Written by
Katharina Wehrli
website:www.earthlit.com

NEPTUNE IN EVOLUTIONARY ASTROLOGY
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I first met Maurice Fernandez at the evolutionary astrology conference in Port Townsend, Washington State. The title of his presentation was 'Neptune and the archetype of Pisces, the End of Hope and the Beginning of Truth'. His lecture was at 8:15 am, and as far as my schedule was concerned, this was a most unruly time for such an activity. However, I decided that as a double Pisces my attendance was a must. Once Maurice began talking I was instantly reminded of something my teacher Jeffrey Green once said to me. He had described a specific kind of person who would come to have a lucid significance for me and my work on my future life path. Here was Maurice Fernandez lecturing about Neptune, but I only picked up the trigger of this memory from Jeffrey's prediction. I was fascinated to actually see such a person in front of me after all this time. Eventually Maurice's voice captured my attention. And that's when I got in for a ride I would never forget. Although this had nothing to do with the memory of my teacher's words, it turned out to be a personal confirmation and a prescription for both, my life's purpose as well as its predicaments. Not only could I see this, but actually feel it happening as Maurice continued to deliver his speech. Just as the title of his lecture proclaimed, I was now undoubtedly experiencing the end of hope and the beginning of truth.

There I was sitting in a room together with all these other astrologers, whereas my world was progressively transformed. My past was meeting my future in the present. While not everyone was this conspicuously touched, the applause at the end of Maurice's lecture clearly indicated that he had touched the heart of every soul in the audience. Since that lecture Maurice Fernandez's outstanding methods and trailblazing concepts in the field of evolutionary astrology have augmented my understanding and practical application of my work and studies in this field. My job now is to describe some of the basic paradigms of his work on Neptune. If finishing your copy of this article leaves you even half as pleased as those people who applauded at Maurice's lecture, I will rest assured that my job here is well done.

Neptune symbolizes life in its totality, if one understands Neptune, one understands life better. Neptune is also known as the spiritual planet. We will see what this means in the context of evolutionary astrology. There are many astrological combinations that accentuate this archetype. Even if you are no Pisces, Neptune and the sign of Pisces are located somewhere in your birth chart, and each chart has a twelfth house as well. In case that mystical twelfth house contains no natal planets, Neptune will still be transiting your wheel of life in one place or the other. It means that we all have our lessons to learn regarding this universal paradigm. Furthermore, there are clearly demarcated stages in the process of developing this Neptune/Pisces archetype within your life experience.

Have you ever looked back on a time or sphere in your life, and regarding a certain aspect of this, thought you had been too innocent, trusting or gullibly fearless? Did you then see in this context how you had not been prepared for the specific danger and harm that came your way? The result was a painful experience, trauma, grievance, loss or injustice. You learnt your lesson, but in hindsight you concluded that the price you had paid was unnecessarily high. However, this dire consequence was unnecessary only in retrospect, because at the time you were not prepared to meet the specific danger. Since you did not heed the signs that could have alerted you to a response of fear within your system, you missed to recognize the lurking peril. You might have felt victimized in your pain, but the truth is that you contributed to or caused the damage by a lack of alertness and realism. People with a pronounced Neptune, Pisces or twelfth house emphasis in their birth chart experience this situation quite often. However, when these symbols are highlighted through progressions or transits, this phenomenon can befall virtually anyone. Instead of being a characteristic experience and lesson pertaining to an entire life span, it is then only active and relevant for a period of few years.

Such episodes repeat themselves in similar or different contexts of life, until the person begins to take responsibility for his/her own situation and actions. The individual realizes that fear now has become a commanding element in life, and acknowledges that he/she is vulnerable. It is time to prepare for the risks. With all foolishness vanished, the carefree splendor of life is no longer taken for granted. Once this occurs he/she learns to embrace the immanent danger in life well equipped. The weak ego has grown stronger, strategies to defend oneself have been found, and the immune system is vitalized. Eventually such individuals grow powerful, sometimes even to the point where danger is purposely sought out. Now the pendulum is swinging in the other direction, they seem to have reached a state of invincibility. Some people in this stage act in truly dangerous ways or adopt excessively violent doctrines that are harmful. This stance is created by the hunger for power fueled by their own fear. They try to control life and their fear by becoming the source of fear themselves. Here you have the serial killer, the terrorist or the abusive spouse. Luckily, most people do not gravitate toward such drastic measures. Just to name one example, the infamous Osama Ben Laden is a Pisces. It is quite easy to see how these concepts work in his case. We have now reached the opposite polarity of the original condition where there was no conscious concept of danger at all. In this polarity the ego is engaged in predicting any possible danger to the extreme. Every aspect of life is analyzed and calculated, there is no more imprudent spontaneity, and things are just very proficient. Astrologically this is the Virgo opposition to Pisces.

Nevertheless, life's innate fears and dangers prevail in their own fashion despite acquired skills and efficient strategies. This is where we need to let go of the hard earned control, and realize that we will always be vulnerable and limited. It is simply impossible to become truly invincible the way life appears in this polarity. Fear is a inseparable aspect of life itself. Although the original predicament is remedied by embracing this Virgo polarity in the ways described above, this extreme now needs to be re-balanced and referred back again to the archetype of Pisces we started out from. With the realization that ultimately we do not have control over life, that life happens with or without our cooperation, we are back to the concept of innocence. It is an entirely different kind of innocence from the opening stage. Initially life was taken for granted with unencumbered foolishness. Now innocence means accepting life and its unexpected turns with fear as an ally that helps to signal inherent danger. Moreover, it means letting go into the unknown with the insight that control is an illusion. Ultimately, wherever the planet Neptune is found we are meant to submit with unrestricted devotion to our destiny. Beyond innocence, fear, self preservation, and limiting control, Neptune is calling for the attainment of our true purpose. It is asking us to become bigger than life, to give back with true humility that which has been gathered during our highly individual experience of life. The promise of fulfillment comes through surrendering to what life wants to create through us. As soon as we take success or power for granted, thinking the source of this lies within our control, we are falling pray to that famous Neptunian illusion. It means that the true power is outside of egocentric control. If it is claimed as personal power, Neptune will generate a fall form grace where all that power will vanish in some mysterious way.

True validation is realized through humility of service to others and society, through seeing oneself as a creative vehicle of life's intentions only. It is in this light that Pisces and Neptune not only become spiritual symbols, but the end of hope and the beginning of truth. Hope implies a personal agenda to be accomplished, truth is what is. There is no longer a place one needs to move towards, because one is already there. Hope as a presupposed egocentric act of the individual's will becomes now obsolete. There is no way to know what lies ahead, nor is there a method of controlling it. The important thing is to keep an open mind, and to have a willingness to do the best we can, step by step. Knowing that the value lies in the effort, evolution can proceed naturally according to its intrinsic laws. Self realization is achieved through concerned forethought, the seasoned skills of self preservation, and finally the spiritual wisdom of letting go into the uncertainties of life. Thus life is the beginning, the teacher and the ultimate source of all. Neptune and the archetype of Pisces contain the seed, the growth and the culmination of this process. It is spiritual in the sense that it teaches letting go of or transcending the personal will. This is not denying any natural process nor desire. Rather it is humbly accepting the divine will, a complete collaboration of the finite with the infinite. What is being transcended is the illusion that true creativity originates from and is owned by the ego. It is the ego's shift in focus from identifying with only itself to identify with the undying soul within. By listening and trying to understand what life wants to create through us we contribute to our evolution in a unique way. Edgar Cayce was a Pisces and his life illustrates this principle here quite accurately.

There are plenty more stages and nuances in Maurice Fernandez's work with Neptune and the archetype of Pisces. He carefully explains and elaborates these concepts in his 4 day course.

If you are interested in hosting this workshop in your city, please contact Maurice for details