At any given moment, multiple planetary alignments are co-occurring. They overlap each other, so there’s an interaction of different archetypal forces in play.
Sometimes, these diverse archetypal combinations are sharply divergent. One planet wants to do one thing, and the others may want to do something completely different.
This is why your first Saturn return never occurs in isolation. Other cosmic transits will be happening at the same time.
If you have Saturn in Aries, Neptune by transit will conjunct your natal Saturn during your Saturn return. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In this text, I want to cover some of the meanings of Neptune and Saturn in conjunction.
Richard Tarnas’ book Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View is one of the sources I have used.
Tarnas’ words helped me understand the symbolic meaning of Neptune. Besides, Tarnas explains the historical events that occurred when Neptune and Saturn were in conjunction.
In his book Planets in Transit: Life Cycles for Living, Robert Hand details what happens when Neptune by transit conjuncts your Saturn. This is another source I have used for this text.
If you were born with Saturn in Aries, you should DEFINITELY keep reading.
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This is the table of contents:
- The Discovery of Neptune
- Archetypes Connected to Neptune
- Neptune’s Meanings
- Saturn’s Meanings
- Neptune by Transit Conjunct the Natal Saturn
Let’s go.
The Discovery of Neptune
In 1846, the French mathematician Urbain LeVerrier observed unexplained irregularities in Uranus’s orbit. Therefore, he posited the existence and position of a planet beyond Uranus. This new planet’s gravitational influence was pulling Uranus out of its calculated orbit.
The new planet was immediately discovered in the predicted position. The person who did it was the German astronomer Johann Galle in 1846. He named the planet Neptune after the god of the sea.
Related: Pluto in Aquarius and Tips for Saturn in Aquarius
Uranus was discovered in 1781. When this happened, its meanings coincided with many synchronistic historical and cultural events in the following decades. The same applies to the discovery of Neptune in 1846. The astrological meanings of this “new planet” coincided synchronistically with novel events occurring in the 19th century.
These events of the 19th century include:
- Rapid spread of spiritualism throughout the world.
- Upsurge of utopian social ideologies.
- Rise of universalist and communitarian aspirations in both secular and religious movements.
- Ascendancy of Idealist and Romantic philosophies of spirit and the imagination.
- Widespread cultural influence of Transcendentalism.
- New popular interest in both Eastern mystical and Western esoteric traditions.
- Emergence of theosophy.
- Increase of the recreational use of psychoactive drugs in European bohemian circles.
- Beginning of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
- Invention of anesthetics.
- Development and cultural impact of photography.
- Early experiments in motion pictures.
- New aesthetic spirit of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
- Growing focus on the unconscious, dreams, myths, hypnosis, and non-ordinary states of consciousness.
- Expansion of a more socially compassionate humanitarian sensibility expressed in the Victorian era’s public attitudes, social legislation, art, and literature.
- Abolition of slavery and serfdom.
- Proliferation of movements and laws to limit child labor and other cruelties of industrial capitalism.
- Establishment of first laws abolishing capital punishment.
- Wave of foundings of societies for the protection of animals.
- Multiplication of the role of women in shaping social policy.
- Birth of modern nursing through the work of Florence Nightingale.
- Improvement of care for the wounded in war materialized in the first Geneva Convention and the founding of the International Red Cross.
During the 19th century and beyond, astrologers arrived at a surprisingly universal consensus on the themes related to Neptune.
Keep reading to find out more about those themes.
Archetypes Connected to Neptune
Neptune was named after the god of the sea. Therefore, it has always been symbolically associated with water in different states. The sea, the ocean, streams, rivers, mists, fogs, and amniotic liquid belong to Neptune’s realm in astrology.
The oceanic and watery metaphors that describe mystical experiences are also connected with this planet. Tarnas even describes Neptune in a Neptunian style:
“the all-encompassing ocean of divine consciousness of which our individual selves are but momentarily separate drops, the ceaselessly flowing all-informing Tao whose waterlike fluidity evades all definition, the primordial participation mystique of undifferentiated awareness, the mists of pre-history, the amniotic fetal and infantile state of primary fusion, the oceanic realms of the imagination, the fluid nature of psychic life generally”.
Then, Tarnas focuses specifically on the areas of psychic life ruled by Neptune:
“the flow and stream of consciousness, the influx of inspiration, the fog of confusion, drowning in the treacherous deep waters of the unconscious psyche, slipping into madness or addiction, surrendering to the flow of experience, dissolving into the divine union, the cleansing waters of purity and healing, melted ecstasy, and so forth.”
Neptune’s themes include being one with the universe, which Freud called the “oceanic feeling.” In Freud’s work, the oceanic feeling is a sensation of eternity. It encompasses experiencing something limitless and unbounded like the ocean itself. It is an indissoluble bond with the external world as a whole.
Neptune’s Meanings
- Transcendence
- Spirituality
- Escapism
- Mysticism
- Imagination
- Vision
- Devotion
- Compassion
- Surrender
- Dissolution
- Wholeness
- Union
- Coalescence
- Symbolism
- Subtlety
- Confusion
- Connection
- Illusion
- Fantasy
- Aspiration
- Inspiration
- Ideals
- Ecstasy
- Delusion
- Deception
- Enchantment
- Intoxication
- Distortion
- Projection
- Bedazzlement
Related: The Astrology of 2025
Saturn’s Meanings
The meanings connected with planet Saturn are very different from those of Neptune.
Some of Saturn’s keywords are resistance, patience, structure, limits, boundaries, and limitations.
If you want to review Saturn’s meanings, check out this text: Saturn’s Themes and Their Activation During The Saturn Return
Neptune by Transit Conjunct the Natal Saturn
Robert Hand states that Neptune by transit in conjunction with the natal Saturn can feel very confusing.
You may discover that your worldview isn’t accurate. This experience may come with a series of disappointments.
You could become disappointed in your family of origin, the authority figures in your life, or even yourself.
When you experience a Neptune transit, the rose-colored glasses fall off. No matter how hard you try, you can’t unsee the truth that is being revealed. You can run, but you can’t certainly hide.
Even though escapism is one of Neptune’s topics, there’s only so much you can do to avoid reality during this transit. Saturn is the principle of reality. It will remind you of your limits and boundaries.
In tandem, Neptune and Saturn work together to propel the collapse of the structures that have surpassed an expiration date. This process will be transformative and memorable in retrospect. However, going with the flow and allowing the changes to happen is also very uncomfortable.
Experiencing fear and loss of self-confidence are two of the most challenging effects of this transit. You may suddenly become afraid for almost no reason at all. You may also fear things that are not at all threatening to others. You may feel like you are becoming disoriented.
Neptune reveals higher aspects of the universe, including its many possible realities, of which yours is only one. When Neptune shows you this expansiveness, reality becomes very confusing.
Related: Neptune Retrograde by Transit
You become lost in a sea of infinite possibilities. Everything is true, but nothing is true at the same time. Slowly, Saturn helps you reorient yourself and choose some factual aspects of reality to hold on to. Only then, you can move forward with sobriety.
Neptune by transit conjunct the natal Saturn could feel like a dark night of the soul.
Eventually, you’ll understand that you can live with a reality that is different from what you had thought. That is the sobering effect of Saturn. But before reaching that realization, there’s a period of confusion and intense questioning. That’s the disorienting effect of Neptune.
At the highest level, Neptune by transit conjunct the natal Saturn is a prelude to enlightenment. This transit will allow you to grasp the true nature of the illusion or fantasy you call reality.
In most cases, this transit means that your concept of reality or truth is changing. This process begins with the dissolution of old concepts or beliefs.
This is why it’s a disorienting experience: you temporarily lose the point of reference for what’s true and what isn’t. It may take a while before you start building a new body of work regarding your beliefs.
The best way to handle Neptune by transit in conjunction with the natal Saturn is to get into comfortable surroundings. Reduce the stress level in your life as much as possible. Connect with the arts. Create and meditate more. Breathe. Stay on the questions rather than jumping to the answers.
You need to be calm to see what new truths emerge from the fog and confusion. And they will emerge. Probably not in the expected timeline or not as fast as you want them to, but they will emerge.
And that’s the point of no return. Now, you have a new set of beliefs. Welcome to your new reality.
First Saturn Return 
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