Jupiter-Neptune conjunctions happen approximately every 12 years. They are often touted by optimistic astrologers as cosmic portals. Neptune is considered by some to be a higher octave of Venus in its reverberations of love and sacrifice. However, we must also take into consideration the non-existent boundaries of Neptune and its heightened vulnerability.

There was a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces on April 12th, 2022. Many Americans will remember that this was the day of the Brooklyn subway attack, where 29 people were injured by gunfire and smoke inhalation. It happened around 8 in the morning when people were commuting to work.

The man responsible has been described as a hateful Nationalist, who gave himself up to police the following day. It could be argued that Frank R. James was once an idealist who turned hateful from all of the injustice in the world. This event is an important reminder of how Jupiter-Neptune conjunctions are not just about opening portals of creativity. Neptune is far more complex than that.

Idealism mixed with deception is probably the simplest way to describe the energy of this conjunction. The last Jupiter-Neptune conjunction happened on May 27, 2009 in Aquarius. These conjunctions are exact (in arc minutes) typically on one day, but the effects are felt as long as the two planets are within two degrees of each other (and potentially longer). Jupiter transits move fairly quickly, so this typically lasts for a few weeks to several months.

The May 27, 2009 conjunction also involved the comet Chiron, representing unhealed wounds. Significant events happened on this day involving the U.S. and Russia. Russia agreed to supply the U.S. with 1 billion dollars worth of Uranium for nuclear reactors. The Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies invested $200 million in Facebook on this day as well.

Russia’s steadily increasing wealth hasn’t just been a threat to U.S. investors. It has been coveted for quite some time. How do we behave when we covet something? We can become obsessive; even manipulative. When this conjunction happens in Pisces, the energy can feel even more nebulous and confusing.

The conjunction in 2009 was still less than a degree apart when Michael Jackson died on June 25th. This was such a major event globally. So much Internet traffic actually crashed Twitter.

June 2009 was supposedly the end of the recession that was sparked by the Wall Street debacle of 2008, but unemployment was still around 9.6%. The last time it was that high was, ironically, about 6 months before another Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn in January 1984.

The Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in January 1984 was when Michael Jackson’s hair caught of fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. That single event was not only the most traumatic thing that happened to Jackson – it severely affected him for the rest of his life in regards to his ongoing plastic surgery. Jackson was actually born during the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction of 1958. Because of this, these conjunctions were some of the most significant periods of his life.

The Jupiter-Neptune conjunction of January 1997 is the one that has been on my mind the most recently. This was the year Tony Blair and the Labour Party won the election for Prime Minister of the UK.

I was living in London at the time and Tony Blair’s election was pretty dramatic. The Labour Party hadn’t been in power since PM James Callaghan finished his term in 1979. Nearly 20 years is a long time for Conservatives to be in power. The worst it gets in the U.S. is 8 years. It pretty much never happens that a Republican president serves two terms and then another Republican is elected, or vice versa for Democrats.

Because of the inherent idealism of Jupiter-Neptune conjunctions, Labour coming into power again after such a long period was highly overestimated in the UK. During his 10 years in office, Blair’s approval rating plummeted from 93% to 14%.

The upcoming mid-term elections in the U.S., as well as elections that have happened this year and are about to happen in Europe, will likely be skewed by Jupiter-Neptune idealism. Even though Jupiter and Neptune will be 6 degrees away from each other in Pisces, the Mars-Neptune square will be within 3 degrees. Jupiter and Neptune were in different signs by the time Tony Blair was elected in May of 1997. The energy was still prominent.

President Biden’s approval rating is currently about 39%, not too far from the lowest approval rating of former President Trump. What will happen during this upcoming mid-term that might give people a feeling of hope and idealism? Will extreme idealism beget acts of violence? Or will there be flat-out deception?