What is the astrological signature for blinkers? A narrowing field of vision that only encompasses a handful of talking points. The news is an endless repetition of Trump, Putin, Gaza, Ukraine and a few Royal flim flam distractions. In an individual, a shrinking world can signal depression but this seems to have infected the entire western culture.
Uranus in innovative Gemini should have broadened not shrunk our perspective. Pluto in Aquarius in trine had been expected to add another layer of enlightened growth and interest in different perspectives.
Blame it all on Neptune? It was the driving planet of the recent Virgo Solar Eclipse trine Uranus trine Pluto and opposition Neptune and Saturn in Pisces.
Neptune in mythology was god of the seas and earthquakes as well as horses. He controlled the waters and was believed to have the power to calm or stir up waves and storms, control the tides. In his rape of Medusa to get back at Athena he also exhibited sadism and a vengeful nature. But nothing much to suggest constricted vision.
This is thinking in progress (muddled) but looking across the historical outcomes of Neptune Pluto, Saturn Neptune and Uranus Neptune conjunctions, we seem to be feeling the negative effects of them, despite them being in supposedly ‘easier’ trines and sextile aspects at the moment. My impression from working with country charts is they do respond to ‘easy’ aspects (sextile, trine) with much the same impact as hard (square, opposition, conjunction).
Taking the negative first:
Neptune Pluto together historically produced megalomaniac dictators – Attila the Hun, Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung.
Saturn Neptune undermines a solid grip on reality and induces paranoia.
Uranus together with imaginative Neptune lack common sense, can foster irrational and misleading thinking.
All of the above aspects can have a constructive purpose but it seems blocked for the moment, perhaps waiting for Neptune to swim out of the remnants of Pisces – in late January 2026, followed by Saturn exiting the swamp in February and finally the North Node heading backwards into Aquarius in July 2026.
I remember contemplating Neptune’s move into Pisces in 2012, being mistrustful of all the high flown, spiritual expectations that were floating around. It doubles up the trickier side of Neptune which includes a cruel streak with a dismissal of the real world and the body. Revenge and inhuman cruelty often sit side by side with extreme compassion, great creativity and strong religious yearnings. Financial and other scandals always have a whiff of Neptune about them, with its quality of deceptiveness and its persuasive sleights of hand. Confidence tricks come under Neptune’s banner, with its inability to set boundaries or to distinguish between thine and mine, and its tendency to lie and distort.
Neptune puts the dream above reality, writes off human sacrifice as a necessary cost to gain the end.
Even Uranus in aspect to Pluto is often often projected onto society’s scapegoats. The Jewish story, and black African-American history have strong connections to this pairing as Pluto’s need to annihilate separate identity as a threat to the power base emerges.
The positive upside of all the above combinations can undermine obsolete structures in society to foster constructive change (Uranus Pluto), can be enlightened, civilized, cultured, creative (Uranus Neptune) and helpful to underdogs, giving women and workers a hand up (Saturn Neptune).
But not much of the progressive energy seems to be breaking through. Those of a paranoid inclination might be tempted to think that the megalomaniacs in power have us brainwashed – Pluto controls and Neptune lies. ‘The “Great Lie” refers to a propaganda technique described by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, where a massive, outrageous falsehood is repeated until people believe it, as they assume no one would dare invent such a huge deception.’
Trump does have a capacity to ’soak up all the oxygen’ – me, me, me, me. And Putin is the ultimate shape-shifting trickster (as is Netanyahu).
Maybe it is less to do with Neptune forcing us into narrow tunnel-vision and more the pernicious effect of Pluto exerting control. ‘Thou shalt have no other authority – or focus of attention – than me’.
Astrologers have a tendency to look on the bright side in advance which is understandable but it does bring disappointment when the good news is slow to emerge.
Anyone with any other bright ideas do feel free to comment.
Add ON: One further thought. World War 11 began to slowly turn round with Pluto in early Leo and Uranus in late Taurus in 1940 with the UK holding firm through the Battle of Britain; and Hitler miscalculating with the advance into Russia in mid 1941. Pearl Harbour in December 1941 happened with Uranus just into Gemini, bringing the US into the war. With more turning points in 1942 in North Africa and Stalingrad.
So it took Uranus in Gemini sextile Pluto in Leo a while before it brought liberation and cessation of the conflict in gradual stages through 1943/44, before the final closure in 1945 – though the seeds were sown before Uranus exited Taurus.
The mistake at the moment may be expecting instant relief and a rapid entry into better times. It has to be fought for.
Deceptive Neptune has been transiting my second house for some time now. Horribles.
The BBC just posted an article stating that GB could only fight a war with Russia for a few weeks and that a total comms blackout could indicate war. What is the astrology showing? Thanks.
As I see it the present situation is giving us the dissolution of authority and of the illusion of control. Today’s announcement by Rubio of the State Department that the US administration will be reverting to Times New Roman instead of the ‘woke’ Calibri typeface is just such an example. When you feel powerless and everything is out of (your) control then you focus on trivialities. While the world burns America thinks to be taken more seriously by using a dated and less legible typeface. Funny but sad, really.
All are in enemy signs though pisces isn’t enemy but home of Neptune yet its for brief before finally entering enemy Aries,sign of Mars whom he trapped at behest of Jupiter for eloping with his wife Venus.
Saturn is also in last months of Pisces before entering Aries, the impatient which is opposite behaviour of Saturn.
Pluto is too in Aquarius,home of Uranus which is completely opposite to alsmot stuck behaviour of Uranus.
Uranus in Gemini is too in different behaviour sign of Mercury which is double edged and clever unlike Uranus which is accustomed to turning all upside down,without a thought.
Jupiter retrograde might be Keeping hope at bay for now and beneficiary effects of all.
I think Neptune has done its “job” and created a mess. In its “happy” place of Pisces ,more pandemonium and chaos than we could have ever dreamed up.
I sometimes think there’s a misunderstanding that Pluto in Aq ‘power to the people’ stuff always means a leftwing or progressive shift, when it perhaps just means power to the wider population. Maybe what we’re experiencing is a big shift to an era which reflects what ‘the people’ want – except currently ‘the people’ have had a long immersion in murky misinformation and illusions (Nep in Pisces) via online lives, algorithmically shaped echo chambers, ‘alternative facts’ ‘fake news’ etc etc. Escapism too: whether that’s living as a ‘digital nomad’ or being deep into online casinos or porn or just very into cycling videos, cooking vlogs, etc.
So the tunnel vision feeling is seeing more and more of what you have previously given attention to, and then starting to feel it’s not quite the full picture. I wonder if a lot of us need to swim back to the surface, to look around and question things? Maybe that’s the Aries jolt coming? A vibe shift from deep underwater to looking at yourself in the bathroom mirror, and feeling like it’s time to seize your independence and be more active – which can be an illusion of its own (‘I gotta do something!’ can have some pretty poor outcomes).
I couldn’t agree more. Aquarius is opposite Leo. The Sun/ Lion rules over many animals. Pluto has a habit to undermine emotions, forcing us to rebirth. Perhaps Pluto in Aquarius is beginning to bring to the service the underbelly of rulership. Those hidden money deals, political deals and undermine forces? Forcing the populous’s to realign, rebirth and change? Lest not forget these planets influence the bit of the Universe in our Solar system/Earth magnetism, as well as individual charts and country’s . Uranus ruler of Aquarius can be quick enlightenment or rile depending on planetary combination. A splash of inspiration – also maybe higher intelligence? Uranus can become the planet of unexpected happenings, a sudden whoosh in group thinking? I don’t buy left and right thinking anymore. It is too convenient. Left progressives, right stuck in the mud – thick – all very simplistic! A bit too snobbish for me. . We all see some, who like to call themselves left progressives, act as if they are superior – look down on others. The planets merge with each other whilst in conjunction. Saturn and Neptune, water and earth, become bonded. Religious rulers can be an example! Pluto trining Uranus in Gemini is a combination of Water/Air, with Air taking the upper hand as it is dominant Aquarius/Gemini and Uranus. Gemini in is every day communication, Aquarius group, invention and pushing in opposite direction, add on the fact Uranus spins the opposite way to Pluto – a sudden unexpected counterattack? Anything can happen as this combination could be an unpredicted outcome. Depending on the Sun and Moon positions. Leadership/People?
Could it be that Neptune in Pisces has… dissolved compassion? Your words on the state of the world ring true, Marjorie… when the leader of the most powerful country in the world is behaving like a school bully and scapegoating immigrants, poor folk, women….
Thanks Marjorie, we all have a choice as to what we read, watch and believe. Discernment can improve our lives. Many YouTube videos recycle the same stale narrative of how terrible everything is, like we’re in a spiral of doom and gloom. There are so many wonderful videos of dancers, clever discussions, hilarious comedies, why wouldn’t anyone want a lovely life, we have free will and can’t blame the planets. Highlighting the narrow confines and calling it out may be the catalyst for change if each of us decided to switch off all the drivel – well done for bringing this to the surface!
« As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods,
They kill us for their sport.»
King Lear, Act IV, scene I, 37-38.
Thanks Marjorie, much to contemplate here. Poseidon/Neptune was the father of the Cretan Minotaur, who was imprisoned in a labyrinth. Poseidon had shape-shifted into a perfect white bull and seduced the wife of the King of Crete – he was the Bull from the Sea. Her pregnancy resulted in the Minotaur. The shape-shifting, beloved of Greek and Roman gods, plus the bewildering labyrinth, and the ritual sacrifice of young people to the Minotaur all seem to link with Neptune in astrology. And I think suggest some of the cruelty of Neptune – lives sacrificed, lies and deception used to satisfy the god’s desire.
I sometimes wonder about Dionysus and Neptune too, as well as the many myths about the Moon’s phases and Luna’s links with “lunacy” or madness. Some of the Moon’s traditional astrological meanings seem to have been transferred to Neptune.
As for Dionysus, he is associated with bisexuality, theatre, ritual madness, rebirth (twice-born Dionysus), wine/drunkeness, and his birth at the Winter Solstice – also a time of the ‘rebirth’ of the Sun. Sometimes associated with foxes (cunning, trickery, creatures of liminal times of day, such as dusk), serpents, panthers, leopards and bulls. He was a god with origins in Asia.
Thinking about Saturn and Neptune in aspect, the Winter Solstice theme repeats in a way. The December Saturnalia was a time of Saturn unchained, when the god of agriculture was let loose and people celebrated with wild abandon, exchanges of gifts, and so on. So maybe Dionysus’ birth, the Saturnalia, and the boundaryless aspects of Neptune link up? With all the heat, fire, and impatience of Aries, we could see some heated reactions, spiritual “warriors”, and a different, more robust flavour to our collective cultures signalled by the approaching conjunction next year.
News aside we may now be in an easier age with trines and sextiles but it’s having to undo all the rubbish that has gone on for decades.
But, I don’t think we will begin to see the real power of the Aqua, Aries, Gemini transits for at least a year or two.
We didn’t in the mid-90s with the big shift which began in 1995 with Uranus into Aqua/Pluto in Sag dipping their toes in, consolidated in 1996 but only really saw bigger change in Britain once Blair took over in 1997 and Neptune did get to Aqua until 1998. The internet then only began a slow takeoff around that time.
What’s your astro interpretation of this horrifying global surveillance coming and the digital ID? Do the aspects show governments and the oligarchy will overreach too much and anger the masses so deeply that we will rise up and take our power back and completely change the corrupt system? I mean, scary as it all is, the people fighting back (and I hope to see a more decentralised internet as a natural reaction to the control creep) is all very Pluto in Aquarius, isn’t it, along with all this tech?
GD – The shift with Uranus into Aquarius and Pluto into Sagittarius you cite means that 1998 could be an interesting year to consider. It began with a blast of air and fire on 1st January, with Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus in Aquarius. Mercury and Pluto were in Sagittarius, Saturn in Aries. Neptune had reached 28 Capricorn.
AI says:
“1998 was a pivotal year marked by major political shifts (Good Friday Agreement, Suharto’s fall in Indonesia, Clinton’s impeachment inquiry), global terrorism (US Embassy bombings in Africa), technological milestones (Google founded, Euro agreed), and cultural moments (Titanic’s Oscar sweep, France wins World Cup, Angel of the North unveiled). Key events included the Northern Ireland peace deal, US embassy bombings in Kenya/Tanzania, India/Pakistan nuclear tests, Suharto’s resignation, and the Monica Lewinsky scandal unfolding in the US.”
In March, Malaysia became the first country to introduce biometric passports. The UK introduced them on 5 October, 1998 – with that lingering Saturn/Neptune square, Mars inconjunct Neptune, and Pluto sextile Venus, Sun, and Uranus. That year the Moon’s Nodes (connections, associations) shifted from Virgo into Leo. In 2026 they move from Pisces into Aquarius.
Looking back the late 90s were definitely a change from what had been in the early 90s. The economy was recovered, house prices began to rise and culturally boy bands/girl bands were taking over; reality TV was beginning to start with garden makeover shows (Ground Force), Big Brother a couple of years later and Who Wants to be a Millionaire was a phenomenom. The common man getting their 15mins of fame.
Adam Curtis, the documentary maker’s latest series Shifty is about how British life changed from 1970s to 2000s. His documentaries are full of old TV footage and he mentioned in an interview that one of the curious changes was that prior to 1998 people were more open/honest about their feelings and opinions but after this they began to say what was expected.
2026 will almost certainly see more change/upheaval – Uranus arrives back in Gemini at end of April just in time for the local elections and quite possibly for Starmer to be usurped. July has another grand kite with Jupiter moving into Leo and then the nodes changing as you highlight.
The problem with the news is that its trying to be 24hrs and there just isn’t enough interesting stuff to fill every minute of the day. Compare that to pre-internet age when you had a morning and/or evening paper; news bulletins at lunchtime, evening and late night plus five mins on the hour for the radio. The media now has to make mountains out of molehills. I guess that is Neptune being indiscriminate.
I would add that the “narrowing of options” has felt to me like a consequence of Pluto in Capricorn. Reaching the peak of the cycle with the ‘best’ winning out and conquering all others. I’m hopeful Pluto in Aquarius will gradually see an opening up of options as people say “Ah what the heck, I’m not going with convention; I’ve got my own ideas”
Isn’t Neptune on Scheat at the moment? And doesn’t Scheat have connections with the sea, misfortune, delusion etc?
Like all fixed stars, no doubt there are some good points about Scheat for the right individuals, but I am not sure we are seeing much evidence of them at the moment.
Neptune hanging out so long at 29 Pisces, the very last degree of the sign and the Zodiac itself doesn’t help much, but we’ll be clear of this energy (finally) in late January. It’s like the final days before Spring in mid-March (N. Hemisphere at least) when it seems like Winter has dragged on for far too long and will never come to an end.
And then, like a breath of fresh air, in comes the Spring Equinox and the Aries ingress. A rush of new energy and a surge of new life and possibilities unfolds before us.
Although Neptune has already dipped into Aries earlier this year, it still had unfinished business in Pisces, hence why I believe the old stagnant energy is lingering with us, Marjorie. Same goes for Saturn. We’re wrapping it up now. 2026 is a whole new ballgame where both planets and their cycles are concerned.
Also, the Uranus-Pluto Trine hasn’t perfected yet. That’s also still to come, on the heels of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction, though not until July.
My feeling is that people are going to become far more active and engaged within this next year with all the incoming fire and air (vs. more grounded and introverted earth and water energies).
I think you have covered how Saturn-Neptune conjunctions have consistently coincided with periods of great change and upheaval for Russia going back to the Bolshevik Revolution in the late 19-teens. I expect this time will be no different. Putin is getting a bit long in the tooth, so to speak. It wouldn’t at all surprise me if he is brought down, passes on, or is otherwise driven out of power within the next year. That event alone will have huge geopolitical implications, to say the least, and other dominoes linked to him may very well come cascading down too.
The US itself is barreling towards its third Uranus Return in 2027. The previous two events were very true to the energy we associate with this planet, tower/thunderbolt events that rocked the nation at its very foundations (e.g. The Southern Secession leading to the Civil War, the Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbor leading to WWII), although truthfully, trouble was already visibly on the horizon for anyone to see who wanted to. Nevertheless, the collective was jolted awake into a new reality, with new imperatives on both previous occasions.
The current state of the US suggests the ignition “breaking point” this time may well be economic, or perhaps a political impasse between the status quo elites and activists seeking accountability and reform. Or maybe it’s China invading Taiwan? Who can say for sure until it happens? But it will be a watershed moment in the country’s history, without a doubt.
Everything seems like it will never change, until one day, it actually does.
WWII was clearly underway before America got involved. Just adding for clarification. The bombing of Pearl Harbor is the watershed event that jolted the nation into direct involvement and off the sidelines as a key supplier to the Allies.
In 2011 (probably march) , I was intrigued by a news on a certain shop for making the news by having rental arrears. In 2025, this same business man make the news again this time with investigation ongoing. I was wondering to myself 14 years a Pluto or Neptune cycle?
Neptune cycle.
Thank you for this post Marjorie, you mentioned ‘Neptune in mythology was god of the seas and earthquakes as well as horses.’ well we are certainly seeing the earthquakes, flooding on an unprecedented level around the planet on a grand scale at the moment with Neptune firmly clamped on 29 degrees Pisces and due to turn direct tomorrow.
But, I was just reading that early next February is the beginning of the Chinese year of the Fire horse, and apparently, with much foreboding among those who follow chinese horoscopes, and with Neptune due to enter the sign of Aries near the end of January, changing from water to fire signs. Neptune in Aries can result in new political positioning, redrawn borders, and a redefinition of national and personal purpose, amongst other things, but hope that with Uranus in Gemini globalization may give way to a more responsible Saturn in Aries, and take back personal responsibility. 2026 will be an interesting year.
Based on observations from inside the prison camp (i.e., the U.S), it does seem as though the vast national delusion is beginning to break with regard to Trump, who is perhaps the most enthusiastic living proponent of the “Big Lie” technique, or at least the loudest. Could this be related to the approach (“backwash,” “shadow,” “aura,” “nimbus,” whatever–I don’t know the correct terminology) of Neptune’s exit from Pisces? It also feels as though we’re heading for a painful reality check in the coming year, on all levels–social, political, and certainly economic (in fact, that’s already starting as well, or so it appears). Saturn’s supposed to be the “reality check” planet, right? So that would seem to jibe with its change in February. Just a thought.