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.