In order to grasp the astrological significance of Uranus, we need to acquaint ourselves with the myth of Uranus and with the archetype symbolised by this planet in astrology. Uranus literally means sky, heavens, from the Greek Οὐρανός. Born from Chaos, he is the Father of all in existence. He is the son and also the husband of the Earth goddess Gaea. In one version of the myth, she conceived him by herself and gave birth to him. Gaea and Uranus are the protogenists of the gods of Ancient Greece. The Titans are their sons. They also birthed Saturn or Chronos (Time) who was the youngest Titan but also the leader of them all. Chronos was the one who took to heart his mother’s command to get their father Uranus killed. Then he castrated his father’s body and hurled his testicles in the sea. The sea waves merged with the blood of Uranus’ genitals and thus was Aphrodite/Venus born. Uranus caused his own violent death by keeping his children in Tartarus or Hell – in the Earth’s (Gaea’s) womb. Gaea wanted him dead because he was a tyrant who tormented her and their children.
This convoluted story gives us an idea of the stagnancy and revolutions triggered by Uranus; as it flies by, time changes everything and even erases heroes from our personal mythology. At the end, beauty is born, but even the most precious and noblest is begotten in blood and castration!
This is why the astrological image of Uranus is quite contradictory. In astrology, the God of Heavens is the Great Awakener who embodies our impulse to be different, radical, independent and free, to overcome the restrictions of nature and world. Uranus manifests the extremes of abrupt change which often has destructive effect. Uranus is also associated with rebelliousness and revolutions. It bears the archetypes of the eccentric, the genius, the bohemian and the iconoclast.
The planet Uranus was discovered in a most intriguing way. The telescope was invented in Holland in the 17th century. Back then, Uranus had repeatedly been registered as a fixed star, but on the 13th of March 1781 William Herschel was the first to describe it as a planet. He was a musician and an amateur astronomer, whose patron was King George III himself. Herschel built his own telescopes in his backyard. His sister followed suit, examined the starry sky and also became an astronomer. This is how brother and sister broke the canon and deviated from conventionality. Instead of the professional astronomers, these two amateurs discovered the new planet.
As a matter of fact, Uranus acquired its deserving status of a planet at the dawn of the industrial revolution, barely 5 years after the United States issued their Declaration of Independence and 5 years before the French Revolution. Thus, its official discovery marks the beginning of the new world-management concepts. Uranus is also tied to the notion of eccentricity. In a way, it also symbolises all things collective – those character traits that we do not manage to express in our capacity of isolated, individual beings. All revolutionary acts give rise to the issues of personal responsibility, of the intrinsic cruelty of revolutions and of the collective ideal.
In the human body, Uranus is represented by the ankles and is responsible for cramps, spasms, epilepsy and nervous disease. In mundane astrology, it governs airplanes, airports, high technologies, electricity, computers and IT, production plants and mass production in general.
Ideology, freedom and common human interests are also symbolised by this planet.
In nature, Uranus is the planet of earthquakes, lightning and thunderstorms. Cloned animals are also symbolised by it. Its chemical element is uranium, and its colour is turquoise.
Its glyph represents the two crescents of the soul (sometimes depicted as vertical lines), surrounding the cross – symbol of matter atop the circle of the spirit. Together with Saturn, Uranus is the co-ruler of Aquarius. As it was discovered later, no day of the week is dedicated to it.
This planet’s transits mark periods of our lives, both the collective and the individual ones. Once we have grasped their principles, we shall have a much smoother ride through these periods.
Right now, Uranus is changing signs and this will definitely impact all of us collectively - and each one of us individually - in its peculiar ways. This transit commenced on May 15th 2018, the date of a new Moon in Taurus and the shift of Mars from Capricorn into Aquarius – the sign ruled by Uranus himself in modern astrology, and by Saturn in the traditional astrological school of thought. At the same time, Uranus entered Taurus – a sign ruled by Venus (who was born of his blood, as the myth goes!) This combination triggers drama, sudden endings, abruptness and, in all probability, each one of us has experienced or witnessed such events lately. And while Mars normally changes signs every couple of months, Uranus resides seven years in a sun sign.
Uranus entered Taurus to stay there until November 6th, when it will briefly return to Aries, to once again pass into Taurus on March 6th 2019 and stay there for a long while.
What is going on in our lives? Whatever we learned the hard way in the past 7 years, through destruction and upheavals, novelties and education in any of Uranus’ spheres as outlined above, will finally assume some shape and structure – of course, this will call for some serious effort, tenacity and even a healthy dose of obstinacy. So, in the coming 7 years we shall get to build this new structure, on the foundation of all things demolished and all knowledge already acquired.
Our values will be revolutionised, shaken to the core, destroyed and swapped for new ones, particularly in our ways to enjoy life, our values where property and money is concerned and the manner in which we provide those. Now we shall approach all these matters in a new, exciting way. At this point, it is worth noting that crypto currencies will be “legitimized” in a revolutionary manner – they will become official, with the expected ups and downs, bouts of popularity and widespread turmoil). Financially and businesswise, we’ll become more daring and progressive. Actually, this will be true of all practical matters. We will be worried by bullish and bearish trends in these spheres until we get used to them and take up the reins. Surprises will become part of the daily routine.
We’ll witness lax morals and more liberal practices where sensuality, self-love and care for body and self are concerned. The feminist movements will rise to new heights and will be transformed. They will be the hot topic of many debates in favour of traditional values and will become much more unconventional.
We will be aloof, more detached from mundanity and more inclined to seek higher aims and universal truths, discoveries and flashes of wisdom! Whatever we do, we shouldn’t act at someone else’s expense – infringement of other people’s rights is a no-no. Freedom is not self-seeking. It should never expand beyond the personal boundaries of other individuals and should not be an end in itself. Certain tangible limitations will be demolished in some way. The abrupt changes in store for us will alter ownership, assets, money, values (and valuables), our income, whose sources will be untraditional, novel, even unthinkable in today’s terms.
We will inevitably have to rearrange and reformulate our priorities in these areas.
Until 2026, new business ideas will steal the spotlight and will become the new way ahead. They will be progressive and innovative also in terms of money making, capital accrual and ownership. The money making energy will come in flashes and will remain in perpetual flux. And another variable and shockingly unexpected effect that we’ll need to come to terms with - we will embark on a journey of self-discovery.
The revolution brought by Uranus in these spheres will be evaluated once it’s over. Brace for new order in our lives!
The effects on the individual sun signs will be published in the next two Astrobooth articles.
Uranus in Taurus periods:
May 15th 2018 – November 6th 2018;
March 6th 2019 – July 7th 2025 and November 7th 2025 – April 25th 2026.
