People with the natal conjunction must walk on air all the time!' and also 'How can they live in this ungrounded way?' because this week (when the conjunction is partile) I've been feeling extremely floaty and spaced out (so I've done lots of grounding rituals and have also cut myself some slack and gone with my intuition a lot. It's helped a little.) It was interesting to read Justin's take on things.

With the square aspect I'm used to fighting often the neptune fog to express and assert myself (Sun) but with the conjunction the merging of the energies is so strong...I have gotten used to the square aspect so I can't wait for the transit to be over despite all the lessons gathered.

But Beth, you have earth - that helps a lot. But Virgo is getting transited by Neptune (18.20 degrees Pisces now) so are you getting the double whammy of having the natal aspect and getting the transit right now? Double up on the grounding is this is so, I'd say.

Personally, my Saturn trine Sun aspect is really my grounding board. Without that aspect, with my not having earth planets and with neptune neptunising my Moon and my Sun...I'd be lost for sure!

I meant to say when Neptune squared my Sun by transit, as I have the conjunction natally. Like any other "impediment", one simply has to find ways of living with it when it's natal, usually by expressing oneself creatively, or you would soon be completely overwhelmed. In some ways, it's probably far more of a challenge for those who experience such a state of mind for the first time, than it is for those who have grown up with it. It's like the scene in Man of Steel, where General Zod is having to get used to earth's environment in quick order, when Supes himself has had many, many years to adapt to his alien world. Like all transits, this too shall pass