We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
A circle with a vertical stroke rising to a cross — Uranus.
Also known as: Herschel symbol, H with a circle symbol
Uranus was discovered in 1781, long after the classical planets, so its symbol was invented rather than inherited. Two competing forms resulted, and both remain in use — a rare case where the origin of a symbol is documented precisely.
Denotes the planet Uranus in astronomical notation.
Contexts: History
Is held in modern astrological tradition to signify disruption and sudden change; it has no classical astrological meaning, the planet being unknown before 1781.
Recorded as what astrological tradition assigns, not as a finding. Symbolwise does not assert that any planet influences anything, and astrology has no empirical standing.
Contexts: History
Has two competing forms because the planet was discovered in 1781 and its symbol had to be devised: one is a monogram of Herschel's initial, the other a circle with a spear-like stroke in the older planetary style. Both are current.
Unusually for this batch, the origin is a matter of record rather than reconstruction — the symbol was designed within documented history.
1781 onward · Contexts: History
Has two competing symbols and the split runs between disciplines rather than between periods. Astronomical practice generally uses the form built on the letter H, a monogram honouring William Herschel, who found the planet in 1781; astrological practice generally uses the form combining a circle, a vertical stroke and a horizontal bar. A reader who sees one and expects the other has not found an error.
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
Herschel monogram
A circle beneath an H-like figure, honouring the planet's discoverer. Encoded as U+2645 and the form usual in astronomy.
Astrological form
A circle beneath a vertical stroke crossed by a horizontal bar, sometimes described as an arrow standing on a disc. Encoded as U+26E2 and the form usual in astrological typesetting.
A circle with a vertical stroke rising from its top, crossed near the upper end by a short horizontal bar.
Both were discovered after the classical era — 1781 and 1846 — so both had symbols devised for them rather than inherited, and neither has an alchemical meaning.