The Aries Point (00 of Aries) gets hyped as the ‘Fame Point’, how you may be publicly acclaimed, but I think we need a broader (and so more applicable) lens through which to interpret it: it’s the point in the chart designating where and how (by House and aspects) one ‘meets’ the world–that is, enters into the sphere beyond the Self–and in being so suggests a constant about each individual, a statement: here’s where I start; within the essence of who I am, here’s what I bring to humanity.

Now we have Neptune entering the sign of individuality, autonomy, personal responsibility, ego, and action and choice, bringing its influence to the Aries Point, where it will linger relatively briefly (and won’t return in retrograde), leaving by February 28th. That suggests the time between entry to the sign and movement to the next degree offers a unique experience–but of what?

Neptune’s initial hit to anything can stir a variety of reactions in us: confusion, elation, a creative surge, or it can prompt an embrace of the fantastical or unreal as reality itself, can mislead or deceive in such a way that we have a hard time letting go of the illusion we’ve accepted as truth (maybe most especially when that illusion presents an ideal we carry as real), or it can set us adrift from our moorings, as if what we know to be our world and our anchors dissolve under us. No matter what, disorientation may be the immediate result; it’s an abrupt awakening that has all the hallmarks of a dream.

At the Aries Point, Neptune may carry an especially broad influence. Usually when Neptune changes sign, we still have a solid idea of who we are, but right now Neptune comes along and obscures the very thing, our personal identity, we use to navigate all change–and the idea that the Self is dissolving isn’t just disorienting, it’s terrifying.

If you saw the series ‘Westworld’ you may remember the tell to the limits of programming for the entities that filled the parks for the amusement of humans; it was also your sometimes shocking clue that the individual you were observing, wasn’t, as you’d thought, a human being, but one of these amazingly humanoid creations. When one of them was presented with something they weren’t programmed to understand, they’d say, “That doesn’t look like anything to me.” That was always a heartbreaking moment, seeing an intelligence meet the limits of its ability to interpret the world–and, at least for a little while, we might have a similar experience as Neptune transits that initial degree of Aries. We may not have any reaction at all to what comes at us; or, deciphering our experiences and what’s before us may be beyond our understanding, or at least the kind of understanding that allows us to fit that thing into a niche in our lives, to classify and so to some extent control what’s happening to us. Words and concepts may fail us, and emotions won’t be far behind, too slippery to grasp and keep a hold on, too nebulous to let us settle on one idea of how we feel.

This nebulous quality will be remedied when Saturn enters that same degree in mid-February. We may see an end to our uncertainty as the real world makes itself felt, or we could find boundaries drawn or a distinct end to things that seemed boundless or unending, or we might see the dreams we entertain, specifically those involving our own role and involvement in the larger scene, come to reality–and that can include manifestation of the nightmares we entertain at this time, too.

My thought is to do our best to flow with this energy, to refuse to panic if we find ourselves adrift–adrift isn’t sinking, it isn’t drowning, it’s just a temporary surrender of control. Focusing the creative energies, allowing yourself to imagine, and choosing according to your highest ideals will all make good use of the energy, and serve both our own needs, and those of the Collective, as for this Neptune transit of Aries we must find our new place, new role, new identity within the vastness of the Universe. What will we as individuals creatively generate? That’s the question we face.

Full Moon report to follow!