URANUS IN TAURUS

URANUS ENTERS TAURUS on Tuesday, May 15 at 11:23am EDT and remains here for about seven years, until April 2026. This is a big deal for astrology lovers! When an outer planet (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) changes signs, it's an indication of a major collective shift. Because one of Uranus' key descriptors is 'sudden change', we can also imagine some manner of cultural revolution. 
Uranus is the sky-god Ouranos in Greek creation myths, the husband and son of Earth goddess Gaia. Already this sounds like trouble! Indeed, as Hesiod describes his myth in Theogony, because Uranus disavowed the children Gaia bore him and imprisoned them in Tartarus, a place of torment in the underworld, Gaia asked her children to retaliate by castrating him. Cronos, or Saturn, was the only offspring to act and did so successfully, throwing Uranus' testicles into the sea.

The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn: fresco by Giorgio Vasari and Cristofano Gherardi, c. 1560

The myth continues, that from the severed genitals and the sea-foam came Aphrodite, or Venus, a point to which we shall soon return. Indo-European and Greek etymology describes Uranus as the ‘rainmaker,’ while the Russian and Sanskrit derivations have him as ‘the one standing on high.’

The Birth of Aphrodite (from the froth of the sea) by George Cruikshank, 1860

Symbolically, Uranus’ archetype represents the principle of separation or breaking apart. The range of its interpretation is from its least optimum expression: disruption, upset, eccentricity, violent revolution and the shock of a lightening bolt - to its most optimum expression: freedom, release, liberation, independence, the unusual or unique, science and technology, higher awareness, intuition, New Age communities, and the proverbial Wake-Up Call.

Ingressing (entering) into Taurus (ruled by Venus) after residing in Aries (ruled by Mars) for seven years, suggests a significant qualitative transition. While Uranus in Fiery Aries can reflect a radical change in identity and willfulness, in Earthy Taurus it is likely to mirror a shift in 'what we value', what affords us security; it can also be more focused on the material world, what we physically build (Taurus is the Master Builder) and the personal resources it takes to accomplish these things. The combination of Uranus and Mars offers up images of explosion and war while Uranus aligned with Venus might portray something akin to a relationship break-up. Though, as the previously referred to etymology suggests, Venus’ mythological existence is directly linked to Uranus. I like the idea that archetypal Venusian Beauty/Love is the result of the ‘demise’ of Uranian separation…or freedom?

Since Taurus is considered the Money sign (Venus = what we value) we can also imagine a change (disruption) in financial conditions for the greater collective. The quick and high vibration of Uranus (the collective resonance of Mercury) also rules electronics and the digital arena (wide and fast distribution of information). There's been so much attention on bitcoins and other electronic currencies - and with Uranus in Taurus it would appear likely that the conversation will continue to grow in this direction. With the direct use of electronic currencies disregarding intermediary banks,  this is indeed a revolutionary idea whose time may come - big time - with this planetary shift. 

Some variations in the combined themes of Uranus and Taurus might give us: lightening striking buildings, innovative construction, shocking or liberating relationships, disruption in finances, a radical change in our values or an explosion on earth (as in the recent Mt. Kilauea volcanic eruption in Hawaii). Of course, it's all about perspective - a seemingly negative shocking disruption can, in the end, be just the wake-up call we needed to put us back on the right track.

I'm reminded of that great scene from the Mike Nichols film Charlie Wilson's War when Philip Seymour Hoffman's character tells Tom Hank's congressman Charlie Wilson  about the Zen master's "We'll See..." story. (The great Aaron Sorkin's dialogue, of course!) You just never know how it's going to go. But the enduring symbolic language of astrology most often gives us a good heads up! As always, more to come on the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2L1-TgfKb4