Uranus is a live wire, a bolt of shocking insight, an electric current of revolution and rebellion.
It is the planet of sudden, upsetting changes. It brings disruption, sometimes outright chaos. It signals breakthroughs and innovations. Its actions are amazing and horrifying. Sometimes you need to shake things up, and Uranus is always happy to do so, but it’s not often an easy or gentle process.
In astrology, Uranus’ main significations include:
- Disruption
- Breakthrough
- Revolution
- Rebellion
- Liberation
- Invention
- Individualism
- Restlessness
- Eccentricity
Uranus was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel, an amateur astronomer in England. After millennia of having a model of the solar system with only the seven visible planets/lights (including the Sun and Moon), Uranus came along and threw all of this out the window.
As is the case with all the modern planets, Uranus’ astrological meaning has been heavily informed by the circumstances of its discovery.
William Herschel found Uranus with his homemade backyard telescope, an immense multi-storied contraption. Here’s an illustration of it:
It’s actually quite incredible that he was able to discover a planet with such a device – and this certainly fits with Uranus’ association with innovation. This discovery also completely disrupted our understanding of the solar system, which had been well established for thousands of years.
Herschel, a loyal British subject, wanted to name his discovery after the reigning monarch at the time: King George III. While British astronomers were happy to adopt this name, the international community was less than enthusiastic about it. Eventually they settled on Uranus, the Greek god of the sky, bringing it in line with the names of the other planets.
However, the name “George” persisted in British astronomical circles for almost 70 years. You can find lots of examples of publications from that time period referring to “Georgium Sidus” (George’s Star). This story is an excellent example of Uranian rebellion against authority. Also, just imagine how hilarious it would be if that original name had stuck.
© The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence
Uranus also seems to break a lot of rules on an astronomical level, too. Uranus is the only planet that rotates on its side: it has an axial tilt of 98 degrees, so it spins around a horizontal axis – one of its poles is always aimed at the Sun. All the other planets rotate vertically. Since Uranus’ rings and moons follow this tilt, it looks like a great cosmic bullseye and is unlike any of the other planets in the solar system: a perfect example of Uranian disruption and rebellion.
Uranus is also strange in its composition. We call it an ice giant, but it’s actually a core of ice and rock surrounded by a thick cloud of gas. So, it’s neither one nor the other, but an odd combination of both ice and gas.
Uranus looks blue because of the methane content in the atmosphere: methane absorbs red light and reflects blue, so it looks blue to the human eye. Its rings are very dark and barely visible, mainly comprised of ice chunks but with a darkened surface, unlike the rings around Saturn and Jupiter which are also made of ice, but with a highly reflective surface. Again, Uranian rebellion from the established order.
Finally, Uranus does not follow the path that Newton’s law of gravity predicts for it. This is due to disturbances from another planet’s gravity – Neptune. This fact actually led to Neptune’s discovery a few decades later, but it’s also yet another way that Uranus just doesn’t behave like we would expect it too. Classic Uranus!
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Because Uranus is a modern planet that was discovered only a couple of centuries ago, it isn’t part of the Thema Mundi. Therefore, it’s not part of the system of essential dignity in traditional astrology. This means it doesn’t rule any signs, isn’t exalted in any signs, and isn’t in exile or fall in any signs.
That said, I think it makes sense that there are signs where Uranus can feel more “comfortable,” in the sense that it can accomplish more Uranian things there. The mutable air sign of Gemini, for example, seems much more friendly to Uranian actions than the fixed earth sign of Taurus. This isn’t to say that people will have an easier time of Uranus in Gemini than Uranus in Taurus; it might actually be the opposite, since Uranus can bring such disruption and chaos. But Gemini’s association with communication and ideas is something that Uranus can do really interesting things with.
Modern astrologers, however, assign Uranus as the ruler of Aquarius. Side note: “modern astrologer” refers to those who practice astrology based on the systems that emerged in the 1960s through 1990s, until the traditional revival kicked off and we rediscovered the ancient texts that form the basis of western astrology. There are still people who practice astrology this way, and assign Uranus to Aquarius (as well as Neptune to Pisces and Pluto to Scorpio). They also usually follow a 12 Letter Alphabet system where they syncretize the signs with the houses, so Aries = the first house, Taurus = the second house, and so on.
I have not found any of this to be a useful or accurate framework. There are many reasons why; one of the biggest being that it completely destroys the Thema Mundi and therefore the ancient system of essential dignity, from which everything flows. A full argument against modern rulerships and the 12 Letter Alphabet is outside the scope of this article, however. If you’d like to read more about why I think considering Uranus as the ruler of Aquarius is dumb, read this post.
Modern astrology’s break with tradition really was made possible by Uranus, however, and perhaps that’s why modern astrologers hold Uranus so dear. I’ve even heard some claim that Uranus and/or Aquarius rules astrology. (It’s actually Jupiter and/or Mercury, according to the ancients.)
I find this a bit odd, since Uranus is often so disruptive – associated with events that most people find uncomfortable at best and completely chaotic at worst.
Regardless of your personal belief about which planet rules Aquarius, there’s no denying that Uranus loves to shake things up. It really is the planet of rebellion, anarchy and breaking with tradition. It brings disruption on both a personal and geopolitical level.
In mundane astrology, Uranus is associated with individualism and anarchy, activists and political dissidents, scientists and inventors. It signifies revolution, riots, liberation, disruption, chaos and natural disasters.
I’ve read a number of sources suggesting that Uranus represents right-leaning politics and politicians; however, I think Uranus’ influence is better described as being individualist or libertarian as opposed to assigning it to the political right. It’s true that many right-leaning politics tend to favour the individual instead of the collective, but even right-leaning societies are not truly anarchist or libertarian. This is why Uranus represents dissidents, anarchists and all those who want to break from the status quo.
Uranus also represents chaos and disruption of all kinds, whether natural (earthquakes, volcanoes) or man-made (riots, coups, rebellions, revolutions).
On a more positive side, Uranus is associated with innovations and inspiration, especially scientific and technological breakthroughs and discoveries.
To conclude, here are a couple of quotes about Uranus from a pair of eminent astrologers.
Robert Hand, Planets in Transit (1976):
“During the transits of Uranus to your natal chart, you will experience phenomena that are out of accord with your everyday life. The events that occur will be unusual, upsetting, sudden and unexpected. For this reason astrologers are often circumspect about giving precise delineations concerning Uranus. Almost all that can be said for sure is to expect the unexpected.
But the transits of Uranus are not malefic in the traditional sense, except to the extent that you are unwilling to accept newness and change in your life. Uranus challenges the rigid structures in life that most people work so hard to build.”
Richard Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche (2006):
“Uranus is empirically associated with the principle of change, rebellion, freedom, liberation, reform and revolution, and the unexpected breakup of structures; with sudden surprises, revelations and awakenings, lightning-like flashes of insight, the acceleration of thoughts and events; with births and new beginnings of all kinds; and with intellectual brilliance, cultural innovation, technological invention, experiment, creativity, and originality. In addition to the occurrences of sudden breakthroughs and liberating events, Uranus transits are linked to unpredictable and disruptive changes; hence the planet is often referred to as the ‘cosmic trickster.’ … Uranus is regarded as signifying the rebel and the innovator, the awakener, the individualist, the dissident, the eccentric, the restless and wayward.”