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Neptune Goes to the Movies

by Susan Dearborn Jackson

Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved

The theater lights dim, the credits roll, and the audience settles back to enjoy a brief escape into another reality. As our imagination is captured by big-screen images, we're unaware that the planet Neptune subtly influences the themes and symbolism that engage movie-goers' attention. Does Neptune, over one-and-a-half billions miles from Earth, literally affect the film industry? No, but its' movement through the astrological signs is reflected in the changing character of box-office films.
Every planet "rules" or is associated with particular areas of life. Neptune rules other states of consciousness, from prayer and meditation that connects us with the Divine to creative imagination that attunes us to the Muses to dream states to drug and alcohol-induced states of euphoria and/or oblivion. So idealism, compassion, spirituality, illusion, and deception are part of Neptune's realm as are film and cinematic themes.

Let's begin by looking at Neptune's movement or transit through the sign Libra from late 1942 to late 1956. Libra rules relationships, beauty, and harmony, and, as Neptune transited Libra, these themes were idealized. In post-war America, the economy boomed and suburbs sprouted like proverbial mushrooms. Life was good and the movies brought us Doris Day, Robert Young and Donna Reed. Father knew best and Mom cheerfully cleaned house wearing high heels and pearls.

As Neptune entered the sign Scorpio in late 1956 (through late 1970), sex, intrigue, and danger were glamorized. Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe epitomized the seductive side of Scorpio and Elizabeth Taylor sizzled on screen in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Sean Connery, as James Bond, excited audiences with dangerous 007 exploits and curvaceous female companions.

The age of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas dawned as Neptune transited Sagittarius from 1971 to 1984. E.T., Star Wars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind ushered in an era of alien heroes and galactic fantasy. High adventure in exotic setting on Earth also became idealized as Indiana Jones swashbuckled his way through steaming jungles and ancient temples.

With Neptune's entrance into Capricorn at the end of 1984 (through 1997), lawyers, power-brokers, and historical figures emerged as big-screen heroes. Wall Street, The Player, and The Color of Money were box-office hits. Jerry McGuire immortalized the phrase, "Show me the money!" History was revisited, revisioned, and often glamorized in JFK, Nixon, Dances with Wolves, and Schindler's List.

Now Neptune has entered the sign Aquarius (1998-2012) and cinematic themes are shifting to reflect social, political, and humanitarian topics. Traditional Neptune settings such as prisons, mental institutions, and churches provide the backdrop to explore themes of redemption, civic disorder, social consciousness and, ultimately, our common humanity. Recent films idealize the common person and the ordinary citizen, reveal the human condition, and offer hope of an emerging consciousness that recognizes our common bonds. The status quo is challenged, technology is idealized, and the element of shock is used to shatter old perceptions.

Dogma questions existing church doctrine, portrays Alanis Morrisette as God, and features a rebellious, slightly wacky cast of angels in all shapes and colors. In The Green Mile, God is a black prison inmate who can heal the sick and raise the dead. In Girl, Interrupted, Winona Rider spends a year in a mental hospital that revolutionizes her life, allowing her to experience connections to other women and to her own flawed self. The heroine in Boys Don't Cry is androgenous and the film questions societal perceptions of gender. Both The Sixth Sense and Fight Club employ shocking, bizarre plot twists which unsettle and challenge our ordinary perceptions. Technology, how it can connect us to each other and how it can alienate us from each other, is increasingly a cinematic theme. It is also the means to create stunning special effects seen in Matrix.

As Neptune transits Aquarius, look for films idealizing the revolutionary, the radical and the maverick elements of our growing global community. Pay attention to the use of advanced technology, themes of social change and community cooperation, and to unlikely heroes drawn from all walks of life. Film in the next decade will increasingly be a vehicle for a new and emerging consciousness which emphasizes our commonalities and honors our differences.

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