Cold, cold mountain: Image by Wasfi Akab https://www.flickr.com/photos/wasfiakab/4947310461
Aquarius has been one of the more difficult signs for me to understand. The astrological symbolism and classifications are paradoxical.
- It’s classified as a sign of Fixed Air, yet associated with the Water-Bearer constellation. Is it air, or is it water?
- In classical astrology, Aquarius is ruled by conservative, restrictive Saturn. However, modern astrologers give ownership to Uranus, a planet of disruption, innovation, and eccentricity. Is it traditional or revolutionary?
- Air signs are described as hot/warm and moist, yet Aquarius is noted as “extremely cold.” Is it hot, or is it cold?
- In tarot, The Star (card 17) corresponds with Aquarius. Writers link this card to concepts like hope, faith, healing, and renewal. Yet, the minor cards corresponding to the three decans are the 5, 6, and 7 of Swords. These cards depict defeat, science, and failure in the Thoth deck. Which is correct? Is it a hopeful or foreboding place?
It is confusing, right? To shed light on the role of the Water Bearer, I wrote about Aquarius in the March 2024 issue of The Evolving Astrologer magazine, drawing a comparison to the water cycle. It was fascinating to explore the perfectly designed system of transmission recycling water between Earth and the sky. If you would like to read it, it is an open-access article, on page 16.
Every zodiac sign has common tropes. People with Aquarius placements are often labeled unconventional, nonconformist, humanitarian, intellectual, and imaginative. They’ve also been accused of being cold, distant, reserved in social settings, and having a particular mental stubbornness. Adaptation and compromise may not come easily or quickly once they’ve settled on the “right” ideas and ideals. Some quotes that come to mind:
“I love humanity, but I hate people.” (Source unknown, there are multiple attributions)
“The ends justify the means.” (source unknown)
“Aquarius is the winter Virgo.” (Sam Reynolds)
“For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way.”
(Frank Sinatra, lyrics for the song, My Way)
The Music of Aquarius
In early 1962, there was a cluster of planets in the sign of Aquarius; when the Moon passed through in February, it was a seven-planet stellium. One of my son’s all-time favorite musicians, country legend Garth Brooks, was born with this heavy Aquarian chart on February 7, 1962, at 1:07 p.m. in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Garth Brooks, image by John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
For my astrologer friends, here is Garth’s birth chart, A-rated. He was born a couple of days after the New Moon, but he still has Saturn, Mars, Mercury, the South Node, the Sun, Jupiter, Venus, and his Midheaven in Aquarius.
His most Aquarian song (in my view) is “We Shall Be Free,” released in 1992 on Garth Brooks’ album The Chase. The lyrics are a call to unity, peace, and social justice. Brooks wrote the song with Stephanie Davis shortly after the Los Angeles riots in April 1992. The rioting began after four LAPD officers were acquitted of beating Rodney King.
Brooks spoke of a time “when we all walk hand in hand” in a world without hunger, racism, homelessness, homophobia, economic exploitation, and needless violence. The song is a highlight of his concerts. When I saw him in 2019 at Mile High Stadium in Denver, the stadium was lit up with the rainbow colors with this song. United for a few hours, I sang along with 84,000 of his fans, a record-breaking crowd.
Sheryl Crow at Isle of Wight Festival, image by Karolina Szuta https://www.flickr.com/photos/szucia/42329046955
Sheryl Crow is another highly-accomplished singer-songwriter with a six-planet Aquarian stellium. She was born on February 11, 1962. According to Wikipedia, “She is noted for her optimistic and idealistic subject matter.” In 2012, Crow released a song about a woman in the White House. If you’d like to learn more about her political and philanthropic work, here is a great article from when she was honored at the GRAMMYS on the Hill earlier this year.
I don’t know these musicians personally, but their music has inspired me, and I’ve sung along with friends, family, and strangers. Both have biographical information that reveals humanitarian impulses, putting their time, energy, and money toward a more just society. Both have had public intimate relationship drama, widespread in our culture and not limited to Aquarius placements!
Both artists have followed their own creative, unique pathways, which has helped me understand just a little bit more about the nature of Aquarius. Water is connective. It flows and spreads. Air is associated with ideas, words, and ideals. In their examples, powerful ideas have been spread through music, an art form that connects diverse people. Their words and ideas are dispersed to millions through storytelling and chords.
Thank you for reflecting with me. Tomorrow, Pisces!
XOXO,
Denise
