Understanding Uranus Retrograde -- Reclaiming your independence -- Part 1
One of these things is not like the other.
Uranus rules stuff like that.
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Uranus turned retrograde earlier this month -- and will stay that way until after the first of the year. As I've mentioned in other posts about retrograde motion, planets behave differently when they're retrograde than they do when direct. Uranus is weird to begin with -- so when it turns retrograde, life turns ... interesting.
Real quick, let's talk about retrograde motion for those who haven't a clue what I'm on about. Bring your imagination for a moment. This will be easy.
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Visualize a transparent Sun in the sky -- a big glowing orb of clear light like an energized crystal ball. Got it? Now imagine a much smaller planet traveling in an orbit around it. All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction -- counter-clockwise. So imagine your planet orbiting the Sun traveling west to east. This is direct motion.
At the far edge of its circle it will seem to kind of pause for a moment and then as it swings around behind the Sun, but still traveling forward it will appear from your vantage point to be traveling "backward" -- east to west. This is retrograde motion. (There, wasn't that easy?)
And again ... when a planet is in retrograde, the behaviors, events, attitudes ... all the things it represents will behave differently, too. You'll experience its energy differently. It's agenda is different. (Making a note to myself about a post comparing all the planets direct and retrograde.) That's what's happening to Uranus ... now.
I don't think I've done an introductory article on Uranus yet -- so consider this your trial by fire, as we talk about the Zodiac's notorious eccentric ... getting even stranger.
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Uranus -- the clown energy of the cosmos, the metaphor for the free spirit in all of us, the inspirational madness that can both make fools of us all and show us the unique eccentricities of our soul -- is perhaps my favorite planet.
Ok, I'll admit to a certain prejudice. Uranus energy is not all fun and games (although lots of it is!!) and it is the most highly aspected planet in my chart giving me an affinity for its energy that is unusual.
"Unusual," in fact, is the word to apply to the metaphors of Uranus itself. They contain the meanings that remind us that everyone is special. Just as all snowflakes are different, all cloud formations, and all fingerprints -- all owners of fingerprints are different. And hallelujah (!!) for that wonderful truth.
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It represents your urge to be free from limitations, restrictions, rigid rules, and regulations of all kinds. The Uranus energy in your character is that rebellious, recalcitrant member of your inner family that feels the need to be first and foremost uniquely yourself.
It is the "little devil" figure that sits on your shoulder when you are making choices and counsels defiance, insurrection, and mutiny. "Go ahead and do it," it prods ... as it rolls the tape of some of your wildest dreams and fantasies on the movie screen of your imagination.
Your inner self that marches to the erratic, syncopated, or 5/4 beat of Uranus energy's drum wears Nike shoes and has "Just do it!" emblazoned on its sweatshirt, and maybe tattooed on its behind, too!!
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It is the seat (no pun intended!! ... well, not at first!!) of your originality, inventiveness, personal sovereignty, idiosyncrasy, and sense of no-holds barred humor. It is the disobedient non-conformist that often languishes in captivity and restraints ... locked away in the attic of your personality like the crazy aunt it is at heart.
This is a mighty dangerous way to treat this energy, but not many people listen to me when I tell them this. I understand it, truly I do.
They have, in most cases, spent all their lives learning to dance to the dour fiddle music of Saturn -- little ditties that hit each note with precision and accuracy, the product of grueling hours of practice.
Their personas, their personal melodies, may show rigorous, impeccable technique. And yet that same discipline robs the tune of its grace and gusto.
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We've seen the sadness in others. We may live with it ourselves. Responsibilities rule our lives. We breathe the air of compliance. We twist ourselves into painful shapes to fit a pre-established pattern.
Who established it and why it still exists we may not know and may not ask. We may have even stopped thinking about our pain and knowing what we do. We lie down on the Procrustean bed ... and whatever happens, happens. We figure it's our lot in life.
It doesn't have to be. Let the crazy aunt out of the attic, and I promise you'll see transformation. Uranus energy wears purple paisley pants ... and no girdle. (No underwear either, come to think of it.)
It mixes stripes and plaids. It strides along with a bounce and a skip, whistling a merry off-key screech of its own creation ... and gives the raspberry (or worse!!) to the clucks and dirty looks of society's enforcers.
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It brings that desperately needed antidote to those caught in Saturn's bleak model, living the legendary lives of quiet desperation. It begs them to stand up straight and be free.
It gives them the inspiration and courage to try something novel, zany, and off-the-wall -- and in the best cases, it gives them whatever it takes to never go back.
Abstractly, Uranus energy is your incubator of insistently unconventional perspectives -- the ones you and you alone can receive, or manufacture, and share. It is the progressive and modern part of you, yearning toward tomorrow and breaking with traditions of the past.
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It helps you reach for what is innovative and fresh, original and off-beat. It is the little piece of you that with any luck society will never kill ... that tells you you are extraordinary -- and then shows you how and why and how to be more so.
Where it operates in your personality you are ingenious, unorthodox, and irrepressible. It is perhaps the brightest spark of Divinity's fire ... forever aglow in the center of your spirit. It is your sense of idealism, intuition, and altruism.
It is the channel through which you receive information in flashes of insight like the hand of God zinging e-mail your way, with a zip and a click and a clear note of arrival.
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Open it ... and the Ah-ha! experience is yours in all its wonder. Eureka!! I have found it. And you may not have even known you were looking. Or you may have been looking for ages, frantic and desperate. Then, dozing off for a moment, you wake with a start and the answer is there. There!! Staring you in the face, whole and lucid and perfect. A gift. A moment of indescribable magic.
That's Uranus all right. Never leave home without him.
If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.
Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.
If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.
One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.
Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.
Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.
The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.
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some think I already have......little do they know :D
Hahaha - jokes aside did you make a polyrhythm reference to a zodiac's energy?! Keen to hear more on this. Though it's hardly a main point of the post.
I'm keen to see this manifest in some people I know who practice their skills, crafts and such very routinely - much to the tune of Saturn by the sounds of it.
Though Uranus is in retrograde so hmm - will they step out of line in strange ways?