Neptune DC Lines in The Phoenix Crown
Lesson: Distinguishing Between Fantasy and Reality
Living on a Neptune Descendant Line
Lately, I’ve been learning about Neptune and what it means to live on a Neptune line in astrocartography. I’m currently within orb of my Neptune Descendant (DC) line—and have been for most of my life.
In astrocartography, the Descendant angle highlights relationships—romantic, business, familial, and friendships. So, when Neptune is on the DC line, its energy infuses your relationships with Neptunian themes.
Neptune rules spirituality, creativity, imagination, fantasy, illusion, and deception, as well as institutions like prisons and asylums. This planet blurs boundaries and casts a haze over reality. It can be inspiring when you’re creating art or deepening your spiritual life—but in the realm of real-world relationships, it often brings confusion and disappointment.
(It’s interesting that Neptune rules both boundary-less concepts like creativity and fantasy, and places defined by strong boundaries, like prisons and asylums.)
The Phoenix Crown and Neptunian Themes
My neighbor lent me The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang after her book club finished it. Halfway through, it hit me that two of the characters—Gemma Garland and Reggie Reynolds—are living out textbook Neptune DC line experiences in San Francisco.
(Spoiler alert ahead!)
Neptune, Art, and Illusion in San Francisco
The story takes place during the weeks leading up to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Gemma, an aspiring opera singer plagued by excruciating migraines, performs in the Metropolitan Opera chorus. Reggie is a painter. Both are talented, creative, and yearning for artistic recognition.
When they arrive in San Francisco—where I’d argue they are “on” their Neptune DC lines—they meet people who seem to help their careers flourish.
Reggie arrives first and later encourages Gemma to join her. By the time Gemma arrives, Reggie has mysteriously left for Colorado—very unlike her. Soon after, Gemma meets Henry Thornton, a wealthy arts patron who offers her everything she’s dreamed of: connections, lessons, elegant clothes, and a room in his octagonal mansion.
It seems too good to be true—because it is.
Neptune’s Challenges: Deception and Disillusionment
Henry’s generosity turns sinister when Gemma learns that Reggie didn’t leave after all—Henry had her committed to an asylum. (Neptune rules asylums!)
This is the moment the book’s Neptunian undercurrent becomes undeniable. Both Gemma and Reggie are swept into relationships clouded by illusion, seduced by beauty and promise, unable to see the danger beneath the surface.
When the earthquake strikes on April 18, 1906—another symbol of Neptune’s power to shake foundations—it shatters the illusion. In a chaotic climax, Henry locks Gemma, Reggie, Suling, and Alice in a burning conservatory and even kills Suling’s aunt. The literal and emotional haze clears in the most dramatic way possible.
The Aftermath: Clarity and Healing
After the earthquake, the survivors scatter—Gemma to Buenos Aires, Reggie and Suling to Paris. Away from San Francisco’s Neptunian fog, they begin to recover and gain perspective. When they later learn that Henry has resurfaced under a new name (and fiancée), they return to confront him—this time with eyes wide open.
Through their experiences, they embody the Neptune DC lesson:
Distinguish fantasy from reality
See through charm and illusion
Build relationships on discernment and truth
Living on a Neptune DC Line in Real Life
While The Phoenix Crown dramatizes these themes, not everyone living on a Neptune DC line will experience them so intensely. My own life under this energy has been much subtler—marked by idealized relationships, blurred boundaries, and moments of deep spiritual creativity alongside confusion and disappointment.
Still, the story beautifully mirrors the emotional and psychological texture of Neptune DC energy—its capacity for both enchantment and deception.
If you’re also living near your Neptune Descendant line and want to understand it better, this video offers great insight.