Neptune sextile, square, trine and opposition: Astro Update #6

Neptune sextile, square, trine and opposition

Neptune sextile, square, trine and opposition to its natal placement in a person’s chart happens at ages 28, 42, 55 and 84, respectively. These are life markers. But first, what’s Neptune all about and what’s an aspect?

Neptune

Neptune in mythology is the god of the sea and in astrology is the modern ruler of Pisces. It has 14 moons, named for lesser gods and nymphs of the sea and takes 165 years to orbit the sun. So none of us will ever experience Neptune through all the signs in our lifetime.

I like to call Neptune The Big Blur. It’s the planet associated with dreams states, fantasy, imagination, creativity and intuition. It rules motion pictures and other visual arts as well as all water and other liquids. The downside of Neptune is confusion, lack of clarity or not seeing things clearly. Neptune is associated with substance-abuse and fleeing reality. It rules alcohol and also all drugs, licit and illicit. 

Not surprisingly, it has a way of distorting reality and making things appear other than they really are because. It is an energy that brings a desire for the perfect aesthetic, the heavenly. Neptune can have us  wearing rose-colored glasses. It carries the energy of compassion because it blurs boundaries between self and others and  elevates our spirituality. But it is also rules deceit, because Neptune clouds facts. 

A Brief Look at Aspects 

Sextiles, squares, trines and oppositions are aspects.The names of aspects refer to the angles between the 2 planets. Sextile: 60 degrees, Square: 90 degrees, Trine: 120 degrees and opposition: 180 degrees. There are several others but these are the most common ones and the ones you’ll see most often mentioned in astrology posts. 

An aspect is created when a planet moves into an angle to another in the sky, or in relation to a planet’s placement in your birth chart. The first creates an energy we all can feel. Lately astrologers have talked about transiting Jupiter squaring transiting Uranus. The second takes place on an individual level as a planet in one’s chart is involved. Astrologers will refer to a natal planet as in transiting Neptune squaring natal Jupiter.

Outer Planet Transits and Aspects

Because outer planets take so long to orbit the Sun, they are said to be generational. They form aspects and transit houses and signs that are specific to whole cohorts. These outer planet aspects happen only once in a lifetime and can be related to a specific age for everyone. Neptune is presently in its own sign of Pisces, from 2011 to 2026, so all children born during these years will have this common Neptunian placement.

The late Donna Cunningham wrote extensively about generational planets and the collective ‘personalities’ of whole generations. You can find a compilation of her most popular blogs here, her writing blending her knowledge of astrology and with her experience as a social worker.

What is a sextile, a square, a trine and an opposition?

A sextile and trine refer to 2 planets that are respectively 60 and 120° from each other. Both are aspects of ease meaning the planets are working in harmony. A sextile requires a bit of effort on your part to reap the rewards. A sextile brings opportunity and awareness is heightened in a call to effort or action. A trine, however, flows with such balance and ease, its felicity can be missed. It’s the ‘miss it when it’s gone’ adage.

A square is 2 planets at a 90 degree angle. Think of 2 people squaring off. A square brings instability and can feel like a disruptive energy or a force pushing or blocking. The is necessity to take action and find a solution. The square makes you prove yourself.

Finally, an opposition feels like having to choose between two poles, but can be settled by finding a middle ground. Usually oppositions have 2 planets wanting the same thing but going about it very differently. The opposition forces balance.

Neptune Transit to Neptune Natal

Neptune Transit Sextile Natal Neptune: 28 Years Old

This takes place around the age of 28 happens at the same time as the Saturn return. It is a time to assess what our life is about and how we want to live it. How we fit into the bigger picture. Saturn will demand that assessment materially. Neptune will want a spiritual elevation. Where’s my place in the world? What will I contribute?

Neptune Transit Square Natal Neptune: 42 Years Old

This is associate with the period midlife crisis. Neptune will want a life evaluation and question if you have done what you set out to do 14 years ago. Have you lived up to your ideals? The trick is to proceed slowly and with caution when making changes because Neptunian energy distorts and fogs perception. It does not lend itself to clear decisions. Remember a square is an opposing force: remain stable, go slowly, find the best solution.

Neptune Transit Trine Natal Neptune: 55 Years Old

This is a marked spiritual phase. The ego subsides, the boundaries between self and others soften and blur. We fell more at one with others, empathetic. Our compassion increases. Maybe because we begin to realize the tour life is more than half over. This is the start of ‘mellowing in old age’. We are less attached to the material realm. In fact it’s around that age that a lot of us begin sorting through or giving things away. It’s the age of empty nesters and moving into a smaller home.

Neptune Opposition: 84 Years Old

If you’re lucky enough, you’ll get to experience an opposition at 84, which coincides with your Uranus return. And you thought 84 was going to be boring!

On one hand, Neptunian confusion can reign in this phase, especially if we hang on to the past. We will probably have given up our home by then, children have long gone, the working world is far behind us. Perhaps our partner has passed. My in-laws, in their 80s, would sometime forego buying something saying, ‘it’s not worth it, for the time we have left.’

But it will also bring intense spiritual understanding for those willing to let go of the old: the possibility of enlightenment, the unity of existence, the dissolution of differences and the relation between all life and lives. Others may see it as withdrawing, but it is a state of peace.

Are you going through or have just gone through any of these aspects? Does anything resonate with your experience? I’d love to know.

Photo by Verena Yunita Yapi on Unsplash

As mentioned last week, I didn’t post on Sunday afternoon, as usual. Again the Moon was void of course. Not an auspicious time for sending communications. I’ve restarted readings, in shorter or longer formats. You can consult my Astrology Page.

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