URANUS TRINE SATURN TRANSIT

The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn, fresco by Giorgio Vasari and Cristofano Gherardi, c. 1560 (on the ceiling of the room of the Elements, Sala di Cosimo I, Palazzo Vecchio)

TRANSIT OF URANUS TRINE SATURN: November 5-12
Hesiod's Theogony tells us that the Sky God Ouranos, Uranus, mated with Gaia, the Earth, producing children: the Cyclopes, the Hekatonkheires and the Titans. Uranus hated his children because, as the story goes, their physical appearance was not pleasing to him. He hid them away chained within the depths of Gaia. This pained Gaia enormously, so she asked her children to kill their father. Only the youngest Titan, Kronus (Saturn), wanting to prove his courage and love for his mother, responded.  With the scythe fashioned by Gaia, Saturn castrated his father, then cut him into pieces and threw them into the sea. Out of the sea foam emerged Aphrodite (Venus), Goddess of Beauty and Love.

A family narrative not unfamiliar in so many other Oedipal-like versions! I tell this myth as preface to the description of the current Uranus Trine to Saturn. Brief though the exact 120º angle may be, it suggests a harmony between the two inherently conflicting planetary archetypes.

THE SATURN ARCHETYPE: Saturn reflects the principle of Form and Structure; Structures limit Space. We tend to experience encounters with Saturn as limiting. However the other end of Saturn's spectrum of expression is the treasured ability for Manifestation, the ability to bring to Form - often the ultimate goal of life on the material plane. Saturn also rules Time and is a symbol for Old Age and Death. It suggests hardening or the crystallization of the body's structures, so it refers to bones and teeth. Saturn moves slowly and is said to 'delay, but not deny.' It is associated with the past and traditional, set-in-their-ways, concepts. Saturn rules Capricorn.

THE URANUS ARCHETYPE: Uranus reflects the principle of Separation. Signifying the drive to Break Things Apart, it rules Revolution and Freedom; the Innovative, Unique and Unusual. It is associated with a fast vibration and rules Electricity and the Electronic arena - and more broadly, Science and Technology. Its effects are often Surprising and even Shocking, like Lightening. It is Future oriented and rules Aquarius. Cultural Historian Richard Tarnas relates this archetype to revolutionary Prometheus who defied Zeus to bring Fire to humans. 

We begin to see the opposing characteristics between the Saturn and Uranus principles.

THE CHIRON ARCHETYPE: Interestingly, the large asteroid Chiron orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. Barbara Hand Clow, author of Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between Inner and Outer Planets, suggests that Chiron, whose archetype is called The Wounded Healer, negotiates the two principles - a kind of reconciliation between the opposites, building connections between past traditions and future innovation. Mythological Chiron was a teacher of medicine and the alternative healing arts of homeopathy and chiropractry as well as a mentor in ethics, music and martial arts. Those with a prominent natal Chiron are often mavericks, grounding new ideas in traditional form. Activating and honoring Chiron can result in 'teaching from the place where we have been wounded.'

EXCELLENT RESOLUTION: The current Trine between Uranus at 25º Aries and Saturn at 25º Sagittarius suggests that the Bridge is accessible: the opportunity for success in initiating innovative or even revolutionary ideas and having them grounded in enduring time. As the 30th Hexagram of the I Ching teaches, the passion and upward movement of these Fire signs requires the stabilizing quality of Earth for any lasting influence. Take advantage of this celestial metaphor. Find where your enthusiasm flourishes; use your imagination and skill for practical craftmanship to manifest your vision...What have you learned from your past initiations? Teach from where you have been wounded.

William Blake's Ancient of Days

"I must Create a System, or be enslav'd by another Man's. I will not Reason & Compare; my business is to Create." (Spoken by Los in Blake's Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion.)

...And out of the sea foam emerged Aphrodite (Venus), Goddess of Beauty and Love.

Bottecelli's Birth of Venus, Effizi, Florence