Uranus – Stars Within Their Courses

In the third story arc, we meet two new Senshi, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Just as the second story arc had a background of Plutonian overtones, the third story arc has a background of Uranian and Neptunian overtones. The plot of this arc is incredibly complicated. Even after watching it several times, I still am not sure that I completely understand all of the twists and turns. If we let them, Uranus and Neptune can greatly complicate our lives.

A full explanation of the plot is not necessary to discuss the astrological principles involved, so I will just give a synopsis of the relevant cast of characters.

Cast of Characters

In this story arc, we have characters that we have had from the first story arc, Princess Serenity/Sailor Moon/Usagi Tsukino, Tuxedo Kamen (Tuxedo Mask in English)/Mamoru Chiba, and the regular Sailor Senshi, Sailor Mercury/Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mars/Rei Hino, Sailor Jupiter/Makato Kino, and Sailor Venus/Minako Aino. There are also the cat companions, Luna and Artemis. In addition, this story arc features:

Chibi Sailor Moon/Chibi Usagi Tsukino (Chibi Usa)

After the completion of the second story arc, Chibi Usa returns from the future. Apparently, her parents sent her back to train under Sailor Moon and the other Sailor Senshi. Her cat companion, Diana, who was the daughter of Luna and Artemis, also comes.

Sailor Uranus/Haruka Tenou and Sailor Neptune/Michiru Kaiou

Haruka-san and Michiru-san are students of Mugen Academy, a school for very gifted students that we discover is being controlled by the villains, the Death Busters. Haruka-san is androgynous to the extent that the Inner Planet Senshi originally mistake her for a boy. Michiru-san is very feminine and is an accomplished swimmer and violin player. The two of them have a very close relationship and spend a great deal of time together.

Sailor Pluto/Setsuna Meiou

It appears that after her sacrifice in the future, Sailor Pluto somehow appears/incarnates in the present as the scientist, Setsuna-san. I am not sure of the details of how this happened were ever explained, and if they were, I did not fully understand them. In this incarnation, Sailor Pluto is able to fight along with the other Senshi.

Hotaru Tomoe

Hotaru-chan is also a student at Mugen Academy, and she is also the daughter of the Headmaster there. She is tormented by seizures but also has mysterious healing abilities. Chibi-Usa becomes her close friend.

The Outer Planet Senshi

The portrayal of the Outer Planet Senshi in Sailor Moon is quite interesting, and it suggests a way of understanding them that is largely in line with Traditional principles.

Allies or Enemies?

At the beginning of this story arc, it is unclear as to whether Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are allies or enemies. They do seem to help with fighting the monsters, but they refuse to join the other Sailor Senshi. This is quite upsetting to Sailor Moon, who thinks that as they are all Sailor Senshi, they should fight together.

In their civilian identities, Haruka-san seems to flirt with Usagi-chan and Michiru-san seems to flirt with Mamoru-san, even though they both know that Mamoru-san and Usagi-chan are a couple. The flirting gets so obvious that it causes a rift between Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san when he sees Haruka-san kiss Usagi-chan. This is in line with how the Outer Planets tend to behave if we let them. They violate the accepted social order and can cause strife and chaos.

Later in this story arc, the enemies pit the regular Senshi and all of the Outer Senshi against each other. Astrologically, the Outer Planets do seem to work at odds with the Traditional Planets.

Special Abilities

The powers of all three Outer Planet Senshi seem to be stronger than those of the original Senshi. They certainly act as if they think that they are superior to the regular Senshi. The Outer Senshi are all older than the regular Senshi, and Haruka-san and Michiru-san attend Mugen Academy, a school for prodigies.

In Modern Astrology, the Outer Planets are sometimes treated as if they were more important than the Traditional Planets. Indeed, there are those that think that the Outer Planets represent “Higher Octaves” of the Traditional Planets. The Outer Planets, especially Pluto, are given special significance in the modern branch of astrology known as Evolutionary Astrology.

Yet, in spite of their greater powers, the Outer Planet Senshi seem less pure and less good than the regular Senshi. Even the names of their powers sound ominous. Sailor Uranus’ power is “World Shaking,” Sailor Neptune’s is “Deep Submerge,” and Sailor Pluto’s is “Dead Scream.”

The Role of the Outer Planet Senshi

After the appearance of Sailor Pluto, we learn that the role of the Outer Planet Senshi is to protect the Solar System from outside enemies. Apparently, they have appeared on the scene to deal with invaders from the Tau Planetary System. They kneel in allegiance to Sailor Moon in her role as Princess Serenity. Despite this, they insist that the regular Senshi stay out of the fight, and the Outer Planet Senshi handle the problem. They claim that the regular Senshi will get in their way.

This seems consistent with the way the Outer Planets are often used in Modern Astrology. Astrologers tend to see them as more important and more useful than the Traditional Planets, and strip associations from the Traditional Planets and give them to the Outers.

The regular Senshi are unwilling to stay in the background, and Princess Serenity does not understand why they can not all be allies. When pressed, the Outer Planet Senshi confess that their true mission is to consign the ultimate enemy, the God of Destruction, to oblivion.

The God of Destruction

As the story progresses, we learn the identity of the person the Outer Planet Senshi think is the God of Destruction. It turns out that they believe that the ultimate enemy is inside of Chibi Usa’s friend Hotaru-chan. According to them, she is Sailor Saturn, the guardian associated with the Planet of Destruction, the Senshi of Silence.

They explain that after the end of the Silver Millenium in the past, the three of them woke up, which allowed Sailor Saturn to appear. It was her that completed the destruction of this world long ago. They believe that the end of the current world is coming and that in order to prevent it, they need to kill Hotaru-chan before she can manifest as Sailor Saturn.

Naturally, the regular Sailor Senshi disagree with this plan and insist that there must be another way. This is the real reason that the Outer Planet Senshi refused to ally with the others. They suspected that Sailor Moon and the others would oppose their plan.

In the original anime series, this conflict was even more pronounced as the Outer Planet Senshi continued to want to kill Hotaru-chan for many episodes until the very end of the story arc.

The animosity between the Outer Planet Senshi and Sailor Saturn seems to represent some of the conflicts between Modern Astrology and the earlier astrological tradition. The Saturn principle can be extremely harsh, and there seems to be a belief that the Outer Planetary principles can be used to get beyond the Saturnian principle, or even get rid of it altogether. The reality is, though, that even though the Saturn principle is generally malefic, it serves an important and indispensable purpose.

Part VI: Sailor Saturn

The use of the Outer Planets is one of the major areas of contention between Classical Astrologers and between practitioners of Classical and Modern Astrology. I have wrestled with this question for many years, and I have written two previous articles on the topic, which can be found here and here. I have looked at charts using the Outer Planets and not using the Outer Planets. I have studied, researched, and prayed about this issue, and from all of this, I have come to what I see as a workable theory of practice.

The theory is that the Outer Planets have the potential to impact our lives, and impact them in quite a destructive manner; however, they do not have to impact our lives at all. In theory at least, we can avoid their influence entirely. The Outer Planets are generally not visible to the naked eye, although at times Uranus can be faintly visible. This means that if we want to see the Outer Planets, we need to go looking for them. I think that this is the key to their meaning.

When I was a child, I was afraid of bees and wasps. Actually, I still am a little. When I expressed my fears to the adults around me, they would say, “if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.” I think that this is good advice and that this advice applies to the Outer Planets.

That being said, staying away from the Outer Planets and what they represent is not all that easy to do. As I have discussed before, I believe that they represent the modern poisons of atomization, deracination, and deformation. If you are able to live in a closed community and avoid the news and modern Western media, I think that you can largely stay way from these poisons. Most people, however, are not inclined to do this so far as I can see. So, the next best strategy is to be aware of the poison, and to neutralize it as much as possible.

Upcoming Transits

The reason that I am addressing this matter is that we are in the middle of about 5 months of transits that Uranus is in the thick of. For my own sanity and well being, I try not to get too involved in current events and politics, which also means I stay away from Mundane Astrology, or the astrology associated with such matters. On the other hand, I believe in addition to the impact of these transits on world events, they will impact many on a personal level. The effect be particularly strong for those with prominent planets or chart points in the early degrees of fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius.

Sequence of Astrological Events:

On May 15, 2018, Uranus went into Taurus. The next day Mars went into Aquarius and formed a square, or aspect of tension, with Uranus. Mars moved on and if something was stirred up on those couple of days, it likely seemed to pass. However, next week, on June 14, 2018, Venus will enter Leo and will form a square with Uranus on the next day. On June 16 Mars will pass the South Node at 8° Aquarius. A few days later, around June 21, when the Sun moves into Cancer, Venus will oppose Mars at 9° of Leo and Aquarius, respectively. On June 25, Venus will square a retrograde (going backwards) Jupiter at 13° of Leo and Scorpio, and on June 26, Mars will go retrograde at 9° Aquarius.

As we move into July, Mercury will also square Uranus from 2° Leo, and on that same day the Moon will join Mars by the South Node. On July 4, Mercury will oppose Mars from Leo, right on the Nodal Axis at 8°. On July 7, the Moon will join Uranus, and square the Nodes, Mars, and Mercury in turn and then move on to oppose Jupiter. Just for good measure, she will square Venus the next day. On July 9, Jupiter will make a station and start moving forward, with a square from Mercury to apply additional pressure. Then on July 12, the New Moon will begin with a Solar Eclipse, which will kick off an eclipse season of three eclipses.The first eclipse of the season will be small one that will only be visible on the Southern tip of Australia and a small piece of Antarctica. This eclipse is from Solar Saros Series 117, and it is the second to the last eclipse of this series. This eclipse will occur at 20° Cancer, and except for those with planets around this degree of Cardinal Signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn), it is likely to go largely unnoticed.

The second eclipse will be a Lunar Eclipse on July 27, 2018, and this Eclipse is from Lunar Saros Series 129 and is in its prime. There will be a period of totality of 103 minutes and will be visible everywhere except North and Central America. This will be the longest eclipse of the century, and it will occur with the Sun at about 4° Leo and the Moon at about 4° Aquarius. Mars will be sitting right by the Moon and Uranus will be square the Sun, the Moon, the Nodes, and Mars.

The final eclipse of the series will be a baby Solar Eclipse of Solar Series 155 on August 11, 2018. It will be visible in Scandinavia and Northeast Russia. It will occur at 18° Leo, but Mars will still be retrograde at 0° Aquarius, as will Uranus at 2°. Mercury will also be retrograde at 14° Leo, square Jupiter, and 4° away from the Sun and Moon.

What Does All of this Mean?

So, now that many of you are hiding under the table, what does all of this mean? There is no getting around it, this is an astrological storm. I would definitely advise being kind to your fixed sign friends. To refresh your memory, the fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. If you have planets in the early degrees of fixed signs, be kind to yourself. People are being bombarded with one irritation after another in the places that like change the least.

Even without considering Uranus, these transits are difficult. As these are world transits, we will likely hear about events in the news that will increase tension between the genders and between those that favor war and those that favor peace. These events have the potential to split family members and sour personal relationships. Uranus could turn this already tense situation into an explosive one if we allow it to.

These areas of tension are in fixed signs, so if they do explode, the impact will be felt over a long period of time. The problems that will be highlighted by the upcoming storm have been around a very long time, and it is unlikely that they will be fixed overnight, no matter how angry people have become. If you do feel inspired to create change during this time, be aware that you must be ready and willing to see it through for the long haul.

Managing Uranus

While many of the upcoming transits are unavoidable, I do believe that we can minimize the impact of Uranus, which will make the rest of the transits more manageable.

Uranus is the planet of revolution and disruption. I believe that it is also the planet associated with the poison of atomization, or excessive individualization leading to isolation and loneliness. One of the most important things we can do is to maintain and protect our relationships with our friends, our family, and our community. It will be particularly crucial to protect our marriages and relationships with those of the opposite sex.

The events in the news may create tensions in personal relationships, and if this happens, it will help to remember that these issues are not personal. They are a continuation of problems that have been around for centuries, if not millenia, and they will not be solved over the dinner table or at a family reunion.

Choose your battles. You can not take on the world by yourself, and trying to do so is a surefire way to find yourself tossed about by Uranus’ storm. Unlike the traditional 7 planets, Uranus can not harm us if we do not allow it to.

If you are in the path of any of the Eclipses, it is best to avoid seeing them or being exposed to their light. This is particularly true of the Lunar Eclipse of July 27. I have been avoiding eclipses for the past several years, and I have seen that doing so has provided protection from the worst of their effects on a personal level.

Try to limit time on social media during this period, particularly if you find yourself upset with the social or political views of your friends and family. Even if you are trying to avoid Uranus, many people will not be, and they will be more volatile than usual during this time. It is also alright to take breaks from the news.

Uranus introduces complexities that do not need to be there, and it will help to remember the love you have for those you care about. That is far more important than your social and religious differences.

There are a couple of verses from the Feminine Scripture that may be helpful to remember over these next couple of months. They are as follows:

All the complexities of the world are but the turnings of a labyrinth, and at the centre is the fiery rose-heart of our Mother, burning with perfect love.

Cry Marya

Therefore hide yourself not from Her, and put aside the tangled weeds of thought that strive each with the other.

For of all things, love is the simplest.

On Our Mother’s Love

And remember, if you don’t bother Uranus, Uranus won’t bother you.

Category: Uranus

The Astrology of Sailor Moon – Part V: The Outer Planet Senshi