Since mid-February of 2021, Saturn and Uranus have formed two exact squares (Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus). The third one will be December 24, 2021.

Think of Saturn as structure and rules. In Aquarius, Saturn is thinking mostly about the collective. How can the group follow the rules and reinforce structural foundations? Yet Aquarius also loves to subvert paradigms and be a little radical.

Uranus having a modern rulership of Aquarius is uncomfortable in the stodgy, earth-bound sign of Taurus. Structure feels particularly oppressive to a planet that wants to shake things up. An unpredictable electrical current coursing through the veins of the material world can shatter structures in a moment’s notice.

We have been witnessing this astrological upset not only in domestic and global events, but also in our personal lives. Its unsettling, to say the least.

Saturn-Uranus cycles run about 45 years. The one we are currently in began in early 1988 when Saturn and Uranus were conjunct first in Sagittarius, then Capricorn. This cycle will end in Gemini in 2032.

I’ve been thinking back to 1988 and what events transpired in my life. In the fall of 1987, I had just entered the 6th grade. The conjunction was within 5 degrees. My elementary school teacher (whose reputation for being a cool guy had somehow managed to supersede his darker personality traits) had alerted me that I was at the mercy of a disgruntled adult who had no business governing my life.

I was 11 years old, so naturally I didn’t know all that much, but one thing I knew for sure: my teacher had no interest in teaching. Many of my classmates liked him because he would let them listen to the radio at lunchtime and didn’t care if they goofed off.

All I could see was his sarcasm, his flagrant disrespect (he used to drop progress reports in mid-air after calling a student’s name – if we didn’t run up and grab it before the paper hit the ground, he would put our report at the bottom of the pile. This was at the end of the day on Fridays, mind you) and his egotism (he insisted on being called “Dr.” because he had a Masters degree).

The teacher’s aide he had hired was teaching us math problems we learned in 2nd grade. It was an abomination. I remember a drive home from school with my mom as I cried when she suggested maybe I transfer schools. “I will lose all my friends. They’ll hate me”.

I did transfer schools after 2 months. And I did lose my friends (but I made new ones).

I’m not sure if I remember correctly, but I’m pretty sure I was the first to leave – which inspired a total of 14 other students to leave too. “Dr.” ended up resigning at the end of the school year in 1988.

I remember this most vividly about the beginning of this Saturn-Uranus cycle, which continued into 1989. Of course there were other major world events that transpired around that time, like the Wall Street collapse and the end of The Cold War. The Tiananmen Square Massacre and the Rodney King police beating in early 1991 also happened during this beginning of the cycle (I discussed this a little in my post about Neptune).

The first exact square of this Saturn-Uranus cycle happened in July 1999, which was flipped: Saturn was in Taurus and Uranus was in Aquarius. Interestingly, these Saturn-Uranus cycles seem to line up with Saturn-Pluto alignments, either preceding or closely following. We had the Y2K fear looming (which turned out to be nothing) yet no-one imagined what would happen on September 11th, 2001, which was precipitated by the Saturn-Pluto opposition. The Saturn-Uranus square encompassed 1998-2001. The invasion of Afghanistan also coincides with this initial square, now coming full circle with the closing square.

With the previous Saturn-Uranus cycle that began in the early 1940s (which birthed the peak of the Nazis and Stalin), the closing square was the strongest between 1975-1977. This period gave us the rise of Pol Pot in Cambodia, leading the Khymer Rouge in a socialist revolution that killed millions of people; Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative Republican who had been challenging the Equal Rights Amendment had succeeded in blocking its ratification; Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency in India in an attempt to control internal disturbance and mass protests, resulting in a sterilization campaign and the suspension of civil liberties.

Mutiny within institutions seems like a decent phrase for this cycle. Justified rebellion might be more apt. A balance sought between freedom and structure to release anything outworn or stifling – but balance isn’t always achieved. If we look at the events at the beginning of this 1988 cycle, things worked out pretty well for hegemonic governments like the U.S. and China. Didn’t turn out so well for the under classes who rebelled. China has suppressed the numbers but something close to 10,000 student protestors were slaughtered in Tiananmen Square. That really happened.

This Saturn-Uranus square, however, is a bit different from the original conjunction. Particularly with Uranus in Taurus – it does feel like more erratic weather patterns are part of the disruption. Taurus rules finance, the physical world and food. Having Uranus transiting Taurus as we enter the first 20 years of AIR helps to loosen the stagnation of too much materialism, though Pluto in Capricorn is still holding on for dear life.

After reading Richard Tarnas’ Cosmos and Psyche a second time, I could pay more attention to and understand the broader brush stroke of cultural events that took place during key transits. He has this to say about the Saturn-Uranus square that happened just before the American Civil War began:

….Saturn’s movement into exact square with Uranus in 1861, immediately after the election of Lincoln. Not only

        are the characteristic Saturn-Uranus themes of sudden crisis, political breakdown, structural destabilization and 

        national schism visible here; so also is the peculiar combination of rebellious (Uranus) and repressive (Saturn) 

       impulses that coalesced in the slaveholding Confederate states, which specifically sought and proclaimed freedom

       (Uranus) from the Union to maintain their systemically oppressive (Saturn) mode of life.

Whatever structures, relationships and institutions are still standing by the end of 2023 will likely withstand any further disruption, but there are some that will not hold up. Businesses that are ethical and fully transparent should fare best, as well as businesses that don’t rely on physical structures to maintain operations. The ability to work remotely will not just be a side effect of the pandemic. Businesses that are mobile can potentially thrive, while others that are leveraged to the hilt with insurance and monthly operational costs will have a much harder time.

If there were ever a time to ruminate on feelings and trust your intuition, now is a good time. Acting out of fear or impulse will not take you where you need to go (but when does it ever?). We live in such an action-oriented world – or, at least, we have up to this point. Now, more than ever, it is important to connect with spirit, let go of anything toxic and be skeptical of anyone who claims absolute truths. Listen to more than one opinion, observe and educate yourself.  Pay attention – don’t be satisfied with superficial or overly simplistic explanations. There is always more than one side of the story.

Like my friends who adored the “Dr.” and felt he got a raw deal with so many students leaving his class. I never tried to convince them otherwise – I just knew how I felt, and my feelings were valid, just as theirs were. Do not anticipate unanimous agreement about much of anything, regardless of how much data you collect.

Saturn wants compliance but Uranus wants rebellion. These are irreconcilable. Who knows how this will play out? All I can articulate are the themes and the patterns. To quote Rilke: “The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.”