Aquarius, the Water Bearer

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars

Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius

--Fifth Dimension-- 

Aquarius, the 11th sign of the zodiac, is a very old  constellation; he has been found carved in stones of the Babylon Empire and is probably much older than that.  Aquarius is a cluster of 56 stars, and the Babylonians believed that the constellation was located in the part of the sky that they called The Sea.   Aquarius, the water bearer is typically represented by waves of water which gives the impression that it is a water sign, but it is not.   Aquarius grouped as fixed, air, and masculine.   Masculine signs tend towards extroversion. Fixed signs tend towards stability and are resistant to change. Air signs are considered good communicators, imaginative and inspired.  Traditionally, the ruling planets are Uranus , and some now equate Prometheus with this sign.  

Almost all of the ancient cultures saw the constellation as a man with a water pitcher or vase, pouring water down to earth.  Perhaps the best known ancient Greek myth about Aquarius identifies the constellation with kind and gentle shepherd boy named Ganymede.  One day, while he was tending his sheep, the god, Zeus, sent a giant eagle down to swoop the boy up and carry him to the temple of the Gods where he was to become Jupiter's favorite water carrier.  He was then given ambrosia, the food of the gods, which made him become immortal, and from thenceforth on, wherever Jupiter went, Ganymede was always close behind.  

One day he asked Jupiter if he could help the people of the earth who were desperately in need of water.  Jupiter, who was not always kind, granted Ganymede's wish.  So, Ganymede, well aware that to send a great deal of water at once would be dangerous, began sending it in intermittent amounts in the form of rain, and this is how the young shepherd boy became known as the god of rain.    


In yet another ancient Greek myth, Aquarius is identified with a man, Deucalion, and his wife, Pyrrha. According to the myth, in about 1500 B.C. Aquarius caused a great flood to wash over Earth. Deucalion's father advised his son and wife to build a great boat and stock it with provisions. They did and the two floated about on the worldsea for nine days and nine nights, eventually running aground on Mount Parnassus. (Sound familiar?)
The Sumerians also believed that Aquarius brought on a sort of global flood.

Accordingly, this constellation represented to the Egyptians the rainy period of the winter season.  An Egyptian legend relates that the floods of the Nile were caused by Aquarius sinking his huge urn into the fountains of the great river to refill it.      During the 17th century, Christians associated the constellation with John the Baptist.  The Arabs, also dependent on the rainy season, depicted Aquarius as a bucket since their religion forbids them to show pictures of any living form. 

In February, the height of the rainy season in the Andes, the Aquarius month, the sun entered into the Peruvian sign known as the Mother of Waters.  In Hindu  mythology, Aquarius is related to the great god, Indra, who rules the heavenly world where the souls dwell as a result of their good karma.  

I began this post with several lines from the great hit The Age of Aquarius.  Many believe that it is already here, while others say it will not begin until 2021. Perhaps it arrives on the solstice in 2012. Aquarius is a humanistic sign; it wants to help others.  In the shift from Pisces to Aquarius we begin to look beyond ourselves.  It the sign of hope, brotherhood, and friendship.  It has been said that in the Age of Aquarius the potential exists to achieve world peace and universal harmony, but this  must first take place in each person's mind and heart.  An era of peace, freedom, and sense of community will not come from any government.  It will, instead, come from a spontaneous flow of human spirit and fellowship amongst man.