Sun Neptune conjunction

The annual Sun–Neptune conjunction is one of the most fundamental astrological events that happens every year, currently on the 11th of March, 2021. And yet not much is written about this truly mystical event and its deep influence on the ideals and aspirations of every human being.

This year of 2021, the influence of the Sun–Neptune conjunction starts about March, 1 and peaks in 11 days when the conjunction becomes exact on March, 11. After that the aspect will be slowly decreasing until the separation of the planets on March, 21.

The Sun–Neptune conjunction is the celebration of both divine magnificence and personal delusions of equally gigantic magnitude. Before talking about how this conjunction may influence each of us on a personal level, let’s take an excursion to the origins of the world and its metaphysical roots.

The four Elements and the formation of the Creation

The world as we know it has been created by the two opposing cosmic forces, Cosmic Fire and Cosmic Waters, the masculine and feminine aspects of universal creative energy also known as God.

We have touched the topic of the four Elements before and it’s a good opportunity to revisit the notion of the four Elements — fire, earth, water and air — and especially, fire and water. The opposing dualism of fire and water is the creative power that produced all the rest.

Chaos. The Genesis. Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky.
Chaos, the Genesis.
All paintings in this story by Ivan Aivazovsky

As per the Genesis, the very opening of the Bible:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Even though the Bible mentions “the Earth” there was no solid Earth, only the waters and creative fire shaping the fluid substance into the Universe, galaxies, planets and life of their inhabitants.

The universe as we know it is the result of the interaction between the creative spirit of Cosmic Fire and the endless receptivity of Cosmic Waters. All complexity of shapes and forms came out of this initial creative impulse. The four Elements became the foundation and the endless source of wonders.

Perhaps it’s worth noting that fire and water as we experience them here on the Earth are very distant relatives to Cosmic Fire and Cosmic Waters. Those are the two lofty principles that are pre-manifested, meaning they existed before the physical matter was created. The myth of creation tells us that all physical matter will eventually dissolve back to the source.

Symbolism of the Sun

At their archetypal level, the Sun and Neptune correspond to the principles of Cosmic Fire and Cosmic Waters. They can be seen as the “handles” to their lofty super-principles.

The Sun is the source of all creative energy in the Solar system. No life is possible without the Sun. The Sun gives birth and propels all living creatures towards their individual destinations.

Most of humans have at least some degree of understanding of what moves them through life — may it be high ideals, building a career or rising kids — but behind all that is the true source of all energy, the principle of Solar fire that is the only true motivator for any living creature to be born, to survive and to succeed — true for each of the thousands of species inhabiting the Earth.

The Sun is not just another planet, it’s the powerhouse out of which all planets receive their kinetic momentum, their warmth and potential life. In astrological symbolism, the Sun is the principle of ownership, rulership and radiance of the most foundational energies. Those who are in touch with their Sun will always succeed.

Neptune is the door to Cosmic Waters

No other planet in our Solar system has the oceanic depth and expanse that Neptune possesses. This expanse is the link to the universality of the Creation, the reminder of where it all started and into what it all will dissolve, at the end of time.

Neptune is the source of aspirations that equally applies to saints, idealists, dreamers, alcoholics and substance addicts. Neptunian depth is truly endless and manifests itself in this wide variety of personalities through one force — the power of intoxication.

At our deepest, all humans experience the desire to merge and dissolve into infinity. This is our subconscious definition of “home”, something that is big enough to encompass all possibilities and variations and negate any kind of smallness that is imposed on us by living on the Earth with its endless friction and shortage of seemingly everything — love, heartness, freedom, justice, equality for of each and all.

This really hurts all Neptunian people and unfortunately makes them turn away from this world, and that is perhaps an obvious — but not the right — choice.

Intoxication with infinity meets fire or creativity

And so comes the day when the two principles meet. The moment of the Sun–Neptune conjunction is where the two most opposing and yet universally foundational forces blend into oneness.

The force of life and creative fire projects itself into the deepest waters and gives birth to inspired ideas of truly cosmic nature.

And here lies the trick… what if the opposite happens, what if the bottomless waters engulf the creative fire? We are going to look at a few possible scenarios of how a Sun–Neptune conjunction may manifest itself.

The moment of personal Big Bang

The Sun is the ultimate navigator and the lighthouse of truth. Its raw energy is the force that translates individual aspirations into concrete actions just as wind pushes a sailing ship towards its destination.

Gibraltar. Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky.

The personal Big Bang is a replica of the universal creative impulse. Once a year we all can spread our sails to catch the solar wind and use its superior dynamism to mould Neptunian aspirations into concrete deeds. It is the time to set a personal creative impulse that will thrive on high ideals and powerful inspirations. A golden opportunity to discover one’s inner America!

The moment of Sun–Neptune conjunction is a perfect confluence of Spirit and eternal Flame.

Idealism that swallows action

Neptune always comes with a challenge of intoxication gone wrong. Too many people on this planet are dreaming about high ideals, they talk a lot, devise plans… yet nothing comes out of that. Procrastination is the opposite effect of Neptune that swallows creative impulses and dulls personal will.

Some people with strong Sun–Neptune energy have deep visions and intuitions but they are not capable of putting them into practice. They imagine, they dream, they talk, they make promises and resolutions. But the vagueness of Neptune dissolves all that just like oceanic waves dissolve sand castles erected on the beach.

Neptunian people are prone to all kinds of substance abuse. Anything that brings intoxication has an immense pull. Something in those individuals remembers the endless unity of the divine and yearns to merge back with the source. They forget that that door is permanently shut, there is no turning back. The only way is through the Sun, through its creative fire.

The broken dreams of Neptune

Delusions of truly universal proportions is the forever danger of the Sun–Neptune influence. Many shipwrecks are the result of poor planning and even more careless execution fuelled by utopian hopes that the situation will somehow magically adjust itself.

The Ninth Wave. Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky.

Those who have both the Sun and Neptune prominent in their charts have the power to convince others to follow their dreams and projections. That is the danger of the intoxicated mind inflamed by the fire akin to a match thrown into a jar of petroleum. It bursts into irrational delusional tempest that will last until not much left. Only the ashes.

Have you got a Sun – Neptune aspect?

Any major aspect between the Sun and Neptune will manifest a strong Neptunian personality. People with strong Neptunian values are also known as “the Pisces people” in the New Age astrology.

The strongest aspects will be conjunction, opposition, square and trine. The sextile will be more subdued and will reveal itself only under certain circumstances.

It makes sense to differentiate the Sun–Neptune aspect from other Neptunian aspects. The power of the Sun enables the person to be in touch with the deep waters like no other planet can. This brings its own challenges and potentially life changing opportunities.

The biggest challenge is vagueness and procrastination. The person may have a rich inner life filled with lofty dreams and compassionate ideals. But if procrastination and inability to act rule life, then not much will come out of that. In the very worst case Neptunian tendencies will result in addiction to all kinds of detrimental intoxication — alcohol and drugs. A lot of substance addicts are subconsciously trying to escape the “here and now” of the material world and re-experience the merging with the universal source. The only problem is that that door doesn’t exist any longer. The universe has emerged out of Cosmic Waters through the force of Cosmic Fire, or God consciousness. The road forward is through the Sun.

On a higher note, the individuals who make their Sun–Neptune work are able to tap from the highest inspiration and creativity of a truly universal magnitude. For them the Sun is the guiding and rejuvenating principle. Think of a truly compassionate leader like Mahatma Gandhi who had a Sun–Neptune opposition, or the spiritual lighthouse Sri Aurobindo who had a Sun–Neptune trine. They both certainly made it work while being extremely idealistic yet focused, productive and willing to succeed.

The key lessons of Sun–Neptune

The power, potential and challenges of a Sun–Neptune aspect lies in the primordial nature of planetary archetypes behind the Sun and Neptune. The combination of fire and waters can easily overwhelm and it takes a great degree of stability, focus and sheer determination to navigate away from abysmal depths of self-delusion using the Solar creative force.