When Neptune is Retrograde

​Neptune is the planet of imagination, spirituality, and intuition. Neptune is in tune with the subtle energies all around us and within us. Neptune has a delicate touch, and is sensitive, sweet, and compassionate. But when Neptune isn't operating very well, that imagination and sensitivity goes into overdrive! That's when illusion, delusion, and victimization kick in.

What does it mean if a planet is in retrograde?

A planet is called retrograde when it appears to be moving backward from our view here on Earth (it isn't actually moving backward, only looks that way because of the way the planets move in relation to one another). Neptune turns retrograde for almost half of every year.

What does it mean when Neptune is in retrograde?

When Neptune is in retrograde currently, this tends to fill our lives with the very well-known Neptunian fog. The fog fills our heads, our hearts, our souls. We become more easily confused and conflicted, uncertain with our path, our decisions, our actions, our feelings, our ideas. With Neptune being the natural ruler of Pisces, any Pisces areas of your natal chart can get hit by this energy. If you have a Pisces Sun, Moon, or Rising, you tend to feel it most. Normally, when the ruler of your Sun, Moon, or Rising is retrograde, you feel off in a subtle way throughout the retrograde period. When it's Neptune? It's way more than subtly off! That fog rolls in and you're way more trippy than usual.

For everyone, the impact tends to be focused on the areas of life ruled by the house Neptune tours while Neptune is in retrograde. The matters that house rules can become clouded, obscured, and difficult to get a firm grip on. Extra caution needs to be exercised, more care needs to be taken, and often, more time is needed. If Neptune turns retrograde or direct aspecting any of your natal planets, you get this energy directed at you in a very intense way; sextiles and trines can turn it more positive while conjunctions, squares, and oppositions can make it more difficult (though all of the aspects have potential for some fog with Neptune!). 

Since Neptune is at home in Pisces, this just reinforces the energy, which can make us extra imaginative, compassionate, intuitive, and sweet - but also give us the extra fog! So for as long as Neptune is in Pisces, it's going to be a little extra.

With Neptune, what usually helps the most is having a strong connection to your intuition. When you can trust your instincts, this can guide you through the fog. That makes it important for all of us to work on that connection so we can get through the fog each year without being mortified by what it was obscuring when it lifts.

It can also help to keep yourself grounded throughout the retrograde. It’s so easy to get sucked into the daydreams and fantasies, and let the fog take over. Grounding yourself can be of great help, and this can actually serve to improve your intuition too.

Suggested Reading: Transit Neptune page for interpretations
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