Uranus

With Uranus, we begin our exploration of the trans-Saturnian planets.  The defining characteristics of the trans-Saturnian planets is that they symbolize the transformational urge within the psyche.  Each approaches transformation using a different method to bring this about.  However, the goal of all of the transformational planets is the same—to transform the identity from one that is ego-based to one that is transpersonal.  By “transpersonal,” we mean that the soul’s consciousness has risen to a level where it at least perceives, if not actualizes, the reality that All is One and, therefore, separate identity, or ego, is an illusion. 

As a basis for my analysis of the trans-Saturnian planets, I posit that within each psyche there is an urge to transcend the ego-state.  This urge derives from the psyche’s unconscious memory of being in a state of higher consciousness in which ego was not dominant.  In my forthcoming book, The Pouring, or How the Universal Mind Reached Out to a Generation: a Commentary on the Counterculture Lyrics of the Sixties, I have called this the Edenic State.  At its deepest level, we can refer to this level of consciousness as the Source.  This subconscious urge, or pull, to transcend the ego can also be conceptualized as the soul’s yearning for Return.

While this is the transformational goal, it is not easily achieved.  Even when one has perceived the transpersonal Truth, it is still a long way to actualize that Truth—in other words, to actually and consistently experience that Reality.  The process, or journey, towards the transpersonal is not something that is achieved instantaneously, either.  Most souls, by far, are bound to the ego-state and those bonds are incredibly strong.  The ego, and the psyche that is attached to the ego, resists the realization of its illusory state with incredible strength and power.  Thus, the transformational state of transpersonal identity is reached slowly, bit by bit, and in fits and starts with episodes that seem to be regressions but are karmically necessary in order to move forward over the long term. 

The essential meaning of each of the trans-Saturnian planets relates to this core transformational urge and how it is manifested in the psyche.  For Uranus, my conception of its essential meaning is transformation through Revelation.  To some extent, the transformative processes symbolized by the trans-Saturnian planets can be viewed as a sequence, although I believe that any of these processes is capable of producing (in a synchronistic sense) the ultimate transformation.  As with the other planets, we shall see how all of the qualities and activities associated with the trans-Saturnian planets derive from their essential meaning.

The idea of revelation, itself, can be viewed on different levels.  At its highest level, Revelation refers to the realization of Truth.  For Uranus, the primary mode of this realization is through Gnosis, which means Knowing—knowing with absolute certainty because what is known has been realized through direct experience.

Revelation also has the characteristic of imparting knowledge.  Gnosis is not knowledge that has been acquired through intellectual effort (Mercury).  Gnosis is knowledge that is given to the soul by some Higher Consciousness.  While one may have the intention of seeking Truth, it is not a question of finding.  Truth may be revealed whether it is being sought or not.  Ultimately, Revelation is independent of the act of seeking; it is imparted, a Gift. 

We can see in this phenomenon a number of associations with Uranus.  The fact that Revelation may come unsought or, if sought, it comes on its own terms and cannot be predicted or controlled, means that Revelation is almost always unexpected.  Hence, we have Uranus’ connection with suddenness and surprise.

The fact that Revelation is not an analytical process and is not a product of logic points to Uranus’ association with intuition and with inspiration.  Revelation is mental in the sense that it is received and recognized by the mind.  However, it involves a different type of mental activity than deductive reasoning.  It is lightning-like.  Revelation comes fully formed in a flash.  Indeed, Uranus’ association with electricity can be viewed in terms of electricity being a physically symbolic representation of the intuitive phenomenon. 

If Revelation is imparted, then there must be a source which imparts.  That reservoir of Gnosis is the Higher Mind, or Universal Mind.  The reason why Uranus is considered to be the exponent of Mercury is due to its association with the Higher Mind.  The Higher Mind and the lower mind are not separate.  One is just a higher power of the other (or, in reverse, a stepped-down version of the other).  The Universal Mind is the totality of the Mind, the mental realm of the Conscious Being.  The personal mind (Mercury) is a drop of the Universal Mind operating within the body (on the physical plane). 

The realm of the Mind and its manifestations is not a separate and autonomous state.  It is a continuum, with the personal, ego-bound, mind at the lower end of the continuum and the state of mental Unity at the highest end.  In between, there are infinite levels of consciousness and experience.  Upon leaving the realm of the personal mind and entering the transpersonal, it is not as if one is immediately transported to the state of Unity.  In fact, mystics report ever ascending levels of consciousness, states of awareness, which seem to be never-ending.

Thus, as the consciousness ascends from one level to a higher one, there is a new revelation that occurs upon reaching each level.  The experience is constantly changing, ever new, ever renewed.  At its most essential, this is the origin of Uranus’ association with the new and novel. 

Returning to intuition, I see this as forming the connection between Uranus and science & technology.  Jupiter can be viewed as the ruler of scientific systems, of paradigms and theories.  Saturn has some association with the scientific process, with rigorous testing and careful procedures.  Mercury comes in to govern the assemblage and collection of scientific facts. 

The reality of scientific and technological advance, however, is that intuition and sudden insight play an out-sized role.  This may come in the midst of Saturnian controlled experimentation or Mercurian data analysis but it tends to come suddenly and unexpectedly—out of the blue—and then be recognized as so obvious.  In so many instances, scientific truth or invention is revealed to the scientist.  This Uranian phenomenon can then be said to be at the core of scientific discovery and technological innovation.  Saturn’s energy must then be applied to test and validate the Uranian insight or to engineer and produce the new technology. 

This also is another association with Uranian newness, since technological advance always produces what is seen to be new.  This “newness” also has associations with the avant garde and with the idea of progress—both are concepts that have been identified with Uranus.  The introduction of new technology also usually is accompanied by the phenomenon of “early adopters.”  These are people who are identified in society as being on the “cutting edge,” willing to take risks and try the unproven.  These are all qualities and phenomenon that are associated with Uranus.

The process by which new technology and scientific ideas become incorporated or validated also points to an often neglected aspect of the Uranus-Saturn relationship.  Uranus and Saturn are usually conceived as being inimical to each other, with Uranus determined to break down old Saturnian structures and Saturn equally determined to resist this Uranian impulse.  However, if Uranian ideas are ever to become actualized, they must become manifest through Saturnian processes.  Conversely, if Saturnian structure is not to ossify, it must be periodically reinvigorated by Uranian innovation.  This symbiotic relationship can be symbolized through the co-rulership of Aquarius by Uranus and Saturn and this dynamic can also be associated with the soft aspects between the planets.

Revelation also produces change (or at least that is the goal of the process).  When something is revealed, even if it is at a very ordinary level as when someone becomes aware of something that was formerly hidden, a change occurs.  This is generally an internal change, such as a change in perception or awareness.  However, internal change generally leads in some way to external change because the recipient’s behavior changes based upon their internal change.  That change in behavior can then result in other changes occurring in their life and their surroundings (including the lives of those around them). 

The more intense or far-reaching the revelation, the greater the change is likely to be.  From a transformative perspective, a revelation from the Higher Mind is designed to change the recipient’s consciousness “permanently,” by raising their level of awareness, bringing their own state of consciousness to a higher level.  People who undergo such peak experiences are usually “changed forever.”  Even when the level of consciousness at which the Revelation occurred is not retained (as is almost always the case), the memory of that internal state and the Gnosis which has been gained is designed to have a transformative impact on the recipient.

Thus, we see Uranus’ connection with change.  One sobriquet we can use to succinctly describe the Uranian psychological purpose is “Transformation through Change.”  Of course, transformation is not always the outcome of change or even of ordinary revelation.  Besides the qualitative connection between transformative change and ordinary change, how is Uranus linked to change that is not transformative?

The principle behind this link is the proposition that nothing occurs in life or consciousness that is not designed, ultimately, to bring the soul back to her Original state of consciousness.  Even when actions are performed or thoughts and desires are entertained that embroil the soul further in the Illusion and trap her in the cycle of reincarnation, we posit that these are simply necessary events and conditions on the soul’s long, long journey of Return to her Source.  In other words, everything has a purpose and that purpose is ultimately for the soul to evolve.

Change is not only produced as a result of revelation.  For, change happens.  In other words, change can be experienced as an external event.  That “external event” can be “internal,” as when someone goes through a mental-psychological decompensation, or even a change of mind, perspective or belief.  We say that even such change is a result of something “external” because nothing happens without a cause, and this law of nature extends to the emotional and mental worlds, as well as the physical.  I am going to return to this in its broadest sense but, first, I want to discuss noticeable change, unexpected change.

We can state that, whatever level of awareness we have on this physical plane, the psyche is stuck.  Otherwise, our consciousness would be free to move at will through the various planes of consciousness and explore the worlds and dimensions that lie within us.  For almost everyone, this is not the case—which is why we are here on this Earth-plane of existence and not a denizen of the spiritual dimensions.

We can conceive the purpose of the Uranian function to be to get the psyche un-stuck.  Most people are comfortably embedded in their stuckness.  Almost everybody is attached to something, someone, some construct of their reality.  Uranian change comes to us to pry us loose from our attachments.  This, of course, is a goal associated with all of the trans-Saturnian planets but the approach associated with Uranus is the shock of change. 

Such shocks to our psyche and to our attachments may come from a sudden change in our external circumstances, through disruption, through change that is so momentous that it creates chaos, or through a sudden separation.  All these faces of shock and change are associated with Uranus.  They are meant to dislodge the psyche from our comfortable attachments, to throw us off balance so that we are forced to seek a new balance, a different equilibrium.  Hopefully, that equilibrium will be attained at a higher level of consciousness or a more evolved level of experience.  It may be only a slight, hardly noticeable shift in equilibrium but it will be a step along the way.

Sometimes, however, the new equilibrium will not appear to be a step upward or forward.  Sometimes, it will seem to be a deterioration of consciousness and an evolutionary step backwards.  Here, we should remind ourselves of the story of a village guru.  A village in India was beset by a series of calamities.  First, all of the dogs in the village mysteriously died.  The villagers went to the guru who told them, “there must be some good in it.”  Next all of the cocks in the village died.  Again, the guru told the villagers, “there must be some good in it.”  The next morning, the villagers woke up to find that every single fire in the village had gone out, leaving them unable to cook.  Frustrated, the villagers returned to the guru for an explanation of why God had so disfavored them and, again, the guru’s reply was: “Who knows the ways of the Lord; there must be some good in it.”  That afternoon, an army led by a harsh Mughal king appeared on the hilltop overlooking the village.  The invading army had looted and burned every village along their way.  The king looked down at the village and saw no smoke coming from the cooking fires, heard no cocks crowing and no dogs barking.  He turned to his general and said, “there is no use bothering with this village.  It is abandoned.”

Thus, we have the association of Uranus with change that is disruptive, with conditions of chaos and disorganization and with the breaking of attachments.  With the latter, we see Uranus’ association with separation.  When separation occurs, it forces detachment.  It may be only a symbolic or external detachment (as when two people get divorced but remain emotionally embroiled with each other) but it nevertheless brings the issue of detachment to the fore. 

We can also see in this Uranus’ association with emotional or intellectual detachment (as evidenced by those qualities associated with Uranus-ruled Aquarius).  This, too, is a separation.  The native has emotionally or intellectually separated themself from the object of detachment, whether this be specific or more general. 

Returning to the issue of causation and the constancy of change, we can see in the Uranus archetype the blueprint for the structure of the created universe.  As we have noted above, Uranus symbolizes the Universal Mind.  It is through the Universal Mind that Essence or Spirit manifests the Creation (and manifests within the Creation).  At its highest level, Mind is undifferentiated Oneness.  The process of Creation is a process of consciousness descending into successively lower levels and differentiating as it descends.  Thus, there is increasing multiplicity as the Creation is manifested.  This process of the manifestation of the Creation through the Universal Mind can also be viewed as a process of successive Revelation (the revelation of the Idea of the Divine Being occurring at successive levels of multiplicity and materiality).

In this sense, the entire Creation can be viewed as a Uranian manifestation.  A quality of this process of manifestation or emanation is symbolization.  This can be seen in that, through the process of emanation, each level of consciousness is a reflection of the level above it.  The Qur’anic passage  “Allah has created signs for you upon the horizon” suggests that all the world is symbol.  This is one way in which Uranus connects to astrology. 

The multiplicity that exists in the Creation relates to the state of differentiation that is associated with Uranus.  Thus, we classify as Uranian the differences that make us unique but especially those differences that are noticeable, those that deviate from the mainstream.  Thus, we have Uranus’ association with non-conformity; the unusual, the bizarre, the avant-garde, and all other forms of difference.  We will return to this when we discuss Uranus’ connection to individuation.

Not all change is designed to result in sudden shock.  Often changes that we experience are more benign.  Change is often in the form of improvements or sometimes it is just a change in fashion.  In a sense, this can be viewed as another expression of Uranian differentiation. 

As noted above, there are many steps along the way to liberation of the soul from the bondage of ego.  Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish whether something is a stepping stone or a hindrance.  The ego ferociously and cunningly tricks the mind into pursuing avenues that, in and of themselves, are blind alleys or distractions from the real task at hand.  It may be the case, actually, that even these false goals and seeming traps are designed as part of a grander Plan to, in the long run, lead the soul back to her Source.  So, we shall discuss these more “negative” Uranian attributes as impediments and instruments of resistance to the transformative pull of the Uranian impulse but we will remember they can also serve simultaneously as instruments of liberation.

Of course, liberation itself is a Uranian idea.  This is because the core Uranian purpose of Revelation is to liberate the soul from her current condition.  The idea of liberation, however, echoes in various forms throughout the psyche and the Creation.  Closely tied to the concept of liberation is the concept of freedom.  Freedom is the product of liberation—it is the state that is achieved upon being liberated.  Freedom also echoes through many dimensions of meaning.

One of those dimensions of meaning is freedom or liberation from oppressive structures.  At its highest octave, this means liberation from the oppressive structure of the ego.  Ego is not just vanity or self-importance.  Ego is fundamental to our experience in the material worlds.  Ego is the illusion of separation from the One and All.  In this sense, ego can be compared to an onion—a many-layered phenomenon. 

One dimension of ego is the sense or belief that “I am in control.”  The irony of this—some might say the Cosmic joke—is that by asserting “control,” we limit ourselves and, thus, lose our freedom.  “Control” is controlling, an oppression, both for the oppressed and the oppressor. 

Of course, because we live in a world of ego, of separate identities, when someone asserts control, they inevitably are asserting control over another being,  This is true even when we speak of being “in control” of ourself.  Unless one has true self-control, which is the self-control required in order to surrender to the Divine Will, we inevitably exercise self-control with expectations—there is always some desire to be achieved through our self-control.  Those expectations subconsciously demand that others conform to our expectations and, therefore, whether successful or not we are at least attempting to assert our control over other beings. 

The assertion of control generally requires some sort of structure.  Structure is the mechanism by which we exercise control over others (or, internally, exercise control over ourselves in the form of conformity to internal or external mental or emotional structures, which then produces inhibition).  Those who have accumulated power—the power to control others—appropriate certain structures which they then use to exert power and control. 

At the level of gross ego, which is the predominant level of consciousness in the material realms, it is all about will to power.  We can view the world, in one frame, as a perpetual contest for power.  Those with power seek to maintain their control over their environment (which means exerting control over others); and those with lesser power, importantly, seek to actualize their latent empowerment by liberating themselves from the structures of power and control. 

When this urge for empowerment through freeing ourselves from the control of others takes collective expression, we call this revolution.  Revolution, liberation from the control of a powerful Establishment, is something identified as Uranian.  Historically, in the real world, revolutions are about the transference of power.  Because revolutions are conducted at the level of ego, and because leaders (including leaders of revolutions) tend to have strong wills to power, real world revolutions can be viewed essentially as power struggles.  Listen to The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” 

Whether or not we see revolutions as merely power struggles, they are associated with overthrow of existing structures and change.  They are also usually sudden.  These are all qualities or phenomenon associated with Uranus.

If a revolution is not simply to be a coup d’état, an obvious play for power between competing interests or competing egos, there must be a motivating reason for the revolution to occur.  Indeed, if the revolution is truly a collective uprising, the people must be motivated and inspired.  There must be some ideal for which they are fighting, some promise of a better life after the revolution.

I am not suggesting that the leaders of revolutions cynically manufacture an idealistic cause which they can use to rouse the populace and take over power.  I believe that a true Uranian revolution is actually inspired by an ideal and a vision of a better world.  Unfortunately, along the way, that ideal generally becomes hi-jacked or the intoxication of power hi-jacks and corrupts those who were initially motivated by the ideal.

All that said, it remains the case that the revolutionary ideal is revelatory.  It springs from a vision that has descended into the collective consciousness as Revelation.  It is also Uranian in the sense that revolutionary ideals almost always hold out the promise of a less egoistic world.  The Uranian revolutionary vision is generally some form of liberté, equalité, fraternité.  It envisions a world in which people are free(er), in which those with wealth and status do not hold power over the lives of the masses, in which egotism is not rewarded. 

This is also, in part, the generation of Uranus’ association with a better world and with humanitarian endeavors that produce a better world.  For “better” is almost always conceived of as less egoistic.  It is generally a world where resources are shared to an extent that want and hunger are no more.  It is a world where kindness dominates, where wars (which are the product of ego run amok) are no longer fought, where enlightenment (the product of the Uranian revelatory mind) rules. 

A second Uranian vector contributing to the idea of a better world is change.  We always have hope that change will be for the better.  Particularly in the West (which Oswald Spengler has posited is dominated by the zeitgeist of the Infinite), change is associated with progress.  Progress, almost by definition, leads to a better world. 

Alas, we do live in the material, ego-dominated world.  Consequently, our idea of “progress” tends to mean material progress—more goods and things that are more ingenious, more entertaining, and capable of producing more things, more wealth.  Of course, more material abundance is not a bad thing, if the increase in material abundance is accompanied by an increase in more equitable distribution.  In the real world, however, “progress” tends to be concentrated in the hands of a few, or at least restricted to persons of a certain class.  This concentration of wealth through “progress,” of course, sows the seeds for revolution.

Optimistically, we can posit an evolutionary trend to this cycle of revolution, betterment and progress, concentration of the fruits of progress, and revolution.  Pessimistically, we can posit a static cycle, a same-as-it-ever-was conclusion.  Whether we adopt an evolutionary or a static cyclical model, William Blake’s myth of Los and Urizen (found in his poem, The Four Zoas), is illustrative of this cycle.

Los is the god, or force, of passion.  We can identify Los with Mars (and to a certain extent with the id qualities of Pluto) but we can also identify Los with Uranus (and, we can label Uranus as a Solar-Martian planet).  For, Uranus, while at one level is detached, at another level is energizing.  Think of the Aquarius symbol as lightning bolts.  The Uranian archetype is detached when it is at the level of (or mirroring) the Universal Mind.  However, when revelatory content descends onto the material plane, it has an electric effect.  Think of the passion behind the cry “Eureka!”  It is this unleashed revelatory passion that motivates change.  This is the will to actualize revelation. 

When motivated by this will to change, we see everything with new eyes.  When we see the world as new and fresh, this awakens in us a passion for life.  Uranian revelation combines with Martian action and raw will to produce Blake’s Los.

Urizen is the Saturnian principle, with an element of rigidified Mercurian Virgo thrown in.  Blake saw humanity’s penchant for analytical reason as an enemy of the Life Force, emblemized by Los.  Urizen desires to order and control the Uranian chaos that Los unleashes.  By analyzing reality, Urizen (your reason) subjugates it and robs it of life force.  Los is “bound” by Urizen, his sinews dissected and his power emasculated. 

However, in the myth, Los breaks free of his bonds and overthrows Urizen, taking Urizen’s place as ruler of this world of the psyche.  Once Los occupies the position of rulership, however, they begin to lose their power and life force and, in short time, they have become Urizen.  Los, the life force, then rises again to challenge Urizen and the cycle begins anew.

The eternal battle between Los and Urizen is symbolic of the conflict between Uranus and Saturn.  Saturnian structure, though useful in the beginning, stagnates and calcifies so that it becomes obstructive to the Life Force.  It then needs to be overthrown and it is Uranus’ “job” to shatter the rigid Saturnian constructs bringing sudden and radical change.  However, the old structures must be replaced with new, more useful and relevant structures or chaos would ensue.  Those revelatory structures are at first infused with Uranian spirit and energy but, over time, they solidify into Saturnian constructs.  This causes the need for the Uranian impulse to once again arise.

When Los overthrows Urizen, we once again see the revolutionary aspect of Uranus.  This is also an overthrow of old structures and this involves some destructive energy.  Uranian destruction takes the form of toppling, shattering, breaking down, breaking through and bringing down.  These Uranian actions can be viewed as destructive change (which view is the tendency of those who are attached to the old structures) or revolutionary empowering change. 

Let us now return to the Revelatory principle in order to pursue another of its manifestations.  As discussed above, the prime purpose of the Revelatory impulse is to liberate the soul from the construct and confines of the ego and return our attention to a higher level of consciousness from which it descended.  The soul is held at this lower level of consciousness, the material world, through its attachments to the illusory objects that are manifested at this level of consciousness.  In large part, we are conditioned to be attached to these objects (“objects” being used in its broadest sense and inclusive of our relationships) from birth (a Moon function).  A primary mechanism for our conditioning is our identification with the Collective.

In one sense, the Collective is the agglomeration of individual consciousness and this agglomeration forms the “soup” in which individual consciousness “floats” and has its being.  Because the mass of individual consciousness is focused on the material plane, the consensual reality, this creates within the Collective Unconscious a powerful inertia or pull to remain at the level of the material plane of consciousness. 

The Collective, because it is anchored in material plane consciousness, is a repository of all of the values and value systems that are associated with and that sustain that level of consciousness.  These include the forms that humanity has collectively evolved to function in the material world—social structures, moral systems, mores and social expectations, among other constructs.  By participating in the Collective, as we all must do, the individual implicitly accepts these constructs (and if they reject any of the constructs they may be labeled as criminal or anti-social).  This implicit acceptance, while potentially conscious, is most often the result of socialization and conditioning through which we identify with the values of the Collective.

While there are certainly differences in personality at the level of material consciousness—differences which promote our identification as separate beings—our conformity to the values of the Collective run much deeper and exercise far more actual control over our lives, thoughts, emotions and actions.  This conditioning to unquestioningly accept the values of the Collective firmly ties our consciousness to the ego state. 

The Uranian impulse to liberate the soul from the ego-construct through Revelation can, thus, be seen as a process of de-conditioning our consciousness from its identification with the Collective Unconscious.  Carl Jung called this process individuation.  Jung envisioned the process of individuation resulting in our realization of our unique Self established in Wholeness.  Individuation is a Uranian process because it is designed to liberate our consciousness from its conditioning and, thus, allow it to return to its Source.

As we have alluded to above, the process of individuation is a many-layered phenomenon, the work of a lifetime or several lifetimes.  However, each stage of the individuation process is identified with Uranus.  We can identify two broad processes associated with individuation, both being forms of differentiation from the Collective and, thus, a removal from the conditioning of the Collective.  The first of these is group identification. 

There is a paradox or irony here because the impetus for identification with a group is to identify with something greater than oneself.  One would think that identifying with the Collective is doing just that.  However, the identity that is rooted in collective conditioning is not a conscious identification with the whole of the Collective.  Rather, the individual takes their ego-identity from the pool of the Collective, allowing the Collective to condition that ego-identity to conform with the dictates of the Collective.  In order to take the first steps toward detaching from our collectively conditioned ego-identity, one often seeks an identity that differentiates our identity from the unthinking conformity imposed by the Collective Unconscious.

By taking our identity from something greater than our ego (and differentiated from the mass identity), we begin to transcend the ego.  This is a natural process that almost everyone undergoes.  For, to remain in totally conforming ego-identity is to become alienated, which is another paradox.  Modern alienation has often been described as a feeling of inconsequentialness—that one is only an expendable cog in the great machine of conformist society.  We at once feel a part of the great mass of society and alone and alienated, nothing more than a number.  This is the essential quality of ego: that of separation or, in the extreme, singularity.  For most, this is a painful and intolerable state and we automatically seek to escape this state of extreme ego separation with, paradoxically, is also a state of extreme conformity.

We take our first steps toward individuation when we form a circle of friends, which is the elemental group.  This group—friends—is unstructured with only a vague sense of a coherent identity.  However, allegiance to friends is one of the first experiences of rising above our own ego needs.  Hence, we have Uranus’ association with friends and friendship which is expressed through its rulership of the 11^th house, which is traditionally associated with friends.

The next stage of differentiation from the Collective is identification with organized groups, with the group becoming part of our identity in the world.  Thus, we can view Uranus being associated with clubs, fraternal (and sororal) organizations and various types of societies and professional organizations.  The next phase of group identity would be identification with community.  This may be with an extended family or with the village or neighborhood or with some larger community identity.  At a broader level, this would include identity with a clan and also ethnic identity.  Moving beyond forms of clan-based identity, we can identify with others of like mind.  Thus, when we identify with a political party or with an ideology, we should call this a Uranian impulse. 

The trend line is a movement toward bonding with larger and larger social units and taking some portion of our identity from those social units.  Again, we see paradox at work, for as we identify with larger social units, our differences become fewer.  When we are identifying with small, unique groups, there are many other such groups of which we are not a part and, therefore, we are differentiated against those other groups.  As we expand the level of group identity, more “others” join our group and we are less differentiated from others (or our differentiation occurs with respect to larger social units).  At the same time, however, our ego-identity is becoming loosened because we are identifying with units successively larger than our self.

Of course, this is not always the case because the ego is incredibly strong.  Thus, it is possible (and often occurs) that the intensity with which we identify with our chosen group reinforces our ego-identity.  For instance, the nation state constitutes a large unit of group identification.  When we strongly identify with our nation, we participate in patriotism (which should be viewed as a Uranian phenomenon, for patriotism is a form of ideology—the dominance of idea—that is unique to the nation (in that it strongly differentiates one nation from another).  While patriotism can motivate us to sacrifice our ego-needs for the good of the country, our self-identification as a patriot can also form a strong component of our ego-identity.

Beyond nation state and patriotism is identification with all of humanity (or even with all living beings).  This can be viewed as constituting the largest group with which we can identify.  It is the logical progression of group identity and, thus, we see from this Uranus’ association with humanitarianism and humanitarian impulses.  Yet, even as the ego is loosened to an extent from its attachment to self as we identify with successively larger social units, the fact remains that the ego is still identifying.  In fact, we sometimes may experience the irony of the humanitarian feeling themself to be superior to others due to their broader outlook and “concern for others.”

The final stage of the movement toward ever larger group identity is reached through Revelatory experience.  This is the Revelation that All is One and the everyone is a part of Everybody (and everybody).  We can come to this realization intellectually but it’s power is immensely intensified when this Truth is revealed in a peak experience.  It is only then that this realization becomes integrated into the individual’s consciousness and it becomes life changing.  This, however, is not the end of the process.  In my forthcoming book, The Pouring, I call this revelatory realization “the Small Enlightenment.”  To reach total Enlightenment is a process of gradual and persistent Realization of this Truth.  Ultimately, through this process of Realization, the individual identity is transformed and, completely individuated, it becomes Being.

The second broad process of individuation involves a progressive differentiation of the individual from the Collective.  We can call the process of ever expanding group identity described above as a process of “joining.”  The differentiation process is one of “separating.”  This process, too, contains its share of paradox for, by differentiating from the Collective, we at first emphasize our separateness from the masses and this looks like (and can heighten) our ego identity.   Nevertheless, it is ultimately a path toward detachment from the ego. 

The initial stages of differentiation may be unconscious.  They include reacting to authority in rebellious ways or expressing our drive for freedom as insistence that we be allowed to do as we please, regardless of the effect on others.  Rebellion against conformity is usually more conscious but this is still focused on asserting our personality against the Collective.  Rebellion, freedom and nonconformity are, of course, all associated with Uranus.

Differentiation becomes more conscious when we begin to be motivated in our nonconformity by a desire to separate ourselves from the conditioning we have received from the Collective Unconscious.  We may begin to see elements of collective behavior as inherently destructive to spirituality.  Those elements may include attachment to material objects, as well as to wealth, power and fame.  We may begin to see the masses of society as systemically dominated by forces and structures which perpetuate destructive modes of competition and separateness, including scapegoating and other forms of prejudice, that allow the mass of society to be dominated by a few.  We may also perceive that even those who “rule” are captive to this system in that it traps them into a narrow worldview and prevents them from expanding their consciousness.

These realizations can be generated through a revelatory process.  Revelation may be an internal awakening or it may occur through external awareness gained from vehicles of political ideology or social thought—both of which are Uranian processes.  These revelations about the systemic constraints imposed by the Collective Unconscious may also have a spiritual dimension and this would push the individual further into conscious differentiation.  There may be an accompanying realization that the systemic conditioning not only perpetuates a political and economic structure that may be viewed as unjust but that it also binds the soul (our attention) to the lower realms of consciousness associated with this material plane of existence.

External expressions of nonconformity may be manifestations of these inner realizations about the nature of conformist society.  Of course, at the personality level, the nonconforming individual may get caught up in these external expressions as a badge of identity.  Just as some may get “stuck” in group identification and progress no further, so some may stop at nonconformist identification and end the differentiation process at that point.  Of course, as we alluded to above, there is a certain amount of differentiating from the collective that naturally takes place with most people as a means of establishing the personality.

Moving beyond the point of personality differentiation becomes an increasingly conscious process.  The individual is likely to work to identify those places in their psyche that have been conditioned by the Unconscious Collective and to liberate the psyche from its attachment to illusory objects and ideas.  As the process progresses, the individual becomes increasingly differentiated from the Collective.  Their awareness of their differentiation is likely to become more and more internalized as they become more self-aware, often leading to the abandonment of the need to express their differentiation through their personalities. 

Often it is the case that those who are naturally sensitive to the Uranian energy are perceived by the collective as “different” even before the process of differentiation begins to occur.  This often leads to social separation, isolation and alienation.  This Uranian separation can, in itself, motivate the individual to seek further differentiation from the Collective. 

One quality of personality that is associated with the Uranian shadow is arrogance.  Arrogance (which is often identified as a Uranus-ruled Aquarian trait) arises out of a sense of separation from the Collective combined with a feeling of one’s superiority to the masses who remain attached to their Collective conditioning.  This is often a defense mechanism against feelings of inferiority caused by social rejection.  When combined with an attitude of rebellion against conformist values and structures, this arrogance may become ideological fanaticism (another Uranian association). 

Returning to the conscious process of differentiation, as the psyche becomes increasingly liberated from its conditioning by the Collective Unconscious, it becomes more and more aware of its own uniqueness.  This is premised on the metaphysical construct that each soul is a particle of the Divine and that each consciousness is a unique expression of Divine Consciousness.  Therefore, this increasing awareness of the uniqueness of the psyche is also a growing awareness of our essential Divinity. 

A part of our journey of realizing the Self’s uniqueness is the integration of all of the disparate parts of the psyche.  Another metaphysical construct is that when the soul, the Divine Force, entered the material realms (which include not only the physical but the emotional and mental realms, as well), it fractured or fragmented.  This is mythologized in the Kabbalist concept of the shattered vessels (Shevirat haKeilim). An explanation for the fragmented state of consciousness in the world is that when the Divine Force entered the Creation to enliven and experience it, that Force was too much for the vessels of the Creation to contain and so they fractured and fragmented.  The work of humanity is to heal this fragmentation (tikkun) and return to wholeness.  This mirrors the Jungian concept of individuation, which is also a return to Wholeness.

The end goal of this Uranian impulse is to realize our Oneness in simultaneous macrocosmic and microcosmic existence.  This can only be done when we have completely detached our identity from the conditioning imposed by the Collective Unconscious.  In a sense, it is akin to the Buddhist process of “Not this. Not that,” which is mirrored in all mystical traditions.  This is also very close to the Neptunian essential goal and, in the sense of complete detachment, to the Plutonian essential goal.  In fact, all three transformative planets converge at a point of Unity (as do all of the essential meanings symbolized by the planets).