Retrograde! But, Make It Fashion: Neptune
Welcome back, friends, and welcome to the fashion show... sort of.
SIDE NOTE HERE: Most of what you are about to read, below, will be repeated in each of the mini blogs about this series. I chose to do this because not everyone reads each individual blog and it is important to discuss some of the general information in each post. This way, if someone only reads one post, they still gain the benefit of the knowledge below. So, if you plan to read all the posts about this series, please forgive the repetition in some of them.
I call this mini illustration series: Retrograde, but Make it Fashion. It's a strange title for a strange idea. However, the origins of my idea for this series' concept does have a grounding in the logical world. I'm not completely in the clouds with this one... well, not entirely. lol
Last December, Venus was stationed retrograde and I had the idea for an illustration. Venus is the planet that governs pleasure, beauty, and attraction (among other things) in astrology. I was thinking a fun way to personify Venus was to transform her into a kind of Supermodel walking down the runway, or posing at the end of it, or just about to turn... I hadn't planned out all the details, because I ended up not working on it within the time frame of when Venus was in retrograde. So, I shelved the idea, until now. With so many planets currently in retrograde right now, I thought, "why don't I pull that Venus retrograde illustration idea out of the morgue and modify it to these other planets?" Thus the pursuit of making a little illustration series on the subject ensued.
I remember making a note on the Venus Illustration entry in my Idea Journal. The title was originally Venus, Sashay Away. It is a reference to the very popular drag competition show Ru Paul's Drag Race. Ru Paul, when she is eliminating a contestant, uses the signature phrase (modified/based on her hit song Supermodel) "Sashay, Away!" There's an animated GIF of it that I like to use sometimes and it ALWAYS gives me a private chuckle. I thought it an appropriate way to conceptualize a planet's astrological retrograde period.
I'm sure you have been asking this question to yourself (and to me) since you started reading this post. Probably you were wondering, in your mind, "What on earth is he even talking about?" Well, funny you should think that. Our position and view here on earth have EVERYTHING to do with explaining what a retrograde is. A retrograde (or planetary retrograde) is when a planet seems to be moving backward in the sky from our perspective here on Earth. In reality: No, planets don’t actually move backward. It’s an optical illusion due to the speed of the Earth’s rotation. But what ancient people realized is that when a planet changes direction or shifts in speed, what it rules will see challenges or confusion in our lives during that specific time.
Astrology is a science that utilizes the placement of the planets to make insightful predictions about how life on Earth is going to develop. It has been around for centuries and that is why we have been able to notice patterns throughout time, refining itself, to figure out that when the planets move, something here on Earth will be affected. You may or may not believe in Astrology, or you might think that it's just a cute part of your daily morning news feed. You may only think it's an amusing thing to discuss on a first date. It isn't my job or inclination to convince you of its validity. I will, however, say this: The waves in our Ocean are created by the gravity of our orbiting moon. The powerful gravity of Jupiter is what protects asteroids and other debris from crashing constantly into Earth (Thank you, Jupiter.) These are both invisible forces. And if this is what they can do to large masses in this universe, what do you think these invisible forces are doing to us or the environment we live in. We are, after all, 70% water. What "waves" is our Moon producing within us? Something to think about. I will leave defending the merits of Astrology as a science to the Astrologers, themselves. I'm just a weekend tourist. They actually live in that building.
Let's get back to talking about the retrograde.
A planetary retrograde is broken down into 3 phases: Pre-Shadow, Retrograde, and Post-Shadow.
In the pre-shadow phase, when the planet starts to slow down from our viewpoint on Earth, we start to see problems crop up and realize some current situations might be on rocky ground. This can last for weeks or months prior, depending on which planet it is.
The actual retrograde phase is when you see the problems that started to announce themselves in the pre-shadow blow-up in front of you. This is when the planet is taking control and moving backward in the sky. In reality, new information regarding what the planet rules are emerging in our lives — something we probably had overlooked originally. The universe is bringing it out dramatically in your face now to show you that you must pay attention to this before you proceed.
The post-shadow phase is when the planet is finally moving forward in the sky again but is still gaining speed to catch up with where it originally fell behind. Once a planet moves past this point in the sky, life should move along much more easily. The post-shadow phase is especially important because it helps us to resolve whatever popped up during the previous two periods so that we are on a better track moving forward.
The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth (because we are standing on it) don't retrograde. Sun and Moon are referred to as "The Luminaries." All planets retrograde at different times depending on their distance from us in the Solar System. A simple rule of thumb that you can follow is: the closer the planet is to us, the shorter the retrograde. The further away it is from us, the longer the retrograde is. How this affects us depends on the planet, what phase of the retrograde it is in, and the zodiacal sign that it is transiting (retrograding/traveling) through. Not to get too specific, depending on what house the zodiac sign is placed in your chart can also determine how a particular plant's retrograde affects you personally.
Most of the time a planet transits through retrograde alone or with one or two other planets at a time. However, there are sometimes years when we get large clusters of planet retrogrades. 2022 is one of them. We have 8 of the 9 planets in retrograde this year. 6 are clustered together right now.
So, Let's talk about them, shall we. This illustration is devoted to Neptune.
Because of its distance from the sun, Neptune has a huge orbit. It takes 165 years to circle the Sun and it spends roughly 15 years within any given zodiac sign. Neptune is the planet that governs inspiration, dreams, psychic receptivity, illusion, glamorous delusions, and confusion. Each Neptune cycle shapes a generation; from the music that we listen to, to the films that touch us at our core, to the spiritual ideologies that resonate with mass culture. In short, Neptune provides the dreams that we dream for our lives.
It is currently retrograding through the sign of Pisces. Pisces is the 12th sign in the zodiac, considered the most evolved among the signs. Pisces is a mutable water sign. So it deals with the transition from life/death/rebirth within the life cycle (mutable) and it deals with our emotions (water.) It is a sign of empathy, sensitivity, psychic abilities, adaptability, dreams, generosity, curiosity, creativity, naivety, and gullibility. Neptune is the ruler of the sign of Pisces, so it is in its home sign or "domicile." So, all that psychic energy and other attributes that Pisces offers are further intensified within all of us when Neptune goes home.
However, Neptune is retrograde. Neptune retrogrades about every 4-5 months each year and gives way to some very deep and introspective times. Especially since it is retrograding in its home sign of Pisces. These Neptune retrogrades can often provide some well-needed reality checks. While introspection can be a very healthy part of any healing process, you must be mindful that you aren't being lured back into some unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms during this time. Remember, Neptune is an Illusion, dreams, smoke, and mirrors. It can play a very romanticized version of any scene in your life. So, when Neptune is retrograde, you must be mindful that it isn't pulling the wool over your eyes. This goes double when Neptune is retrograding through Pisces.
The best defense to help keep you out of unhealthy traps and habits during this transit is to be very honest with yourself. Take a leaf out of Saturn's book and look at the facts, not the fantasy. What is real? What is a dream? You really want to put the energy of this inward focus on your emotional and mental well-being as well as your own spiritual development. Let the rest of the fog around this retrograde clear in good time. No need to get yourself confused or pulled into some dramatic fantasy that will eventually reveal itself to not be as real as it felt it was in the first place.
Before we go, let's talk a little bit about the art.
I explained the concept behind these odd but fun little illustrations. One of the things I wanted to pay homage to was the 1902 French film Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon.) I have always been impressed and inspired by that iconic image of the moon with that face in it. I'm certain that this image has inspired so many other artists and each has paid tribute to this treasure of cinema history. In my case, conceptually, I wouldn't be able to center a face within my illustrated planets. They are in retrograde, and they are sashaying away from us. So we would only see their "dark sides of" or the back of their "heads" if you will. I still wanted to see a face on them in some way. I really wanted to superimpose the faces of real supermodels onto them. So, I came up with the idea of them looking back; serving us one last lewk before continuing on their retrograded ways.
Photo: Le Voyage dans la Lune, 1902.
I wanted to play with the proportions of head size because not all planets are equal (in size) and I wanted to convey that within this series. So some "heads" will appear large on their bodies. Some "heads" will appear small. These aesthetic choices are largely determined by the literal astronomical relation of planetary size to Earth and to each other. I should probably do a "police line-up" of them once they are all completed. lol.
After working on so many of the other planet illustrations and dealing with the challenge of how I was going to recreate the surface of that planet, I think I may have finally gotten the hang of it. What texture to use, which fabrics, colors, etc. This one came a little easier as opposed to say Jupiter or Saturn. Neptune is illustrated as Non-binary here. Gender fluid. Neptune is normally considered a female planet, but I wanted to experiment with gender the way that the fashion industry does.
Since Neptune governs things like cinema, and television, I felt that a red carpet look would conceptually be appropriate. The dress is based on a red-carpet dress designed by Angel Chen and Minju Kim. It was a partnered collaboration on the Netflix fashion reality show Next in Fashion. I loved this garment because it was selling me this dreamy red carpet fantasy all in pink (a tint of red). I wanted something that "flowed" like water since Neptune is currently retrograde within the water sign of Pisces. I wanted Neptune to be cool, edgy, and futuristic. That Cool "It Girl" that turns all the heads and inspires little whirlwinds of conversation as they glide across a room, or in this case, the Cosmic Catwalk.
Even though there seems to be an overall same tint/shade of pink, there actually is quite a variety if you look closer, I wanted to use the tints and shades of the base pink color to define where the dress overlaps or which fold precedes the next. I intentionally played with color placement so as to confuse the eye. I wanted Neptune's dress to be the fashion equivalent of an M. C. Escher drawing. I wanted where Neptune's arms disappear to read as both folds that are further away or closer making it an impossibility to where their arms fold into the garment itself.
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
The sunglasses are inspired by the above image. While I was able to find the image credit, I am uncertain of the actual designer that designed these garments and sunglasses. I knew that I wanted Neptun to be wearing cool sunglasses and that they should be a tint or shade of red. It's an on-the-nose nod to those "Rose-Colored Glasses." Since Neptune is the planet of illusion and confusion, I thought rose-colored glasses were definitely in order for their choice of garment. Also, they just look cool in them.
The last detail to note is the pair of fish on the garment. The cyclical swimming fish are another image or symbol associated with the sign of Pisces. I had already used a pattern made from the Pisces icon in the Jupiter Illustration. However, I didn't want to just use the same symbol. So, the pair of fish more visually rendered as fish felt more appropriate for this illustration as well as it just "fit" the outfit better in the end.
That pretty much sums up this blog entry for Neptune and my little illustration of them. Stay tuned for the rest of this illustrated mini-series coming soon. Weather the Neptune retrograde as best as you can and look fabulous while doing it.
Until next time, friends...
Keep dreaming, keep sketching, keep thinking, keep laughing, and most important of all, keep making art.
*Some of the retrograde information cited from:
Here’s what a retrograde in astrology means and how it affects you by Kyle Thomas @ New York Post.
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