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Originally written June 2000 | pp. 1 2 3
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This essay derives its
inspiration from Liz Greene's book, "The Astrological Neptune" which places
a special emphasis on the artist in relationship to Neptune and Saturn. However,
where Greene focused primarily upon the composer's relationship to Neptune,
I will concentrate upon the visual artist and the Neptune•Saturn configuration.
Although Saturn contrasts
significantly with the three outer planets, it is arguable that Neptune is
the planetary archetype which stands in direct oppostion to the qualities
of Saturn. Whereas Saturn in its essence manifests as form and structure,
Neptune is the amorphous, the oceanic, the indeterminate, and the everchanging
fantasy life of the unconscious emerging subtly into day to day awareness.
When Saturn and Neptune
are in aspect in the birthchart, form and formless collide and the individual
is given the formidable task of reconciling the meeting of these two antagonistic
forces. As Liz Greene emphasizes, Saturn in aspect to Neptune is the aspect
of the artist, as she writes, "With Neptune-Saturn...it is not a case of wanting
to be a musician, poet, a healer or a political philosopher. It is a case
of having to be, in order to cope with the constant internal conflict between
the structures and limits of earthly life and the chaotic flood that waits
beyond Saturn's boundaries."(1)
Even if the individual
who is born with Saturn in aspect to Neptune does not consciously choose to
be an artist by profession, he or she must handle very potent unconscious
forces clashing with the realities of everyday life. This can manifest as
a particularly strong attraction to the archetypal realm, a denial or escapist
attitude to the mundane necessity of life, problematic psychological projection
onto romantic partners, overwhelming fear and anxiety, depression and melancholia,
and a vague—if not overbearing—sense that life on this earth is but a dismal
facsimile of some truer, more beautiful, and just reality elsewhere.
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