Neptune—the planet of the ineffable, the spiritual, and the universal—will step into a leading, even evolutionary, role in the coming year. Before we launch into why this is so, let’s quickly refresh what we know about our distant and mysterious companion in the solar system.
The ennobled, moral expression of the Neptunian impulse can arouse in us a profound sensitivity to and compassion for the suffering of others. As the planet of ideals, Neptune not only makes our dreams seem possible—it also inspires in us the willingness to sacrifice on their behalf. Its power to evoke artistic inspiration (in music, literature, dance, and fine arts) is readily observable in the natal charts of many an artistic genius.
Because it’s one of the transcendental planets, Neptune’s influence is not only personal, but also collective. For example, in Neptune we encounter the healing mother of the world. In the same way that every mother wants her children to ‘get along’ (if cherishing one another is too much to ask), the World-Mother dreams of the joy of harmonious unity, whereby each of us can experience a shared bond with the whole of creation.
The discovery of Neptune in 1846 was followed by a wave of Neptune-like social revisions: The abolition of serfdom by Alexander II (Russia) and of slavery (United States) serve as primary examples. Concern for the welfare of the downtrodden—the poor, the ill, the dispossessed, and the marginalized—then floated up to the collective consciousness. During the Crimean War (1853 – 56), nursing’s transformation from a menial occupation into a respectable profession was set into motion by Florence Nightingale.
Neptune unlocks perceptions of the unseen realm that can range from highly intuitive to lofty spiritual faculties. Pretentions to these faculties are also within Neptune’s reach—for it inspires Charlatanism as well as its constant companion, Credulity. Its namesake, the god of the seas, is fitting in many ways: Water slips through our fingers, dissolves boundaries, and flows where it wants—sometimes in an inundating torrent that renders us powerless. Under Neptune’s influence, we might even find that a circumstance that we’ve habitually clung to (and depended upon) has dissolved into the ether with the barely audible pop of a soap bubble.
There exist other crises in Neptune’s den of hazards: confusion, ego dissolution, and faith-based dilemmas. Neptune can incline us toward utopian schemes and other intoxicating illusions, as well as toward intoxicating substances—whereby we favor escape over reality, the unconscious over the conscious, and the expedient over the moral. The quality of soul that allows us to resist the siren call of these illusions is sobriety. Without it, we can find ourselves adrift in the ocean without paddle or sail, unable to discern revelations from the Holy Spirit from mere intellectual hallucinations. From Tomberg:
What renders such an intellectual mirage all the more dangerous is that it is not, as a general rule, purely and simply a delusion or illusion. It is a mixture of truth and illusion, mixed in an inextricable way. The true serves to prop up the false and the false seems to lend the true a new splendor. . . . It is a net woven from the true and the false which lays hold of the befuddled soul. [MOT, p. 640]
May we tread carefully as we pursue an understanding of the upcoming astrological events.
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In addition to the ancient seven-year periods of human life through which the planets exert their influence in turn, we can further discern the structure of our biographies through the study of ‘planetary returns’. These astrological events signify the return of a planet (or the Moon’s node) to its zodiacal degree at an established point of origin (usually a natal chart). Returns unfold in rhythms that are universal to us all.
Although an image of a circle might be summoned when contemplating a planetary return—one full circuit around the zodiac—we must expand our gaze into another dimension to grasp its spiritual form: a single revolution within a helix that advances upward. The spiral symbolizes growth; the circle, stagnation and repetition.
We could call the Sun’s realignment with its degree at your birth—also known as your birthday—a de facto return. But there exist only three returns that impact our biography: those of the North Node (rhythm of 18.6 years), the returns of Jupiter (12 years), and the returns of Saturn (29.5 years). A brief sketch of the significance of these returns is all that can be provided here: North Node / hinges of destiny; Jupiter / new periods of personal growth; and Saturn / awakening to spiritual mission.
Some of us might even experience a return of Uranus (at age 84), but—if I can be frank—in that case we’re unlikely to be able to respond to it in a meaningful way. In the case of both Neptune and Pluto, a return cannot happen in an individual’s lifetime because they require 165 years and 248 years, respectively, to circle the Sun. However, returns of Neptune and Pluto are of extraordinary interest when applied to historical events, or to the lives of great individuals—those, like Rudolf Steiner, whose influence might span centuries, or even millennia.
Here we’ve hit upon the nutrient-rich and life-giving marrow of the year ahead: In 2025, Neptune will be returning to its degree (5°28ʹ Pisces) at the birth of Rudolf Steiner. The return of Neptune to this degree engenders a resonance with the ideals and the spiritual truths that drew this great individuality into incarnation more than a century and a half ago—and it will not recur until 2190. This astrological event is made more remarkable still by the fact that 2025 is the centenary of Steiner’s death.
We can add yet another delicious ingredient to the broth of 2025: Neptune will be hovering near the vernal point (currently 4°54ʹ Pisces) throughout the year. This seasonal marker, which defines the Sun’s zodiacal degree on the first day of spring, moves (albeit slowly). It regresses through the zodiac at a rate of 1° / 72 years, 30° / 2160 years, and 360° / 25,920 years. So important is the vernal point to the evolution of humanity that its spiritual impulses distinguish one cultural epoch from another. It follows, then, that a planet that spends a good deal of time around the vernal point (as Neptune has done since the spring of 2022) has the power to leave its imprint on the course of evolution. Neptune pulls us toward the transcendent, toward spiritual devotion. While it can render us susceptible to the attractions of half-truths and other deceptions, Neptune nevertheless has the power to expose lies, whereby our collective eyes are opened. We can see this happening everywhere. And they knew that they were naked. . .
It must be noted that all zodiacal degrees discussed here are sidereal, not tropical. The astronomical difference between the two is this: the tropical zodiac is chained to the seasons and the calendar, whereas the sidereal is not. If you doubt me, check any star app on the first day of spring for a visual of the Sun’s position that day; you’ll see that it’s near the beginning of Pisces (sidereal reality), not at the Pisces-Aries cusp (tropical assertion). Never mind the breathtaking fact that in about 11,000 years’ time, when the vernal point is at 0° Libra, the tropical zodiac will put the Sun 180° away, at 0° Aries! Crikey!
The hidden significance of the distinction is this: the sidereal zodiac alone bears the moral chronicle of humanity, while the tropical zodiac distances us from spiritual truth.
The principle underlying Cosmic Christianity is that all historic events are “remembered” by the cosmos by being inscribed in the so-called “akasha chronicle” or “akashic record,” whose outer expression is the sidereal zodiac. Everything is recorded in the stars. [Robert Powell, Chronicle of the Living Christ, pp. 122 – 23]
These cosmic inscriptions find their way to humanity by way of the wandering stars: our planets. As a planet (or the Node) revisits its sidereal degree at a past event of great significance (such as the birth of Rudolf Steiner), it unlocks an etheric current originating from the spiritual memory of the event that streams toward humanity. This is a remarkable opportunity! The inspirations and ideals that drew Rudolf Steiner into incarnation are now resounding from the heavens. Will we hear them?
Those of us who have held dear Steiner’s teachings must approach the next 100 years as true visionaries. How can we breathe new life into Steiner’s objectives and ideals so that they can be carried forward with the vitality that characterized their inception? We need to answer this question now, for as Neptune closes the door to a past era, it will open another to the future.
Steiners’ Neptune return forms the backdrop of our present inquiry. The foreground is no less interesting. In 2025, there will be two rare astrological aspects to Neptune—a Saturn / Neptune conjunction (a 35-year rhythm), and a North Node / Neptune conjunction (a 17-year rhythm). Both conjunctions will occur in the first decan of Pisces. More remarkable still: When—rapt in conversation—Neptune, Saturn, and the North Node will be huddled within a few degrees of each other in April and May, it will be the first such occurrence in the zodiacal sign of the Fishes in almost 2000 years.
The various facets of this cosmic gathering—as seen through historical and spiritual events—will be the subject of future sections of our study.
~ Julie H.