Uranus in Taurus
The Illusion of Comfort
Uranus is very misunderstood for the most part, however I do think it's easier to misunderstand the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, & Pluto) since they are further away from our’s and move much slower, for this reason they’re often referred to as generational. I remember reading once online somewhere a line that stuck with me about Pluto, “if you don’t use your Pluto, it will use you.” And while this could be said for all the planets, it is especially true for the outer planets given their nature. Because of how far away and slow moving the outer planets are, we must be deliberate to access their energies. And again, while the same can be said for the rest of the planets, the themes the outer planets cover are broad and far reaching so you have to be intentional if you really want to engage those themes. While I personally don’t ascribe to modern rulerships of the zodiac, I do think modern astrologers got a lot right with Uranus.
Uranus is called the Great Awakener for a reason, liberation starts in the mind and Uranus’ energy is very cerebral. Uranus wants to wake you up to other possibilities, other ways of thinking, and it will command your attention to do so. Because it's such a cerebral energy, there were signs showing us exactly what wasn’t working, the problem is we weren’t paying enough attention. This is usually where the infamous Uranian “shock” comes in. Uranus got tired of the hints being ignored and said, alright let's kick it up a notch. I’ve seen Uranus often described as careless and destructive, every planet is capable of being an asshole let's be honest, but it isn’t always the case. Of course planetary energy manifests in ALL kinds of ways, especially when humans are the ones expressing it, and unironically that's exactly why Uranus has this reputation. We are not always ready or WILLING to accept reality. When Uranus sets its lightning to destroy our illusions, in the aftermath some people see just that, destruction. They’re not willing to recognize the thing they were holding on to was not serving them, in fact most times it was just a coping mechanism disguised as the thing they really needed but could not get at the time. The destruction is meant to free you, to help you be honest with yourself about what it is you really need. With Uranus currently in the sign of Taurus, collectively our illusions regarding comfort and security are being shattered, but so many are refusing to let the illusions go. It’s natural to want to cling to what you know when you feel the rug is being pulled from under your feet, but have you asked yourself what are you really holding on to?
The comfort we believe we have is an illusion, not even a good one to be honest. And it's definitely a poor fuckin substitute for real security. Convenience is enmeshed in our ideas around comfort AND security. Capitalism has reduced our ideas around comfort to what's convenient and immediate. I want you to think about convenience culture and how getting what you want almost instantaneously is used as tool to keep you from noticing how almost NONE of your *needs* are met. This is one of the lessons of Uranus in Taurus, it is shattering our illusions around security and highlighting the trappings of our ideas around comfort. We convince ourselves we are comfortable even in dire situations, but we aren’t, what we’re really doing is conceding to the powerlessness we feel. We’ve all done it at some point, and not always by choice, especially under white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. You make concessions every day, so much so it becomes easy to lose sight of just how much we’re living without. Convenience culture has three main functions, to serve as a distraction, to keep us from looking inside of ourselves for answers, and to keep our tolerance for results that aren’t immediate low. People want overnight solutions to everything, even when they know it’s not realistic and to be quite frank, it’s often a cop out from having to take any action or change any of our own behaviors, including ways of thinking. Saturn in Pisces is assisting by chipping away at our denial. It asks us, is being in denial really serving us? While it may provide comfort for the time being, it is a treatment to a symptom, NOT a cure. What alleviates one's suffering is NOT always comfortable & what's convenient is often treating the symptom and not the disease.
And when we frame that into how Uranus in Taurus is transiting the US’ 6th House (6H), the house of habits, routine, a dark house, it becomes even more glaring. Our habit of accepting the world as it is, without questioning why or how we got here and if there truly is no other way? The 6H is on the same axis with the 12H and their themes are at play with each other. We have to ask ourselves how this habit (6H) has contributed to our own undoing (12H)? How can we heed Uranus’ lessons when we’re so overstimulated by the need to constantly produce and consume? Over consumption as a way of coping with the illusion of security and safety, the illusion that we can drink, eat, buy, retail therapy our way into those things. Think about how you feel when you don’t have access to those things, think about how much more you think about those things when you don’t have them vs universal healthcare, true representation for your taxation, affordable housing, a living wage, etc. In fact, let’s recall a very recent time when we didn’t have access to those things the way we’re used to, lockdowns. In my personal opinion, the “return to normalcy” was the fumble of a lifetime. We had the opportunity to say no when they opened everything back up but we were so blinded by the comforts we know, we didn’t see the opportunity we had to demand better, to take steps towards real security. The other thing lockdowns did was give many of us time to think, to rest, to come back to our bodies, however short a period it was for most, you hear people longing for that type of stillness again. Taurus is the sign of the Moon’s exaltation, and with Uranus’ transit through Taurus, the call to stillness is LOUD. Stillness is a necessary part of emotional processing and a good place to start. You don’t hear people typically associate Taurus with imagination, however it is the sign of Venus’ preferred domicile and the exaltation of the Moon, both planets are heavily associated with creation. A word I associate with Taurus is envision, a synonym to imagine yes but based in the senses, which Taurus rules over. And that actually is a great approach, embracing stillness, connecting the mind to the body down to a sensory level (embodiment) and reconnecting to our imagination to envision what real security would look like for us on an individual and collective level. Whether we like it or not, we ARE connected, the pandemic made that painfully clear. We have gotten far too comfortable in individualism, even when it's proven time and time again, it does not serve us. In order for us to achieve the safety and security we desire, we’re going to have to push past our discomforts and learn to trust and rely on each other. And that trust starts with the self.