What Uranus Brings to Us

As the holiday season begins to take over our attention, the nation is concentrating on the tragedy in Connecticut, so much so that it seems impossible to turn on the TV, radio or a website without hearing more updates about this terrible event. Astrologers will note that this event is an example of the on-going transiting square between Uranus and Pluto, revealing many aspects of the underlying forces in the psyche of many living in this nation. As someone knowledgeable of the state of social service in the U.S., I know that many mental health services have been cut back over the last decade and this may be a factor, but it’s not the topic of this article.

Instead, I’d like to call attention to the deeper meaning of the archetypal force astrologers call ‘Uranus.’ The general meaning given describes keywords such as shock, surprises, explosive events that come out of nowhere, sudden changes, revolutionary attitudes, innovation, liberation, etc. But, while the things that can happen under this kind of transit can seem random, chaotic and make no sense, this notion assumes that there is nothing meaningful behind the events.

Uranus, like Neptune and Pluto, are forces being introduced into humanity that are fundamentally new. The Sun, Moon and planets from Mercury through Saturn govern everyday survival efforts on both a personal and societal level. The outer planets are not. Their interest is in taking humanity to a new level of being, a true shift and expansion of what is thought of as ‘normal’ consciousness. Such forces are NEVER smooth. The ride is bumpy, and seemingly random. Ask yourself what must happen first if a person is beginning some kind of transformation. Must that person not become dissatisfied, even deeply upset by any forces in their life that feel constraining, limiting, inhibiting to them? A force is neutral. The astrological forces are no different. How an individual is affected by or responds to what is in itself neutral is a very different matter.

There are many people on this planet that are ticking time bombs just waiting for the wrong trigger to cause them to go off. In fact, anyone who meditates has likely discovered how many ‘insane’ thoughts exist inside them. Usually, of course, these crazy impulses are held in check. And, yet, how would you feel about going out into the world if you knew that for some reason, there were no longer any police in your community? Would you feel safe enough to risk going outside? Most of us would not and this is because we know that there are many people who will not behave properly of their own accord.

URANUS: is the force of true Individuality. When this force is strong, the person wants to become one’s own authority and does not want to blindly or automatically conform or go along with social convention. Some people react to this in an extremely anti-social way. They cannot contain this intense need to break free. All rules and conventions are regarded as hostile to their need for freedom. Society is seen as ‘alienating’ and blocking them. What happens when a struggling ego suddenly is forced to meet Uranus’s demand for radical breaking free from constraining circumstances? I’ve left out Pluto from this, but that force only intensifies much further what I am expressing here. I am referring to profound feelings of desperation, fury, and frustration. All normal constructive thoughts become eclipsed by blind, passionate, and desperate needs that seemingly force the person to just do something.

The purpose of Uranus is to push us to become able to think about new things, consider new paradigms, to be free to innovate and even see things from a 90° shift. The mind is able to entertain ideas that one was not open to in the past. This is hard enough under the best of circumstances, since the person so affected strongly feels the need to think for themselves only and automatically reject anything that someone else suggests. This creates a psyche that is out of balance. I’m not suggesting that we don’t need periods where we are very out of balance. We need that sometimes in order to open to really new thoughts and ideas. But, when a psyche is mature enough, this is understood and one need not destroy everything just for the sake of it.

Now, Uranus can create some really weird mixes. This is what it does nearly every time. Take the Tea Party, for example. They want to take back their freedom from an impersonal government that is taking away their own money from them. They’re expressing a desire for greater independence and freedom. And yet, the image they ‘selected’ is a regressive one, taking us back to a past that is incredibly different from the world of 2012. This mix of images is typical of how Uranus begins its process.

There is more to this story though. This mix I refer to is only extreme when its companion is disregarded. The companion is Neptune. If Uranus is all there is, the principle of Individuality leads to pure selfishness and narrow mindedness. It can be cold and detached while basking in the glory of its mental brilliance. The person sees only its new mental constructs and ignores others who simply can’t appreciate their new insights.

Neptune however is the force that truly links our hearts to others as well as to whatever Whole of which we are a part. It’s the part that understands we must love our fellow residents of this planet for our personal fates are always connected to others. The need for personal freedom now must expand and become ever more inclusive so we operate in the dynamic play of both truths. This is the beginning of the process of reconciliation of opposites.

I will remind my readers that the very fact that you’re reading this Blog makes you Uranian. If you weren’t you would not be here. It means you are open to alternative ideas and frameworks and that you like to think for yourselves. But new ideas are going to be a mixture of completely new frameworks as well as unique combinations of old well-accepted ideas with new approaches. Even astrology itself has its ‘old, traditional’ side that is changing with the times and all sorts of new discoveries are being made.

The ultimate mixture though may be that in one expression Uranus breaks things down often increasing violence and instability while then leading us into new paradigms that create greater freedoms and individuality. It is the mixture of Uranus and Neptune that combines brilliance with compassion and heart. It is difficult to understand what events mean when we are in the middle of any real change. Our first reaction is often one of fear and resistance. But, astrology suggests that there is great meaning at very deep levels that make these tension-filled periods of dynamic change incredibly interesting.

I want to wish all of my readers a very happy Holiday season. Thank you for your participation. I look forward to the new changes coming to this Blog and a new one that I’m starting in 2013.