Uranus
August 2018
In Part I of this series, we looked at the times, which are a changin', and have been, astrologically, for the past two hundred years or so. In this segment we're going to look at when this change actually started, according to the view of many Western astrologers.
The Zodiac sign Aquarius is ruled by two planets, Saturn and Uranus. Up until the early 1800s, astrologers just used Saturn as Aquarius's ruler, but were never really happy with that idea because natives of the sign displayed characteristics quite different from the usually reserved and cautious Capricorn. The change came after the discovery of the planet Uranus by William Herschel in Bath, England, in 1781.
As mentioned in Part I, astrologers decide which outer planet might rule which Zodiac sign based on the world events happening at the time of the planet's discovery. With the so-called inner and social "planets" (astrologers call the Sun and Moon planets although they are of course a star and a satellite respectively), Western civilization already had a comprehensive mythology from the Greeks; the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were seen as gods and goddesses which exerted an apparent metaphysical influence on life on earth. This pagan mythology was carried over into Judaism and Christianity in the Biblical stories of the 12 tribes and Israel and the 12 disciples of Jesus, even under the rulership of One deity, and even though it was externally suppressed - the Bible admonishes against astrology as it was practiced by the Babylonians and Egyptians, because it was usually used for personal gain - astrology is in fact a big part of the esoteric interpretation of the Bible, and references to its more profound meaning can be found, for example in the mosaic remains of the Beth Alpha Temple in Israel.
Uranus's discovery was sandwiched in-between American independence in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1989. It also came when the first rumblings of the next century's Industrial Revolution were just starting in England, with the invention of the cotton gin and steam engine.
The ancient kabbalists who designed the Tree Of Life (please see picture in The Esoteric Sceptic I) surmised that astronomers would one day discover an 8th planet and so left a whole sphere of consciousness for it, and a path on the diagram. To them, it was simply the idea of light and they called this sphere Chokmah meaning wisdom. Then when the tarot was invented, those initiates placed this idea of Zero/nothingness on the path leading from the ineffable Godhead known as Kether, to the first emanation which humans recognize, which is light. But this "male" light by itself doesn't really do much unless it is constrained, rather like the vapour from fuel combustion in an engine. That's where the feminine third sphere comes in, by compressing the light into the forms we see in the material world.
So hopefully we can see how the idea of nothingness or zero was really important to real Judaism, ie. below the surface, deep spiritual Judaism. The name of this tarot key "The Fool" reminds us that it is perhaps better to say we are atheists than try to convince others that we know what God is, because we only come across as foolish if we do. This is also perhaps the reason why Jews never pronounce the name of God, which is four Hebrew letter, Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh, but use the term "Adonai". It is a form of respect for the utter unknowingableness of God. All we can do is symbolize the concept by the numeral Zero, and by the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph, which actually means Bull. This is because when the alphabet was being formulated, back in the astrological Precessional age of Taurus, bulls represented the life power of the universe. This life power is also known as the "Life Breath", or Ruach, which is the same as Prana in Indian philosophy, and the idea of breath links Uranus and The Fool to the element of Air. Aleph is one of the three Mother Letters of the alphabet, with which God mythologically created the universe, the other two representing Fire and Water, which we'll talk about in other blogs. But for now, The Fool is indicating that Air is invisible, again suggesting that any attempts at definition are futile. Rather like Quantum Mechanics.
But that's not to say that we shouldn't continue to try to understand the Mind Of God, even if our only tool is mathematics, and this idea is symbolized by the dog in the picture, which symbolizes our intellects - friend to the Higher Self. The whole picture is really a graphic representation of the constellation Orion, with the little dog representing Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, and some say a sort of twin to our Sun. The Fool's right hand is the Fixed Star Betelgeuse, while the rose in his left hand is the star Rigel, and his belt is the belt of Orion.
So I hope all this has given us some idea of what Uranus is about. And the next thing to understand is that the planet Uranus is not the sign Aquarius. That sign takes the freedom and individuality of Uranus but binds it to the social laws of relationships, to produce social justice. You are going to see rebels in anyone who has a prominent Uranus, but whether that rebellion is channeled by a brilliant mind for greater good or in eccentricity or perverseness will depend on the aspects Uranus makes to other planets, especially Saturn. And astrologers have come to expect sudden events relating to freedom whenever Uranus aspects any of our natal planets by transit.
Recently astrologers have been wondering whether Aquarius might actually be ruled by the asteroid of healing, Chiron, instead of a rather clumsy dual rulerhip of Saturn and Uranus. It won't really make much difference, because Chiron is found astronomically between Saturn and Uranus, and is therefore known as the bridge between the material and spiritual worlds - a sort of teacher or initiator. In mythology, that's exactly what Chiron was - he taught music and astrology, but had a wound which he couldn't not heal, so he's known as the Wounded Healer. Not a bad idea really, because human egos would run amok if they were perfect.
Anyway, we can judge our progress into the Age of Aquarius by the conjunctions, squares and oppositions that Uranus has made to the other Outer Planets over the past few hundred years. In fact, even though Uranus wasn't discovered until 1781, humanity has always experienced its symbolism and that will show in the horoscopes of famous people and events for the past 1000 years- it's just that we hadn't incorporated the idea of being different into the mass mind. Some important historical events which took place in the 20th century during significant Uranus aspect:
Uranus opposite Neptune 1906-1910: Einstein writes his Theory Of Relativity, the beginnings of the Russian Revolution, The Bloomsbury Group of writers and artists forms in London.
1940-43 Uranus trine Neptune; many of our Classic Rock musicians were born then - The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan. Individuality easily combined with intuitive inspiration in the arts.
Uranus square Neptune 1950-1953: People born then have "one foot in the Piscean Age and one foot in the Aquarian Age", often in conflict, questioning religion but not sure of what to replace it with, yet.
Queen's coronation is broadcast on the BBC, combining the religious tradition of Pisces (the Queen is head of the Church of England) with television. The symbol for Uranus, an "H" on a stick, derived from its discoverer William Herschel, looks a bit like a TV antenna, reminding astrologers of the planet's link to technology and electricity.
February 1962: The "kitchen sink" Aquarius Solar Eclipse (Uranus in Leo). This one was visible in London and I remember seeing it at my Primary School reflected in the school windows. The teachers had us make sun-shields, from memory. Although I didn't know anything about astrology at the time, I did know that the world around me was suddenly getting very exciting, in both good and bad ways. Next year I was a Beatles fan, JFK was shot, James Bond was in my cinema, England was losing colonies as they became independent and my friends' older brothers were going on marches to Trafalgar Square in something called the CND. The Civil Rights movement in America was heating up in the US, much of it organized by Martin Luther King Jr.
Uranus conjunct Pluto 1966-1967: Hippies, Flower-power, consciousness revolution, homosexual law reform in the UK.
1969-1975 Uranus in Libra Freedom becomes essential to romantic relationships and marriage, sometimes leading to divorce. Roe versus Wade (1973) in the US redefines abortion laws, divides country.
Uranus conjunct Neptune 1989-1993: Iron Curtain collapses and Berlin Wall comes down. Computers widely used and incorporated into music. mp3s, digital recording. Miss Cleo's psychic hotline and similar become popular. March 1991:Rodney King beating in Los Angeles by LAPD is unknowingly videotaped by an apartment resident and shown around the world. L.A. riots ensue after the police officers responsible are acquitted of assault. Liberty and technology (Uranus) combine with video/film/hidden/behind the scenes (Neptune) activities involving power and authority (Capricorn).
Grand Cross August 1999 Solar Eclipse: Sun/Moon opposite Uranus, squared by Jupiter and Saturn in Taurus on one side, Mars in Scorpio on the other. Big push towards genetically engineered food crops and farming in general (Taurus). Beginnings of the New Atheist movement. Wikipedia started 2001.
Uranus square Pluto 2011-2015 (in Aries - Capricorn). Arab Spring, overthrow of oppressive leaders (Aries) and governments in Middle East. Proliferation of gay marriage and gender issues. Pluto rules Scorpio while Uranus is exalted in that sign; the square symbolically creates conflict in matters related to this sign of sex, death and transformation, which can be resolved either by transcendence or material expression. This period has been (erroneously in my opinion) compared to the 1960s, but the square is much more forceful than the conjunction, which signified the start of a new cycle.
May 2018: Uranus enters Taurus, sign of the earth. This is a crucial time for the health of our planet and the environment. Unexpected wake up calls are to be expected.
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