Uranus, the catalyst for change, marked Yoko Ono’s life and career and especially her role in the Beatles breakup. Surviving the war in Tokyo she said gave her an understanding of ‘outsider’ status and she went on to become an avant-garde artist and peace activist.
Born 18 February 1933 8.30 pm Tokyo, Japan, her Uranus in her 7th house of relationships squared an influential and controlling 10th house Pluto – she was born into a time of turmoil and disruptions and that set a pattern for her life. Her 5th house Sun, Venus and Saturn in Aquarius channeled her energy into attention-seeking, creative and humanitarian activities.
What is intriguing is that her Uranus fell in the 10th house of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s relationship chart – splitting them apart; with her Sun opposing their competitive composite Mars Mercury conjunction – so she widened what was already a fault line. Her Pluto fell close to their composite Ascendant, changing their joint image.
On the relationship chart with Lennon/Harrison her Uranus fell close to their composite IC opposition their composite Midheaven irrevocably shifting the direction of their lives together. Or in this case not together.
With the Lennon/Ringo Starr relationship chart Yoko’s Uranus fell in their composite First House with her Sun opposition their argumentative composite Sun Mars.
In each case her Uranus detonated the axis of their relationship charts sending their togetherness off in disparate directions.
Wallis Simpson who precipitated Edward V11’s abdication also had a prominent Uranus on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Mars sextile Neptune Venus with her Mars opposition an 8th house Moon.
Her effect on his close family was devastating – and with her Midheaven falling conjunct the Ascendant of George V1, his younger brother, forcing him to take on the throne, she (deliberately or not) changed his image dramatically. The situation was different from the Beatles since the Royal Family and the country held together. But the rift shows up clearly in the Duke’s relationship chart with the UK which had an astonishingly bitter and ambivalent Mars Pluto opposition Uranus – he was already massively resistant to taking on the burden and when she came along with her Uranus-yod-connected Mars opposition Moon sitting exactly on top of the Duke/UK’s composite Mars Pluto opposition Uranus, an explosion was bound to follow.
Meghan has hints of Yoko’s Uranus Pluto temperament with her Pluto in her family 4th and Uranus in her romantic/emotional 5th opposition Chiron in Taurus which is inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune. Her Uranus which has a compulsion towards freedom since it opposes Chiron, sits in the 10th house of Harry’s relationship chart with Queen Elizabeth 11 – causing Harry to turn his back on his upbringing and the monarchy to which Elizabeth sacrificed her life. Meghan’s Pluto squared the Harry/QE11composite Mars; her Neptune was conjunct the composite South Node; her Saturn was square the composite Moon and her Mars was conjunct the composite Sun. Meghan’s Uranus also fell in the Queen’s rigorously dutiful 10th house.
In Harry’s relationship chart with his father, Meghan’s Uranus sits close to the Descendant, rupturing togetherness, with Meghan’s Pluto conjunct the composite Sun as her 4th house Pluto (need for control of family environment) wielded its influence.
The divisive quality of Uranus comes into play as a catalyst for liberation and a new direction – or as an upsetter, chaos-creator. It need not be conscious. If there are already undercurrents in a relationship where resentment is mounting but there is not enough courage to make a break, then fate (or free will) hooks in a partner who will upset the apple cart.
Though that equally works the other way – an individual with a compulsion to be a family/relationship wrecker because of their own temperament and background will as if by magic alight on a partner who is vulnerable and seduced into playing out their obsession – for a while.
Interesting way to look at relationship charts. Not just triggered by influences but also by people.
Add On: Uranus was also in evidence in Camilla’s part in the Charles-Diana triangle. Not that Camilla ever wanted to be anything other than a standard aristo mistress as far as friends said, and certainly had no intention of breaking up her own marriage let alone the Charles/Diana marriage. But her Uranus fell in Charles/Diana relationship chart 10th house and her Cancer Sun was conjunct the composite Uranus. So the celestial dance was on with trickster Uranus leaning in on splits wanting to happen.
I googled this site the other day Marjorie and your chart popped up on Astrodienst.
As someone with Moon conjunct Uranus in Gemini I was wondering how the Uranian dynamic has played out in your own life?
On a simplistic level has siblings featured heavily?
Very interesting post Marjorie, thank you. I suppose I’m fairly Uranian too (angular, conjunct chart ruler, ruler of Moon, same sign as Sun….). I’m also intrigued by Hugh’s point that these women may have just sped up the envitable and we were better off for it in the long run. I tend to think about the bidirectional action of lightning – it’s not just sky to ground, the bolts that we see are coming from the ground up.
Great stuff Marjorie, I am confused though, I did not know it was possible to look at natal aspects from a third person to two other peoples composite? I just thought that the composite was particular to those two people only. I seem to remember you can do composites for more than two people but looking at natal aspects to a composite is new to me.
I like your point that the Uranus peson isn’t some malign figure hellbent on destruction ( though sometimes that is the case) and that often the problem was already there. Sometimes you just ( a Uranus person) turn up to move stagnant situations, either for good or bad, the point is to MOVE things either way.
I am very Uranian – Sun and Moon plus plus – and one thing I have noticed about my life is I often turn up when others are at a point of significant change. Not caused by me but there is a syncronicity about the timing.
It may be sometimes there is a slight amount of cause and effect since I come across as a free spirit and maybe give others the courage to act on what they deep down want to do but are teetering undecided on the brink of change. But not always. Other times I just land in the middle of their cross roads moment unwittingly.
Mind you I do think that is one of the great strengths of astrology. Not in giving advice since my experience is most people don’t take cold advice. But when the astrologer or the astrology taps into what they already know deep down but have either never articulated or found the courage to make it real, the astrology can act as a powerful catalyst. So Uranus does not necessarily precipitate change without their being an underlying inclination towards it – or it comes along at the right time.
Very interesting research. I would add the effects of the planetoid Eris, as an agent of chaos. Eris famously caused the Trojan war in Greek mythology after being spurned. The disastrous power of the Uranus-Pluto square in 2016 was multiplied by Uranus being conjunct Eris, which gave us Trump. Happily, that aspect is now a thing of the past.
I don’t think that Eris is all bad; I have a configeration of Uranus, Eris and Mercury and have whistle blown abusive management in the work place a couple of times. It’s a hard placement for the ‘punishment’ you get for doing something like that but it does help many others in the long term. I think Uranus can be postive but not generally to the person who’s Uranus it is when things kick off.
Fascinating stuff, Marjorie. Thank you!
There is a whole book to be written about how successful popular music bands come together and why most of them break up in acrimony. Yoko Ono may have been the catalyst for that to happen with the Beatles but my guess it was inevitably going to happen sooner or later particularly given Lennon’s temperament. Whether she had a negative effect on Lennon’s creative output after the split maybe another matter. One might argue that the Beatles broke up at the right time. They were very much a product of that 1960s era with Pluto/Uranus conjunct mid decade in Virgo sextile Neptune in Scorpio. It could be argued the Beatles were well past their creative peak musically when they called it a day. By the time Uranus left Virgo in 1969 they were already more or less finished so my guess the breakup would have happened Yoko or no Yoko.
I saw an interview sometime ago with Paul McCartney where he felt that they’d broken up at the right time – and that if not – the World would have been deprived of songs like “Imagine” and Lennon’s talent as a solo artist.
McCartney recently stated the breakup had little to do with Yoko. They were going on their separate paths as they entered their Saturn return.
With Yoko’s natal Uranus in the 7th, I don’t think she offered him the stability he longed for and wonder had he lived, if they would have stayed together anyway – I think she did kick him out at one point. I’m loving this use of the composite chart and wonder how this would look with the chart between John/Cynthia and Yoko? Cynthia’s life was so sad.
Great post, Marjorie! Thank you:)
Yes very interesting.
Yoko, meghan and Wallis seem like disturbed women. Got famous through men they married, nothing else. Ono artwork is weird. Very good read though marj.