Understanding Uranus Retrograde -- Reclaiming your independence -- Part 2
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On a mundane level, Uranus is a little less whimsical and amusing. Although it does rule scientific advances that arrive like bolts from the blue -- visions that arrive complete with the means to achieve them, it also deals with "the unexpected" -- and therefore with sudden changes, disruptions, upsets, and accidents.
Uranus energy is the lightning strike that can alter the landscape in a flash -- literally. It rules air travel, electricity, and electronics -- things which have indeed changed the everyday lives of everyone.
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It is the first of what are called the "transpersonal planets," planets out beyond the orbit of Saturn, which is the last of the planets in our solar system that can be seen without the aid of a telescope.
The discovery of Uranus was, therefore, as you can imagine, a very long time in coming. It did not happen until 1781, and the discovery itself was (naturally!!) an accident!
Uranus takes 7 years, three times as long as Saturn, to traverse a sign. It is one of the karmic planets, whose position, movement, and energy affects a large enough group of newborns to bring about social and cultural changes as these people mature and begin rearranging their world to suit them and their ideas better than the one they inherited from their elders.
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Unlike the planets of Mercury through Saturn, also, Uranus "covers all the bases" as it transits and retrogrades through each sign. (Neptune and Pluto even more so.) But there are no free rides with Uranus.
ALL the degrees get crossed, backed over again and re-crossed ... in what astrologers know as the classic "triple transit" effect -- across, back, and across again as the planet begins to make progress through the sign once more.
Uranus is also in retrograde about half the time ... so its effects aren't nearly as noticeable as those of the personal planets --again, Mercury through Saturn. It's also hard to think of the word "subtle" as applying to anything concerned with Uranus ... but it does, to some extent.
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Uranus ushers in adventurous new ideas ... which then may require some study and incorporation to use properly. The ideas themselves may certainly be far-fetched and bizarre, but usually the wilder manifestations of Uranus energy settle down when the novelty wears off.
Thus Uranus is often associated with fads and fashions, with "crazes, and silliness -- things that are around a while, and then become a curiosity we shake our heads remembering ... and wonder why we ever thought things like platform shoes or white lipstick were a good idea.
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Uranus takes 84 years to travel a complete circle of the Zodiac. Therefore it is possible in a human life span to have Uranus return to its Natal position -- something that does not happen with either Neptune or Pluto. Those who have experienced one report it is certainly ... memorable.
As Uranus rocks back and forth through the sign it occupies at any given time, its effects -- true to its reputation for doing things in dramatic bursts of effort -- may seem strangely subdued, like the calm before the storm. If Uranus isn't actively shaking things up, believe me, it's sizing up the situation -- and fixing to.
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The first pass of Uranus across new territory, degrees it hasn't covered yet in this particular cycle, are rather like a renegade or a rabble-rouser driving through town without causing a lot of stir ... but working out in his mind the mischief he wants to make.
Indeed, it is as if Uranus energy scouts the territory with assessment on the agenda, deciding what needs shaking up, taking out, or replacing. It's not a bit unusual for "not much" to occur during the first pass. As is true with all the planets in their retrograde phases.
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With Uranus at this phase, maybe you're aware of a stirring restlessness, an itch for novelty and excitement, the quiet muttering of rebellious fantasies, a growing sense of boredom with "the same old things and the same old faces."
You consider maybe a little walk on the wild side, and the things you've never done that might be appealing, and the lifestyles of others who seem to have more freedom and "looser rules" than the ones you live by. You find yourself wanting a little more elbow room and a little less routine. You consider the way things might be different if you had a little more latitude. You let yourself dream a little.
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Then Uranus pauses ... and retrogrades. Across about four or five degrees at a time. And if one of your personal planets is jangled by this action, the dreams get a little more insistent and a little more outlandish, the old "rules and regulations" chafe a little bit more, the temptation to tell the important people in your life where to stick their expectations of you becomes a little more inviting.
You may start "pushing the envelope" to see what you can get away with ... and still not get in too much trouble, and you may start making significant mistakes, showing peculiar "lapses in judgment" regarding your choices and behavior ... and you may start having mishaps and accidents whose circumstances are strangely metaphorical in describing your situation --if you have the wit, wisdom, and discipline to interpret them properly.
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You may feel a sense of tension rising as you daydream of different conditions, different surroundings, and above all more independence to just be more fully who you want to be. You may start humming, "I Gotta Be Me," or "This is My Life" under your breath, or tapping out the rhythm on your steering wheel during your daily commute.
This is Uranus energy building ... lining up his target. Then on his last pass ... as he moves on, the fireworks begin ... with a BOOM, a KA-POW, and a shower of sparks --lightning strikes, and everything changes.
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You claim the freedom you may have longed for -- or richly deserved!! -- for ages!! You decide to start your own business. You sell the house and hit the road in a pick-up truck with a camper on the back. You discover you're pregnant with that change-of-life baby whose possibility you rejected until you thought it was just too late.
You decide to write that novel. You move to a commune with a bunch of back-to-the-earth types. You "re-arrange" your marriage ... probably because one or the other of you walks out the door.
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Or it could be "done to you" ... because this is not an energy to be repressed ... and trying to do so only makes it turn dangerous. You could be in a serious accident. Your house could burn to the ground. You could lose your job -- or get "downsized" so that a career change is absolutely necessary. You could go bankrupt -- or be wiped out by a change in the market. You could lose someone you love to an act of Fate ... or worse.
These things are also Uranus in action. They do create more room, more freedom, more latitude, more options ... but the conditions can be truly cruel.
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I'd like to say the choice is yours ... but often it certainly doesn't seem like that. One of my own Astrology teachers used to joke halfway -- but only halfway -- that in dealing with Uranus energy and its renowned unpredictability you could think of every terrible thing that could happen under its transit ... and then rest assured that whatever transpired, it wouldn't be on your list. There is something to that strategy.
When you're planning for Uranus to zig, it zags. When you're ready for a curve ball, it throws a grounder. When you think you could use a little excitement in your life, it hands you a crisis like you wouldn't believe!! It keeps you on your toes -- and then knocks you on your behind.
If you want to know about being unique ... you have to look no farther than the manifestations of Uranus energy in your life. It is nothing if not distinctive. Believe me. You can't miss it.
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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sorry, but you got me at uranus ... youd think i was a lil boy :p
This is so well written, as always. Must say, I'm already feeling the effects you talk about here... trying to be patient and see where the energy leads. But this rebel is feeling more rebellious, ready to fly when I need to stay put. sigh Keep on keepin' on. Thanks for writing these and keeping me in the cosmic loop. Nice to at least be aware of the planets at play.