Uranus-Neptune Cycles and a Brief History of the Civil Rights Movement

By Shelley Jordan

Introduction
Pluto in Capricorn: Transformations in Government
As transformational Pluto rolls through the triumphal arches of Capricorn, it signals a metamorphosis in leadership and governmental structures. The last transit of Pluto through Capricorn occurred during the 18th century, when the Declaration of Independence was written and the American Revolution was fought. This momentous transit coincided with the birth of modern democracy.

While Pluto cyclically passes through Capricorn every 250 years, the 18th century transit of Pluto in this sign was historically unique for the following reasons. The deep transformative powers of Pluto in the sign of authority, leadership, government and the law were punctuated by two rare, successive conjunctions of Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn that followed in 1821 and 1993.

These important configurations furthered the establishment and maturation of a new form of government - representative democracy. Most notably, the battle against racial segregation was fought during this period. The election of America’s first inter-racial president, Barack Obama, signals a victory in this long, bloody conflict.

Fittingly, Barack Obama has been called a “transformational leader” by Colin Powell and many others. These very words embody the principle of Pluto in Capricorn, which will have just gone into effect only weeks before the new President takes office.

Uranus, Neptune and Social Evolution
Uranus, the planetary analogue to Aquarius, represents social consciousness, and both the impulse to be an individual as well as the desire to participate in the social round. Uranus is progressive, inventive, independent yet social. Neptune, as the counterpart of Pisces, symbolizes idealization, imagination and the capacity to form iconic images. Together, their cycle of approximately 170 years symbolizes the cultural evolution of ideals and ideologies that prompt social change.

America has seen two successive conjunctions of Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn. The first conjunction in 1821, at 1°-3° Capricorn coincided with the beginnings of America’s moral and legislative battle with slavery, the nation’s most lethal cultural disease.

The second conjunction in 1993, at 18°-19° Capricorn, introduced the free World Wide Web to the public, quickening the birth of the global information community. The availability of the uncensored Internet to the public is considered a primary factor contributing to the election of Barack Obama.

This second conjunction falls close to Barack Obama’s executive Saturn at 25° Capricorn in his 12th house. Interestingly, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s Sun was in the same degree as Barack Obama’s Saturn – 25° Capricorn.

The conjunctions and subsequent, intermediate phases of Uranus and Neptune during this first cycle were neatly concurrent with developments in America’s battle between hate and tolerance, and the Civil Rights Movement. The first conjunction coincided with the US law banning slave trade; the opening square brought the 14th Amendment that guarantees equal rights for all citizens; the opposition saw the birth of the NAACP; the closing square corresponded with the emergence of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The second conjunction in 1993 birthed the World Wide Web and the free global Internet culture.

The Four Distinct Phases of the Uranus-Neptune Cycle and the Civil Rights Movement
1821 Conjunction: Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn
--- US Law on Slave Trade
The first conjunction of Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn coincided with the constitutional debate confronting slavery. The conjunction occurred in 1821, right after the 1820 Federal Law on Slave Trade, which prohibited importation of slaves, declaring the trading of slaves by a U.S. citizen punishable by death. This statute was approved on May 15, 1820, when Uranus and Neptune were a mere 2° apart.

1868 The opening square: Uranus in Cancer square Neptune in Aries
--- 14th Amendment – Guaranteeing Equal Rights for All Citizens
This phase followed the end of the Civil War and saw the ratification of the 14th Amendment on July 28, 1868, which secured the rights of the recently freed slaves. The era of Reconstruction which followed the end of the Civil War attempted to establish the constitutional rights of African-Americans, but it failed in its efforts and was followed by the despicable period called Jim Crow. This vile stage of American history mandated segregation and fueled hate crimes against African-Americans.

1909 The opposition: Uranus in Capricorn opposite Neptune in Cancer
--- The NAACP
Uranus was exactly opposite Neptune at the birth of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the first week in January, 1909. The NAACP formed in response to atrocities and race riots that were occurring in Illinois. The NAACP is one of the most effective civil rights groups in America. Their mission is to “ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.”

1955 The closing square: Uranus in Cancer square Neptune in Libra
--- Montgomery Bus Boycott, Birth of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1954, as Uranus was squaring Neptune, the Supreme Court, headed by Earl Warren, handed down the landmark decision Brown versus Board of Education. This decision sounded the death knell for the old, abhorrent Jim Crow segregation laws, finally ensuring equal rights for African-Americans under the Constitution. Earl Warren’s Moon was at 21°Cancer. Uranus was passing over it when he was nominated and sworn into the Supreme Court. Eisenhower thought he was getting a safe conservative in Earl Warren, who turned out to be one of the greatest liberal justices in American history. Earl Warren had Uranus closely conjunct his Midheaven in Scorpio. Saturn was transiting Earl Warren’s Uranus-Midheaven conjunction at the time of Brown versus Board of Education.

1993 Conjunction: Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn
--- The Free World Wide Web
In 1993, the World Wide Web was given to the public at no cost by Marc Andreessen. Andreessen, an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, developed a browser that would install easily and make the Internet available to everyone with no fees. He released this browser, MOSAIC, on January 23, 1993, at 7:21:17 AM; Champaign, Illinois. In an email, he gifted the web to the world for free “by the power vested in me by nobody in particular”, according to his message. Uranus and Neptune were exactly conjunct at 19° Capricorn, rising above the Ascendant; the New Moon in Aquarius straddled the Ascendant. With the help of the wide accessibility of the Internet, Barack Obama, the first African-American president, was elected by the most informed, motivated electorate in history.

Conclusion: Overview of the Uranus-Neptune Cycle
The Gallup Poll reports that over two thirds of Americans view Barack Obama’s election as a race relations milestone. From the moment Barack Obama announced his candidacy, Uranus and Neptune were beginning to form the opening semisextile, with Neptune in Aquarius and Uranus in Pisces, in mutual reception. This aspect, still in phase at the 2008 election, symbolically reiterated the meaning of the Uranus-Neptune cycle – the vision and ideals (Neptune) of social change and freedom (Uranus).

From the beginning of the first cycle in 1821, race and vicious bigotry were among the leading cultural plights of American society. The “original sin” of slavery and racial hate, in terms of loss of life, cruelty and injustice, seemed to far outweigh the advances made by an American democratic system.

As the first Uranus-Neptune cycle in Capricorn commenced, the 1820 US Law on Slave Trade initiated the constitutional debate on the issue of slavery. Just prior to the opening square, the American Civil War ended and the slaves were freed. As the square formed, the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing equal rights for black as well as white citizens, was ratified in 1868. At the opposition in 1909, the NAACP was launched, with the purpose of eliminating racial hatred. At the closing square in 1955, the American Civil Rights Movement began its effective confrontation of racial hate and oppression against African-Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as the movement’s leader and icon of social justice.

The next conjunction of Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn in 1993 saw the birth of the free World Wide Web with its universal culture. Enabling dialogue between all peoples, the Web provides the global community with an unhindered communication network, acting as a vehicle for accessible witness to crimes against humanity and social injustice the world over. With the election of Barack Obama to the office of President so early in the cycle, the promise of the Uranus-Neptune cycle of 1993 can only be imagined.