Leo Tolstoy’s Saturn-Uranus opposition (an out-of-sign, or dissociate, aspect) was one of the closest major aspects in his horoscope (see below). I thought this was interesting because we are now experiencing a Saturn-Uranus opposition.

In Tolstoy's War and Peace, the old regime (Saturn in Leo) was breaking apart (Uranus moving from Capricorn into Aquarius): The Russian aristocracy was dancing on its own grave. Although the main historical event of the novel--Napoleon's invasion of Russia--took place well before the Saturn-Uranus opposition, Tolstoy was reflecting his own Saturn-Uranus opposition in the mirror of history.

The shattering (Uranus) of the old social order (Saturn) was a major theme in Tolstoy’s writing, echoing his own life and personal beliefs. Throughout his life, he broke society’s rules. In his youth, he flaunted social conventions, and— although he was born into the Russian aristocracy—Tolstoy sided with the Russian peasants, eventually opening several schools for them on his own land. As he grew older, he adopted the dress and simple living conditions of poor peasants, rebelling against the social order into which he was born.

In the U.S. in 1828, Andrew Jackson, a reform president—the “People’s President”—was elected during the same Saturn-Uranus opposition that was ongoing during Tolstoy’s birth. “Jacksonian democracy” is a phrase which has come to mean government of the common man (an Aquarian ideal).

Saturn also opposed Uranus in 1919-1920, when the old (pre-WWI) world was shattered, and the “new” 1920’s came into being. The mid-1960’s Saturn-Uranus opposition (which also included a Uranus-Pluto conjunction) was marked by the breaking apart of old cultural structures.

We are already experiencing another major change gathering momentum with the Saturn-Uranus opposition and Pluto's entry into Capricorn. It's palpable: I step outside my front door and the old world is breaking apart, the ground shifting beneath my feet. In 2010, the Saturn-Uranus opposition will move from mutable signs to 0 degrees of cardinal signs. When the dust settles (and I hope it's only figurative dust), our world will not be the same.

Notes on birth data: Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828, in Tula, Russia, at 10:52 PM, a time and date considered DD—dirty data—in Lois Rodden’s book Astro-Data II. Astro-Data II also notes an August 28, 1828 birth date. The disparity in birth dates is probably due to different calendars being used. With either date, however, the Saturn-Uranus opposition was very tight. Of course, he had a number of other strong planetary influences in his horoscope, too.