40. (Eng.) Saturn and Uranus in 2022

There is war in Ukraine. This gives a perspective on everything we think, do or fail to do. Ordinary life goes on, and yet it is different. It began on February 24, 2022. In my immediate environment, several health issues were added, accompanied by considerable uncertainties.

That is why I want to cover the fleeting of time (Saturn), while anything can change at once (Uranus). Present time forces us to take each day as it comes. The planets Saturn and Uranus represent yet other characteristics, that are poorly compatible or even mutually exclusive.

Saturn represents: time, regulations, formation, past, tradition.
Uranus represents: change, freedom, fusion, future, upheaval.

For a long time now, the positions of Saturn and Uranus have been triggering the tensions and polarities, which Earth’s inhabitants currently have to deal with. Planets in general, and Saturn and Uranus in particular, help determine the zeitgeist.

Saturn and Uranus act on each other’s energetic radiation. What does the Saturn-Uranus cycle look like according to astrology?

Both planets make their orbits around the sun: Saturn in about 28 years and Uranus in about 84 years. There is a reason for this substantial difference: Uranus moves at a far greater distance from the sun than Saturn. Therefore, Uranus moves apparently three times slower than Saturn.

Seen from the earth, Saturn at some point catches up with Uranus. There, the planets form a conjunction: they are at the same degree of the zodiac in the sky.

One cycle covers the time between two conjunctions, which is about 44 years. The last conjunctions of Saturn and Uranus were in 1942 and in 1988. The next one will be in 2032.

In the meantime, however, Saturn and Uranus make aspects with each other, i.e., they interact because of certain connections. Such aspects can either be harmonious or create tension. Tension is caused when Saturn moves at about 90° from Uranus in the firmament (called a square aspect). This has been the case since spring 2020.

During the year 2021, Saturn and Uranus made an exact 90° aspect three times and in 2022 they are still in interaction. Still another square aspect will take place almost exactly in October. The reason the same aspect occurs several times in a row is that planets sometimes move “retrograde”: seen from the earth in an apparently retrograde direction. When they start going direct again, according to their course along the zodiac, the aspect shows up again.

This led to a prolonged impact on Earth of the tension aspect between Saturn and Uranus. The Corona conditions were not over yet , when we had to deal with the consequences of a seemingly sudden military conflict. What else will we experience? The tension aspect will not really become clear until March 2023.

The Dutch astrologer Hans Planje discusses the Saturn-Uranus aspect of 90° in detail over time. See his blog: https://www.hansplanje.nl/index.php/blog/155-het-saturnus-uranus-vierlant-van-2021. He describes what the impact of the colliding Saturn and Uranus forces has been in the past decades, on the basis of crises and conflicts worldwide. This way, you get a picture of the meaning of the aspect for what is happening on a global scale.

At the same time, such an aspect has significance on an individual level. Its suppressed tension has a subtle influence on each of us. It takes effort to feel relaxed.

What kind of feelings might you be dealing with? Everything is different to how it has been (Uranus). You are trying to regain control (Saturn). By making a new plan (Uranus). To do this, you have to take into account rules (Saturn), which don’t fit your new idea (Uranus). You become angry or irritated, or disappointed at least.

You might blame something or someone for the uneasiness you feel. However, if you examine yourself deeply, you may become aware that such an action makes no sense. Because everyone else also has to deal with this general unease.

Finally: during such a cycle of two planets there are also harmonic aspects (of 60° and 120°). In such cases, the combined energies of Saturn and Uranus may lead to quite good results.

Apart from Saturn and Uranus, there are still other planets engaged in an endless play of energies with the Earth. Next time I may cover the recent conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune.