“Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” - T.E. Lawrence
A very curious energy, Neptune is, and even more curious is the confusion surrounding the most confusing planetary retrograde next to Mercury’s. While some would say the barriers between dimensional planes are thinner during Neptune’s retrograde, I propose a different perspective.
For the past 5 months, Neptune, the planet of dreams, fantasies, illusion & delusion, took its annual journey backward pulling us down from the astral plane and slamming us back down in the physical dimensions and to be honest, it kind of blows down here sometimes.
However, the physical plane is where all the “real” magic happens as thoughts become actual things and manifestation takes on its densest forms. Although not always pleasant, facing reality is like facing an inevitable truth and to truly play the game down here we must abide by the rules.
Neptune’s retrogrades are subtle and even go by unnoticed in waking life but as Neptune has been traversing through its ruling sign of Pisces, it’s energy is stronger making it’s retrogrades that much more potent.
Every year we find ourselves waking to the truths that we were previously oblivious too but were there all along and this can make us want to escape the situation even more. But with Neptune retracing it’s steps, we find escaping to be addictive and lacking in its normal Neptunian inspiration.
As the ruler of Pisces, Neptune‘s job is to dissolve boundaries, tune us up into our astral form where endless possibilities await us as fantasies come alive and spiritual connection much stronger. The shadow side to this seemingly beautiful mirage is that when trying to focus on reality in its truest form, critical thinking subsides and paranoia can ensue.
On December 1st, Neptune will station direct and enter “Retroshade”, the post retrograde shadow period which will last until March 22nd when Neptune must retrace his steps back to 23 degrees of Pisces where he began his journey.
This is a time of true reflection as our dreams become more vivid although we may understand them less. Our psychic abilities will grow stronger but our grip on reality has decreased. But like all Retroshades, this is a time of integration, where you take what you faced during the retrograde phase and choose a different story, trusting in spirit to guide you through it and allowing your dreams to become more in alignment with the manifestations you desire.
Neptune is currently in the 8th house of my natal chart! Which houses is the retrograde occurring for you?