Uranus Square Pluto - What To Expect

by Robert Wilkinson

These next few years are neither the first nor last time that Uranus afflicts Pluto. Let's take a look at what this square could mean and how it could manifest.

These powerful planets, when in square or opposition, create a need to tread very carefully, given the energies challenging each other through these frictional aspects. When the Transpersonal Individualizer grinds up against the Transpersonal Transformer, we have two extraordinarily powerful spiritual forces working at cross currents to each other.

Very little has been written about transit to transit aspects between the outermost planets. But we may be able to glean some information through examining how Uranus afflicting Pluto works in terms of how these work natally, as well as transits to natal.

From Grant Lewi's "Astrology for the Millions," (regarding transiting Uranus contacting natal Pluto) we read "This is a transit of two slow moving Planets, (indicating) a change in your sympathy with world events. You become a greater player in life, suddenly and acutely aware of the implications of your desires...."

He goes on to speak of change and restructuring, and from "Heaven Knows What" we find this is an aspect of trying to be actively different, and of strong will that is outer-directed. This marks "important changes within the established order," where flexibility is a virtue.

Dr. Marc Edmund Jones states that Uranus and Pluto, when in hard aspect in the chart, indicates the major problem is one of ordering the world in terms of motive, and not wasting energies tilting at windmills. We are told to beware of malcontentedness and mistrusting the course of events. This aspect can help us become clear about the core issues in any confused situation so that we can achieve a new social order.

Ultimately, we're examining the nature of the Uranus-Pluto cycle. As with all planetary cycles, they begin at the conjunction, and the waxing square indicates a major turning point and emergence of the energies of the faster planet making the waxing square to the slower planet. The opposition marks a point where something surfaces in the larger cycle that will come to a culmination at the waning square. At the next conjunct the process begins anew.

This square from Aries to Capricorn is a waxing square, and the first major turning point since Uranus conjuncted Pluto in mid-Virgo back in 1965-66. There is something of the "seeds of revolution," and the fusing of revolution and transformation back then, that is making its appearance now through 2015.

What follows is a brief glimpse into the past so that we may spot seeds and trends helping us understand the bigger picture of what's going on and how to manage the upheavals over the next few years. I'll note both Uranus-Pluto conjunctions, as well as when the waxing square happened.

I'll also note special events during the periods, though of course the list could never be as complete as we'd like. Perhaps students of history will get insights about previous times of "transformative revolution" and what happened when the first square occurred:

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1086, exact 1089-1091 at late Pisces and early Aries, ended 1093. (Muslims ruled Spain, University of Bologna founded, earthquakes in Georgia, Britain, Palmyra, tornadoes destroy London Bridge, the first water-driven mechanical clock was created in Bejing along with mechanical belt drives, and Shen Kuo publishes the earliest known writing about the magnetic compass, movable type printing, drydock technology, and many other fields including geology, astronomy, botany, zoology, mineralogy, anatomy, pharmacology, geography, optics, economics, military strategy, philosophy, geomorphology and gradual climate change.)

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1117, exact 1118 from late Cancer/early Leo to Pluto in late Aries/early Taurus.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1199, exact 1200-1202 at late Cancer/early Leo. (First trial of a Peer [King John of England], Cambridge University and University of Paris founded, earthquake in Syria, Fibonacci introduces Arabic numerals in Europe, cymbals first used as instruments, alcohol first used in medicine, development of Cabalistic philosophy in Europe.)

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1235, exact 1236-1240 from 7-20 Capricorn to Pluto in Libra.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1341, exact 1343-1345 at 10-12 Aries. (Queen's College founded at Oxford, Petrarch appointed Poet Laureate of Rome, the great flood of Kerala, famine in China, beginning of the Vatican issuing indulgences, beginning of the Hundred Years' War, earthquake and tsunami at Amalfi, Bankruptcy of great Florentine banking houses.)

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1369, exact 1370-1372 6-9 Leo to Pluto in Taurus.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1453, exact 1455-1456 at 12-14 Leo. (End of the Eastern Roman Empire, end of the Hundred Years' War, beginning of the War of the Roses, Gutenberg prints the Mazarin Bible, Pope Nicholas V publishes Romanus Pontifex sanctioning conquest of non-Christian lands, and the reduction of native non-Christian populations to "perpetual slavery.")

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1493, exact 1495-1500 from 10-23 Aquarius to Pluto in Scorpio.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1594, exact 1596-1598 at 20-21 Aries. (Dutch begin colonizing East Indies, Pacification of Ireland, Giordano Bruno seized by the Vatican for supporting Copernicus, Galileo's Golden Rule and his invention of the thermometer, Kepler published his book on planetary orbits, Tycho Brahe published his discoveries and instrument descriptions, Walter Raleigh explored 300 miles up the Orinoco River, Portuguese trade monopoly broken in India, first water closets in England, first field hospitals, England begins transporting criminals to colonies, manual of veterinary science published in Italy, Korea invents iron clad warships.)

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1622, exact 1623-1625 from 15-18 Leo to Taurus.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1708, exact 1710-1711 at late Leo/early Virgo. (Bach appointed chamber musician and organist to the court at Weimar, Massive immigration from Palatinate to N. America, Europe's coldest period in 500 years lasted 3 months, invention of the pianoforte and three color printing, first copyright act, first Mardi Gras in US, mass rebellion in North Carolina, invention of the tuning fork.)

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1755, exact 1755-1758 from 15-24 Pisces to Pluto in Sagittarius.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1848, exact 1850-1852 at 29-30 Aries. (End of US-Mexico War; US gets TX, NM, AZ, CA, UT, NV, CO, and WY, revolutions across Europe, "Communist Manifesto" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" published, John S. Mill published "Principles of Political Economy," first safety matches, first appendectomy, first public health act in UK, NZ first settled, US "Compromise of 1850," establishment of 2nd German Confederation and 2nd French Empire, Herbert Spenser creates sociology and first uses the word "evolution," Mormons found Salt Lake City, beginning of US womens' dress reform, gold found in Australia, NYT appears, Singer created continuous stitch sewing machine, invention of opthalmoscope, cast iron frame building, and high tension induction coil.)

Uranus waxing square Pluto - began 1875, exact 1876-1878 from 23-26 Leo to Pluto in Taurus.

Uranus conjunct Pluto - began 1963, exact 1965-1967 at 16-19 Virgo. (the Beatles [including pioneering movie and music efforts], Bob Dylan, Kennedy assassination/official coverup, escalation of Vietnam, Khrushchev and King Saud replaced, US civil rights movement and widespread urban riots, 6-Day War in Middle East, US poll tax abolished, MLK Nobel Peace Prize, hot line between US and USSR established, nuclear test ban treaties signed, Pope John XXIII died, Warhol, Rauschenberg, Johns create Pop Art, first use of an artificial heart by De Bakey, first heart transplant by Barnard, first music festival [Monterrey Pop], major earthquakes in Alaska and Chile, flooding in E. Brazil, Canadian power failure affects 30 million people, synthetic DNA created.)

We are now at the waxing square in the cycle that began in the mid 1960s. Emergent revolution indeed!

© Copyright 2011 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Valerie]

I love when you write about comparative periods of history and the transits. It's fascinating! I'd like to see more of that in the future. I agree that emergent revolution is upon us. Egypt and Libya are just the beginning. I'm hoping for revolution for the good of the environment myself. Thanks for another great article! Namaste :)

[Elizabeth]

Okay...now I see...thanks for this!

Also love the www.doasone.com website for calm breathing during these times!

[jule nelmes]

i am really starting to feel the pull of the outer planets and feel astrology as more than just mundane and personal .I am from chch new zealand and am so a part ot the saturn jupiter opposition with a fullmoon in virgo approaching yes that super fuullmoon I totally feel conected to my global community with six planets converging in aries neptune soon to go into picies I wonder about our next generation especilly the children born in the next few monhts And I KNOW THERE LIFE PATHS WILL BE LESS CORUPTED THAN OUR OWN I HEAR IN NEW ZEALND QUITE LITERAALLY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD SHARE EMPATHY FOR MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN JAPAN .let the global energy of compassion unite us all as we share a global full moon above us its simple symbology unites us all JUST AS IT HAS FOR MILLENIAS PAST . UNITE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOUR ITS TIME TO GET CONNECTED BECAUSE WE ALL FEEL that the earh it is a changing and your website has been a wealth of free astrological information to this curiuos student thanks for the free it is such a rare commodity today.

[Robert]

Hi all - The WaPo columnist Harold Meyerson, in his column today, brought up one historical event that exactly corresponded to Uranus waxing square to Pluto: "The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 killed about a fifth of the city’s 200,000 residents and leveled 85 percent of its buildings, including almost every major church — on a church holiday, when they were packed with parishioners. It also shook 18th-century philosophers to the core. “Candide,” Voltaire’s comic polemic against the belief that all was for the best in this best of all possible worlds, was written in the quake’s aftermath, as Voltaire was abandoning any notion of godly oversight of the world’s affairs. The young Immanuel Kant was sufficiently upset to research and write one of the first books ever on the causes of quakes, before he turned to his life’s work of creating ethical codes that functioned in both the presence and absence of God."

[Dina]

Robert, correct me if I'm wrong--did we experience another U-P square between 2003-08 while Uranus was in Pisces and Pluto was in Sagittarius? Or did the degrees in those signs not create the square?

Blessings.

[chickie]

Thank you Your Highness....1204 Santa Lucia stolen from Sicily and resides in Venice. I think Sicily is a Leo Island.

1624 Santa Rosalias bones were dragged through the streets of Palermo to cure and did cure the plague.

[Beth in SoCal]

Ok, Robert; i lived through the 60s and each year from 1962 was loaded with personal and cultural change;
1962 my beloved dog died; 1963 Kennedy was assassinated; 1964 my grandmother died; 1965 my parents divorced; 1966 took my first Owsley LSD; within a very short period of time, all that was familiar to me was gone. New things introduced themselves: 1967 was the Summer of Love and the explosion of music and the counter culture; the movement' gained traction; 1968 RFK and MLK were murdered; 1968 I read Hermann Hesse (Demian, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Journey to the East)and started my own spiritual & philosophical journey; 1969-1970 studied under Yogi Bhajan.

I, and many like me from that period, feel (Cancer) we have unfinished business; I told my mom a few years ago, eventually the chickens come home to roost for everyone. I was slightly taken aback when you used the exact same phrase about this period.

‘Nothing ever happens by chance. Here, only the right guests meet. This is the Hermetic Circle….’

- Hermann Hesse, Record of Two Friendships

[Robert]

Hi all - Sorry for the delayed response, but the recent article I posted referencing Dharmarucci involves material I linked to over there. At some point I'll update and re-post this one, since Uranus square Pluto will be with us for quite a while.

Hi Dina - Not really. 2003 through Spring 2006 Uranus in early Pisces quintiled Pluto in late Sag. Summer 2006 they made a binovile (80 degrees), were not in orb Autumn 2006, were in a wide quintile Winter 2006-07, and then again binoviled from Spring 2007-May 2009.

These specializations and gestations preceded this emergent square going on 2011-2016.They got close to the square in Summer 2009, but it was still quite wide. Back in binovile Autumn 2009 through late Spring 2010 when Uranus entered Aries. One could say that they made what are called a "mundane square" from Pisces to Sag and Aries to Cap, but that's an ancient term most don't use. In general those signs square each other, showing that dynamic, but it's specialized by the exact aspects made within those signs.

Hi chickie - So perhaps the revolutionary forces preceding that theft set forces into motion that led to those subsequent events. Would be interesting to see the backstory to the theft. Interesting that a waxing square would occur at the same time as a collective healing miracle....

Hi Beth in SoCal - Yes, I suppose without any conscious intention on my part this Cosmic Cantina is some sort of "the Hermetic Circle." Your post inspired me to compose this addendum.

The revolution that began with Uranus conjunct Pluto saw the free speech movement, the human and civil rights movements, the urban riots and widespread protests of the "99%" against the proxy war we were waging in SE Asia on behalf of the "1%" in power. Here in the US many of us knew our government was busted, corrupted, and thoroughly dishonest, and the arising was a mass protest against unjust social conditions (as things seem to be right now!)

As an aside, a study was done on the causes of the LA riots during the mid 60s, and it indicated one of the main sources of discontent was that there were no health services or emergency care facilities in Watts, Compton, etc. and so people were dying in minority sections of town while the affluent did quite well for themselves. Seems that was life in urban Amerika, and a lot of people knew the wealthy got the gold mine and the poor got the shaft.

The Uranus conjunct Pluto era also saw the beginnings of the LSD experiments by the CIA and other US government agencies, which once out of the bag meant that tens of thousands of people were opened to (as Rudhyar put it) "a non-ego-structured realm of consciousness." That meant the doors of perception were opened in ways that the assumptions of the official culture were seen as limiting rather than freeing, and hundreds of thousands began to see life from mythological, philosophical, and spiritual angles rather than through the limitations of left-brain thinking. This directly opened many millions to Eastern Wisdom forms such as meditation, yoga, Buddhism, eastern religions, and other consciousness raising vehicles.

The mid-60s also began a more cooperative, collective, organic movement as counterweight to the official corporate profit-driven way of life. One seminal but very important effort was created by "the Diggers" in SF opening food kitchens, free clinics, and free cultural/musical events that mobilized the "youth movement" in both Southern and Northern California, spreading throughout the US. This inspired hundreds more to open their own coop kitchens and free clinics in other cities across the US. The co-ops across the US today are still functioning quite well.

The mid-60s also began the "back to the Earth" movement here across the US where thousands stepped back from the military-industrial mindset and attempted a more natural, organic way of living. While many such experiments failed due to misguided idealism, it did ultimately yield such worthy efforts as the environmental movement, legislation that helped protect clean air, water, and earth, as well as the Whole Earth Catalog, the Hog Farm, Woodstock Nation, and the entire "counter culture" that was the seed bed for today's "cultural creatives" and things like organic foods, pesticide free farming, the resurgence of farmers' markets, and other "progressive" ways of life.

[Gary B]

Robert,

The Uranus/Pluto conjunction of the 1960's also brought significant enhancement/advancement(distortion/sound volume) of the amplifier by Jim Marshall Amplification that shaped the Rock & Roll industry through musicians like Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle of the Who as well as Jimi Hendrix. Might we see some type of music evolution at this first square? Music moves generations AND transformational movements! Excellent segment about this on Palladia.