Neptune, the 12th house, and Pisces - 2nd Edition: The Timelessness of Truth

By Maurice Fernandez

Planets and Signs in the 12th house / Neptune in each House and Sign / Transits of Neptune

In this comprehensive study, Maurice Fernandez explores the evolutionary meaning and lessons of Neptune, the 12th house, and Pisces, and lifts the veil on one of the deepest and most misunderstood archetypes of the zodiac.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maurice Fernandez - River of Stars
• Release date: May 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781732309616

Maurice Fernandez

Maurice Fernandez is a professional astrology author, teacher, and counselor. His Evolutionary Astrology approach has forged him a worldwide reputation of depth and excellence spanning decades of practice. He serves as the President of the Organization for Professional Astrology (O.P.A), focused on making astrology accessible and elevating standards of practice (2014 - ). You can find out more about Maurice Fernandez at mauricefernandez.com

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© Copyright 2004, 2018 Maurice Fernandez

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author.

Printed in the United States

First edition (2004) ISBN 978-14120402-80

Second edition (2018) ISBN 978-17323096-09

ISBN 978-17323096-16 (e-book)

Editors:

1st edition: Jinny Rodrigo

2nd edition: Leann Plank, Arthur Kuper, Geoff Gronlund, Jeremy Kanyo

Cover artwork: Jeff Lohrius at jefflohrius.com

Cover design and inner graphics: Sara Fisk

Neptune mandala: Maureen Frank at MandalaLady.com

Back cover picture: Robert Kent

All charts used in this volume are Rodden rated AA, A, or B

Using Koch house system and True Nodes

(except when mentioned otherwise)

Published by River of Stars Publications

Maurice Fernandez

www.mauricefernandez.com

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my parents, Sara and David, for their unconditional love and support in their physical and ethereal presence.

Immense gratitude to my colleagues, students, and teachers whose effort and dedication keep the flame of astrology alive, often against contrarian winds. To the OPA team and membership for supporting and creating amazing projects for astrology together. To my astrology teachers, mentors, and ancestors Dane Rudhyar, Jeffrey Green, Ayelet Bental, who opened spiritual and physical doors to the use of astrology and helped me remember the Truth.

From all my heart to those who have helped, supported, and trusted me all along the way, especially at the times when it all seemed so absurd. Notably thanks to Leann Plank, Arthur Kuper, Geoff Gronlund, and Jeremy Kanyo for the tedious editing and proof-reading process.

To those who helped integrate my soul with my body, John of God, Rabbi Elazar of Adderet, Yogi Bhajan, Linda Tucker and the White Lions, and all the spiritual teachers who have authentically held the essence of Truth and the force of love on this planet.

To Jeremy, my favorite Neptunian.

Why are things as they are, and not otherwise?

- J OHANNES K EPLER

He who is not a good servant, will not be a good master

- P LATO

Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is Truth

- I SAAC N EWTON

Table of Contents

Preface - 2nd Edition (2018)

The Timelessness of Truth

Mythological and Astrological Neptune

CHAPTER ONE - THE PISCES ARCHETYPE

The Ego and the Forces of Life

Existential Well-Being

Timelessness and Time and Space:

Life in Two Parallel Dimensions

The Developmental Phases of the Pisces Archetype

CHAPTER TWO - IN SYNTHESIS

The Seven Evolutionary Phases of the Pisces Archetype

Neptune in Aries and 1st house

Neptune in Taurus and 2nd house

Neptune in Gemini and 3rd house

Neptune in Cancer and 4th house

Neptune in Leo and 5th house

Neptune in Virgo and 6th house

Neptune in Libra and 7th house

Neptune in Scorpio and 8th house

Neptune in Sagittarius and 9th house

Neptune in Capricorn and 10th house

Neptune in Aquarius and 11th house

Neptune in Pisces and 12th house

Neptune, the 12th House and Pisces synthesized with the Nodal Axis of the Moon

Case Study Kayelitsha

CHAPTER THREE - NEPTUNE IN TRANSIT

Guidelines

The Transit of Neptune through Pisces (2011 – 2026)

The Previous Transit of Neptune in Pisces (1847-1862)

The Different Stages of the Current Transit of Neptune in Pisces (2011 – 2026)

Summary of Transits

Preface

2nd edition (2018)

Writing this book was in itself a Neptunian experience. Without forewarning, this material came through within the space of a week in late July 2000 while writing a few notes for what was supposed to be a brief presentation on the planet Neptune. To my surprise, my pen took control over my thought process, and pages upon pages ensued. As new insights emerged about the nature of Neptune's influence, it guided me to fundamental existential questions that had always tormented me—the most prominent one being why so much suffering for the innocent. The answer was not an easy one; nevertheless, it was one that made sense and allowed my soul to be more at peace with what seems too often absurd in life.

The book's purpose is to shed light on the foggy corners of the Pisces archetype: the 12th house, its associated sign Pisces, and the planet Neptune. I hope it offers a logical framework that helps you understand the inherent dynamics of this archetype in the form of processes instead of disconnected facts and definitions. For example, traditionally, the 12th house is on the one hand associated with spirituality, and on the other hand with prisons. When no thread exists between these completely different definitions, our understanding ends up fragmented. Therein lies the strength of Astrology and the Evolution of Consciousness: this approach provides a holistic understanding, an evolutionary thread, that links seemingly unrelated occurrences to an underlying theme. In this example, what unites prisons and spirituality is that both these experiences refer to situations where we are compelled, by choice or not, to surrender control, and the surrender of control is indeed a central theme of the 12th house's affairs.

I decided to write the second edition of this book not having been fully satisfied with the first edition. Being inexperienced at the time, my broken English required heavy editing and needed more refinement. Hopefully, it is a little less broken now. Initially, I thought I would have the second edition ready for the ingress of Neptune into Pisces by 2012, but it took six additional years to complete. As I was reviewing the chapters, more information came through and what was edited, needed to be re-edited. Trying to convey complex spiritual nuances and definitions in an accessible and useful way required tremendous time to polish the content. I now feel more at peace with it and do hope Neptune does not have a third edition in store for me.

How to read this book? As obvious as it seems, it is essential to first go through Chapter One in order to better understand Chapter Two's descriptions of the different chart placements. Resist the temptation to directly skip to the chapters that refer to your chart, at least during the first read.

You will find that you likely have more than one signature that fits your chart. By combining the placements and aspects of Neptune, and then of planets and signs in the 12th house and Pisces, there will be multiple archetypal signatures fitting any chart. These are all valid and relevant, and it may occur that these placements will interchangeably be more active during particular life periods.

This is my offering. I dedicate this book to astrology and to life, my ultimate teacher. Love and blessings to all,

Maurice Fernandez

Sedona, Arizona (March 2018)

The Timelessness of Truth

Mythological and Astrological Neptune

Neptune, the modern ruler of Pisces, was discovered on September 23, 1846. Its 165-year orbit around the Sun is approximately twice as long as that of Uranus's and two-thirds as long as that of Pluto's.

Prior to Neptune's discovery, Jupiter was considered the ruler of Pisces, and many Traditional Astrology practitioners still do so today. My personal research, as shared in this volume, leads me to confidently look to Neptune as the more comprehensive representative of Pisces themes. While Jupiter does capture several of the Pisces themes, such as spiritual development and associations with the nature and the wild, Neptune takes it deeper to the transpersonal dimension. For example, if Jupiter is associated with our belief systems, Neptune represents the timeless Truth, beyond any subjective belief bias.

Synchronistically, at the time of Neptune's discovery, the American gold-rush began, prompting a massive migration to California in hopes of attaining rapid wealth. At the same time antiseptics were first used in hospitals to combat infections. 1846 was the year that petroleum was first distilled from raw resources. Fifteen years later, the US civil war broke out to abolish slavery. These historical occurrences concur with Pisces themes.

In mythology, Neptune is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon, who ruled over the Creation as the lord of the waters along with his brothers Hades (Pluto) the lord of the underworld, and Zeus (Jupiter) the lord of the sky. The earth itself is be ruled by all three, with Zeus as the supreme leader. Poseidon is commonly depicted holding a trident, known as the astrological symbol of Neptune. He is a part of numerous mythological stories, including The Iliad and The Odyssey. While the myth of Neptune and Poseidon embody many attributes associated with the astrological influences of Neptune, particularly associations with the open seas and the power to shapeshift, the content of this volume describes the planet Neptune to have a much vaster scope of influence in the chart that goes beyond the original myth associated with the planets' name.

Astrologers consider Neptune to be an Outer Planet, along with Uranus, and Pluto—Outer planets represent the impulse to develop a higher perspective on life that transcends egocentric attachments and subjective biases. These three bodies are the forces of change that prompt the evolution of our consciousness to increase our awareness about life's Truth. While the personal planets represent the need to develop an ego, survive, have security, and build ourselves, the outer planets represent the need to constantly outgrow our limitations and transcend our subjective perspectives. The outer planets help us realize that our personal lives are linked to a larger Truth that unites everything—from personal development, to transpersonal evolution.

To live well, we cannot simply focus on survival and security but also continuously expand our consciousness. Through crises and revelations, the outer planets peel new layers of the Truth. Neptune, specifically, represents the actual essence of the Truth that is not conditioned by a specific place, time, culture, or perspective, but one that remains a constant through the course of time — the Timeless Truth.

In times of confusion, disorientation, and defeat, the constant of Truth serves as our reference to help us get back on track.

Interestingly, as Neptune symbolizes illusions, it also symbolizes the dissolution of illusions. As the veils dissipate, we have a direct experience with what is constant, the timeless Truth.

CHAPTER ONE

The Pisces Archetype

The Ego and the Forces of Life

Every archetype in astrology reflects a function that is essential to the nature of life. When we speak of the archetype of Pisces, which includes the sign of Pisces, its modern planetary ruler Neptune, and its natural house, the 12th house, one of its primary purposes is to bridge between our separate consciousness, the ego, and the higher forces of life, the original forces of Creation. Under Pisces's influence, we realize that there is more to life than our personal story and acknowledge that we are part of the greater scheme underlying existence.

Through Pisces, we work on our relationship with life, the sum of it all; this relationship determines the nature of our existential well-being. Regardless of whether we are rich or poor, or any other detail pertaining to our personal circumstances, when our relationship with life is healthy, we can find well-being. The archetype of Pisces in our chart reflects the ongoing dialogue we have with existence, and whether we are going through storms or calm waters, its inherent evolutionary lesson is to be at peace with life.

In order to explore this relationship between the ego and the forces of Creation, we need to define and better understand the phenomenon of the ego. The ego is the part of our psyche through which we personalize life in our current incarnation; it is the filter through which we internalize every impression and digest it. Spiritually speaking, it represents individual consciousness, the channel through which we create our identity in the vastness of existence and process everything we are going through.

The higher expression of the ego is the soul. Our soul is also a component of our separate identity. However, unlike the ego, the soul represents our identity beyond this current life, to include the sum of our evolutionary processes through multiple incarnations.

The soul works through an ego in each incarnation to create an identity that will serve its evolutionary processes. The ego will identify with people, places, ideas, or causes that will serve as a platform for the soul to evolve. Through our ego, we become emotionally attached to certain things and personalize them—they become known, safe, and can be better managed and controlled. For example, if a person is a teacher, the ego personalizes that profession, and teaching becomes the field of operation through which the soul experiences and learns its life lessons.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Pisces archetype represents the forces of life that existed before we came into being; the forces that created us and everything else. Thus, it comprises the whole mechanism of life that operates regardless of whether we understand it or not—it is beyond the spectrum of our ego. We are born into a reality we did not create; if the sky is blue and trees are green, we encounter this as a matter of fact. How it all started, and where it is all going, we do not know for sure, and can only speculate.

Since the sign of Pisces, Neptune, and the 12th house represent the greater forces of Creation as an archetype, they represent the unknown, the mystery, and therefore what is not within our control. The way we deal with and accept the unknown is part of this evolutionary lesson. Not having control, we can experience this archetype as chaotic and unsafe. However, from a Pisces point of view, since life is a holistic organism in which everything is interconnected, we need to eventually encounter unfamiliar elements and step outside our comfort zone in order to experience everything there is.

Since every element in life is interconnected and interdependent, we are part of the whole, whether we realize it or not. The natural law of holism is challenging because it implies that foreign and sometimes hostile elements are in some ways connected to our private life, even if our ego initially dissociates from them. For example, affluent people may prefer to extricate themselves from the concerns of the poor, thinking that such a reality is outside of their personal scope; yet through the Pisces influence, they eventually learn that every component, no matter how seemingly remote, influences every other. In this case, poverty may engender social unrest or possibly higher crime rates that will touch all social classes.

Pisces is the archetype of original unity, where everything is sourced before separation and individuality; it is the raw material that contains all components and codes for life. Therefore, it goes beyond individual labels and circumstances, ultimately blending the rich and the poor, science and religion, corrupt and honest persons, animals and humans, and any other seeming polarity or division; it represents the concept of oneness because it addresses the common denominators that we all share. While we may have different qualities, and live different lifestyles, we all need water, oxygen, food, and sunlight. We all want to be healthy, happy, and safe. Pisces captures the fact that while our form differs, our essence is the same. In this original unity, ownership or individuality have no immediate relevance.

Accordingly, Pisces represents what is public and belongs to no one and to everyone, such as the air we breathe and the Sun. More mundanely, it represents public places such as roads, public parks, or the fire station that serve the public at large.

General definitions for the Pisces archetype:

- The larger forces of Creation that operate beyond our control, with or without our understanding.

- The greater scheme of things.

- What is unknown, veiled, and remains a mystery.

- The source of everything; what unites all living things.

- Our common denominator, homogeny; what is beyond separation.

- What belongs to everyone and no one in particular; what is public.

The dynamic development of the ego is represented by the water triad of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

Cancer represents our ego's need to develop a personal identity by emotionally identifying with and attaching to specific elements of life: it is the known.

Pisces represents all the primal and underlying natural forces of life, which remain largely mysterious; it is what remains to be learned and what lies beyond the control of our ego's identity: it is the unknown.

Scorpio represents our evolving ego's need to expand its capacity by forming intimate connections with new elements and people, allowing us to change and go through a complete metamorphosis. Scorpio expands consciousness by bridging the unknown with the known.

The integration of our ego within the holistic principle of life manifests through the Mutable cross comprising Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius.

Pisces represents the initial unity of life as a single organism that includes all aspects of Creation, known or unknown to our ego; the primal forces of life in operation before human existence. Under such larger forces, we remain in a passive state, going with the flow, dwelling in what is, without necessarily knowing where everything came from or where it all is going.

Gemini relates to our ego's effort to make the unknown known by observing life's mechanism and learning about it. This process entails gathering up-to-date information, and getting acquainted with the current facts of life. As the ego decrypts life, it names things so that it can mentally relate to and organize existence. This process provides the skills to read life's map, orient ourselves, and navigate. Because life can be learned, we realize that with logic we can connect all the different pieces; life is coherent and not random.

Virgo represents the ability to control what is known in life and use the information gathered through the Gemini phase to guarantee proper function, health, and productivity. As learning increases, the ego further refines its skills to use life's resources more efficiently. The function and skills of one person serve and rely on the function and skills of another, so all services are interdependent to make the whole system work.

Sagittarius represents our ego's need to venture beyond the limits of the known, and what already functions, in order to better understand the bigger picture and navigate life even more successfully. This urge for more fosters intuition, risk, and speculation about new possibilities and a greater potential. There is yearning to find the overarching meaning to life that would serve as a guideline for everyone to prosper.

Closing this cycle, Pisces, represents our ego's need to realize the limitation of our individual power when facing the immensity of existence with its higher forces and meanings. We perceive that despite our ability to learn, grow, and progress, there is always more to the mystery. Life comprises ever deeper layers of the Truth. We become aware of our limitation to grasp it all, and learn to accept we cannot know everything, and must trust the greater Truth and its mystery; we learn to harmonize with life, trusting it is good.

What is unknown and beyond control (Pisces) stands opposed to the need to manage and control (Virgo). Squaring this axis, Gemini and Sagittarius represent the learning process that transforms the unknown into the known. Yet, no matter how much one learns, the unknown intrinsic to Pisces is infinite, forever putting the ego in the position of learning in humble and trusting submission.

Existential Well-Being

Since the Pisces archetype is about the relationship between our separate self and the greater forces of life, it reflects our meeting with existence and the way we relate to the experience of living. We don't really know where we came from, how it all began, and where we are going. We live with the mystery of that which we did not create but are made to embrace: life itself.

Because we cannot fully control greater universal forces, we can either choose to trust this cosmic order or feel threatened by it. We trust that the Sun will rise every morning and the sky will not fall on our heads, even though these events are actually beyond our control and we have no guarantee. Pisces reflects the fact that we live with a range of natural phenomena, most of which we do not understand; yet something in us trusts that if it works, it must be essentially good.

How can we know that all is good since we only catch a glimpse of it? This is an important existential question, and one that has been debated since the dawn of humanity, but still remains largely unanswered. An important reference is the fact that if life still goes on despite all the problems and challenges, something must be working. Moreover, even though life remains a mystery, we are able to learn about it and see intelligence working within it. We can therefore conclude that life is coherent, purposeful and knowable.

At the core, through the influences of Neptune, 12th house, and Pisces in the chart, we assess our existential experience, and evaluate how we do with the sum of it all. This is not merely about our daily concerns such as fixing a flat tire or even the tears of a broken heart, but about how we experience the whole package, how we do with life.

We live life, we are life, but life is so much greater than who we are. Do we like it? Some people feel lucky because they experience good fortune; life works for them, at least for the time being. Others are anxious, in a continuous state of unease, perhaps because they experienced pain and unexpected loss that shook their trust in life. Most of us fluctuate between moments of joy and gratitude, and moments of despair and anxiety. At the end of the day, if we address the sum of it all, what matters the most, from a Pisces point of view, is whether we are happy. Do we like living?

Through Neptune, the 12th house, and Pisces, we measure our existential well-being; it is our happiness barometer. The details —who we are, what we do, how we live, and what we believe in—are secondary. What matters is the fundamental question: with all we have and do not have, what we know and do not know, with the pleasures and the pains, do we love life, or only tolerate it, or perhaps even detest it? Some people feel blessed, others cursed and perhaps even consider suicide. Quite a few pretend to be happy and lie to themselves by denying their dysfunctions. True happiness is a work in progress.

One of the important evolutionary lessons of Pisces is to establish a healthy relationship with life so that our existential well-being is sustained. As we will explore in the coming chapters, life takes us through a wide range of experiences and most of us will taste the whole spectrum, from grief to bliss. Yet, at the end of the day, the main purpose of the Pisces influence is to engage us in the most fundamental of evolutionary lessons: the mastery of happiness.

General definitions for the Pisces archetype:

- The nature of our relationship with life and our existential questions.

- Questioning if life work for us. If regardless of the choices we made and the circumstances of our life, we are experiencing well-being.

- The gradual mastery of happiness.

Timelessness and Time and Space

- Life in Two Parallel Dimensions

The Pisces archetype represents the source of everything, and in this original unity, it represents the dimension of timelessness, where separation does not exist. At its deepest core, Pisces is the timeless Truth that governs life—what is true for all, everywhere, and always. Love, justice, and peace are examples of these universal timeless values that underlie the motivations of the soul at all times and places. While the Truth in its entirety may be too vast to be grasped, it is ultimately the only thing that works, and this is why we all gravitate toward it. As the Pisces archetype reflects the timeless Truth, it captures what is outside the wheel of time, beyond death and rebirth, unaffected by evolution.

The dimension of timelessness is not immediately accessible, and the Truth is largely a mystery we can only partially understand; however, we have an unconscious memory of the timeless dimension from our own initial core and origin, what we may call the cosmic womb, a place where all was one and unified before birth and individuation. While it largely remains unconscious, a part of us is connected to this cosmic womb. Even as we go about our daily lives and address trivial matters, the memory of the timeless realm guides us. For example, at times when we choose a house to buy or when we set personal goals, these may seem to just be practical matters, yet, they are in fact decisions driven by our ideal to find ultimate peace, love, and well-being—from our memory of the timeless.

As we evolve spiritually, we become more conscious of the timeless dimension, the all-encompassing Truth that unites everything, and make more effort to align our personal values with it.

Time and space is a parallel dimension where we leave the cosmic womb and are birthed as separate beings. In the time and space dimension, the totality of life is split into fragments, similar to the universe after the Big Bang when the core of all things exploded into a myriad of separate particles and elements. Each of these fragments develops a consciousness of its own. This is where we come to exist as individuals.

Time and space is about individuality, separate consciousness, and personal egocentric development; each time and each space capture an isolated experience, a particular form. The function of time and space is to separate and define. For example, when we are in the Arctic we experience cold, in contrast to the desert where we experience heat; different places, different times, different experiences. Individuality and separation highlight unique qualities and characteristics.

Despite these differences, these separate environments are actually completely interconnected and are part of a larger climate system. Each experience is separated by time and by space, but all of them reflect a fragment, true in itself, of the greater Truth.

Like a movie comprising multiple frames to create a continuum, our lives are a sequential collection of many time and space experiences. We proceed from one fragment to the next to experience the whole of life in a gradual way.

One possible reason for being birthed into time and space is to break the timeless Truth into fragments so we may experience the totality of Truth one step at a time. Our consciousness is not equipped to grasp the totality of Truth at once, the same way too much electricity would blow a light bulb. Consequently, the purpose of time and space is to assimilate the Truth progressively, one fragment at a time.

Since we can only experience fragments of the Truth at a time, time and space dimension is narrow compared to timelessness. As a result, within time and space, everything is relative.

A relative truth (time and space dimension): the Arctic is colder than the Sahara desert.

The absolute Truth (timelessness dimension): The Arctic and the Sahara are interrelated and part of the same global ecosystem and living organism despite their seeming differences and variables.

Accordingly, within time and space we experience duality because each fragment in being unique, must be balanced by its opposite in order to find the center, that which unites all. Duality is necessary in order to maintain balance between the fragments in time and space. For example, a person who lives in the fragment of the 21st century (time) in New York City (space) lives a relatively faster paced lifestyle compared to someone who lived during colonial times (time) in rural Bangladesh (space). Yet the duality of these realities—urban versus rural, modern versus colonial rhythms—is necessary for balance, for one cannot exist without the other. Each fragment is a piece to the puzzle of Truth, and it is only when they all come together that we are able to realize the whole meaning of life.

As time and space dimension breaks the totality of Truth into relativistic fragments, engendering duality, the spiral motion of evolution serves as a necessary to bridge between all the pieces. Through Evolution we can gradually synchronize all the fragments of time and space with each other to create the whole again.

Evolution results from work, whether that work is physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. Nothing holds within time and space without evolution, and therefore without work. For example, a relationship remains healthy and love grows only when the couple works on it. The moment a relationship is taken for granted, the chemistry that sustains it weakens.

Since time and space can only capture separate pieces of the Truth at one time, in this dimension we never feel completely whole; as a result of this limitation, we experience pain. Since time and space is narrow and limited compared to the vastness and oneness of timelessness, living in time and space is a shock to the system, from a Pisces point of view since Pisces is associated with what is timeless. In time and space we experience recurrent endings and new beginnings; the desert must end for the ocean to begin, and so it is that every experience we have is transitory only; pleasure or hardship, rain or shine, all eventually end for the next fragment to follow. Since no fragment is complete and whole, and every experience is temporary, time and space inevitably engenders lack, and because of this limitation we experience pain. In the desert we lack water, in the Arctic we lack heat, and so each fragment captures both a quality and limitation—because it is never whole in itself, pain results — dehydration or frost bites respectively. As we face our lack and limitations, we are compelled to evolve our consciousness with the aim to recapture the whole, what is timeless. In its simplest term, pain is the absence of timeless Truth.

From a Pisces point of view, we would all rather remain in the timeless dimension because it is who we truly are, one. The act of separation necessary to developing an ego in time and space is both a burden and a treacherous journey; it is marred with recurrent limitations, temporary experiences, and confrontations with pain. However, evolution demands we form an ego so that we can evolve our separate consciousness and realize Truth as individuals. Since the Pisces influence reminds us of the timeless Truth, we tend to resist the demands of evolution and instead yearn for a shortcut back to the cosmic womb of timelessness; yet, trying to escape time and space only exacerbates the struggle and increases the pain. Time and space cannot be skipped, and we must accept our birth, our separation, and our ego for the work to be done. The evolutionary lesson through the Pisces archetype, namely Neptune, the 12th house, and Pisces, is to learn to harmonize the dimension of timelessness with the dimension of time and space.

We live simultaneously in both timelessness and time and space dimensions, and we transition between them as they each serve a necessary purpose. Timelessness is life's eternal Truth, while time and space is where learning of the Truth occurs. Paradoxically, we need the fragments of time and space to learn and realize what is timeless.

As one evolves through time and space, each fragment gains greater meaning and depth, and becomes less narrow and more whole. For example, the person living in New York City may consciously learn to include serenity and outdoor activities within the framework of his or her busy urban existence, and in such a way, bring more wholeness and gradually overcome duality.

Differences between the dimensions of timelessness and time and space are listed in the following table.

Table one: Timelessness versus Time and Space

The more conscious and spiritually aligned we are, the more we grow beyond the fragmented reality of time and space and consciously tap into timelessness. Eventually, we are able to harmoniously navigate both realities. Yet, most of us are unaware that both dimensions exist simultaneously and must be both integrated; we either reject time and space because it is limited, or we reject timelessness because we see it as a fantasy that is impractical, or inaccessible. Until we are able to distinguish between these two dimensions and understand their respective role, we are likely to be recurrently confused, lacking a clear idea of where one dimension ends and the other begins, and not understanding how to integrate both of them together.

Neptune, the 12th house, and Pisces represent the instinctual yearning to abandon time and space for timelessness. The soul seeks to reclaim its ultimate identity and liberation, free from the experiences of endings, new beginnings, and other limitations. However, because the need for evolution through time and space cannot be omitted, the soul is compelled to accept time and space and cooperate with its purpose. Until such acceptance is established, the soul with strong Pisces influences in the chart may have recurrent tendencies to escape. For example, a person may experience existential anxiety because of the pain intrinsic to time and space, and attempt to escape these limitations through denial of problems, numbing of pain, and substance abuse. When the soul finally accepts its birth into time and space and the challenge of separation, it then ceases trying to escape and can find peace.

In the following section, we explore the developmental phases of the Pisces archetype and the intrinsic evolutionary process. We explore how under these influences we transition back and forth between the two dimensions until we masterfully manage to synchronize them.

General definitions for the Pisces archetype:

- The realm of the Timeless Truth governing life

- Our spiritual origin; the cosmic womb from which we all were born

- Where we yearn to return, as we try to escape time and space

THE DEVELOPMENTAL PHASES OF THE PISCES ARCHETYPE

Phase I: Innocence in the Miracle of Life

Living life in complete innocence as if still within the timelessness of the cosmic womb

We are born into a world that existed before our birth and will continue to be after we die. The various laws that govern life are not the product of our own creation. We accept them as existing facts without initially fully understanding them or being able to change them. Rebutting these laws would lead to dysfunction and eventual death, so we are fated to them to subsist.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that living by life's laws is not ultimately a matter of choice, we eventually realize that aligning with these principles serves us well. From the moment of birth, we are given everything to support our existence on Earth. A baby is born into tender arms where light, earth, air, and water are all provided effortlessly; nature abundantly supplies all that is necessary. Despite the fact that the origin of existence is enigmatic, life is inviting and allows us to enjoy the privilege of being. Since something larger generated the auspicious conditions for existence, we develop a core feeling of trust toward life, for it seems that it is all good. In this phase, we do not bother to question why life is as it is, but live through the motions in all innocence. We feel supported by divine providence as individuals in this universal womb, as if walking in the Garden of Eden in all nakedness.

In this phase of development, the combined influences of Neptune, the 12th house, and the sign of Pisces represent primary innocence. We are born into the miracle of life, with all of its wonders and riches, as a matter of fact. Fruit awaits on every tree, water falls from the sky, and the Sun provides the right amount of light and temperature. Nothing is questioned; we are innocent and passively enjoy the freedom of being, as if living in a universal womb, in simplicity, confidence, and blind trust. In this first phase, fear, shame, debt, judgment, critical thinking, difficulty, and failure are utterly foreign. Sheltered in the womb of the universe, we do not recognize danger, and so our immune system remains undeveloped. We wander in existence happy-go-lucky, bare, and trusting, and live life in complete innocence as if in the paradise of God's womb.

Feeding from the purity of the universal womb, the soul may exhibit qualities that mirror divine splendor, such as transparency, positivism, and goodness. Notwithstanding, plainness and blind trust can render us utterly passive and even dull. This state of innocence manifests in indiscriminate trust and utter simplicity, engendering simplistic-ness, complacency and ignorance because the impulse for critical thinking and question is dormant.

With the consciousness of innocence, everything