Saturn-Uranus: Confronting Limitations

Dear Friend and Reader:

There are times when history turns on a pivot, and the truth is we don’t usually see them. Most times we think of as historical are not; they are an artifice. The real moments of history are usually the ones we don’t see, because nobody writes an article saying “this [inauguration, disaster or whatever] is so relevant.” Whenever someone says that, click on or turn to the business section and see what you’re really missing. Of course, business news today is front page news, and what is buried in the back — for example, oil company profits — is the real news; the real underbelly of what is happening. Note also our series this week on the Navy taking over the Pacific Coast. Is this meaningful? Well, it is, but it’s not on Keith Olbermann.

Photo by Sean Hayes.
Photo by Sean Hayes.

One kind of aspect that history pivots on is the Saturn-Uranus cycle. Saturn takes 29.6 years to orbit the Sun (10,832 days) and Uranus takes 84 years to orbit (30,799 days). Their combined cycle is about 42 years; that is, every 42 years, they will make a conjunction or an opposition — and they are at opposition now.

Today is the second of five exact face-to-face meetings of these two giant worlds, in the current era. Imagine the Earth hanging in the middle of them, taking the energy of both at full strength. The last time they were at opposition was the mid-1960s. The oppositions of Saturn and Uranus always come in a long series that usually lasts two or more years, but is really one event. The first of the five did indeed happen on Election Day 2008, which was a cosmic pointer either to the significance of that election; or it was a leverage device we used to climb over the wall of a contracting universe — one based on warfare, fear, suspicion and greed. Those things work for a while, but as we are seeing they don’t work forever. Didn’t you know there was going to be a serious economic decline the minute they went into Iraq?

Saturn and Uranus are usually considered to be opposite archetypes: one is about conservatism and the other about revolution. One is about the past, and one is about the future. That’s good for the comic book version of astrology, but true enough on one level: we are indeed seeingВ  a split between the fundamentalists (i.e., Republicans who would sooner die than vote for anything Obama supports); and pluralists, that is, regular people demanding progress and a more open, inclusive viewpoint.

We are seeing the pressure for structural changes that Uranus and Saturn can put on one another; in one sense, for Saturn to change and evolve (which it does all the time), and on another for the energy of Uranus to be structured or utilized in some way. There is enormous friction to this aspect, but it is productive friction, like flint and steel. It’s like that cosmic Promethian fire of Uranus is striking the anvil of Saturn and making a spark that can set something into awareness. It’s a good thing that the opposition works out over a fairly long period of time or it would be too shocking to deal with comfortably. Sometimes it is. When these two planets were at conjunction in 1989, the world did indeed restructure itself, in the form of Eastern Europe seeming to restructure overnight and the Cold War “ending” one day. That massive red thing on the map, the USSR, seemed to fall apart overnight.

Personally, that is, on the human level, this aspect structure is about the need to challenge our traditions and to confront our limitations. In unconscious mode, humans function like robots. Saturn-Uranus is saying we need to be conscious of these robotic patterns, including the patterns of being stuck within our limitations, most of which we carry around unconsciously. When you are confronted by a limit, that’s a chance to question it, to go beyond it, to see where it came from and make a decision.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

21 thoughts on “Saturn-Uranus: Confronting Limitations”

  1. victoria . . I noticed. It’s now all for one and one for all, and if it’s big enuf, one’s all we need.

  2. victoria,

    Thanks for being there. Now, because of you I can end my day with a big smile. It wasn’t going to happen before I read your most recent post. You are a poetic comic when you feel so inclined and I wonder if this time we owe it to the Saturn, Uranus opposition yesterday. Oops, I wasn’t going to mention Uranus, but you brought it up. Anyway, you sound in fine form today. Stay fully charged for a while, okay?

  3. upyonder, your little old myth of our anus is still working me this morning. It works with the chironic condition.

    One of the pitfalls of our anus can be rebellion for rebellion sake. Ask any conscientious mother of a teenage daughter. What Mother resists will persist. It is the nature of the teen.

    I think we can fight against something in life, and what we are fighting against is a threat to that which we seek to protect, inspired by an aching wound. I think the important thing lies in what we seek to protect, but we can spend an awful lot of time in defense against. Not that this comes from personal experience or anything. This important thing we protect and defend can play in many different arenas in life. When there are challengers, we duel. When we sense the same danger for others we stand for them with them. And when it gets overwelming we can always drink a bottle of courage to get back out there. And there can come a time when one gets tired of fighting, the odds outnumber the available energy supply. The odds become just that, odd. There is change coming. And one resorts to fighting for. A cleaner battle, but still a battle. And if we are lucky that battle will dissolve into letting ourselves have what instigated the whole thing in the beginning. We can still walk through the battlefield, but with more awareness and wisdom and at long last enjoy the fruits of our labor. And maybe spread some peace love joy understanding wisdom stuff around.

    I write this to you now with the disclaimer that I could be full of crap. Your call.

  4. Brilliant, Eric, as usual.

    I feel that another expression of these patterns you are describing is that the COLLECTIVE has to become NON-Conformist, has to stop conforming to the same old ideas and paradigms for “the collective” but make a break through (eclipse) to a radically different way of being “the collective.”

    There is a paradigm out and about called “the great work.” The great work is conceived as our “cosmic assignment,” the human homework that the universe has given us that we MUST do, or else we do not survive. Period. This is like the cosmic requirement for passing the survival course.

    The great work is collective. But it needs individual human beings and individual human genius to accomplish it. IN this theory, bringing your unique talent and genius to the great work — accepting the cosmic assignment given to the collective — using YOUR individuality FOR the great work is how humanity evolves from one era to another.

    The great work of our era is figuring out how to live on a planet that is exhausted, wounded, depleted. Fail at this and WE fail. Humanity is over.

    So far in human history, we’ve succeeded. Enough individual human genius has accepted the cosmic assignment so that humanity has continued to live. But it does take a willing surrender of ego to the collective task.

    I think that’s what all the planets in Aquarius are trying to do, blast each individual Ego with energy in the area of the Collective in each one of us to support us in figuring out how to bring our unique gifts to the great work.

    Mimi

  5. Yes, coming together must be the “thing” and I’ll take your wise words into serious consideration. As a triple Aquarian I find I get excited and silly in equal measure when it comes to communication, but I must honor the vibe here and all of you who are good to share. Victoria, I like the waves, too. Always saw the waves until just recently when I saw the equal sign … and that made me smile.

    I think you’re right about the isolation.

  6. Chiron’s wife, Chariklo, also twirls between Saturn and Uranus discovered in 1998.

    Minor world maybe covered soon in more detail in Next World ?! She was covered in Small Worlds.

  7. Nance: I have. I’ve read all his books. See clips on YouTube too. Met him in person during Frog Leg Pajamas release… He’s all the HOOT and more you could hope for given what, how he writes. The cool part is that I can not think of a single book of his that is NOT currently relevant to the times. Mark of a great writer imho – from religion to spirituality to economic and artistic systems to free wheeling, yummy sexploits and pot o stew relationships, what’s not to groove on?!

  8. Has anyone read ‘Skinny Legs and All’ by Tom Robbins? Recommended reading.

    (spoiler alert)
    This Saturn-Uranus opposition reminds me of the ‘dance of the veils’ part of that book, where when each veil is removed, the collective consciousness opens to a particular truth, dawns on a realization of sorts.

    I had a vision of this happening recently, as if a window in people’s minds opened up and a spark, a light, a truth was being given or shown.

  9. marymack, I see waves.

    Two waves poured from the same urn? One wave poured separating into two waves? Duality, parallel waves? The same but different? Parallel existence? Uranus ruled. Wave of what is, wave of what will be could be. Uranus, change: wave of change in tandem will wave of now? Forever change? Wave of me, wave of humanity, where do I fit in, do I fit in? Awareness of self in parallel to awareness of the whole? If I send energy into a wave does not the vibratory energy increase the wave overlapping into the other?

    Or two waves of frosting on my donut? For now, that will do.

  10. victorialynn, it’s good not to get confused with me. I can be confusing enough, I think. Welcome aboard, this is a good open forum, to spit into the pool and be spit back at. I am sure it will help you sharpen your self perspective and mine.

  11. Victoria~I joined my first and middle names as I didn’t want to confuse myself, you or others with my posts!

    Yes, I’m employed, fortunately. Unfortunately, I’m not very “happy” with what I do. In March I will have been on this earth 44 years and I’m still trying to figure out “what I want to be once I grow up!”

    I wish I knew more about the planets and their influences on our every day lives. I’m enjoying reading the posts and articles on PW…you’re all so knowledgable!

  12. upyonder, your tale of ouranus, I could apply that in some ways to life. Balls is good unless balls is bad.

    If we want to add chiron to the picture. Things kinduv change at 50. A little re-evaluation of sorts take place. The balls sometimes need a tune up.

  13. marymack, I think isolation is huge. It is what makes coming together in commonality so cool. And the differences are what keeps things moving?

    There has been so much I’ve been carrying preventing me from being the individual that I am.

    I recently finished up major involvement in a project, and was just last night revelling in the blissful peace of nothingness and balance, feeling I was floating in the great cosmic womb. And then I awoke to a phone call with the message of the next project.

    I gotta do a zoom out on this one. Such is the plight of one with no master status, once again pulling the pieces together. Locating resources. Oh boy, new lunch dates. I know this expressionistic painter needs to paint with a larger brush to prevent herself from physical depletion. My new test. This is my mission should I decide to accept. Time to research the possibilities.

    Is there something in this 4-10 uranus saturn party? My natal Mars is acclimating to the uranian energy? Has all the chaos and confusion that is consolidating into directed energy been tapped by the chironic return? Better chironic than chronic?

    As we sipped our tea after lunching, I referred to our old boss and his books on chaos. I asked her, “so the universe is chaotic?” She paused and answered, “yes, that is why it takes so much energy to keep things together.”

  14. victorialynn, do you think this is a victoria vibration thing. I can relate. I went back to vicki kay (joke with some of my friends) for awhile but that went disastrous so I returned to Victoria Katherine (the old latin priest must have known something).

    There might be something in the lynn though or the tea I’m not drinking. I got the fire. But the world seems to be opening up into amazing things. Or are you employed? I looked at that two nights ago and whoa, some bad feelings came out of that. The harshness of structure. Some kind of dichotomy.

  15. I, personally, have had hard time looking beyond limitations in the past…self-imposed limitations and those placed on me by others. Internally/psychically there seems to be no limitations…but then, BAM! You’re confronted with the fact that you’re living in the physical world and the limitations seems so daunting that I find myself sitting in my own comfy reality sipping hot chai tea. Sitting, and sitting, and sitting…every once in a while feeling energized enough to run out my front door and kick a time or two at the limitations, making a dent here and there. Then, back to snuggling into acceptance, sipping tea next to a warm fire.

  16. I read somewhere (most likely PW) that Chiron is the bridge from Saturn to the outer planets … perhaps the notion that we are all separate is the original wound that unites us. Maybe I’m making that up.

    I’ve now got that Aquarius glyph on my mind and how it looks like a freaky equals sign, as in FREAKS UNITED or we are all together unless flatlined.

    A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

  17. Mmm, nice. Isn’t there a soft, directed and knowledgeable centaur or two? 🙂 I think there might be *wink*.

  18. Ouranus banned his sons, and as a little thank you, Cronos (Saturn) castrated him while the other brothers held down the father. Vicious.

  19. Would be fun to examine all the other bodies, asteroids, etc, that move specifically between Saturn and Uranus, the interstices energies, the energies between these two luminaries, as way to manage/broker past-future understandings, aka move into present via aware choice, limitations and all. Just a flash…

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