Neptune: Yearning, Lost, or Waking from the Dream of Separation?

When we awake from the dream of separateness and the addiction to the drama of the story-line of our lives, we awake to the idea that we’re all mystics living in a dream-world we create. Our perceived story—our ego, that small self with all its ambitions, aspirations, victories and defeats, is living a drama that sucks us in. It seduces us into believing that our daily rituals in the “marketplace of life” are all there is.


At the mountaintop level of observation, “liberation” is found by unsnarling this small ego from its sticky co-dependent relationship to others, self, and work. Beyond the Ten Commandments, “opinions” get confused with ego righteousness…so perhaps it is in the recognition of our addiction to drama that we become free—for isn’t it here that we accept our powerlessness, our limitations, and the messiness of the human condition?


We know that the Soul wants to grow and deepen, and accepts all situations as rich spiritual lessons, or gifts in disguise. Yet the ego doesn’t easily accept that we live in a meaningful universe where accidents and coincidences are actually synchronistic lessons---situations through which we are stimulated to greater awakening. When things become too painful the ego often dismisses difficulties as being random or evil events, ie = other people’s faults. It’s then that we risk missing the underlying message or meaning an event may have for us. It may be as deceptively simple as increasing our compassion.


Neptune is the planet of divine love and compassion, and also the planet of illusion and disillusion. We can get lost in it, just as we can drown in the ocean. Neptune is the trickster or magician as well, as it seems to require from us that we release and let go even those things, people and situations that we hold dear. Eventually we must release our own lives.


In releasing attachments to our personal stories and by reframing the story of our life from the point of view of the Self rather than the ego, we liberate ourselves from pettiness. It seems like a good idea. And as Andy Rooney might say: “I think I’ll give it a try.”


Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Neptune: Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness

Neptune Workshop: Planetary Archetype of Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness.

Where? Boston Jung Institute

When? Saturday March 13 (full day)

Contact: www.cgjungboston.com

1-617-796-0108

When Jung wrote to Bill W. about “Spiritus Contra Spiritum” he was writing, in part, about the archetype of Neptune. Oceanic Neptune reflects the yearning for Spirit, inspires great art and the religious impulse, but is also filled with the flotsam and jetsam of illusion and discontent. Neptune touches all of our lives and can be uniquely understood by its placement in our astrological birth chart. In this workshop you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how this illusory planet operates in your life, as well as in the life and chart of Carl Jung. We’ll also explore what other planetary archetypes are obscuring or influencing the expression of Neptune in your particular chart.

When registering, please include your birth day, place, year, and time if you have it (not essential.) Each participant will receive their birth chart and previous knowledge of astrology not required.

Elizabeth Spring, MA, is an astrologer, writer, and therapist in private practice in Wickford, Rhode Island. Her astrology could best be described as “archetypal astrology” in that she specializes in exploring the hidden dynamics and symbolic meanings of the planetary archetypes. She is the author of “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.”
This is recommended reading for the class, and can be bought through www.amazon.com or directly through www.elizabethspring.com

The Chiron Return

The Chiron Return is an astrological turning point that happens to each of us between the ages of 48-52. Women think of this transitional time as the time of menopause, but men also experience a significant and life-altering change at this time.


In my book: “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose” I wrote not just about the Nodes but quite a few chapters about these other major “passages”—mainly the Saturn Returns, the Uranus Opposition, and dealing with the challenges of both Pluto and Neptune transits. But, except for the chapter on the astrology of menopause, I didn’t really address the Chiron Return, and so I want to share some of what I know about it here; and as always, I welcome your comments.


The symbol of Chiron in your birth chart looks like a key: a circle with a k on top of it. Chiron has a sign and a house position in your chart and should be considered a significant factor when having an astrological reading. Chiron was a mythological character: a centaur who was both physically wounded and a profound teacher and mentor to others. Classically he is thought of as the archetype of the “Wounded Healer.” Looking at the sign and house of Chiron in your chart will help you understand how this archetypal planet operates in your life.


The Chiron Return life passage, around the age of fifty, is a time when our world can expand or shut down. It’s not an easy passage. We all create “fictions” about our life story and those of others close to us, and it’s at this point that we are challenged to enlarge the story of our lives—the story we tell ourselves about “how we each are and how it all is.” Those of us who aren’t flexible enough to adjust our “story lines” at this point, might find that our lives can change radically—Michael Jackson for instance, died at his Chiron Return. He was preparing for a world tour, a great expansion, but his old habits didn’t change.


Most of us have an urge at this time to expand our lives in some way, and we may feel tested in our faith and in our belief systems. It’s a good time to ask ourselves: what do I turn my back to? And—what am I bringing into my relationships—how can I create more harmony and more relatedness in my life? Chiron was wounded and in pain, yet he chose to relate to others by teaching everything he knew.


It is said that the “Chi energy” in the body begins to diminish at this age, but it’s also a time of summoning up a new perspective. Essentially we are called to enlarge the story of our lives at this point. Carl Jung, at his Chiron Return, enlarged the story of how he felt about other cultures by going to Africa and New Mexico in these years. He stepped out of the cultural limitations of a European White Man and looked at the world through different eyes. He expanded his world, and enlarged his understanding.



No transits happen before their time. When we are in our Chiron Return transit, new opportunities tend to open for us—and it’s a good time to say “yes” to whatever we are being summoned towards. Like the mythological Chiron, we have the choice to carry our own wounds and gifts with dignity and generosity or to project our problems and confusion outward. And the Chironic opportunity at this age is to open up to new visions of who we are and how it can all be, without becoming cynical or complaining. It ‘s a time that calls for courage. Sounds good to me!
www.elizabethspring.com

Sub-personalities, the Self, and Transiting Planets

Dear Readers~

My sense is that most of you who come to this blog are looking to find out more about your North and South Nodes. Hopefully, you’ve been able to look below at the column on the right to find your North Node sign and house position. From your personal emails and comments it seems that you are getting what you need…and for those of you who want more, there is the new North Node Astrology book, and the possibility of a personal reading done by phone in the spring.


As many of you know, I don’t try to tackle your particular Nodal story in an email or comment, as it would be un-ethical to try to do that much without considerable time spent on your chart…and that is what I do in a reading. As helpful as the Nodes are in understanding the larger map of your psyche, they have to be taken in context with the whole natal chart. The Nodes are arguably the most important point in the astrological chart, yet I believe we make our way in life in good part by honoring the demands of our particular transits and progressions.


That said, I’m still open for any thoughts or questions that you have on the Nodes, or other astrological topics, and I welcome your suggestions. I’m not a believer in the “gloom and doom” theories of other astrologers in these times….despite the square between Saturn and Pluto in the heavens, I would ask you to look at what Jupiter and Neptune are doing in your transiting chart as well. In fact, every single planet has a divine purpose and our lives can so often be seen as the “best of times, and the worst of times.”


Which is to say, that no matter what planetary influence you’re operating under now, you have a choice on how to “play it out.” No aspect is either all good or bad; and I’d ask you to reconsider how you’re thinking about your Nodes and your transits now—can you re-imagine new possibilities and permutations? Can you envision the highest possible expression of these energies? What planet might you have overlooked?


Planets are like sub-personalities, and we all have times of dissociating with parts of ourselves. Carl Jung wrote about the core “Self” as the integrating center of our lives. I like to picture this as the center of a circular mandala, and this Self is like the committee chairperson, who gives equal time to all the planets/personalities/archetypes as they raise their hands to speak. The transits to these planets in the natal chart are the times when these “sub-selves” or planet/voices have raised their hand to speak. And when they do, it is the time to listen.


We can be thankful that no transit ever comes before its time! The Nodes point to the long range directional journey, but the transits point to the particular curve in the road at the moment. They are the specific challenges and opportunities that we are meant to engage with at the moment. So read your “maps” well, and don’t overlook the hidden blessings in the moment that are quietly asking to be attended to…..some of them have had there hands raised for a very long time.
http://www.elizabethspring.com/