Known as the Uranus opposition, this cycle is the culmination of our life direction and the shift into a new direction. Like any Uranus transit, we often experience unexpected events that shake up our old realities, messengers bearing synchronistic messages that jar us loose from old perceptions, or feelings of restlessness or even anxiety that disrupt old patterns.

I often think of the I Ching hexagram, Chen (51), known in the Wilhelm edition as “The Arousing (Shock, Thunder)”, and in R.L. Wing’s The I Ching Workbook as “Shocking”. Wing writes, “….these times inspire you to make innovative changes in your life, in your relationships, and in your Self….”

The Uranus opposition can be like a summer lightening storm which releases the built-up pressure and clears the air. We are freed up from the ghosts of the past; we experience breakthroughs from the break down or break up of old ways of being and behaving. The lightening bolts of Uranus illuminate the landscape of our psyche and we see new directions and goals to move towards.

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that clients experiencing the Uranus opposition often reclaim something from their past that they dropped between ages 20 to 22. That’s the time of the first Uranus square to its natal position. It’s almost as if we’re in such a hurry to physically or psychically break away from home that we leave a “suitcase” by the door. That suitcase represents a part of our Self that is an authentic element of our nature and we return to reclaim it during the Uranus opposition.

A couple of examples illustrate my point. I think of a client who majored in economics in college yet went into a social service career after graduation. During his Uranus opposition, he left social services and took a job with the World Bank, using his interest and education in economic theory. Another client grew up in an academic family and after getting the “required” college education, “tuned in, turned on, and dropped out”! At 38, she went back to school for a Master’s degree and has taught at the local community college ever since. In both cases, these clients reclaimed a part of their authentic nature.

Carl Jung’s life is another interesting example of the connection between the Uranus square at 20-22 and the Uranus opposition at 38-41. Much of Jung’s philosophy—that we are motivated by our search for meaning in life—can be traced back to his father. Jung had seen that his father, a Protestant minister, had lost his connection to his religious career and his sense of spiritual meaning. Jung himself had felt torn between what he called his no. 1 and no. 2 personalities. No. 1 was a schoolboy drawn to the world of study, responsibilities, and a financially secure career. No. 2 was more comfortable in the world of spiritual mystery and numinosity.

During his Uranus square, two things happened that represent the suitcase Jung left by the door. He chose to identify with no. 1 personality and his father died in early 1896 when Jung was 21. Jung then connected with Sigmund Freud and was his protégé from 1906 to 1913. Initially, Jung had been strongly influenced by Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams. In 1909, the two men traveled to the US together and did a lecture series. During that trip, Jung had a dream that foretold of his eventual break with Freud in 1913 when Jung was 38.

Looking at Jung’s chart, the break with Freud actually occurred when Uranus opposed Jung’s 7th house Leo Sun (1912-1913). Uranus opposed its natal placement in 1915 at the same time it squared Jung’s natal 3rd house Taurus Moon. (Freud was a Taurus, interestingly enough!) Jung was 40 at the time and it was this period he refers to as “Confrontation with the Unconscious” in his autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. He writes that this was a time of “inner uncertainty” (p.170) and “restlessness” (p.190). He resigned as a university lecturer and didn’t read a scientific book for three years. Instead, his focus was his own inner work, using his dreams, mandala drawing, and creativity.

Uranus was transiting Jung’s 1st house of self-identity when it opposed his 7th house Sun and natal Uranus. Through separation from Freud, Jung discovered his own identity, his life work, and his theories of the unconscious. He also reconnected with his no. 2 personality, who was the mystic, the spiritual seeker, the philosopher. This was the “suitcase” he had left by the door when he left home and the world of his parents.

Clearly, the world of psychology is a richer place because Jung saw the value in traveling through the territory of the psyche and combing its depths for the treasures buries in the unconscious. While our lives may not be as big or as well-known as Jung’s, the Uranus opposition can move us beyond the known limits of shoulds and supposed-to’s and bring us into the richness and fullness of our authentic Self.