In astrology, dependancy is often related to Neptune and the Twelfth home.
Perhaps that’s due to the mystique this archetype is related to – the fog, the escape, the longing, the outerworldliness.
However in apply, issues should not that black and white – they’re a lot blurrier (a Neptunian pun, certainly).
If we have a look at charts, the chances of individuals scuffling with dependancy having a outstanding Neptune or Twelfth-house affect should not larger than these with another placement.
If solely it have been that easy! Nevertheless it’s not – as a result of if there have been a clear “dependancy method” in astrology, we’d know precisely the place to search for it… after which, theoretically, we’d know find out how to heal it too, proper?
Habit – A Symptom Of Longing For Transcendence
Neptune can certainly amplify addictive tendencies or eager for escape, however not for the explanations we’d count on.
It’s not that Neptune causes dependancy. As an alternative, dependancy is a symptom – a sign of one thing deeper – one thing that Neptune actually stands for.
In accordance with Carl Jung – and by the way in which, do you know that Alcoholics Nameless and plenty of restoration applications have been impressed by Jung’s concepts? – dependancy is a misguided seek for transcendence.
Individuals who succumb to dependancy have a powerful longing to join with the divine – but they don’t know find out how to get there – so dependancy turns into a shortcut to transcendence – a method to momentarily contact the infinite.
It’s no coincidence that we use the identical phrase for spirit (as in spirituality) and spirit (as in alcohol).
In our “Habit” program, Neptune is certainly one of 3 primary addictive pathways – 3 symbolic routes the psyche takes in its seek for transcendence.
Neptune is just not the one one. The opposite 2 paths are Uranus and Pluto. Collectively, these 3 outer planets symbolize the 3 core addictive patterns – what in neuroscience are sometimes described because the uppers, downers, and outers.
Habit – The Outer Planets
Why do the outer planets correspond to dependancy?
In contrast to the Solar, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn – the outer planets are invisible to the bare eye. They’re an ideal metaphor for the unconscious forces that drive us: highly effective, unseen, and never immediately accessible.
The outer planets symbolize what lies past our sight – forces we will’t simply relate to, but which nonetheless form us, simply as these distant planets, although invisible to the attention, proceed their silent orbit across the Solar.
The outer planets symbolize the urge to transcend the extraordinary, 3D world – the realm symbolized by the seen planets as much as Saturn – and to succeed in towards one thing past the boundaries of the identified.
When the outer planets contact our private planets, that drive towards transcendence is woke up – however we don’t all the time know find out how to entry it in a acutely aware method.
For instance, if somebody has a natal Solar-Uranus or Moon-Pluto facet, there’s a pull towards transformation or larger consciousness. But the affect of the outer planet could be too intense, too distant, or too summary for the private planet to combine totally.
It’s like feeling a deep yearning for one thing you may sense however can’t fairly attain – as a result of the fundamental psychological processes represented by the private planet aren’t but mature or grounded sufficient to fulfill the depth of the outer planet’s name.
And that is typically when dependancy steps in – as a shortcut or a fast “answer” that briefly offers us a glimpse of transcendence.
All of us do that to some extent. Whereas solely about 10% of individuals develop medical dependancy, all of us have addictive tendencies, as a result of all of us carry a religious starvation that at the moment’s world – and our personal psychological defenses – make it exhausting to fulfill in wholesome methods.
And that is the place it will get really attention-grabbing – and the place astrology may help us probably the most: after we begin to perceive which addictive path we’re drawn to, and what that reveals about our personal psyche and eager for transcendence.
Habit – Uppers, Downers, Outers
In our mannequin, Uranus represents the higher path to transcendence. In addictive neurochemistry, this corresponds to the dopamine reward pathway – these are the addictive substances or behaviors that stimulate, excite, and preserve us “on.”
Pluto represents the downward path, which aligns with the opioid pathway – the drive to soothe, launch, and sink in.
And our good friend Neptune represents the outer path – the escapist type of transcendence. The dissolving, drifting, or blurring of boundaries that may come by way of fantasy, substances, or avoidance. One of many 3, however certainly not the one one.
Whereas every of us has a major addictive tendency – at completely different occasions in our lives and in several circumstances, one path might change into extra pronounced than the others.
URANUS: After we really feel uninspired or bored, the tendency is to search for stimulation – to “get on the market.” On this state, we’d comply with the Uranian path, which might vary from the harmless morning espresso that “wakes us up,” to extra intense expressions like playing or intercourse dependancy.
Something that may energize us, make us really feel alive, or remind us that we nonetheless have company.
PLUTO: If as a substitute we really feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or inauthentic – dwelling a life that deep down we all know isn’t really “us” – then the Plutonic path turns into the go-to method.
Pluto’s downward modus operandi (suppose alcohol, sleeping tablets, or emotional withdrawal) is to shut out the exterior noise so we will flip inward and reconnect with what actually issues.
The Pluto path is the alternative of Uranus’ – each can change into addictive, however for diametrically opposed causes.
NEPTUNE: And if we really feel the weight of life, overworked or emotionally exhausted, then the Neptunian path of escapism typically takes over. Neptune’s pull is towards softening actuality – numbing the sharp edges of existence.
This could take many varieties, from Netflix binging to fantasy or romantic love – you’d be stunned (or perhaps not) how typically individuals “fall in love” proper after they’re going through one thing they don’t need to confront.
However what’s actually attention-grabbing about our addictive tendencies is what they sign.
Habit is not only a “downside to be mounted.” Even after we “treatment” dependancy by way of abstinence or sobriety, a brand new dependancy typically takes its place – as a result of the drive for transcendence, the religious starvation, continues to be there.
So the aim is to not “repair” dependancy with out first understanding the place it comes from and what it’s pointing towards.
As a result of dependancy is far more than a ‘unhealthy behavior’ – it’s our larger self calling out by way of distortion, saying: You need one thing past the extraordinary. You need one thing extra genuine, extra aligned along with your true path.
Habit And Remodel Your Life With Astrology
Habit is the primary course in our Remodel Your Life With Astrology program. We imagine we have to begin right here – even when our addictive tendencies are delicate – as a result of they maintain important clues about who we’re and the path of our path.
The opposite 3 programs “Shadow”, “Goal” and “Service” – symbolize the subsequent phases within the individuation course of.
Now you can enroll within the “Habit” course, which begins on November tenth, or join the total Remodel Your Life With Astrology program at 20% off.
Extra particulars on the hyperlink beneath:
“Habit” and “Remodel Your Life With Astrology”