Neptune dreams of the sea; of dark bars and velvet paintings. In Roman Myth, he is part sea horse or merman, donning a glorious silver beard and an imposing trident. As a planet, Neptune is a little more nebulous.

In ancient astrology, Neptune hadn’t been discovered yet. Modern astrology assigns its rulership to the sign of Pisces, which is consistent with the watery fisherman image. A merman holding a trident? We associate symbols of weaponry with warfare rather than just fishing. Neptune needs a powerful weapon to navigate deeply troubled, sensitive waters.

Water certainly can sustain life – but to rule the sea is to encounter the very real possibility of death and destruction. The three-pronged trident is supposed to symbolize three flames. Archetypally, they represent the past, the present and the future.

Neptune the planet was named after the Roman god of the sea because of its distinctly blue hue. It’s comprised of 80% Hydrogen, 19% helium and trace amounts of methane. The interior core is estimated to be 1.2 times that of Earth, carrying a mantle of extremely dense, hot liquid comprised of water, methane and ammonia.

Neptune, like Pluto, is a transpersonal planet and takes around 13-15 years to transit through each sign of the zodiac – about 165 years to cycle to completion. Like Pluto transits, every human being on earth will only experience a select number of transits through the signs with Neptune. Since 2011, Neptune has been transiting through Pisces. As Neptune is associated with water and rules Pisces, there is a strong Neptunian thread running through the fabric of our era.

Pisces is associated with creativity, escapism, non-binary oneness, self-sacrifice and a yearning for an ideal world based on love and togetherness. It seeks a Utopian model of perfection. Culturally, Neptune rules trends in music, art, alcohol/drug addiction and the collective unconscious.  Even with the backdrop of serious Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, trends like gender-transcendence, opioid addiction, fantasy-based selfie apps, silver-blue-pink hair dyes, sugar sensitivity, TikTok (everyone has a talent), psychedelic experiences and meditation are surging in popularity as many are searching for an escape from mundane life.

Neptune is very much at home ruling the arts in the sign of Pisces. When Neptune was transiting through Capricorn in the early 90s, the cultural trends showed a social consciousness that required determination and hard work born out of adversity. Capricorn’s financial austerity was a very stressful placement for Neptune. There was George Bush Sr., the recession in the U.S., The Gulf War, the Rodney King riots, the Hubble Space Telescope launch, the end of The Cold War and the crumbling of the Berlin Wall.

“Grunge” and Rap Artists in particular really embraced “DIY”. People were working a lot harder for less, but chutzpa trumped experience. Unless you were a “slacker” and just opted out entirely. The Gulf War was taking lives, which was another stress. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were all transiting through Capricorn between 1988-1991 in a close conjunction, the crucial years of Bush Sr.’s presidency. Most likely anyone serving as President during that time would have been unpopular. Authority figures were reviled, as Neptune was forced into a straight-jacket that Saturn designed. This produced a number of anti-establishment albums from the music industry that were empowering. Neptune was like the prisoner who managed to organize a jail break.

Those born during that period who are now entering their 30s experienced the deeper trials of this Capricorn trifecta, as it was burned into the memory card of their natal charts. Uranus and Neptune do not play well together in a conjunction and can create a unique brand of trauma. Uranus wants liberation while Neptune wants to dissolve into unity. Then if you throw Saturn in the mix, feeling both neglected and abused by authority figures is a common theme.

Neptune in Pisces breeds idealism but also deception. Things are not always what they seem. Victimization and self-sacrifice pave the way to unhealthy addiction. Walking between worlds feels more possible, but also disorienting.

The last time Neptune entered Pisces was the late 1840s. Spiritualism was founded in upstate New York and eventually found popularity in the UK and Europe. Seances, mediumship and communicating with the dead were trendy amongst middle and upper classes. The equivalent today would be Ayahuasca ceremonies, shamanic journeying, chaos magick and past-life regressions.

Neptune transits to the natal chart can feel incredibly disillusioning. Suicidal depression is not uncommon during difficult Neptune transits, which last on and off for about 2 years. It can come on suddenly and disappear just as mysteriously once the two years are up. Robin Williams had Neptune conjunct his natal moon when he decided to leave; Doug Kenney, co-founder of National Lampoon, committed suicide as Neptune was conjunct his natal sun; Kate Spade had transiting Jupiter conjunct her natal Neptune when she took her life.

Feeling lost, delusional and victimized in a swirl of watery depression is Neptune’s dark side. The beautiful side is feeling the depths of creativity, transcendence and a feeling that we are more than this mortal coil.  We can find a way to come together in love and acceptance through the portal of the spirit world. Neptune will be transiting Pisces until 2026. After which point, the cycle will begin again with Aries.