The Recent Jupiter-Neptune Square (November 2018 - November 2019): A Panoptic
***The following article is informed by the tradition of archetypal astrology. More specifically, I have relied on the methodology and theoretical framework outlined by Richard Tarnas in his masterful book 'Cosmos and Psyche'. A brief introduction to the fundamental concepts of archetypal astrology is available on Richard Tarnas's website: https://cosmosandpsyche.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/introductiontoastrology1.pd***
***It is my opinion that the intricate patterns of meaning that astrology reveals are best understood within the metaphysical view of monistic idealism, which posits that mind is the essence of reality. For those who are interested in a rigorous and empirically grounded formulation of the idealist worldview, I thoroughly recommend the work of Bernardo Kastrup. His essay titled 'Not Its Own Meaning: A Hermeneutic of the World' is especially relevant with respect to the question of astrology, and can be read freely on this link: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/3/55***
Before proceeding any further, I want to be clear about what I mean by an 'archetype'. An archetype is a universal essence, or principle, which informs and gives structure to reality at a very deep level. Archetypes are multidimensional and multivalent; they express themselves across many realms of experience simultaneously, and entail a complex multiplicity of meanings. For instance, the Uranus archetype can be expressed as both technological innovation and political revolution. A singular archetype can be at once: physical, metaphysical, emotional, sensual, behavioural, ideological, artistic, thematic, scientific, historic, etc. The archetypes possess a seemingly limitless malleability. In the words of Carl Jung:
The Jupiter (♃) archetype is one of optimism, expansion, growth, and success. It's generally regarded as a positive ("benefic") influence and is associated with material abundance, good luck, and the expansion of cultural and intellectual horizons; more specifically, it finds expression in the impulses for long-distance travel and higher education. Jupiter finds particular embodiment in the institution of the university; correspondingly, the overarching tendency of Jupiter is towards liberality and breadth of experience, with an emphasis on higher knowledge and expertise.
Jupiter has a philosophical and worldly nature, it is outward looking and connected to migration, globalism, and international affairs. Jupiter is associated with global trends and the big picture. Jupiter is the archetype of exploration, it seeks to traverse expansive terrain, both physical and intellectual. Due to its far reaching and worldly inclination, planes and airports often feature in news stories and events that are related to the Jupiter archetype. Likewise, Jupiter brings an acute emphasis on travel and tourism, alongside a heightened proclivity for enjoyment. Its influence is optimistic and uplifting.
Jupiter is related to economic matters, and to the tendency to experience growth and accumulation. Jupiter has a strong association with capitalism, finance and commercial enterprises. It is associated with great heights, both literal and metaphorical, and with the propensity for a person or idea to rise in rank and public estimation. It is associated with big business and political leaders. The hallmarks of Jupiter's influence are prestige, prominence and publicity.
Extraordinary accomplishments and victories tend to occur during major alignments involving Jupiter. When Jupiter forms an aspect to another planet this signifies the elevation, or expansion, of the other planetary archetype within the world zeitgeist. Related to its ascending, or elevating tendency, is an association with mountains, and with royalty; especially with the archetype of The King. It is the archetype of sophistication, celebration, and luxury. Festivals, parades, and parties tend to accompany alignments involving Jupiter. The more negative connotations of Jupiter include a tendency towards hubris, and an over inflated sense of importance; the pride before the fall. It often indicates greed, or a tendency towards overindulgence and excess of various kinds.
Neptune (♆) is the archetype of dreaming, symbolism, spirituality, and imagination. It is idealistic, in both the senses of hopefulness and intangibility. Neptune has a special connection to the realm of myth and fantasy, and in its deepest sense, to the realm of the archetypes themselves - to those innermost patterns of the psyche, whose intricate relations are reflected in the cosmos. The idealistic and imaginative Neptune archetype stands in stark contrast to the principle of 'hard reality'; to density, doubt, scepticism, and crass materialism.
Neptune has a deep affinity with the water element, in particular with the ocean. The qualities of water, such as shapelessness and transparency, provide important clues to understanding the Neptune archetype, which is always seeking to dissolve boundaries and to undermine the apparent solidity of things. Water can assume many forms, such as rain or steam, whilst always remaining true to itself, in much the same way that an archetype can. The perceptual distortions that water can produce - the blurring, warping, and rippling of reflections - are likewise demonstrative of Neptune's activity. This shape-shifting quality is connected to the tendency towards illusion or deceit, which is often indicated by Neptune. Visions, hallucinations and mirages are all motifs that express this influence; as are lies, frauds, and hoaxes.
In the form of mist or fog, water embodies the Neptune tendency towards obfuscation. It often has a concealing or vanishing effect upon people or things that are under its influence. Neptune is a master of disguise and the emissary of all hidden worlds. It is implicated in all that is subtle, mysterious, ambiguous, or intangible. In fiction, Neptune is associated with fairy tales and with the tropes of the fantasy genre: with magic spells, psychic abilities, and supernatural phenomena of all kinds. It is the archetype of The Wizard; of all that is otherworldly, peculiar, and enchanted.
Neptune has a profound connection to the medium of film and photography, and in particular to the world of glamour and illusion that is embodied by Hollywood. This enchanted location where dreams are simultaneously manufactured and pursued, reflects the dual nature of Neptune as both spiritual seeker and grand illusionist. The experience of watching a film is very similar to dreaming, both activities require - to use another aquatic metaphor - a kind of immersion in an imagined world, alongside the overlooking, or forgetting, of one's personal identity; temporary dissociation or amnesia; and the 'suspension of disbelief'.
Neptune is associated with alterations of consciousness - with dreams, imagination, and intoxication. Both the debasement of consciousness, as experienced in an alcoholic stupor, and the refinement of consciousness, such as that experienced under the influence of a psychedelic, are possible under a Neptune influence. The language used to describe psychedelic trips, and the profound alterations of consciousness that they induce, is highly evocative of the Neptune archetype. Psychedelic experiences often entail the following features: exquisite sensitivity to one's surroundings; extremely vivid hallucinations; an overwhelming sense of profundity; a heightened capacity to discern symbolic meaning in art and life; enhanced feelings of empathy; and the potential for cosmic union. The negative potential of Neptune is likewise encapsulated by the typical 'bad trip' experience: loss of contact with consensus reality; paranoid delusions; extreme confusion; and disorientation.
Neptune is the archetype of The Mystic, or yogi, the spiritual devotee who seeks union with the absolute: the transcendent reality that underlies all temporary appearances. It is in this spiritual context that the watery metaphors associated with Neptune achieve their most profound resonance, for the mystic is like the temporary ripple on the surface of the ocean: the mystic must look within so as to recognise her unity with the depths of being, thus dissolving into the ocean of spirit; Brahman; or, pure consciousness. The Mystic is the one who awakens from the dream of separate existence to the reality of divine unity. This has been conceptualised in a variety of ways by the world's religious and spiritual traditions - in Christianity, the figure of Jesus represents a particular inflection of this archetype, one that emphasises self sacrifice and martyrdom. Broadly put, Neptune is always seeking to weaken or dissolve the limited, egoic identity in favour of the all encompassing whole. Neptune is, by extension, the archetype of universality and compassion.
Neptune is the archetype of utopia, its function is to imagine a better, more ideal world, and to seek peace both within and without, but inherent within the spiritual and utopian associations of Neptune is a deep sense of longing, which can be painful. The very same longing for transcendence that compels the spiritual quest can also manifest as a proclivity for many kinds of addiction, or as dysfunctional escapism and an unhealthy denial of reality; these tendencies reflect the shadow side of Neptune. In this way, the Neptune archetype is also connected to the myth of Narcissus: this profound myth, in which the beautiful Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection, underscores the potential for the spiritual seeker to fall into a trance, or to lose himself in egoistic fantasies.
The term 'Jupiter-Neptune complex' or 'Jupiter-Neptune', refers to the complex web of meanings that are associated with the interaction of these planetary archetypes, and includes both the harmonious and stressful aspects of their combination. Hard aspect alignments tend to draw forth especially potent interactions between Jupiter and Neptune, in which the two archetypes simultaneously combine, contrast, oppose, complement, inflect, modulate, and merge with one another. As with any astrological complex, the planetary archetypes involved exert a bidirectional influence upon each other: the Jupiter archetype affects the expression of the Neptune archetype, and vice versa. These interactions can be roughly circumscribed into two categories, or vectors of influence:
Neptune has a tendency to veil, or conceal from view, whichever planetary archetype it makes contact with. When Neptune forms a major aspect to Jupiter, it tends to obscure the realms of business, travel, and international affairs. This can entail: the concealment of vast wealth; the disappearance of tourists and explorers; secrecy that relates to international affairs; confusion and deception that relates to travel; and the clandestine flow of people and commodities across the globe. Likewise, the unifying impulse of Neptune tends to have international consequences when in aspect to Jupiter, which may include: the blurring or confusion of national boundaries; the unification of different countries; the sensitisation of global networks; and peace between nations.
The imaginative impulse of Neptune applies to Jupiter in a variety of ways, such as: the projected illusion of wealth; enchantment with leaders and royalty; the idealisation of large businesses and corporations; the romanticising of travel and exploration; and naive optimism. Similarly, the watery, flowing impulse of Neptune can influence the Jupiterian world of finance through compassionate expenditure; sunk costs; and financial liquidation. Neptune is also the rain on Jupiter's parade.
As far as astrological aspects go, squares are considered to be fairly stressful. They signify a highly dynamic, and often conflicting interaction between the planets. They tend to produce sharply defined events that express the meaning of the associated planetary archetypes. They can have both positive and negative effects, but the jarring and problematic expressions tend to be especially prominent. The evidence that I have collated in the following sections, whilst fairly wide ranging, is limited to those occurrences that were widely reported on, and represents only a small fragment of the archetypal phenomena that was relevant to the alignment. It would have been impractical to document everything that I observed, let alone everything that I inevitably missed, so I have focused on only the most conspicuous and culturally significant events. This analysis is fairly eurocentric, so I hope you can forgive this shortcoming as an artefact of my own limited knowledge of recent world events.
In many regions throughout the world, massive floods and higher than average rainfall accompanied the Jupiter-Neptune square. The increased flooding and precipitation reflects the amplifying tendency of Jupiter exerting its influence on Neptune's elemental domain (Jupiter→Neptune), Neptune being the archetype of water. These weather events, alongside their planetary counterparts, can be construed as 'living symbols' of fundamentally mental activity that is unfolding at a deep level of the universal mind. A few examples of this tendency, which all occurred when Jupiter and Neptune were within 10° of exact, include the devastating floods that resulted from the wetter than average monsoon season in India, which impacted the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat[8]; the flash flooding that affected large parts of Iran during March and April[9]; and the unprecedented floods in the U.S. which were concentrated around the tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers[10]. Meanwhile, the Bahamas were devastated by Hurricane Dorian; the most intense tropical cyclone in their country's history.[11] Whilst floods and hurricanes are not an uncommon occurrence throughout the world, the high number of hugely impactful events that occurred in 2019 was suggestive of an underlying archetypal dynamic.
These floods, which largely resulted from record breaking rainfall in the affected areas, provide striking illustrations of the Jupiter→Neptune archetypal vector. The inverse vector (Neptune→Jupiter) was also discernible in the huge economic losses entailed by the disruption of the affected areas, given that Jupiter is strongly associated with the realm of economics. To give just one example: the Mississippi River floods resulted in widespread loss of crops; the resulting economic stress was further compounded by many delayed shipments of agricultural commodities due to difficulties with commercial navigation arising from high water levels. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) has estimated that flooding caused over 2 billion dollars in damage.[12]
Jupiter is the fundamental archetype of higher education, it is that which aspires to enhance, broaden and uplift. It seeks to expand the scope of knowledge across every field and to widen perspectives. It is jovial, liberal and adventurous. It is associated with great intellectual achievements and lofty moral ideals. Jupiter is the essence of the university. It is to be expected, therefore, that the institutions of higher education will be subject to all manner of fraudulence when Jupiter forms a hard aspect with Neptune, which was exactly what happened during the square alignment. In March 2019, it was revealed that several elite universities in America had been subject to criminal interference with their admissions procedures.[14] The scheme, which was masterminded by William Rick Singer, enabled parents of prospective college students to cheat the admissions process in exchange for large sums of money. The investigation into these crimes has implicated at least 53 people, and hundreds of parents, including a number of celebrities, are suspected of having sought the assistance of the fraudsters. Some of the methods used to deceive admissions departments included the inflation of test scores by underhand means, and the fabrication of sporting credentials.
On the more benign end of the fakery spectrum was the "Momo Challenge" which took the form of panicked media reports about a macabre challenge from a mysterious character named 'Momo' that had 'gone viral' on social media and was causing children and adolescents to perform acts of violence, self harm, and suicide. Despite claims of a worldwide Momo phenomenon, no actual harm has been reported by any law enforcement agency. This alleged phenomenon was initially reported in July of 2018 when Jupiter was forming a close-to-exact trine aspect with Neptune (another hoax occurring around this time was the 'grievance studies affair'). Reports subsided after this brief alignment but returned in a more volatile form in early 2019 when the square aspect was in effect; it was during this period that fears about Momo reached a point of hysteria following an official warning from the Police Service of Northern Ireland that seemed to give credibility to the stories.[15] Subsequent analysis of the Momo phenomenon has highlighted the role of irresponsible reporting by media outlets in what was ultimately a moral panic over the use of technology by children.
The square alignment also coincided with heightened interest in a new image manipulation technique known as 'Deepfake'; this is the the ability to combine and superimpose existing videos and images onto source videos and images using advanced machine learning techniques. Videos that illustrate this technique by transplanting the face of one celebrity on to that of another were shared widely over social media throughout 2019. One such video, uploaded to YouTube by Ctrl Shift Face, features the comedian Bill Hader doing an impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger that sees the comedian's face morph seamlessly back and forth between Schwarzenegger's and his own (Schwarzenegger is in many respects a living embodiment of the Saturn-Pluto complex, the fact that Hader chooses to impersonate him suggests a fluid interplay between the two archetypal complexes as they were simultaneously activated). The video has acquired over 10 million views at the time of writing.
As you can see in the video, deepfake is capable of generating some truly jarring and highly convincing illusions. This has led to much consternation from commentators who are concerned about the potentially damaging effects that the abuse of this technique could have on society, particularly with respect to fake news the widely anticipated loss of control over the likeness of a given individual. This problematic dimension of the deepfake technique is emblematic of the square aspect and its inherent association with challenging or frictious manifestations.
In addition to the distortions of the truth that are mentioned above, a number of incidents were reported during the square alignment that were highly doubtful, but which have not been confirmed as hoaxes. These include the alleged suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, and the incident in the Gulf of Oman in June, in which Iran was blamed for attacking two oil tankers with limpet mines. These occurrences recall similar events in 2003 when simultaneous hard aspect alignments of Jupiter-Neptune and Saturn-Pluto were also in effect, namely the bogus claims about Iraq that were made in the lead up to the Iraq invasion; and the alleged suicide of weapons expert David Kelly, which was regarded as highly suspicious at the time. These events suggest a dark interplay between the two archetypal complexes in which the Jupiter-Neptune proclivity for elaborate deception may have converged with the Saturn-Pluto themes of grave wrongdoing and geopolitical tension.
True to form, Trump doubled down on his initial claim over the week that followed, despite the refutations from expert meteorologists, and made repeated assertions that Alabama was indeed under threat from Dorian. Trump's obstinate denial of the facts reached a crescendo on September 4th when he displayed reporters a weather map (above) which had been altered with a Sharpie pen to include Alabama in the hurricane's path.
Aladdin has an especially profound resonance with the Jupiter-Neptune complex. The character of the Genie is, in many respects, the personification of this archetypal complex: in his capacity to grant wishes he expresses the magical proclivities of Neptune alongside the abundance, benevolence, and joviality that are characteristic of the Jupiter archetype. Another expression of this archetypal tendency can be discerned in the narrative: Aladdin wishes for the Genie to disguise (Neptune) him as a wealthy prince (Jupiter) so that he may impress Princess Jasmine; the obfuscation of Aladdin's true identity and the projected illusion of wealth and royalty provide a vivid illustration of the Neptune→Jupiter archetypal vector. Both the 1992 and 2019 versions of Aladdin were released during Jupiter-Neptune square alignments. Recall the aforementioned Panama Papers scandal, which also occurred under a Jupiter-Neptune alignment, and we can intuit that both the illusion of wealth and the concealment of wealth are expressions of the same archetypal complex.
The square alignment also coincided with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, which featured the super-villain Mysterio; a holographic-illusions specialist who is seeking advanced technology to enhance the scale of his illusions (Jupiter→Neptune). One of the film's set-piece action sequences sees Mysterio (below) enter into battle with a gigantic elemental being made of water (Jupiter→Neptune) which is later revealed to be an illusion; not unlike Trump's Alabama hurricane forecast. The Mysterio plot inserts a short-lived Jupiter-Neptune theme into the broader world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - an epic drama of Promethean empowerment - which is itself an expression of the longer lasting Uranus-Pluto square alignment (2007 - 2020).
In addition to the spike in animated film fantasies during the square alignment, a parallel tendency can be discerned in the conspicuous amount of film and television that focused on classic Jupiter-Neptune themes, namely: illusions, delusions, and hoaxes. An especially noteworthy entry into this category was Can You Ever Forgive Me?, a biographical film about American author Lee Israel who became infamous for committing literary forgeries. Israel was born during the Jupiter-Neptune opposition of 1939 and committed her crimes during the square alignment of the early 1990s, this convergence of events around recurrent planetary alignments reveals a diachronic pattern of archetypal meaning that found renewed relevance, upon the release of the film, during the 2019 square alignment.
Another film in this vein was the Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, which chronicled the personalities and events surrounding a fraudulent "luxury music festival" that ended in complete disaster on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma.[21] The Fyre Festival was preceded by extravagant promotion on social media platforms, including endorsements from celebrities. The opening weekend was beset by numerous organisational problems, including issues with food and accommodation, which resulted in the festival being postponed indefinitely. Jupiter, as the archetype of celebration, exoticism, extravagance, and luxury, was clearly indicated in the branding of Fyre Festival, as it was also indicated in the brazen overconfidence of the festival's organisers. Likewise, the location of the festival on an island; the ultimately fraudulent nature of the marketing exercise; and the dissolution of the festival into a mass of confusion, are symptomatic of Neptune's influence.
A different expression of the Jupiter-Neptune complex was illuminated via Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The film, which is set in 1969 Los Angeles, serves as Tarantino's deeply affectionate homage to the classical period of Hollywood cinema. In archetypal terms, this film is a Jupiterian tribute, or celebration, of the Neptune signified realm of Hollywood (Jupiter→Neptune).
The peace process reached a new phase in 2019 when the square alignment moved into orb. This phase was marked by a more tense exchange between North Korea and the US, in which the two countries disagreed over proposed trade-offs: the US demanding that North Korea dismantle its nuclear facilities; North Korea in turn demanding an end to severe economic sanctions (estimated to have caused over half a million deaths since 2003).[24] This phase of the negotiations included a highly publicised summit between the leaders of all three nations, which took place on June 30 - when the square was exact to within 2° - in the Korean Demilitarised Zone; the buffer zone between the North and South. The meeting was historically significant for the fact that Trump briefly crossed the border into North Korea; the first time a sitting US president had done so.[25]
It is not clear to what extent these negotiations represent real progress. A cynical observer of these events might be inclined to dismiss the grand gestures of 2019 as mere empty spectacle. The inflated rhetoric that emerged from both the Korean and American camps, and the resulting photo opportunities, were faintly reminiscent of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama, and the arguably hollow nature of that gesture in hindsight, and the US continues to implement harsh sanctions against North Korea. Whilst it is true that these negotiations may have put image before substance, they might also have laid the groundwork for future peace, and ultimately the reunification of Korea; it remains to be seen. Both the positive and negative inflections of the Jupiter-Neptune complex can be read into these events.
As we have established, airports are associated with Jupiter, and Neptune is associated with subtle influences: with things that are minute, imagined, invisible, or elusive. The alleged drone sighting that effectively shut down Gatwick airport was therefore congruent with the archetypal qualities of Neptune - in proportion to the size of the planes; the likely cost to the airlines; and the vast number of people that were affected (approximately 140,000), the tiny drone that allegedly caused all the chaos seems almost comically insignificant. This is an illustration of the Jupiter→Neptune vector in which a very subtle influence (Neptune) was amplified and was consequently able to exert a massive effect (Jupiter). It was simultaneously an illustration of the inverse vector (Neptune→Jupiter) in the sense that the commercial aviation business, a corporate enterprise with a massive scope (Jupiter), was revealed to be highly sensitive (Neptune) to a seemingly minor disruption.
Even more perplexing was the subsequent investigation, which proved thoroughly inconclusive. Despite numerous alleged sightings and two false arrests, no actual evidence of the drone was obtained by police, and this has led to speculation that the drone was a complete fabrication.[28] If so, the entire incident may amount to a collective hallucination, which would also be fitting with the meaning of Jupiter-Neptune.
As previously discussed, the archetypal impulse of Jupiter expresses itself in the form of long distance travel, which includes migration. The covert and seaborne nature of these migrations suggest that Neptune was modulating the archetypal impulse of Jupiter in accordance with its secretive and aquatic nature (Neptune→Jupiter). An abundance of maritime activity is also suggestive of the inverse vector (Jupiter→Neptune). Another aspect of this situation that suggested an activated Jupiter-Neptune complex was the fraudulent claim, repeated by many of the smugglers, that the opportunity to enter the UK in this fashion would come to an abrupt end upon the implementation of brexit.
The UK was not the only country to experience this phenomenon during the square alignment. In October, Germany warned of the increasing risk of another migrant crisis, as seaborne migration into Europe soared once again throughout 2019. As of October, U.N. data shows that almost 45,600 migrants arrived in Europe by sea.[32] In August, Greece saw the highest monthly arrival numbers since the EU struck a deal with Turkey in the final months of the preceding Jupiter-Neptune opposition. This resurgence suggests a diachronic pattern of seaborne migration that is linked to cyclical alignments of Jupiter-Neptune.
The unexpected success of this meme led Matty Roberts, the event's creator, to capitalise on the fervour by promoting an alien themed music festival that would take place in the vicinity of Area 51 over the weekend of September 20th. As enthusiasm for the event continued to rise, concerns about safety and lack of infrastructure began to circulate, which ultimately led to the amateur festival organisers backing out of the event. At this point, the momentum around the planned "Alienstock" festival had spiralled out of Roberts' control, and business owners in Nevada were continuing in their somewhat precarious plans to host the festival. Parallels began to be drawn between Alienstock and the above mentioned Fyre Festival, including a statement from the festival's originators that "... we are not interested in, nor will we tolerate any involvement with a FYREFEST 2.0..."
Upon the scheduled date of the event, about 150 people were reported to have shown up outside the entrance to area 51, with none succeeding in entering the site. Two separate alien-themed music festivals did go ahead and achieved an estimated attendance of around 3,000, far short of the 25,000 that were anticipated before Roberts' departure. Despite the widespread fears about infrastructure and organisation, the Alienstock weekend appears not to have been a total disaster. Accounts of the festivities span a range of responses, from mirthful silliness to bitter disappointment at the alleged 'selling out' of the original spirit of the event.[36] In its most positive sense, this event expressed the celebratory impulse of Jupiter as it applied to Neptune's domain of mystery and the unseen (Jupiter→Neptune); a massive party (Jupiter) that was surreal, confusing, and otherworldly (Neptune).
The negative aspects of Jupiter-Neptune were also visible in this event, as the comparisons to Fyre Festival are testament. The obvious resonance between the two events is an indication of their common archetypal origin. A number of shared motifs can be discerned by comparing the two festivals: firstly, an explosion of fanciful imagining that was triggered by a bogus or otherwise insubstantial claim on social media (Jupiter→Neptune); secondly, the projection of completely untethered fantasies onto people and events that ultimately lacked credibility; and finally, the dissolution of these mass events into a morass of confusion and, in many cases, dashed hopes (Neptune→Jupiter).
According to some estimates, the mindfulness industry is now worth close to $4 billion.[37] Critics of corporate mindfulness claim that the practice has been rendered banal through attempts to market the practice as a mere 'stress reduction tool' which can boost corporate profits by preventing employee burnout, whilst ignoring the ethical considerations that are essential to the Buddhist religion. Another troubling aspect of corporate mindfulness is its subtle endorsement of a type of atomised individualism; the implicit suggestion being that happiness, or the lack of it, is entirely our own responsibility. Conspicuously absent from the new mindfulness culture is any analysis of the systemic problems caused by the global capitalist system, namely the obscene levels of inequality, and the planet-wrecking drive towards growth-at-all-costs. This shallow appropriation of Buddhist techniques has been dubbed 'McMindfulness', a term that provided the title of a new book by Ronald Purser, with the subtitle: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality[38]. Purser's book was released in July of this year when Jupiter was approaching the final exact square alignment with Neptune. In a companion piece published in The Guardian, Purser wrote:
Narcissus was not the only mythical figure to make waves in the art world during the square alignment. The Roman god Jupiter, after whom the planet was named, found himself centre stage in a comically symbolic art world drama when a series of paintings of the Roman god came under fresh scrutiny. The Danaë are a series of compositions by the Italian painter Titian that date from the sixteenth century. These paintings depict Danaë, a beautiful princess who was seduced and impregnated by Jupiter. Having descended from Mount Olympus, Jupiter is portrayed as having disguised himself in the form of a shower of golden coins (an unambiguous rendering of the Neptune→Jupiter vector). In a rather extraordinary example of synchronicity, this richly archetypal scene took on renewed relevance during the Jupiter-Neptune square when one of the compositions (below), believed to be Titian's, was declared to be a "dud" by a leading art historian. Professor Charles Hope, an expert on Titian, deemed the painting to be a "later pastiche" produced by a minor hand.[41]
This surprise turn of events endows the composition with an additional layer of archetypal meaning. Both the mythological motif that the painting depicts (the concealment of Jupiter), and the circumstances surrounding its current exhibition, are expressive of the Jupiter-Neptune complex. If Hope is correct, then both the mythical figure of Danaë, and the contemporary art world, have fallen for an elaborate deception.
[1] Jung, Carl. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.
[2] Tarnas, Richard. 'World Transits 2000 - 2020: An Overview', in Archai [http://www.archai.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tarnas-%E2%80%93-World-Transits-2000-2020-%E2%80%93-Archai-Issue-1.pdf]
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/03/jubilee-pageant-thames-flotilla-rain
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/world/americas/ecuador-to-let-assange-stay-in-its-embassy.html
[5] https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/latest/2015/12/5683d0b56/million-sea-arrivals-reach-europe-2015.html
[6] https://www.icij.org/blog/2016/05/icij-releases-panama-papers-offshore-company-data/
[7] https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world
[8] https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145703/unusual-monsoon-season-causes-flooding-in-india
[9] https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/710849530/flooding-in-iran-kills-at-least-70-forces-evacuation-of-thousands?t=1579297827612
[10] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/11/us/midwest-flooding.html
[11] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/eye-of-the-storm/hurricane-dorian-was-worthy-of-a-category-6-rating/
[12] https://www.mrcti.org/mrctiinthenews/2019/4/11/mayors-as-floods-deluge-midwest-towns-where-is-national-response-to-climate-disasters
[13] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/21/actor-jussie-smollett-arrested-in-chicago-say-police
[14] https://www.plutobooks.com/blog/elite-universities-college-admissions-scandal/
[15] https://www.vox.com/2019/3/3/18248783/momo-challenge-hoax-explained
[16] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/boris-johnsons-first-speech-as-prime-minister-24-july-2019
[17] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47678763
[18] http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/trump-draws-alabama-into-dorian-path-rather-than-admit-error.html
[19] http://cbdlin.com/canada-retail/
[20] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/29/county-lines-criminal-drug-networks-rapidly-expanding-national-crime-agency
[21] The Netflix documentary was released in January 2019 during the square alignment and is itself an expression of the Jupiter-Neptune complex. The actual festival occurred during April-May of 2017 when Jupiter and Neptune were not forming a major aspect, nonetheless it did coincide with the briefer quincunx (150°) alignment that preceded the closing square.
[22] https://www.christianpost.com/news/kanye-west-drops-album-jesus-is-king-on-streaming-services.html
[23] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-military/trump-surprises-with-pledge-to-end-military-exercises-in-south-korea-idUSKBN1J812W
[24] https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/cost-sanctions-north-korea/
[25] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/world/asia/trump-north-korea-dmz.html
[26] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49750182
[27] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-46623754
[28] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gatwick-drones-never-existed-sussex-police-investigation-footage-couple-released-a8697306.html
[29] https://time.com/5683934/thomas-cook-travel-collapse/
[30] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50958713
[31] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-49648596
[32] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-ministers/germany-warns-of-repeat-of-2015-eu-migration-chaos-idUSKBN1WN16N
[33] https://phys.org/news/2019-01-chinese-rover-exploring-dark-side.html
[34] https://eventhorizontelescope.org/press-release-april-10-2019-astronomers-capture-first-image-black-hole
[35] https://www.newsweek.com/storm-area-51-aliens-ufos-facebook-naruto-run-1448449
[36] https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/27/20879010/storm-area-51-alienstock-event-photos
[37] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/opinion/sunday/actually-lets-not-be-in-the-moment.html
[38] Purser, Ronald. McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality.
[39] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/14/the-mindfulness-conspiracy-capitalist-spirituality
[40] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/14/stunningly-preserved-fresco-of-narcissus-discovered-in-pompeii
[41] https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/oct/19/authenticity-of-major-titian-the-danae-challenged
***It is my opinion that the intricate patterns of meaning that astrology reveals are best understood within the metaphysical view of monistic idealism, which posits that mind is the essence of reality. For those who are interested in a rigorous and empirically grounded formulation of the idealist worldview, I thoroughly recommend the work of Bernardo Kastrup. His essay titled 'Not Its Own Meaning: A Hermeneutic of the World' is especially relevant with respect to the question of astrology, and can be read freely on this link: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/3/55***
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This article concerns the recent square alignment of the planets Jupiter and Neptune which began in late November 2018 and finished in the middle of November 2019. What follows is my analysis of the alignment across many different realms of experience, from politics through to pop culture, in a global context. My intention has been to probe the deep mystery of our archetypal cosmos, and to further illuminate the astonishing creativity of the universal mind. This article represents my first attempt to document a major alignment of the outer planets; a task that has proven to be a lot more demanding than I initially anticipated. I had intended to write a relatively brief article when the alignment was still operative, but as the alignment progressed it became clear to me that I would not be able to do justice to the full spectrum of meanings that were signified by the alignment without writing a significantly longer piece. The more I paid attention, the more I was overwhelmed by the sheer range of phenomena, both subtle and dramatic, that appeared to correlate with the alignment, and the more it seemed futile to try to capture it all. The result is a distillation of the observed phenomena that hopefully conveys a broad view of the alignment, and provides a starting point for further investigation.
The broader astrological context of our time
Before I address the Jupiter-Neptune square alignment directly, it is necessary to say a few things about the wider archetypal context in which the alignment occurred. In addition to the Jupiter-Neptune square, the November 2018 - November 2019 period coincided with two other hard aspect alignments between the outer planets, both of which began prior to the Jupiter-Neptune square, and both of which are still ongoing. They are the Uranus-Pluto square - which has been in effect since approximately 2007 and which will soon be coming to an end - and the roughly three year conjunction between Saturn and Pluto, which began in 2018. Both of these alignments are of a very different character to the Jupiter-Neptune square, and both are longer in duration. It is these longer lasting alignments that are most conspicuous in their effects and which provided the backdrop to the relatively brief influence of the Jupiter-Neptune square. It is beyond the scope of this article to provide a full account of these longer alignments, however I feel it is necessary to provide a very short summary of some of the archetypal themes that are related to these alignments. The reason for this is to establish a context within which it might be possible to discern the more subtle influence of the Jupiter-Neptune square.
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The Uranus-Pluto square is an era defining alignment that began in 2007 and will come to an end in 2020. The extremely turbulent, and at times volatile, nature of the past decade is an expression of the highly rebellious and disruptive Uranus archetype in combination with the elemental power of Pluto. A significant feature of this alignment has been rapid societal change, and at times unrest, driven by destabilising technologies such as the smart phone. A global increase in political activism has also been apparent, with a marked tendency for radicalisation across the political spectrum. Movements towards emancipation and social justice reform have been in strong evidence, as have more libertarian sentiments. The brexit vote in 2016, and the near simultaneous election of Donald Trump in America, occurred at the peak of this alignment; both events illustrate a dramatic upending of the status quo which is typical of major alignments involving Uranus. In tandem with the increased political radicalism, an undercurrent of libidinal energy has been palpable throughout the era, as has an awakened 'will to power', and a tendency towards violent catharsis, often taking the form of radical terrorism and unpredictable mass shootings.
♄☌♇
The Saturn-Pluto conjunction began to come into effect in 2018, reached exactitude in January 2020, and will conclude in 2021. This conjunction signifies an intensification of the Saturn principle of limitation, contraction, and finality; there is an abiding sense that we are reaching the end of a historical epoch, and that the organising structures of civilisation must undergo a process of maturation if they are to sustain humankind into the future. A focus on issues of moral urgency is apparent, alongside a heightened tendency for stern judgement and accusations of grave wrongdoing. The impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, alongside a more general focus on criminal justice, are highly suggestive of a Saturn-Pluto influence. This archetypal combination also indicates the empowerment of conservative political movements, as witnessed in the recent UK election, and very often the emergence of authoritarian and totalitarian impulses. At its worst, Saturn-Pluto can manifest as a fascistic tendency, and there are already troubling indications of this throughout Europe, China, and South America. Power struggles, alongside victim-oppressor dynamics, are more likely at this time. Pluto is the archetype of raw nature, and its proximity to Saturn denotes a profound crisis for the natural world: a prominent example being the unprecedented bush fires in Australia. The growing awareness of this crisis, alongside the international demand for greater environmental protections, represents a positive potential of this conjunction.
***
The very brief descriptions above reflect a necessarily limited overview of the broader archetypal dynamics of our time. The reason I mention them is to emphasise that no astrological alignment takes place in a vacuum, and a description of the Jupiter-Neptune square that did not refer, at least in passing, to these longer alignments would likely feel incomplete. This is especially true for the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, which, due to its implication with a decidedly dark, and existentially weighty complex of themes, stands in stark contrast to the optimistic, escapist, and spiritual themes of Jupiter-Neptune. Where possible, I have tried to draw connections between these simultaneously occurring alignments to demonstrate their porous nature, and the complex ways in which their meanings interact and manifest in the world.
The planetary archetypes of Jupiter and Neptune
To recognise the significance of any Jupiter-Neptune alignment, it is necessary to explore the meaning of the archetypal principles that are associated with the two planets, as this section will attempt to do. Once this foundation has been established, it should be somewhat easier to discern the diverse ways in which these archetypes interact and synthesise with each other when the planets come into alignment.Before proceeding any further, I want to be clear about what I mean by an 'archetype'. An archetype is a universal essence, or principle, which informs and gives structure to reality at a very deep level. Archetypes are multidimensional and multivalent; they express themselves across many realms of experience simultaneously, and entail a complex multiplicity of meanings. For instance, the Uranus archetype can be expressed as both technological innovation and political revolution. A singular archetype can be at once: physical, metaphysical, emotional, sensual, behavioural, ideological, artistic, thematic, scientific, historic, etc. The archetypes possess a seemingly limitless malleability. In the words of Carl Jung:
A kind of fluid interpenetration belongs to the very nature of all archetypes. They can only be roughly circumscribed at best. Their living meaning comes out more from their presentation as a whole than from a single formulation. Every attempt to focus them more sharply is immediately punished by the intangible core of meaning losing its luminosity. No archetype can be reduced to a simple formula. It is a vessel which we can never empty, and never fill. It has a potential existence only, and when it takes shape in matter it is no longer what it was. It persists throughout the ages and requires interpreting ever anew. The archetypes are the imperishable elements of the unconscious, but they change their shape continually.[1]
With this in mind, let us proceed with caution. The descriptions that follow are provisional, and somewhat crude approximations of the planetary archetypes. The full range of their meanings should hopefully become clearer when we begin to explore some of their concrete manifestations in the world. These meanings have been derived over centuries of astrological research and enjoy a broad consensus within the astrological tradition.
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| K2, Wikimedia Commons |
Jupiter has a philosophical and worldly nature, it is outward looking and connected to migration, globalism, and international affairs. Jupiter is associated with global trends and the big picture. Jupiter is the archetype of exploration, it seeks to traverse expansive terrain, both physical and intellectual. Due to its far reaching and worldly inclination, planes and airports often feature in news stories and events that are related to the Jupiter archetype. Likewise, Jupiter brings an acute emphasis on travel and tourism, alongside a heightened proclivity for enjoyment. Its influence is optimistic and uplifting.
Jupiter is related to economic matters, and to the tendency to experience growth and accumulation. Jupiter has a strong association with capitalism, finance and commercial enterprises. It is associated with great heights, both literal and metaphorical, and with the propensity for a person or idea to rise in rank and public estimation. It is associated with big business and political leaders. The hallmarks of Jupiter's influence are prestige, prominence and publicity.
♆
Neptune (♆) is the archetype of dreaming, symbolism, spirituality, and imagination. It is idealistic, in both the senses of hopefulness and intangibility. Neptune has a special connection to the realm of myth and fantasy, and in its deepest sense, to the realm of the archetypes themselves - to those innermost patterns of the psyche, whose intricate relations are reflected in the cosmos. The idealistic and imaginative Neptune archetype stands in stark contrast to the principle of 'hard reality'; to density, doubt, scepticism, and crass materialism.
Neptune has a deep affinity with the water element, in particular with the ocean. The qualities of water, such as shapelessness and transparency, provide important clues to understanding the Neptune archetype, which is always seeking to dissolve boundaries and to undermine the apparent solidity of things. Water can assume many forms, such as rain or steam, whilst always remaining true to itself, in much the same way that an archetype can. The perceptual distortions that water can produce - the blurring, warping, and rippling of reflections - are likewise demonstrative of Neptune's activity. This shape-shifting quality is connected to the tendency towards illusion or deceit, which is often indicated by Neptune. Visions, hallucinations and mirages are all motifs that express this influence; as are lies, frauds, and hoaxes.
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| Chad Sparkes |
Neptune is associated with alterations of consciousness - with dreams, imagination, and intoxication. Both the debasement of consciousness, as experienced in an alcoholic stupor, and the refinement of consciousness, such as that experienced under the influence of a psychedelic, are possible under a Neptune influence. The language used to describe psychedelic trips, and the profound alterations of consciousness that they induce, is highly evocative of the Neptune archetype. Psychedelic experiences often entail the following features: exquisite sensitivity to one's surroundings; extremely vivid hallucinations; an overwhelming sense of profundity; a heightened capacity to discern symbolic meaning in art and life; enhanced feelings of empathy; and the potential for cosmic union. The negative potential of Neptune is likewise encapsulated by the typical 'bad trip' experience: loss of contact with consensus reality; paranoid delusions; extreme confusion; and disorientation.
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| Shiva, Wikimedia Commons |
Neptune is the archetype of utopia, its function is to imagine a better, more ideal world, and to seek peace both within and without, but inherent within the spiritual and utopian associations of Neptune is a deep sense of longing, which can be painful. The very same longing for transcendence that compels the spiritual quest can also manifest as a proclivity for many kinds of addiction, or as dysfunctional escapism and an unhealthy denial of reality; these tendencies reflect the shadow side of Neptune. In this way, the Neptune archetype is also connected to the myth of Narcissus: this profound myth, in which the beautiful Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection, underscores the potential for the spiritual seeker to fall into a trance, or to lose himself in egoistic fantasies.
The Jupiter-Neptune cycle and complex
The Jupiter-Neptune cycle, from conjunction to conjunction, lasts approximately thirteen years. The current cycle began with the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction of 2009, and will conclude with the following conjunction in 2022. The three intervening hard aspect alignments, which consist of an opposition (approximately 180°) and two squares (approximately 90°), occur at roughly three year intervals and signify periods of intense mutual activation of the Jupiter and Neptune archetypes, during which it is more likely that events will occur that express the combined meanings of these planetary archetypes. It is the third of these intervening alignments, the closing square of November 2018 - November 2019, which forms the basis of this article.
In Cosmos and Psyche, Richard Tarnas posits that conjunctions and oppositions are operative within an orb of 15°, and that square aspects are operative within a more narrow 10° range. These ranges have informed my observations and I have found them to be accurate. Likewise, the strength of any alignment unfolds according to a wave-like pattern: the closer an alignment is to exactitude corresponds to an increased likelihood of the occurrence of relevant archetypal phenomena.
In Cosmos and Psyche, Richard Tarnas posits that conjunctions and oppositions are operative within an orb of 15°, and that square aspects are operative within a more narrow 10° range. These ranges have informed my observations and I have found them to be accurate. Likewise, the strength of any alignment unfolds according to a wave-like pattern: the closer an alignment is to exactitude corresponds to an increased likelihood of the occurrence of relevant archetypal phenomena.
The term 'Jupiter-Neptune complex' or 'Jupiter-Neptune', refers to the complex web of meanings that are associated with the interaction of these planetary archetypes, and includes both the harmonious and stressful aspects of their combination. Hard aspect alignments tend to draw forth especially potent interactions between Jupiter and Neptune, in which the two archetypes simultaneously combine, contrast, oppose, complement, inflect, modulate, and merge with one another. As with any astrological complex, the planetary archetypes involved exert a bidirectional influence upon each other: the Jupiter archetype affects the expression of the Neptune archetype, and vice versa. These interactions can be roughly circumscribed into two categories, or vectors of influence:
The Jupiter→Neptune archetypal vector
The denotation 'Jupiter→Neptune' refers to the effect, or modulating influence, of the Jupiter archetype upon the Neptune archetype. The archetypal impulse of Jupiter tends to: increase, expand, indulge, inflate, ascend, exalt, honour, celebrate, succeed, accumulate, commercialise, capitalise, enhance, uplift, enjoy, explore, travel, traverse, extend, broaden, diversify, and liberalise.
When Jupiter 'inflates' the Neptune archetype it can result in phenomena such as: a general increase in deception or fraudulence - often taking the form of extravagant hoaxes and pervasive misinformation; an expansion of the collective imagination; big dreams; an increased proclivity to create and consume works of fiction, especially of the fantasy genre; a heightened tendency towards hope and idealism; generalised tendencies towards escapism and addiction; and mass outpourings of compassion and forgiveness. On a more worldly level, there seems to be a conspicuous profusion of the water element: flooding and heavy rain often feature in the news. An abundance of nautical activity can likewise be apparent.
The triumphant and celebratory impulse of Jupiter tends to honour the Neptune archetype by way of: successful peacemaking and peacekeeping; the exaltation of myth and mystery; and through exuberant festivals of water, spirituality, and cinema. More problematically, Jupiter tends to commercialise everything that is associated with the Neptune archetype: this can coincide with increased selling and consumption of drugs, and with spiritual profiteering. Finally, the exploratory impulse of Jupiter finds satisfaction in Neptune's domain via: deep sea adventures; the exploration of mysterious or hidden places; and through seaborne migration.
The Neptune→Jupiter archetypal vector
The denotation 'Neptune→Jupiter' refers to the action, or modulating influence, of the Neptune archetype upon the Jupiter archetype. Neptune's influence has several modalities, it can variously: submerge, mystify, vanish, dissolve, flood, conceal, obscure, deceive, idealise, imagine, romanticise, enchant, intoxicate, confuse, sensitise, empathise, pacify, forgive, heal, refine, rarefy, and unify.Neptune has a tendency to veil, or conceal from view, whichever planetary archetype it makes contact with. When Neptune forms a major aspect to Jupiter, it tends to obscure the realms of business, travel, and international affairs. This can entail: the concealment of vast wealth; the disappearance of tourists and explorers; secrecy that relates to international affairs; confusion and deception that relates to travel; and the clandestine flow of people and commodities across the globe. Likewise, the unifying impulse of Neptune tends to have international consequences when in aspect to Jupiter, which may include: the blurring or confusion of national boundaries; the unification of different countries; the sensitisation of global networks; and peace between nations.
The imaginative impulse of Neptune applies to Jupiter in a variety of ways, such as: the projected illusion of wealth; enchantment with leaders and royalty; the idealisation of large businesses and corporations; the romanticising of travel and exploration; and naive optimism. Similarly, the watery, flowing impulse of Neptune can influence the Jupiterian world of finance through compassionate expenditure; sunk costs; and financial liquidation. Neptune is also the rain on Jupiter's parade.
***
The two vectors described above are provisional, and most archetypal phenomena do not fit neatly into one category or the other, rather they tend to incorporate elements of both vectors, as the following evidence will illustrate. Nonetheless, they are useful descriptors, and I will refer to them where I think it might be helpful.
The cyclical sequence: from conjunction to opposition
I shall now briefly explore the three hard aspect alignments that immediately preceded the closing square: the conjunction, the opening square, and the opposition. Doing so should hopefully convey a sense of what the Jupiter-Neptune complex is about, and how it is typically manifested in the world. For the sake of brevity, I have limited this section to only the most striking, and highly publicised, instances of Jupiter-Neptune phenomena; a fuller account of these alignments would include many more instances of such phenomena, from many different countries and spheres of experience.
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The conjunction, which centered around the year 2009, coincided with the first year of Barack Obama's presidency and with his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize. In a brief analysis of this conjunction, Richard Tarnas identified the Jupiter-Neptune complex with:
...the widespread atmosphere of hope, elevated idealism, and social compassion that accompanied the Obama family’s entering the White House and beginning what for many seemed to be a new era of good will and higher possibility. The shadow side of the Jupiter-Neptune complex was similarly visible in criticisms accusing Obama of excessively lofty idealism, rhetoric over reality, and charismatic image over substance.[2]
This is an especially noteworthy example of how the Jupiter-Neptune complex can infiltrate the world zeitgeist, as it simultaneously embodies both of the archetypal vectors described above. On the one hand, this is a clear expression of how the impulses of the Neptune archetype - hope, idealism, and compassion - can be modified by the Jupiter archetype (Jupiter→Neptune) and accordingly reach a pinnacle of excitement, and pompous inflation. Inversely, this is an example of how a Jupiterian high office - namely POTUS - can become subject to all sorts of quasi spiritual projections under the influence of this complex (Neptune→Jupiter). In the same article, Tarnas also relates the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction to the cinematic release of James Cameron's hugely successful film Avatar:
...with its extraordinary technical realization of a virtual world, seen by unprecedented numbers of people throughout the world, projected onto vast theater screens with three-dimensional vividness—strongly carried the Jupiter-Neptune archetypal meaning, like a collective cinematic dream. With its narrative embodying values of a spiritual, mystical, sacramental, idealistic character, with its depiction and facilitating a state of participation mystique in nature and in the theater, and with the theme of a healing marriage between opposites, Avatar was a striking, immensely influential manifestation of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction.
The examples given above pertain to two apparently discrete realms of activity: respectively, politics and entertainment. On a superficial level, these worlds have little to do with each other, and are usually considered to be expressions of very different impulses within the human psyche. However, when examined from a deeper, archetypal perspective, it is possible to discern a common ground that underlies both the first year of Obama's presidency, with its atmosphere of 'elevated idealism', and the spectacle of mass enchantment that was entailed by the release of Avatar.
The other highly newsworthy situation to unfold in that same month pertained to the international controversy surrounding Julian Assange, the Australian political activist and founder of Wikileaks, and culminated in Assange being granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian government. This was a more subtle manifestation of the same planetary archetypes, but is worth belabouring as it reveals much about the Jupiter-Neptune complex. By way of preamble, Assange was born in 1971 during a close-to-exact conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune. His life story, including the entire project of Wikileaks, could therefore be interpreted as a profound expression of the dynamic tension between these planetary archetypes. Wikileaks was founded in October 2006, during a square alignment of Jupiter and Neptune, to provide a platform for anonymous sources to publish news leaks. Since then, it has gone on to publish many millions of classified documents that have exposed wide-scale corruption, criminality, and espionage, and implicated the governments of numerous different countries. The clandestine nature of the information that is published by Wikileaks, alongside the anonymity granted to its sources, are congruent with the Neptune archetype; concurrently, the project's international scope and its massive publicity are associated with the Jupiter archetype.
In 2010, following a visit by Assange to Sweden, the Swedish authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him that related to allegations of sexual assault. Assange denied the allegations, claiming they were a pretext to extradite him to the US. By this time, Wikileaks was also the subject of a criminal investigation by the US government, following leaks that related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange surrendered to UK police and attended extradition hearings whilst on bail. In June 2012, when the Jupiter-Neptune square was close to exact, his campaign against extradition failed. Assange then breached the conditions of his bail and sought asylum from Ecuador. This was granted to him but meant that Assange had to remain within the Ecuadorian embassy in London, or else face arrest and extradition.[4]
The resulting situation was deeply resonant with the meaning of the Jupiter-Neptune square. Consider that Julian Assange was simultaneously: a citizen of Australia, living in the UK, confined to the Embassy of Ecuador, facing extradition to Sweden, and fearing extradition to the US. This convoluted international entanglement was acutely expressive of the Neptune→Jupiter archetypal vector, which can manifest as a porousness of national frontiers, and deeply confusing situations regarding international diplomacy; it was as if a veil of fog surrounded the embassy. The concomitant legal ambiguities, which included questions about what legal rights were applicable to Assange - and to the foreign powers who were, variously, demanding and resisting his extradition - acted to compound the sense of uncertainty that surrounded the fate of Assange should he step foot outside the embassy. Furthermore, the allegations levelled at Assange were widely suspected to be fabrications borne out of political expediency; another Jupiter-Neptune trope. Finally, the indeterminacy of the situation; its lack of an immediate resolution, points to the Neptune tendency towards irresolution and dissipation of energies.
The two manifestations described above - the Thames pageant, and the embassy saga - are, from a conventional perspective, two completely disconnected events. Their close proximity in time is nothing more than a coincidence, and on a superficial analysis, they seem to have nothing in common with each other. Without the perspective afforded by the methods of archetypal astrology, it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever draw a connection between these events. However, when analysed from an archetypal perspective, it becomes possible to discern a subtle patterning in seemingly disparate events. Through cultivating a deep sensitivity to the planetary archetypes, curious minds can attune themselves to the multivalent creativity of these universal essences. If you did not sense a subtle affinity between the events described above, perhaps a comparison of visual symbols might prove more evocative:
These near-simultaneous events embody the two discrete archetypal vectors described earlier. The Thames pageant expressing the Jupiter→Neptune vector via a royal celebration (Jupiter) on the water (Neptune). The embassy saga expressing the Neptune→Jupiter vector via a foggy dissolution (Neptune) of international (Jupiter) definitions. Furthermore, these events provide startling insight into the Neptune and Jupiter archetypes: for instance, the Neptune archetype can be expressed physically as water and maritime activity, but also metaphysically through confusion, dissolution, and the 'leaking' of secrets.
Likewise, the Jupiter archetype can, to an extent, be subdivided into two distinct, but complementary, modes of expression: the first mode has a vertical trajectory, and is expressed as ascendance, elevation, success, celebration, and honour; this mode is aptly symbolised by the crown. The second mode has a lateral orientation, and expresses itself as extroversion, exploration, liberalism, internationalism, and worldliness; this mode is aptly symbolised by the globe. In the logos above, we can see that both of these symbols, the crown and the globe, have been rendered with an aquatic theme that is appropriate to a Neptune influence. The Wikileaks logo expresses, via the hourglass shape, the additional motif of time, which is appropriate to Assange given that he was born under a triple alignment of Jupiter-Neptune with Saturn.
As in the Thames pageant which occurred during the square, the Jupiter→Neptune vector is again expressed through a massive increase (Jupiter) in nautical activity (Neptune), the discrepancy in scale corresponding to the opposition's increased potency relative to the square. Unlike the Thames pageant, the events of the migrant crisis were of a deeply traumatic character, reflecting the involvement of Saturn. The Neptune→Jupiter vector is also expressed via the theme of migration by sea, and through the apparent porousness (Neptune) of international (Jupiter) boundaries; through the massive (Jupiter) influx, or flow (Neptune), of seaborne (Neptune) migrants across great distances (Jupiter). Reactions to the migrant crisis from politicians and the public were sharply polarised, befitting the tense configuration with Saturn, however there were numerous outpourings of compassion (Jupiter→Neptune) towards the migrants from many EU countries, and German chancellor Angela Merkel was both praised and condemned for her humanitarian response.
In addition to the migrant crisis, the opposition also coincided with the leaking of the Panama Papers - resulting in a scandal of international proportions. The leak (Neptune), which originated from an anonymous source, comprised of 11.5 million documents that were being kept by Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm and corporate services provider. The leaked documents contained information about thousands of offshore business entities, many of which were being used for illegal purposes, such as tax evasion, fraud, and the evasion of international sanctions. The resulting scandal implicated numerous high profile figures (Jupiter) from around the world, including many politicians and heads of state. Due to the massive amounts of data involved, efforts to analyse the documents required the collaboration of an international network of journalists who worked diligently, and secretly, for over a year before the first news stories were published in April of 2016.[6]
The events underlying these leaks are loaded with archetypal significance, and are highly suggestive of an activated Jupiter-Neptune complex. A dramatic instantiation of the Neptune→Jupiter vector can be discerned at the core of this scandal via the deliberate concealment (Neptune) of vast wealth (Jupiter) in offshore entities (Neptune). Furthermore, the leaks also demonstrate the above mentioned porousness of international boundaries: the major achievement of the Panama Papers was in exposing the clandestine flow (Neptune) of massive sums of private wealth (Jupiter) across the globe, and the resultant inequality (Saturn) arising from lost sources of tax revenue; Neptune being associated with both secrecy and loss. In addition to the scandal itself, the highly organised journalistic efforts to expose the leaks were also an expression of Neptune→Jupiter in the sense that they entailed a highly secretive (Neptune) international collaboration (Jupiter). This large scale mirroring of secret international networks - the honourable journalists and the dishonourable rich - is fascinating, and reveals an inherent moral ambiguity to the Jupiter-Neptune complex.
♃□♆
Moving to the next alignment, the opening square, we can see a similar clustering of events around the time in which the alignment peaked in intensity: the month of June 2012; the only month in which the planets formed an exact square aspect to each other during that alignment period. Numerous events occurred during that month that were expressive of the Jupiter-Neptune complex, but two of them stand out as being particularly vivid enactments of the Jupiter-Neptune complex, both generating international media attention. The first was the Thames Diamond Jubilee pageant, which entailed a weekend of festivities that were intended to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The celebrations, which were watched by more than 10 million people, culminated in a parade of 1000 boats down the Tideway of the River Thames.[3]
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| Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, BBC |
It is hard to imagine an event which could be more appropriate to the combined meanings of Jupiter and Neptune than a literal monarch (Jupiter) taking to the waves (Neptune) in an extravagant celebration of royalty and seafaring. The Jupiter→Neptune vector was running through the heart of this royal pageant - this was apparent in the honouring, or exaltation, of the River Thames; in the mass nautical exhibition that accompanied the Queen; and in the torrential rain which engulfed the proceedings.
The other highly newsworthy situation to unfold in that same month pertained to the international controversy surrounding Julian Assange, the Australian political activist and founder of Wikileaks, and culminated in Assange being granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian government. This was a more subtle manifestation of the same planetary archetypes, but is worth belabouring as it reveals much about the Jupiter-Neptune complex. By way of preamble, Assange was born in 1971 during a close-to-exact conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune. His life story, including the entire project of Wikileaks, could therefore be interpreted as a profound expression of the dynamic tension between these planetary archetypes. Wikileaks was founded in October 2006, during a square alignment of Jupiter and Neptune, to provide a platform for anonymous sources to publish news leaks. Since then, it has gone on to publish many millions of classified documents that have exposed wide-scale corruption, criminality, and espionage, and implicated the governments of numerous different countries. The clandestine nature of the information that is published by Wikileaks, alongside the anonymity granted to its sources, are congruent with the Neptune archetype; concurrently, the project's international scope and its massive publicity are associated with the Jupiter archetype.
In 2010, following a visit by Assange to Sweden, the Swedish authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him that related to allegations of sexual assault. Assange denied the allegations, claiming they were a pretext to extradite him to the US. By this time, Wikileaks was also the subject of a criminal investigation by the US government, following leaks that related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange surrendered to UK police and attended extradition hearings whilst on bail. In June 2012, when the Jupiter-Neptune square was close to exact, his campaign against extradition failed. Assange then breached the conditions of his bail and sought asylum from Ecuador. This was granted to him but meant that Assange had to remain within the Ecuadorian embassy in London, or else face arrest and extradition.[4]
The resulting situation was deeply resonant with the meaning of the Jupiter-Neptune square. Consider that Julian Assange was simultaneously: a citizen of Australia, living in the UK, confined to the Embassy of Ecuador, facing extradition to Sweden, and fearing extradition to the US. This convoluted international entanglement was acutely expressive of the Neptune→Jupiter archetypal vector, which can manifest as a porousness of national frontiers, and deeply confusing situations regarding international diplomacy; it was as if a veil of fog surrounded the embassy. The concomitant legal ambiguities, which included questions about what legal rights were applicable to Assange - and to the foreign powers who were, variously, demanding and resisting his extradition - acted to compound the sense of uncertainty that surrounded the fate of Assange should he step foot outside the embassy. Furthermore, the allegations levelled at Assange were widely suspected to be fabrications borne out of political expediency; another Jupiter-Neptune trope. Finally, the indeterminacy of the situation; its lack of an immediate resolution, points to the Neptune tendency towards irresolution and dissipation of energies.
The two manifestations described above - the Thames pageant, and the embassy saga - are, from a conventional perspective, two completely disconnected events. Their close proximity in time is nothing more than a coincidence, and on a superficial analysis, they seem to have nothing in common with each other. Without the perspective afforded by the methods of archetypal astrology, it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever draw a connection between these events. However, when analysed from an archetypal perspective, it becomes possible to discern a subtle patterning in seemingly disparate events. Through cultivating a deep sensitivity to the planetary archetypes, curious minds can attune themselves to the multivalent creativity of these universal essences. If you did not sense a subtle affinity between the events described above, perhaps a comparison of visual symbols might prove more evocative:
These near-simultaneous events embody the two discrete archetypal vectors described earlier. The Thames pageant expressing the Jupiter→Neptune vector via a royal celebration (Jupiter) on the water (Neptune). The embassy saga expressing the Neptune→Jupiter vector via a foggy dissolution (Neptune) of international (Jupiter) definitions. Furthermore, these events provide startling insight into the Neptune and Jupiter archetypes: for instance, the Neptune archetype can be expressed physically as water and maritime activity, but also metaphysically through confusion, dissolution, and the 'leaking' of secrets.
Likewise, the Jupiter archetype can, to an extent, be subdivided into two distinct, but complementary, modes of expression: the first mode has a vertical trajectory, and is expressed as ascendance, elevation, success, celebration, and honour; this mode is aptly symbolised by the crown. The second mode has a lateral orientation, and expresses itself as extroversion, exploration, liberalism, internationalism, and worldliness; this mode is aptly symbolised by the globe. In the logos above, we can see that both of these symbols, the crown and the globe, have been rendered with an aquatic theme that is appropriate to a Neptune influence. The Wikileaks logo expresses, via the hourglass shape, the additional motif of time, which is appropriate to Assange given that he was born under a triple alignment of Jupiter-Neptune with Saturn.
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The following hard aspect alignment of Jupiter-Neptune, the opposition, entailed the period from July 2015 to August 2016. This alignment was notable for the additional presence of Saturn, which was forming a square aspect to both Jupiter and Neptune for the duration of the alignment; a configuration known as a 'T-square'. The presence of Saturn imbued the alignment with an element of crisis, and exacerbated the more problematic tendencies of Jupiter-Neptune.
This alignment coincided, to an astonishing level of precision, with the peak of the European migrant crisis. This was a wave of mass migration into the European Union that was composed mainly of asylum seekers who wished to escape the dire conditions of their native countries. The vast majority of migrants originated from African and Middle Eastern nations that had been subject to increased drought, poverty, and violence linked to global warming. Throughout this period, Greece and Italy functioned as the main points of entry for many of the migrants, and there were numerous, tragic instances of mass drownings as a result of shipwrecks en route across the Mediterranean sea. The Jupiter-Neptune opposition reached exactitude on 17 September 2015 and remained within an acutely potent 5° range for the entirety of September and October. As you can see in the graph below, these months represented the peak of arrivals into the European Union.[5]
This alignment coincided, to an astonishing level of precision, with the peak of the European migrant crisis. This was a wave of mass migration into the European Union that was composed mainly of asylum seekers who wished to escape the dire conditions of their native countries. The vast majority of migrants originated from African and Middle Eastern nations that had been subject to increased drought, poverty, and violence linked to global warming. Throughout this period, Greece and Italy functioned as the main points of entry for many of the migrants, and there were numerous, tragic instances of mass drownings as a result of shipwrecks en route across the Mediterranean sea. The Jupiter-Neptune opposition reached exactitude on 17 September 2015 and remained within an acutely potent 5° range for the entirety of September and October. As you can see in the graph below, these months represented the peak of arrivals into the European Union.[5]
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| Wikimedia Commons |
As in the Thames pageant which occurred during the square, the Jupiter→Neptune vector is again expressed through a massive increase (Jupiter) in nautical activity (Neptune), the discrepancy in scale corresponding to the opposition's increased potency relative to the square. Unlike the Thames pageant, the events of the migrant crisis were of a deeply traumatic character, reflecting the involvement of Saturn. The Neptune→Jupiter vector is also expressed via the theme of migration by sea, and through the apparent porousness (Neptune) of international (Jupiter) boundaries; through the massive (Jupiter) influx, or flow (Neptune), of seaborne (Neptune) migrants across great distances (Jupiter). Reactions to the migrant crisis from politicians and the public were sharply polarised, befitting the tense configuration with Saturn, however there were numerous outpourings of compassion (Jupiter→Neptune) towards the migrants from many EU countries, and German chancellor Angela Merkel was both praised and condemned for her humanitarian response.
In addition to the migrant crisis, the opposition also coincided with the leaking of the Panama Papers - resulting in a scandal of international proportions. The leak (Neptune), which originated from an anonymous source, comprised of 11.5 million documents that were being kept by Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm and corporate services provider. The leaked documents contained information about thousands of offshore business entities, many of which were being used for illegal purposes, such as tax evasion, fraud, and the evasion of international sanctions. The resulting scandal implicated numerous high profile figures (Jupiter) from around the world, including many politicians and heads of state. Due to the massive amounts of data involved, efforts to analyse the documents required the collaboration of an international network of journalists who worked diligently, and secretly, for over a year before the first news stories were published in April of 2016.[6]
The events underlying these leaks are loaded with archetypal significance, and are highly suggestive of an activated Jupiter-Neptune complex. A dramatic instantiation of the Neptune→Jupiter vector can be discerned at the core of this scandal via the deliberate concealment (Neptune) of vast wealth (Jupiter) in offshore entities (Neptune). Furthermore, the leaks also demonstrate the above mentioned porousness of international boundaries: the major achievement of the Panama Papers was in exposing the clandestine flow (Neptune) of massive sums of private wealth (Jupiter) across the globe, and the resultant inequality (Saturn) arising from lost sources of tax revenue; Neptune being associated with both secrecy and loss. In addition to the scandal itself, the highly organised journalistic efforts to expose the leaks were also an expression of Neptune→Jupiter in the sense that they entailed a highly secretive (Neptune) international collaboration (Jupiter). This large scale mirroring of secret international networks - the honourable journalists and the dishonourable rich - is fascinating, and reveals an inherent moral ambiguity to the Jupiter-Neptune complex.
The closing square (November 2018 - November 2019)
The closing square first came within the critical 10° range in late November 2018. The alignment remained within that range for its entire duration and was exact on three occasions throughout 2019, successively in the months of January, June, and September. The alignment left the 10° range in mid-November 2019, at which point its influence began to dissipate very quickly. Owing to the relative positions of Jupiter and Neptune when they began their approximately annual retrograde periods, this square alignment remained within a fairly narrow orb for much of its duration, and this seems to have correlated with a marked consistency and intensity of effect.
As far as astrological aspects go, squares are considered to be fairly stressful. They signify a highly dynamic, and often conflicting interaction between the planets. They tend to produce sharply defined events that express the meaning of the associated planetary archetypes. They can have both positive and negative effects, but the jarring and problematic expressions tend to be especially prominent. The evidence that I have collated in the following sections, whilst fairly wide ranging, is limited to those occurrences that were widely reported on, and represents only a small fragment of the archetypal phenomena that was relevant to the alignment. It would have been impractical to document everything that I observed, let alone everything that I inevitably missed, so I have focused on only the most conspicuous and culturally significant events. This analysis is fairly eurocentric, so I hope you can forgive this shortcoming as an artefact of my own limited knowledge of recent world events.
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Liquid abundance
As climate scientists have been at pains to impart, extreme weather events have been rendered far more likely by the rapidly heating atmosphere of our planet.[7] 2019 was an exceptional year in respect to extreme weather events and saw a continuation of many of the worrying trends that have long been anticipated by climate scientists. Although the exact relationship between the point of view afforded by modern climate science (which necessarily entails discrete causes and effects) and that of archetypal astrology (which seems to imply an underlying order which is acausal) is ambiguous, I will suffice to say that I believe both are valid from their own limited perspectives. With that proviso in mind, I believe it is legitimate to analyse natural events, such as weather, from an archetypal perspective. Moreover, the types of weather that occurred during 2019 exhibited a striking correlation to the elemental significations of the simultaneously occurring planetary alignments of the period. Whilst the Jupiter-Neptune square was not the only such alignment that occurred during that time, it was perhaps the alignment that correlated with the most vivid, and pervasive, meteorological expressions of the underlying archetypal dynamics.In many regions throughout the world, massive floods and higher than average rainfall accompanied the Jupiter-Neptune square. The increased flooding and precipitation reflects the amplifying tendency of Jupiter exerting its influence on Neptune's elemental domain (Jupiter→Neptune), Neptune being the archetype of water. These weather events, alongside their planetary counterparts, can be construed as 'living symbols' of fundamentally mental activity that is unfolding at a deep level of the universal mind. A few examples of this tendency, which all occurred when Jupiter and Neptune were within 10° of exact, include the devastating floods that resulted from the wetter than average monsoon season in India, which impacted the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat[8]; the flash flooding that affected large parts of Iran during March and April[9]; and the unprecedented floods in the U.S. which were concentrated around the tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers[10]. Meanwhile, the Bahamas were devastated by Hurricane Dorian; the most intense tropical cyclone in their country's history.[11] Whilst floods and hurricanes are not an uncommon occurrence throughout the world, the high number of hugely impactful events that occurred in 2019 was suggestive of an underlying archetypal dynamic.
These floods, which largely resulted from record breaking rainfall in the affected areas, provide striking illustrations of the Jupiter→Neptune archetypal vector. The inverse vector (Neptune→Jupiter) was also discernible in the huge economic losses entailed by the disruption of the affected areas, given that Jupiter is strongly associated with the realm of economics. To give just one example: the Mississippi River floods resulted in widespread loss of crops; the resulting economic stress was further compounded by many delayed shipments of agricultural commodities due to difficulties with commercial navigation arising from high water levels. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) has estimated that flooding caused over 2 billion dollars in damage.[12]
Deception, fraud, and Deepfake
As mentioned earlier, there can be a marked increase in collective illusions under the influence of Jupiter-Neptune alignments. The recent square alignment coincided with a significant number of mass deceptions that ranged from benign hoaxes to pernicious falsehoods. A prominent example of this tendency concerned allegations made by the actor Jussie Smollet that he had been the victim of a racially and politically motivated attack by two men in ski masks whom Smollet identified as supporters of Donald Trump. These claims were called into question when the Chicago Police Department indicated strong doubts as to whether the attack had happened at all, with subsequent suggestions that Smollett had staged the attack for personal gain. Smollett's initial claim came to light in January 2019 when Jupiter and Neptune were within 3° of an exact square,[13] this was followed by an outpouring of support for Smollett from numerous public figures as well as outrage directed at the perceived racism of the Trump administration. When Smollett's story failed to withstand scrutiny it engendered much analysis of fake news and the politicisation of victimhood.
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Jupiter is the fundamental archetype of higher education, it is that which aspires to enhance, broaden and uplift. It seeks to expand the scope of knowledge across every field and to widen perspectives. It is jovial, liberal and adventurous. It is associated with great intellectual achievements and lofty moral ideals. Jupiter is the essence of the university. It is to be expected, therefore, that the institutions of higher education will be subject to all manner of fraudulence when Jupiter forms a hard aspect with Neptune, which was exactly what happened during the square alignment. In March 2019, it was revealed that several elite universities in America had been subject to criminal interference with their admissions procedures.[14] The scheme, which was masterminded by William Rick Singer, enabled parents of prospective college students to cheat the admissions process in exchange for large sums of money. The investigation into these crimes has implicated at least 53 people, and hundreds of parents, including a number of celebrities, are suspected of having sought the assistance of the fraudsters. Some of the methods used to deceive admissions departments included the inflation of test scores by underhand means, and the fabrication of sporting credentials.
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On the more benign end of the fakery spectrum was the "Momo Challenge" which took the form of panicked media reports about a macabre challenge from a mysterious character named 'Momo' that had 'gone viral' on social media and was causing children and adolescents to perform acts of violence, self harm, and suicide. Despite claims of a worldwide Momo phenomenon, no actual harm has been reported by any law enforcement agency. This alleged phenomenon was initially reported in July of 2018 when Jupiter was forming a close-to-exact trine aspect with Neptune (another hoax occurring around this time was the 'grievance studies affair'). Reports subsided after this brief alignment but returned in a more volatile form in early 2019 when the square aspect was in effect; it was during this period that fears about Momo reached a point of hysteria following an official warning from the Police Service of Northern Ireland that seemed to give credibility to the stories.[15] Subsequent analysis of the Momo phenomenon has highlighted the role of irresponsible reporting by media outlets in what was ultimately a moral panic over the use of technology by children.
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The square alignment also coincided with heightened interest in a new image manipulation technique known as 'Deepfake'; this is the the ability to combine and superimpose existing videos and images onto source videos and images using advanced machine learning techniques. Videos that illustrate this technique by transplanting the face of one celebrity on to that of another were shared widely over social media throughout 2019. One such video, uploaded to YouTube by Ctrl Shift Face, features the comedian Bill Hader doing an impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger that sees the comedian's face morph seamlessly back and forth between Schwarzenegger's and his own (Schwarzenegger is in many respects a living embodiment of the Saturn-Pluto complex, the fact that Hader chooses to impersonate him suggests a fluid interplay between the two archetypal complexes as they were simultaneously activated). The video has acquired over 10 million views at the time of writing.
As you can see in the video, deepfake is capable of generating some truly jarring and highly convincing illusions. This has led to much consternation from commentators who are concerned about the potentially damaging effects that the abuse of this technique could have on society, particularly with respect to fake news the widely anticipated loss of control over the likeness of a given individual. This problematic dimension of the deepfake technique is emblematic of the square aspect and its inherent association with challenging or frictious manifestations.
In addition to the distortions of the truth that are mentioned above, a number of incidents were reported during the square alignment that were highly doubtful, but which have not been confirmed as hoaxes. These include the alleged suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, and the incident in the Gulf of Oman in June, in which Iran was blamed for attacking two oil tankers with limpet mines. These occurrences recall similar events in 2003 when simultaneous hard aspect alignments of Jupiter-Neptune and Saturn-Pluto were also in effect, namely the bogus claims about Iraq that were made in the lead up to the Iraq invasion; and the alleged suicide of weapons expert David Kelly, which was regarded as highly suspicious at the time. These events suggest a dark interplay between the two archetypal complexes in which the Jupiter-Neptune proclivity for elaborate deception may have converged with the Saturn-Pluto themes of grave wrongdoing and geopolitical tension.
Political pipe dreams
The domain of politics has proven particularly susceptible to the deceptive currents of Jupiter-Neptune. Throughout the square, there were numerous occasions when the ever present background of media spin stepped over into the realm of audacious propaganda - these tendencies reflect the dark shadow of Jupiter-Neptune. These highly problematic expressions of the complex have found particular embodiment in two of the most prominent world figures of our age: Donald Trump, who was born during a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, and Boris Johnson, who was born during an almost precisely exact opposition. Both of these leaders have engaged in countless distortions, exaggerations, and outright fabrications, to the point that both of them are renowned for their tenuous relationship to the truth. In any major astrological alignment, individuals who were born under previous alignments of the involved planets tend to assume a heightened relevance for the duration of the alignment.
Johnson - who has twice been sacked for lying - assumed the office of prime minister in July. Johnson's trademark is his bedazzling optimism - his ability to enchant the Jupiterian sales pitch (Neptune→Jupiter); in much the same way that Trump's Art of the Deal business bluster accomplished in the US. Johnson styles himself as an optimist in a world of naysayers. Jupiter, as the very principle of optimism, was pervading the inaugural speech that Johnson made at the entrance to 10 Downing Street, when, speaking about those who opposed brexit, Johnson declared:
"The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong again. The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts".[16]
Johnson's media savvy optimism was not the only expression of Jupiter-Neptune during this period. The other side of the brexit divide were also, in my opinion, entranced by a different expression of the same archetypal dynamic. Throughout the square alignment, the pro-EU camp achieved a level of mobilisation that exceeded that of the two years following the referendum on EU membership. This phase of organised resistance reached new heights in 2019 via two of the largest marches in UK political history.[17]
The carnivalesque (Jupiter) atmosphere of these events, and the highly imaginative (Neptune) outfits, slogans, and effigies that accompanied them, point towards an activated Jupiter-Neptune complex working in tandem with the concurrently activated Uranus-Pluto complex; the latter being a catalyst of intense rebellion. Also resonant with the meaning of Jupiter-Neptune was the spiritual significance that many participants had seemingly projected onto the EU (Neptune→Jupiter). The EU, as an institution, is itself an expression of this very complex - the founding Treaty of Rome came into effect in January 1958 during a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction - and represents an ideal of international (Jupiter) unity (Neptune) for many people.
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| Barry Lewis, Getty Images |
Sharpiegate
A confluence of two major Jupiter-Neptune themes was apparent in the 'Sharpiegate' controversy, which combined wet weather and fake news. The context for this controversy was Hurricane Dorian, the tropical cyclone which devastated the Bahamas and left many thousands of people homeless, and which occurred when Jupiter and Neptune were within 2° of an exact square. The prelude to Shapiegate began on September 1st when President Trump made a factually incorrect tweet about the predicted trajectory of Hurricane Dorian, saying "South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated." By the time Trump published this tweet, no weather forecaster was predicting that Dorian would hit Alabama, and the National Hurricane Center had released several updates that explicitly showed Dorian moving away from Alabama and up the Atlantic coast. Trump's statement was followed by public statements from various weather agencies that contradicted the president's claim.[18]
The expansion of drug markets
Psychoactive drugs have an affinity with Neptune, this is especially true of cannabis, which tends to induce states of heightened sensitivity in those who consume it, and can even induce psychedelic effects when consumed at high enough doses. Jupiter is strongly associated with economic and commercial undertakings; with cycles of growth and expansion. The ongoing process of cannabis commercialisation is indicative of a combined Jupiter-Neptune influence. Over the past decade there has been a marked shift in many countries towards the relaxation of laws prohibiting the sale and consumption of cannabis. It is in that context of increasing liberalisation that the recreational cannabis market has started to take shape; 2019 marked a new inflection point in that process, particularly as it concerned Canada, which began a staggered process of legalisation the previous year. The most recent development, on the commercial side, entailed the opening of high street stores selling the drug throughout 2019. In the 2.5 month period preceding August 20th, when the Jupiter-Neptune square was extremely tight, the number of physical stores selling cannabis in Canada almost doubled from 290 to 489.[19] Despite the hugely increased presence of legal cannabis on the high street, the trade is struggling to compete with the thriving black market.
In tandem with the above developments, a similar tendency was documented in the UK drug market - the so called 'county lines' drug trafficking network expanded throughout the UK and thrived during the square alignment, with an estimated £500 million turnover.[20] The county lines network entails a geographic expansion of the UK's illegal market, with suppliers based in major cities recruiting vulnerable young people with the purpose of extending their trade into towns and rural areas. This deeply exploitative network relies on thousands of discrete phone numbers, or 'lines', by which the trade is facilitated. This is the expansionary impulse of Jupiter expressed both spatially, across rural terrain, and commercially, via increased profits. Neptune is implied by the covert nature of the network, and by the commodities sold. The criminal and exploitative elements of the county lines trade are related to the concurrently activated Saturn-Pluto complex, as are the attempts by the police service to combat the trade.
In tandem with the above developments, a similar tendency was documented in the UK drug market - the so called 'county lines' drug trafficking network expanded throughout the UK and thrived during the square alignment, with an estimated £500 million turnover.[20] The county lines network entails a geographic expansion of the UK's illegal market, with suppliers based in major cities recruiting vulnerable young people with the purpose of extending their trade into towns and rural areas. This deeply exploitative network relies on thousands of discrete phone numbers, or 'lines', by which the trade is facilitated. This is the expansionary impulse of Jupiter expressed both spatially, across rural terrain, and commercially, via increased profits. Neptune is implied by the covert nature of the network, and by the commodities sold. The criminal and exploitative elements of the county lines trade are related to the concurrently activated Saturn-Pluto complex, as are the attempts by the police service to combat the trade.
Fantasy and forgery on screen
The square alignment coincided with the release of numerous films that were, in one way or another, expressive of the Jupiter-Neptune complex. One genre of film that was especially popular throughout this period was the animated, or partially animated, fantasy film; 2019 saw the release of animated spectacles such as Toy Story 4, The Lego Movie 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Aladdin, Dumbo, The Lion King, and many others. This clustering of films with fantastical elements, both narrative and stylistic, is a distinct tendency of Jupiter-Neptune alignments and contains echoes of previous alignments. |
| Will Smith as the Genie, Walt Disney |
The square alignment also coincided with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, which featured the super-villain Mysterio; a holographic-illusions specialist who is seeking advanced technology to enhance the scale of his illusions (Jupiter→Neptune). One of the film's set-piece action sequences sees Mysterio (below) enter into battle with a gigantic elemental being made of water (Jupiter→Neptune) which is later revealed to be an illusion; not unlike Trump's Alabama hurricane forecast. The Mysterio plot inserts a short-lived Jupiter-Neptune theme into the broader world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - an epic drama of Promethean empowerment - which is itself an expression of the longer lasting Uranus-Pluto square alignment (2007 - 2020).
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| Marvel Studios |
In addition to the spike in animated film fantasies during the square alignment, a parallel tendency can be discerned in the conspicuous amount of film and television that focused on classic Jupiter-Neptune themes, namely: illusions, delusions, and hoaxes. An especially noteworthy entry into this category was Can You Ever Forgive Me?, a biographical film about American author Lee Israel who became infamous for committing literary forgeries. Israel was born during the Jupiter-Neptune opposition of 1939 and committed her crimes during the square alignment of the early 1990s, this convergence of events around recurrent planetary alignments reveals a diachronic pattern of archetypal meaning that found renewed relevance, upon the release of the film, during the 2019 square alignment.
Another film in this vein was the Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, which chronicled the personalities and events surrounding a fraudulent "luxury music festival" that ended in complete disaster on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma.[21] The Fyre Festival was preceded by extravagant promotion on social media platforms, including endorsements from celebrities. The opening weekend was beset by numerous organisational problems, including issues with food and accommodation, which resulted in the festival being postponed indefinitely. Jupiter, as the archetype of celebration, exoticism, extravagance, and luxury, was clearly indicated in the branding of Fyre Festival, as it was also indicated in the brazen overconfidence of the festival's organisers. Likewise, the location of the festival on an island; the ultimately fraudulent nature of the marketing exercise; and the dissolution of the festival into a mass of confusion, are symptomatic of Neptune's influence.
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| Sony Pictures Releasing |
A different expression of the Jupiter-Neptune complex was illuminated via Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The film, which is set in 1969 Los Angeles, serves as Tarantino's deeply affectionate homage to the classical period of Hollywood cinema. In archetypal terms, this film is a Jupiterian tribute, or celebration, of the Neptune signified realm of Hollywood (Jupiter→Neptune).
Jesus Is King
In the field of pop music, 2019 marked the release of the album Jesus Is King by American rapper Kanye West. Both the album and the artist himself are paradigmatic expressions of the Jupiter-Neptune complex. West, who was born with his natal Sun in conjunction to an exact Jupiter-Neptune opposition, embodies many of the diverse - and at times paradoxical - tendencies of this archetypal complex. West's music is expansive (Jupiter) in sound, scope, and ambition, incorporating a wide range of influences, and tending towards sprawling and highly elaborate compositions. His lyrics traverse idealism (Neptune), braggadocio (Jupiter), and absurdity. West often seems to be enchanted by the trappings of wealth (Neptune→Jupiter), and with projecting an image of lavish opulence. Despite his bombastic facade, West clearly exhibits the Jupiter→Neptune trait of heightened sensitivity - and occasional vulnerability - to his tumultuous inner life, and to the happenings of the wider world. Furthermore, West's life and persona seem to exude an acute sense of unreality (Neptune) - at once enigmatic and bizarre. His many controversial, and often contradictory, statements have generated much confusion over the years.
In his cruder moments, West embodies the Sun-Jupiter-Neptune tendency towards narcissistic inflation: his larger-than-life persona, and his tendency towards self-aggrandisement, have often assumed comically exaggerated proportions that have opened him to ridicule. His career spanning infatuation with his own celebrity persona has taken a variety of forms including: unflinching self-commentary, profound introspection, torrents of self-referential lyrics and imagery, and numerous self-comparisons to other famous individuals. In examining West's persona, we see a modern day Narcissus (Neptune), forever enchanted by his own reflection - an image that is entirely congruent with the placement of his Sun in hard aspect to Jupiter-Neptune: the solar ego (Sun) functioning as an object of mythical enchantment (Neptune). West has occasionally identified himself as a divine figure, although it is not clear to what extent he actually believes this, as his lyrics often straddle the line between irony and sincerity - "I am a God/So hurry up with my damn massage/In a French-ass restaurant/Hurry up with my damn croissants."
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| Kanye West / GOOD Music |
Given West's history of irreverence and self aggrandisement, it might seem strange that his most recent album is a work of evangelical Christianity, the fact that it doesn't is surely testament to the mystifying nature of its creator and his paradoxical persona. Jesus Is King was released in October 2019 and - with the panache for which West is renowned - combines the hip hop and gospel genres to novel effect. From an archetypal perspective, this album is an unmistakable expression of the Jupiter-Neptune complex: the title alone providing a succinct evocation of the combined archetypes of Neptune and Jupiter; of divinity (Neptune) and royalty (Jupiter); of Jesus crowned King (Jupiter→Neptune).
Prior to recording the album, West claims to have experienced a spiritual awakening that led him to embrace Christianity. This new religiosity has driven West to denounce certain aspects of his former life, which he defines as "the god of ego, the god of money, the god of pride, the god of fame."[22] The true depth of West's conversion remains an open question, although it seems salient that at the time of recording Jesus Is King the Jupiter-Neptune square was in hard aspect alignment to West's natal Sun-Jupiter-Neptune complex. This is a highly significant personal transit for West that could signify a period of profound spiritual growth. The potential of this transit is, however, liable to the same pitfalls that have plagued West throughout his life, namely the tendency towards spiritual egotism, and an inflated sense of idealism that could later prove to be empty or naive.
The vinyl release (above), with its swirling blue artwork, bears an uncanny resemblance to the physical planet Neptune, and the album is suffused with watery motifs and baptismal references: on track "God Is", West sings "I know Christ is the fountain that filled my cup", and collaborator Ant Clemmons contributes the following vocal to "Water":
Prior to recording the album, West claims to have experienced a spiritual awakening that led him to embrace Christianity. This new religiosity has driven West to denounce certain aspects of his former life, which he defines as "the god of ego, the god of money, the god of pride, the god of fame."[22] The true depth of West's conversion remains an open question, although it seems salient that at the time of recording Jesus Is King the Jupiter-Neptune square was in hard aspect alignment to West's natal Sun-Jupiter-Neptune complex. This is a highly significant personal transit for West that could signify a period of profound spiritual growth. The potential of this transit is, however, liable to the same pitfalls that have plagued West throughout his life, namely the tendency towards spiritual egotism, and an inflated sense of idealism that could later prove to be empty or naive.
The vinyl release (above), with its swirling blue artwork, bears an uncanny resemblance to the physical planet Neptune, and the album is suffused with watery motifs and baptismal references: on track "God Is", West sings "I know Christ is the fountain that filled my cup", and collaborator Ant Clemmons contributes the following vocal to "Water":
"Clean us like the rain in spring/Take the chlorine out our conversation/Let Your light reflect on me/I promise I'm not hiding anything/It's water/We are water/Pure as water/Like a newborn daughter".
As West and Clemmons recognise, there is a deep connection between water and spirituality. Water can cleanse, purify, renew, and rejuvenate; it can reflect and illuminate. This has been understood intuitively by the world's religious traditions, and ritualised in the form of baptism. Likewise, the ocean has long been a symbol of mysticism and the sacred; of the undifferentiated source from which life emerged. It would seem that the universe is itself a living symbol, an endlessly evolving evocation of cosmic inner life; of the archetypal matrix from which we emerge, and with which we share our being.
The Korean peace process
Jupiter-Neptune alignments throughout history have demonstrated a remarkable correlation with peacekeeping initiatives, and with the resolution of conflict between nations. Furthermore, intergovernmental agencies (Jupiter) with the goal of establishing and maintaining world peace (Neptune) have tended to be established under Jupiter-Neptune alignments. Both the League of Nations, and its successor the United Nations, were established under Jupiter-Neptune conjunctions, respectively in 1919 and 1945, following the resolutions of WWI and WWII. More recently, Jupiter and Neptune were in exact opposition to each other upon the fall of the Berlin Wall, which marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of German reunification.
In contrast to the potency of axial alignments, less potent alignments, such as trines and squares, tend not to result in such watershed moments as those mentioned above. They do, however, tend to coincide with critical junctures in international affairs that reflect the same underlying archetypal tendencies, albeit with decreased likelihood of short term resolution. Apposite to the recent square alignment, 2019 marked a major inflection point in the ongoing peace process between North and South Korea. This process was initiated during the preceding trine alignment in 2018 with a series of talks between the leaders of the two countries. These talks culminated in a partial thawing of hostilities and a joint declaration to seek an end to the decades long conflict. The trine alignment also coincided with a series of overtures from the United States, including a meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, that signified a willingness to improve relations with North Korea.[23]
In contrast to the potency of axial alignments, less potent alignments, such as trines and squares, tend not to result in such watershed moments as those mentioned above. They do, however, tend to coincide with critical junctures in international affairs that reflect the same underlying archetypal tendencies, albeit with decreased likelihood of short term resolution. Apposite to the recent square alignment, 2019 marked a major inflection point in the ongoing peace process between North and South Korea. This process was initiated during the preceding trine alignment in 2018 with a series of talks between the leaders of the two countries. These talks culminated in a partial thawing of hostilities and a joint declaration to seek an end to the decades long conflict. The trine alignment also coincided with a series of overtures from the United States, including a meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, that signified a willingness to improve relations with North Korea.[23]
The peace process reached a new phase in 2019 when the square alignment moved into orb. This phase was marked by a more tense exchange between North Korea and the US, in which the two countries disagreed over proposed trade-offs: the US demanding that North Korea dismantle its nuclear facilities; North Korea in turn demanding an end to severe economic sanctions (estimated to have caused over half a million deaths since 2003).[24] This phase of the negotiations included a highly publicised summit between the leaders of all three nations, which took place on June 30 - when the square was exact to within 2° - in the Korean Demilitarised Zone; the buffer zone between the North and South. The meeting was historically significant for the fact that Trump briefly crossed the border into North Korea; the first time a sitting US president had done so.[25]
It is not clear to what extent these negotiations represent real progress. A cynical observer of these events might be inclined to dismiss the grand gestures of 2019 as mere empty spectacle. The inflated rhetoric that emerged from both the Korean and American camps, and the resulting photo opportunities, were faintly reminiscent of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama, and the arguably hollow nature of that gesture in hindsight, and the US continues to implement harsh sanctions against North Korea. Whilst it is true that these negotiations may have put image before substance, they might also have laid the groundwork for future peace, and ultimately the reunification of Korea; it remains to be seen. Both the positive and negative inflections of the Jupiter-Neptune complex can be read into these events.
Flights of fancy
The Jupiter archetype is what underlies the impulse towards long distance travel, as well as the capacity for joviality and celebration - all of these tendencies are encapsulated in the experience of a foreign holiday, and insofar as flight is a means of travelling to distant locations, it follows that planes and airports have a profound connection to the Jupiter archetype. Therefore, it is to be expected that - under the influence of a hard aspect between Jupiter and Neptune - planes, airports, and holidays will be subject to all manner of modification and interference that accords with the Neptune archetype. Not surprisingly then, the period of the square alignment coincided with numerous instances of such phenomena.
Perhaps the most visually striking - and conspicuously symbolic - instance of this was the opening of the newly constructed Beijing Daxing International Airport in September 2019 when the alignment was almost precisely exact.[26] The airport terminal, which is the largest in the world, has been nicknamed "starfish" and bears an obvious resemblance to the marine invertebrate. This massive structure is a magnificent symbol of the two archetypal principles - Jupiter and Neptune - combined together in a highly dynamic synthesis. The aquatic motif of Neptune forming an indelible imprint on the jet-setting Jupiter archetype (Neptune→Jupiter).
Perhaps the most visually striking - and conspicuously symbolic - instance of this was the opening of the newly constructed Beijing Daxing International Airport in September 2019 when the alignment was almost precisely exact.[26] The airport terminal, which is the largest in the world, has been nicknamed "starfish" and bears an obvious resemblance to the marine invertebrate. This massive structure is a magnificent symbol of the two archetypal principles - Jupiter and Neptune - combined together in a highly dynamic synthesis. The aquatic motif of Neptune forming an indelible imprint on the jet-setting Jupiter archetype (Neptune→Jupiter).
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| Shi Jiamin/Getty Images |
The Jupiter-Neptune complex has also been expressed via advertising, as the below advert for the airline EasyJet demonstrates. The advert - which was broadcast frequently throughout the square alignment - is accompanied by Cat Power's ethereal melody 'Dreams', and successfully interweaves several moods and motifs that evoke the Jupiter-Neptune complex. From the opening shot of a plane window, the ad moves through a sequence of phantasmagorical imagery: including shots of children swimming through a liquid sky; tourists dining on a table made of clouds; and a cyclist moving down a beautiful street as it ripples and contorts in a watery fashion. The tagline 'imagine where we can take you' serving as a mantra for Jupiter-Neptune: a wanderlust (Jupiter) fuelled by imagination (Neptune).
Whilst the above advert might have enticed many people to book a flight during the Jupiter-Neptune square alignment, many people also had their holiday plans thwarted by the more problematic tendencies of Neptune. These negative tendencies were strikingly evident in the widely reported incident involving an alleged drone at Gatwick airport, which occurred when the planets first came to within 5° of exactitude. Between the 19th and the 21st of December 2018, reports of a drone appearing close to the runway at Gatwick Airport resulted in hundreds of flights getting cancelled and huge media attention.[27]
Even more perplexing was the subsequent investigation, which proved thoroughly inconclusive. Despite numerous alleged sightings and two false arrests, no actual evidence of the drone was obtained by police, and this has led to speculation that the drone was a complete fabrication.[28] If so, the entire incident may amount to a collective hallucination, which would also be fitting with the meaning of Jupiter-Neptune.
***
In another example of - to use a poetic description - the interference by Neptune upon the affairs of Jupiter, hundreds of thousands of holiday makers had the magic carpet pulled from under them when Thomas Cook Group plc, a combined airline and tour operator, went into financial liquidation, leaving their customers stranded abroad. This occurred on September 23rd when the Jupiter-Neptune square was almost precisely exact (within 1°).[29]
That so many foreign holidays should go awry during the square alignment is suggestive of an insidious influence from Neptune (Neptune→Jupiter); an influence that tends towards confusion, dissolution, and loss of various kinds. These holidays were underwritten by false promises; by cheques that couldn't be paid, and the airline's customers were left in an ambiguous state of uncertainty. A clear parallel can be drawn between this event and the Fyre Festival debacle. Further to this, the way that Thomas Cook group dissolved, without much outward sign of resistance, is also indicative of the pacifying, or dissolving, tendency of the Neptune archetype. Even the financial term 'liquidation' is a subtle evocation of this archetype; the company seemingly dissolved into the ether.
The collapse of Thomas Cook left 600,000 customers stranded abroad, with a high number of British nationals included in that number, this triggered the Civil Aviation Authority to initiate the UK's largest peacetime repatriation program, dubbed 'operation Matterhorn'. Both the term 'peacetime repatriation' (Neptune→Jupiter), and the choice to name the efforts after a mountain (Jupiter) carry a strong archetypal significance.
That so many foreign holidays should go awry during the square alignment is suggestive of an insidious influence from Neptune (Neptune→Jupiter); an influence that tends towards confusion, dissolution, and loss of various kinds. These holidays were underwritten by false promises; by cheques that couldn't be paid, and the airline's customers were left in an ambiguous state of uncertainty. A clear parallel can be drawn between this event and the Fyre Festival debacle. Further to this, the way that Thomas Cook group dissolved, without much outward sign of resistance, is also indicative of the pacifying, or dissolving, tendency of the Neptune archetype. Even the financial term 'liquidation' is a subtle evocation of this archetype; the company seemingly dissolved into the ether.
The collapse of Thomas Cook left 600,000 customers stranded abroad, with a high number of British nationals included in that number, this triggered the Civil Aviation Authority to initiate the UK's largest peacetime repatriation program, dubbed 'operation Matterhorn'. Both the term 'peacetime repatriation' (Neptune→Jupiter), and the choice to name the efforts after a mountain (Jupiter) carry a strong archetypal significance.
Seaborne migration
A wave of illegal seaborne migration from the French coast into the UK began in November 2018 in coincidence with the beginning of the square alignment. These migrations continued for the duration of the alignment; the BBC estimates that almost 1,900 people crossed the Channel in small boats during 2019.[30] Furthermore, every occasion on which Jupiter and Neptune reached exactitude, or come close to it, coincided with a surge in the number of migrations; the biggest surge, in which a record 86 people attempted crossing in a single day, occurred on September 10th when the square was exact to within 2°.[31]As previously discussed, the archetypal impulse of Jupiter expresses itself in the form of long distance travel, which includes migration. The covert and seaborne nature of these migrations suggest that Neptune was modulating the archetypal impulse of Jupiter in accordance with its secretive and aquatic nature (Neptune→Jupiter). An abundance of maritime activity is also suggestive of the inverse vector (Jupiter→Neptune). Another aspect of this situation that suggested an activated Jupiter-Neptune complex was the fraudulent claim, repeated by many of the smugglers, that the opportunity to enter the UK in this fashion would come to an abrupt end upon the implementation of brexit.
The UK was not the only country to experience this phenomenon during the square alignment. In October, Germany warned of the increasing risk of another migrant crisis, as seaborne migration into Europe soared once again throughout 2019. As of October, U.N. data shows that almost 45,600 migrants arrived in Europe by sea.[32] In August, Greece saw the highest monthly arrival numbers since the EU struck a deal with Turkey in the final months of the preceding Jupiter-Neptune opposition. This resurgence suggests a diachronic pattern of seaborne migration that is linked to cyclical alignments of Jupiter-Neptune.
Exploring cosmic mysteries
The first ever landing on the far side of the Moon, as part of a mission by the China National Space Administration, is suggestive of the Jupiter-Neptune archetypal complex. Jupiter is associated with the archetypal impulse to explore new territory, both inner and outer; to expand the horizon of the known; and to broaden the scope of human understanding across all domains. Both the historical exploration of the globe, and the present and future exploration of space, are expressions of this archetypal impulse. When this exploratory impulse is modified by the Neptune archetype (Neptune→Jupiter), as it was throughout the Jupiter-Neptune square alignment, the kind of exploration that occurs tends to have a mysterious or otherworldly sheen. Further to that, the territory explored tends to be of an especially subtle or enigmatic sort. The far side hemisphere of the Moon is inherently mysterious as it always faces away from Earth.
The landing of the Chang'e 4 spacecraft occurred on January 3 when the Jupiter-Neptune square was fairly close to exact,[33] the Moon was also conjunct Jupiter at this time and thus part of a triple planet alignment. The combined meaning of all three planetary archetypes is expressed in this event: the far reaching exploration (Jupiter) of the profoundly mysterious (Neptune) lunar surface (Moon).
The landing of the Chang'e 4 spacecraft occurred on January 3 when the Jupiter-Neptune square was fairly close to exact,[33] the Moon was also conjunct Jupiter at this time and thus part of a triple planet alignment. The combined meaning of all three planetary archetypes is expressed in this event: the far reaching exploration (Jupiter) of the profoundly mysterious (Neptune) lunar surface (Moon).
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| Event Horizon Telescope image of M87* |
Another major scientific milestone arrived courtesy of the Event Horizon Telescope project, when the international collaboration announced the first ever direct image of a black hole (pictured above) in April 2019.[34] The images reveal the contours of a giant black hole at the centre of galaxy M87. As it is impossible to see the interior of a black hole directly, these images are purportedly a glimpse of the so called event horizon - the apparent boundary of the phenomena - beyond which no light can escape, and from which the project takes its name. The announcement of these images is profoundly evocative of the Jupiter-Neptune archetypal meaning. Black holes demarcate the limits of human knowledge; their very existence has only been inferred prior to this discovery. Furthermore, the very nature of the EHT research is also evocative of the Jupiter-Neptune complex: the research was conducted via a global network (Jupiter) of highly sensitive (Neptune) radio telescopes.
Alienstock
Amongst the many archetypally relevant events that occurred during the square alignment, there is one that stands out as perhaps the most playful expression of the Jupiter-Neptune archetypal complex. I am referring to the sequence of events that culminated in the "Storm Area 51" weekend in Lincoln County, Nevada; an outlandish celebration (Jupiter) of conspiracy theories and UFO mythology (Neptune). The story began with the creation of a Facebook event, scheduled to occur on September 20th, which called on people to raid Area 51, a US military facility and the subject of much UFO lore, in search of extraterrestrial life. Despite being intended as a joke, the event attracted the attention of millions of people after becoming an internet meme.[35]
The unexpected success of this meme led Matty Roberts, the event's creator, to capitalise on the fervour by promoting an alien themed music festival that would take place in the vicinity of Area 51 over the weekend of September 20th. As enthusiasm for the event continued to rise, concerns about safety and lack of infrastructure began to circulate, which ultimately led to the amateur festival organisers backing out of the event. At this point, the momentum around the planned "Alienstock" festival had spiralled out of Roberts' control, and business owners in Nevada were continuing in their somewhat precarious plans to host the festival. Parallels began to be drawn between Alienstock and the above mentioned Fyre Festival, including a statement from the festival's originators that "... we are not interested in, nor will we tolerate any involvement with a FYREFEST 2.0..."
Upon the scheduled date of the event, about 150 people were reported to have shown up outside the entrance to area 51, with none succeeding in entering the site. Two separate alien-themed music festivals did go ahead and achieved an estimated attendance of around 3,000, far short of the 25,000 that were anticipated before Roberts' departure. Despite the widespread fears about infrastructure and organisation, the Alienstock weekend appears not to have been a total disaster. Accounts of the festivities span a range of responses, from mirthful silliness to bitter disappointment at the alleged 'selling out' of the original spirit of the event.[36] In its most positive sense, this event expressed the celebratory impulse of Jupiter as it applied to Neptune's domain of mystery and the unseen (Jupiter→Neptune); a massive party (Jupiter) that was surreal, confusing, and otherworldly (Neptune).
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| Bridget Bennett—AFP/Getty Images |
McMindfulness
Throughout the current square alignment, certain cultural themes have been emphasised that express, in one way or another, the inherent tension between the Jupiter and Neptune archetypes. One such tension is between capitalism (Jupiter) and spirituality (Neptune); a tension that is now crystallising as a critique of mindfulness culture, specifically as it is promoted by large corporations. The practice that is now known as mindfulness has origins in the ancient religion of Buddhism, but over the past several decades these meditative techniques have been adapted to a secular Western context where they have become increasingly commodified, and corporatised, under the ethos of neoliberal capitalism.
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| Still from Mad Men, AMC |
Purser's statements are a clear articulation of the shadow potential that is inherent to the Jupiter-Neptune complex. The commercialisation (Jupiter) of mindfulness practices (Neptune) risks devaluing the authentic spiritual context from which they originated. Furthermore, through co-opting mindfulness as a superficial veneer, corporations are able to obfuscate the more problematic aspects of capitalism (Neptune→Jupiter). Purser's admonition of rampant 'greed, ill will and delusion', and his call for a more critical stance could be read as an expression of the concurrently activated Saturn-Pluto complex issuing judgement on the moral pitfalls of the Jupiter-Neptune complex.A truly revolutionary mindfulness would challenge the western sense of entitlement to happiness irrespective of ethical conduct. However, mindfulness programmes do not ask executives to examine how their managerial decisions and corporate policies have institutionalised greed, ill will and delusion. Instead, the practice is being sold to executives as a way to de-stress, improve productivity and focus, and bounce back from working 80-hour weeks...... Mindfulness practices do not permit critique or debate of what might be unjust, culturally toxic or environmentally destructive. Rather, the mindful imperative to “accept things as they are” while practising “nonjudgmental, present moment awareness” acts as a social anesthesia, preserving the status quo.[39]
The archetypal art world
As previously discussed, the planetary archetype of Neptune is associated with the myth of Narcissus. This strongly archetypal myth, in which the beautiful Narcissus falls in love with his own image as reflected to him in a pool of water, points to the archetypal tendency towards the state of enchantment that is characteristic of the Neptune archetype, as well as the archetype's affinity with water. Early in 2019, archaeologists in Pompeii unearthed a stunningly well preserved fresco (below) that depicts Narcissus staring at his watery reflection.[40] The fresco, which survived the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., was discovered in the remains of a very opulent home which likely belonged to a wealthy Roman. This discovery, which was announced in February, is highly suggestive of an activated Jupiter→Neptune archetypal vector: inherent in this discovery is the exaltation (Jupiter) of Narcissus (Neptune); a cultural-historical celebration (Jupiter) of mythical enchantment (Neptune).
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| EPA |
Narcissus was not the only mythical figure to make waves in the art world during the square alignment. The Roman god Jupiter, after whom the planet was named, found himself centre stage in a comically symbolic art world drama when a series of paintings of the Roman god came under fresh scrutiny. The Danaë are a series of compositions by the Italian painter Titian that date from the sixteenth century. These paintings depict Danaë, a beautiful princess who was seduced and impregnated by Jupiter. Having descended from Mount Olympus, Jupiter is portrayed as having disguised himself in the form of a shower of golden coins (an unambiguous rendering of the Neptune→Jupiter vector). In a rather extraordinary example of synchronicity, this richly archetypal scene took on renewed relevance during the Jupiter-Neptune square when one of the compositions (below), believed to be Titian's, was declared to be a "dud" by a leading art historian. Professor Charles Hope, an expert on Titian, deemed the painting to be a "later pastiche" produced by a minor hand.[41]
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| Stratfield Saye Preservation Trust |
[1] Jung, Carl. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.
[2] Tarnas, Richard. 'World Transits 2000 - 2020: An Overview', in Archai [http://www.archai.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tarnas-%E2%80%93-World-Transits-2000-2020-%E2%80%93-Archai-Issue-1.pdf]
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/03/jubilee-pageant-thames-flotilla-rain
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/world/americas/ecuador-to-let-assange-stay-in-its-embassy.html
[5] https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/latest/2015/12/5683d0b56/million-sea-arrivals-reach-europe-2015.html
[6] https://www.icij.org/blog/2016/05/icij-releases-panama-papers-offshore-company-data/
[7] https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world
[8] https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145703/unusual-monsoon-season-causes-flooding-in-india
[9] https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/710849530/flooding-in-iran-kills-at-least-70-forces-evacuation-of-thousands?t=1579297827612
[10] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/11/us/midwest-flooding.html
[11] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/eye-of-the-storm/hurricane-dorian-was-worthy-of-a-category-6-rating/
[12] https://www.mrcti.org/mrctiinthenews/2019/4/11/mayors-as-floods-deluge-midwest-towns-where-is-national-response-to-climate-disasters
[13] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/21/actor-jussie-smollett-arrested-in-chicago-say-police
[14] https://www.plutobooks.com/blog/elite-universities-college-admissions-scandal/
[15] https://www.vox.com/2019/3/3/18248783/momo-challenge-hoax-explained
[16] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/boris-johnsons-first-speech-as-prime-minister-24-july-2019
[17] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47678763
[18] http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/trump-draws-alabama-into-dorian-path-rather-than-admit-error.html
[19] http://cbdlin.com/canada-retail/
[20] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/29/county-lines-criminal-drug-networks-rapidly-expanding-national-crime-agency
[21] The Netflix documentary was released in January 2019 during the square alignment and is itself an expression of the Jupiter-Neptune complex. The actual festival occurred during April-May of 2017 when Jupiter and Neptune were not forming a major aspect, nonetheless it did coincide with the briefer quincunx (150°) alignment that preceded the closing square.
[22] https://www.christianpost.com/news/kanye-west-drops-album-jesus-is-king-on-streaming-services.html
[23] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-military/trump-surprises-with-pledge-to-end-military-exercises-in-south-korea-idUSKBN1J812W
[24] https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/cost-sanctions-north-korea/
[25] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/world/asia/trump-north-korea-dmz.html
[26] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49750182
[27] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-46623754
[28] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gatwick-drones-never-existed-sussex-police-investigation-footage-couple-released-a8697306.html
[29] https://time.com/5683934/thomas-cook-travel-collapse/
[30] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50958713
[31] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-49648596
[32] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-ministers/germany-warns-of-repeat-of-2015-eu-migration-chaos-idUSKBN1WN16N
[33] https://phys.org/news/2019-01-chinese-rover-exploring-dark-side.html
[34] https://eventhorizontelescope.org/press-release-april-10-2019-astronomers-capture-first-image-black-hole
[35] https://www.newsweek.com/storm-area-51-aliens-ufos-facebook-naruto-run-1448449
[36] https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/27/20879010/storm-area-51-alienstock-event-photos
[37] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/opinion/sunday/actually-lets-not-be-in-the-moment.html
[38] Purser, Ronald. McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality.
[39] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/14/the-mindfulness-conspiracy-capitalist-spirituality
[40] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/14/stunningly-preserved-fresco-of-narcissus-discovered-in-pompeii
[41] https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/oct/19/authenticity-of-major-titian-the-danae-challenged
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