One hundred and sixty two years ago, in 1859, Charles Dickens began his novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…” Of course this opening sentence goes on a bit longer in the actual novel, but you get the idea. Mr. Dickens was writing about a crazy, polarized time, much like what we’re experiencing now with the Covid Pandemic and its deniers, Climate Change and its deniers, Racial Inequity and its deniers, Truth and its deniers.
As a Professional Astrologer for over 20 years it is my business to pay attention to the movements of the planets and look for trends. Like for instance, a common thread linking Mr. Dickens time to our own is that the planet Uranus is shaking things up in the sign of Taurus.
One of the slower moving planets in our Solar system, Uranus or “the ringed planet resting on its side”, takes approximately 84 years to circle the Sun. Named after the violent and uncontrollable King of the Titans in Greek Mythology, Uranus is the planetary archetype associated with revolution and unexpected change on a grand scale, as well as individuality, freedom, and genius on a personal level. By contrast, the fixed earth sign of Taurus (where Uranus is currently transiting) is about stability, tradition, and conformity. Hence, when a volatile planet like Uranus passes through a fixed, status quo sign like Taurus, the walls of our institutions can be expected to shake and the people will cry out (or lash out) for change. Sound familiar?
There is no doubt that over the last year Uranus’s signature unpredictability has been severely testing not only our society, but the world at large. In fact, here in the U.S. one need look no further than the utter collapse of our health care system during the Covid pandemic to find Uranian chaos (Uranus was finally in Taurus for good by March 2019) . But that’s not all, how about the mysterious failure of Washington D.C. law enforcement to adequately respond to the violent insurrection that occurred in the U.S Capitol on January 6, 2021, especially when they knew it was coming (Uranus and Mars were squaring Jupiter in Aquarius at the time)? How was such a lapse of duty possible when a mob of thousands hoping to overturn the election started marching toward the Capitol while it was being covered live on CNN? Add to that the unbelievable denials afterwards by some of the elected officials who were present regarding whether or not anything even happened on that fateful day, particularly since film footage exists showing many of these deniers literally running and hiding for their lives. Let’s also not forget the Presidential election in 2020 that triggered the aforementioned insurrection (Uranus was opposing the Sun in Scorpio). After a record voter turnout that was by all official accounts a fair and secure process, there were nevertheless those who questioned the outcome despite President Biden winning by a landslide margin of over 7 million votes. To make matters even more absurd, after these election challenges were defeated in over 60 court cases around the country there is still to this day, almost a year later, a major media network in our country still telling its viewers we have an illegitimate President and the election was “stolen.”
As I previously mentioned, the antics of Uranus have not been limited only to the U.S. Just ask the Palestinians and their supporters around the world how they feel about the recent actions of the Israeli government, or vice-versa, if you want to hear what both sides of Uranian reactionary insanity sound like. And of course there is also the sudden “unexpected” collapse of the Afghan government less than 2 weeks after the U.S. military departed following its 20-year presence there (Uranus had been in an extended square with Saturn in Aquarius at the time). This of course happened after American Intelligence experts assured us that the ability of the radical, fundamentalist Taliban to regain power was “unlikely.” To an average person like myself who routinely expects everyone in the government to fail upwards no matter what they do, everything I’ve been recounting still sounds like the workings of a world spinning out of control (or fake news depending on your IQ) yet to any competent Astrologer these events I’ve listed have Uranus in Taurus’s eccentric fingerprints all over them. If you don’t believe me just reread what Mr. Dickens wrote, or perhaps you could try and find somebody in England who is old enough to remember back on September 30, 1938 when Prime Minister Chamberlain came back from Germany and told them Hitler wasn’t going to be a problem (yes, Uranus was in Taurus then too!).
Another interesting phenomenon going on now in our society that has piqued my interest and also seems to smack of Uranus’s influence, particularly when it comes to the total disregard and rejection of traditional mores, would be the “Non-gender identifying” phenomenon that is being championed by many young people. Here in America the act of exchanging a traditional pronoun like “he” or “she” for a more ubiquitous and supposedly freeing “they” adheres to the sort of individualism and rebelliousness that could easily be linked to Uranus’s influence. This phenomenon becomes even more interesting after one realizes that in the Western Esoteric Tradition (as well as in many of the Spiritual systems of the East) the act of merging the duality of masculine and feminine into a single, unified awareness is considered the apex of spiritual realization and a significant transcendental step upwards. A second example of an esoteric phenomenon that I feel is linked to the Non-gender identifying movement and which has long fascinated me involves the numerous descriptions of extraterrestrial encounters (also ruled by Uranus) in which the abductors are described as exhibiting a genderless appearance. If that’s the case, then maybe the whole abduction phenomenon is not really about the invasion of our planet by another form of life. Perhaps what we think of as Aliens is really the archetype of a higher, universal, non-gender identifying wisdom within humanity that is trying to emerge? During the Summer of 2025 as it exits Taurus to enter Gemini, Uranus will eventually catch up to directly aspect Neptune, the planet of transcendental love, meaning that perhaps by then we could have a better understanding if humanity as a whole is actually evolving toward a more universal “they” or will instead remain within the limits of a partisan he, she, or whatever else?
Now of course I am sure there are some who might want to challenge me and ask why I’m suggesting Uranus is so influential at this time? What about the other planets? No doubt there are those who might say Saturn is more of a widespread influence now because of his authoritarian nature and predisposition for the rules. In addition, he’s also currently transiting through a sign he holds dominion over, namely Aquarius (which by the way is co-ruled by Uranus). On the other hand, there are probably some who might feel that Pluto is a more powerful energy on earth now, particularly because he symbolizes perhaps the two most powerful forces of change known to humanity, specifically death and regeneration. Another important point in favor of Pluto would be that the atomic bomb was invented shortly after his discovery, thus making him not only the Archetype of the Nuclear Age (which we’re still caught up in) but also the Patron God of every hawk politician on the face of the earth (war being humanity’s favorite pastime). Another planet that could be considered as having a strong influence now over the earth would Neptune, the archetype of enlightenment, although in my opinion his converse sides of illusion and escapism are far more effective tools for helping humans to experience the truth, albeit by default . Also, like Saturn, Neptune is transiting a sign he rules, in this case, Pisces.
After weighing all the above evidence, and in spite of the worthy cases that can be made for the influence of these other planets on humanity at this time, I would have to say that Uranus still gets my vote as the prime mover and shaker over our current destiny here on earth. Why? Well, for one reason he’s about change for change’s sake, good, bad, or indifferent, and that’s a daunting force to deal with. If you don’t believe me, ask anyone who’s been caught in the reasonless, random destruction of a Tsunami or an earth quake (like those in Haiti last week). Uranus is not concerned with teaching us a lesson or helping us to gain any maturity or wisdom after one of his unexpected occurrences, that’s much too pre-planned for an “on the edge” type like him. Uranus likes to be strapped to the front of the rollercoaster for the fun of it. He’s not about the trial and error of incremental innovation (practically or morally) he’s about that “Aha!” moment of realization that seemingly emerges out of a vacuum. Uranus is the flash of satori, not the study of philosophy. As an example, take that revolutionary invention from not too long ago known as the internet (which, by the way, is ruled by Uranus). At its inception it was touted as something that would effectively shrink the world by instantly expanding our ability to access unlimited information. Remember the first time you heard that mystifying, transcendental sounding term,“cyberspace?” Well, fast forward a little more than a decade and the once space age sounding notion of the internet is now nothing more than a universal shopping mall where thieves (along with government organizations like the NSA) can access your life and personal information with impunity. What was at one time thought of as a major technological step forward has essentially turned into a lawless land of disinformation; a hall of mirrors where base-less propaganda like “Stop the Steal” is promoted along with anti-mask and anti-vaccine lies that proliferate among the unwitting like mosquitoes in a swamp.
Now you may be asking yourself, “what can an average person with average illusions like myself do to prevent being ravaged by this current and unpredictable chaos of Uranus?” That’s more than a fair question, so let’s look at how Uranus is affecting each of the signs (No, I will not be talking about romance or career prospects.)
Of course the sign at ground zero for all this is Taurus, therefore Taurians in general should be ready for both welcome and unwelcome surprises into their well-ordered, aesthetically pleasing worlds (though at first it may be hard to tell which is which). On the other hand, Leos and Aquarians should be careful about thinking that they understand more than they do about any of this, after all it’s not always about you and no one put you in charge. At the same time, Scorpions should be careful not to use their stingers every time something happens that they didn’t expect (if you want to think like Machiavelli then you should expect the unexpected). For the earth signs, such as Capricorn and Virgo, they will likely find themselves touched by a bit of genius, so a useful mantra for them might be, “Build it and they will come” although the necessity for vaccinations and masks may put a damper on any dreams of manifest destiny for the time being. Last but not least, Cancers and Pisceans may find themselves feeling a lot more sensitive (and cranky) than usual, meaning they should seriously work on transforming some of their excess stress into a relaxing or liberating creative endeavor; perhaps a bread and breakfast or a massage parlor, but then we’re back to the vaccination and mask stuff….Oh well……..
In closing, I would like to stress how important it is when dealing with an unpredictable planet like Uranus to try and remain as objective as possible. You are not defined in this life by what you have, or by what you’ve accomplished, because at the drop of a hat all of that can be taken away “like a fist when you open your hand” (up to and including your life). Realize instead that what at first may seem like the world collapsing could, in actuality, be a blessing in disguise. After all, contained in the word “revolution” is the word “love” spelled backwards, meaning that the ability to recognize and decipher hidden clues amidst the chaos could ultimately turn out to be the difference between experiencing this Uranus transit as either stressful or enlightening. In other words, pay attention; the world may not be what you’re assuming it is and Uranus is just trying to point this out.