Beyond Usual Understanding ♅♆♇
The ‘modern planets’ in astrology have constantly been debated upon.
Traditional astrologers don’t take anything beyond Saturn into consideration since the ancient people couldn’t see Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto with their naked eyes.
Saturn is our boundary. Anything that lies beyond Saturn represents foreign concepts. Topics that are slightly odd and beyond usual understanding. Some astrologers ignore the presence of these three planets. Some consider them to be as important as the rising sign.
Mundane astrologers would happily agree that The Outers™️ greatly impact global events and historical cycles. Economic crashes, fashion trends, fall of empires, technological eras, and anything within the collective is reflected by the outer planets (including Jupiter and Saturn.)
How I use modern planets in my practice:
On a personal level, I have observed that you can ignore the modern planets until they aspect your personal planets.
If transiting Pluto conjoins your Moon, you’ll feel it.
If Uranus starts squaring your Sun, you’ll feel it.
If Neptune is opposing your Venus, you’ll feel it!
I consider very tight orbs when it comes to these aspects. Modern planets move very slowly, and if you start considering lose aspects (more than 3°) you’ll be fucked. Then these Pluto-Moon conjunctions would last for months, and you don’t need that in your life.
You can definitely have a fruitful astrological practice without considering the modern planets at all, since many different astrological factors can point to the same event occurring.
Modern Rulerships:
The ‘modern planets’ represent larger concepts; not everyday themes and archetypes. That’s why they don’t rule signs.
The reason Aquarians resonates with Uranus is because Uranus has a weird electric energy to it. Traditionally, this vibe is associated with Mercury. Mercury has triplicity in Aquarius (and in air signs in general) so Aquarian themes feel Mercurial, and as an extension-‘Uranian’. Similarly, Neptune feels ‘Piscean’ due to the whimsical nature of the sign. Scorpio feels Plutonian because both are associated with deeper parts of the psyche and heavier topics. So the vibes might be similar, but that doesn’t mean modern planets rule signs.
This notion also causes problems when we look at transits. If your Scorpio placement’s ruler is Pluto, it would be harder to observe transits due to the slow moving nature of the planet. I would strongly advice against using modern rulerships because any traditional timing technique is rooted in traditional planetary rulership. You simply cannot do techniques like profections or zodiacal releasing with modern rulerships. You can’t do transits with them either, and astrologers who use it are only doing so for natal charts. It’s an incomplete idea with a shaky basis (or perhaps none at all!)
The modern planets exist outside the friend-group and only visit to cause drama. When they conjoin a personal planet, they introduce weird themes into our everyday life.
Breaking free with Uranus
Uranus is the only planet that appears to have vertical rings, because its axis is tilted to around 82°(almost 90°!) So the themes of rebellion and ‘standing out’ are very literal.
Uranus is the part of you that wants to break free. It brings out a desire to rebel and start a revolution. But do you actually act on it? Or is the fantasy of rebellion enough to keep you satisfied, and stuck where you are?
Uranus also brings strikes of sudden realisations and ideas that feel radical. It you follow them, you’ll be free. However, the cost may be drastic changes to your life or social exclusion from your community. Are you that brave?
Neptune’s illusory nature
Neptune wasn’t discovered because someone was gazing at the night sky with a telescope. It was the first planet to be discovered using mathematical predictions, when scientists discovered anomalies in Uranus’ orbit. The story of its discovery alludes to its nature! It wasn’t something that was seen, rather it was something sensed. This unseen quality is ever-present in Neptune’s significations.
Neptune fogs our consciousness. It makes us see things…not as they are, but as we want them to be (or don’t want them to be.) Is it delusion? No. Delusions are very strong beliefs. Neptune isn’t a belief or anything that feels deep. It’s a layer of illusion coated over everything. Like literal fog in your mind that makes your perception blurry. Is what you see real? What even is real?
The Mystery of Pluto
I have a theory that Pluto is different from Uranus and Neptune as an outer planet. While the two represent external foreign themes, Pluto is foreign in a more internal way…
Pluto’s orbit around the Sun is unlike any other planet. It’s tilted, making it highly elliptical. This means that the duration that Pluto stays in a sign varies for each sign! That doesn’t happen with any other planet. Pluto is also smaller than the Moon.
These astronomical details about Pluto are so unique. I believe they show that even astrologically, Pluto is very unique.
Not a planet, not an asteroid. Just…Pluto.
I want to go further (pun?) and say that Pluto represents hidden emotions that sneak up on us. The outer planets show themes that feel distant and less personal. The Moon, the smallest ‘planet' (and the closest one to Earth) shows our emotions and internal world. It’s arguably the most personal ‘planet’ in our chart. By that logic, a planet that’s even smaller than the Moon, but also the furthest one, may show emotions that feel foreign or distant.
Pluto shows the profound depths inside each of us. Scary depths that contain every emotion we have buried; not just sadness or anger, but the ‘nasty’ emotions like jealousy. Emotions that are harder to grasp and accept.
If you want to understand the modern planets, notice what happens when the Moon conjoins them. Journal about the thoughts you have, emotions you feel, and events that occur!
