Neptune: From a Mythological and Symbolic Perspective
As I’ve been on my astrology journey, one of the ways I’ve connected to the planets has been through their mythological and archetypal correspondences, accompanied by the symbolism astrologers use to describe what the planets signify.
With that in mind, this series of posts, where I’ll cover each planet in our solar system (plus Pluto), I’ll write about their mythology, archetypes, and some general symbolism, including my own observations.
In this post, I will focus on Neptune.
[I will add to this post when I broaden my knowledge of myths, deepen my knowledge of the planets, and make new observations concerning them.]
The Mythology of Neptune
Like Uranus, Neptune is one of the more recently discovered planets in our solar system and may, therefore, not always have a clear-cut association with the deity it’s named after.
Poseidon
In Greek mythology, Poseidon (known as Neptune in Roman Mythology) was the child of Kronos and Rhea. He was first swallowed whole by his father when he was born, and then rescued by Zeus and Rhea.
The siblings thanked Zeus, created a new world order together, and became the Olympian gods. When the three brothers (Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon) were to establish their individual dominions, they drew lots, and Poseidon became lord of the sea, “and thus necessarily the patron deity of navigation and maritime battles” (Giesecke 2020).
Poseidon could be like the oceans he commanded. His state of mind and his mood could change in an instant. Just like the other gods and goddesses, he also had a wide variety of emotions, from being stormy and vain to feeling deep love and bodily lust and everything in between.
While Zeus was wielding thunderbolts that the Cyclopes had made for him, Prometheus received a trident from them, which became his weapon. And while he was associated with the oceans and all the storms, whirlpools, and untethered waves, he was also associated with earthquakes:
“As he had the ability to calm and stir up the seas, he was both savior and potential nemesis of sailors and fishermen. Poseidon was also the god of earthquakes, described by Homer as the ‘Earthshaker’ who caused the earth to tremble when he struck it with his trident” (Giesecke 2020).
Just like his brother Zeus, Prometheus spent most of his time pursuing beautiful girls and boys and fathering many demigods, monsters, and human heroes.
“While the sea goddess Amphitrite was called his consort, as well as mother by him of Triton, Poseidon had numerous extramarital amorous encounters. Among the best known of these was his pursuit of a grief-stricken Demeter, whom he pursued while she searched for her daughter, Persephone; in order to escape him, Demeter transformed herself into a mare, but Poseidon could not be deceived and, in turn, became a stallion, in this way fathering the immortal horse Arion” (Giesecke 2020). And so, horses became associated with Poseidon.
While the mythology of the other gods and goddesses that the planets in our solar system are named after usually go very well hand-in-hand, Neptune is a fairly newly discovered planet, as mentioned above. I don’t know if there is any merit to this idea, but I feel like the people who chose to name the planet Neptune did so because we used to believe Neptune was a blue planet and, therefore, could be easily associated with the oceans (i.e., Poseidon’s domain). Again, this may or may not be true.
Either way, it can be beneficial to look at other mythological beings and archetypes to understand the archetype of Neptune better. For example, the story of the hero called Orpheus.
Orpheus
Orpheus feels to me like the ultimate Neptunian hero. He was the son of the muse Calliope or Polyhymnia and “the Thracian king Oeagrus or, alternatively, Apollo, who was said to have taught him how to play the lyre” (Giesecke 2020). His skill with the lyre was one of his greatest powers. “The Thracians were the most musical of the peoples of Greece. But Orpheus had no rival there or anywhere except the gods alone. There was no limit to his power when he played and sang. No one and nothing could resist him” (Hamilton 1942).
While Orpheus was one of the participants in Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece, the myth of the loss of his wife and his own death illustrates the Neptunian archetype very well.
Orpheus was married to a nymph called Eurydice, who was bitten by a serpent as she was fleeing the advances of Aristaeus, who was credited with the invention of several rural arts like beekeeping. The bite resulted in Eurydice’s death, and Orpheus followed her into the underworld, moving Hades, Persephone, and the other dwellers there into tears with his music. “The regents of the Underworld permitted Orpheus a reprieve: he could lead Eurydice back up to the world of the living, but he must not look back until he emerged from the land of the dead” (Giesecke 2020). Out of worry or longing, or both, he looked back just before Eurydice was outside the bounds of the underworld, and she was taken from him again.
Losing her again, Orpheus was so struck by grief that he “wandered the earth lamenting, moving animals, stones, and even trees with his plaintive songs. For three years he lamented, remaining true to Eurydice’s memory and, by spurning their advances, angered some Thracian Maenads who tore him limb from limb. While the rest of him lay where he was killed, his still-singing head and sounding lyre were carried along the streams of the Hebrus River to the sea and eventually to the island of Lesbos, home of inspired poets” (Giesecke 2020), where “the Muses found it and buried it in the sanctuary of the island” (Hamilton 1942). The connection here to poets (the poet Sappho was from Lesbos, which is from where we gotten words like “lesbian” and “sapphic”) is very Neptunian.
The Symbolism of Neptune
General Overview
Domicile: Pisces (in modern astrology)
Detriment: Virgo (in modern astrology)
Discovered in 1846
Neptune spends approximately fourteen years in each sign.
Symbolism
Neptune is connected to the transcendental, otherworldly, spiritual, mystical, and dreamy. While Jupiter is connected to belief, Neptune is closer to faith. Neptune can also have a desire to experience something transcendent, like experiencing or creating transcendental beauty through art.
Due to Neptune's dreamy nature, it also signifies the shadow side of escapism and illusions. Becoming addicted to escapism is also associated with Neptune, as addiction is also a part of Neptune and can be a part of the otherworldly, transcendental experiences or something that takes us out of our current reality, which is also connected to Neptune.
Neptune is also connected to idealism. It can be the idealistic standards we set in certain areas of our lives, as well as the unwillingness or incapability of seeing the reality of certain situations and/or relationships. Neptune is often described as being foggy or murky, so the incapability of seeing things for what they are can be an issue. Confusion and deception are also connected to Neptune, perhaps due to its foggy quality.
Neptune is also connected to eroding boundaries and, in that way, a desire to merge.
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Sources
Brennan, Chris. The Astrology Podcast, episode 326: “Neptune in Astrology: Meaning Explained” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NTKvrrim_c), 2021-11-03.
Fry, Stephen. Mythos. Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House), 2017.
Giesecke, Annette. Classical Mythology A to Z. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2020 (ebook).
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 1942 (ebook).
