♆ ♄ The Neptune/Saturn Cycle

Saturn and Neptune find themselves together in Aries for the first time in over 300 years and will hang in tandem for 26 months. It's a strange combination really because they are so unbelievably opposite. Saturn is disciplined and determined. Neptune is idealistic and dreamy. Saturn does. Neptune thinks. Saturn lasts to the bitter end. Neptune is inspired to drift off into something else. Imagine a German engineer trying to have a conversation with Bob Marley and the contradictions become all too apparent. But strangely, a tightrope artist needs both Saturnian and Neptunian skills in equal measure: intense concentration and total discipline, mingled with grace and effortlessness is a truly unique combination. Most of us though do not find this balance easy to come by and struggle to incorporate these characteristics simultaneously. In a sign like Aries which is about gung-ho action, it shouldn't be at all surprising that we could sometimes feel like we are pulled apart at the seams.

So how did it get this way and what can history teach us about what to expect? Expecting the unexpected and not being surprised by events is the only way to describe it. Neptunian events involving liquids & gasses, deception or self-delusion gets to meet iron-hard discipline and rigid determination. In all signs this could be comical at best or tragic at worst - in Aries a sign not known for its maturity and self-restraint, anything can and will happen.

Neptune has an orbit around the sun of 165 years, which means it remains in a sign around 14 years or so. Saturn on the other hand is much faster with an orbit of 29.5 years, traversing a sign in only 2.5 years on average. They tend to cluster together every 36-37 years but never in the same sign. On 6 April 1989 with Saturn/Neptune closely aligned at 12/13° Capricorn, John Friedrich was finally caught with his fingers in the till, in Australia's biggest ever fraud case in history. On 20 November 1952, with Saturn & Neptune at 22° Libra, George William Jorgensen, Jr of New York became Christine Jorgensen in Denmark. Not the first such process, but the first to go public.

Would it therefore surprise anyone that in 1702 in the leadup to the last Saturn entering Aries in conjunction with Neptune, that King William III of England had a bizarre accident and died a few days later? His horse stumbled on a molehill, he fell off and he died as a result of complications leading from a broken collarbone. In 1703, the Great Storm destroyed large parts of western Europe from Ireland to France and the Netherlands, killed thousands and destroyed shipping fleets for years. It has been noted that very little rain fell, but high winds caused a tidal surge in Bristol Channel, flooding large parts of England and Wales, which caused a reciprocal backlash down the River Thames and into the English Channel.

Closing the Neptune-Saturn period in 1704 was probably a bit calmer and much more Saturnian. For example, the New York City Common Council authorised a school for “negro children", to teach basic reading and bible study. It was small, informal and rudimentary but it paved the way for better things with the opening of the African Free School in 1787. Neptune was discovered in September 1846 which was a time of romantic music and art. Emotions were elevated beyond reason and people started to communicate with spirits. Neptune’s discovery symbolically expanded human awareness of the invisible dimensions of reality to absurd levels. A bit zany, a bit whacky and sometimes not very grounded at all. Saturn on the other hand, as the furthest planet that can be seen with the naked eye, came to symbolise the end of things. Although unfair, it has a reputation for bringing bad news or misfortune. A much fairer interpretation would be to find meaningful life-lessons through discomfort or hardship.

The stories and associated myths of these two planets go back to ancient times. Both Greece and Rome had their myths, which by and large were the same and featured gods depicted sometimes as all-powerful and other times as mortal men. We would call them today stories, myths or tales but over the years, their characteristics became glued to the planets named after them. The Roman Saturn as an older, wiser man who ruled agriculture, the harvest and time itself. A flawed individual who grew into his role. His father was the god of the sky, Caelus. As a young man, Saturn overthrew him and took on the role of supreme god. It was foretold that Saturn would be overturned by his son, as he himself had done. To protect himself, he devoured each of his children by his wife Ops. The sixth child that Ops bore - called Jupiter - was hidden and eventually overcame and banished his father. Saturn fled to Latium where he was helped by the god Janus. Saturn introduced agriculture to the area and ushered in the Golden Age, where all men were equal, regardless of class and no wars could be declared. The Golden Age - also known as Pax Romana - was a period of peace and prosperity. Saturn was attributed with bringing forth the harvest and therefore also the seasons and time itself. He was honoured by the festival of Saturnalia, a time of merriment and feasting. Neptune was the god of water and the sea. Being of volatile nature,he was able to create earthquakes, or create safe passage for sailors, depending on his mood. He was honoured with festivals which celebrated the importance of water and agriculture, the purpose of which was to please him and confer blessings on the city. The festival of Neptunalia was held at the height of summer, with shaded canopies, the sacrifice of a bull, vast quantities of food and wine and protected spaces for men and women of different social strata to mingle and be merry.

Immediately prior to Nepunalia was Lucari, the period of clearing the overgrown bushes. Immediately following came Furrinalia, the goddess of springs and wells, where new sources of water were examined. The week-long process which occurred at the height of summer was in fact, a survival technique used to protect the environment and ensure the city's long-term water retention. Since protecting water sources was crucial to their survival, Neptunalia was a form of letting go for a short while and allowing the gods to protect them. Looking at the current Saturn/Neptune in Aries, we had an exact conjunction in February 2026 at 0° Aries. So anyone with any planets at or near 0° of Aries (conjunction), Libra (opposition) or Cancer/Capricorn (squares) would understand the push-pull of this. The experience could have been a bit surreal; perhaps too much hope and expectation that got dashed; perhaps too much caution that turned out to be redundant.

Transiting Saturn and Neptune remain in Aries, Saturn until April 2028 and Neptune for a decade after that. Saturn transits on their own are seldom useful to examine, since it occurs over a few weeks and then passes. However, Saturn can be interpreted within the quadrant it is transiting (a 7-8 year period) and a transit over a stellium of planets. Neptune transits on the other hand could take a year or more to process.

Anyone with planets or angles in Aries, Libra, Cancer or Capricorn will feel this at some point. The conjunctions will feel like a jolt, a wake up call that things have to reboot. The opposition in Libra will be an indication that something has to give - that two opposing ideas have to be confronted and one of them has to be let go. The oppositions are a time of stress, where things are clearly not smooth and adjustments need to be made.

The more co-operative transits of sextiles and trines are found in the signs of Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius and Aquarius. Most won't even notice these because life glides along smoothly. This is when doors that were shut, start opening. Offers that were not anticipated, materialise. That is also part of the universal fingerprint but we seldom take heed of it. We are in the midst of an event that is rare in the annals of life. Since the age of Jesus, perhaps six of these Neptune/Saturn/Aries events in history. It is something to savour. Bewildering, confusing and often alienating, but nevertheless an experience like no other.