Neptune Retrograde 2022 is here to serve a major reality check, but what does it mean for you?

Neptune Retrograde happens once a year and for 2022 it will ask us all to take a clear-eyed look at our hopes and dreams, and how we plan on achieving them.

Just as we’re experiencing a powerful New Moon for June 2022 (in the sensitive sign of Cancer), Neptune turns retrograde. This means from June 28 until December 3, 2022, the planet of intuition, creativity, spirituality, and dreams will be backpedaling in the sky. During this period of the Moon Calendar 2022 Neptune will be slowly retracing its steps and bringing us back to themes first introduced to us in early March 2022.

Whenever a planet goes retrograde, it’s important to note that the symbolism of that planet doesn’t disappear - so there is no reason to panic! Every planet has wisdom to share. A retrograde simply means that the planet has brought us to a certain part of its lesson plan and now it’s giving us a mini pop quiz to check that we’re absorbing the information.

So, what lessons does Neptune Retrograde 2022 have for us as a collective? Neptune always wants us focused on our ideals - spiritually, aesthetically, and creatively. The retrograde asks us where we may be over-idealizing something or someone and refusing to accept the reality of a situation. Or where we are under-idealizing our dreams - and leaving our creative projects, romantic dreams, or professional goals to gather proverbial cobwebs in a dusty corner.

This retrograde is all about calling attention to our own cognitive dissonance - the ways we may be fooling ourselves or others. It will help us bridge the divide between who we say we are, who we say we want to be, and how our actions - or inactions - do or don’t align with those visions. It’s time to trust your intuition. Listen to your gut. Remember and pay attention to your dreams. That’s how you’ll cut through the confusion. Remain true to yourself, and see how easily that veil lifts.

If you've already read your weekly horoscope, it's time for a deeper dive into how Neptune Retrograde of June 2022 will affect you - read on for your sun or rising sign horoscope. For information about finding your sun or rising sign, look at your personal astrology birth chart.

How Neptune Retrograde 2022 will affect you...

Aries Sun & Aries Rising

For fire signs, like Aries, change is hard, but sometimes it’s necessary. With Neptune retrograding in your twelfth house of the subconscious, this is a time to be more clear-eyed about any limiting beliefs you have or repetitive patterns that could be getting in your way. You know, the kinds where you do the same things over and over again, expecting different results - but keep getting the same outcome. It’s easy to say “this is who I am, take it or leave it,” to another person. You may not owe anything to anyone else - but you do owe it to yourself to see if that mindset is preventing you from becoming who or what you’re meant to. We’re here to evolve. So let yourself try.

Taurus Sun & Taurus Rising

You’re a sign that craves predictability, and the last few years have been anything but that for you. This Neptune transit in your eleventh house of networks is here to remind you that being strong and secure isn’t a solo mission - it requires sturdy relationships, friendships, and a community. It’s OK to rely on other people or have them rely on you. But for earth signs, what is most important is that you have loving and compassionate support whether you’re winning or losing, whether you’re celebrating or needing a hand. Pay attention to who is there for you at those times—and be willing to let go of who isn’t. You need people who are in your corner and want to see you shine.

Gemini Sun & Gemini Rising

Air signs are great at what they do, Gemini. You’re capable, you’re clever, you’re quick-witted and a great problem solver. But are you where you’re supposed to be? That’s the question Neptune makes you consider as it starts its retrograde in your tenth house of career. Neptune wants to know if the work you do is aligned with your values. Are you giving all your best ideas to someone else? Is an organization getting your best? Is all your energy directed at making someone else’s dreams come true? It’s time to be honest about where you could be giving more, and to whom you could be giving less - whether that’s yourself or someone else.

Cancer Sun & Cancer Rising

We all had dreams growing up. Maybe you dreamed about being an astronaut. Maybe you said that before you settled down, you’d travel the globe. With Neptune now retrograde in your ninth house of hopes and higher wisdom, you could be wondering what got in the way of those dreams. Consider if there is the child version you knew to be true and that you could still honor now. As a water sign, it would be beneficial to find a creative way to make them come true. Maybe you won’t be an astronaut, but could you study the stars? Could your passport use an extra stamp in it? Time to make your nine-year-old self proud...

Leo Sun & Leo Rising

The word 'boundaries' can seem like a self-care buzzword but there’s real wisdom in it for you. You’re not here to save everyone even with a heart as big as yours, Leo. With Neptune in your eighth house of karmic debts, you may have found yourself questioning repeating patterns of defaulting into savior mode, and perhaps lamenting when it seems no one that you’ve helped is there to repay the favor when you need one back. It’s OK to feel slighted but it’s even more essential for you to draw firmer lines between what is in your realm of responsibility and what it isn’t. It will make your strong relationships even stronger when you do.

Virgo Sun & Virgo Rising

As Neptune retrogrades in your seventh house of partnerships, you may want to back out of a commitment, or someone else does. As the initial phases of love transition into the everyday realities of running errands and coordinating schedules, you could find yourself questioning if this is the endeavor that you signed up for. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it doesn’t have to be a breakup. But what it can be is a chance to make sure that your rose-colored glasses are actually filled with roses. And that you even like roses! It’s OK to renegotiate your terms to ensure they match what you want, or end a contract if it can’t fulfill your needs.

Libra Sun & Libra Rising

Stress about your schedule, and what it should or should not look like has been likely weighing you down. You may be feeling pushed to commit to a new routine or obligation and you’re not sure it’s exactly what you want. With Neptune retrograding in your sixth house of health and habits, it’s more important than ever that you prioritize your needs right now. Your livelihood is important but it shouldn’t come at the cost of how well you live your life and the quality of your days. Take time for rest, relaxation, and being more present and mindful about the micro-decisions you make that could have macro-consequences. Your only obligation is to yourself, remember that.

Scorpio Sun & Scorpio Rising

Your love life has been in focus, if only you could actually focus on it. While you may have had options, once something has seemed to solidify, you likely have found yourself questioning if something or someone is what you really want. That’s all thanks to Neptune’s dreamy and often hazy influence in your fifth house of romance and pleasure. Now with this retrograde, it could be a great opportunity for you to get clearer about what you want in love, and it’s OK if the answer isn’t what someone else wishes it were. Single, playing the field or in a committed relationship, the only status that matters is the one you want, Scorpio.

Sagittarius Sun & Sagittarius Rising

You’ve been going through a series of uncovering truths that have been buried deep in your past. Whenever an outer planet enters a sensitive spot like your fourth house of home and family, you’re likely to encounter some ghosts, and with Neptune, those ghosts are just as likely to be literal as they are figurative! With this Neptune retrograde, you have an opportunity to get clear about what your past was and wasn’t, and see how beliefs and lessons learned still impact you today. It’s also a time to notice the ways in which you were parented and how that impacts how you parent today, whether that’s yourself or another person. Use this retrograde to forgive yourself or someone else, and see how you’re empowered to break cycles you don’t want to continue.

Capricorn Sun & Capricorn Rising

Communicating with others may have seemed extra difficult lately as you could have found yourself struggling to understand where a friend, coworker, or even family member is coming from. With Neptune swimming in your third house of communication, you could find that your words or gestures are misinterpreted more often than you’d like, and your intentions are misconstrued. Now with Neptune’s retrograde, you have an opportunity to set things right, whether that means apologizing to someone else for unintended hurt feelings or finding new and different wants to express yourself that are more in alignment with how you truly feel. It’s a time to feel inspired and creative about the possibilities of a new way forward in how you connect.

Aquarius Sun & Aquarius Rising

If it’s felt like money in, money out for you for a long while now, and you have no idea where that money is going, you can likely look at Neptune as the culprit. With the foggy, haziness of the Sea God in your second house of earned income, you may not be entirely clear about your finances right now. Neptune always invites creativity and possibilities, and with this retrograde, it’s a chance to be more creative about budgeting—or earning. If you have a creative side hustle or idea on how to make more money, now is the time to start thinking about how you can make that dream a reality.

Pisces Sun & Pisces Rising

Neptune has been in your first house of selfhood since 2012, that’s a decade of the slow-moving gas giant having you question your wants, needs, hopes, dreams, and desires. And Neptune is once again asking you if you are who you say you are. When big moments come, whether in terms of wins or losses, how do you react? In what ways do you show up for yourself and put your own dreams first? Have you lost yourself in another person? More than any other sign, this transit is asking you to find yourself. To look at yourself in the proverbial mirror and be honest about who you see reflected back. It’s never too late to be the person you want to be.