Astrology Question Time: Uranus in 2nd House

In response to my last post, and my invitation to Astrology Question Time, I've received the following question from "A":

Hi Joyce! I would like clarity on Uranus in the 2nd House. The information I find on the internet is distressing. Please provide me and your readers another viewpoint on Uranus in 2nd House. – Thanks!

Thank you, "A", for your question, and also for raising an interesting point about the astrological information you've found on the internet about Uranus in 2nd being distressing. On a personal level, I can't comment on this as I've not trawled around looking for astrological information on this subject, but I'm not surprised to hear there is a whole load of alarming and distressing information around. If you read my blog regularly you'll already know that the Huber Method is concerned with positive personal growth, using astrological psychology as a means to this end; negativity doesn't get a look in, but truth and honesty do.

Now to your question. Uranus in the 2nd House is a combination of two component parts of the natal chart - a trans (beyond) personal planet Uranus, representing the drive towards creative intelligence, and the 2nd House, representing the area of expression and life experience concerned with security and possessions.

Uranus, despite all the hoohah about it being the planet or disruption and revolution (which it can be) is actually a Fixed planet. Its energy is directed towards striving for security and stability, yet it goes about achieving this by turning things upside down and causing change and disruption along the way. This probably sounds confusing! Uranus seeks security and stability and ways of making things better and more perfect than they were before by inventing and creating systems and ways of doing things which provide greater security. It may do this by engaging with and using technology (Uranus is a techno-whizz and adept at research). As we all know, our world is awash with inventions and technical aids and gadgets designed to make life easier. And Uranus, positioned as it is beyond Saturn in our solar system, takes things beyond the realm of known security so that new forms of security can be set in place. I write about Uranus, and the other planets, at greater length in my co-authored book The Cosmic Egg Timer.

Now to the 2nd House. This is where our possessions - those things which we hold dear to ourselves and might even represent our very survival - are of paramount importance. They give us our sense of self worth. Some people might gain this sense of self worth and security from the car they own, the dishwasher they have, the diplomas and certificates they have gained, the house they live in, the clothes they wear. All these things are indications that we've acquired something which makes us feel proud and good about ourselves; they make us feel we're worth something. Of course, our possessions don't necessarily have to be tangible, concrete things. They can also be our attitudes and values. As the 2nd House is a Fixed House, we have to be aware of the inherent dangers of becoming tied to the things which give us our sense of self worth because these can make us narrow and rigid. With a healthy attitude towards the material possessions we think we need, we can more easily let go of them and concentrate on developing an internal sense of self worth, drawing on our inherent talents and abilities, which are also our "possessions" - but no-one can take these away from us!

So, "A", if we put together Uranus and 2nd House, we have a potentially very creative combination. Of course, taken out of the context of the whole chart, what I can suggest about this combination is limited to only these two components. If we were to consider the colours of the aspects Uranus receives, which aspect pattern it is involved in, where it is positioned by Sign and House, then there would be a whole lot more information available - and the additional insights to go with it too!

For more information on planets and houses see the APA website as well as the astrology courses we offer. And don't forget to pose more questions for another Astrology Question Time posting!

International Astrology Day & Astrology Question Time

Yes! There IS such a day!! It's today! International Astrology Day was founded by AFAN in 1993.

The purpose of this event is to raise the public’s awareness of astrology, aiming to dispel the many myths and misunderstandings that surround the subject and in addition to expand networking opportunities among the astrological community and direct media attention to the positive aspects of astrology.

International Astrology Day is celebrated to coincide with the beginning of the astrological year, the spring equinox, when the Sun enters the tropical sign of Aries. Since astrologers are known for celebrating celestial events, this day should be at the top of our list as a way of not only honoring our profession, but of sharing what we do with others.

In celebration of this day, and to promote astrology, I'm launching

Astrology Question Time

I will answer a question from the first 5 named * people who leave a question about

• Zodiac Signs

• Planets

• Houses

in the "Comments" window. Their questions, along with my responses, will be in my posting headed Astrology Question Time.

I'm not able to answer specific questions about individual charts. But If you want your chart read, click on the Consultant's tab at the top of the page. There may be someone near to where you live, and if not, you can arrange to have a chart reading by phone.

Get those questions rolling!

Yours Truly running the API (UK) stand (top and right) and speaking (below) at astrology conferences.

* out of courtesy please name yourself - don't be shy, and don't be "Anonymous"!

The Moon in your Birth Chart

It can be fun having younger members of the family playing at hairdressers - with blunt scissors!

The Moon in astrological psychology represents the sense of self we gain through our feelings and emotions, and often our sense of fun and child-like excitement.

The Moon signifies these spontaneous and fun-loving child-like responses, and it also acts like a mirror, reflecting what's going on around us because it can sense and pick up on atmospheres and feelings very easily. It's a sensing tool, the part of us that feels.

Of course, the way the Moon operates and expresses itself out in the world will be coloured by the Zodiac Sign it's in, which acts like a "costume" which clothes the Moon and modifies its expression. On a basic bottom line level, its expression is influenced by the Element (Fire, Earth, Air or Water) of that Sign.

Fire Sign Moons - those in Aries, Leo and Sagittarius - will tend towards optimism and enthusiasm. Fiery Moons want to be noticed! They will be lively, expressive and outspoken with energetic feelings that demand attention.

Earth Sign Moons - those in Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn - will have a strong practical streak. They may be a bit fussy, but they are down-to-earth and generally enjoy sensual things, espcially Taurus Moons. They will appreciate good quality in all areas of life.

Air Sign Moons - those in Gemini, Libra and Aquarius - love to communicate and share ideas with others, so they enjoy seeing friends and family, chatting and catching up on news, attending talks, lectures and events which will stimulate the mind.

Water Sign Moons - those in Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces - tend to be very emotionally sensitive and tuned in to the feelings of others. They can be very caring, needing to express their feelings and regard for others in tangible ways. But they can also be moody, living life through their feeling nature.

The Moon, representing the sense of self we get through our feelings, is often a part of the personality which is neglected or repressed. We may have been brought up not to show our feelings; they might have been regarded as unacceptable or not something to share or talk about in the environment we grew up in. But they are there all the same, and sometimes they need our attention.

In this video I talk about some of the ways we can work on developing and understanding the Moon and our feeling nature. There is more on this in my book The Living Birth Chart. Click on the Books by Joyce Hopewell tab at the top of the page.

Age Progression in action

Happy 3rd Birthday, Blog! I've been writing you since 4th March 2006, and to be honest I didn't like your "birth" chart very much at the time. Someone suggested I should have elected your beginning, but I didn't because I rarely think about using electional astrology, preferring to go with the moment which feels right and then work creatively with that. So at first it was a bit of struggle as you have such a completely red/blue natal chart with no green aspects. That meant I was providing all the ideas and you were sitting there in either blue dormant mode waiting for people to find you and read you, or you were hanging on my apron strings when you were in red mode, demanding attention and input from me.

Over the past 3 years we've come to an agreement and now we work much better together because we both understand more about each other. You'll always be demanding though - you have no green aspects so you'll not have that much awareness that I have a life too and may not always be prepared to give you the attention you crave. Oh yes, it's there alright! Look, you have the Moon as the highest planet in your chart - it's right on the MC - so you thrive on attention and need plenty of feedback. You also have Sun conjunct Uranus in Pisces in the 7th House, so your Uranian, astrologically-oriented sense of self (the Sun) is out there wanting contact and recognition as well as encouraging people to find out more about astrological psychology and the Huber Method for themselves.

Right now it's time to look at your current Age Point, using the Huber Method of timing in the horoscope. At age 3, the hand of your Life Clock is mid-way through the 1st House. You're still busy understanding the world and your own sense of who you are is still being formed. If you were a child, you'd be getting more obstinate and defiant at this age as you sought to assert your own sense of self and your independence. Tantrums could develop as you begin to differentiate yourself from your environment.

You, the reader, can find out more about using the chart as a Life Clock and using Age Progression in LifeClock by Bruno and Louise Huber, in my books Using Age Progression and The Cosmic Egg Timer where you'll find a wealth of information introducing and explaining this technique in an easy to understand way. See the Books tabs at the top of the page for more info. Of course, if you want to go the whole hog and really get into it, I recommend the courses offered by the Astrological Psychology Association.

Charles Darwin's Search Figures

There are probably not too many other bloggers who have played the piano, pictured here, which belonged to Charles Darwin and his wife Emma. I was invited to play it whilst on a school trip to Down House, where Darwin lived. The guide asked if anyone could play the piano and as I'd said yes I was taken past the rope barrier and into the parlour where I played Fur Elise rather badly, much to the amusement of my friends. However, it's an experience I've never forgotten and it came back into the forefront of my mind as the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth wss being celebrated in 2009.

Charles Darwin was born on 12.2.1809 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK. No time of birth is available, so I've set up his chart for noon. Even without a time of birth, much useful and interesting information can be found in the chart (but it's not possible to use Age Progression reliably with no time of birth). What grabbed my immediate attention was the presence of two Search Figure aspect patterns in his chart.

Search Figures are triangular, and are composed of blue/green aspects. As no time of birth for Darwin is available, it's not possible to say where these figures would be accurately located in his chart (that would be interesting as they'd indicate the areas of life where they operated) but we can still infer quite a lot from them from the pinning planets involved. Triangular aspect patterns have a mutable motivation. They behave fluidly rather than rigidly. Composed solely of green and blue aspects, they are bound up with thought, ideas and an on-going search which has an "if only I can find the answer to such and such, I will be happy and satisfied". The search is the spur and the drive. The Hubers say in their book Aspect Pattern Astrology that people with this figure "are suited to working on long-term projects and can wait patiently until success comes of its own accord. They work continuously with the same dedication as at the start and know that everything takes time" - a description which describes the drive behind Darwin's scientific study of evolution.

Darwin's Search Figures cross over each other - look for the crossed green/blue "dagger" shapes. One figure is pinned by Sun, Jupiter and Mars, the other by Saturn/Neptune, Uranus/Node and Venus. There is a scientific flavour to both figures, with Darwin's Aquarian Sun in one and both Saturn and Uranus in the other. It has always been my understanding and experience that the planet at the blue/green corner of this figure is the one which offers possible outlets and expression for the searching involved. In Darwin's Search Figures these planets are his Aquarian Sun and the Saturn/Neptune conjunction. Uranus is also involved in the Search figure and is representative of creative and scientific thought. Uranus is the researcher who breaks boundaries and seeks new horizons; Saturn the methodical scientist who grounds and forms the theories. An Aquarian Sun is unlikely to want to pinned down and if the Sun is working at a conscious level within the individual, there will be a strong urge to explore ideas in a creative way. The presence of Jupiter in one of the Search Figures, and Darwin's lengthy exploration on board HMS Beagle, reflects his drive to study, search and eventually form his theory of evolution.

For a brief biography of Darwin follow this link.