Table Of Contentr
Transits of Heart and Soul
Bil Tierney
1999
Llewellyn Publications
St. Paul, MN 55164-0833 U.S.A.
Alive and Well with Neptune: Transits ofH eart and Soul© 1999 by Bil Tierney. All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn
Publications except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and
reviews.
FIRST EDITION
First Printing 1999
Cover design by William Merlin Cannon
Book design by Ken Schubert
Editing by Marguerite Krause
Project Management by Eila Savela
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tierney, Bil.
Alive & well with Neptune: transits of heart and soul/ Bil Tierney. - 1st
ed.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 1-56718-715-3
1. Astrology. 2. Neptune (Planet)-Miscellanea. I. Title.
II. Title: Alive and well with Neptune.
BF1724.2.N45T54 1999
133.5 '391-dc21 99-32704
CIP
Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or
responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and
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unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number.
Printed in the United States of America
Llewellyn Publications
A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.
P.O. Box 64383, Dept. K715-3
St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, U.S.A.
www.llewellyn.com
DEDICATION
I dedicate this book to Donna Van Toen, a
devoted astrologer who has well-navigated
Neptune's deeper waters in good faith.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ......................................... 1
PART ONE
Chapter One
SETTING THE STAGE ................................... 13
Chapter Two
SWIMMING WITH NEPTUNE .............................. 23
Chapter Three
A NEPTUNIAN ToUR OF OUR NATAL PLANETS ................ 35
Chapter Four
A NEPTUNIAN TOUR OF OUR NATAL HOUSES ................ 57
Two
PART
Chapter Five
DREAMS AND VISIONS OF ONENESS ........................ 83
NEPTUNE TRANSITING A NATAL HOUSE ..................... 90
NEPTUNE TRANSITING A NATAL PLANET .................... 92
Chapter Six
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE FIRST HOUSE ................... 97
NEPTUNE/MARS TRANSITS ............................. 104
Chapter Seven
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE SECOND HOUSE ................ 113
NEPTUNE/EARTH VENUS TRANSITS ....................... 121
X • CONTENTS
Chapter Eight
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE THIRD HOUSE ................. 129
NEPTUNE/AIR MERCURY TRANSITS ....................... 137
Chapter Nine
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE FOURTH HOUSE ................ 145
NEPTUNE/MOON TRANSITS ............................. 153
Chapter Ten
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE FIFTH HOUSE .................. 161
NEPTUNE/SUN TRANSITS .............................. 170
Chapter Eleven
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE SIXTH HOUSE .................. 177
NEPTUNE/EARTH MERCURY TRANSITS .................... 185
Chapter Twelve
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE SEVENTH HOUSE ............... 191
NEPTUNE/AIR VENUS TRANSITS ......................... 200
Chapter Thirteen
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE EIGHTH HOUSE ................ 207
NEPTUNE/PLUTO TRANSITS ............................. 214
Chapter Fourteen
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE NINTH HOUSE ................. 223
NEPTUNE/JUPITER TRANSITS ........................... 231
Chapter Fifteen
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE TENTH HOUSE ................. 239
NEPTUNE/SATURN TRANSITS ............................ 246
CONTENTS • XI
Chapter Sixteen
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE ELEVENTH HOUSE .............. 253
NEPTUNE/URANUS TRANSITS ........................... 260
Chapter Seventeen
NEPTUNE TRANSITING THE TwELFTH HOUSE ............... 269
NEPTUNE/NEPTUNE TRANSITS .......................... 276
Bibliography ....................................... 283
INTRODUCTION
THE OTHER SIDE NEPTUNE
OF
It's no wonder that astrological Neptune rules unsolved myster
ies, because it's somewhat a mystery why we traditionally associ
ate this planet with a tempermental sea god known for his
stormy personality in Greek and Roman myths-the cultural
source of all our planetary symbolism. Isn't Neptune supposed to
be the most spiritually sensitive of all the planets-a universal
pacifist who wouldn't step on a weed or hurt a fly? Don't we con
sider it to be a planet that oozes empathy and seduces us to com
pletely merge our consciousness with all else that lives, thereby
dissolving the illusion that we possess separate identities?
Neptune would rather feed unlimited divine energy to our
souls and inspire us to nourish our bodies with a steady diet of
fruits, seeds, nuts, and vegetables. Ideally, Neptune won't kill for
meat or endure seeing blood being shed in the name of cruelty or
violence. Yet mythological Neptune was no pacifist or peace
maker. He personified the oceanic realm, which is rarely calm or
predictable. Its powerful waves crash dramatically against the
shoreline's rocks, and sudden storms at sea create turbulent and
dangerous waters.
1
2 • INTRODUCTION
The actual planet Neptune wasn't discovered until 1846-a
milestone that signalled humanity's readiness to use this planet's
energies with greater social awareness. Perhaps it has taken us
several millennia to absorb the kinder, gentler side of this plane
tary archetype. This aspect of Neptune probably got a boost dur
ing the development of Piscean water imagery in the earliest
stages of Christianity, with Jesus as a living symbol of all those
illuminated traits 'we now expect from the spiritual-savior side of
unity-conscious Neptune. This is the side of Neptune all
astrologers are familiar with-the one wearing the halo.
The Greeks focused on more "pagan," nature-connected quali
ties of the Neptune principle with their portrayal of the "wild
eyed" god Poseidon, who was fiery in disposition and driven by
elemental instinct, making him temperamental to the point of
being a rage-aholic! He certainly didn't have the airy detachment
of a typical sky god, nor did he even look serene and mellow (that
trendy Neptunian "bliss" look made popular in the late 1960s).
Homer's nickname for Poseidon was the "Earth Shaker," which
can also describe how we often tremble when we're enraged.
So, how did Poseidon get like this? For one thing, he was trau
matized shortly after his birth, as was his brother Hades (Pluto),
accused by some of turning out a little twisted as a result. Their
father was uptight, paranoid Cronus (better known to us from
Roman mythology as Saturn). Cronus got into an obsessive state
regarding a bothersome prophecy blurted out by his father
Uranus just moments after Cronus castrated him (this was a hor
rible father-son relationship worthy of any Greek tragedy). The
dreaded prophecy warned that Cronus would someday be over
thrown by one of his own rebellious kids.
Was saying this just an act of viciousness on wounded Uranus'
part, intended to psychologically undermine Cronus, or was this
sky god actually foreseeing the future? Whatever the case,
Saturnians today still get an anxious, uneasy feeling about the
potential for an unknown fate to intervene and upset the status
quo of their lives, which is why they make their moves hesitantly
and carefully. What Cronus later did to make himself feel safer
INTRODUCTION • 3
about his questionable future was to swallow up each of the first
five children he fathered immediately after their birth.
Poseidon entered the world only to be thrown into a confusing
state of darkness and fear while trapped in the pit of his father's
stomach-totally cut off from contact with the outer world and
from the loving touch of his mother. This introduced haunting
themes of isolation and alienation, a gnawing sense of not being a
real part of the outer world, and even of not actually being
wanted by one's parents. His other siblings-except for Zeus
(Jupiter)-were in the same dire predicament but, for some rea
son, Poseidon was more hypersensitive than the rest. Touchiness
and hostility to rejection continued to plague him even as an
adult-you could always count on Poseidon to have a totally sub
jective and often infantile reaction to any rebuff.
In astrology, Saturn and Neptune are still not on easy speak
ing terms. Wary Neptune knows full well that Saturn's domineer
ing influence can be stifling and suffocating, especially regarding
the process of unfolding one's imagination. Neptune will permit
itself only a certain degree of Saturnian structure before it has a
panic attack and unravels at the seams. Nevertheless, astrologi
cal Saturn is the best agent for the clear manifestation of
Neptune's beautiful visions.
Mter Cronus was forced to vomit forth his kids, releasing
them from their prison, Poseidon assisted his brother Zeus-who
luckily had never been swallowed-and his other siblings in a vic
torious revolt against their control-freak father. Cronus was
finally ousted from his seat of power, just as predicted. Poseidon
had an ax to grind about the psychological abuse he endured. He
was troubled by unresolved anger.
Mter the ''War of the Titans" was over and it came time to
decide who would rule what particular domain in the new order of
gods, the brothers drew lots. Poseidon's realm became the seas
and all the waterways of the earth (appropriate Neptunian sym
bols of interconnectedness). However, although he dwelled with
his wife in a splendid golden palace in the ocean's depths,
Poseidon never felt he was dealt the best hand. He wanted some of
the glory and the perks that came easily to brother Zeus. He felt
