Feeling Charged? Uranus Electrifies
When that weird idea just won't go away
When old sociocultural and religious-ethical frames of reference have become unreliable and can no longer convincingly structure the series of experiences and the responses of individuals, the urge to discover some new frame of reference becomes urgently necessary. - Dhane Rudhyar, An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformation and its 360 Symbolic Phases
I acutely feel that the common frame of reference humans have operated within has come undone. We have yet to understand what will replace it, but we are participating in its design.
Uranus’ Mythology
Here is my simplified version of the primary mythology of Uranus, mostly from Barbara Hand Clow’s book Astrology and the Rising of Kundalini, which is not primarily about mythology, but offers a perspective of Uranus in the cycles of life (along with Chiron and Saturn) and why we feel so charged up and conflicted in certain years of our life.
Uranus began as the ruler of the Universe, born of Mother Earth (or Gaia) while she slept. The myth signifies a time of separation from the feminine, the primal waters of chaos, to move toward the ego.
Uranus was also Gaia’s lover, and together they co-created the Earth to have bodies of water and life forms. In Hand Clow’s words, Uranus “greened” the Earth.
In an attempt to merge with Gaia, Uranus created the Cyclopes (primordial monster and human blend), which he banished to the center of the Earth.
Gaia persuaded the sons (the Titans) led by Saturn to rebel. They managed to capture Uranus and castrate him. Uranus separated from the Earth and became a sky god.
Side note: Uranus prophesied the fall of the Titans and the punishments they would suffer for their crimes, which actually became true when Saturn’s son Zeus and the Olympians defeated the Titans and cast them into the pit of Tartaros.
Astronomy
Uranus is a planetary oddity. Rather than spinning vertically, it appears to spin sideways and change its axis. It is the seventh planet from the Sun and third largest in our solar system and was the first to be discovered with the aid of a telescope (in 1781).
It is extraordinarily cold and windy and is believed to have an environment that is not habitable to life as we know it. It is about 4 times wider than Earth and its orbit is 84 Earth years.
Astrology
In the lineage of Evolutionary Astrology (The Jeffrey Wolf Green School) that I study, Uranus is associated with the archetype of the individuated unconscious. In Uranus: Freedom from the Known, Green says:
Uranus correlates to individuation, liberation, freedom, and deconditioning. Deconditioning from what? Deconditioning from Saturn.
Leyla Rael Rudhyar provides this description in the foreward to the book:
It is not bondage that chafes the spirit, but too much of the wrong type of freedom, that is, freedom that is not responsive to, or responsible within, any more inclusive frame of reference. Freedom from the known is not a license to be ignorant, ill-informed, rebellious, or impolite; it entails an inevitable necessity, an inexorable responsibility, to accept in one’s life from time to time a new revelation of reality, to see the reality of oneself periodically revealed anew, and to learn to live in accordance with that revelation.
As I write this, Uranus is finishing up its seven year tour in Taurus. Gemini is next up. Green describes the deepest level of liberation of Uranus specific to Gemini as “liberation from opinions”. As opinions seem to be replacing laws and truth at the highest levels of the US government, I hope this liberation from opinions comes soon.
Uranus will dart into Gemini twice (July, November 2025) before moving to Gemini in April 2026 for the next seven years, so perhaps we will have a preview of said liberation from opinions later this year. The last time Uranus was in Gemini was in 1942-1949.
As the number seven has already come up, I will also point out that major Uranus transits happen when Uranus is at the following angles to where Uranus was at your birth, occurring in multiples of approximately 7 years:
Opening Square/90° age ~21
Opposition/180° age ~42
Closing Square/270° age ~63
Return/360° age ~84
In numerology, seven is often associated with spirituality and faith, and, via the crown chakra, our innate divinity and connection to all that is divine. In Tarot, the Chariot is the seventh card of the major arcana, and is associated with alignment of the ego to divine purpose, or harmonization of mind, body, and spirit.
Indeed, any disharmony from what you currently do in life and who you are meant to be will often reveal itself around these ages or when Uranus is exerting itself on your chart in other ways.
Most of us spend the first several decades of life getting conditioned to the culture we are born into, and becoming skilled in existing in the larger circles we operate in. It is like we are going through an auto factory assembly line and we may get to say what model or color or trim we want to be, and these seem like important and relevant choices, but after a period of being a Prius, we decide we want to be a 4Runner, and then in our early to mid-40’s, may realize we don’t want to be a car at all. We want to be a tricyle or a boat or a hot air balloon.
That desire to not be a car at all was there all along, and you may have even had flashes in thought or dreams, or interests, or people placed in your path which triggered some unease. These repetitive flashes of seemingly disjointed or “weird" ideas seemingly from out of nowhere are Uranus coming to the surface, as Uranus represents our unconscious memories, including our soul’s plan.
There really are just three ways to manage through a major Uranus transit. 1) Suppress the urge to change course, 2) Make small changes to your course over time, 3) Make the big change your heart and soul are proposing all at once.
It just so happens that the Uranus half return, or opposition, happens around age 42, historically the time of the famed ‘mid-life crisis’, when you see many people managing per the above options.
The opening square (challenging) aspect occurs at around age 21. At this age, you are likely in college if that is your thing, or you are gaining job experience in something you happened into or found interesting in high school. And if you become traditionally successful, you will stick with that thing and ‘ace’ your Saturn return around age 28. But then why is it that there are so many unhappy 42 years olds? Some of whom end up going back to something close to what they dreamed of doing when they were 7 years old, before societal norms were deeply internalized?
Midlife circumstances are often realized conditioning. Which leads back to Saturn, and the opposing Uranian force to break from the known. I don’t see a way around Saturn’s discipline, though. We must first demonstrate we can work a plan before we go off and create an entirely new way of functioning. It is this push-pull which leads to individual and collective evolution.
So, no matter what age you are, I invite you to pay attention to those little flashes of interest that keep coming up, despite the fact they do not seem to fit anywhere in your current reality. Investigate them. Jupiter and Sedna are in the sign of Gemini, encouraging us to question how we will engage in the transformation Pluto (in Uranus ruled Aquarius) is pressing the lever on.
Soon Uranus will begin to engage with Pluto on Aquarian, Pluto, Uranus, Mercury, and Air topics, and will continue for the next seven years. Where might you be then? Perhaps a more relevant question is who might you be then?
I credit Uranus for helping me change course on my marriage (Uranus opposition) and where I live (Uranus opposition to my Ascendant), and my career and life purpose (which are evolving as Uranus squares my Sun and makes a conjunction to my natal Saturn).
A bit of medical astrology
From Judith Hill’s book Medical Astrology: A Guide to Planetary Pathology
Uranus the Electric
This planet rules extremes. His general action upon the body is to throw off necessary balances and/or disturb normal rhythm.
Astronomically speaking, Uranus rotates backward, lies on its side and possesses a reversed magnetic field when compared to the other planets. In the body, Uranus produces unexpected reverses of balances, spasms, thyroid disturbance and “undiagnosable” conditions related to electromagnetic currents.
Electricity is under the rulership of Uranus although Mercury is involved when assessing the general flow of current through the nerves and synapses. When Uranus is afflicted always consider an electrical disturbance as causative should the body parts governed by wither the birth sign or transiting sign of Uranus be those afflicted. You may also consider the body parts governed by the signs square (90°) and opposing (180°) Uranus.
In Hill’s book, she also gives descriptions of Uranus’s possible behavior in each of the twelve signs.
Uranus in your birth chart
You can look at your birth chart and see which house and in what sign Uranus is in to give you an idea of how your individuated unconscious may show up in your life.
And pay attention to which house Uranus is transiting through (currently the end of Taurus, and soon Gemini) in your chart. You may get some of those flashes popping up in that area of life, or if it is aspecting a planet or your ascendant or midheaven, it may raise some past traumas (this life or others) there. There is a relationship to trauma in that when we are not aligned with our soul’s purpose, trauma usually ensues to get us on the right path. Not that the Universe is out to get us, rather we project externally the disharmony within us.
Uranus in the houses
I thought it may be most helpful to summarize Steven Forrest’s description of Uranus entering each house, so you can look at your own birth chart with it in mind. [As a reminder, you can download your birth chart free at any of the online sites, such as astro.com, cafe astrology or astroseek, and be aware that the houses go from 1 to 12, starting on the midline on the left of the circle (9 o’clock) and going counter-clockwise.]
1st house: After doing the work to understand yourself, you need to stand up for your right to be true to your authentic path, even if you are judged.
2nd house: How do I best utilize resources to set myself up to be free to live my authentic path? This will require some internal work to understand how much I truly need.
3rd house: Developing the knowledge, experience, and confidence to speak the truth of what I want to be and accomplish in this life, even if it is unconventional.
4th house: Defining what ‘home’ means to you, not what others say it should be. This will require emotional honesty about what your space, physically and energetically would look like.
5th house: What truly lights me up? Were did that inner child go to hide? How do I create romance in everyday life? Identifying how you express your unique creativity or sense of romance.
6th house: Assess daily responsibilities and tasks and your motivation to do them. Do they support you becoming what your heart desires? If not, renegotiate with maturity and confidence.
7th house: Is there space in my close relationships for my whole self with all my quirks to be loved? Am I willing to do that for others in return? How can our unique characteristics complement one another?
8th house: Eek!! Some traumas may need to be explored here. Tough stuff like death, sex, and betrayals of all sorts. How do I gain insight from them and avoid pointless drama and pain?
9th house: Exploration of belief systems outside of your own in order to find what resonates with you as an individual, travel or education to understand other cultures and ways of life so you know what is authentic to you versus your conditioned experience.
10th house: How do I ‘do a good job’ while showing up as authentically me, and honoring my unique genius? Do I need to carve out a legacy that aligns with my true path?
11th house: Do I find myself in a group that was once the rebellious crowd, but is now holding me back from growing to the next stage of my own development? Seeking out groups outside of the mainstream that align with your future.
12th house: Allow the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up so I can be psychically myself. Opening up to my unique spiritual connections and abilities and seeing my individual self within the whole.
I would love to hear whether you are feeling Uranian energy in your life or in the world at large lately! Please share in the comments.
References:
Mythology from the book Astrology and the Rising of Kundalini:The Transformative Power of Saturn, Chiron, and Uranus by Barbara Hand Claw and the website https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Ouranos.html
Astronomy from NASA https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/
Astrology from the following books:
An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformation and its 360 Symbolic Phases by Dhane Rudhyar
Uranus: Freedom from the Known by Jeffrey Wolf Green
Medical Astrology: A Guide to Planetary Pathology by Judith Hill
The Book of Air: The Art of Paying Attention by Steven Forrest
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So thorough. Maria, I'll reread this. Thank you!