Using Neputune Homeopathically

Using Neptune Homeopathically

“Similia, similibus, curantur.”
Latin: “Like cures like” by S. Hahnemann

Last night I awoke in bed at 3:00 AM to find myself struggling to name that familiar ache in me that has no name—that core pain that sometimes sits heavy on my heart. I thought about all the times I’ve felt it: my childhood homesickness that hurt so bad it felt like a toothache, my adolescent struggles to separate from my mother, the unrequited loves of my twenties, the sense of loss before my divorce, and the various pains of betrayal from friends through the years. They all have a theme: separation from a place of togetherness. Of all the aches in the heart, that particular pain of separation, yearning and disillusionment—of an unlived or ill-used Neptune, may be the hardest and the most illusive of all pains.

I say “illusive” because the depth and scope of Neptunian pain is so often permeated by illusions and its healing can defy rational analysis. It’s not that its causes aren’t clearly evident, it’s more that the cure for Neptunian problems may lie precisely within its own realm, and respond best by homeopathic thinking.
As we know, Neptune is about the urge to merge and refers to permeable boundaries and those things that don’t separate us. It can be the longing for a lover, a philosophy, a true friendship, or even a better way of living. It’s that part in us that longs to transcend the daily routines, to let go of differences and “flow with the waters of life.” Neptune yearns for divine love, and despairs at how human love so often falls so short of the ideal.

In Neptunian times we often react to the pain of disillusionment and separation by wrapping ourselves in a fog of self-deception and addictions. We’re confused. Romantic illusions, painful melodramas, glowing sunsets with morning hangovers, and the larger-than-life spin we put on the stories we tell, are all in Neptune’s oceanic realm. We play out the merging and imaginative qualities of Neptune either positively or negatively (and often both at once) depending on how it’s aspected in our birth and transiting charts.
When we fall under the spell of this mythical sea-god we need new medicine. The same astrological culprit that created our feelings of separation, loneliness, or disillusion can be the one to cure it. “Like cures like” say the homoeopathists. Neptune cures Neptune. This homeopathic remedy uses the inspiring qualities of Neptune to cure its disease.



But first you might ask: Is Neptune strong in my chart now? Everyone has Neptune somewhere in their birth chart “doing” something, but it only gets activated at certain times as it transits across the sky and aspects your chart in a particular way. If you don’t have your chart or astrologer to help here, you could ask yourself: Am I generally “high on life,” inspired, idealistic and at times naive? Yet do I struggle to maintain the feeling that life is as it should be and that I am all I can be? Do I see both sides of the question when it comes to decision making? Do I feel the pain of lost loves and friendships more than most people you know? Does even reading this article make me ready for my evening glass of wine, even though it’s only noon? If you’ve smiled knowingly to those questions, then Neptune is playing a prominent role in your chart and life now.

So how do we use Neptune homeopathically? Or simply said, how do we cultivate the higher octave, the wisdom of Neptune? The great psychologist, Carl Jung, delved into this when he said: “Spiritus contra Spiritum.” This Latin quote is what Jung said to the founder of Alcoholic Anonymous: only “spirit can counteract spirits.” Jung felt that all adult neurosis are primarily a problem of our separation from Spirit. We literalize spirit, and drink it instead as “spirits.” Alcohol eases the existential pain of our separation from our spiritual nature briefly, but it isn’t the cure.

Surely we can nourish our self with all that inspires us, and renew our connection to spirit in whatever form that takes for us. We can take ourselves to the ocean for inspiration and baptizing by her waters, or enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day, or do it’s literal opposite and not have the wine, but join AA instead, and find a community of like-minded spirits. Or we can read books that speak to our Spirit and attend “spiritual rituals”. But ironically, some of these things can be especially hard to do in Neptunian times if we’re feeling very disillusioned. In India, the Hindu’s have a spiritual saying for that: “neti, neti”—meaning “it’s not this, not this,” implying that we find our way to what is true and healing for us by finding what is not—by finding what is illusion, false fear, and needless drama, and then letting it go.

Jungian psychologists deal with this problem by saying we need to hold the tension of the opposites within us, without trying to deny or escape the situation. In the “holding” of the situation we create a container, or crucible, for alchemical energies to create change and transformation. One is encouraged to hold the despair or the unsolvable situation till the third “numinous” option appears. Jungians suggest we wait till there’s an opening in the veil of maya, the opening between illusion and disillusion. Astrologers too, also usually counsel waiting during a Neptune transit, and caution clients to not “sign on the dotted line” during these times.

Waiting is an option, as synchronistic events will often appear and lead us where we need to go. However, for those of us who like to be proactive, or use the homeopathic idea, then we can use Neptune itself to solve Neptunian problems. Here are some very practical proactive ideas for doing that:


*Consider the benefits of “breaking your own narrative.” Neptunian reality is a story we tell ourselves about how it was and how it will be. Is it really true? Would it be seen differently by someone else? How would it be for you if you didn’t hold onto your beliefs about your story? The subconscious is very suggest-able and the stories we tell ourselves about “how it all is” go deep. Much has been written about how we can monitor our thoughts to avoid repeating the same old tapes in our head that feed on the low ebb of self-esteem. At these times we can replace the tired stories of our life with ones based on new insights as to why things happened. You can find new seeds of inspiration and retell the story of your life with a new slant! You can choose to see how the universe has co-operated with you to give you what you needed, not always what you wanted.

*Use your Neptunian gifts of visualization to dream into your future! Practice intuitive strategies on yourself based on what only you—or your astrologer knows about you. Only you can read between the lines of what you say and think. Neptune represents our ability to use our intuition and to know things about ourselves that others can’t know rationally. One can’t say “yes, but” to ourselves indefinitely, before we realize that we need to dig even deeper into our psyche to take more responsibility for our lives. Neptunian dreaming ignites the urge for change. This is good medicine.

* Use this “spaciousness” or the open-minded fogginess of a Neptunian time to let go of tight expectations of ourselves or others. Get a little looser. At these times we stand on shifting sands of illusion and can unwittingly deceive ourselves and others without meaning to—for example, we may give affection and attention when we don’t really mean it, or simply make poor decisions. Instead we could give time to exploring new ideas, people, and plans that are tangible and will hold up in time. But, as any addiction therapist knows, one of the hardest things to do in treating an addict (read: a rough Neptunian transit) is the recurring sense of despair that comes with a realistic outlook. We need to dream “high enough” to excite us, yet be grounded enough to find sources of true support in hard times.

*Neptunian energies need thoughtful release not repression. Don’t let anyone tell you to keep your dreams or your despair under wraps, yet there’s a need to differentiate between sheer outbursts of grief and acting out indiscriminately. We don’t want to be “dry drunks” in any sense of the word—people who live their wounds, drinking or not. When we enter into the experience of our Neptunian-separation pain, we would be wise to bring some reflection on the emotions we want to express. Can we search for the name of what ails us? And if we can, could we express it through a poem, a song, or a nurturing talk with a good friend? Here we are using the feeling of disconnection to fuel us to connect with Self or others. Neptune curing Neptune.

Here’s an example of how this process can work. A woman I’ll call Catherine called me for a reading when she was on the verge of a divorce. She had already separated from her husband, and as she talked I began to feel that what she wanted to hear from me was encouragement to finalize the divorce. She wanted to “sign on the dotted line” but there it was—transiting Neptune squaring the Sun, and it still had over a year to go in that position. I had to counsel her to wait, to endure a state of not-knowing and to look for new sources of inspiration. I could tell she was quite depressed and not happy with my response.

The next time she called, she sounded a lot better, and was happy to tell me that in her “waiting” she had gone for a massage when she was at her lowest ebb of feeling. While under the nurturing hands of this therapist she felt revived—both by the subsequent massages and her new friend, who encouraged her to start attending massage school. She picked up on this new inspiration and loved the school, although she said that the waiting was still hard and her teenage son had started acting out in school. She didn’t know what to do with him. I again listened and had to counsel continued more Neptunian homeopathy.

The third and last time I talked to her was just after the Neptune aspect had passed, and she had good news---she was just graduating from massage school, felt less financially fearful, and her husband and son were respecting her in a new way for all the hard work she had done at school. Even her voice sounded lighter as she told me that as part of the divorce mediation process, she and her husband began seeing each other with new eyes! They felt their mutual love for their son was acting as a bridge for them to truly hear each other for the first time. Because they hadn’t signed on the dotted line, their marriage was getting a second chance. Her son now was having his own Neptunian problems with alcohol and we brain-stormed ideas as to how he could find the connection to spirit that suited him best. The Neptune homeopathic remedy we felt might work for him was to encourage and support his love of acting; a Neptunian art in which one enters into the spirit of another person and works with others to create an entertaining illusion.

There are many ways to use astrological homeopathy, and it’s particularly effective with Neptune. When planets make strong aspects by transit we need to honor them by “feeding them what they need” which is simply to act out the higher octave of their very own nature. This works for all the planets. Neptunian homeopathy calls for dreaming into the future and a re-visioning of our lives as well as finding new ways to deeply reconnect with our Self, with others, and Spirit. Neptunian transits appear to be subtle times, but in truth they are very potent times —reach for the highest octave of the sign, and be careful what you wish for as it may come true. Neptune knows how to wish upon a star…

Elizabeth Spring(c) (This is a chapter excerpted from my book "North Node Astrology: Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose available on www.elizabethspring.com or www.amazon.com )

What does a Square Mean in my Astrological Chart?

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. A square in your astrological chart reflects this tendency to oppose yourself, and to sometimes oppose your best interests. Yet within a square there is more free will than in an opposition aspect. But still we ask ourselves: why would I sabotage myself or why am I often of two minds on a subject? Why do I tear myself up over decisions because a part of me thinks or feels one way, and a part of me thinks or feels another way?


A square is an internal opposition. Although it’s slightly easier than an opposition aspect because it originates from within, rather than outside, it’s still a hard one. Psychologists would refer to this as a complex—an internal wound that isn’t rational, but reflects an internal division.

The good news is that as we bring awareness to the meaning of the planets on each end of the “square” aspect, we realize that although the planets are “squaring off” to each other, we can mediate between them. The ego’s organizing power, as represented by the Sun, can give each of these internal squared off planets, like people, a chance to voice its opinion, and to express itself. Then there can be the possibility of mediation instead of self-sabotage. Sometimes there can be a middle road taken, and sometimes, one has to honor one side for the moment, promising that the other side will soon have its needs met.

In evolutionary astrology, we also see this happening when the planet that rules the South Node also is square to itself in the chart. For example, if the South Node is in Scorpio, and it squares Pluto, then you may have the tendency to be your own worst enemy at times. You do the thing you know you should not do…or you do it maybe “just a little.”

Squares to the planets are especially important if it is a square to your Sun or Moon. This changes the quality of your basic “identity ego basis” which is held by the Sun, or it effects and alters the nature of your emotional lunar Moon. Squares to the Sun and Moon however fuel and motivate us---and it is out of this tension of the square that we become motivated to achieve, to heal, and to grow to be all we can be.


Most famous people would not be famous if they didn’t have the tension of at least one square in their chart. Most of us have several squares; and the more squares we have, the deeper the motivation. The famous doctor, Albert Schweitzer was one of these people with squares, with motivation and energy to achieve. So it is comforting to know that when we see the nature of the wound, the square, then we are in a position to listen to the conflicting needs expressed, and to act to mediate and heal. Not so bad after all! And all that energy that is generated by the tension—if you use it well, it will serve you and become an integral part of who you are.
Elizabeth Spring © www.elizabethspring.com

"Using Neptune Homeopathically"

Dear "Mountain Astrologer"

I found Elizabeth Spring's article, "Using Neptune Homeopathically," to be one of the most helpful articles I've ever read. Neptune's transits can be so hard to work through, and since I've had transiting Neptune conjunct my natal Moon/Ceres conjunction squaring my Sun/Mercury for some time now, you can imagine how quickly I latched onto this article!

What I found so helpful was Spring's practical advice. She suggests firm, tangible actions to address feelings and the negative tendencies that emerge during difficult Neptune transits. The only other person I've found who is able to give such practical and useful advice is Donna Cunningham, particularly in her book, "Astrology and Spiritual Development." With these two in my corner, I feel much more able to use this Neptune transit for my betterment rather than my detriment.

Please keep including articles such as these that give advice that is easier to apply, advice with a new twist. They keep me addicted to "The Mountain Astrologer"....a good addiction, I must say!

Anne Pauline Stanwood,

Washington

Transforming Fate into Destiny

Writing a book such as "North Node Astrology" may sound a little arrogant or naïve, depending on whether or not you believe astrology has anything truly worthwhile to say about one's life direction and soul purpose. Metaphysical texts have said that one’s life direction seems to evolve through some mysterious equation of fate, character and destiny. I think the equation is best understood like this: fate + character=destiny.

Yet how do we create this middle factor--"character" with our free will? Will astrological knowledge help? If fate represents the "givens" of life, such as our sex, nationality, birth order, parents, etc. how do we respond to this fate? Where and how do we exercise the muscle of our free will to adjust the effects of fate and the qualities of character to create a positive destiny? These are some of the questions examined in my new book: "North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose."

I believe it is in the making of character through the depth of our insight that intrigues me. This new book hopes to give you, dear reader, a rather curious tool to dig deeper into the whys and wherefores of character and insight. And as for soul purpose, I share a common yet sacred bias here, in saying that it is ultimately bound up with our growing ability to love and be loved.

Similarly, as a counselor I’m inclined to say that one’s life direction and soul purpose is about the movement towards healing and wholeness—for who among us is not wounded and less than whole? Life direction evolves as a response to our work and life choices, and yet it has an inner trajectory as well. This inner direction is bound up with soul purpose, and is where we each are different.

Can you remember when you first heard the words of the poet, William Wordsworth, when he said “our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting, the Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star, hath had elsewhere its setting, and cometh from afar: not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory…”?

Maybe it’s true that life existed before this birth, perhaps not. However, embracing the theory of reincarnation is not necessary to get something out of this book—what I might see as the re-incarnational story, you the reader, might understand as the effect of early childhood experiences and parental DNA. Either theory works.

As you might rightly assume, my point of view is that I like the theory of reincarnation, because although not provable, it’s a way to look at the world that holds the promise of fairness and justice. It’s a hopeful bias—because we all know that life is often not “fair” to a person in one life, but it may prove to be somehow mysterious “fair” over many lifetimes. There may be an order and invisible pattern that exists when you look closely at the backside of a tapestry or when you see the “lay of the land” from the top of the mountain. The closer I look, and the farther I look, the more interesting the terrain becomes.

What are the invisible patterns we might not see? A friend once said, “Be kinder than necessary because everyone we meet is fighting some kind of battle.” What is that invisible battle we don’t see in our friend? What are the invisible patterns in our life? What happens when we detect patterns using theories such as astrology and reincarnation? Perhaps they must simply be felt and experienced rather than proven, and then decided whether they are useful or not. It is in these realms I like to probe.

So I accept reincarnation and astrology as a “kind theory” that challenges chaos and randomness. It gives me faith that there is “meaningfulness” to existence even if it can’t be proven or discerned in one life. Looking at things this way, I don’t much like the original game plan of this pattern— for it feels too cruel—yet we all go to the movies to watch a good story. We accept the drama and tragedy in a story.

In the Eastern philosophy of Vedantic Hinduism we were once all part of the One that created this great pattern or Story. It says that we live through lifetime after lifetime of lila and maya, of play and illusion, till we arrive back at the place where we started at the beginning. They believe that there is an evolutionary story evolving, and astrological wisdom also holds this to be true—that there are synchronistic correlations and resonances between things, and that an evolutionary drama is being enacted. The legendary magus, Hermes Trigmegestus once said: “As it is above, so it is below, as it is in the inner, so it is in the outer.” Man is the microcosm, the universe the macrocosm, and in some metaphysical sense they are One. I like to entertain these possibilities as being true.

So if you can suspend your skepticism about reincarnation and entertain the idea that astrological symbolism is a language best used to explore psychological and spiritual terrains—well then, I invite you to consider that there may be something in your birth chart that speaks of your specific life direction and soul purpose. ~elizabeth spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

I also invite you to read this new book review of "North Node Astrology" by Jeff Hutner in "The New Paradigm Newswire." Click here for his book review: http://newparadigmdigest.com/1498/northnode