Aquarius, as a Saturn-Ruled Sign, with a Heaping Dose of Uranian Vibes
Did you catch that whiff of FRESH AIR?
Are you feeling more free and liberated?
Have you cut off some life shackles from your limbs?
Do you feel cleansed with a resolution or an ending, and full of vision and brimming possibilities for the future?
Are your friendships, relationships, group memberships, and collaborative endeavors shape-shifting into new, unexpected, refreshing expressions of life potential?
Well, it could be a mixed bag as there is still tension in the astro – and this past week/weekend with the Mars-Pluto square was a little intense for many to say the least – but I hope you’ve caught some of the goodness Monday’s Aquarian New Moon had to offer! And may the good stuff grow and increase as we progress through this lunation cycle.
This new moon marked the end of January’s Eclipse Season, and it also, arguably, officially ended the Leo-Aquarius nodal journey we’ve all been on since the Spring of 2017 (the nodes changed signs on May 9th 2017, with a preview eclipse in February 2017).
Perhaps you experienced some of these ongoing Leo-Aquarius themes of the past, peaking and becoming more prominent for a final wrap-up as the cosmos checked in to make sure we’ve all learned how to keep the polarity in a healthy balance (e.g. joyful life-giving passion vs. detached objective intellectual utilitarianism; being appreciated and validated by others vs. standing alone on the fringe; creative heart-led pursuits vs. sacrificing our individual goals for a higher cause or a collective aim, etc.)
The South Node was traveling through Aquarius throughout 2017-2018, asking us to release, relinquish, decrease, and address… the stuck attachments, issues, stories, and shadows in that area of our chart.
And finally, we’ve let go, we’ve learned, and now perhaps we are rebuilding anew in that area of life, applying the insights we’ve gained and achieving better balance and integration of the Leo-Aquarius polarity – because in my opinion, that’s really what the nodal axis is here to teach us.
February is sure to be eventful with Uranus hovering at the 29th anaretic degree of Aries, finishing up this 7-year journey with curve balls that only an exciting, erratic, and wild Uranus in Aries knows how to throw – watch this area of your chart for sure to identify key topics.
Uranus will enter earthy Taurus on March 6th, 2019 (echoing and reinforcing the themes of its initial entrance into Taurus – May 15, 2018 through November 16, 2018).
Uranus, the fast-moving, change-making, rebel and liberator, first moved into Aries on May 27, 2010 for a few months, and then committed to Aries fire on March 11th, 2011. Do you have life events marking these periods?
Look for full-circle types of experiences that your chart (e.g. relevant house topics) can shed light on as this chapter wraps up. In the meantime, it will be rather “edgy” and somewhat volatile, especially as we build to Mars’ collision with Uranus around February 12th/13th at that crisis-oriented anaretic degree.
During this New Moon, I was reflecting on the symbolic meaning and archetype of Aquarius.
I have adopted the Saturn as the ruler of Aquarius for functional interpretative purposes (Saturn is Aquarius’ traditional/original ruler), but I find that incorporating the symbolism of Uranus helps to differentiate Aquarius from Capricorn (the other Saturn-ruled sign) on a descriptive level – although I do agree with traditional astrologers that Aquarius is also inherently Saturnian.
Aquarius has a contradictory nature in many ways, and for me, its associations with both Saturn and Uranus help to explain this.
As you may be aware, many “modern” astrologers tend to use Uranus as the sole ruler of Aquarius, while many others apply Saturn and Uranus as co-rulers of Aquarius. I’m not sure if I personally consider Uranus an official “ruler”, but I do associate Uranus with Aquarius, which I’ll explain further later on.
Here are some combinations I came up with integrating the “influences” of both planets, which for me, begin to flesh out the gestalt of Aquarius…
Like many astrologers, I have been working through this traditional-modern divide (which brings up differences beyond planetary rulership) to find my own position in the areas in which the traditional and modern, conflict and disagree.
Thus far, I do prefer the visible, traditional planets as sign rulers when I’m using rulership in a functional way – like when I’m incorporating dispositors and rulers into my interpretation of how zodiac signs, planet placements, and houses in a chart will express.
So for example, if you have Aquarius on the 10th house cusp with Saturn in Libra, I might say your 10th house career matters are Aquarian (innovative, techy, visionary, unusual), but in ways that may also be quite refined, elegant, beautiful, and charming.
If you have a Pisces ascendant with Jupiter in Aries in the second house of money and resources, I might say that your destiny, or your most important and pivotal personal milestones, may unfold through your involvement in bold, daring, expansive, entrepreneurial, income-generating efforts that are catalyzed by expressing your Piscean spiritual and creative nature in the world.
I think the organization of the traditional planetary rulerships is a really beautiful system and it makes sense to me that the planets we can see with the naked eye, which are closer to us, are more appropriate to use in this practical, functional way.
Using traditional rulerships, every planet (except the Sun and Moon as the luminaries) rule two signs each.
And yet… I believe the similarities and resonance between Aquarius and Uranus archetypes, Pisces and Neptune archetypes, and Scorpio and Pluto archetypes, are undeniable!
As I mentioned earlier, for me, the addition of the outer planets in zodiacal symbolism is what helps me differentiate between the Saturn-ruled signs of Capricorn and Aquarius, the Jupiter-ruled signs of Sagittarius and Pisces, and the Mars-ruled signs of Aries and Scorpio. I believe the outer planets add a lot of depth and richness when we incorporate them into zodiacal symbolism and descriptions as I demonstrated with using Saturn and Uranus archetypes to describe Aquarius.
In my experience, I find my accuracy is much sharper when I use only the visible planets as rulers and dispositors during interpretations where I’m working on linking various puzzle pieces of the chart together.
However, I will continue using the outer planet associations with Aquarius, Pisces, and Scorpio in the archetypal realm to more fully understand and describe the nature of these signs on their own.
Hopefully that makes sense! It is something I continue to reflect on (and test).