Archetype
As the ruler of the 11th house Aquarius is very much concerned with mystery, a search for truth, change, humanitarian issues through group affiliations, creative arts, intrigue, liberation of the individual, experimentation, both mentally and scientifically. They are also very much at home with anything to do with electricity, magnetism, technology and telecommunications.
The picture of Aquarius as the Water Bearer often makes people believe that Aquarius is a water sign. But nothing could be further than the truth. The symbolism is only the pouring of change and mental ideas onto the earth from the urn in order to wash away the old, fertilize and renew the earth once more so that new life (ideas) can grow and form. Uranus the planet of evolution drives the Aquarian.
Also, because Aquarius does not have animal connections they can be a difficult sign to pick, and have varied physical looks or general characterisations that one can usually associate with many other signs. They are one of the more difficult of individuals to assign a sun sign to. But individuals they are, and this very fact is one of the underlying issues of their lives as it creates many learning curves and tests that an Aquarian must overcome.
As a fixed air sign Aquarius can be incredibly unbending, sticking to their guns and to the need for freedom, which usually sits on the top of their list of what makes them happy. In fact many Aquarians make the need for freedom and space a personal tenet they live by through life.
When an Aquarian tells you they’ll see you around, that’s exactly what they mean. Not for them to be tied down to appointments and schedules that bind.
This is a paradoxical sign and full of opposites. It is an interesting sign nonetheless and represents not only the need to be humanitarian but preferably to be able to do this from a distance! They crave home, and family connections, but only if they are allowed to be free within the structure of that family. They want it all!
There is a bond here through the marriage issue with Libra, the ruler of marriage, as Uranus is also Libras’ esoteric ruler. This bond suggests that once an Aquarian marries that they usually become more relaxed and balanced, especially if the marriage or bond they have formed supports their hopes, dreams and material desires. But if it does not then the stress can make life very unhappy for an Aquarian. In fact Librans can be a very good match all round for Aquarians.
Looking again how Uranus was dismembered highly emphasises many Aquarians passage through life, where they feel different from the rest, cut off from groups, disowned by family members, or have their personal power cut off, or even lose, or have many jobs in succession. For many Aquarians this is difficult to understand, especially if they are of a lower vibration or less personally developed. If an Aquarian can see that this is the Uranus driving force for change, new opportunities and that changes are coming into their lives, then these situations can be used to advantage.
But many Aquarians or those with Uranus highly positioned in their natal charts can often get sudden and rather shocking changes that forces most to ask of themselves – why me? But again this is usually only Uranus waking the individual up to the possibility of change. It certainly can be one big wake up call!
Aquarians are sometimes the ‘stop-go’ people; they work frenetically for long periods, and then go almost into seclusion or hibernation while they replenish themselves. There is an inconsistent feeling to this side of them and this can make them mentally exhausted. They are not the strongest sign of the zodiac, for their mental meanderings all too often rev them up so that they keep pushing themselves to work on a fine line of energy. There is need for the Aquarian to stop themselves getting so enmeshed with their own inner workings that they forget they have a body and a life to lead! It is very important for an Aquarian to make sure that they live a balanced lifestyle between work and rest, because very often they almost disown their bodies and forget that they exist.
Regular exercise and relaxation is of paramount importance to an Aquarian if they are to fulfil their destiny.
They can be an enigma to family, friends, co-workers and lovers alike. Their behaviour is too erratic for most people to handle, so while the Aquarian wants to have many close connections, their behaviour can all too often drive others away. Then they wonder why! Bit of a Catch 22 sometimes.
Aquarians make many friends, but few have what one would call really great close confidantes. They usually like those people who are intellectually their equal, radical or offbeat. In youth, Aquarians are often the ones who associate with those who walk on the wild side. They are often drawn into drugs and alcohol when in association with these types too as it gives the Aquarian yet another opportunity to detach from reality, albeit in another format.
Their friendships usually end up a bit one sided however, and many an Aquarian will have lost a friend because they believe that their problems come first and are very likely to ignore the issues and/or problems of others. This is more often likely to be a major factor between their relationships with Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, but most certainly with Cancer or Virgo types, who need much more nurturing and love than an Aquarian is usually keen to give. This also an interconnecting factor with love and marriage.
On the positive side however, Aquarians do not usually pass judgement on their friends, and may have many friends or acquaintances from different racial, cultural or ethical backgrounds. This is not of importance to an Aquarian so much as what the friend can offer in the way of mental stimulation.
In business and marriage the Aquarian will probably need unlimited freedom. They are not usually the best sign to work under the guidance of others. Though they enjoy having a mentor who they can learn from on an intellectual level. In marriage, the Aquarian secretly desires someone to look after them, and yet want someone who can look after him or herself too and not lean on them too much.
Aquarians very often have verbal arguments that seem to take the place of physical, sexual or intimate contact. They are usually concerned with their own needs and do not usually find it easy to listen to a partners problems, especially if they are emotional ones. They like to dominate an affair, but can also be quite devoted if they feel they have found the right person. However, their attention span can be quite short. Anyone who demands too much, or limits the freedom usually gets a quick shove out the door.
They can have a romantic tilt to the way they look at life and romance too, and live out a ‘Hollywood dream’ rather than want to engage in the reality of a relationship. Their minds get distracted and are sometimes afraid to get too close, reality can scare them.
There seems to be two types of Aquarians around the home, one is usually elegant and suave, the other type is just messy and does not see the mess they cause as they flit from one thing to another, leaving chaos in their wake.
The mix of behaviours ranges from living in a mess to having an elegant and luxuriously filled home, enjoying gourmet style meals to eating beans on toast. But in married life and in parenthood their relationship takes on a more peaceful energy. They make interesting parents for they encourage individual thinking, want the best education for their children and discourage too much emotionalism in arguments. Preferring to deal rationally and objectively with issues.
Lots of Aquarians have great potential, Uranus drives their creativity to great heights, but this can make them sometimes unstable and cut off from the world at large. Uranus is the future, breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, but they can also think too much, and they can also lose their connectedness with the ‘god-force’ or ‘All-That-Is’ so that intuition and psychic inspiration is stymied.
But to many Aquarians life is a great adventure, they never seem to want to get past the youthful vision of life, they go after spontaneity, the curious and like to often live life moment to moment or ‘on the edge’. They can border on psychotic genius and unbelievable chaos out of which comes great change and inventions. There are many Aquarians in mental homes, but just as many in halls of fame all over the world for their inventions and gifts to mankind.
The Aquarian ego can be precarious; they are certainly non-conformists and can be eccentric and yet highly intellectual. Yet inside they can be extremely unsure of themselves and unwilling to share their thoughts or feelings. They are a fixed sign too, so once they have made their minds up about anything, it is very difficult for them to change or for others to change them.
Unless Aquarius has a purpose little is likely to be achieved, however once they see a purpose or a goal they can make dreams come true. They do need however, not to begin too many projects at once, when they do this they never seem to finish any of them! One of the lessons Aquarius must learn it seems is to focus on one thing at a time and not allow the mental ramblings of the inner mind distract them from finishing what they have begun.
Aquarians can isolate themselves from those around them, almost as if they are encased in glass, they can see out and others can see in, but cannot hear each other. Aquarians seek to be great individuals and unique but sometimes see others as somehow better than they, or having better lives than they do.
To fulfil their soul journey, Aquarians seem to need to develop some real true self-confidence and to realise that it is OK to be different and to acknowledge this and live it, walk the talk and be the best that they can be. They need to stop fearing rejection and learn to share at least part of their lives with others.