Crux of Creation – Uranus Stations Retrograde

By Len Wallick

Uranus stations retrograde in the fifth degree of Aries shortly after 8:30 pm EDT Saturday night. This is an annual event that progresses about four degrees every year. That’s not a lot of difference. This year, however, that increment of advance has made all the difference in the world. Because of it, Uranus will next station direct again in the first degree — precisely on the the Aries point — this coming December 10. If the combined symbolism holds, we may expect the next five months to be a period when we are increasingly called upon to develop both an enhanced aptitude for creativity and expanded capacity for responsibility.

In reality, no planet ever slows down, speeds up or reverses its motion. In this case, Earth is catching up with Uranus, moving between it and the Sun. That creates an illusion of perspective very much like being in a stationary bus or train parked next to another one. As you move slowly forward, the vehicle next to yours will appear to be moving backwards.

Paradoxically, the illusion produced by celestial objects in passing often corresponds with a persuasive reality. The retrograde of Mercury, for example, consistently demonstrating a selective form of Murphy’s Law, is the first experience that convinces many people that there is “something to” astrology. With the outer, slower planets, the experience is nearly always more subtle with a steady and cumulative accrual of converse characteristics. If there is an exception to that rule or any other, it will be with Uranus.

From the moment of its discovery in 1781, Uranus has been all about challenging precedent, initiating controversy and breaking rules. It was the first planet to be found with a telescope, hence, also the first with what amounts to a natal chart. It was the first named after a Greek god rather than a Roman deity. The axis of rotation is tilted over 90 degrees, orienting its poles with the equators of the Sun and other planets. Even attempting to define which end is northern and which is southern results in a conundrum.

In addition, Uranus entered human consciousness during a historical period characterized by rapid social change with unpredictable consequences. It therefore took on some of Mercury’s galvanizing character with none of the stability. For astrology, it started our modern era when exciting and rapid innovation left little time for consensus or consolidation.

The retrograde period of classical planets often reveals their ‘flip side’, so to speak, ushering in a period of retreat and reflection. Given its contrary characteristics, we should expect nothing of the kind from Uranus. Previous experience will probably not prepare us for what the rest of the year will offer. That means we will have to resort to our imaginations and create as we go. What little we can anticipate will derive more from the position than the planet itself.

The first degree of Aries is a sensitive place. It is the defining nexus of tropical astrology. While the Sun is crossing that spot, every human being is having a simultaneous and equal experience of the light. The personal and political become the same at the most fundamental level of consciousness. That singular annual solar event confers a residual quality to the Aries Point which is recalled in some way when any other object goes there.

Uranus is about to go there for the fourth time in less than two years and for the last time for another eight decades. Some sort of opportunity for spontaneous creative action is thus symbolically beginning its last phase. We should keep that in mind as we encounter the challenges that will characterize the time. There is sure to be a gradient of pressure. It is certain that there will be uncertainty. Somewhere in all of that will be something else.

Those of us privileged to live through the remainder of this year will be envied by those yet to come. We will have the opportunity to act without a script and create an unprecedented outcome that potentially benefits all beings personally and equally. In order to even perceive that chance we will need to discard our old, inherited ways of seeing and try on new glasses. In order to do something about it we will need to dispense with the idea that we cannot make a difference. If we can manage to do that just a little bit, the consequences promise to be immediately evident and out of proportion to the effort.

The first days are always the hardest days but they can also never be repeated. Our task is to avoid being discouraged by what is hard so that we can focus and avail ourselves of that which will not come our way again.

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