Oil of Bliss
In The Perfumed Garden
Venus Meets Neptune
Today Venus (planet of love) joins up with Neptune (planet of fairy tales) for a trip into interpersonal paradise if you're lucky. The wedding veil takes on special meaning with this aspect. Venus in Pisces, Neptune in the 7th, and Venus-Neptune aspects all share this desire for illusion and romance in otherworldly dimensions, tragic endings notwithstanding. Sometimes preferred. Venus Meets Neptune
I "love" the Venus-Neptune conjunction for its elevation of art and beauty to transcendental realms, and for its sublime expression of the poetic and human emotional longing. But in the earthly world of relationship it has a wide variety of effects.
Often with these aspects, there's adoration, even worship of others, but the saint-sinner syndrome can permeate the myth, and the angel falls. Far down at times. Not always, however. Sometimes the god*dess falls and gets back on the pedestal, the perfect muse miraculously surviving the blind turns of the entanglement. When the love object is given sainthood, struggles generally arise in physical reality, sometimes as a path to an inner sanctuary that another can help an individual discover. Probably if one recognizes the idealistic search as one's own, then the partner becomes ally rather than tormenter, and the deceptions and disappointments are merely inevitable intruding and instructive realities on the way to self-knowledge. A difficult task for anyone, marrying sensual form with shapeless ideals.
Neptune is the ocean creating shimmering, sometimes blinding light, and distorting objects beneath the surface. Once Venus dips into Neptune's dreamy liquid, the object of desire shapeshifts and escapes the grasp. The elusiveness enhances its attractive power, so in many ways, the seeker prefers this non-attainability. Some can dance with it, some find themselves increasing frustrated and disillusioned. Many times you'll hear the Venus-Neptune say, "I didn't realize he was like that. Why didn't I see it?"
"I didn't know she'd drink herself silly, drug herself into lands I could never enter, or watch movies into oblivion."
"I knew he was a musician but instead of serenading me in the garden, he's out partying all night, courting trouble, escaping responsibility.
Is she there?"
The Neptune disappearing act can happen right before your eyes.
Occasionally one will wake up from a Neptune-Venus transit and say, "I actually married this creature? Where was I?"
But they have charms impossible to resist. And shared pleasures can be out of this world, timeless, approaching the limits of imagination.
People frequently fear the veils of Neptune, but so often the wrong places to which you think you were misled, the delusions you suffered, or the failures you encountered were there to reroute you correctly in the end. Sometimes the "wrong" path is the only way. Neptune teaches us that there's no difference.
I love my Venus-Neptune friends because they love me unconditionally. For twenty-five years I had a partner with Venus in the 12th and a best friend with Venus in Pisces. It was a strange sort of bliss -- real, beautiful, and tainted. I knew they both would love me forever and they have. The best friend actually did serenade me -- all night on his guitar. But paradise has its price.
My father was a Pisces and my brother is a Sun-Moon-Neptune in Libra, the first guys in my life. Yes, I love my Venus-Neptunes. What can I say? I have Mars conjunct Neptune in Libra. I worship everyone on and off.
posted by jm at 1:58 AM
43 Comments:
That's a gorgeous picture.
I think my Neptune in Sag in the 7th, conj that pesky Mercury, makes it hard to find and keep friends at times. For example, I recently met a really interesting guy who has a lot in common with me, and although we planned to get together again, he disappeared and hasn't contacted me again.
Was it something I said? I may never know.
ughhh. me too.Neptune on descendant, square venus, moon, and sun. with people in my life its like a "whack a mole" game. they pop up and disappear all the time.poof!
Other times its the feeling that people don't even notice me even when I am right next to them. Its like I don't have a body. I'm guessing that's the Neptune ascendant opposition.
As far as love-ah love...Still trying to discern the blessings of Neptunian yearning and disillusion. A neptunian affair did accidentally open up my spirituality (or is that my Mars-Uranus conjunction:). Not sure if that "peak oceanic experience" I got afterwords has countered the the pain of the affair. Only time will tell. I'm trying to channel that into painting now, so that I'm doing the planet instead of it doing me. :)
That's the thing with Neptune. You never know. We're not supposed to so eventually we give up, let loose and let it all in and out. The fluid nature of it all and the permeability of our defenses.
The ideal is the lack of judgement. I've seen that in some Neptunians. When you look around, a stunning amount of energy is spent by people condemning others usually with incomplete information. Most of us do it as a defense against facing our own wrongdoings. Probably if we did, we'd discover they mighty not be so wrong after all.
We have to criticize what's wrong but to a point. If it's ineffective in bringing about improvement then the pain builds. Choosing what to criticize is the trick.
In my case, I wanted my partner to stop drinking. But eventually I fully realized that it was better for him if he did. Stopping for me as if it would bring me what I want was senseless. It was his life and body and how could I judge that? So I learned to live with it which led me to my own creative well.
Humans are the way they are for reasons. All walks of life. They all fit into the whole so tampering with others is more complicated than it seems.
People do what they do, probably what they're supposed to be doing for themselves and their destinies. How we get caught up in the webs is worth studying. The interpersonal horrors around us, ultimately war, are often not our own, and though one feels compassion, we can't do much to stop these rituals that we don't understand. Maybe Neptune guides in alleviating the suffering in ways that work.
We always have the Neptunian option of tuning out or disappearing ourselves. Letting it be.
I think Venus-Neps have that lesson -- letting people be.
ah that pesky surrender. I am currently the observer of a very Neptunian relationship a friend is going through. the urge to patronize and criticize is massive. can't she see what she is doing? Of course not! That's why she is doing it. So I keep my mouth shut until she asks for advice. Until then...only compassion. Who am I to say that this isn't exactly what she needs to be going through in order to evolve? My therapist had a very strict policy about taking in clients. You only go if YOU want to. If someone else force-sends you there hoping to fix you that way, the therapist would simply refuse that person a session.Compassionate discernment indeed.
I'm trying to channel that into painting now, so that I'm doing the planet instead of it doing me. :)
One of the best comments about Neptune I've seen. You're the artist, after all.
I think there is a reason why talented artists have such odd human relationships. Maybe the disappearance is necessary for the space in which to work. So many artists are inspired by their lovers but then want to separate to get it down while fresh. To work undisturbed.
Other times its the feeling that people don't even notice me even when I am right next to them.
That's my life with Neptune conj. my asc. ruler. It's astonishing how I'm overlooked. I used to think it was willful ignorance but now I think it's true -- they don't see me! That gives me freedom though.
That's a lot of Nep in your chart Elena. I can't think of a more perfect solution than channelng the pain into art. I think that's why we experience these things. When people disappoint there's always paradise on canvas, and somehow the vast expanse of walls humans live with were knowingly created to receive the artists' expressions.
It's all fair.
I've always wanted to ask you something about Neptune jm. I am currently trying to consciously integrate its energies into my life: music, painting, private melancholy sessions and poetry. Before that neptunian affair I was all dry realism. work, school, money. But there is a pervasive fear that if I give into to it too much it might swallow me whole. That I would get lost in that neptunian mist. Lose sanity. Drown. It is a sirens call, and I am dreading it.I don't know if I should give in...ever dealt with that?
Omg, that surrender!
I keep my mouth shut until she asks for advice. Until then...only compassion. Who am I to say that this isn't exactly what she needs to be going through in order to evolve?
I think this one of the most important things in life and I'm thrilled to see someone else express it. It's why I don't do readings.
They say, "Oh, it's dangerous. Don't go there."
Trying to control others' paths. We have no idea whatsoever whether or not a bad experience is what the person needs. Fortunately, it all happens anyway in keeping with what's best for the individual. The counselor could help interpret rather than control the road for someone else.
Who am I to say that this isn't exactly what she needs
I have to repeat. I love it. It extends to other countries too.
Were you one of the Virgo south nodes?
But there is a pervasive fear that if I give into to it too much it might swallow me whole. That I would get lost in that neptunian mist. Lose sanity. Drown. It is a sirens call, and I am dreading it.I don't know if I should give in...ever dealt with that?
LOL! Have I ever?
You're all Neptune which dissolves the rigid lines of realism. That's always the fear with Neptune. Losing bearings, drowning, and getting no life line. But as long as we're alive, the lifeline comes so I think we're safe in the sea. The courage lies in how far we dare to go.
That's what I found with my alcoholic 12th house artist who stunned me with his bravery in going down into the vast depths. I could not interfere.
I think about the sanity issue a lot. We're all on the edge. I do think though that a mechanism is in place to preserve a semblance of mundane functioning if we dare to let go.
Very interesting image. There's a song I love by the blues artist, JB Lenoir, and I just heard it and can't get it out of my mind.
You know the whale swallowed Jonah
Out in the deep blue sea
Sometimes I gets that old feeling
That the whale has swallowed me
It goes on with a beautiful rhythm and soulful feeling. It came in for a reason.
All artists I know deal with that. The self immolating factor. But in the end we can't help it and huge sacrifices are required to fulfill an artistic calling.
People always ooh and ohh and think the artist's life is so free and wonderful, but it's not. The others are lucky.
nah. I'm Cancer in 1st house North Noder.
Glad you are swimming in the mist rather than drowning, but I would still like to have those educational swimming muscles handy :) Have been fighting this call to go back to school and be a full-blown artist, because until recently I despised art-So self-involved, so irrational, so meaningless!
We'll see. I'm still meditating on it.
OMG! SN in Capricorn in the 7th similar to the Virgo, but even more concerned with rigid boundary.
Amazing and so simple. Lifetimes of trying to keep order and logic and relationships together. Not this time. NN in Cancer in the first is a fluid destiny all your own. Dissolving and giving in to yourself. The fear is letting go of the SN addiction to personal relationship and the self sacrifice always required -- supporting other people's things rather than your own. Exactly like me.
You can sacrifice them not yourself. It gets lonely, but so what. That's the artist's dilemma. Colors are quiet, aurally speaking.
The Fear of losing contact by going it alone deep into the self turns out to be unfounded as I've found. They're close enough. Help comes when needed. You need less and less as time goes on. You can give less and less too. NN1s aren't supposed to. A beautiful self centered destiny. Omg.
Have been fighting this call to go back to school and be a full-blown artist, because until recently I despised art-So self-involved, so irrational, so meaningless!
We'll see. I'm still meditating on it.
You know and I know and it knows that you've made your decision. This is just verifiction.
A full blown artist. And you wonder with Neptune?
I think art could be the most meaningful endeavor on earth. Just look around at the misery. We need the dimension that art opens up as much as food and water. We're like nuts, seeds, berries, and fruit. And streams. Natural nourishment.
ha! No wonder I'm so drawn to your writing! :-)))Thanks for the kind words.
Are you nuts elena????? Oh yeah. You said you might be. Mercury, Saturn, Pluto, and Jupiter conjunct in the 5th house of creativity and you're wondering??????? Omg. That is simply amazing. I have Pluto and saturn in the 5th and I do know. But you've got it bad, baby!
Neptune is in your 9th house of higher ed now and Jupiter, the planet of higher ed, is just about to join with. There is no better time for school than now. But you know that.
Kind words are always around somewhere. :-)
HA HA! "Verifiction" I said. I like that one.
"Verifiction" Wow!
You always had a way with words, jm. :o)
hahahah. We are verily, fiction.
So is verifiction another way of saying true lies? :o)
verifiction...perfect
Went to town today forewarned by RU of the Venus | Neptune perilously close to my Ascendent in my 12. Pleased to say did not succumb to any glossy wrapped 50% off adorable "must haves" slipped back to my sanctuary with only cat food and people food.
Thanks for the heads up.
Made me think about the coming big Jupiter Chiron Neptune influence that will be coming up in spring-summer.
And hello Elena fellow NN1.
So is verifiction another way of saying true lies?
Yes. And that's true!
Congrats, tseka, for resisting the glossy. I've master the 50%, but not the 75!
The Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune is big and I've been thinking about it. It's time to prepare.
The first conjunction is interesting since both are stationing. It's going to be loooong. I'm going to study it right away.
I get a good feeling every time I think about Jup-Nep. But it can work many ways. Sometimes Jup can inflate the delusion or it can expand the grace. There is a definite spiritual alignment here and so-called "blessings" can be bestowed.
I imagine that preparation to receive would help. It's trining my Venus-Uranus in Gemini in the 3rd, so I hope it's getting ready to deliver poetry not another love affair!
On your asc. trine Neptune. Looks interesting.
Joe's got it good. Trine his libra 5th stellium from the 10th. Nice.
Elena's got it in her 9th of spiritual study and higher ed as we talked about. Trine her Saturn-Pluto in the 5th. Great place for it.
I think we should gear up for this one and not miss the opportunity.
Well I overdid the Venus-Neptune. I had two and 1/2 very sugary cookies, rainbow colored and topped with sprinkles, which was about a half a cookie too much for my little system.
I watched movies all day. :)
Hi Tseka. long live the self!
Long live the self indeed. And live well.
It's wonderful how many NN1s have come to RU. You know how much emphasis I place on the nodes and sharing the desire to come home to the self has been enriching for me.
I had an interesting encounter today. I can always tell how important an event is by the TVs. If the real crowd out there is tuned in then its important. Today they were off so I knew the latest violence in the world could be passed over.
I mentioned this to someone and she said, "Yes, she heard about it but people were involved in their own lives," and we went on to talk about how people sometimes feel guilty about living in luxury having a good life while others suffer. But such is fate or karma or whatever.
Then we agreed that such people have an obligation to make the most of their fortunate circumstances.
There's no one more entitled to live for themselves than NN1s. Mastering this is probably the key to cooperation anyway. If one pays attention to her own existence and makes the most of it the seed for growth of many good lives is germinated. We probably keep coming back home to the self until this is learned.
So all you NN1s are pointing the way! Thanks so much.
I suppose I fit somehow into this NN1 thing... because I got Aries in mine, the first sign of the zodiac... eh? :)
Yes'm. They're interchangeable.
Then you have here quite a crowd, no wonder lately I read all the comments here :D
hi all you NN1s - I read RU everyday - but rarely comment. But I wanted to let you know that my NN is in the first house (Libra). Someone told me that because it's in Libra and not Aries...it's flipped and it is somehow double strong? Or do I misunderstand?
Thanks for this site, jm. I love it.
I wanted my partner to stop drinking. But eventually I fully realized that it was better for him if he did. Stopping for me as if it would bring me what I want was senseless. It was his life and body and how could I judge that?
I realize that now about my ex. I couldn't stop here even though I did try to the best of my ability. It was her destiny, she chose it and died from it.
That's my life with Neptune conj. my asc. ruler. It's astonishing how I'm overlooked. I used to think it was willful ignorance but now I think it's true -- they don't see me! That gives me freedom though.
I had the same experience. Looking back now I realize I shouldn't have been bewildered by the reception I was getting and how usually I was not seen for the energy I was embodying. And I shouldn't have bothered trying to barge into others live with such vast shockwaves of energy. The vast majority just can't see. If you blast your way in, they'll see something, but not be able to understand. For whatever reason, be it conditioning, fate, or choice -perceptions and what they permit themselves to experience is locked down to a very tiny range. We've lost the worlds within the world. We're tuned out of the ability to listen to all the other languages of existence.
I think there is a reason why talented artists have such odd human relationships. Maybe the disappearance is necessary for the space in which to work. So many artists are inspired by their lovers but then want to separate to get it down while fresh. To work undisturbed.
I also think it has something to do with seeing as you mentioned. The artist is reaching way out of the accepted frequency band and the others just can't go there. They are getting inspiration from their lovers and then are moved way beyond them.
I hope it's getting ready to deliver poetry not another love affair!
Amen to that...but sometimes maybe it's got to be both.
And thank you ebes.
The flip is interesting but I place a little more emphasis on the house placement. Usually the SN Aries 7th is too dominated by partners, although the reverse can happen. Sometimes excessive anger is directed against the SN. Or someone's always trying to flee the thing.
Libras need relationships but with NN1 you must be in charge of yourself. All SN7s have a tendency to sacrifice too much in relationships. Ideally NN1 should even dominate.
Essentially the NN1 is a search for singular identity. So belonging is rejected deep down.
Mpk, what an amazing comment. Right to the deep point. It encapsulates a lot of my feelings about society and why I travel the outskirts. You explained why they're addicted to these public personas and live through them. People that are so uninspiring, expressing the tiny range of experience you talk about. It stuns me how the same things are repeated over and over, with no imagination, and still the crowd gets excited in what feels to me like a manufactured ecstasy, false and unfulfilling. Right on cue the dramas take off, the crowd so tragically obedient. The audience has as much to do with it all as the players.
But not everywhere. That's what I learned in my conversation yesterday. There was genuine energy between us in a brief moment and that's why your comment about language of existence resonates with me. A message was delivered instead of just passing time.
For whatever reason, be it conditioning, fate, or choice -perceptions and what they permit themselves to experience is locked down to a very tiny range. We've lost the worlds within the world. We're tuned out of the ability to listen to all the other languages of existence.
This deserves a lot of attention. I suppose a solution could be tuning in one by one, rather than barging in to the group as you so perfectly descibed. We can map our own routes within routes keeping an eye on what they're up to but slipping and sliding around the rigid matrix.
The artist is reaching way out of the accepted frequency band and the others just can't go there. They are getting inspiration from their lovers and then are moved way beyond them.
Yes. Maybe that applies to this society I've been courting and so often want to part with.
And I shouldn't have bothered trying to barge into others lives with such vast shockwaves of energy
What to do with that kind of energy takes thought and work. Yet it's the shockwaves that bring about cultural change. Something is gathering strength and waiting for the time to erupt, and there's a vague possibility that we NN1s who are ahead of the pack will find a place in it. Maybe, maybe not.
Uranus in Aries will affect all NN1s no matter the sign. Aries cannot stay with the group, and most don't want to be saddled with leading it, but sometimes the group is there and needs to be acknowledged.
Please write more of this when the impulse moves you. It needs to be said. Your Aquarius Moon-Joop is exceptionally attuned to society's behavior.
We've lost the worlds within the world.
Just their expression. It's gotten too canned. The real leadership in society can help guide them there. Back to themselves.
Uranus in Aries is all about this. Individual identity and autonomy within society, not coddling leaders. Uranus busts up the joint and now he'll be busy with Saturn, breaking up traditional locked up patterns. The individual's input then slips in as influential if all goes well.
Also breaks up the predetermined. Uranus and Aries want a new, bold, experimental, never done before action.
Joe's got it good. Trine his libra 5th stellium from the 10th.
About time something looked up for me.
So I took a gander at the transits in about 30 days' time. Talk about crowded house! Five planets (including Chiron), my NN and the two luminaries hovering near my MC. And 60 days from now, they're still in a giant pack, only further along. Only Pluto and Saturn will be by themselves.
So I take it a stellium by transit can aspect the natal stellium. I learn something new each time. Will my head expand to accommodate it all? :o)
There's room in your head already.:o) Saturn in Gemini just keeps you locked up until the expanded areas can't wait.
The planets up there will also trine your Saturn forming a grand air trine with the Libra stellium. Clean up those expanded rooms and get ready? Could be a chance to get out of the body a bit.
We will be the beneficiaries of your meeting of the board up there in the 10th.
I'm glad you reminded me. It's already working. That giant pack will be in my 10th and 11th. Opposite my Saturn-Pluto in the 5th.
I had an amazing insight today, and I'll post soon.
Anything can trigger a natal stellium by transit. Having big stelliums like that bring a lot of focus in one's life and the transits vibrate the whole thing. The planets in stelliums operate together increasing their magnitude exponentially.
You have Saturn in the 1st which is similar to the NN1 identity search, but all your Libra makes relationship extremely important. You'll always have plenty.
Pluto through the 8th was a hard time for me. One thing you have to keep in mind is the fact that you're a Scorpio. Pain is not the enemy of a Scorp. They thrive on it and do well recognizing its potential for growth and real change. They're built to take it. The 8th house transit vibrates your Scorpio essence. You could be in another incarnation on the other side. Only 16 years in the birth canal!
Interesting concept. Looking up or being up? Up is a prelude to down, so looking up and feeling a rise is a good spot!
The beginning is an intro and then as the planet progresses through the house I find that there are wide variations and many breathers. It's a struggle no matter who you are or what planets are where.
but all your Libra makes relationship extremely important. You'll always have plenty.
Yes, very important but that self-same importance collides with my Saturn isolation and Cap Moon emotional heaviness, along with that Neptune in the 7th, making relationships with others ephemeral. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Only 16 years in the birth canal!
Oh yay! :o)
I have neptune in my seventh house. Yes, i have been there, i thought i was going to be serenaded, but no, he was always off to parties and gigs? And avoiding responsibility. But seriously folks that was a beautiful description of venus and neptune.
Myrlock! Great name.
thanks
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