It's Go Time with Neptune in Aries | 2025-2039

By Vanessa Montgomery

Meet me in the fog of a red smoke grenade. When I say "meet me," I mean—me, meeting myself. Your SELF. Fire sign Aries, as the first sign of the zodiac, proclaims: me, me, me! Its motto—indeed, its punchy modus operandi—is "I Am."

Neptune in Aries - It's Go Time
Source: Kamila Lizis for Timelords Magazine

Neptune is what we often think of as God/dess - or at least our spiritual, mystic connection to a higher self, space, or consciousness. Aries knows perfectly well, with the supreme confidence of a freshly minted arrival, that they are God/dess’s favorite! As a cardinal (initiating) sign, Aries embodies the confidence to be first, go first, head first - like the Fool pictured in Tarot, about to step off a cliff. Setting off on a brave new adventure, blazing trails, and doing it their way.

Aries, the firebrand of Sheroes and Heroes, has had quite a run in recent herstory, having hosted Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Mars Rx, and currently hosting Chiron (+ Venus Rx and Mercury as I write this piece). All without an interval or time for a pit stop and wheel alignment! In 2025, Neptune swaps out its siren song of fairy bells and millennial pinks for air raid sirens and the red of rage - much like Act 5 of an Aries saga.

NEPTUNE

Let’s walk further into the fog to explore.

• Orbit - 165 years
• Per zodiac sign - 14 years

M.O.

• To dissolve/dissolution
• Unite/merge

PRINCIPLE OF

• Oneness (felt as divine connection)
• Collective oneness, unifying /union (yoga or yoke)
• Transcendence

FUNCTION

• Vehicle/doorways/paths to experiencing a higher state, a state altered from ordinary waking consciousness.

FORM

• What Neptune feels or looks like.
• Fog, mist, nebulous, sensed or experienced through a feeling.
• No traction, slippery, ethereal, psychic.
• Doors to the liminal space - transportive vehicles like high art, film, monasteries/ashrams.
• Ideals of the time.
• Mind -altering practices and substances.

GOOD FOR (the high road of Neptune)

Healthy, sustainable ways of experiencing direct spiritual experience/connection. Inspired art, ‘channelling the muse’. Egoless state. Selfless compassion and empathy. Finely tuned awareness and sensitivity, psychic ability. State of oneness and enlightenment. Positive spiritual ideals. Redemption (see Liz Greenes book ‘The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption").

PITFALLS (the low road)

Confusion, foggy, unclear, lost, waking up in the gutter, escapism from harsh reality, addiction in its many forms, lack of boundaries, fantasy, illusion, delusion, madness, lost grip on reality, ego unraveled, victim/martyr, cults, disappointment, gullibility, deception.

ANTIDOTE

AA - Get the spirit in a healthy, sustainable way. Tend boundaries (Saturn). Ground through reality, ritual, routine (Virgo). With Neptune in Aries, the balance point would be Libra. Ground through considering others, forming healthy social relationships to anchor yourself, being a good partner, bestie or collaborator to keep it real.

NEPTUNIAN TYPES

• Mystics/(true) spiritual leaders
• Healers
• Artists
• Psychics - visionaries
• Addicts - lost souls
• Cult leaders/disciples
• Martyr/victim

Hijacked Neptune principle may look like leaders tapping into the natural need for belief, faith and connection to a higher principle to validate themselves, their power, decisions or actions. Weaponising ‘God’, e.g. detrimental to others for power, control, wealth or position—war waged in the name of a higher force, a particular religious ideology, etc. Positioning themselves as the conduit through which you must experience the higher power.

• E.g. the Crusades
• Hitler
• Cult leaders

LAST TIME 1861 - 1874

Neptune in Aries - Times
Source: Vanessa Montgomery

Neptune entered Aries with a bang—literally. The gunpowder was lit, shots rang out, and the American Civil War was ON, heralding the beginning of the last cycle. In the same year, Russia disbanded its feudal system with its Emancipation Manifesto, freeing the serfs as this planet of the collective swaggered through the independent sign of affirmative, direct, and, if need be, aggressive action.

As the spirit of the times, each zodiacally flavoured Neptunian era leaves a distinct visual and social imprint we remember it by.

As I write, we’re wrapping up Neptune playing to a hometown crowd in the sign it rules—watery Pisces. Seeing us out in popular culture is Pisces native Chappell Roan, whose star has risen to dizzying heights.

This era will surely be remembered for the unicorn emoji, fluidity, HSPs (highly sensitive people), and the mainstreaming of technologies assisting us to go within. Esoterica and creative pursuits like astrology, tarot, yoga, crystals, and arts and crafts have all had their moment. Paint-and-sip classes seem to be the perfect expression! Of course, other planets had already set the seas to rumble, with Uranus and Chiron having previously moved through Pisces.

Last time Neptune was in Pisces, the gold rush was on, and borders gave way to immigrating Chinese prospectors. The Fox sisters enthralled and duped America with their April Fools' Day spirit hoax, kicking off a séance craze. Toward the tail end of this round, mediumship has once again become of interest. Tyler Henry (Neptune conjunct his Sun in Capricorn) has his own successful show, Hollywood Medium.

More recently, Neptune through Scorpio ushered in the sexual revolution (’60s), Neptune in Sagittarius brought us exotic Eastern spirituality and disco (’70s), and Neptune in Capricorn was certain greed was good (’80s). By Neptune in Aquarius, we were heading onto the digital information highway. As the millennium ticked over, the Y2K bug didn’t crash our society or take out my student loan like I’d hoped. We all set up our social media accounts, ready for digital addiction and mass connection.

ARIES

Planets in Aries - 2010-2039
Source: Vanessa Montgomery

Let’s get back to the sign of the moment, Aries.

Consider the element of fire.

Too Much of a Good Thing:

• Fire can impel, energise, or become a destructive force.
• The devastating power of fire was in recent headlines as Los Angeles wildfires filled our feeds and devastated our dreams of Hollywood (or is it just me?)
• Too much fire can have impatience turn to anger then to rage, headaches, heat issues like rashes, inflammation, boils, and redness.

Not Enough Fire:

• Fire is energy, without it we experience a lack of energy, drive, will, enthusiasm, confidence, lust for life, vitality, a lack of digestive fire, or even the will to live.
• Fire is hot so not enough heat and we get cold and wet or cold and dry.
• Aries rules the head.
• Symbolised by the Ram, and specifically the ‘ram first’ or ‘head first-think later’ approach.
• Like the Ram used to knock through a fortified castle gate, or the blast of heat from a furnace door, the fire-power of Aries packs an immediate punch.

Aries is:

• Fearless, bold, brave, brassy, self referencing, self centred, competitive and really does love to win!
• Aries is ruled by Mars, the Deity of war.
• Mars is the principle of action, assertion, will, and (self-)defence. It is associated with sharp metal that cuts or pierces. This can flip over to violence, bloodlust, bloodshed and belligerence.

GENDER BIAS, ARIES/MARS & A RISING TIDE

Aries Vibes
Source: Vanessa Montgomery

With girls and women breaking out of narrow social contracts, a backlash of misogyny (think Andrew Tate) may see ongoing conversation and consciousness raising around this topic. A rising tide of the macho ideal may be something to contend with and hopefully a construct we’ll dissolve over this era.

The way we use gender in astrology reinforces and perpetuates gender stereotypes, which are at the heart of women’s safety concerns as well as the ability to meet our potential and create balance in the world. Not to mention men being able to perceive women as Marsy (assertive, energetic, leaders, athletic, etc) rather than ‘masculine’ and give themselves and other men a break from having to keep up the construct! Let’s utilise astrology as a tool for empowerment and remember to represent the full spectrum of people expressing this energy. I suggest we describe what we mean rather than use gender as shorthand for behaviours and traits associated with planets and signs. Representation is everything, let’s keep it diverse.

CO-FACTORS:

Saturn in Aries, Pluto in Aquarius

Neptune conjunct Saturn
Source: Vanessa Montgomery

Neptune conjunct Saturn in Aries
Source: Vanessa Montgomery

Aries rules the head and something I noticed about the last time Pluto was in Aquarius is the American Revolution, a war of independence, followed by the bloody French Revolution. The standout signature of the French Revolution was surely Madam Guillotine’s reign of terror as royal heads rolled! Saturn was in Aries and of course, Aries rules the head. Aries planetary ruler, Mars, is associated with sharp metal that cuts. Saturn is a planet symbolised as a grim reaper, the end of this mortal coil. At that time Uranus was in Leo (royalty) and it was opposite Pluto in Aquarius (power as wielded by the people, also associated with death and rebirth). This time Uranus is in a very healthy happy relationship with Pluto as they move back into their ongoing sextile aspect, both in trine to Neptune and Saturn in Aries at the apex. I expect change to be more smooth or at least without the loss of coiffed heads!

Uranus will be in Gemini with Pluto occupying Aquarius, both air signs. So rather than royalty, all roads lead to information, technology and I would think artificial intelligence. Our fantasy or idealised human perhaps? I think of the many movies where an ideal independent artificial or bio-intelligent being blows our minds, then having become its own version of sentient, fights for its right to life, often taking out a few humans on its path to independence.

Mary Shelly invented the sci-fi genre when she wrote Frankenstein in her late teens. She had Pluto in Aquarius on her midheaven, and her book still serves as a warning today. For both isolation as well asking who was the real monster?! *hint, it was the Scientist. So the shadow side of Pluto in Aquarius is the lack of compassion and humanity. Again, Pluto is in harmony with Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus early on so I’m hoping they all play nicely without ushering in social change through cataclysm.

Neptune and Saturn conjunct at 0°Aries setting off the gun show with a reality vs fantasy check. Saturn may offer restraint and limitation to an ideal of independence and agency. To a Neptunian ideal, fantasy or delusion. Battle lines may be drawn over gender and identity. It could manifest as religious doctrine informing law, which we’re already seeing diminish women’s rights and a pullback on defining our identities.

On a positive we may find the perfect balance of expressing our spirituality and collective independence of personhood in a concrete and constructive way.

IN CONCLUSION

The word count is not enough to explore the long list of potentials for where we’re headed and how we may express the mix of archetypes coming up. So, I’ll remind you dear reader, that as you step forward into this brave new fast paced world, step with intention. Take the lead with courage. Each of us has a personal power we can use to envision the world we live in, the energy we send out, the decisions we make and the response we choose. What you share, repost, bring up in conversation, and expose your psyche to all matter. Nurture your body, mind, spirit and those around you with positivity, because it only takes one spark to ignite a fire.

Note:

This article is drawn from Vanessa’s lecture ‘Bliss Bomb — Neptune Armours up in the Warrior Archetype of Martial Aries 2025-2039’ for the 25th FAA International Astrology Conference held at the Gold Coast, Australia in January 2025.

Images:

• Feature Image- Kamila Lizis for Timelords Magazine
• All other Images Author’s’ own

Published in: Timelords Magazine, March 2025.

Author: Vanessa Montgomery

Vanessa Montgomery | Astro All-Starz: consulting astrologer, resident celebrity astrologer at Glamour Magazine U.S, and author of: Star Power, Cosmic Power and Astro Power a simple guide to prediction and Destiny for the modern mystic.
A modern psychological astrologer with a diploma in transpersonal counselling,Montgomery is known for her accessible, upbeat style. With a feminist commitment she utilises astrology as a powerful tool for reflection, insight, validation, self-acceptance and inspiration.
Clients come for the astrology and stay for the empowering upshift and opening to possibilities. Schedule your 1:1 consultation today at https://astroallstarz.com/readings/ and contact at astroallstarz@gmail.com for everything else.
Her motto: Free your mind, own your power, co-create your world.

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