sciousness, they recognize that the experience of ritual can give a whole new spiritual
dimension to their work, enriching their understanding of astrology and of themselves.
In Wiccan terminology, the effect of ritual on learning can be explained by the
need of “young self” (the subconscious or child within) for an experiential form of
learning. Young self is bored by objective reasoning or forms of communication, and
learns best through the senses: sight, touch, smell, sound, taste, and through the
intangible intuition, of the right brain rather than the rational left. Astro-drama
(experiential astrology) recognized this, and for some, it worked, whether it had any
spiritual meaning or was just for the fun of acting out—role-playing the planets—and
in so doing, learning a little more about their meanings. For others, conservative or
shy, overt role-playing is not quite comfortable. Group spiritual ritual based on astro-
logical themes, on the other hand, can be comfortable for most anyone, providing one
is not singled out for a “solo” part before he or she is ready, or is not deeply conflicted
from background within an establishment religion. Ritually invoking the planetary
gods within, as personifications of the various aspects of Spirit that are within the
Universe and within each individual can enrich one’s understanding of astrology, as
well of one’s purpose in life.
—Maria Kay SimmsSources:
Rabinovitch, Shelly, and James Lewis. The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism.
New York: Citadel, 2002.
NEPTUNE
Neptune is a cold planet located between Uranus and Pluto. Visible only with the aid
of a telescope, it is a large, gaseous planet with a turbulent atmosphere consisting of
hydrogen, helium, and methane. This violent environment is caused by a storm the
size of Earth, called the Great Dark Spot, which circles Neptune every 18.3 hours.
The unusual events surrounding the discovery of Neptune, an astrological
symbol for illusion, are quite fitting for this elusive planet. Neptune was first sighted
by Galileo in December 1612. Instead of identifying Neptune as a planet, Galileo
believed it was a moon of Jupiter and did not research it further. It was not until
1845, more than two centuries later, that a British astronomer and mathematician,
John Couch Adams, theorized that the growing discrepancy between the predicted
and observed positions of Uranus’s orbit was the result of an unknown planetary
body. He immediately began to analyze Uranus’s deviations using Newton’s
Mechanics. In September of the same year, Adams presented his calculations for the
positions of the hypothetical planet to James Challis, director of Cambridge Obser-
vatory. However, Challis refused to examine Adams’s work, probably considering
the likelihood of a young graduate student solving such a complex matter to be ludi-
crous. As such, Adams’s theory was given neither consideration nor observation
time by an observatory until after a similar hypothesis with nearly identical place-
ments for the new planet was published by French astronomer and mathematician
Urbain Leverrier.
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [491]
Neptune