Feb. 1, 2003 — The New Moon on February 1 is closely aligned with the elusive dreamtime planet Neptune. Neptune was discovered as recently as 1846 by two astronomers, in France and in England, leading to some confusion, a trademark of Neptune. A gas giant planet with a lovely blue color, Neptune has a huge dark storm moving across its surface carrying the wildest winds in the solar system. Four bands form a delicate ring system of ice crystals embedded in a tilted magnetic field. Neptune has nine known moons, the latest just discovered in January 2003! Its largest moon, Triton, orbits backwards and tiny Nereid has the most eccentric, elliptical orbit of any moon in the solar system. The other moons are Larissa, Proteus, Naiad, Galatea, Thalassa and Despina — such Neptunian names!
With an orbit of 165 years, Neptune¹s passage through the zodiac lasts beyond a single lifetime and creates 14-year astrological generations. Though we can¹t see this far-out neighbor of ours, Neptune¹s sign placement suggests some of the confusions, illusions and delusions mystifying the collective consciousness of the time. Neptune has been in Aquarius since 1998, joining Uranus for a double dose of change in that sign of social change, global village, technology and higher mind. Aquarius has the most capacity to step back and see a broad perspective. However, Aquarius can step a little too far out into the ozone, however, and get disconnected, overly rational, or hooked on virtual reality.
An air sign, Aquarius has antennae tuned into the outer atmosphere, out into the ionosphere with highly charged electrical energy. For several years now the Sun has been unusually activated, sending out more and stronger solar energy our way. The Earth¹s magnetic field picks up that increased energy, which excites the ionosphere. With both Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius, we are experiencing this increased frequency, suggesting a global opening the higher mind. Sometimes it also creates short-circuits in our systems. Acupuncture can be a good way to plug back in.
Neptune¹s presence colors this new Moon cycle with a subtle, etheric energy. Master Astrologer Robert Hand once said that Neptune is a higher octave to the Moon; both bring dreams or fantasies, ideals or illusions. It is important to distinguish which is which, and it is very important to which one you are giving your attention. The world is as we dream it, say the great teachers. Are you dreaming a True Dream?
Your attention, your thoughts, and most of all your feeling tone pull toward you that same vibration of energy. The etheric field is an interconnecting medium, the dark energy that physicists now say makes up at least 95% of the universe. Mayan anthropologist and priest Carlos Barrios reports from that tradition that we will become increasingly aware of ether in the new era of the Fifth Sun that starts in 2012, according to the highly sophisticated Mayan calendar. A rarefied element, ether is the underlying medium from which the other four elements (earth, air, fire, water) arise to create matter. Ether transmits waves of energy in a wide range of frequencies. As electromagnetic beings, we each vibrate at certain frequencies according to our level of consciousness, self-awareness and according to what desires, thoughts and feelings we are holding. This vibration is transmitted via our etheric bodies, which connect us with all life force and attract that energy back.
This is a month to fine-tune our etheric bodies and the vibrations we are sending out — an especially good time for prayers, compassion, singing with angels. We may feel increased sensitivity to the energy fields around us, to Nature, to the music and color of our surroundings. Rather than turn to drink and drugs to numb the feelings of sorrow that may come, let us flow into a deeper resonance with the life force, with Love. This New Moon brings to our attention the ongoing stretch of Jupiter across the sky from Neptune, amplifying the etheric field. We get back big time what we send out. It is time to create good, good, good vibrations (remember the Beach Boys).
Let¹s ask the stars to inspire us, those distant fires in the high heavens. We receive the sparkling light of the stars through the etheric field, each star with its unique energy field. Through high tech instruments, the Earth¹s magnetic field demonstrates an intricate and subtle response to energies from space. As Earthlings, we respond as well. We are all made of stardust and shimmer with it.
Neptune is the god of the sea. We are all sailors on the Cosmic Sea. Poetry is appropriate on a Neptunian New Moon. I¹d like to share this poem to remind us of where we stand, on our life boat Earth:
SAILORS
We stand on a large flat rock,
Pounded concave,
An ancient stone holding our feet firm
While pools whirl around us.
Where a willow bends to the earth,
Healing us with its yielding grace,
A waterfall rushes over its edge,
Seeking the sea.
We are cleansed in the falling force of it.
Its electrical song sears our invisible bodies.
A sword of water knights our souls.
We are contained,
Rooted and dancing on a live molten egg,
Shell shimmering in stellar rays
That curve through space
And shower us with ash,
Cosmic dust,
The blessing that wounds,
A vital death that sifts the sleeping core
Of a seed suspended
At the cliff of night.
A shaft thrusts into the ground.
A spring sprouts forth
And rounds itself in motion seaward.
The yearly circle sounds
A series of knells
As planets frequent the moon,
Mirror to the earth¹s star.
These twin lights gather the sky,
Penetrating the rhythm of our breath.
Bonded they sail the tides,
Moving us to and from the shore.
Editor's note: Astrologer Kelley Hunter is a resident of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, where she leads stargazing nights and is studying for her Ph.D. in cosmology and myth and writing on Lilith and the Cosmic Feminine. She will be a speaker at the October 2003 conference of the International Society of Astrological Research in California. Check out her website: www.heliastar.com. To be on her e-mail list for monthly articles or for an astrology consultation, write her at kellhunter@earthlink.net.
An archive of "Cosmic News" articles can be found in the Lifestyles/Advice section of The Source.
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