What might be called “keyword” astrology—the practice of simply matching a catchy cliché with a particular astrological symbol—is in the process of dying as more and more sensitive souls begin to articulate the grammar of astrology. However, for the purpose of this article we will focus on one particular facet, or keyword, associated with Uranus— breakthrough.

Certain individuals who carry the archetype of Uranus throughout their lives consistently break through socially or personally defined limitations to enter into new and pioneering terrain. When individually or collectively Uranus is active in our lives, we are summoned to let go of past security habits and embrace the new, the original, and the innovative. Uranus is not symbolic of the long process of labor, or slow and consistent evolution, but the actual moment of birth: awakening, liberating, cracking, dawning. In their own personal way, the individuals below have made recent headlines by demonstrating how this breakthrough force associated with Uranus manifests in our lives.

Breaking into the Good Ol’ Boys Club: Annika Sorenstam

See Annika Sorenstam's Noon Solar Chart

In May, one of the top golfers on the women’s circuit, Annika Sorenstam, became the first woman in over fifty years to enter a tournament in the male-dominated PGA. In the highly traditional, highly conservative sport of golf, Sorenstam’s move to participate in the Colonial Open divided opinion and created a storm of controversy. The number of male golfers on the circuit ready to embrace change argued that Sorenstam had the skills to play on the PGA and should be given equal opportunity. However, the majority of male professionals were disgruntled and peeved, citing that the proper place for a female golfer is the professional tour created specifically for women, the LPGA.

Regardless of temperament, we all feel the trappings of convention and tradition from time to time: the petty and stuffy rituals, the archaic and ignorant attitudes, the limitations placed on spontaneity and authenticity. However, the nuisance and irritation of the limitations of any social tradition are felt on a much larger scale by the individual born with Uranus and Sun in aspect, and these people are the ones to often display the courage of doing something about it. Sun-Uranus individuals are the cultural heroes who break through old paradigms and usher in something new. Those with significant aspects between the Sun and Uranus are likely to be the agents of change in society because the self-concept and ego, as symbolized by the Sun, are identified with principle of liberation, breakthrough, and disruption, qualities long associated with Uranus. In other words, those with Sun-Uranus aspects are innately predisposed to rebel, defy convention, to break new territory and disrupt tradition.

Sorenstam was born under a Sun-Uranus conjunction in Libra. Although not citing socio-political reasons for her decision to play the PGA, Sorenstam was displaying the traits of a Sun-Uranus individual. Winning over half of the tournaments she entered on the female tour in 2002, Sorenstam needed a greater challenge, something new to potentially master. Many of us would have remained content and fulfilled with Sorenstam’s level of achievement, however, the Sun-Uranus individual feels the constant nag to do something new, to push higher, and to stir things up a little when things get too complacent in our lives. Uranus is the voice inside of all of us that says, “I’m bored with where I am in my life, and I need to try something radically different.”

The potential for being misunderstood, for being ostracized, and for failing often makes most of us to repress this type of voice. However, for the Sun-Uranus individual like Sorenstam, the voice insisting on change will be loud and clear and not something scary or to ignore. The life journey of those born with Sun-Uranus aspects often has more than the usual number of forks in the road that force one to either stay in the fold of security or breakthrough into something radically different and refreshingly new. The secret that many Sun-Uranus individuals find out is that breaking the mold, stirring things up, and trying something new is not only not as frightening and scary as one would think but a necessary ingredient to composing a fulfilling life.

Breaking the Silence: Hillary Rodham Clinton

As the book was published, Clinton was experiencing an exact trine transit (or 120 degree aspect) from Uranus to her Sun’s position in early Scorpio. When Uranus transits our natal Sun, something in our self that has been hibernating or patiently waiting emergence suddenly is liberated; we become fuller in our authenticity and our true self. Moreover, Uranus often symbolizes the need to speak one’s truth, to break silence, and to cut through pleasantry and artifice and to “out” the reality of what is.

Some reviews of Clinton’s memoir have described Living History as a safe book, an autobiographical statement written by a shrewd politician who knows the importance of timing and image. However, the intimacy and candidness with which she describes much of her relationship with her husband—and particularly surrounding the Lewinsky affair—reveals to America a behind-the-scenes look at how one couple dealt with the difficulties of infidelity under intense public and political scrutiny. In this way, the book is a courageous first, increasing awareness on a cultural taboo that is often not addressed in a public way. Thus, Hillary is not only displaying the proclivity of a Uranus transit’s ability to further reveal our own truth and to manifest greater authenticity but to courageously shed light and awaken us to culturally sensitive issues. In her own way, Clinton broke through the traditional belief that skeletons in the closet—particularly those of politicians—should be kept locked away, and, by doing so, she set a new precedent of candor and forthrightness in the political sphere.

Breaking One’s Image: Jewel

See Jewel's Noon Solar Chart

For many pop stars, changing image and musical style is part of their oeuvre and a key ingredient to the marketing of their persona. One must believe that an essential part of the success of Madonna or David Bowie, for instance, is based on the public’s anticipation of their rapidly evolving style and changing image. Other artists’ appeal appears to be derived from their ability to stay true to their roots and to develop one approach consistently over time. Certainly, most observers would have comfortably placed Jewel in the latter camp, however, most observers forget that we all have to contend with the life-altering shake-ups of Uranus transits.

Currently, transiting Uranus is forming a tight square (or ninety-degree aspect) to Jewel’s natal Sun placement in early Gemini, and she’s showing all the signs of one who is getting hit hard from the planet associated personal make-overs and identity shifts. When Uranus transits our natal Sun, we are reborn in some fashion, either rejuvenated and revitalized, or even more significantly, we suddenly discard old, outworn parts of ourselves in exchange for something fresher, more promising, strange, or exhilarating. During a Uranus transit to the Sun, old parts of our self-concept are broken down and something new inside of us breaks through.

Jewel’s musical style, appearance, and image have gone through a major overhaul as she continues to experience her Uranus transit. On her latest musical effort, 0304, fans know they are in for a departure when the first sentence of Jewel’s liner notes reads, “This album may seem different to you.” The dance-pop electronica, the sleek and seductive personal appearance, and the lyrical content all represent a radical revolution, not a continuous evolution, for Jewel. Only time will tell if Jewel continues to experiment and veer off from her folk-rock roots or will return to her musical origins as the height of the Uranus transit dissipates.

*****

In each of the above cases, Uranus is responsible for heightening awareness and increasing consciousness. As Sorenstam charged into the PGA tour, the time-honoured traditions of the Association were scrutinized and questions were raised as to the suitability of the de facto rules of the tour. Through the publication of Living History, new light was shed on the personal lives of public figures who participated in pivotal events of American history. Jewel’s new fashion and musical sensibility woke fans up who were expecting consistency and uniformity from one of their favorite performers. The breakthroughs made in each of these individual’s lives shifts expectations and shocks us from our complacency, and we are forced, for good or ill, to awaken to new levels of heightened consciousness. As Mars and Jupiter make potent aspects to Uranus throughout the rest of 2003, we, as a global culture, will make breakthroughs great and small. The important question to ask is, “Will we embrace the novelty, unexpectedness, and rapid shifts by letting go of the past and embracing the unknown, or will we prefer to stay in old patterns and hang on to the known and conventional?”

Data:

(1)Annika Sorenstam

October 9th, 1970
Stockholm, Sweden
Sources:
--www.lpga.com
-- igolf.golfonline.com
---www.jockbio.com

(2)Hillary Clinton

October 26, 1947
Chicago, Illinois
Sources:
--clinton.senate.gov
-- www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/hc42.html
-- http://www.zpub.com/un/billc-5.html

(3)Jewel

May 23, 1974
Payson, UT
Sources:
--www.allmusic.com
--www.vh1.com
-- http://members.tripod.com/~simply_jewel/biography.html