In our fast-paced world, with a 24-hour news cycle that focuses on sensationalizing short-term events, it’s easy to lose sight of the cyclical nature of markets, trends, and life itself.
One thing I appreciate about astrology is that it reminds me that no event is truly isolated; everything happens in the context of larger cycles.
The daily fluctuations of the tides and the monthly lunar cycle give us visible reminders of this essential fact of life.
When the cycle is longer and less visible, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing individual events are isolated. And when we forget about the cycles, we lose the context that helps us understand events.
The Uranus/Neptune Sextile
Uranus in Gemini sextile Neptune in Aries (August 28, 8:08 PM ET, 1º26’ Aries/Gemini) is a rare aspect between two of the slowest-moving outer planets.
A sextile is a 60-degree triangle: a harmonious aspect that occurs between two planets in compatible signs. It presents an opportunity—albeit one that requires us to take action. It shows us the door, but we must do the work of opening it.
Uranus is the planet of breakthroughs, disruption, rebellion, surprise, and innovation. It seeks to liberate us from the status quo. It’s revolutionary.
Neptune is the planet of dreams, illusions, delusions, spirituality, and escapism.
This is the first aspect between these two planets since they moved into their new signs earlier this year. Because Uranus and Neptune are generational planets, their aspects speak to the collective experience more than the personal experience. The themes may show up in your personal life, but they will be a reflection of a larger story impacting our society as a whole.
On the surface, it seems to speak to a big breakthrough or innovation that fuels a dream. It could look like technology blended with imagination, a clear path forward after months of feeling foggy in your pursuits.
This is where context becomes key.
The Bigger Context: A 171-Year Cycle
This is not just an isolated event.
This is the opening sextile in the 171-year cycle between Uranus and Neptune that began when the planets formed a conjunction in Capricorn in 1993.
That conjunction marked the birth of the modern internet: the beginning of the “digital revolution” that planted the big dream of dissolving information barriers, democratizing publishing, and creating a global digital public square where everyone could connect and share ideas.
The opening sextile is equivalent to the waxing crescent moon phase of the lunar cycle: it’s the first phase of growth, when the energies of the new cycle are starting to build and take shape, and we take action toward our intention.
Clearly, there’s been quite a lot of action already when it comes to progress on the promise of the digital age, but in many ways we’re just getting started.
If a planetary cycle is a book, we’re just entering chapter 2 of this Uranus/Neptune book.
The Story Within The Story
The current Uranus/Neptune sextile is the first of five that will occur between the planets from August 2025 through June 2027.
These are not five separate events. Rather, they are better understood as one extended 2-year event within the context of the larger cycle — a story within the larger story.
The repeated aspects are like an extended period of dialogue rather than a quick conversation. This first of five sextile aspects sets the tone for the 2-year story of the Uranus/Neptune “crescent phase.”
A Quirk in the Story
Astrology is a language, and when forming sentences and understanding meaning, syntax matters. “Man bites dog” is not the same as “dog bites man.”
As planets work their way around the zodiac and come into contact with each other, the faster planet makes its impact on the slower plant. In a dynamic involving Uranus and Neptune, the faster planet is Uranus, which has an 84-year cycle compared to Neptune’s 165-year cycle.
So in the abstract, we would say that Uranus is sextile Neptune: the Uranian breakthrough energy propels the Neptunian dream.
But this particular sextile has a quirk. Right now, Neptune is moving faster, which means Neptune is influencing Uranus.
And, to add to the quirks, Neptune is retrograde.
This changes the dynamic.
Retrogrades turn the plane’s energy inward, forcing us to review, reconsider, and revisit the theme of the planetary aspect.
Neptune retrograde sextile Uranus, takes this from a moment of action to a moment of reflection.
This nuance doesn’t just change the meaning of this instance of the 5-part sextile story. Because this sextile is the first of the five, it sets the tone for the entire arc of this story-within-a-story.
The Practical Impact: A Reckoning on the Dream of the Digital Era
On the collective level, this sextile is a moment of reckoning for the internet and artificial intelligence. It asks us to reflect back on the original intention seeded in 1993 — the original promise and dream—and consider whether we’re headed in the right direction to fulfill that intention.
The internet has democratized information, and dissolved borders, but it’s also led to disinformation, mental health issues, echo chambers, and isolation.
Neptune retrograde sextile Uranus puts a spotlight on how our collective consciousness will demand changes to the way we are using technology.
This is a moment for us to raise the deeper spiritual questions or disillusionment with how social dynamics are impacted by technology.
The opportunity is to course correct and innovate new, healthier ways to use technology to realize the original dream of the internet.
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