Jupiter/Neptune Aspects
In astrology, each planet in the natal chart signifies multiple meanings. It marks a path, a direction. In this case, we explore the astrological significance of the aspects between Neptune and Jupiter. If you have these aspects in your natal chart, the description below may resonate with you, provided we consider the entire natal chart:
A broad and constant need to experience unity with something greater than one's individual self and petty individual concerns. The individual believes in the reality of the intangible realm of experience, which sometimes leads to hyperactive imagination and a constant desire to escape, or to significant inspiration.
When the two most idealistic planets in the natal chart combine, the result is a vibrant idealism, a broad sense of the infinite possibilities life offers. This can lead the individual to become a practical idealist, as in the case of Bertrand Russell (square) or Albert Schweitzer (opposition), an artist like Laurence Olivier, a British actor, and director with a conjunction, or an escapist like the Duke of Windsor, who abdicated the throne of England in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson. Another example of this aspect in the natal chart is Franklin D. Roosevelt, who demonstrated imagination in practical problem-solving (Jupiter in conjunction with Neptune in Taurus) and also served in his youth as Secretary of the Navy (Neptune).
Studying this aspect reveals a tendency toward an imaginative and/or fantastical life. For instance, Joseph Kennedy, who always dreamed of power and becoming president, ended up urging his son to become the U.S. president. However, his Jupiter was in opposition to Neptune and Pluto, indicating an obsession with power. Additionally, he had Jupiter conjunct Mars in Scorpio. He was an influential and powerful investor, businessman, diplomat, and political figure in the United States, the father of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert and Ted Kennedy. As one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, especially within the Irish-Catholic community, and with business and economic interests nationwide, he created the political and economic fortune of the Kennedy family.
It's fascinating to discover that the great imagination of Julio Verne is supported by his Jupiter-Neptune Sextile. Not only did the writer love to sail the seas of Europe and Africa (Neptune associated with the Sea), but his novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" has become one of his most enduring creations. It's curious that an Olympic swimming champion like Mark Spitz was born with Jupiter trine Neptune-Mars. He was an American swimmer who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics, breaking the world record in each triumph.
This combination can also indicate considerable intuition and talent, as seen in Joseph Campbell, who used it to expand our knowledge of literature, mythology, and the personal quest for meaning and transcendence. His Jupiter in conjunction with the Sun and Mercury, square Neptune, manifested in books like "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and "The Masks of God." Campbell, an Aries, had the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars all in the same sign. Astrology allows us to confirm that the poet T.S. Eliot, who also contributed to revitalizing interest in mythology, had an exact opposition between Jupiter and Neptune in his chart. This explains the significance of religious sentiment in his life, spontaneously transferred to his poetry. This transfer is evident through the incorporation, here and there, of numerous quotations from the Bible, works of saints, Dante, as well as sacred Eastern texts.
In the worst cases, these aspects in a natal chart can indicate deceptive illusions and self-deception on a personal or ideological level. But at their best, they express as a compassionate love for humanity and/or an appreciation for mystical or artistic subtleties. Another example of the Jupiter-Neptune union is the monk and writer Thomas Merton, whose exact quincunx manifested in the form of his spiritual writings, inspiring his readers. Born in 1915 (d. 1968), he was a Trappist monk, poet, and thinker.
