The Columbia River looking like an abstract painting
Neptune Retrograde: June 30 to December 6, 2023 (27 to 24 degrees Pisces)
When a planet slows to station either retrograde or direct, we often experience a concentration of that planet's energy and themes in whatever sign the planet is transiting.
Neptune goes retrograde once per year for about five months. From 2024 through 2034, Neptune will station retrograde in July and direct again in December. This year (2023), Neptune stations retrograde on June 30 at 27 degrees Pisces, and it stations direct on December 6 at 24 degrees Pisces.
Neptune has been transiting its own sign of Pisces since April 2011. Neptune is currently in late Pisces, completing the transit of its domicile sign in January 2026. At the same time as Neptune is completing its almost 15-year transit of Pisces, Cosmic Taskmaster Saturn is bringing up the rear in Pisces from March 2023 to February 2026 to test us on all our Pisces lessons.
Saturn stationed retrograde at 7 degrees Pisces on June 17, 2023. This holds us in place as we are tested on our mastery of the sign of Pisces. Saturn will go direct again at zero degrees Pisces on November 4, 2023.
Saturn and Neptune will form a historical conjunction at zero degrees Aries - the birth point of the zodiac - on February 20, 2026. In order to advance both spiritually (Neptune) and materially (Saturn) at that time, we must first prove that we can successfully integrate and apply the lessons of the sign of Pisces at the end of the astrological Piscean Era. No small feat!
Until then, we're working diligently with the often-slippery and disorienting challenges of Pisces and its ruling planet Neptune!
Neptune is the planet associated with, among other things: dreams; spiritual communication and guidance; bliss; unity; divine love; psychic abilities; sublime artistic ability; spirits; hauntings; isolation; illusions; delusions; mental illness; the unconscious; surreality; escapism; rose-coloured glasses; oceans; fluids; flooding; permeation; blind spots; fraud; deception; disappointment; despair; grief; and addictions. Any of these things could be heightened during a Neptune station. Stations of this planet indicate that it could be time for a visit from one (or more) of the Seven Neptunian Dwarves: Sleepy, Dreamy, Dopey, Spacey, Foggy, Swirly, and Wispy. (I'm fine with calling them the Seven Neptunian Little People, but that doesn't go as well with the fairy tale...) Neptune stations can be times when we feel particularly connected to the magic flow of life, uplifted by the sublime beauty and wonder of being alive on this planet.
On the other hand, Neptune stations can (temporarily) bring a lingering sense of loss, disappointment, or despair, and we must be very careful not to spiral down into these less-pleasant Neptunian realms - a major caution under the current planetary conditions.
Neptune stations indicate times of increased sensitivity which can include a feeling of being lost in the harsh material realm, unsure of where to go next and uncertain of the value of what we've experienced or done on this planet thus far.
Neptune and Pisces both relate to prisons and institutions. This can mean literal imprisonment or institutional confinement, or it can mean a sense of being imprisoned, confined, or isolated within the conditions of our material lives.
Neptune and Pisces relate to grief and also to drugs, pharmaceuticals, and the deceptions of Big Pharma. Hundreds of millions of people around the world are grieving due to the (ongoing) injuries and deaths caused by the experimental mRNA shot rollout. Many are not aware of what is causing the unexpected deaths, illnesses, and disabilities. Blind spots are associated with Pisces/Neptune, too. The ongoing Fentanyl crisis is another Neptunian/Piscean element we see unfolding en masse with heartbreaking results.
U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System data on Covid mRNA shots as of June 16, 2023. Historically, official statistics represent between 1% and 13% of all adverse reactions.
Illusions and scams are unfortunate elements of Neptune and Pisces, and our challenges with these things could be extreme over the next three years with Saturn also in Pisces. The world of social media is particularly rife with illusion-based scams, and these scams can be tremendously damaging, dangerous, or even deadly. Catfishers and other scam artists use illusions of beauty/attractiveness, illusions of love and romance, or financial/status-related illusions to harm others. Extreme caution is indicated.
Sophisticated, silver-tongued controlled opposition agents or cult leaders can gain control of people's minds and psychic spaces more easily when Neptune and Pisces are strong. The effects of media and social media are stronger and potentially more damaging. The use of media and social media to distract from more important matters could be more prevalent (and effective) than usual.
Over the past three-and-a-half years, people all over the world have experienced the acute loss of a dream (Neptune/Pisces) - even the simultaneous loss of many interwoven dreams - as their businesses, employment, homes, bank accounts, relationships, social lives, and travel plans were dismantled and destroyed without their consent. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide having been thrown into financial insecurity through the ruination of their businesses, the closure of their places of employment, or the disruption of other economic activities. Within this context, feelings of loss, confusion, and despair could become temporarily overwhelming under a Neptune station in Pisces, especially when it closely follows a Saturn (business, finances) station in Pisces like it does this June.
Again, Neptune stations can indicate periods of time when people can be dragged under by the weight and seeming hopelessness of their problems or the world's problems. Please check in with those in your circle, and do what you can to keep spirits up. Watch the over-use of alcohol or drugs to numb difficult circumstances. This can be particularly dangerous when Neptune is strong. Neptune and Pisces relate to the ways in which we are invisibly connected through time, space, and location. No one is suffering alone, and we might be surprised by those we share kindred-communion with during these times. Turning our minds to spiritual matters is one way to buffer ourselves from the current orchestrated conditions. The strong presence of both Saturn and Neptune in Pisces brings a requirement to acknowledge the temporal nature of this material life. The essence of life goes on, lives on, is never extinguished. The things we suffer on this material plane are only suffered temporarily. This might provide small comfort, but it is comfort, nonetheless!
When stationing Neptune energy is permeating the astro atmosphere, we can expect a few of the following 'Neptune Stationing Symptoms' to be kicked up: - Dreams can be more vivid and involved. They can have a "journeying" quality, as if we have traveled through many other worlds, and we can wake up feeling more tired than when we went to bed. Prophetic or foreshadowing dreams are more common. - Sleep can be deeper, as if we're falling off into utter abyss and have to drag ourselves out and back into waking life. We may sleep longer or more often than usual, and people can continue to have a sleepy, dreamy quality throughout the waking hours. The standard afternoon coffee just doesn't cut it! Take care not to sleep too much, as this exacerbates the lack of grounding that can be experienced during a Neptune station.
- On the other hand, we can experience disrupted sleep with odd periods of wakefulness in the night. - Psychic connections to people from the past, present, or even future can be stronger and more apparent - even when we don't want them to be. We may become aware of ways we are connected to others that were previously unknown to us. - "Cosmic winks" and communication from the universe are more apparent. We can gain insight from various signs and symbols in our day-to-day lives. It can sometimes feel as if the radio or TV is communicating directly to you. A stronger than usual feeling that you are not alone. - Daydreaming increases. Imagery from the mind's eye is clearer and more active than usual and can be distracting in daily life. Particular care needs to be taken to maintain focus while driving, using knives in the kitchen, walking down stairs, or doing anything with a possibility of physical injury due to inattention. - Our psychic space is more permeable when Neptune is strong, and we have to carefully filter or even block the heightened impressions we're receiving.
- Unusual health symptoms can appear and strange injuries can occur, particularly injuries to the feet, the body part ruled by Pisces.
- People can be more impressionable, easily swayed, and prone to wishful thinking, particularly with love relationships. We can be convinced of things when Neptune is strong that we could not be convinced of at other times. Blind spots become more of a danger. The standard, "What was I thinking?" When under the Neptunian influence, it's possible to believe things are one way when all logical conclusions (and later, hindsight) would indicate otherwise.
- We can be more easily deceived by people, missing major character flaws because we're blinded by the good in them, by their "spiritual auras," or by their potential. We can also be scammed more easily.
- Plumbing problems are more likely. A low water level for flushing toilets, in particular, is common during Neptune stations.
- Personal plumbing issues are also more likely. Urinating more than usual or having to use a (hopefully natural) diuretic to assist urination. (Uva Ursi works well.) Urinary tract irritation is more common when Neptune is strong, so avoid soft drinks, caffeine, and alcohol, and increase intake of water with real lemon juice.
- There can be a strong jonesing for drugs and/or alcohol. But we are also more easily altered and affected by drugs and alcohol.
- Food allergies and sensitivities can be heightened. We're craving "fun and easy" foods, but they can have ill effects.
- We can be more sensitive to perfumes and scents.
- There can be a giddy, giggly, intoxicating quality in the air. Neptunian whiffs of ether.
- People can be more sensitive than usual and their feelings more easily hurt. There is stronger sensitivity to the suffering in the world, and people are more easily brought to tears when Neptune is strong. Neptunian waterworks. People may choose more isolation than usual to offset this heightened sensitivity. - We can spend money on things, particularly on frivolous things, that we wouldn't ordinarily spend money on. When Neptune is strong, we crave escapism, entertainment, and ease from the daily grind. Pizza delivery and Chinese take-out must see an increase in business! - The simplest daily tasks can seem irritating and overwhelming. Multi-tasking is more difficult. - People may embrace their inner dirty hippie and skip a couple showers. Personal hygiene is one of those daily tasks that can seem very arduous when Neptune is strong. - It can be difficult to make ourselves fully understood, as if we are yelling underwater. People may pick up on one layer of what we're saying without grasping the full meaning. - Generally, a lot of projection is flying around. People could be interacting with their own fabricated versions of who you are, rather than anything based in reality. Blaming or scapegoating could be experienced, as well. - Strongly Neptunian/Piscean people can usually be spotted by a sort of dreamy, shrouded, faraway, or sad look around the eyes. The area around the eyes can appear a little shadowed and hollowed-out.
Love and compassion to all who are struggling under this Neptune in Pisces retrograde station, especially so hot on the heels of the Saturn retrograde station in Pisces! If stationing symptoms are severe, just know that they are also temporarily acute.
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