The myth of Uranus' addresses the creation of the universe.
It relates to the concept of duality arising from Non-duality. Time arising from Timelessness. Space arising from Nothingness. Experience arising from Consciousness. Unity becoming multiplicity. Or, for our religious emotionally-oriented friends: God creating the world.
I am yet to see an astrological chart of any kind where any of these concepts would apply. Unless you ask some pretty philosophical or spiritual Horary questions, you will probably never use them. Yet, we have the symbol of Uranus, and it is very eloquent. Let’t try to figure out how and why.
How does this “creation” thing happen? Our extremely fertile-minded ancestor, Hesiod, tells us that Cronos takes his sickle, castrates the Sky God and the world appears in its multiplicity. What a charming spectacle.
Stories of creation, albeit less gory, are found in other traditions too.
In Hindu cosmology Indra splits the sky with a thunderbolt. The Chinese Pangu tells us of a cosmic egg that cracks open—that’s probably the cutest myth of creation out there.
The Tibetans and early Buddhists, who apparently have no occupation other than thinking all day long, offer no imagery. No giant holding the sky. No cosmic omelettes. They go to the heart of the matter. They say: creation is a “cognitive metaphysical bifurcation.” No violence or drama, just food for thought, in case one is starving to understand how the hell we ended up here, reading an article about Uranus in this, no doubt, divinely created moment.
The Navajo, Cherokees, Aztecs, etc. all have their versions including a sky woman, holy people and crocodiles, all playing around trying to cut the Divine pie into slices of some form, and create something out of Nothing. Amazonian natives have had to deal with the sky falling, aquatic wombs, and other scenery that probably only Ayahuasca can produce. The Egyptians seem the most normal to me. Their myth of creation is about opening space for breathable air. Sigh…
I know—blades, castration, blood, and god’s genitalia floating on the ocean are a much more enticing idea. It suits better the perverted normalized view of violence our Western society has so stubbornly held over the centuries, and projects so well into our future. The silver lining for us astrologers is that if it weren’t for the Greeks we wouldn’t have the symbol of Uranus. An egg, metaphysical bifurcations, falling skies, or simply “air” wouldn’t do much for us symbolically, in the way that the castration of Uranus does.
Enough of storytelling. Let’s get out sickle out and start chopping things off…
On Earth, where astrology can indeed have a purpose other than entertainment, the facet of the Greek story of creation that has practical application is simply the idea of “castration”. Set aside the blood, Cronos and the poor guy’s jewels floating away.
The concept that is common to all those traditional myths and theories is “separation”.
There is no need to complicate. The context of the astrological inquiry, and the astrologer’s functioning brain, will determine what that separation is about.
Yet, in all of its simplicity, knowing how to apply its meaning to the interpretation may require some finesse from the astrologer. Sometimes, Uranus is giving a directive rather than simply a description. It is saying: stop the thing you are doing. Let go of this idea or obsession. I know of no other astrological symbol that can be that direct and eloquent without having to rely on the heaviness of Saturn, or the violence of Mars, along with all of their other unwarranted “malefic” biases. Saturn and Mars can stop you from doing things, for sure. Uranus warns and admonishes.
(As a parenthesis, as I write this article, Uranus and Algol are together. The idea of letting go of bad ideas and obsessions is being highly emphasized in these symbols.)
There are many related concepts and situations where separation, thus Uranus, apply very neatly in both horary and natal interpretation.
Uranus points at the severing of something. Cutting. Rupture. It is about giving up or letting go. If it means being separate from something, it also can mean loss. On the 2nd cusp it would spell loss of money, or reputation. Uranus can show the extirpation of an organ through surgery, or an amputation.
Uranus on the 3rd cusp can show your neighbor is moving out—the loss of a neighbor. On the 4th cusp, an earthquake. Or crack in your house’s foundation. Or a rupture with your family or ancestors.
On the 5th cusp we may have a writer staring at a blank page and crumpled paper balls scattered on the floor—artistic barrenness, no inspiration—creatively castrated. It may show the end of reproduction or procreation. The death of a baby or child. A miscarriage. A failed fertility treatment. Failed pregnancy. Inability to reproduce. Sterility. Or the fact that the adoption will not go through. Or no, you will not have fun this month.
All things being equal, whatever we are planning will not go through if Uranus is near that significator—be it a planet or a house cusp.
There is no implied badness or goodness in endings or separations. That, as with most symbols’ meanings, depends on the context.
On the 6th cusp, Uranus will describe problems with intestinal permeability. Leaky gut syndrome.
On the 7th cusp, divorce is on your partner’s mind. No, you will not see her again. He will not call—and if he calls it will go nowhere. It is over. Abandonment. Should I try to make amends? Not really.
On the 9th cusp: You will likely miss the flight. Uranus confirms that your sloppiness, shown elsewhere in the chart, will get you expelled from the university.
On the 10th cusp: Losing one’s job. Or simply not getting one. A leader toppled. Authority losing power. Should I take this medication or undergo this treatment? No. Conversely, your problem is because you stoped your medication cold turkey when tapering off was the correct approach.
On the 11th cusp: No, you’re not getting the green card.
Querent: I am putting on weight, what should I do?
Uranus is on the 2nd cusp: Decrease the bread, pizza, pasta, chocolate, beer, wine, donuts and the cakes. Duh! Uranus is on the 3rd cusp: you are not exercising enough. Duh! Uranus is on the 10th cusp: stop those supplements that you self-prescribed.
If Uranus is on the ascendant and you cannot find a reason for it being there after extensive discussion with the querent, he/she may dislike the answer from the consultation—the information you share will be rejected, and you will likely never hear from this querent again.
Uranus is very much like the star Antares. Endings. And like any star or outer planet, they add themes and nuances to the interpretation. The examples above are such nuances added after the seven inner planets have been thoroughly analyzed in the chart.
It is not uncommon to see astrologers, usually who did not have a formal education, fail to understand the seven inner planets, and begin fishing for meaning and answers from the outer planets. Follow Uranus and drop that habit. Do not create a fixed star or outer planet soap opera before accurately reading the inner planets, ever.
As stated in Bugs Bunny’s myth of creation: That’s all folks!!!
