Collective planets
“The starry vault of heaven is in truth the open book of cosmic projection.”
— Carl Gustav Jung
Understanding the collective, or transcendental, planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) in your natal astrology chart
How to interpret Uranus in your natal chart
It is said that the collective planets, which are often called transpersonal planets or transcendental planets in astrology, vibrate at higher frequencies than the other celestial bodies and that they express how our personal unconscious connects to the collective unconscious. Uranus, in particular, is unique in that it rotates on its side - appearing to spin sideways; it’s also the seventh planet from the sun and four times wider than Earth. Uranus is also an outlier in that it’s the only planet named after a Greek god, as opposed to a Roman deity. In Greek mythology, Uranus, sometimes written Ouranos, is the personification of the sky.
Uranus, above all other planets, governs genius and is seen as the planet that breaks us out of old patterns and into new, more authentic ways of being. Thus, Uranus is associated with innovation, revolution and liberation. The energy of Uranus is synonymous with unexpected change. Therefore, analysing Uranus’ presence in your natal astrology chart, in particular the house that it resides in, can bring great insight.
How to interpret Neptune in your natal chart
Neptune is one of the three outer planets (along with Uranus and Pluto) that have been discovered since the invention of the telescope that have since been and taken into consideration in western astrology. Neptune is the eighth and most distant major planet that orbits the sun and, due to that astronomical distance, is not visible to the naked eye. Neptune was the first planet located using maths – specifically, the calculations of Urbain Le Verrier – and it was the German astronomer Johann Gelle who was the first to observe the planet in 1846. Neptune takes 165 years to orbit the Sun, leading to the planet spending approximately 14 years, give or take, in each sign of the zodiac; allowing Neptune, just like its neighbour Uranus, to have a generational influence.
Due to how recently Neptune was discovered, astrologers have had to assign meaning to it. Though, the right to name the planet itself was claimed by Urbain Le Verrier who ultimately suggested naming the planet Neptune after the Roman god of the sea; the deep, ocean blue colour of the planet certainly makes it befitting of the name. Neptune’s glyph and symbol is taken directly from the Roman god Neptune’s trident which symbolises the curve of spirit being pierced by the cross of matter. In Roman myth and religion, Neptune is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon and a brother of Jupiter and Pluto; with whom, as a threesome, preside over the realms of heaven, the earthly world (including the underworld), and the seas.
In astrology, Neptune is associated with the collective unconscious - a term coined by Carl Jung in 1916. It is the planet of dreamers. Thus, a strong Neptunian presence in your natal astrology chart hints at a strong imagination and an unconventional will to drive against the collective consciousness. Neptune is the bearer of psychic gifts and dreams and clairvoyance and intuition. In modern astrology, it’s widely considered that Neptune rules the 12th house - the house of the unconscious and unseen. Lastly, Neptune is the ruling planet of Pisces, which is the age we are moving out of (the age of Pisces) to move into the age of Aquarius (the water bearer). The Aquarius constellation is the symbol in the sky of the water bearer who’s pouring his cup of consciousness into the mouth of a fish (Pisces). From this, we can intuit that the age of Aquarius is the age whereby the unseen and often dark influences on humanity become clear in the psyche of the modern man, elevating the collective consciousness up an octave, or two. Good riddance to the age of Pisces, I say - and welcome to the water bearer!
How to interpret Pluto in your natal chart
Pluto, despite being discovered as a planet in February of 1930, was soon knocked off its perch - something I remember all too well in academia due to this change being taught during my school years! It was in 2006, only 76 years after Clyde Tombaugh first discovered Pluto, that the International Astronomical Union declassified it as a planet and reclassified it as a dwarf planet. So, after reigning for almost eight decades as our ninth planet, it was redacted to nothing more than a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. Pluto was named, interestingly, by 11-year-old Venetia Burney of Oxford, England.
Despite Pluto no longer being considered a planet by astronomers - astrologers, on the other hand, have failed to relent the high regard that they hold the lovely little planet in. Astrologers have long found its metaphysical influences on earth to be significant and worth noting in a natal chart, for many reasons all revolving around the idea of transformation. This is why Pluto’s nickname in astrology is “the great renewer”, hinting at an influence sometimes larger than simple transformation - rebirth.
In classical Roman mythology, Pluto was the god of the underworld who’s notably wealthy. Due to this, Pluto is believed to govern big business, wealth and economics, and any enterprise that involves digging under the surface into the darkness to bring the truth within to the light that’s outside. Interestingly, Pluto’s entry into the zodiac sign of Cancer in 1914 – the sign in which it was later discovered – coincided with the start of World War 1. Pluto’s discovery also coincided with the birth of modern psychoanalysis at the time that Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung began to explore the depths of the unconscious. Interestingly, once again, there was a key element that was first synthesised and isolated in 1940-1941 as a requisite for nuclear warfare - worked on as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. This element was known as element 94 during its classification. However, since uranium had been named after the planet Uranus and neptunium after the planet Neptune, element 94 was named after Pluto during its declassification in 1948.
Pluto is considered by modern astrologers to be the primary native ruler of the eighth house and also the ruling planet of Scorpio. The eighth house in astrology is associated with karmic debts, inheritance, shared resources, power, risk, anxiety, desires, temptations and the like. The eighth house was called Epicataphora by the Greeks, meaning “falling down into the underworld”. Pluto, like Neptune and Uranus, provides a generational influence due to its lengthy 248 year orbit around the sun making it spend anywhere from 12 to 32 years in each zodiac sign. It’s important to note here that Pluto retrogrades for five to six months every year, allowing it to take its characteristic backslide in the zodiac for renewal and regeneration. The house that Pluto is in for you will often experience upheaval and catharsis.
