Desire to Separate: Uranus in the Birth Chart (Pt. 4: Houses 10, 11, 12)

[This is a continuation of the previous post]. In the following post, I will address 10th House Uranus, 11th House Uranus, and 12th House Uranus in the birth chart:

Uranus in 10^th House:

There is a departure from any traditional approach to “vocation” or “professional fulfillment” in life. The soul here recognizes the absolute sovereignty of the individual with regards to his or her “destiny”, thus is reluctant to yield to what society advocates as “success” or “high status”. Many individuals with Uranus in the Tenth House choose not to be “hired” by others or elect professions that few other people may be inclined to get engaged in.

Alternatively, they may be perceived as a “pioneer” in their field or may be “rejected” by those who prefer a more orthodox approach. Another possibility with this placement is that a parental figure (usually the “breadwinner”, either mother or father) might have displayed Uranian tendencies, such as not having a stable job, working as a contractor, traveling a lot, being reclusive, eccentric, “cold”, or simply having a Uranian job (being an astrologer, inventor, public figure of some sort, or working in a technology-related field).

As the Tenth/Fourth House axis also connects to our “conditioning” in general, the individual may have experienced “unusual” parenting or home environment, the specifics of which can be further discerned by looking at the position of Moon (associated with the Fourth House) and Saturn (associated with the Tenth House).

10th House Uranus on the MC:

If Uranus is on the MC and challenged, the individual may feel as if his or her “destiny” is “out of control”, and that his or her life is much like, in the words of the British poet John Keats (1795 – 1821), “a feather on the sea, sway’d to and fro by every wind and tide”. In this case, the individual may come to a psychological conclusion that no matter how hard he or she works, outer forces will “disrupt” his or her personal efforts, and thus there would be no point in setting a goal and working towards achieving it.

However, a challenged Uranus on the MC may occasionally create an “unsurpassed” urge to succeed against all odds, precisely because the individual is hyperconscious of the “cold” touch of “destiny” and does not want to feel defeated by it. Quite a number of professional athletes and champions have this placement, as it seems the presence of Uranus on their MC symbolizes a psychological need to be “recognized” as someone “unique” or “extraordinary” in their field, no matter how difficult it would be to receive such an acknowledgment. Furthermore, such individuals would need to undergo long hours of “isolated” practice and preparation in order to succeed, and this by itself may be connected to the presence of solitary Uranus on the MC as well.

Challenges of the 10th House Uranus:

If Uranus is challenged in the Tenth House, the soul may carry unconscious traumatic memories from past life cycles or early childhood with regards to authority figures, the “fatherly” parental figure (regardless of the parent’s actual gender), or generally one’s “direction” in life. There may exist disturbing unconscious memories of having lost someone the individual used to “look up” to, having been “crushed” by societal norms or expectations, having been humiliated because of inability to hold down a position or a job, having experienced the loss of status (such as the abdication of one’s throne, loss of social privileges or political power, or simply loss of one’s control over one’s fate).

Such unconscious memories may incline the individual to psychologically “relinquish” his or her rights to be “successful” or to be “recognized” by others. Therefore, it is vital for individuals with this placement to become conscious of the possible “social” wound they may be carrying from the past, which may sabotage their current efforts to define a sense of “mission” in life and eventually feeling “fulfilled” as a productive member of society.

Past life regression may be helpful in this case, as by summoning these distressing memories to consciousness, the unconscious power such memories hold over the psyche would be diminished, and through continuous counseling with a trusted astrologer or psychologist, the individual would ultimately be able to “reconstruct” his or her approach to the notion of personal “destiny” in life.

Blessings of the 10th House Uranus:

If Uranus is comfortable in the Tenth House, the individual would probably have a clearly defined sense of “mission” in life, one that would enable him or her to bring forth a new “vision” for a better world. Quite a number of designers, activists, and artists have this placement in their birth chart. The Uranian ray of “genius” in the House of “career” may have been helpful in shaping their innovative approach and “materializing” their ideas by implementing what seems to be both “practical” (Tenth House) and “unique” (Uranus). Alternatively, a parental figure (not necessarily a “biological parent”) might have been the source of inspiration for an individual with a comfortable Uranus in the Tenth House, empowering him or her in the direction of personal expression or originality.

Uranus in 11^th House:

There is an aptitude for connecting to the collective through one’s talents, ideas, or life trajectory. There usually exists a “pioneering” quality in individuals with this placement, which may or may not be developed depending on other aspects of the chart. In case the individual manifests this quality, the outcome would usually benefit the “collective” rather than exclusively enhancing the “personal” joy of the individual.

Quite a number of universally recognized creators in arts and technology have this placement. In fact, statistically speaking, having researched a database of around 3000 charts of recognized people in all fields, I noticed that Uranus in the Eleventh House shows in roughly 10% of all charts. Other House placements of Uranus are distributed more or less evenly among the charts, whereas Uranus in the Fifth House (opposite to the Eleventh House) shows the least frequency (only 7% of all charts of the database). This may indicate that an Eleventh House Uranus is much more inclined towards doing something for the collective, whereas the opposite polarity of Uranus in the Fifth House may simply be content with “personal” joy or acknowledgment from a smaller circle of audience.

Either case, the presence of Uranus on this axis (5^th/11^th) signals that the theme of “recognition” (or a negation of it) plays a pivotal role in the psyche of the individual, and becoming conscious of this issue can help the individual better understand his or her own motives and reactions in the course of life.

Challenges of the 11th House Uranus:

If Uranus is challenged in the Eleventh House, there may exist an unconscious trauma with regards to the “collective”, such as being banished from society, being defamed, or the fruits of one’s labor having been stolen by others. Alternatively, an unconscious trauma might exist with regards to a “leading” figure, someone whom the individual used to love and follow as a role model (through the polarity point of Fifth House), yet this figure eventually became detached or actually hurt the individual. This can be an early childhood memory or a past life issue. In either case, the individual might have felt “rejected” by this figure, and by extension, by the collective as such.

Therefore, it is not uncommon for individuals with a challenged Uranus in the Eleventh House to develop a degree of cynicism (or abhorrence) regarding what is “handed down” to them by the collective, especially with respect to intellectual matters or what is considered an “ideal” state of things. This cynicism, in fact, may work in favor of both the individual and the collective if the individual develops a psychological urge to go against what is accepted as the “norm” and thus “revolutionize” the collective perception altogether.

Interestingly enough, the sign of Aquarius and the Eleventh House may also be connected to the “hearing” faculty [Look at The Fundamentals of Medical Astrology by the Italian astrologer and researcher Ciro Discepolo], therefore a challenged Uranus in the Eleventh House may occasionally indicate “hearing” problems or a psychological tendency to “hear” voices. The most dramatic example of this energy would be renowned Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, who used to hear voices in his head and eventually cut off his own earlobe. In his chart, an Eleventh House Uranus is sandwiched between Saturn and Pluto in the sign of Taurus (i.e. the physical body).

Blessings of the 11th House Uranus:

If Uranus is comfortable in the Eleventh House,  there usually exists an affinity with the collective and a desire to be of benefit to unknown others. Volunteering in non-profit organizations would be a wonderful outlet, especially working with children (the polarity point of the Fifth House) or the elderly (association of the Eleventh House with Aquarius, and in turn, with Saturn as the classic ruler of this sign). An individual with this placement may also have talents connected to sound or voice (i.e. music, singing, sound engineering, etc.), so even if the individual does not intend to utilize such a talent professionally, it is important to manifest it at least as a hobby.

Uranus in 12^th House:

There is a mutual rapport between one and the collective, often at the expense of one’s self-coherence. Whereas Uranus in the Eleventh House symbolizes an “aptitude” for connecting to the collective, Uranus in the Twelfth House often hints at the “synergetic” relationship that has always already existed between the individual and the collective, especially what can be labeled as the “collective unconscious”. Here the individual’s “personal unconscious” (i.e. Uranus) floats in the subtle streams of the “universal womb” (i.e. the Twelfth House) in whatever manner this “womb” is perceived by the individual (depending on the sign placed at the cusp of this House, and also the condition of the Twelfth House ruler in the chart).

Challenges of the 12th House Uranus:

If Uranus is challenged, there often exists an unspoken and inexplicable sensation that one cannot be without others, as the whole karmic history of the individual seems to be tied to the evolution of the collective. Alternatively, the soul may carry unconscious memories of having lost the sense of coherence (i.e. falling into madness) or having experienced long periods of confinement or solitary existence.

A psychological “vicious circle” may also occur with regards to how the individual feels about the collective: on the one hand the individual “derives” his or her sense of “cohesion” from the collective, but on the other hand, the individual feels that he or she has fallen “victim” to the collective. Such an inner contradiction regarding one’s existence in itself can be quite difficult to live with, therefore it is important for individuals with this placement to seek psychological or spiritual help if they fall into cycles of despair from time to time.

Blessings of the 12th House Uranus:

If Uranus is comfortable in this House, there usually exists an ingenious “poetic” approach to what life offers on a daily basis (the polarity point of Sixth House). The celebrated Austrian writer and poet, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926) had this placement in his natal chart, and he said:

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches.

Moreover, the presence of solitary and revolutionary Uranus in the Neptunian realm of “the unconscious” and “leap of faith” may indicate a rather pronounced desire for “aloneness”, as well as an inherent “trust” in the evolutionary necessity of “change” and “uncertainty”. In fact, reading Rilke’s monumental book, Letters to a Young Poet, the contemporary writer Rachel Corbett describes her sensation as:

Loneliness is just space expanding around you. Trust uncertainty. Sadness is life holding you in its hands and changing you. Make solitude your home.

Alternatively, with Uranus in the Twelfth House, there may exist an unconscious “habit” of “preserving” one’s individuality, even at the height of spiritual and emotional blending with the “other”. On many occasions, Rilke himself has expressed that true bonding (Twelfth House/Neptune) cannot happen without the presence of a strict form of individuality (Uranus):

I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other.

In either case, regardless of how challenged or comfortable Uranus is in the Twelfth House, the individuals with this placement would highly benefit from some form of solitary imaginative endeavor (such as reading poetry, getting engaged in painting or writing, or meditating in the woods or on top of a mountain)… this would facilitate access to the profundity of their inner existence and allow them to seek refuge in the beauty of their own soul.

In the next post, we will explore the meaning of Chiron in the birth chart.

If you are interested in understanding your own birth chart or if you have specific questions, you can book a consultation or take a class.