Saturn opposite Uranus

A friend in the US recently wrote that he heard there is to be an important star configuration on 30 July 2010. He wanted to know what is special about this date. Here is my response:

The planet Saturn has been doing an opposition dance with Uranus since October 2008 and the last opposition in this series will occur on July 30, 2010. I will focus on these two planets for now. Saturn represents structure and form as well as conservative institutions such as banks, governments and orthodox religions. Uranus was discovered around the time of the American and French revolutions and it tends to have a revolutionary effect, tearing down old rigid structures. You only have to reflect for a moment on how the banks and the Catholic Church have fared in the past two years to see what can happen when Uranus opposes Saturn. Also, Saturn and Uranus were in exact opposition on US election day 2008 when the forces of change (Uranus) opposed and pushed out the more conservative party (Saturn.)


The star chart here is for 30 July, 2010 and it shows the opposition of Saturn and Uranus. You can click on the image for a larger, clearer view. The outer ring shows the zodiac constellations and the inner ring, the zodiac signs. Saturn is trying to maintain his balance in the sign of Libra while Uranus is in fiery Aries. You will see that Mars is conjunct Saturn and the Moon is conjunct Uranus. 0 degrees Aries and 0 degrees Libra are the points where the Sun stands at the spring and autumn equinoxes and are called cardinal points. Planetary events at the cardinal points are said to be more intense and dramatic. Also, Uranus is conjunct Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Astrological events connected with Jupiter tend to be big.

The Moon moves quickly relative to the other heavenly bodies and it could act as a kind of trigger at this time setting off the effects of the on-going opposition of the slower planets. You will see from the news, even now as the tension builds up, that the Catholic Church and the Pope are in trouble once again. This time there is an attempt to remedy the child abuse issue with a change to Canon law. However, included in the document is the statement that the ordination of women is a grievous sin and anyone even assisting in such a dastardly act is subject to excommunication. To make matters even worse, it appears that the punishment for child abuse by a priest is that he merely be defrocked. Putting the two issues in the same paper, somehow equates the two and this caused a revolt by various women's organizations, a Uranus-like opposition to an institution equated with Saturn.

The star chart shows also that both Saturn and Uranus are in a stressful square to Pluto. The latter might have been demoted to less than a planet but its effects are still powerful and volcanic. As the god of the underworld he forces that which is hidden in the depths up and out into the light. So, fasten your seat belts.

Saturn square Pluto

This blog post will deal with the relation of Saturn square Pluto to earth and to mankind in general rather than to the individual. The planet Saturn is the ruler of Capricorn and is associated with authority, the government, business and orthodox religion among other things.

Pluto is the ruler of Scorpio and it was discovered as recently as 1930. It is associated with some of the happenings of that time for instance organised crime and atomic power. It also has to do with sex and with mighty sub-earthly forces. Pluto acts like a volcano, it brings matters from deep beneath the surface out into the open.

Please note that the outer ring of the star charts shows the constellations and the inner ring, the signs. Click on a star chart to get an enlarged, clear picture.

--World War l-- Saturn conjunct Pluto------Huang He Floods--Saturn opposite Pluto










Charles Harvey in his book Anima Mundi indicates the importance of looking at the complete cycle of a planet through the zodiac. Pluto spends about 21 years in each zodiac sign. From November 1983 until November 1995 Pluto was in sign of Scorpio and AIDS was the big topic during that time. Then Pluto was in Sagittarius until November 2008 when the focus shifted to religious matters and it was during this time that the sexual abuse by the clergy was exposed. About the time that Pluto moved into Capricorn the large banks and building institutions started to come under the spotlight. Inappropriate lending practices and the overblown value of properties were exposed.

World War ll-- Saturn square Pluto----India & Pakistan Conflict--Saturn conjunct Pluto










In mundane astrology, we look at the current planetary positions and aspects in relation to events occurring in the world. At this time the planet Saturn is in the sign of Libra (constellation Virgo) and is square to Pluto in the sign of Capricorn (constellation Sagittarius.) The aspect was exact on November 15. Due to the retrograde movement of Saturn the square aspect will occur again on 31 January 2010 and once more after Saturn goes direct on 21 August 2010. With this last contact of the series of squares, the planet Uranus will also be involved being opposite to Saturn and square to Pluto.

Vietnam War Protests--Saturn opposite Pluto---Watts Riots--Saturn opposite Pluto










In his book Cosmos and Psyche, Richard Tarnas relates Saturn-Pluto contacts to very difficult and negative, even evil, events in the world, including the Cold War, First World War, India-Pakistan conflict, international terrorism, massacres, Middle East crisis, political corruption, Second World War and World Trade Center destruction. One event not mentioned by Tarnas, the Huang He Floods in China in 1931, is considered to be the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded. Human casualties were estimated to have been in the region of 3.7 to 4 million people.

World Trade Center Disaster-Saturn opposite Pluto










The book Results from the Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar by Maria Thun has a chapter on weather observations. She says that Pluto in square aspect to one of the old planets, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn, causes volcanic eruptions and in regions with no volcanic activity there will be violent storms. Such an aspect with Moon or Mercury would be very brief whereas with Saturn it could last for several weeks.

We won’t know for some time what events will accompany the current Saturn-Pluto square. Here in Ireland we are experiencing the heaviest flooding in living memory and similar flooding is occurring in the UK. The swine flu vaccination program is in full swing with a product that, according to news reports, has not been properly tested while the manufacturer is being been indemnified by the Government. The first death attributed to the vaccination was reported yesterday in England and thousands of people have reported adverse effects. Some people might also be concerned that the Hadron Collider in Switzerland was started up again, after a previous aborted effort, last Friday.

November 2009--Saturn square Pluto----August 2010-Saturn square Pluto & opposite Uranus










I generally try to keep an upbeat mood in my blog but I think we do need to acknowledge that this is indeed a challenging time. By Autumn 2010 we should begin to see a change for the better.

Technorati Tag:Saturn square Pluto

Saturn Return

Recently a friend dropped in and said she needed to talk. She said that she felt that she has not been expressing who she really is and wants now to make some changes to her life. She described how she had led a gypsy-like existence when she was young and lived mostly in a caravan or other transitory domicile. When she got married and had children, she conformed more to usual conventions, living in a regular house etc. With these considerations in mind, we took a look at what the stars had to say.

Her birth chart shows the sign of Aquarius on the cusp of the fourth house and this would certainly fit with the unconventional home life that she preferred and had when she was younger.

Click on picture for a clearer image.

Current transit shows a Saturn return, which is when the planet Saturn returns to the place it occupied at her birth. Rudolf Steiner pointed out that during the life between birth and re-birth, a person goes through the various planetary spheres. It is when one is in the Saturn sphere, that one makes the decision to return to Earth. Then one condenses down through the spheres of Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and finally Moon before being born. Saturn has to do with our karma and with our intentions for this life and this is indicated by its position at birth. The sign or constellation is important as well as the house position.

Click on picture for a clearer image.

A Saturn return is a time for a person to realign themselves with their pre-birth intentions. It is not surprising that our friend would, at this time, experience that she was not really being herself and want to make changes.

Technorati Tag
Saturn Return