Big Changes on a Human Scale
This morning, on Uranus’ last day in Taurus (at least until November), I woke up cranky. My usual breakfast left me dissatisfied. My favorite YouTube channel, a Sunday tradition, irritated me by focusing too much on new elements and not enough on old, beloved ones. And the last thing I wanted to do was go into my office, as I do each Sunday morning, and finish my weekly column, because I couldn’t think of what in the world to say about Uranus entering Gemini this week (July 7, 2025, 12:47 am PDT).
When a slow-moving planet shifts into a new sign—which has happened four times already since last November—my usual small, anecdotal approach to writing doesn’t quite feel up to the task of interpreting it. Planetary transitions like these are epic, universal, and I struggle to find the individual element within them.
Uranus spends seven years in a sign, and we’re only at the threshold of this one. We can look back historically to see what came about the last time Uranus was in Gemini, which included advances in technology, communication, and transportation. And it’s a daunting transit for the USA, because Uranus was in Gemini at our founding (as well as Mars), and each Uranus return has seen us embroiled in a major war. Many astrologers more savvy about world affairs than I am are weighing in on these matters. But I write to an individual, human scale, so I naturally wonder: What’s in it for you?
Disruption, of course, because that’s Uranus’s beat; and disruption is unnerving. We like our routines, our Sunday morning video, a particular breakfast, even a regular, weekly chore. We like traditions that make us feel grounded in time and place. Continuity. All of this brings us comfort, reassurance.
But grow attached to too many routines, and you run the risk of getting bored, stale, sleepy, uninspired; of losing your temper over unimportant things that have resisted your need for them to stay the same. Uranus is anathema to routines, especially in Gemini, which revels in variety, new ideas, new messages.
Without change, without disruption, forward motion isn’t going to happen. We’ll just keep telling the same old stories and doing the same old things in the same old way.
So, wake up. Uranus enters a new sign today. Things are going to change—so that we can.
Other than a retrograde into Taurus between Nov. 7 2025 and Apr. 25, 2026, Uranus will be in Gemini until May 22, 2033.
Empty Slate
Here’s why I love the desert: it’s so empty, and the sky is so big, that I feel free to do and be anything. I love my creature comforts, and my real life is filled with beloved possessions. But there’s no question that “stuff” weighs us down in many ways, as we pay for it, store it, and maintain it. It’s probably a common fantasy to think of chucking it all and starting over someplace new, with a big, empty slate and limitless possibilities.
There comes a time when even cherished possessions have outlived their usefulness. The emotional connections they represent may need to be released, or we simply want to lighten our load for the journey ahead. As Venus trines Pluto (July 7, 2025, 1:44 am PDT, 3º00’ Gemini and Aquarius), don’t be surprised if you feel a sudden desire to get rid of things and create more space for yourself.
Nobody’s Child
The question posed by a Capricorn Full Moon (July 10, 2025, 1:37 pm PDT, 18º50’ Capricorn) is, how well are you succeeding—not just with taking care of business, but taking care of your heart?
It’s been many years since I had a living parent, and I’ll admit, there are still days that I miss being someone’s child. However much one is loved by a spouse, friends, or children, there’s something about having a loving parent that makes you feel you’ve always got a soft place to fall.
It’s a hard world, and some days it doesn’t feel like any of us really has a soft place to fall. And those who are the most capable, who have made good decisions and who always strive to do the right thing, are often carrying some of the heaviest burdens. These are Saturn’s children, and if they occasionally grit their teeth and speak sharply, it’s not because they’re unfeeling, but because they’re doing what they must, against sizable odds.
Most of us feel that we’re under a great deal of stress in some area of our lives. These are tough times and tough planetary transits, and sometimes that makes us mean-spirited, impatient, and disdainful of weakness. But not always. I remember when I accompanied an ailing, elderly friend on an afternoon of errands. Everywhere we went, others went out of their way to help us by holding doors, giving up their place in line, and other small kindnesses.
Those who know me are used to hearing me declare (usually after an hour spent in traffic) that people are no damn good. But I’ve always suspected that if I were to keel over on the street, a half dozen people would immediately run over to see if I needed help.
This Full Moon is on the Sabian Symbol 19 Capricorn, A child of about five carrying a huge shopping bag. It’s safe to assume that just about everyone you meet is carrying a heavier burden than they feel they can bear. We are tough with each other these days, because the world is tough, and so many of us are nobody’s children, carrying a shopping bag much too big for us, with no soft place to turn to when we have failed or fallen. We’re all trying to survive, and we’re scared we won’t, and that makes us hard. But we are still capable of astonishing kindness as well. We haven’t yet completely left behind the instinct to break each other’s fall—and that makes us human.
The Tasks Meant for Us
As Saturn turns retrograde this week (July 12, 2025, 9:07 pm PDT) at 1º56′ Aries, it’s best to avoid taking on new responsibilities. Instead, focus on commitments that you’ve already taken on – especially the ones you assumed reluctantly – and renegotiate them.
This retrograde station calls back to Saturn’s journey since May 24, when it entered Aries; maybe you took on more than you bargained for, or your personal circumstances have changed since you signed up for duty, making it necessary to back away.
That’s not to say you should use this as an excuse to give up on something simply because you’ve lost interest. Persistence is a Saturnine virtue. But some challenges simply aren’t ours to undertake, and as Saturn turns retrograde, we are better able to recognize them. And then, once Saturn turns direct (Nov. 27, 2025), we’ll be in a better position to take on the tasks that were meant for us.
Writing and images © 2017-25 by April Elliott Kent
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