William Herschel Discovers Uranus (March 13, 1781)

I know that this event has spawned a great number of social media memes in recent years, but it was one of the most timely of finds in 1781. It was five years after the American Revolution and eight years before the French Revolution. That is why Uranus is associated with rebellion and revolution. Its own revolution around the Sun is 84 years.

The rating for this birth time is C. That essentially means that no one knows for sure what time Herschel was born. But I’m going with that time anyway. There are three inconjuncts, which may help us understand the man.

Sun Inconjunct Neptune

You are very sensitive to your environment and to the people around you. On one level of your being, you feel what is going on very acutely. Unfortunately your understanding often comes in terms that are very difficult to communicate to others, because their meaning is not clear in your own mind. Your greatest danger is in being exposed to negative people who are full of anger or depression or who act very harshly toward you and undermine your self-confidence. Your self-confidence has to be boosted at every conceivable opportunity, and it would be very destructive for you to be criticized sharply, unless the person has made it very clear that he or she loves you.

Mercury Inconjunct Neptune

The challenge of this aspect is to make your thinking and communication with others more clear. Your rational mind is strongly influenced by your sensitivity, imagination and ideals, although you aren’t always sure how this happens. You tend to spend too much time in your own imaginary world that no one else can share, and this confuses your dealings with others. You will have to learn to face reality, so that you can at least communicate with people. Otherwise you will have a very lonely life.

Venus Inconjunct Mars

While you are young, as well as later, you may be attracted to persons, who, if you think rationally about it, do not seem very well suited to you. This problem will be greatest if you do not feel good about yourself, for it is a reflection of your own inner turmoil about love and your right to be loved.

(Would it be telling tales out of the classroom if I were to comment on the fact that he did most of his work with his sister, Caroline? I thought so…)

The Discovery

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If you can follow my logic, I randomized the timing of this chart and then changed a.m. to p.m. His discovery was at night. The chart above shows Uranus above the horizon in the western sky just about the time that the Moon was rising in the east. Does that make sense? (I trust the randomizing effect, as it has been proven right 90% of the time.) In fact, Uranus is the only planet in the western sky that night.

There are three inconjuncts:

Venus Inconjunct Neptune

This aspect will work out with the fewest problems if you get a great deal of emotional support from your parents and other loved ones. You are willing to serve, help and assist those you love, but you may honestly feel that you don’t deserve to be loved unless you are forced to serve your loved one in some way. This is because you feel that loving someone requires you to make sacrifices and to deny your own needs and that love may not necessarily make you feel good and warm. When you are older, you may have severe problems in love relationships, because you feel that you are only good enough for society’s losers, people who badly need help or have severe emotional problems. Or you may find someone who seems to be perfect, who will help you out of your problems, but later turns out to be a disappointment. You must learn to take a clear, objective view of the people you are attracted to and to realize that you deserve a positive love relationship as much as the other person does, for you are as worthwhile as anyone.

Jupiter Inconjunct Uranus

You will always need freedom, but you will also discover that what you do with your life will have meaning only if it means something to others. This is not an artificial rule but a truth that you will discover within yourself. When you do, you may become heavily involved in some social movement that advocates unusual ideas or ways of thinking. When you are an adult, you may join a movement for social reform and change.

Pluto Inconjunct Midheaven

You may have trouble with older people who try to teach you how to effectively take control of your life. Even while you are young, you may resent their control over you and resist everything they are trying to teach you. To a great extent, your path in life will be shaped by your early confrontations with authority figures. You parents would be well advised to give you as much control as possible over your own affairs and as much self-determination as you can handle. They should not try to keep an extremely tight rein on you, for if they do, you will explode and become very difficult to handle. Also your self-esteem would be damaged. Your parents and teachers should be very straightforward with you, because if you feel that people are not being honest with you, you will not be honest with them. You are quite capable of acting behind peoples’ backs if you consider it necessary or if you feel that you never get your own way.

Herschel was the right man for the job.

Herschel’s Part of Fortune is conjunct the event’s Sun @ 23° Pisces. The event’s South Node is conjunct Herschel’s Pluto @ 6° Scorpio. The event’s Part of Fortune is conjunct Herschel’s Saturn @ 9° Cancer. That’s three water sign connections. Hmm.