For my definition of what a sign is and an exercise in how to develop an ‘archetypal eye’, please see the entry on Aries .
Exercise Update: ‘Developing Your Archetypal Eye’.
If you have been trying out the exercises each month, I would, as always, be interested to hear of what you have discovered.
For me, during the sign of Capricorn (where the sun is placed in my chart) I experienced a strengthening of the Capricorn traits in myself. I re-assessed goals, updated plans and set deadlines. True, the New Year has this effect on most of us but given Capricorn’s correspondence with death and time, it also seems natural that this sign should stand on the threshold between the old and new years.
I also found myself feeling anxious and gloomy and experiencing train delays (at the precise time of the New Moon on 15th December) and a car breakdown (which happened barely half an hour before the moon entered Aquarius – anyone care to guess what the car problem was? The answer is in the post below).
As we moved into Aquarius I expanded my network of contacts via an event hosted by the radio station I do an astrological reading for. Networking, radio and the unconventional (e.g. astrology and tarot) are all Aquarian correspondences.
As we move into Pisces, try keeping a journal again this month, paying attention again to the change in element from air to water, more emotions and art at the expense of thought and science, for example; and the change in quality (fixed to mutable), dogmatic opinions giving away to compromises and a valuing of subjectivity, perhaps.
This month could show us the things to come over the next few decades due to the cosmic focus on Pisces that is now coming into play. Check out future posts for more on this (bookmark me!).
The Attributes of Aquarius
A replica of the telescope used to detect Uranus
Aquarius’s day ruler is Uranus and its night ruler is Saturn (van Wingerden, 2010) which provides a complex blend of principles. Uranus is associated with the unpredictable, the unexpected and the unconventional, while Saturn sticks to the tried and tested and sets boundaries. Saturn was one of the original seven planets, those that can be seen with the naked eye, while Uranus can only be seen by telescope and therefore was discovered only in 1781, by William Herschel, when technological and scientific knowledge had developed to a certain level (see left).
Therefore, Uranus’s first challenge to the conventional and traditional was aimed at astrology itself. The dominance of the seven ‘planet’ hierarchy had been shaken and the whole foundation of astrology needed to adapt to accommodate this newcomer. In truth, it merely represented a need to return to the empirical roots on which astrology has always been based. Astrologers had to watch, wait, record and report.
The story of Uranus neatly illustrates the role of Aquarius as the cosmic scientist, bringing the new, and often unexpected, into consciousness and then fitting it into the old systems and patterns.
Since the 1900s, most astrologers have agreed on the associations mentioned further down but as Tarnas explains in his must-read book, ‘Cosmos and Psyche’ (Tarnas, 2007), the appropriateness of the name Uranus has been debated. After various suggestions (for example Georgium Sidus and Herschel), Uranus was settled upon since he was Saturn’s father, just as Saturn was Jupiter’s father – it was logical. But astrological Uranus is anything but logical, as beautifully demonstrated by its planetary counterpart which spins on its side, unlike any other planet in our solar system (below right). I, like Tarnas, believe that Prometheus is the true archetypal figure that corresponds with the eighth ‘planet’.
Aquarius is a fixed sign. This fits well with the Saturnian aspect of Aquarius and equates to firm opinions and strong convictions. In fact, those with a strong Aquarian focus in their charts need to constantly strike a balance between the novel and the tried and tested to avoid becoming either stuck in their ways or erratic in their beliefs. Empiricism is again the answer, although the purity of thought that this entails is easily confused for the illusory objectivity that so blights many otherwise capable ’scientists’.
The polar opposite of Aquarius is Leo and an unbalanced Aquarian nature denies the need for personal power, leading to aloofness and identity crisis.
Crazy Spin! Uranus, like Aquarius, defies tradition - rotating 'on its side'
Aquarius is related to the principles of detachment, unconventionality, progression, humanitarianism, rebellion, change and freedom. It is the sign of the scientist, the radiographer, the astrologer. The negative side of these qualities include perversion, eccentricity, fanaticism, excess disruptiveness, tactlessness and lack of integrity.
Physiologically Aquarius relates to the lower legs, circulation and (by reflex with Leo), the heart. Aquarius also relates to radio transmission, electricity, storms, orchids, fruit trees, pepper, apples, large seabirds, Sweden and Moscow.
Aquarius is associated with the colour turquoise, the stone aquamarine and the metal aluminium.
PS. The car problem was a faulty battery!
The sigil of Aquarius, suggestive of waves
Do you have any personal experiences with any of the themes above, or with Astrology in general that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.
References/Sources used (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):
Parker, D. and Parker, J. (2001) ‘Parker’s astrology: New edition’, DK, London
Mayo, J. (1964) ‘Astrology’, Teach Yourself Books, London
Tarnas, R. (2007) ‘Cosmos and psyche’, Plume, London
van Wingerden, B. (2010), ‘The cosmic law of seven’, The Astrological Journal, 52:1, pp 42-43.
Image attributions
All images are in the public domain.
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On August 2nd 2009 I launched a members site for those of you who are interested in dreams. It’s called Dream Spirit and has lots of free content, including a searchable dream dictionary and forum. To join, please click
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Click here to read your weekly stars.
Please note that my stars (as with all horoscopes of this nature) make use of limited, widely applicable astrological factors and can be interpreted in many ways. This does not reflect the full scope of the art and science of astrology.
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Now on radio!
Finally, I am now on radio, once a month, here in the UK. The radio station is ‘Magic 999′,part of the ‘Rock FM’ group and I take calls for about 40 minutes from 0830 on Jude’s Breakfast Show. The show broadcasts to Lancashire but non-Lancastrians can listen online on www.magic999.co.uk. My next show is on Friday 26th Feb 2010.
Coming next: The Global Consciousness Project
Maki…as always, great post here.