Hermetic astrology teaches that each planet plays a unique role in global affairs. Their astral vibrations operate through human actors who precipitate events and conditions. Humanity’s mundane agenda moves along.
Mars is the planet of competition, conflict, war and manufacturing; Jupiter is all about diplomacy, finances, the law and courts; Saturn’s focus is self-interest, safety, security and economy; Uranus is the disruptor planet that agitates for change and reform; Neptune is the planet of idealism, visionary schemes, involved affairs, drugs, slavery of all types and dramatic art; and Pluto fosters group cooperation, agreement and universal welfare or division, polarization, disinformation and selfish grabbing.
Mars pursues cutthroat competition and gunboat diplomacy, Venus and Jupiter are the peace planets, Saturn’s chief interest is self-preservation, and Uranus and Neptune are the freedom planets.
The upper-octave vibrations of Uranus and Neptune stimulate freedom uprisings, liberation movements and emancipation from legal, social, or political restrictions; and Higher-Pluto’s spiritual vibration encourages unselfish cooperative effort that contributes to the common good.
And in the Age of Aquarius Uranus, Neptune and Pluto will play a crucial role in freeing the world from the economic, political and intellectual tyranny which characterized the Age of Pisces.
Hermetic astrology teaches that humanity’s natural heritage from the Age of Aquarius is: Freedom from want and fear, and freedom of expression and worship; and that Neptune’s idealism demands that all of humanity will have equal economic, political and educational opportunities and equal opportunities to use recreational, health and other public services.
Humanity will not be denied these freedoms and opportunities but their realization through political and diplomatic channels will be thwarted by powerful opposition from self-interest groups that are intent on maintaining their positions of special privilege.
To reach its full potential Aquarius must eliminate special privilege in all its forms.
So, the emancipation of all the people of the world will involve massive struggle, conflict and war and the Neptune cycle will play a crucial role in this unfolding astrological drama.
The 1944 Neptune cycle
The most recent 1944 Neptune cycle commenced with humanity suffering the hardships of World War 2. In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Adolph Hitler was intent on enslaving the world and six years later, in August 1945, the war ended when America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan surrendered. This had a freeing influence on humanity and put emancipation high on the global agenda.
But Pluto – the planet of division – immediately split the world into an East-West divide. And the ideological, political and economic tensions between the East – the USSR and Eastern Europe – and West – the USA and Western Europe – known as the Cold War lasted from 1945 till 1989.
It was essentially a no-shooting war between the capitalists and the communists and while there were some dangerous moments the real danger concerned the human-rights abuses and economic repressions inflicted on the people of Eastern Europe. Emancipation was on Neptune’s agenda but the next big wave of liberation had to wait till a new Uranus cycle in 1969 and the in-sky Uranus-Neptune conjunctions in 1989.
The 1944 Neptune cycle was operating in a very difficult global environment and in May 1986 the situation took a drastic turn for the worse. In the Aquarian Age chart, the vernal equinox moved to form a square aspect with progressed Pluto signaling the start of a prolonged period of division, disunity and coercive control.
Hermetic astrology teaches that Lower-Pluto actively works to create division by blocking agreements that permit friendly cooperation between nations and groups; and that an outstanding characteristic of an afflicted Pluto is that the formation of a group to carry out a worthwhile purpose triggers the formation of another group that drastically opposes it and tries to block its efforts.
The division, typical of Pluto, primarily expressed through the two rulers of Aquarius – Saturn and Uranus – as society split into two diametrically forces: one driven by fear, conservatism and nationalistic self-interest and the other by progressive liberalism and democratic freedom.
From May 1986 to c. October 2013 when the equinox-Pluto square reached peak power the strength of the forces opposing Neptune’s emancipation and humanity’s Aquarian Age freedom heritage was overwhelming. The equinox-progressed Pluto square ends sometime in 2042.
Neptune in its 1944 cycle chart was semisquare Moon (the common people), sesquisquare Venus (women and socializing) and semisquare Jupiter (finances, living costs and obesity) and its discord expressed through illusion, gullibility, online dating, scams, fraud, swindles, embezzlement, drug taking and easy fixes to difficult problems.
Neptune was trine Uranus and sextile Pluto and its harmony expressed through innovation, technology, smartphones, social media and the internet; and groups that worked to rid the world of oppression, injustice, persecution, tyranny and exploitation.
And it’s presumed that from 1944 to 2026 some progress was made in freeing people from political and intellectual tyranny but it’s impossible to measure.
Important events associated with the cycle occurred when progressed Neptune formed an aspect with another planet, ascendant or Midheaven in a specified chart and if Neptune’s utopia is a world free from disease, then all eyes were on its miracle drugs and the pharmaceutical industry.
Ozempic (semaglutide) was first approved by the FDA in America on December 5, 2017 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Progressed Neptune was parallel progressed Neptune in the Aquarian Age chart and progressed Neptune was semisextile Midheaven in America’s Neptune cycle chart.
Then in June 2021, under the brand name Wegovy, the FDA approved a higher-dose formulation for chronic weight management in adults with obesity and overweight conditions and amplified by social media Ozempic’s popularity surged.
It became a commercial and cultural phenomenon and in 2026 the next generation of these amazing slimming drugs are set to arrive and they’ll be cheaper, more effective and longer lasting.
But they only address the biological cause of the problem and fail to treat the thought cause and the discordant thought-cell activity that’s responsible for the overweight condition will continue to manifest in other ways and there’ll be unexpected side-effects
Neptune’s capacity to exaggerate and deceive is evident when it’s realized that most drugs available today are designed to treat symptoms, slow disease progression, or manage chronic conditions, rather than cure disease.
Neptune’s grandest ideal
Venus and Jupiter are the peace planets and in 2025 progressed Venus was conjunction birth chart Neptune and progressed Jupiter was conjunction progressed Neptune in the Aquarian Age chart yet these peace aspects were no match for Mars.
Its violence continued unabated with Isreal’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza, the mass killing of civilians in Suden and conflict in Nigeria and Myanmar. Murder, torture, barbarity and rape took place with few consequences for the perpetrators. Many believed that the world’s rules-based order was breaking down and there was no longer any moral authority.
Then on February 5, 2026 the last nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia expired raising fears of a new arms race. It helped prevent a catastrophic nuclear war and experts warned that the architecture and frameworks that helped keep the world safe were now at risk of unravelling. Mars was conjunction Pluto in the sky.
The world is currently in a troubled state but in time the division, polarity, hate and conflict will be resolved, primarily through education. Peace, harmony and freedom will prevail and in Neptune’s Aquarian age utopia people will acquire and utilize the facts of astrology, extrasensory perception, induced emotion and directed thinking.
They will be taught the principles on which the universe is run; and they’ll understand they have a soul, of what it consists, how it has arrived at its present state of development, and its opportunities for continued progress in astral realms.
It’s an Aquarian age ideal that people will use their own extrasensory perception to investigate nature or accept the findings of those who have used theirs to investigate other realms of life. And as their conception of nature broadens they’ll understand that there are inner planes of existence where intelligences dwell and where they will dwell when their physical existence and training is completed.
They will perceive that they are being educated now, and on the inner planes in the future, to perform a significant function in the universal scheme.
This realization – that all are being educated to fill a niche in the cosmic scheme of the future – will bring the conviction that all should have as many opportunities in human life as possible. And that all should have the four freedoms because, among other things, this will facilitate their education and the welfare of the whole depends on their education.
Eventually people will acquire a true awareness of how the universe is managed and that the world should run on the principle of specialization of parts, division of labor and complete cooperation of the parts and not cutthroat competition and war. This is Neptune’s grandest ideal.
This article contains words written by Elbert Benjamine.
Astrology for Aquarius – sharing our knowledge
