Neptune was discovered in 1846, during the height of the Romantic movement and the rise of spiritualism, and it has been associated ever since with mysticism, imagination, and the dissolution of boundaries between self and other, reality and dream, material and spiritual.
Neptune is not part of the traditional seven-planet scheme. Modern astrologers assign it rulership of Pisces, taking over from Jupiter. In this encyclopedia, we follow the traditional assignment of Jupiter to Pisces as primary ruler, with Neptune noted as co-ruler in modern practice.
In a chart, Neptune describes:
- Imagination and creativity — the capacity to envision what does not yet exist, to dream, and to create.
- Spirituality and mysticism — the longing for transcendence, for union with something larger than the self.
- Illusion and deception — the tendency to see what one wants to see, to be deceived, or to deceive oneself.
- Compassion and empathy — the capacity to feel what others feel, to merge with another's experience.
Neptune's placement by sign describes the style of your spiritual longing: a Virgo Neptune seeks transcendence through service and the perfection of daily practice; a Leo Neptune seeks transcendence through creativity and the experience of divine inspiration. Neptune's placement by house describes the area of life where boundaries are most porous — where you are most sensitive, most imaginative, and most vulnerable to illusion.