Danger, high voltage
Mars Uranus in Gemini
Well hello July!
This week we are hanging out the festive bunting and dancing into the swing of Summer sunshine, sprinkler bans, backyard BBQ’s and of course, the USA’s 250th birthday on the day of the explosive Mars Uranus conjunction!
PLUS not to be outdone, the UK eyes up a sparkling new leader set to take power in the most affable, polite and altogether ‘Very British Coup’ just as Barbault’s cosmic picnic Basket cracks open its delicious wares mid-month.
Will there be fireworks, or are we in for a treat? Let’s find out.
Coming up this weekend we have the hottest, most explosive aspect of the year bar none, set to coincide with July 4 and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The Mars-Uranus conjunction has been concerning astrologers for a while now, as Mars the planet of war, violence, action, and endings collides with the innovator and rebel, Uranus against a backdrop of volatile domestic and foreign poltics.
Yet before we get swept up in the apocalyptic YouTube thumbnail-style hyperbole – as much as this aspect, may well ‘CHANGE EVERYTHING!’ and ‘NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN’ blah di blah, it’s worth remembering that a planetary conjunction is also a brand-new start, or reset if you prefer.
When planets come together they set off a new synodic cycle or storyline, which tends to unfold over a series of plot points as the planets in question reach various key aspects, sextiles, squares, oppositions and so on.
And this is potentially the most positive way to look at it when considering its impact on your personal chart for instance. Find 3 degrees Gemini in your natal chart and consider where you might channel the Mars Uranus energy, make a break with the past, escape previous limitations, and aim to do things differently. Ultimately this is what the Martian / Uranian energy can empower us to do, when in its highest expression.
Why the hype about July 4th?
Mars represents action, conflict, sudden endings, passion. It prompts us to act on impulse, shoot first ask questions later, and burn those bridges. Uranus deals with shock, rebellion, revolution and invites us to challenge authority, break free, and change the game.
Both planets could be said to have an explosive quality. So, when they join forces we are almost guaranteed a kind of cosmic lightning bolt that signals a radical departure from ye olde status quo.
Danger, Danger High Voltage
In mundane astrology, collaborations between the two have in the past meant high-voltage geopolitical events. In fact, the Mars-Uranus cycle throughout history seems to act as an ignition switch and previous meet-ups coincided with:
Spring to Summer 1776 Mars and Uranus were also both in Gemini and the signing of the Declaration of Independence happened a few weeks after a Mars Uranus conjunction. (What a coincidence!)
6 August 1945 - USA dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mars (destruction) and Uranus (novel technology, uranium) were in a wide conjunction in the second decan of Gemini. By the time the photographs of the mushroom cloud made it onto newstands a few days later, the conjunction became exact.
By 1947 Mars and Uranus had worked themselves into an angular square and both India and Palestine were partitioned by the British. Post-WW2 Uranus in Gemini transit was characterised by the splitting of nations and re-drawing of borders. Might we see that again in this transit?
Game-changing events such as the 1903 Wright Brothers first flight and the January 6th 2021 unrest at the Capitol also took place amidst a Mars Uranus square.
In 1962 during the Mars Uranus opposition, there was the Cuban Missile Crisis, when John F. Kennedy and Nikita Krushchev negotiated their way out of a potential hair- trigger nuclear annihiliation event, despite the best efforts of the CIA’s attempt to fan the flames and overthrow Fidel Castro’s Communist government in Cuba.
In 2003 as we headed towards another Mars Uranus conjunction at 2 degrees of Pisces, and the Iraq War began.
N.B. The UK got involved in this, despite parliament voting overwhelmingly to block Tony Blair’s proposal for military action. A few weeks after the exact conjunction the death of Dr David Kelly ignited a controversy from which UK Labour party (more on them later!) has never properly recovered.
A few weeks after that, in the Summer of 2003, the US and many parts of Europe had the biggest electrical grid failures in modern history, plunging 50 million people into darkness.
So we can see that with these two planets, conflict, explosions, and electricity or ‘power’ are recurring themes. But what does it mean for this year?
Happy Birthday US of A!
This year the planetary pile up is happening at 3° 52’ Gemini.
Gemini governs communications, media, and data networks, and since this is currently a hot topic in 2026, what with the ever expanding digtial control grid and hundreds of data centers under construction, perhaps this will flavour the dish somewhat?
Might we be looking at information warfare, digital or cyber chaos of some sort?
Why do astrologers think this spells danger?
Because the conjunction lands exactly on the date of the U.S. semiquincentennial, astrologers are tracking the potential for some kind of attack or natural event which could shock the collective nervous system.
When we compare the charts of this year’s Independence Day with the U.S. Sibley Chart, we notice that the conjunction falls directly on its ‘horizon’ line (ascendant / descendant axis) in the 7th house of ‘open enemies’.
Enemies (and Frenemies)
With this is mind, it’s worth taking a glance at the charts of two nations currently dancing across the devil’s chessboard of geopolitical machinations - Iran and Israel.
Iran: this Mars Uranus conjunction is within a 5 degree orb of their natal Moon at 3° Gemini (1979). The moon signifies the people in a mundane chart, and relates to the female and the mother more generally.
Israel’s 1948 chart has its natal Mercury at 10° Gemini and so it’s 9th whole sign house is being “activated.” In a mundane chart this represents its society’s collective ideology, morals, and belief system.
However, in the (English-style) Equal house system, this is actually hitting their 8th house of karma and collective financial indebtedness, espionage and secrets, and can also mean death or transformation of leadership. So make of that what you will! And speaking of English-style...
Bi-polar Britain
Paving the way for the Mars Uranus conjunction in Gemini, earlier this week the new UK Prime minister-in-waiting, Andy Burnham showcased his plan for a bi-polar Britain!
Okay that makes it sounds less than optimal, but what Burnham revealed in his speech on Monday was his vision for a less Westminster-centric and more regionally devolved Britain. He set out his plan to open a ‘prime ministerial power hub’, or alternative No 10 Downing Street if you will, in Manchester, (where he was formerly, Mayor).
So under a Burnham leadership, the UK will now have not one but two centres of power. Ostensibly this is intended to revitalise the system of governance and shift more power to regional authorities. He believes that this will level the playing field between the once industrial powerhouse of the North West, now chronically economically depressed since the de-industrialisation and subsequent managed decline of the Thatcher era, and the more affluent South East.
It’s also probably in part because, like many of us, Burnham just can’t shake off the post-2020 work from home vibes, and who can blame him for not wanting a massive commute. The job is hard enough.
It’s amazing how the astrology works - I mean could we get a more Uranus (and Mars) in Gemini development than this?! It’s like splitting the atom of the UK power-structure? In Burnham’s own words, he wants to create ‘balance’ by establishing a ‘North pole (Manchester) to the South pole (London) ’ of the nation.
I took a quick look at Burnham’s natal chart (a sunrise chart as we don’t have a confirmed birth time) set against the mid-late July 2026 sky. (As far as I know, no one has rectified his chart yet, but I can see him as a double Capricorn given the dark features and Disney princess eyes – thoughts?)
It is thought he will be PM by 17th July, and start work officially on the 20th July meaning that he could benefit from the beautiful and bountiful Barbault basket (you can read more about that below) which will be taking effect that weekend.
Au revoir tristesse
What if I told you that contrary to what you might see on the news-stands, your hourly doomscroll, or the nightly news (if anyone still bothers with that), the world is NOT going to hell in a handbasket!
The Basket is triggering Burnham’s natal Jupiter (expansion, gifts, luck) which if we go with the sunrise chart is in his 10th house of career, reputation and public status. It’s also activating his natal Saturn in the 4th house of home.
In fact, outer planets Pluto and Jupiter, lynch pins of the cosmic basket, are forming a pretty near as damnit exact Fixed Cross with his natal Jupiter Saturn opposition lighting up houses 1, 4, 7, and 10. This surely signifies a once in a life-time crunch point or transformative moment for the man opposition leader Kemi Badenoch described as a ‘pair of eyelashes and a black t-shirt’. (Lol).
Is it all plain sailing towards the King of the North’s seemingly inevitable coronation, though?
Mars in Gemini says perhaps not, as it ‘bends the nodes’ and squares his North Node in Pisces which (guess what?!) is also conjunct his Natal Mars. A LOT of Mars going on, flippin’ ‘eck!
This is activating his 6th and 3rd house – so a crisis or pivot point along the angles of communications, local neigbourhood up against his day to day job, career etc might mean a compromise or tangential leap needs to be made?
If we take a zoomed-out view of Burnham, the first, most striking aspect of his chart is the first house (if sunrise chart is accurate) stellium in Capricorn.
The Capricorn archetype; dependable, earthy, hard-working CEO boss-babe of the Zodiac fits Burnham to a (navy not black!) tee.
But on a deeper level, and in order to strike a hopeful note for his future premiership, (for UK dwellers alarmed by his apparent propensity to unimaginatively stuff his office and cabinet with former Blair administration has-beens), it’s obvious that Burnham has spent two decades going through it.
He’s just emerged from having his first house identity and soul purpose unearthed and transformed by Pluto dredging thruogh his Moon, Venus, Sun and Mercury, since 2008.
But, can he break with his Westminster Blairite past and bring some of that Manc Mayoral Man of the People vibe to the mission to decentralise, reindustrialise, renationalise, regenerate and [his words] “re-wire” (how Uranian!) Britain? I guess that time will tell.
To those celebrating the 4th July, I wish you a peaceful and fun-filled weekend. Yes everything’s crazy but we can still enjoy ourselves :) Until next time!
Nice! Interesting read on Burnham.