The Glyph and Myth of Aquarius

The symbol of the Water Bearer, which consists of a human figure pouring out liquids from a vase or jug, has for some unknown reason led people to think of Aquarius as a water sign. Detached Aquarius is not a water sign, it is an air sign, so all that emotional association needs to go out the window.

One never knows what’s really going on in Aquarius’ electric soul, because they live on their own planet surrounded by an atmospheric blanket of detachment. Every Aquarian is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, and there are a few choice mythic figures relating to Aquarius and the Water Bearer that help to disrobe the encased Aquarian atmosphere, thus offering a solution to these astrological riddles. Further investigation into the sign’s glyph and the co-ruling planets reveal portions of Aquarius that have puzzled both natives and cronies of the sign for eons.

The two-wave symbol of the air sign

Aquarius is ruled by two planets, Uranus and Saturn, and both of those planets have a curious effect on all Water Bearers. As with the other 2 air signs, there is a need to reconcile two coexisting aspects of character. The glyph of Aquarius, showing two horizontal wavy lines, represents two planets, and therefore two dissimilar drives that need to function as parallels. The lines or wavelengths of this glyph symbolize the two rulers of the sign: Uranus and Saturn, describing a dormant dynamic in every Aquarius.

…the bottom wave of Aquarius  represents Saturn and all of his dominions: authority, tradition, rules, limitations, and social standing being the most noteworthy and Aquarian-centric. The top wave is the Father sky himself, Uranus or as the Greeks called him Ouranos (which means ‘sky’ or ‘heaven’). Uranus governs things like rebellion, reinvention, originality, independence, and liberation, and it is the most widely known ruler of the sign. So already we can see the struggle of the Water Bearer. His higher mind (the top wave) sends the vibrational frequencies to reject orthodox tradition and create earthquakes of innovation (in varied forms) that will liberate the world. While subliminally he receives messages from his lower wave to understand the systems and conventions which he so frantically longs to disrupt, but the 2 planets also represent the endeavor of being a non-conformist in a conforming culture.

The Water Bearer Constellation

What the Water Bearer longs for most is to develop into that personal ideal while finding fraternity with like-minded people…There is, was, and always will be a facet of this sign that is remote, like a distant star. Whether it is their emotions, scar tissue from their childhood, or repressed insecurities – there is a fragment of Aquarian that must remain arcane. In Latin Aquarius translates to “water-carrier”, and water-carrier simply means a person or thing which carries water, and indeed, Aquarius does exactly that: they carry water, but they don’t come into contact with it. . .in the case of Aquarius, the non-static water represents the measured exhibition of emotions, along with something else: an elusive elixir of intelligence, innovation, and imagination – the very things that make Aquarius a social pariah. The containment of the Water Bearer’s aqua in his carafe symbolizes the control and thus the transformation of emotional faculties into creativity.

I could go on and on about the mysteries of fixed sign Aquarius – and in fact, I have. In my ebook, Aquarius: the Variable, I dive deep into the well of Water Bearer wonder to explain the hidden facets of the zodiac’s 11th sign.