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JANUARY 2008
Alive and Well with Neptune: Transits of Heart and Soul, by Bil Tierney. Llewellyn Publications, 285pp, November 1999. This is the second in the series of Bil Tierney’s Alive and Well books on the three outer planets. The first one, on Uranus, was reviewed earlier this year in Daykeeper Journal (read the review of Alive and Well with Uranus). As would be expected, this book has an entirely different tone than the first one. After all Neptune is an entirely different god (and planet) than Uranus. In this tome, Bil delves into our deepest emotions, fantasies, visions, ecstasies, depressions, disappointments, and delusions. In other words, he takes us on a trip into the shadowy, watery, depths where the God Poseidon (Neptune) dwells and rules. Bil guides us in his typically humorous way through all the possible mutations of aspects, houses, planets (including both the earthy and airy sides of Mercury and Venus) necessary to understanding how Neptune will affect us individually. He gives a thorough history of how Neptune came to be, including some of the experiences the mythological god had as a child that led to his complicated and complex personality. Neptune has an especially multifaceted relationship with his father, Saturn. Even though this relationship is not an easy one, Bil explains beautifully how Saturn’s structure can help the unfocused, unclear Neptune bring his wonderfully creative ideas/visions into reality on the earth plane where Neptune is not always at his best. Neptune, as with all the outer planets, operates on the grand scale and affects us as individuals but is also played out over a generation. Bil skillfully leads us to an understanding of how this complicated god functions both personally and transpersonally in a chart. I especially enjoy Bil’s creative naming of certain sections of the book, such as "Swimming with Neptune," "Dreams and Visions of Oneness," etc. which evoke the watery imagery that Neptune is all about. Bil encourages us to look at how Neptune functions in our own chart/life in order to learn how this energy really works on a deep level. If we can understand how energies impact us on a personal level, we can take this understanding and apply it to any chart we might be inclined to read. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced astrologer, you will find value in this book.
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