Aquarians are born between January 21 – February 18 and reside in the zodiacal 11^th House of friends, groups, hopes and wishes.  Their modern Sign Ruler is Uranus, planet of unexpected events, surprises, disruptions, sudden change, breaking free, pathfinding and when required, rebellion.  Of course people make a lot of bad jokes about this planet's name, largely because they don't know how to pronounce it properly, which is yur-on-us.  I have to admit that I've gotten a few laughs out of it myself, especially with an article put out by NASA some years ago.  If you read no more than the title, I'm sure you'll understand why I found it amusing, tacky though it may be, but I digress.  Traditional astrology which dates back prior to the discovery of Uranus assigned Saturn as the ruler of Aquarius, which is where they get their hardworking, dependable nature.  However, most Aquarians have a certain spark and need for freedom that defies Saturn's restrictive and conventional nature.

Those of us who have been around for about a half-century or so remember being serenaded back in the 60s that we were at the "dawning of the Age of Aquarius." This song was written for a play in which the actors and actresses in one particular scene ditched all their clothes and stood on stage completely in the buff.  As I recall, it was banned in Boston, which was a lot less liberal then than it is now.  Mardi Gras, which is held every year when the Sun is in Aquarius, also somehow reflects the same basic idea. I don’t know how familiar you are with Mardi Gras, but it generally personifies any form of decadence known to mankind.  It originated as the last, big bash before the period observed by the Catholic church called Lent, which starts the next day, Ash Wednesday. From then until Easter they’re supposed to abstain from various pleasantries so they make sure they get all they can the day before, which translated from the French becomes, "Fat Tuesday."  And this celebration, which has been going on for centuries, has duly captured the undisciplined and spontaneous spirit of Aquarius taken to the extreme.

So what exactly constitutes an Aquarian? Are they really that weird? Does the fact that they’re ruled by Uranus reflect in their daily lives? In my professional opinion, I would say yes, but that is not to say that they all thrive on decadence or are not delightful; quite the contrary. There are exceptions, of course, but any sign taken to the extreme is going to result in someone who is seriously weird.

Aquarians tend to be "people persons." They thrive on interaction with others and dislike being alone. These are the folks that turn on the TV or radio when they’re home alone because they don’t like too much quiet.  Being into people and group interactions, their lives are dedicated to others and humanitarian causes.   Of course there are numerous ways this manifests itself.  Someone who’s exceptionally interested in others can also be the local Gossip Guru.  If you know a family, neighborhood or office gossip, there’s a good chance they’ve got some strong Aquarian in their chart.  This person will always know exactly what is going on in everyone’s life and actually be interested in it.  Undoubtedly, an Aquarian invented soap operas, probably because there wasn’t enough going on in their own life, so they had to make something up.  As an Air Sign they tell great stories, often embellishing them with expressions and gestures that make them the life of the party.  In fact, it’s probably their party.  Aquarians tend to be the heart of any group, often being the one who brought it together in the first place.

Sorry for digressing, again.  It's got to be that Gemini Moon of mine.  Anyway, to continue, during that time I put an astounding amount of time into community service-type activities. I did everything from serve as a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor to a public affairs director for a church, all without any kind of pay or credit other than the personal rewards for being involved.  I would work 8 hours in my day job and then come home at night, feed the family and then spend several more hours in the evening on these other projects.  And I actually wondered why everyone else wasn’t as dedicated as I. And said so, endearing me to any number of people—not! Now that I’ve stepped out of Aquarius into Pisces, I couldn’t care less about any of that stuff and my family gives me all the group interaction I need.  But Aquarians need to be part of a group.  Not society as a whole, because they’re usually unconventional if not rebels of one sort or another, but they require an identity that goes outside themselves and connects with others, even if they’re far from the mainstream.

Aquarius is a Fixed sign, i.e., one of those that resists change.  This is interesting since their ruling planet is the planet of surprises, change, rebellion, and unexpected events.  It also rules innovation and inventions.  So this appears a bit of a dichotomy until you think about it in a more personal manner.  These people do not change who and what they are.  What you see is what you get.  Oftentimes they have very unconventional, even rebellious, ideas.  These ideas are not going to change anytime soon.  And they'd rather attempt to change the entire world to fit their view of it than change themselves.  So while they may be agents of change, they are not going to change as individuals.  What this means to you is if you're related to an Aquarius or in a relationship with one is don't waste your time or breath trying to get them to change.  It ain't gonna happen.

What greater personification of an agent of change than a wizard or some other magical being, such as Tinkerbell waving her magic wand?  Many Aquarians even have a certain look about them--a slant to their eyes, pointy ears, or upward slope to their nose-- which makes them easy to imagine in an elf’s cap.  They often dress a bit differently, also, like the social rebels they are, perhaps mixing patterns or colors that most people wouldn’t even put together in the washing machine. Some people flat-out can’t match their clothes because they aren’t artistic, were never taught the basics of color coordination by their mothers or in some cases are male, but Aquarians do it on purpose to show they’re different.  (If they have a conservative ascendant this won't be the case.  However, someone with an Aquarius ascendant might, since your ascendant determines your outward appearance.)

The thing to remember is that these are the very folks who are looking out for the world, at least their small corner in it, and will do what they can to change it as required.  Just never themselves. 

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