It's an exciting time to be alive! At the very least, astrologically speaking. The year began with Jupiter (ideals/expansion/optimism) returning to Aries, where he remains for a few more months. In February, Chiron (wounds/healing/teaching) returned to Pisces to stay until 2018/2019. Last month, Uranus (rebellion/radical change/awakening) also re-entered Aries, and this time will stay put for seven years. For four (2012-2015) of those seven years, Uranus will be locked in a tense square with Pluto (power/destruction/transformation) in Capricorn, who himself has been changing what security, wealth, success, and government mean to us since 2008. One would have to be hiding under a rock or just plain 'checked out' not to feel/experience the tension/crisis of their square, especially since its influence extending as far as early 2020s. But I digress. This post is about Neptune :)

In a few days, Neptune (spirituality/enlightenment/escapism) joins Chiron as she comes home to Pisces, a sign Neptune has not visited since 1847 to 1862. Yes, Neptune's last transit in Pisces began a year after Neptune was discovered, for you history buffs :) It takes her 165 years to transit through all of the zodiac signs.

On April 4, Neptune will take a short dip into Piscean waters before returning to Aquarius on August 4 to spend her last months there before coming back home in Pisces to stay until 2024/2025. In the last few years, we've had slower moving celestial bodies change signs. Their impact is generational and global, while they transit Capricorn (for Pluto), Aries (for Uranus), and Pisces (for Chiron and Neptune).

Any celestial body changing signs is an energy shift. For the Sun, it happens every 30 days or so. For the Moon, every 28 days or so. Their influence are more or less month to month/day to day. But for slow-moving planets like Neptune, the initial change could be immediate/jarring but actual results develop more gradually, and the complete impact, undeniable by the end of their transit.

Neptune governs all that which is hidden and operates in the unseen world -- our subconscious, psychological self, dreams, imagination, and spirituality. She is often associated with confusion (lack of clarity), escapism (drugs/alcohol), creativity (art/music), transcendence, "oneness," and unconditional love. In Pisces, Neptune's energy is enhanced, heightened, increased since Piscean energy mimics that of its ruler. When a planet transits its own sign of rulership, like Neptune with Pisces, it's akin to coming home after a long, tiresome journey and finally being in a space where you rule... where you are king/queen ... and master of your domain. For us, earthlings, it feels more like a double whammy!

For part of Neptune's transit in Pisces, Chiron is also in Pisces. They traveled through Aquarius together, and now they'll continue their travels in Pisces. The combination of both their energy -- the wounded healer (Chiron) and the truth seeker (Neptune) -- in the compassionate, transcendent sign of Pisces brings up issues with the environment and our 'oneness' with each other and the world we live in. Together with Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn, ecological crisis, catastrophic sociopolitical and socioeconomic instabilities will most likely blow up even more as radical change becomes necessary to solve the problems we face, not just in our personal existence or our within our immediate surroundings but as a people living together on this earth with its other inhabitants and also co-existing within our universe.

Neptune enters Pisces on April 4 at 6:50 a.m. PDT / 9:50 a.m. EDT. She retrogrades on June 3 and returns to Aquarius on August 4. Neptune then becomes direct on November 9 and re-enters Pisces on February 3, 2012 to remain until 2024/2025. Early-degree Pisces and Virgo-Suns/Risings may have already begun feeling the energy shift as early as February, while Neptune transited the last degrees of Aquarius.

For me, as a late-decan Virgo-rising, much of Neptune/Chiron transits in Pisces actually happen in my natal 6th house (health/work/routine) even if she is the ruler of my natal 7th (partnerships). I've just gotten some pretty harsh news about my health. Nothing fatal or anything. And not exactly a surprise either. But it is a wake up call. I can't keep running on fumes because there's much I want to do. I'm not a machine, and even machines need to get maintenance sometimes :) I know that spending more time meditating, maybe some yoga, and practicing reiki on myself more regularly are small things that would benefit me tremendously. Healthier lifestyle choices are part of what's in store for me during this transit. Time to REALLY fix what's broken or it's gonna break me for good. And that would suck royally.

How might this opposition manifest in your world? Look to the natal/solar houses governed by Pisces to get an idea where in your life Neptune and Chiron's transit in Pisces may be most influential. Unsure where which natal house is governed by Pisces? Cast your own birth chart at alabe.com for use as reference -- birth date, time, and place required.

Alternatively, I am also available for a 24-month Neptune Transit reading or a customized reading tailored to your needs. Are you celebrating a birthday? Or know someone who is? Schedule your session for a Solar Return (birthdays) or 3-Chart Reading (detailed natal & overall outlook for the next 12 months) or request a quote for a more customized reading tailored to your needs. You might also consider giving a loved one the gift of insight.

Related articles:

• Current Planetary Transits
• Solar Returns Explained ~ your personal year
• Chiron in Pisces
• Neptune Retrograde ~ June 3 to November 9, 2011
• Jupiter sextile Neptune-rx ~ June 8, 2011