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Tricksters and Truth-Tellers:
The Uranus-Mercury Interface

by Bill Streett

Boxer, born with a Uranus-Mercury opposition, displayed the most noble and inspiring expression of the planetary combination: to speak one’s truth directly and daringly in the face of opposition. (2) Although the Uranus-Mercury combination may not possess the visionary capacity of the Uranus-Jupiter combination, the profoundly revolutionary qualities of the Uranus-Saturn combination, or the dazzling artistic novelty of the Uranus-Venus combination, the Uranus-Mercury possessor wakes up the collective to greater truth, agitates societal amnesia and sleepwalking through stunning use of language, and stabs hypocrisy, corruption, and deceit with the string of laser-like perception into falsity.

As children, individuals born with the Uranus-Mercury interface are often highly inquisitive, humorous and sharp, and like to discover the hidden secrets of their family of origin. The Uranus-Mercury individual is the one most likely to find extreme pleasure in the non-existence of Santa Claus; their innate curiosity drives them to ferret out truth in all corners of the world. As the Uranus-Mercury individual matures, they may loose some of the divine spark of the mind they held as children. Parents, schooling, and peers may do their fair share to “correct” the mind of the Uranus-Mercury individual, inhibiting their exuberantly creative verbal and mental ability. Thus, as adults, the Uranus-Mercury individual may feel an innate need to recover their dazzling mental creativity, even if it comes at a significant price. As much as they are in need of recovering their amazing mental talents, often Uranus-Mercury individuals need to learn how to accommodate their own need for truth with the socialization process. That is, without some form of societal intervention, the Uranus-Mercury individual may be so brutally honest in speech and conversation that they may lack complete tact and may not be conscious of feelings of others (as the archetype of Uranus has the reputation of not being too heavily reliant upon feelings).

As much as we may want the Uranus-Mercury individual to quiet their mental fire, we also are heavily reliant upon these individuals to excite the world they live in with their ideas, their wit, their often brilliant intuition, and perhaps most of all, their desire to express truth. The Uranus-Mercury individual sets the tone of societal discourse always on a higher course and an idealistic path. These individuals remind the collective that part of our situation on earth is to not lapse into unawareness but to be constantly and totally attentive, open-minded, and conscious.

Correlations with Uranus-Mercury Aspects:

The following represents merely a small inventory of qualities of the individual who possesses a significant Uranus-Mercury aspect in their natal chart.

• Unconventional, shocking use of language:
  
  Both through comedy and serious communication, it is often the possessor of Uranus-Mercury aspects in the natal chart that overthrows conventional use of language so that a more creative, fiery, or ground-breaking use of language and thought can be applied. The comic that has a Uranus-Mercury combination relies upon the bizarre, the inappropriate, the outrageously unconventional so as to illuminate hypocrisy of the situation they may find themselves within. The serious writer born under a Uranus-Mercury combination often becomes the social critic, the outsider who has extraordinary perceptual insight into the failings and ills of his or her culture. A secondary motivation of these social critics is to push the cultural envelope into the progressive, the exciting, and the avant-garde.
  
• Accelerated intuitive capacity:
  
  The Uranus-Mercury individual often possesses extraordinary intuitive capacity. The planetary combination indicates a wedding of the linear, analytic, and discursive side of the mind with the more intuitive, synthetic, and creative capacities of thinking. Thus, these individuals often have their fair share of mind-blowing insights into the nature of things. Colloquially, it may be said that the Uranus-Mercury individual is “plugged into” the universal mind and may “download” extraordinarily advanced information that can take society into new and unexpected domains. A major gift of the Uranus-Mercury possessor comes in the ability to articulate and express clearly (the left-brain analytical mind associated with Mercury) insights, intuitions, perceptions, and ideas (the right-brain, intuitive capacity of Uranus) that many of us feel but may have trouble putting into words. Thus, listening to and reading the thoughts of the Uranus-Mercury intellect can be refreshing and exciting, as these individuals can be truly exceptional in giving voice to those ideas and thoughts that remain just slightly out-of-reach for the rest of us. They are truly “out of the box” thinkers, so much so that they may be light years ahead of their culture, or simply out of step with the tenor of their times.
  
• Freedom of speech:
  
  Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and James Madison, the founding fathers of the United States most responsible for the advancement of freedom of speech, all possessed significant Uranus-Mercury aspects in the natal chart. Arguably the keenest perceiver of the workings of democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville, was born with Uranus sextile Mercury. Patrick Henry, the “Voice of the American Revolution,” was born with Uranus in opposition to Mercury. Freedom of speech, that inalienable right of humanity, is close and dear to the hearts of those born with Uranus in aspect to Mercury. Although we often take it for granted that we possess a certain liberty in reference to what we say and how we say it, this certainly wasn’t always the case, and the individuals of the Enlightenment era that courageously spoke their minds gave us the freedoms to speak our own particular version of truth.
  
• Pursuit of Truth:
  
  We live in a postmodern world, a world where there exists a plurality of truths, a number of versions of reality. However, to the Uranus-Mercury mind, there is a brand of “Truth” with a capital “T,”—a one and final truth. This truth is clear of deception, lies, deceit, and hypocrisy. This version of truth is very close to the ideal of truth articulated by Plato, that is, truth as an enduring and timeless form that constantly pulls humanity to greater understanding, wisdom, and clarity. As astrologer Sue Tompkins states about Uranus-Mercury individuals, “Their regard for ‘truth’ supercedes any other form of loyalty, even to themselves.”(3)
  
• Excitation of revolutionary ideas:
  
  At some point in the history of mankind, the ability to use language to articulate needs, feelings, ideas, and desires manifested. Obviously, we take this ability for granted now; however, imagine the extreme, fiery, creative excitation the birth of language must have created among primitive social groups. Human history is punctuated with revolutionary ideas: the heliocentric theory of Copernicus, the laws of physics unpacked by Newton, Kant’s a priori categories of mind, Jean Lyotard’s idea of “postmodernism.” Controversial in their own time, these ideas have been extraordinarily important to generations born after the original birthing. Arguably the two most controversial theories of the nineteenth century, Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s articulation of the unconscious, were from the minds of men with Uranus-Mercury aspects.

Examples of Individuals Born with Uranus-Mercury aspects:

Jiddu Krishnamurti:

The Indian spiritual teacher who gave us the unforgettable maxim, “Truth is a pathless land,” J. Krishnamurti was born with a Sun-Mercury conjunction opposite Uranus. In everyway, Krishnamurti embodied the positive ideals of the Mercury-Uranus combination. A teacher who preferred egalitarian conversation as opposed to a “master-guru” style of spiritual teaching, Krishnamurti believed that truth was a process of collaborative inquiry. With titles such as “The Awakening of Intelligence” Krishnamurti’s writings described with impassioned detail the method and importance of liberating the mind. Here we see the Uranus-Mercury interface in detail, the spiritual awakening quality of the higher mind of Uranus wedded to the analytical, discursive mind of Mercury. Individuals that had the pleasure of sitting with Krishnamurti describe him as a man of little pretense, utterly devoted to truth, free from the encumbrances of societal conditioning, and compellingly authentic. In these ways, Krishnamurti is the torchbearer for the highest ideals of the Uranus-Mercury mind.

Jon Stewart:

The court jester of the early 21st century political court, Stewart, born with Uranus square Mercury, is a self-deprecating, likeable, extremely sharp, and insightful comedian. Stewart embodies the extraordinary potentials of the Uranus-Mercury comedian: impeccable, god-given comedic timing; biting sarcasm; shockingly irreverent wordplay; lightning-quick mental associations; and subversive analysis of his social context. Stewart and his gang of pranksters have developed an extraordinarily successful brand of comedy that has led to certainly the most cutting-edge and trailblazing show on television. The great irony that surrounds Stewart—and one of which he is completely conscious —is that his singular brand of “fake news” has more truth, honesty, and authenticity in its analysis of current events than any other show on television.

Michael Moore:

Born with Uranus square Mercury, Moore, in little over a decade, has positioned himself in the throne of the rabel-rousing, controversial progressive. Moore’s work, first as editor of Mother Jones and then as filmmaker, shows the Uranus-Mercury mind at work, doggedly pursuing to illumine lies, corruption, and deceit in all facets of modern life. Like Barbara Boxer, Patrick Henry, and all American patriots, Moore is inspired by the ideals of freedom and truth. Perhaps Moore’s trajectory can be best summed up by his speech upon accepting the Academy Award: "We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president.”

Sacha Baron Cohen:

Born with a triple conjunction of the Sun, Uranus, and Mercury, Cohen, better known under the alias “Ali G,” completely personifies the Uranus-Mercury combination. Cohen displays the trickster possibilities of Uranus, beautifully mocking cultural stereotypes that take themselves too seriously. As a white rap artist, an Austrian uber fashionista, or as a macho Middle Easterner, Cohen is all too happy to mock conventions and totems of the global village. Cohen also displays another facet of the Uranus-Mercury interface—the novel and innovative use of languge. Cohen’s “Ali G” has vertibly created an entirely new language, full of bizarre and twisted phrases and neologisms. Here we observe the extraordinary delight the Uranus-Mercury possessor has in his verbal wordplay and wit. Finally, Cohen certainly embodies the edgier, controversial possibilities of the Uranus-Mercury individual. Riding that fine line between insanity and utter genius, Cohen had the audacity to sprinkle the “Star Spangled Banner” with incendiary language at a recent rodeo show in Virgninia during one of the most conversative zeitgeists in American history.

Erin Brockovich:

Not only was Erin Brockovich born with Mercury at the Sun-Uranus midpoint, the famous PG&E-Hinkley trial on which the eponymous movie of Brockovich’s life is based also occurred as transiting Uranus opposed Brockovich’s Mercury. Brockovich suggested that her initial interest in the PG&E cover-up was based primarily on curiosity more than anything else. The mind of the Uranus-Mercury individual is certainly inquisitive and questioning, always on the hunt for things which will excite their intellect. However, the “David versus Goliath”-type saga that Erin Brockovich set in motion is an excellent example of how the Uranus-Mercury possessor and their pursuit of truth can revolutionize entire industries. In the end, PG&E settled for $333 million, the largest settlement ever in a direct action lawsuit.

Conclusion:

After looking at the above examples, one may rightly ask, “What do Krishnamurti and ‘Ali G’ have in common? If Astrology is to suggest a unification of the universal with the particular, I see no common, underlying theme between these two individuals at all.” Upon first glance at the above examples, questions like these are as obvious as they are justified. What do a saint and a disruptive comedian have in common, if anything? Both, I would argue, display fundamental characteristics of the Uranus-Mercury mind, although at radically polar opposite ends of the spectrum of consciousness. Each is crying the motto the Uranus-Mercury mind: “Wake Up!” The mind of the Uranus-Mercury individual wants to awaken others to a greater range of truth than is typically available to collective consciousness. To the perceptions of those born with Uranus and Mercury in alignment, the world and its inhabitants are zombies, walking around unaware of the world outside of themselves, completely conditioned and habituated to dull routines, habits, and stupefying traditions. Krishnamurti’s forty year quest was devoted to shocking others out of their conditioned mind so that they might achieve something akin to spiritual enlightenment. Similarly, through his comic routines, Sacha Baron Cohen disrupts order, scrambles traditions, and exposes half-truths so that the collective consciousness may wake up to a different, if not higher, realization of itself. Whether it be through the activist, filmmaker, or comedian, the Uranus-Mercury individual is predisposed to awaken the collective.

Birth Data:

Jiddu Krishnamurti
May 11, 1895
Madanapalle, India

Jon Stewart
November 28 1962
New York, New York

Michael Moore
April 23, 1954
Flint, Michigan

Sacha Baron Cohen
October 13 1971
London, England

Erin Brockovich
June 22 1960
Lawrence, Kansas

(1) Transcript of the Rice confirmation hearing 1/19/2005
(2) At the time of the confirmation process, Boxer was receiving a significant progression to the Uranus-Mercury interface, signifying a process whereby
the truth-telling potentials of the Uranus-Mercury combination were actualized.
(3) Tompkins, Sue “Aspects in Astrology.” London: Element, 1993. p. 168