Saturn Conjunct Neptune in Aries — 5 Paradoxical Themes to Watch For

Hey everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology [https://nightlightastrology.com/].

Today we are going to take a look at Saturn's upcoming entrance into the sign of Aries alongside of Neptune and Aries, the two planets will conjoin not until next year, but they will be in very close proximity for a good chunk of this year. So we're going to look at that timeline for Saturn and Neptune's conjunction. And then we're going to look at five themes that are sort of paradoxical.

It is as though the conjunction of Saturn and Neptune contains these kinds of contradictory statements, and you're forced, as a student of astrology, to kind of go well, it could go like this, or it could go the complete opposite. We want to understand those dualities that come up with Saturn and Neptune the best we can why they come up, which is just as important. And then what kinds of paradoxical statements do Saturn and Neptune make when they get together?

I think this will help us prepare ourselves for the upcoming transit of Saturn and Neptune together in Aries. So that's our agenda for today. Before we get into it, as always, remember to like and subscribe really does help our channel to grow. We want this place to be the place that is part of your daily spiritual practice. So if you haven't yet subscribed, please do so.

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So on that note, Let us now turn our attention to the real time clock. We're taking a look today, kind of a first look at Saturn and Neptune conjoining. There is a deep dive that I did on Saturn Neptune on the shop page in a webinar format as well. By the way, the shop page on my website has tons of stuff you can find that I've done in the past.

So here is Saturn entering Aries on May 25 now that's coming up pretty soon. If we take this forward, we're going to see that they stay within about a degree of one another for most of their time. In 2025 Neptune turns retrograde in early July, and then not too much longer, Saturn turns retrograde by mid July, they're about a degree, a little less than a degree apart, right?

They're actually, what is it like? You know, 13 minutes of a degree apart, so almost a conjunction by July. So between May and July, the two planets are very close and getting closer. Then they both retrograde. And what happens then is, I'll go forward by weeks here to speed this up, we're going to see Saturn enter the last part of Pisces in September.

So by about September 1, Saturn has retrograded into Pisces. Then Neptune will follow shortly after, and will enter Pisces in late October. So during that time, September to late October, the two planets are no longer in the same temple, but then they return to the same temple within three degrees in October. So we're going to get something of the Saturn Neptune conjunction energy again in Pisces in. In those September, October, November months.

Take this forward a little bit. We're going to see Saturn turn direct, really, by the end of November, beginning of December, and then we're going to see Neptune turn direct by about early to mid December, and then Neptune will move back into Aries late January, and then Saturn will enter Aries again early to mid February.

So this is the dance that they do between now and the early part of 2026 not officially coming through a conjunction yet now their actual conjunction will therefore take place. This is the day that they meet, February 20 of 2026 and then from that point, Saturn starts separating, and gets to that three degree separation range by late March, early April.

And from that point on, they are really no longer in the exact space of that conjunction. By degree, you can see them further separating on. So they're going to be co present in the same temple, which is a thing. But between now and a little less than a year from now, that's the time during which we are going to be experiencing the Saturn Neptune conjunction, symbolically, energetically, as it has a it has a promise to show up in our lives in some way.

You're going to see that from late May through about September. You're really starting to notice it, and then especially get into that early couple months, into 2026 those first few months, very strongly expressing the Saturn Neptune conjunction. So it's a good time to get to know it right now, as we're waiting for these two planets to come into that configuration.

Here's the thing to know about these two planets, Saturn and Neptune when they get together, especially in a conjunction, where the planets are known to blend, or kind of merge their qualities and symbols together to become something like a blend or a mix, like a little planetary cocktail or something. I guess that's an appropriate image for Neptune in particular.

But anyhow, when these two planets come together, they especially in the conjunction, they bring a really peculiar mix of things because, because they have a tendency to represent things that are opposite the polarity when merged together, brings us all of these statements where they it almost seems like they're contradicting one another.

So I'm going to give you five examples of things to watch for that represent these very interesting dualities or tensions of opposites that can seem like contradictions or like almost like a little paradoxical, but it's a real thing, and you're going to notice sometimes that both sides of a duality are present, sometimes alternating or even at the exact same time.

Now one of the reasons for this is also the fact that Saturn, when Neptune was discovered, it was actually in a conjunction with Saturn prior there's a video on my channel that you could go and watch called the mystical Saturn. I recommend just keyword searching mystical Saturn and watching that video for a really in depth look at how ancient astrologers viewed the planet Saturn, much of which is now attributed to the outer planet Neptune.

It's fascinating how mystical Saturn was for ancient astrologers and now for modern astrologers, Saturn represents almost like the anti mystical it's typically associated with things like reality and limits and hard, earthy practicality and lack of imagination. But the ancient world that was not like that Saturn had a very different meaning, a very different set of significations, and that had to do with its status at the as the dimmest and most distant planet that sat at the edge of this world and the numinous mind of the universe or the divine, the gods the archetypal realm that lay beyond the material world.

So Saturn was a kind of gatekeeper between this world and other worldliness. And was the planet associated with oppositional tension about things that are material versus spiritual, or any other kinds of opposites, that the study of opposites, of course, was a significant part of the metaphysics of ancient astrology, as it was the metaphysics of something like Taoism or even yoga philosophy.

Of course, they're carriers of astrology as well in India. So. Understanding how opposites interact through the Saturnian lens is something that a lot of people never learn. Saturn is a planet that holds up opposites as separate and apart and often warring or battling with each other in a kind of you know, in what you or I might call like black or white thinking very binary.

However, that binary, that tension of opposites, was thought to be creative and a fundamental part of how life is constantly moving and regenerating was through this held tension of opposites that refuses to let go, so to speak. So with that in mind, there are some oppositional tensions that Saturn brings up in any aspect, but they get really peculiar and interesting when you get to Neptune.

So all of that being said is just like a little philosophical precursor. Here are the dualities to watch for, and they really can swing in either direction with Saturn Neptune, or they can be both at once. I'll try to give you some examples. Number one, sobriety or loss of sobriety. With Neptune, we often think about intoxication, you know, or illusion or fantasy.

We also think about imagination, mysticism, other worldliness. So that's the Neptune spectrum, so to speak. When we think about Saturn and the polarity that Saturn tends to bring the dynamic duality that Saturn represents in any combination it enters into, apply that to Neptune, and now we're starting to think about sobering up, where Saturn can represent this kind of sobriety, and bringing of an oppositional tension into clear focus.

If Neptune is intoxication, Saturn provides this sort of reality check of sobriety. On the other hand, what's really interesting is that where Saturn can represent a tendency toward repression or control of desire or appetite or something like that, Neptune can sort of flood Saturn and bring forth a loss of sobriety, intoxication, addiction, issues with addiction, and simultaneously, for some people, may represent the ability to let go and enjoy something that you've been repressing.

So what's interesting is how contextual this transit becomes. Are you someone, wherever this is landing in your chart, in whatever area of life, who might get pulled in the direction of greater sobriety, better better control of appetites or impulses to dissolve your consciousness in an altered state of some kind. Or are you someone who you know, rather than needing more sobriety, you need more imagination.

You need to let go more you need some kind of flood of other Worldliness to come in. You'll see that, and sometimes it's also back and forth as you're trying to work out the right relationship to sobriety versus, let's call it altered states or intoxication. So let's say it's really interesting that Saturn Neptune often represents both.

Anyway, number two will be boundaries dissolved or boundaries established. Now Saturn hits Neptune, and let's say Saturn as the gatekeeper, as the boundary, as the wall between this world and the next, as it was thought of in ancient astrology, that kind of, that sense of a limit or a boundary, or a wall of some kind, comes into contact with Neptune and it disperses the wall comes down, just like Saturn Neptune.

It was in the late 80s or early 90s, or whatever it was that the Berlin Wall came down. All, all astrologers who've read a little bit of Richard Tarnas know that one. So, you know, the dissolution of boundaries or barriers is a Saturn Neptune thing. But interestingly, Saturn and Neptune come together, and something that has been relatively formless, or boundary less, starts to come into form.

I think about, I think it was Rudolf Steiner who noted that Saturn's quarter movements every seven years, that around seven the first one coincides with kids like getting their teeth, you know, so hard boundaries, clear things like teeth or set limits or boundaries or structures can be established out of something that has been relatively formless or boundary less.

You know, when a baby starts identifying themselves as different, differentiated from the environments, kind of Saturn, Neptune, like you could say. Yeah, but that's so it's so interesting about the transit is that it can go in both directions, and sometimes wave patterns will occur throughout the transit in both directions. Now there's boundaries. Now there's dissolution of boundaries, almost as though we're getting a class in how to have boundaries and how to be fluid with them simultaneously.

Number three is hope or faith retained, or hope or faith lost. In my humble opinion, hope, faith, doubt, despair, grief, loss, as well as redemption and healing, are part of the fabric of life. I don't think there's they're just real parts of life, right? So I don't see this as particularly negative. I see it as just a feature of life that we all better reconcile ourselves to, you know, internally and come to appreciate as a part of life, rather than fight against it.

But that's easily easier said than done when you're in it, right? Same for me. So Saturn and Neptune can be about that, you know, if your faith is rainbows, butterflies, unicorns, nothing wrong with those things. There's a lot of that in my house, right with my girls, it's hard to retain that view of reality when you run into things that are really heavy and dark, but does that mean that you then need to adopt like, you know, stickers and images of rain clouds and hurricanes or tornadoes and I don't know, disaster?

No, the ebb and flow of darkness and light, redemption and fallenness as archetypes is a part of the flow of Saturn and Neptune, the loss as well as the recognition of the eternal spirit that lives on that there's, there's a very interesting relationship with periods of darkness or existential doubt, worry, hopelessness, loss of direction and then the RE emergence of those things.

They work together in very mysterious ways when Saturn and Neptune are co present. So you have to know that and be willing to ride, you know, ride that train. So a little it's a it's, it's almost like a psychedelic experience with these two planets, anyway, the reality check or the dissolution of worldliness, so similar kind of dichotomy, where Saturn can hit Neptune and provide us with where we've been idealistic or in even intolerant, because we can't accept the world and its shortcomings, its flaws, its imperfections, for what it is, because we're measuring everything against an ideal standard, Saturn will provide the reality check.

Sorry. Life includes toots. You know, life is a little there's there's some. This is a juicy, messy place. Saturn will kind of come in, and there'll be a little bit of a gut check for the idealistic Neptune. On the other hand, Neptune will inflect upon Saturn. It's like, hey, Eeyore. You know, have you noticed that life is teeming with the miraculous, you know, reflections of infinity, you know, like, have you noticed that this is the most mysterious, amazing, awe inspiring place ever? Oh, you haven't that's because you've got your head up your ass, you know, so it can go in it.

But the interesting thing is, again, the flow between the two, and it is, I think, very difficult as a practitioner. If I'm working with someone and they have a transit of Saturn to Neptune or Neptune to Saturn in their natal chart, it's like really hard to predict exactly which direction within these dichotomies it will go, because it's not, it's not a super predictable part of this pattern of their interaction, it ebbs and flows, it it dissolves and it solidifies in these very fluid ways.

And then finally, would be imagination versus literalism. There are some of us who, whether it's epistemologically, philosophically, we can't see beyond a very linear, maybe more time bound version of things. Everything has to maybe we're even operating unconsciously with a kind of empirical, objectivist view of life. This is a machine that I'm a part of, right and Neptune will come along and have a way of transporting us into an alternate mode of knowing, the kind of knowing that comes up during psychedelic experiences or meditation or prayer, or synchronicities or dreams, or lucid dreaming, or ceremonies, or, you know, a cacao ceremony, or like whatever.

So. Uh, the imaginal way of knowing. I want to call it that not when I say imagination, of course, I do not mean some kind of something that's not real. I see the imagination as a like an epistemological way of knowing. It's the kind of knowing that you know is like a part of the dream time in Australia, or it's a part of the the ancient understanding of the of the Tao or the I Ching.

It's there in astrology. It's there in indigenous traditions that have ways of working in an animistic world, of that world that is communicative, alive, sentient, the cosmos as an embodied being, not a machine, very Neptune Saturn, sometimes especially nowadays, the way we tend to understand Saturn and relate to Saturn, Saturn will tend to constitute more in terms of the literalism, the objectification, etc.

It's really not fair, because Saturn is not traditionally the planet that's somehow associated with literalism. It's associated with things like death and impermanence and decay. But that, for mystics was when meditated upon, the gateway to an understanding of, you know, eternality. So it Saturn had this very close relationship to eternity, as long as you were willing to accept and look at impermanence, death, decay, transience, etc.

So anyway, imagination versus literalism, a more concrete empirical mode versus a more mystical mode, superstition, a tendency to dismiss facts in favor of fantastical, deluded thinking. But on the other hand, Saturn will sometimes be the literal, objectivist thinking that forgets the animistic world, right? So it's back and forth again.

I hope that in introducing you to these basic dualities of Saturn and Neptune that we get the we get the wheels turning, because once they come in, these waves will just start happening. There's already been some interaction of these two planets in Pisces, but they it will become much more acute at the end of this May, all the way up until September.

We'll really get a taste for this, and we'll do some horoscopes, and, you know, break things down further as we go, but that's it for today. After I sign off, check out the upcoming astrology program. I think there are several reasons to study astrology. The first one, I would say, is that if you're someone who takes it in regularly, but you're looking for a guided, structured approach that takes the guesswork out of having to take information from all these different sources, and put it together.

It's really nice to come into a lineage. I've been teaching for 15 years. 1000s of students have come through our programs. We have a full staff and community. It's a very rich community learning experience, and it really gives you an anchor, a structure and a tradition to follow that you can also develop your own voice and your own insights from within.

You can be your own astrologer within the way that we set things up. So if that's appealing to you, consider studying with us and check out the video next that tells you more about this upcoming year one program beginning June 22 All right. Bye.