The Signs and Accomplished People, Aquarius.
By Leslie Marlar
Aquarius is the 9th sign of the zodiac. Nine is a special number mathematically, in that, the number that results by multiplying any number by 9, when added together, adds up to nine. For example, 9 x 2 = 18; 1 + 8 = 9. Due to this, nine was associated with special divine qualities, or at least very cool qualities.
Aquarius is a cherubic, fixed air sign. Air is intellect and fixity is solid. Knowledge is solid intellect. One can rest on it. Also, air is social. Friendship is solid socializing, one can count on it. So the sign is about people and ideas, and especially, friends and knowledge. It is appropriate that the phrase associated with Aquarius is, “I Know”. And we note that this sign is truth seeking or altruistic.
The symbol for Aquarius is the man. It is one of three human signs in the zodiac. Gemini and Virgo are the others. Gemini pictures youths and Virgo is an angel. So, Aquarius is grown up and totally human. It is referred to in our lore as the perfected man and he is shown pouring out water to the southern fish. He is providing something needed to something that needs it. So, we note that this sign is humanitarian. All meanings of humanistic also apply due to the human picture. We also note that Aquarius represents all of humanity. This sign is global in scope. In a recent meditation on the images associated with the sign, the immediate flash was spaceman. When John Glenn orbited the earth, many planets were passing through Aquarius. I’m not restricting spaceman to meaning earthlings who go into space. We tend to think of space aliens as advanced and having something to share with us. “Gort, Klaatu Barada Nikto.”
The season ruled by Aquarius is the heart of winter. And cold Saturn rules this sign, but so does Uranus. These planets are very different and show complexity in this sign. Saturn is serious, conservative, and cautious. Dark drab colors are his. Uranus is brilliant, like sun shining on snow. It is also progressive, original, inventive, revolutionary, and unpredictable. Saturn is the last visible planet and rules elevated earthly things, Uranus is the first of the invisible planets and rules “things that are out of this world but not too far into the next”, the electromagnetic spectrum. Uranos was the god of the heavens and Urania the muse of Astrology and Astronomy. So, there is a spacey theme here . This space would be followed by Neptune’s astral, and Pluto’s spiritual realms. And in that spiritual realm, we see the cherubim: bull, lion, eagle, and man surrounding the throne of God.
The body part associated with Aquarius is the ankles. These are foundational but they also share in implementing the heart’s desire to move.
The royal sign, Leo, the lion and heart is opposite Aquarius. Leo rules, Aquarius advises. Also Leo is the solitary king, Aquarius is the people and their rule in democracy.
If you want a picture of Aquarius, think of your best friend who advises you. Or think of a peace corps volunteer. Also, picture where you go to get knowledge, like the encyclopedia or INTERNET. Aquarians should allow themselves to pursue fascinations and make discoveries, so that they are true to themselves.
Aquarian stories are about men and also, biographies. Older Aquarian stories feature Prometheus, angels, avatars, bodhisattvas, Lucifer (as light bearer), and Cosmic Christ images.
The gift of Aquarius is being people oriented and knowledge oriented. So Aquarians should know everything and know everybody to make the most out of life.
Here are comments by other Astrologers about the sign, Aquarius.
For the Sun in Aquarius, Max Heindel says that Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, is beyond reason, that it is intuitive. So Aquarius perceives the inner nature of things. He says that Aquarius is ultra intellect and drawn to strange religions, scientific research, and advanced cults. For Moon in Aquarius, the imagination is vivid and images can be called up. The mind may be erratic. He further describes Aquarius as proud, stately, and hopeful. Due to the rulership of Saturn, this sign is also retiring, melancholy, persistent, and long suffering. Finally, Aquarius has the depth of Saturn and the intuition of Uranus.
Dobyns says that Aquarius goes beyond limits and lives in the future. (Bed, Bath, and way Beyond)
Aquarians love democracy, tolerance, openness, acceptance, and cooperative relationships. She contrasts Leo and Aquarius. Leo wants love, Aquarius wants freedom. Leo is emotional, Aquarius is objective. Leo wants to be superior, Aquarius wants equality.
Kustesky says that this sign loves society and ideas and is the most practical of the air signs due to it being fixed and ruled by Saturn. Aquarius is more advanced than its companions and is: inventive, scientific, pleasant, friendly, quiet, patient, determined, faithful, cheerful, refined, argumentative, interested in education and new discoveries, and strong in likes and dislikes.
The glyph of two wavy lines shows intuition and reason, male and female, and knowledge of good and evil.
Allen Oken describes Aquarius as having a sensitive nervous system and as the bohemian of the zodiac.
He notes Uranus or Aquarius in the charts of gays, for example, Venus or the Moon with Uranus, or Venus with Mars in Aquarius. (Homosexuality used to be called Uranism because Uranus orbits on its side, not upright.) He also sees Aquarius in the arts, in poets, and in actors. For Aquarius there are no boundaries between races and countries. They are good in organizations and big business. Positive qualities are: loyalty to a cause and the desire for brotherhood. Negative qualities are being fanatical, imposing ideas, having zany schemes, and being aloof.
Oken notes that Uranus is the life force and Saturn the form that makes it usable on earth. And Uranus represents freedom and Saturn responsibility.
Alan Leo defines them as born character readers and good reformers. To offset circulation problems they need exercise and to take fresh air. They also need a harmonious setting to counter the somberness of Saturn.
He finds them to be original, inventive, eccentric, advocates of liberal arts, and joiners of mystical societies or of freemasonry.
Matthews finds them to be proud and stately like Leo. The women are a bit masculine and the men are a bit feminine. He sees Aquarius as great or as odd eccentric characters.
Schulman says that Aquarius receives and expresses ideas from the creative cosmic flow.
Crumner defines this sign as the sign of the Hall of Fame. He further notes that the fixed signs show Taurus plodding, Leo controlling, Scorpio as being dead set on a goal, and Aquarius as changing all.
Finally, he suggest that Aquarius people are alienated because they are too smart and too different.
Burt says that opportunity comes to Aquarius after a sudden event. And that the sign is about the subordination of the will to God’s will for the good of humanity. She adds notes on Uranus. People get left under Uranus and also, people pop in and make changes. Finally, Uranus always acts through a human agent.
Evangeline Adams teaches us that the fixed signs have the positive qualities of a cherubic nature: Taurus is kind, Leo has courage, Scorpio is scientific, and Aquarius is an all round man.
Margaret Hone mentions that Saturn gives this sign caution and a sense of timing. And Uranus gives a fight within the self and revolution. She notes the sign as intuitive, inspirational, having flashes of genius, and as being no respecter of persons.
She says that the glyph shows two serpents and represents wisdom and also represents to things moving in different directions.
Moore and Douglas note that the waves of the glyph represent the invisible waves that permeate space. And that Moon in Aquarius is the divine gift of imagination.
Let’s look at charts of people with some significant point or body in Aquarius.
Thomas Edison, the man of the millennium, had the Sun and Mercury in Aquarius. He was theoretical and full of ideas and inventions. He also loved the practical and being in his workshop; he had Mars and the Moon in Capricorn.
Ralph Nader has the Ascendant, Venus, and Saturn in Aquarius. He is an advocate for doing things in ways that benefit people.
Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, has Saturn, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter in Aquarius. He seemed bent on discovering interesting things and sharing them with all of us. He was one of a kind.
And finally, Ronald Reagan had the Sun in Aquarius. He was a Saturn-like conservative and changed the world by participating in the downfall of Soviet communism. Incidentally, the U. S. has the Moon in Aquarius.