Uranus
Uranus is the planet of the break with precedent: the urge to do it differently, to disrupt a stale arrangement and to insist on being an individual. It was discovered in 1781, and astrologers connect it to revolutions in technology and in thinking.
- Governs
- Change, freedom, originality
- Cycle length
- About 84 years
At its best
At its best, Uranus is original thought and healthy rebellion — the courage to leave a pattern that no longer fits.
Under strain
Under strain, Uranus shows as restlessness, unpredictability or cutting ties abruptly to prove independence.
In your own chart
Uranus lingers about seven years in each sign, so it describes a generation more than a person. It becomes personal through its house, through close contact with a personal planet, or through a position near an angle.
Related sign
What Uranus Stands For
Uranus is the first planet discovered with a telescope, by William Herschel in 1781, and astrologers connect it with breaks from tradition: revolutions, inventions and the impulse to do things differently. In a chart it marks where you refuse to go along with the script and where you need freedom.
A Generational Placement
Uranus takes 84 years to circle the zodiac and spends about seven years in each sign. Everyone born in the same seven-year window shares the sign, so it describes a generation's attitude toward change more than an individual's. It becomes personal through its house and through contact with your Sun, Moon or rising sign.
The Uranus opposition at around age 42, when the planet sits opposite its birth position, is the best-known milestone. It is commonly read as a mid-life restlessness and a desire to change something that has become routine.
Finding Your Uranus Theme
Because the sign is shared with a whole generation, look at the house instead. Uranus in the third suggests unconventional thinking and communication; in the fifth, an unusual approach to creativity or romance; in the tenth, a career that does not follow a standard path. Ask where in your life you have always resisted doing things the expected way.