Pardon Me Boy, Is This the Uranus Station?

By Len Wallick

Uranus stations retrograde today on the Aries Point: in the first degree of the first cardinal sign Aries, at about 16:49 UTC (12:49 pm on the East Coast of the United States). All planets are subject to retrograde motion, which is when they appear to move backwards for a few weeks or months. In the case of Uranus, a fairly distant planet, this is an illusion caused by the Earth’s movement: the Earth is getting between Uranus and the Sun, and as a result, Uranus appears to be moving against the usual direction of the planets.

There are many interpretations for retrogrades. It usually depends on the planet, the circumstance and the astrologer. We’re the most familiar with Mercury retrograde, which has some qualities we all agree exist. With outer planets the effect is subtler, and today we get to experience such an event (which will last about five months, as it does every year). Uranus stations retrograde this year in the midst of two eclipses: a partial lunar eclipse on June 26 and the total solar eclipse on July 11. It is also a milestone event in the continuous but evolving cardinal point T-square, a long continuum spanning through 2017.

Our objectives today are two. First, to place this retrograde station in the context of the big picture. Second to begin an interpretation of its synchronicity using both long term and immediate aspects. It may do well to begin with where we left off last week since the co-incidence of two continuous phenomena is still taking place.

The axis of the recent lunar eclipse was along the early degrees of the cardinal signs, Cancer and Capricorn. The eclipse therefore made aspects to Mercury (conjunct the Sun) and Pluto (conjunct the Moon) and was perpendicular (or square) to the conjunction of Uranus and Jupiter in Aries opposing Saturn in the late degrees of Virgo. The net result was that the long-term cardinal T-square was transformed short-term into a grand cardinal cross involving both luminaries, five major planets and the lunar nodes.

It is as if the superimposition of the eclipse axis represented a climax concluding one movement of a symphony. If that analogy can be accepted, then today’s retrograde station may well be a candidate for the beginning of the next movement, starting a theme to be further developed as time goes on.

Let’s proceed to two salient facts about any retrograde.

First and foremost, planets do not up and reverse course. They are in continuous motion in the same direction all the time. A retrograde is an illusion born of perspective. The perspective is born of the fact that we on Earth are tracing our own orbit around the Sun. Because our orbit is smaller, we will catch up to and pass Uranus on a regular and predictable schedule. At certain points on that schedule our perspective will make it appear as though Uranus is moving backward. Think of it like being on a train that starts to move slowly forward, making the train next to us appear as if it is in reverse.

Another thing about retrogrades is that when a planet stations, it does not stand still. This is another product of the fact that we and the planet being observed are both in continuous motion. Looking at your ephemeris may make it appear that Uranus is stuck at 35 arc minutes for two weeks, but is moving all that time, even if just a fraction of an arc second. And when it stations, it turns on a dime.

Now, let’s look at this particular retrograde of Uranus specifically.

On December 1, 2009 Uranus ended its previous retrograde cycle by stationing direct at 22+ degrees Pisces and has been in direct motion until today.

On May 27 of this year Uranus made its first ingress into Aries since the late 1920’s. The retrograde beginning today will continue as Uranus crosses back to Pisces in about six weeks. It will station forward again at 22+ degrees Pisces on December 6 of this year. Finally it will return to Aries for the long run on March 12, 2011.

During all of this oscillation between 22+ degrees Pisces and the Aries point, for the next five years (at least) one thing will not change. Uranus will remain in a functional square to Pluto. The cardinal t-square will likewise be functional for a somewhat shorter number of years. This is because Uranus is not alone in this cardinal point dance. Pluto is retreating back through the first degrees of Capricorn and will continue in retrograde until December. Saturn is moving forward in its last review of Virgo and will ingress Libra for the second time later this month. A few days after that, Jupiter will station retrograde in the fourth degree of Aries and start its own trip back to Pisces. Taken together the upshot is that we are forced to disregard the traditional orbs of influence and see the cardinal t-square as a continuum.

But that does not mean that today’s Uranus station is to be minimized or marginalized. Not by a long shot. Among other things, all retrogrades constitute a period of review. This particular one will entail an audit of the last eight months. That’s a lot to chew on. It’s a period that included a lot of activity: two Mercury retrogrades in earth signs, a Mars retrograde in Leo, and Chiron’s first of two transitions into Pisces. Those are just a few highlights.

So where do we begin to ascertain the theme of this next symphonic movement? We can make a start by considering a salient characteristic of Uranus and place it in the context of concurrent aspects — long and short.

We begin with uncertainty. Having been discovered between the time of the American and French revolutions, Uranus is historically invested with the precipitation of rapid change with unpredictable outcomes. This may well be the most unsettling characteristic of the period between now and next March. Nobody will know for sure how to evaluate much of anything. The most prominent example at the moment is what seems to be the interminable petroleum volcano erupting a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. We know it’s bad, but just how bad? We know it has compromised the ecosystem of the Gulf for decades, if not centuries to come. But will it function to wreak havoc over the entire planet? We don’t know and that uncertainty is having consequences of its own.

We then take a cue from the eclipse cycle and the lunar nodes that are a part of it. The south node corresponds with the concept of karma, the harvest of consequence and responsibility for what has been done and cannot be undone. The north node resonates with the idea of dharma, acting with conscious responsibility as if we are creating the future.

In a synchronistic manner these nodes and their meaning correspond to the two signs that will frame the Uranus retrograde. Pisces, the twelfth solar house, has a thematic connection with the south lunar node in that it represents (among other things) the culmination of the previous eleven solar houses. Aries, the first solar house, likewise includes the sense of auspicious initiation that the north node represents. In other words, the Uranus retrograde station, taking place temporally in the middle of the eclipse cycle and progressing spatially across the Aries point will serve as a meaningful bridge that will integrate the shorter continuum into the longer one. The theme of this integration will include the political repercussions of personal choice. Choices that will include how we respond to consequences and the extent to which we will elect to be creative in the face of fear, confusion and discouragement.

Finally let us look at two ephemeral aspects unique to the moment.

Today, Venus at 24 Leo forms a brief fire trine to Ceres, retrograde at 24 Sagittarius. This flowing, supportive aspect suggests a presence to abundance. However, the geographical significator of the upcoming solar eclipse, Makemake at 24 Virgo, is out of aspect with both of them with a semi-sextile to Venus and a quincunx to Ceres. Given that this triple aspect is happening at this moment, we may be receiving a hint that the course of the Uranus retrograde may include an adjustment — no longer taking abundance for granted. Either that, or the period between now and next March can represent an opportunity to find abundance previously overlooked. Or both.

Today’s second triple aspect does a good job of wrapping things up. When Eris moved into the twenty-third degree of Aries earlier this year, it firmed up a semi-sextile to Sedna in Taurus that has been pretty much under our radar for a long time. Given the slow apparent motion of both, we will be living in the presence of this relationship for a long time. When we take into consideration the fact that the two jointly represent the unacknowledged edge of our solar system (and hence of our consciousness) the duet sung by these two may ultimately be the theme of the entire symphony of our time. Today, Mercury at 22+ Cancer forms a sextile (60 degrees) to Sedna and a square (90 degrees) to Eris. Taking place at the time of the Uranus station, this combination of opportunity and tension may well be an indicator that the movement just begun may not only not be the final one but is almost certainly yet to be written. And by whom will it be written? Well that may be the only sure thing. Take a look in the mirror.

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