By Ray Grasse
After its discovery in 1846, astrologers debated the possible meanings of Neptune in horoscopes, and over time eventually settled onto a few basic qualities, which included such keywords as spiritual, nebulous, illusions, sensitivity, otherworldly, artistic, addictive, empathic, and escapist—and that’s for starters.
But there is one aspect of its influence that’s been too often overlooked by astrologers, I feel, and that has proven indispensable in my own analysis of charts over the years. What is that, exactly?
In a word, obligation
It’s an association I first learned from an early astrology teacher of mine, Goswami Kriyananda of Chicago, who made a comment in class one day how, under certain circumstances, Neptune relates to feelings of obligation towards others. Look up the word in any dictionary and you’ll find a description along the lines of “the sense of feeling morally or emotionally bound to do something.” When it comes to obligation, there’s usually an implicit sense of “Well, I guess I ought to do this…”
First, though, I have to draw a distinction here between what I’d call “positive” obligation and “negative” obligation.
Simply stated, obligation of a more positive sort is when one does something that involves an element of sacrifice or helping others, but performed relatively effortlessly, perhaps even happily. Having to walk the dog or attend a child’s baseball game may be an obligation, but generally one is glad to do it. Like I say, generally. A good example of this would be my close friend who was born with a tight Neptune-Venus trine, who happily devotes his time and energies to helping his spouse in a wide variety of ways. It’s not done in the slightest as a “burden” but out of true love and a spirit of selflessness. Back in the 60’s there was a popular song titled “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother”; that pretty well sums up the essence of Neptunian obligation at its best.
On the other hand, obligation of a more negative kind is where one does something for others but more grudgingly and foot-draggingly, like “Okay, okay, I’ll do it...” In this case, the sense of burden is quite real, maybe with a touch of the “woe is me” syndrome thrown in to the mix, where one might even liken oneself to Jesus bearing his cross on the fateful road to Golgatha. Margaret Cahill came up with the term “compassion fatigue” to describe some of the effects of Saturn moving into Pisces, but I feel that’s actually quite similar to the heavier side of Neptune we’re looking at here, too.
Here’s an example. I had a client who spent her days as a social worker, who was born with Neptune closely squared her Sun. Over time she experienced a growing sense of burnout from the extra-heavy caseload she’d taken on, and from dealing with so many suffering people who depended on her. She believed in the importance of the work itself, yes, but the sense of “burden” became so intense that she confessed to me at one point that she felt like a lifeguard who had jumped into the water to save drowning swimmers but was being pulled under and now drowning herself. In cases like that, Neptune is experienced as the sense of having to rescueothers—or perhaps even as the need to be rescued oneself!
A Tale of Opposites
Sometimes a helpful way to understand any planetary principle is by contrasting it with a completely different energy; in the case of Neptune, that would be Uranus. (Some might well suggest Saturn, I know; while both comparisons are true in their own way, for our purposes Neptune is a better fit, as I think you’ll see.). Let’s consider how these two planets respond differently when they come into contact with another body in the chart—in this case, the Moon.
To begin with, the Moon concerns one’s ability to relate to others and bond with them emotionally, along with a capacity for expressing or receiving nurturance. Uranus is an extremely independent energy, such that when it forms a hard aspect to the Moon, the native generally has no problem at all establishing sharp boundaries—to the extent that one client with this pattern joked to me that her theme song should be “Don’t fence me in!” In extreme cases, individuals like this might even be considered selfish or cold by those near and dear to them.
On the other hand, Neptune in hard aspect to the Moon is completely different, since it has the tendency to dissolve personal boundaries. On the plus side, that can lead to compassion, empathy, and sometimes even psychic abilities. More negatively, though, that great sensitivity and dissolution of boundaries can cause one to become emotionally enmeshed or co-dependent with others. Along with this can naturally arise a heavy sense of obligation—“Sigh, I have to take care of them,” or, “I need to rescue them…” In cases like these, the emotional bond with others can feel less like love and more like glue.
To help illustrate the effects I’m describing here, let’s briefly look at some of the ways this sense of obligation may be experienced when Neptune is prominent in the horoscope. Because of the variety of different house systems used by astrologers to divvy up horoscopes, I’ve chosen to focus here simply on the effects of Neptune when it’s placed on or near the four primary angles, where we find considerably more consensus amongst astrologers. (I say “on or near” the angles since I’ve found that Neptune’s effects apply even if it is just in the general vicinity of the angles, rather than perched on those exact degrees.) To be clear, there are many different ways Neptune can manifest; what I’m describing here is primarily in relation to that felt sense of obligation.
Neptune On or Near the Descendant
Chart 1: Addiction counselor
When Neptune is in the vicinity of the Descendant degree this can definitely show extreme sensitivity to others, an attraction to artistic or spiritual partners, or an involvement with the health and healing professions.
But it can also indicate a sense of obligation over having to “rescue” others, as when dealing with a sick or injured spouse, lover or friend, or with others who are alcoholics or substance abusers. As with the social worker I mentioned above, the heavy weight of obligation can also revolve around the public in general, as when dealing with needy customers, patients, or students. For a similar reason, I’ve found this placement is fairly common in the charts of popular celebrities, actors, or musicians, who often feel the weight of having to deal with the public in ways that can be problematic or exhausting.
Neptune On or Near the IC
Chart 2: Single Mother
When Neptune is near the bottom of the horoscope, especially when close to the I.C., it can indicate a pronounced spiritual, religious or artistic influence within the family or home environment. Actress Uma Thurman has Neptune located here, for instance, and her father, Robert Thurman, is a famous religious scholar. At its best, it can show that one regards the home as a spiritual or artistic sanctuary. On a much more prosaic level, I’ve had a surprising number of clients with Neptune low in the chart who lived near or even on bodies of water. A radio announcer I know who was born with Neptune on the I.C. lived for much of his adult life on houseboats!
When more negatively expressed, however, this placement can point to a strong sense of obligation around caretaking or “rescuing” a family member or relative, possibly in connection with alcoholism, mental illness, or some physical infirmity. Sometimes, it’s simply family responsibilities of an intense kind, as in the case of my single mother client who admitted to feeling exhausted by the responsibilities of supporting a family by herself.
Or, that sense of obligation may be towards upholding a family tradition, as when a child is expected to carry on a family business begun by a parent or grandparent. In a few cases, interestingly, I’ve had clients born with this placement who became involved with helping the homeless; there, that obligatory drive to help or rescue seems to have extended to matters of “home” and “domesticity” in a broader, more social sense, to the public at large.
Neptune On or Near the MC
When Neptune is positioned near the top of the horoscope, that sense of obligation can be directed towards a parent or authority figure—or perhaps even the entire world. For example, this may take the form of a desire to heal, harmonize, or inspire others, whether that be as a healer, minister, or artist. Princess Diana had Neptune located in her 10th house, and that energy was especially obvious in her work with charitable and philanthropic causes. It’s fascinating how many musicians or performing artists have Neptune placed high, like Jimi Hendrix, Patti Smith, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan. Walt Disney is rightfully known as the “king of fantasy,” and with good reason: he was born with Neptune near the MC.
But more problematically, Neptune near the top of the chart can indicate considerable difficulty dealing with that same sense of obligation towards the public. For example, the desire to inspire and heal that drove Walt Whitman in his poetry also weighed heavily on him while working with wounded or dying soldiers during the Civil War. For all of her positive work, Princess Diana felt extremely constrained by the obligation to maintain a certain “royal” image for the public and the paparazzi.
Abraham Lincoln had Neptune aligned with Saturn near the MC, and he clearly felt like he was bearing a heavy cross in his public role as “emancipator” and restorer of the Union. At its most problematic, though, this Neptunian impulse can metastasize into a full-blown messiah complex, where one entertains delusions about one’s own spiritual importance and divine “mission” to help or save the world. Carried to an extreme, it can even trigger an impulse towards martyrdom, leading to what one client referred to as a “pound another nail in me, guys” attitude. Fortunately, those cases have been far fewer in my experience.
Neptune On or Near the Ascendant
Finally, we come to what I find is the most subtle and enigmatic placement of Neptune—when it’s located on or near the Ascendant. In positive ways, this indicates extreme sensitivity, and it can even point to a pronounced spiritual or artistic streak in the personality.
But in this case that Neptunian “obligation” factor may be directed towards one’s own self, as in caretaking one’s body, health, or personality. Consider my client born with Neptune exactly on her Ascendant who struggled much of her life with a series of chronic health problems; for her, the “cross to bear” manifested primarily as the need to attend to her own body, as far as diet, exercise, or medical treatment. This can also take the form of some physical impairment or disability one feels “obligated” to contend with.
In extreme cases, this placement can lead to feeing obligated to caretaking the proverbial “monkey on one’s back” in the form of addiction to substances like alcohol, heroin, opiates, or sugar. One may not consciously want to feed that addiction, but may feel nearly helpless in the face of it, almost like an obligation to the addiction itself—i.e., “I’ve got to have that drink…”
Similar to Neptune near the top of the horoscope, Neptune on or near the Ascendant can manifest as an obligation to maintain a certain persona or “mask” before the world. The classic example of this is actress Marilyn Monroe, who was born with Neptune in her 1st House. She struggled during her professional career with maintaining that sexy and glamorous image from films even while offscreen. As she once said, “My problem with men is that they all want to go to bed with Marilyn, but they wake up with Norma Jean” (which was her given name prior to show business).
While Neptune near the Ascendant is potentially the most spiritual and sensitive indicator of all Neptunian placements, those born with this pattern need to be especially careful of falling into that self-pitying “woe is me” trap mentioned earlier. In such instances, it can feel like the “cross” one has to bear is none other than oneself, either due to some physical or emotional problem, or simply their extreme sensitivity to the harsh realities of the world. And whereas Neptune on the Descendant can feel like others are the “needy” ones, Neptune near the Ascendant can sometimes manifest as you being the needy one!
One last point. Because the Ascending degree is one-half of the “relationship axis,” Neptune on or near the Ascendant can trigger relationship concerns almost as much as when it’s positioned close to the Descendant degree! On countless occasions I’ve read for clients or associates born with Neptune near their Ascendant who describe the weight of obligation felt having to caretake or “rescue” a spouse, friend, or partner in need. (Much the same effect can be felt when transiting Neptune crosses over either the natal Ascending or Descending degrees.)
Final thoughts
Regardless of which horoscopic angle it’s aligned to in someone’s chart—or for that matter, which personal planet it is closely aspecting in that chart, if any—close attention will need be paid to maintaining healthy boundaries in dealings with others. A strongly emphasized Neptune diffuses that dividing line between self and other, and with that comes a variety of fantastic potentials but also serious challenges. What makes it especially tricky in the case of Neptune is how inherently slippery and nebulous that effect sometimes is. Like the physical planet itself, Neptune’s effects can be invisible to the naked eye, and thus all the more difficult to get a firm handle on.
If properly balanced and grounded, though, those diaphanous boundaries give rise to a profound empathy that knows its proper limits, and can even confer a genius for creativity that’s able to access realities and ideas far beyond the normal limits of one’s senses.
Postscript: It’s worth mentioning that much of what I’ve written here about Neptune also applies to the influence of Pisces in the chart. For instance, Pisces on the Descendant will result in many of the same issues (and potentials) as having Neptune on that angle, while Venus in Pisces individuals often have many of the same challenges as those with strong Venus-Neptune contacts.
Chart Data & Sources
All birth data of famous people cited herein can be found online at AstroDatabank, rated B or higher. Birth data of anonymous clients are confidential; their sources are birth certificates.
Images
Lifeguard: By Lukasz Jablonski, Unsplash.com
Author:
Ray Grasse has been associate editor of The Mountain Astrologer for over 20 years, and is author of eight books, including An Infinity of Gods, The Waking Dream, and Signs of the Times. This article has been adapted from a chapter in his book StarGates, and first appeared in the June/July, 2018 issue of The Mountain Astrologer magazine. Ray’s website is www.raygrasse.com
Published in: The Mountain Astrologer, issue #229, December 2023.
© 2023 - Ray Grasse
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