When William Herschel trained his telescope on the skies from his modest back garden in Bath in 1781, he forever changed our place in the cosmos. Uranus was the first planet to be discovered with the aid of a telescope — a leap into the modern age of astronomy and a symbol of revolutionary change. Its discovery coincided with seismic shifts on Earth: America was establishing itself as a new nation, the French Revolution loomed just ahead, and collective ideas about freedom and human rights were breaking through the old order.

Astrologically, Uranus has come to symbolize upheaval, invention, and liberation — themes that echo throughout the late 18th century. This discovery also connects to my research on the Sibley chart of the United States, which captures the spirit of that era, and to cultural reflections such as my work on Gone With the Wind. Standing in Herschel’s garden, where Uranus was first spotted, was a powerful reminder that astrology and history are inseparably linked — each new world above reflecting a new world below.

Can’t mention Herschel without mentioning Frankenstein

What could possibly link Bath, Herschel, Uranus, Frankenstein?

Here is rare moment when my two diverse careers as a teacher and an astrologer have a rare intersection: I know the novel of Frankenstein inside and out–because I taught it for several years as part of GCSE English. In fact, it was during a Frankenstein lesson, that I got the idea to write an article that would eventually find its way to Astrodienst: Herschel, Uranus and Mary Shelley’s Vision of Horror. So . . .a little historical context.

Mary Shelley’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft would have been alive and raisig hell at the same time in 1781, when William Herschel discovered Uranus from his Bath garden. Both opened up new frontiers: Herschel in astronomy and Wollstonecraft in early feminism. The revolutionary discovery in the heavens and mirrored the revolutions stirring on Earth: both America and France were going through their own revolutions.

Shelley’s Frankenstein (published in 1818) was born out of a world quite literally electrified by discovery and upheaval. This spirit of radical change infused Shelley’s vision of horror, invention, and responsibility. Her novel is not only a literary milestone but also a reflection of the same Uranian forces that shaped the birth of America (see my research on the Sibley chart of the United States) and the cultural transformations I explore in works like Gone With the Wind. By revisiting Shelley’s genius through the lens of astrology, we glimpse how cosmic cycles shape creativity, rebellion, and the stories that define us.

And so we have the answer: Bath Herschel Uranus Frankenstein = Alex Trenoweth

Nailing it Down

One more wonderful memory from that trip: I had my nails done in a deep purple with extra sparkles to match both the dress I wore at my Waterstones

The dress, the book cover and the nails. . .all matching at Waterstones

launch and the cover of my book. I rarely do anything with my nails except trim them to keep them short. It’s a bit expensive to get a pedicure (on a teacher’s salary) so I left them on but the thing is, they affected just about everything I did with my hands: typing, using my phone, picking things up off the floor, etc.. These things plagued me! Pretty but impractical! Over dinner with Arielle, our waitress admired them, and I laughed, explaining that normally I keep my nails short for writing but had treated myself for the book event. When she asked about the book, the conversation opened into astrology, our visit to the Herschel Museum, and my research on Frankenstein. She was so delighted that she surprised us with complimentary limoncello — proof that even a nail color can spark conversations that connect astrology, literature, and everyday life.