Mars-Neptune Conjunction Info Dump

Protests, bird flu, Danica Roem, and more

As of 9:31 pm PDT on April 28, 2024, we have experienced the last Mars-Neptune conjunction in Pisces for more than 100 years. Mars and Neptune meet roughly every two years. By the next time Mars and Neptune unite, Neptune will be in Aries.

How have past Mars-Neptune conjunctions in Pisces gone?

A full list of Mars-Neptune conjunctions 1920-2028 is provided at the bottom of this post, but I will provide a few highlights of the seven Mars-Neptune conjunctions that took place during Neptune’s current transit through Pisces.

Jan 19, 2015, 04:08:31 pm PST 05°55' Pisces

My big memory of January 2015 is the Charlie Hebdo shooting, when Muslim extremists shot up a staff meeting at the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo in retaliation for the paper’s controversial depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. The first hit of my Saturn return at 3° Sagittarius took place that month, so this Mars-Neptune conjunction at 5° Pisces was square both transiting Saturn and my natal Saturn. Charlie Hebdo was the beginning of the end of my interest in fiction writing. Other things that happened over the course of 2015 and 2016, as my Saturn return continued, solidified my sense that deferring to others’ feelings was a higher priority than my own freedom of speech at that time. For more information on my Saturn return and my issues with literary cancel culture, see Booby Prize: An Astrological Novel.

More recently,

Robert Anderson

wrote about a ship named after Salvador Dali striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore this past March. As I analyzed Anderson’s essay in Weekend Entertainment Guide, it emerged that the ship was formally named in January 2015.

Jun 13, 2020, 07:13:12 am PDT 20°56' Pisces

The June 2020 Mars-Neptune conjunction took place near the beginning of an intense summer of protests kicked off by the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. This month, protests are heating up on college campuses, now fueled by conflict in the Middle East. The recent Jupiter-Uranus conjunction is probably also playing into the current protests, which I predicted in my 2024 forecast for Tarot.com:

A bolt from the blue could shake us out of unnecessarily restrictive thought patterns. On April 20, fortunate Jupiter and revolutionary Uranus unite in earthy Taurus. Together, they may bring useful innovations and unexpected opportunities. These two planets both crave freedom, so protests are possible if the surrounding circumstances are too hostile toward that longing. This might be exactly the reality check that some rigidly held Aquarian dogmas need!

How is the current Mars-Neptune conjunction in Pisces different from other recent Mars-Neptune conjunctions in Pisces?

The current Mars-Neptune conjunction in Pisces is the only one this Neptune cycle to have Saturn co-present in Pisces. Mars conjoined Saturn in Pisces on April 10, 2024, before linking up with Neptune.

Many episodes of The Astrology Podcast over the past few years have pointed out connections between Mars-Saturn hard aspects and significant events related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For that reason, and also because the current Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus makes a lot of sense for something weird going on with cows, I have been paying close attention to recent reports of an outbreak of bird flu among cows.

Veterinarian Kay Russo’s comments to Science regarding humans who work with infected cows are troubling:

Only one human case linked to cattle has been confirmed to date, and symptoms were limited to conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. But Russo and many other vets have heard anecdotes about workers who have pink eye and other symptoms—including fever, cough, and lethargy—and do not want to be tested or seen by doctors. James Lowe, a researcher who specializes in pig influenza viruses, says policies for monitoring exposed people vary greatly between states. “I believe there are probably lots of human cases,” he says, noting that most likely are asymptomatic.

It's understandable that the workers are hiding the truth about their symptoms because they don’t want their workplaces to be shut down. Mars, the planet of self-preservation, is joining forces with Neptune, the planet of deception.

At this point, I don’t know what is definitively true about bird flu and the safety of commercial dairy products in the United States. I would say that if you choose to explore dairy alternatives at this time, buy one bag of a particular non-dairy cheese and taste it to make sure you like it before you stock up with several bags.

What might Mars-Neptune conjunctions in Aries be like?

With Mars-Neptune conjunctions in Pisces, Neptune is in the sign it rules, and Mars is not. With Mars-Neptune conjunctions in Aries, though, Mars is in the sign it rules, and Neptune is not.

In general, the 14-year Neptune in Aries transit will have a Mars flavor in the background throughout. This past February, I predicted that it’s likely to be very different from the current Neptune in Pisces transit, which has had a big focus on identifying society’s most oppressed groups:

When Neptune moves into individualistic Aries, this dynamic could potentially shift. Victimhood won’t necessarily be a team sport anymore — it’ll be each person’s inner Veruca Salt for himself, herself, or themself.

Speaking of sports, my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, was incorporated at a Mars-Neptune conjunction in Aries in 1862. We often punch far above our weight in terms of athletic venues and events thanks in large part to the generous donations of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, whose natal Saturn in Aries conjoins Eugene’s Mars-Neptune conjunction — he provides stability and focus that would otherwise be lacking.

Eugene’s emotionalism about sports can also get way out of hand. In Impossible Dreams: Hopes, Fears, and Expectations for Saturn in Pisces, I chronicle the hysteria that surrounded efforts to preserve the decrepit Civic Stadium from 2009 to 2015. I would not believe events that crazy were possible if I had not seen them play out myself. It was wild.

A politician looking out for the cosmic people: Danica Roem, a Mars-Neptune case study

This month after I finished my taxes, I had a break in my work schedule, and I thought I could kick back and relax with a book that wasn’t work-related. Burn the Page: A True Story of Torching Doubts, Blazing Trails, and Igniting Change by Danica Roem was on display at my local library. It chronicled Roem’s journey to becoming the first openly transgender state legislator in the United States.

Roem is only two years older than me — as it turns out, we are one Mars-Neptune cycle apart — so I found a lot of the cultural markers relatable. A lot has changed in our lifetime, not just in terms of society’s handling of LGBT issues, but also in terms of technology and media. Roem chased the print journalism dream a little longer than I did, but we were both in the last cohort of people to have that presented as a realistic career option.

Anyway, I wasn’t off duty as an astrologer for long once I got into the book. The narrative provides Roem’s date and city of birth, though not a birth time. Roem does, however, give a specific time for the beginning of her medical gender transition. She gathered with friends for support and ceremonially took her first Estradiol pill at 8:24 pm on December 3, 2013.

I set up the biwheel with the Estradiol dose on the inside because that’s the chart with a known time. At the time of the Estradiol dose, the transiting Moon was conjunct Roem’s natal Mars-Neptune conjunction in Sagittarius. Roem’s untimed natal Moon is close by, so having the time of the Estradiol dose might help an astrologer who’s better at rectification than I am line things up.

On a macro scale, the gender transition happened at Roem’s Saturn return in Scorpio. As we astrologers well know, the Saturn return can be a time of major change to the structure of one’s life!

Dates of Past Mars-Neptune Conjunctions

The table below provides dates of Mars-Neptune conjunctions 1920-2028, so you can see if you or anyone you know was born near a Mars-Neptune conjunction. The report is only for exact dates, though, and sometimes it’s more complicated than that.

Although the 1986 Mars-Neptune conjunction only had one exact hit, which was in April, Mars was then retrograde in Capricorn for a big chunk of June through August. I was born in August with Mars stationing direct at 11° Capricorn — a broad orb with Neptune at 3° Capricorn, but my IC is right in the middle of the broad conjunction at 6° Capricorn, so I definitely feel it.

Mars-Neptune Conjunctions 1920-2028, Solar Fire Report for Pacific Time Zone

Aug 25, 1921, 04:53:51 am PST 14°10' Leo

Aug 12, 1923, 07:17:21 pm PST 17°57' Leo

Jul 30, 1925, 11:43:49 am PST 21°43' Leo

Jul 17, 1927, 06:55:01 pm PST 25°31' Leo

Jul 3, 1929, 00:14:50 am PST 29°21' Leo

Jun 16, 1931, 09:20:35 am PST 03°16' Virgo

Dec 6, 1932, 01:19:22 pm PST 10°10' Virgo

Mar 7, 1933, 03:49:13 am PST 08°36' Virgo (retrograde)

May 17, 1933, 09:22:46 am PST 07°23' Virgo

Nov 11, 1934, 11:57:23 am PST 14°13' Virgo

Oct 25, 1936, 02:32:03 pm PST 18°06' Virgo

Oct 12, 1938, 02:19:06 am PST 21°53' Virgo

Sep 28, 1940, 11:31:23 am PST 25°38' Virgo

Sep 16, 1942, 03:25:55 am PWT 29°21' Virgo

Sep 2, 1944, 12:48:52 pm PWT 03°05' Libra

Aug 20, 1946, 02:30:47 am PST 06°52' Libra

Aug 3, 1948, 09:15:59 pm PST 10°42' Libra

Jul 14, 1950, 03:30:54 am PDT 14°39' Libra

Jan 2, 1952, 11:36:05 am PST 21°35' Libra

Dec 12, 1953, 04:38:16 pm PST 25°29' Libra

Nov 27, 1955, 03:01:07 pm PST 29°17' Libra

Nov 13, 1957, 01:19:05 am PST 03°00' Scorpio

Oct 30, 1959, 10:42:48 pm PST 06°42' Scorpio

Oct 16, 1961, 05:05:30 pm PST 10°23' Scorpio

Oct 2, 1963, 08:36:27 pm PDT 14°05' Scorpio

Sep 16, 1965, 10:52:42 am PDT 17°51' Scorpio

Aug 27, 1967, 08:12:33 pm PDT 21°44' Scorpio

Feb 22, 1969, 02:07:47 am PST 28°41' Scorpio

Jan 26, 1971, 11:53:52 pm PST 02°41' Sagittarius

Jan 8, 1973, 08:40:51 pm PST 06°29' Sagittarius

Dec 25, 1974, 00:13:14 am PST 10°12' Sagittarius

Dec 9, 1976, 08:19:50 pm PST 13°51' Sagittarius

Nov 25, 1978, 04:44:27 pm PST 17°29' Sagittarius

Nov 9, 1980, 11:22:27 pm PST 21°09' Sagittarius

Oct 24, 1982, 07:25:12 pm PDT 24°55' Sagittarius

Oct 3, 1984, 05:22:39 am PDT 28°48' Sagittarius

Apr 8, 1986, 04:52:40 pm PST 05°48' Capricorn

Mar 7, 1988, 05:26:37 pm PST 09°52' Capricorn

Feb 17, 1990, 03:04:46 am PST 13°40' Capricorn

Feb 1, 1992, 06:56:16 am PST 17°23' Capricorn

Jan 16, 1994, 06:52:48 am PST 21°03' Capricorn

Jan 1, 1996, 08:25:19 am PST 24°42' Capricorn

Dec 15, 1997, 09:18:27 pm PST 28°23' Capricorn

Nov 28, 1999, 06:57:35 pm PST 02°10' Aquarius

Nov 5, 2001, 04:43:15 am PST 06°05' Aquarius

May 14, 2003, 07:35:10 am PDT 13°11' Aquarius

Apr 13, 2005, 06:11:25 am PDT 17°14' Aquarius

Mar 25, 2007, 10:38:43 am PDT 21°05' Aquarius

Mar 8, 2009, 05:50:22 am PDT 24°49' Aquarius

Feb 20, 2011, 08:17:22 pm PST 28°31' Aquarius

Feb 4, 2013, 12:56:22 pm PST 02°12' Pisces

Jan 19, 2015, 04:08:31 pm PST 05°55' Pisces

Dec 31, 2016, 10:52:38 pm PST 09°44' Pisces

Dec 7, 2018, 06:11:15 am PST 13°44' Pisces

Jun 13, 2020, 07:13:12 am PDT 20°56' Pisces

May 17, 2022, 11:33:14 pm PDT 24°59' Pisces

Apr 28, 2024, 09:30:56 pm PDT 28°52' Pisces

Apr 12, 2026, 10:30:13 pm PDT 02°39' Aries

Mar 27, 2028, 05:40:35 pm PDT 06°22' Aries