OCTOBER 2019 65
material will often come surging to the surface.
Jung’s ideas about the nature of that material,
particularly that dealing with the anima and
animus, may prove helpful to people as they
navigate the great night sea journey.
Uranian Escape
Natal Uranus points, in itself and throughhis house, sign, and aspects, to our capacity
for renewal, our willingness to engage the
new and groundbreaking, and perhaps our
insistence on doing so. At the same time,
natal Uranus points to where and how we
tend to live in our ideas instead of the karmic
demands of immediate situations. In many
ways, Uranus symbolizes our desire to escape,
and if we consider him in that light, we can
uncover some (not all) of his secrets.
On the one hand, Uranus symbolizes
our desire to escape from unduly limiting
circumstances or points of view, whether
our own or those offered by others – and
particularly those others whose opinions have
some power to shape our lives. We often
want to revolt against such figures. We see
that we have accepted too much limitation,
as humans seem to have an inborn tendency
to act independently as a way of manifesting
their full potential as human beings. On the
other hand, Uranus can manifest as escape
for escape’s sake. We see this in the Uranus
myth, where Uranus wants to escape from
the karmic demands of his situation manifest
in his ugly children, so he tries to bury them
away. As a result, he loses the life-giving
power of his insight (i.e. he is castrated by
Saturn, his son). We can call this kind of
escape an escape from one’s own potential.
In the myth, Saturn symbolizes that potential;
he arises as the form of Uranus’ creativity,
after all. Uranus doesn’t want to deal with the
demands of his own creative powers. He tries
to bury them away.
One kind of escape is an effort to get free
of stultifying circumstance, whether situational
or psychological; another kind is meant to get
free of one’s full potential. Thus, when dealing
with Uranus we need to remember that we
should ask ourselves not only what we wish to
get free from, but also what we wish to get free
for. Freedom (Uranus) fathers responsibility
(Saturn).
When Mercury contacts natal Uranus,
expect your mind to speed up; expect yourself
to have all sorts of new ideas and insights. You
can use some of these ideas to help you make a
Uranian breakthrough, but you’ll need to find
ways to ensure that the ideas don’t disappear
like flashes in a pan. Try taking notes (putting
ideas into Saturnian form)! As you do so, don’t
discriminate; just give some form to your ideas
and insights, and only evaluate them later. If
you do too much discriminating at the begin-
ning, you may miss much of value.
When transiting Venus contacts natal
Uranus, you might feel restless in some aspect
of your relationship. With the hard aspects,
you might overstate either your “need” for
freedom or the limits of the relationship in
question. Note that if you have the desire
for more freedom it is possible your partner
does as well, with his or her desires quite
likely emerging as projections of your own.
Remember that the “need” doesn’t necessarily
qualify as a need, but rather as a hoped-for-
result. But whatever you call it, neither ignore
it nor act on it immediately. Maybe you need
more space for a day or two, but don’t load
the situation with excess judgment. Remind
yourself that even extremely valuable rela-
tionships can feel claustrophobic at times. So
make some adjustments, remembering that
Uranus often speaks in extreme terms that you
needn’t buy into. Recognize the germ of truth
in your feelings, but don’t let that germ make
you ill. P