Bernard Hall – ‘The Quest’ -before 1935- {{PD}}
This is part one of a re-print from ECLIPSE, slightly modified and added to, centering on the effects of Neptune transiting through the natal Houses, though much of what’s said may apply to a natal placement in a House, as well.
Just looking at one facet of Neptune, his relationship to the spiritual in our lives–which really is everything in our lives–whether it be material circumstances, relationships, health, prosperity or lack, it’s all a simultaneous reflection of, creation of, and expression of our spiritual attunement. We can’t really separate out the Neptunian spiritual element from everything else–which is what makes the House position of transiting Neptune so important, as it tells us where that spiritual element may be especially active at any one time, in spite of any illusions, fog, or disguises it may veil conditions with.
Though we have very specific spiritual questions particular to the individual before us at all times, there is a broader influence from transiting Neptune that turns our attention repeatedly toward the spiritual essence of the matters of the House where Neptune currently is located. In areas where Neptune transits we may find ourselves working very hard to define subjects particular to the House it’s moving through; it’s as if we are squinting into the fog, looking for definitive outlines of what is spiritually true in this area of life. Neptune stirs our sense of creative potential as it transits, and even if we aren’t conscious of it, we are inspecting the House matters with an eye to what we can make of them, possibly at an idealized level. Notice that progress of Neptune through the Houses shows how our handling of the transit through one House and the associated success/ effectiveness is built upon that of the previous House; our chances of handling House energies well in relation to Neptune grows with how well we have handled each preceding stage (i.e. House) and its requirements.
· Moving through the 1st Neptune makes us highly aware of the parts of our lives where we are truly applying spiritual principles. We look for the discrepancies between how we present ourselves and what our spiritual principles are stated to be, and in particular we inspect the mind/ body connection for spiritual dis-ease that shows as physical disease. We may be searching for ‘the perfect body’ or the perfect personality, and so we may show many of the hard-to-pin-down characteristics of the planetary energy; in seeking perfection of Self, we may be succumbing to a Neptunian delusion, accepting an externally sourced ideal as our own, deliberately adopting an illusion (about the Self), or mustering the creative to serve the personal, physical manifestation. We imagine what we can become, and in some way pursue it.
· Transiting the 2nd Neptune typically strongly affects one of two life areas: we see Neptune applied to either the talents (showing as a massive push to mobilize the creative abilities to maximum use) or to earning capacity (possibly in going after ‘the dream’ as a source of income, or in pursuing ideals in a version of, ‘Do what you love and the money will follow’–which only works if the thing we’re pursuing is truly something we love, rather than something we’d like to don to fit an image–which itself is a misuse of Neptune). This is a true test of talents, abilities, and most importantly, our own capacity to be honest with ourselves. If we wrap ourselves in Neptune and deny the reality of our abilities, pretensions may be adopted and worn as ‘the answer’, with disastrous results. Self-image must match talents–when it does, quality-of-life and income dreams can come true. Neptune moving here inspires us to make manifest an ideal Self-image; it’s up to us to make sure this image is authentically our own.
· Passing through the 3rd Neptune embeds himself in the realm of communications. Thought and all communication functions present us, in some way, with ideal creative potentials (even if that way is to show us what we don’t want or don’t know). We strain to perceive the spiritual behind communications, and we can’t shake the Neptunian influence, which may make some feel as if they just can’t think straight (and this should be taken into account–the individual can’t perceive objectively, no matter how stick-to-the-facts they are–this is because temporarily we’re shifting from facts and what’s obvious to gleaning information intuitively). During this transit we learn all about the unspoken in all forms of communication; we learn to read between the lines, and we become attuned to the messages contained in tone of voice, in gestures, and in the mere presence of another, much more finely than we may have been attuned before (this can also occur with Neptune moving through or natally in the 8th). Lessons in communication may come hard, as we are open to deception and susceptible to going along with something if it promises wish fulfillment. What’s written down becomes important, and we may embark on a writing career or avocation, if this was otherwise on the agenda for us, or lose ourselves in the writings or communications of others, a ‘dreaming all the time’ position. This transit often serves us a portion of humble pie, as we too often miss something important in the instructions, and this transit may convince some they are exceptionally talented psychics–but if the revelation of talent comes with this transit, it’s much more likely that one is simply discovering how to read what’s been there all along, in the same way others do. Through the 3rd we’re seeking to understand communications beyond the mundane, and we have the sensitivity to do it, though our ‘receptors’ may be clouded with any illusions we insist on clinging to. Modesty and a realistic viewpoint help us avoid delusion, and finding form for and deliberately communicating our own creative urges means they are less likely to bleed out in ways that sully our exchanges, contracts, agreements, attitudes, or that send an inaccurate message to others.
More to come on this!
Over at ‘Been There, Done That’, I’ve just