As you may know, Neptune just made a big shift on March 31, 2025. Neptune shifted into Aries, the first of the zodiac’s fire signs and the first cardinal sign. Neptune will move from zero to two degrees Aries between now and October 22. It will re-enter Aries on January 26, 2026 and remain there until 2039. Why is Neptunian shift a big deal? I’m happy to explain.
Zero degrees Aries marks the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere and the fall equinox in the southern hemisphere. Cardinal energy is tied to the Sun’s equinoxes and solstices. It’s the energy of a new season—spring, summer, fall, or winter—taking form. Aries is also the start of the tropical (Western) zodiac cycle. Thus, Neptune has begun a new planetary cycle of 164 years around the Sun. The experience of Neptune in Aries is a first for everyone who’s alive at this time. The last time Neptune was in Aries was from 1861- 1875. Now, in 2025, Neptune has again moved from watery mutable Pisces to fiery cardinal Aries. Neptune in Aries is expressing its planetary realm of consciousness (primarily in the collective, and secondarily in individuals) through the characteristics and qualities of this Mars-ruled sign during the next 14 years. This blog post offers my initial thoughts about Neptune in Aries as well as my reflections regarding Neptune in Pisces.
Water and Fire: Pisces to Aries
Collectively, we’re getting a taste of what Neptune will bring us during it’s time in fiery Aries from May to October. However, we’ve had nearly fourteen years of Neptune being in watery Pisces. [For an in-depth read on Neptune in Pisces, see this post.] At this point ,we’re feeling saturated, waterlogged, out to sea, and perhaps bloated with the pervasive and fluid nature of the Neptune in Pisces. I interpret the mutable quality of water in Pisces as fog, mist, dew, light but constant rain, sweat, dampness, moisture. These all reflect Pisces distaste for hard boundaries and contained spaces. On the ground, it’s very difficult to map the length and breadth of a fog bank or the parameters of a cloud that’s descended to girdle a tall hill. Plus, by it’s very nature, Pisces is moving and changing, adapting and shifting. This type of water makes the physical landscape a little mysterious because the full power of the Sun doesn’t penetrate it.
Now, apply that to Neptune and your personal state of consciousness as well as the collective consciousness during the past fourteen years. Certain periods of time may have been clear and bright. You could map things out, make plans, clearly figure out next steps. And then the fog rolled in. Confusion and bewilderment may have set in our familiar environment seemed to blur. Or maybe we simply puddled a lot more. Brain fog as a clear consequence of Covid-19 seems like a Neptune-Pisces condition. And the social media atmosphere that drop by drop streamed out a steady rain of invisible algorithms to alter your emotional and mental well-being. Algorithms that prioritized division, tension, anxiety, shame, etc. Creepy false images, fake news, and illusionary fame started to rise out of the mist. Being authentic on social media may have felt more dangerous or fraught with emotional quagmires.
All of that speaks to the lower state of Piscean Neptune consciousness that through fear and deception deliberately tried to create monsters out of each other in our collective psyche. During that same time period though, you may have experienced profound insights that bolstered your spiritual / religious life. The same light rain drops when backlit by the Sun can look like the glory of the heavens is shining through the mists of uncertainty. Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces. Besides expanding whatever it touches (for better or worse), it’s the planet of optimism, faith, and our belief systems. You may recall that the last Neptune in Pisces retrograde had Joe Biden examining his belief that he was the best candidate and leaning on his faith. To me, we were all consciously looking at our belief systems individually and collectively to home in on what’s sacred to us, or to unconsciously follow those who trumpeted a message of being a “savior” or a “benefactor” standing within a hall of mirrors.
As humans, across the planet, wherever there were forests, we entered them to engage in ritual, worship, and gratitude. I mention this so you can picture a temperate rainforest with pockets of sun-kissed grasses and lush shaded canopies of groves of redwoods. The temperate rainforest offers a steady diffuse source of water that softens the ground and supports an incredible array of life This is another allegorical picture of Neptune in Pisces. The redwoods slowly grow tall and majestic stretching to the clear skies and appearing nearly immortal to we humans with their centuries-long life spans. During the past fourteen years, perhaps you “became” more like a redwood yourself, gave gratitude to with your vibrant soul and stretched even more earnestly toward Life itself.
Now, the enveloping misty waters that seeped into our mind-bodies is starting to give way to the crackling flames. We are starting to dry out. We can shake ourselves vigorously like wet dogs sluicing the water away. Our consciousness can rise out of the mossy sodden undergrowth and get much-needed light, clarity, and warmth of heart.
Keep in mind that all the fire signs—Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius—need air and fuel to function. Fire offers heat, light, and energy, but it also consumes the fuel (wood, flammable materials). Allegorically, then we can see the fire signs need the engagement of air internally and externally. They need plenty of space to breathe as well as the input of thoughts, ideas, opinions, conversations, debates, and perspectives from others. They also need fuel. Individually, the fire signs need to remember to eat. High-quality food of course is best, but having regular meals is important. Other types of fuel can be other peoples’ attention, intention, care, focus, applause, gratitude, love, and celebration.
The spark and sparkle of Aries
Now, I’m sharing about Aries specifically. Typically, Aries people—those who have Aries rising, Aries Sun, or Aries Moon—do like to be first. Being first is usually fun and rewarding—prizes!! Aries commonly expresses itself through:
- pioneering, exploratory, and adventurous attitudes;
- a keen attraction to competition and winning;
- excitement to move, act, and get momentum going;
- impatience, haste, and a love of speediness;
- eagerness to try new things, projects, toys, ideas, experiences, foods, places, etc;
- willful, headstrong, and independent;
- selfish, impetuous, and may take actions without forethought;
- playful, fun, childlike, and, sometimes, self-centered;
- reckless, hotheaded, and quick to be offended;
- brave, protective, and courageous;
- warm, enthusiastic, passionate, and lively.
Additionally, I rarely see in print or online what I’m about to tell you now about Aries. Other astrologers don’t seem to bring up this fundamental true fact. Aries, as one of the equinox signs—the other being Libra—is about embodying balance. The spring and fall equinoxes are the annual times of equal or balanced day and night. The hours of light and the dark are even. Libra, with its symbol of scales, usually gets the most acknowledgement of this symmetry of light and dark being in perfect balance. However, Aries naturally shows this too. I mention this so that you can apply this fact to Aries whenever you’re thinking about its qualities and nature. Balance is intrinsic to Libra and Aries as they favor neither the sunshine nor the shadow but embrace both. Equilibrium is the homeostasis that both signs strive to create, maintain, and embody. Doesn’t that put a different face on Aries!? I think so.
The wake up call: Neptune in Aries
Consciousness awakening in new, exciting, and heady ways is the main theme that I see Neptune in Aries represents. This is a wake up call for more interdependent unity, giving and receiving clarity and truth, being the light of courage, raising consciousness to be more present, and viewing this all as a huge soul adventure. At the start, we all need to spark our own passion, resilience, and joy.
Because Neptune is an outer planet, this shift will affect the global collective consciousness. Because Mars, a personal planet, is the ruler of Aries, take a look at your own chart to see where Aries and Mars are. The house that contains Aries will be highlighted through an active push to wake up to more awareness, paying keen attention, and keeping your “little light” burning strong.
The meaning of consciousness keeps evolving over time. Definitions usually include the mental process of introspection, “waking life” awareness of self and the word, the sleep or dreaming state of awareness, as well as the subjective and expanded experiences of the entire domain of Life. Additionally, there are other states of consciousness: collective or social consciousness, consciousness, unconsciousness, and altered—meditative, trance, visionary, hallucinatory, etc. Consciousness studies generally assumes that the subject who possesses this state and capacity is alive. However, inanimate “consciousness,” which in our time is called “artificial intelligence (AI): has been a big feature of Neptune in Pisces.
The broad spectrum of consciousness levels include stupor, dementia, delirium, obsession, delusion, illusion, lethargy, bewilderment, confusion, apathy, acceptance, clarity, awareness, focus, alertness, truth, honesty, cohesion in heart, mind and body, intuitive, peaceful, insightful, compassionate, etc. Being able to entertain paradox and find harmony. Doing our individual and collective shadow work. Lighting the candle of heart-centered courage. Wiping off the mist from the panes of our perspectives to render them clear and transparent. Seeing clearly. Breathing on glass to draw an “I Love You” heart, knowing that it’s there even when it’s invisible.
Feed your head
There’s too much stress in the world right now. As a way of both helping to mitigate that a tiny bit for you and me, I’m offering a tip to help your start your initial steps into the land of Neptune in Aries. Feed your head.
In medical / body astrology, Aries rules our head. That includes our skull, brain, face–skin, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, forehead, cheeks, and chin. Feed your head–literally and figuratively during this time. Become an Aries athlete of feeding your head. Choose the best food, information, activities, passions, and sparks of creativity. These will keep you fueled mentally, physically, emotionally, and energetically. Being more conscious starts with each of us. Thanks for being part of this wild adventure!
And for fun, as a tribute to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland which he wrote and published during the last Neptune in Aries sojourn, here’s the White Rabbit reminding us that now is the time! And below are two videos of the famous song by Grace Slick Feed Your Head.
Here’s Grace Slick singing her iconic song. And Paul Kalkbrenner’s touching part 3 of Florian which features her song.
Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment below about what you think about this article and your ideas about Neptune in Aries
