Neptune as Myth Maker

Listening to Liz Greene's taped lecture series on the Planet Neptune (Neptune: learning to grow gills) it impressed upon me the idea that our very misconception of Neptune "spirituality" can be very destructive in our life as it can undermine more grounded longings. She opens the lecture by asking attendants their opinion about Neptune and confronts what seems to be a bias towards believing that Neptune is somehow more "spiritual" than other planets simply by virtue of the fact that it sees and feels a world beyond the one we find ourselves in. While she argues that this is a valid form or idea of spirituality, she reminds us that the qualities and desires this planet espouses are not inherently "good" as we've come to blindly assume.  She challenges us to question why this planet is somehow linked to goodness and asks us to consider the history of a hierarchal form of spirituality. Why have we learned to associate spirit (as in transcending reality and the body) with goodness? <br />

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She asks us to consider what the "spirituality" of Saturn or Mercury look like and   not to incarcerate them outside the heavenly gates simply because they don't necessarily promote what we have come to believe (as Neptune would have us) what is ethereal or pure. While they have different modes of expression and means of getting there, all planets have have their own Gods and ideals and it is quite curious how we have come to believe that Neptune has monopolized this psychic real estate.<br />

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If we enter a discussion about art and astrology, Neptune undoubtedly enters stage right as one of the most imaginative and visionary planets which influences are ability and desire to create. However, if we talk about escapism and a host of other artists-as self-destructive driftwood Neptune is also a leading culprit. Neptune is rich in imagination and the inspiration that comes from envisioning possibility but is actually quite disinterested in enriching our everyday lives. We need to balance Neptune and its insatiable yearning to break through the veil of our reality with a dose of say..Saturnian or Mercurial spirituality if we ever want to see our imaginations have some real world consequence. In order to actually lift and open the spirits of others as art often can do, then we need to bring our pie-in-the-sky down for some real world consumption and satiation.