Uranus
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Astronomy
Uranus is the first planet of modernity to be discovered beyond Saturn: the astronomer Wilhelm Herschel discovered Uranus on the 13th March 1781 with the help of a telescope. Uranus is four times the size of the Earth. It has an equatorial diameter of 51118 km and its average distance from the Sun is 2883 million km. It requires around 84 years to make one orbit of the Sun and has a maximum diurnal movement of 3.39 minutes of arc, although the average is just 42 seconds of arc.
One striking feature of Uranus is that its rotational axis is tilted at such an angle that it almost lies on its orbital plane.
Mythology
Uranos (Latin Uranus) was the oldest god in antiquity. Gaia, the Earth, gave birth to him without the involvement of another man and then became his wife. Uranos and Gaia had numerous children, among them the Titans and Cyclops. However, Uranos hated some of his offspring so much that he pushed them back into the Earth which almost caused Gaia to suffocate. She therefore encouraged her son Kronos (Saturn), the most important of the Titans, to overthrow his father and to castrate him with a sickle.
Although Kronos was successful in overthrowing Uranus, the deed had unforeseen consequences. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, rose up from the waters at the place where Kronos threw the castrated member and from his blood that touched the earth rose the Erinyes, terrifying female goddesses of revenge who always appeared to punish those who broke natural laws. Their relentless devotion to upholding the divine order made life very difficult for many.
So in the end, Uranos unintentionally brought about lasting changes to human existence and, although apparently disempowered, he continued to have a powerful influence on the course of events.
Some astrologers do not think that the qualities of the mythological Uranos fit with those of the astrological Uranus. Some astrologers believe instead that Prometheus (the foreseeing one), who brought the divine fire to humankind and rebelled against Zeus, the king of the gods, is a more fitting figure.
Physical Body
Uranus is associated with the human nervous system in its capacity to transmit information. Nerves carry physical stimulations of the sensory organs to the brain which in turn sends impulses to the body's muscles.
Interpretation
The discovery of Uranus radically expanded the dimensions of the known solar system, as it is twice as far from the Earth as Saturn, and this radical expansion fits with the quality of Uranian energy. Uranus symbolises radical changes and upheavals and the penetration into previously unknown dimensions. If the discovery of Uranus is considered against the backdrop of events at the time of its discovery, it becomes apparent that it in many ways embodies many of the ideals of the French Revolution (1789): Freedom, equality, fraternity and other ideals associated with the Enlightenment.
Being one of the spiritual planets, Uranus embodies principles which lie beyond the realm of material and personal boundaries. It stands for intuition and sudden bursts of inspiration and in this sense is closely related to astrology and its attempts to understand the relationship between above (cosmic happenings) and below (events on Earth) using the principle of analogy. Uranus is also associated with technological instruments and inventions.
Uranus in a chart expresses an individual's revolutionary potential. Its position by sign in the natal chart is considered to be less important than its house position because all the individuals born during the particular seven year period Uranus stays in one sign will have it in the same sign.. The house position of Uranus shows where an individual tends to be unconventional, spontaneous, original, freedom-loving and likely to break with convention. If it has difficult aspects a person might, under certain circumstances, feel compelled to act in an unconventional manner. A tendency to be elitist or arrogant behaviour is another possible shadow aspect of Uranus.
When Uranus is in aspect to another planet or axis it tends to "electrify" the horoscope factor involved which tends to express itself in original, different, and unexpected ways. Uranus aspects are also associated with sudden flashes of inspiration which can bring sudden and intuitive understanding of complex ideas.
The effects are similar when transiting Uranus forms aspects with planets in the natal chart. A Uranus transit revolutionises the existing order and can be accompanied by a sudden and intuitive understanding of complex ideas.
Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius and in detriment in Leo. It is exalted in Scorpio and in fall in Taurus.
