Aquarius

Aquarius is the aurora of the year. Contrary to popular belief, winter is not such a dark season. Day after day the light grows more and more strong, preparing the return of spring. This period of time, when daylight has become powerful enough to challenge darkness, falls symbolically under the sign of freedom and revolution.

As we said before, darkness represents the power of the community; daylight, the power of the individual. For this reason the light breaking in the darkness stands as a symbol for the revolutionary subversion of the order. We discussed before how this social order was formed by the Sagittarius and then consolidated by the Capricorn. This challenge posed by the light is just the prelude to a real revolution.

Uranus‘ domicile instills in the sign a rebellious mood. Interestingly enough, Saturn‘s rulership has here the opposite effect to the one we got to know in Capricorn. In fact, while in the previous sign the planet acted as a structuring force, in Aquarius he shows his reaper aspect. He severs with his scythe all the dead branches of a decadent society. In fact not only Saturn governs old age, but also the end of all things. He is the guardian of the threshold of death.

The fuse detonator of the revolution is a modern, progressist mindset. This way of thinking makes us aware that things can’t go on like this for ever. You can think of Aquarius’s fixed air energy as a starry sky: many small lights, shining in the night as the hopes of a disappointed crowd. Together, they want to make the world a better place. The idealist nature of the Aquarius—fixed air, fixed ideas—amplifies people’s reaction. A break with the past is inevitable, the revolution at hand. The ending process of the current zodiacal cycle has just begun.

As you may have realized, Aquarians are revolutionary idealists. They love to engage in struggles for social rights, equality and justice. They are also free spirits who hardly create lasting bonds with people. Although this may seem paradoxical, they are more involved in universal causes than in those of their loved ones.  A joke among astrologers says that they abandon their parents in a hospice in order to save old people around the world. The truth is that they perceive any kind of bond as very narrow and limiting—especially employment relationships. They are very projected on the future, to the point they are not willing to give up their plans to other people’s needs. Everybody must be independent.

This lack of generosity is attributed to the Sun‘s exile. All its meanings are in fact weakened, starting with the relationship with the father figure. Actually we should say that to them it is almost nonexistent. They don’t feel a special bond, nor the need to confront him (of course in natal charts we have also to examine both the fourth house and its ruler in order to get the whole picture).

In addition, despite their tendency to fanaticism, the detriment of the Sun keeps them from being too fiery. They are usually very neutral and rational people, who are able to understand different standpoints easily. Another paradox: they are both great revolutionary and excellent mediators (ambassadors, for example). A sign which shows that you can achieve big changes also through good compromises.

Finally, we can say that Aquarians often show weird traits, mainly expressed in the way they dress or in their lifestyle. After all, they anticipate the future—that’s why they look so bizarre. Remember that Uranus is the only planet having the axis of rotation tilted sideways of almost 90 degrees (basically horizontally oriented) which is so weird!

Key Words

• Air, fixed, light, stars, ideals, fanaticism
• rebellion, revolution, breaking, sudden changes, challenges
• syndicates, unions, associations, alliances, friends
• neutrality, mediation, freedom, social justice, equality, hope
• detachment, diversity, weirdness, different standpoints