NOTES
ON SIDEREAL AQUARIUS
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Note: This article is an abridged draft which is posted temporarily until the full article (or chapter) on Aquarius is completed. A version of this article was originally posted on the Yahoo Sidereal astrology forum in August, 2009.
First a few words about theories that can be related to sidereal Aquarius. In Hellenistic and later times this trigon of signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) was said to come under the rulership of Saturn by day and Mercury by night. Thus we see that Saturn is exalted in Libra and at home in Aquarius while Gemini is Mercury’s diurnal sign. Like the other three trigons, these three signs form a unit of a specific energy type.
I place this trigon in the “cold” category partly because of Saturn’s dominance of this trigon and its exaltation in Libra. (See The Lost Zodiac, Part 4 on this site.) Sidereal Aquarius belongs in the diurnal (male) category, but is female in the sense that it operates from a feeling or intuitive base rather than reason. As one of the more sensitive signs, typically Aquarius will periodically withdraw into solitude to allow for psychic and physical regeneration.
Aquarius and the Uranian Myth
Astrologers have rather solidly placed Uranus with Aquarius, even though in the tropical zodiac this is something of a mis-match. To understand Uranus as it relates to the zodiac, we have to review mythology. Uranus is actually the oldest of the gods assigned to the zodiac, as Gaia (Mother Earth) was the first to emerge from Chaos, and it was she who brought forth Uranus, the starry sky. This makes Uranus the most remote of all the gods, and this can apply as well to sidereal Aquarius, which (as tropical Pisces) is a little understood sign. Isabelle Pagan describes Uranus well:
“...The impression left upon the mind of the student after meditating on the myths...is of something remote, far-off, immeasurable, vast, indescribable and undefinable.”
This sign (as tropical Pisces) has been called the victim or martyr. Why is this when the traditional lord of Pisces, Jupiter, the ruler of all the gods with supreme power was never anyone’s victim? The myths of Uranus and Cronus (later Saturn) much better relate to victimization. With Uranus Gaia bore the Titans, Cyclops and Cronus. However, Uranus hated his children and refused to let them see the light. Thus, he pushed them back into the lap of Gaia.
However, with a sickle given to him by Gaia, Cronus castrated Uranus and destroyed his power of generation. Cronus took over the role of leadership. The myth of Uranus at least partly explains why the planet has been associated with unexpected disasters and sudden events. There is also the suggestion that since Uranus is the most remote of all the planetary gods, this energy may relate to deeper psychic and spiritual realms unseen by ordinary men and women.
Cronus/Saturn and Aquarius
The next question has to do with Cronus (Saturn), the traditional lord of Aquarius. Since the two planets are associated with the same sign, it would seem there should be some similarity. Both Cronus and Uranus refused to give freedom to their children, and both were victims of violence and subversive action when their children rose against them. Like Uranus, Cronus hated his own children because he very much feared Gaia’s prophecy that he would be displaced by one of his children. Cronus is often shown in paintings devouring his children, not a happy picture. Gaia’s prophecy came true as Zeus (later Jupiter) was the victor over his father, Cronus, who was imprisoned in dark Tartarus.
We know that as a planet, today’s Saturn can be prone to isolation, depression, fear and worry. These feelings may perhaps sometimes be transferred to planets in Aquarius, one of the more inner focused zodiac signs. Certainly the concept of darkness has become associated with Saturn as well as dark clothing and dark thoughts (depression and melancholy).
AQUARIAN BIRTH CHARTS
The above paragraphs give a very brief survey of mythology as it relates to Uranus and Cronus/Saturn, but the surprise is how much these myths are reflected in today’s Aquarius stelliums. There were only 15 charts in ADB 4 with stelliums in Aquarius composed of the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus and/or Mars with enough biographical information to use for this study. All these charts can be looked up on the Wiki ADB site.
The largest number of charts (6) fall into the
“victim,” “distress” and misfortune categories
Secondly, there are (for the times) four sexual irregularities.
A single UFO sighting 14046 (Ve/Mo/Sa/Sun/Mer in Aquarius in
9th)
Three charts that belong to the astrology/arts complex (research shows these to be
linked).
DISTRESS AND MISFORTUNE
Natalie
Cortez, a child whose early illnesses left her hopelessly retarded.
Nadia Maso, the lone survivor of her murdered family.
A
father (Family Distress 13106) of an S.I.D.S. child (sudden infant
death syndrome).
A suicide (Suicide: Hanged 8135); We can assume
serious emotional and depressive issues.
Nathalie Merignon, a
terrorist accused of murder
Actress Florence Henderson (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury in Aquarius) is a good example of how difficult Aquarius can be. Florence was one of 10 children of a poor share cropper. She recalled working in the fields helping her father grow tobacco. She developed a severe hearing problem at age 22 which turned out to be hereditary.
Henderson suffered from chronic back pain (spina bifida). She also suffered from severe stage fright and developed a fear of flying after the death of her brother. Diagnosed with hypoglycemia, she had panic attacks, and a phobia of a fear of falling and losing control (stage fright) It’s interesting that Saturn is not part of Florence Henderson’s Aquarius stellium. She has a Sagittarius ascendant with Jupiter as the most elevated planet, but with a close opposition from Uranus on cusp 4.
LESS ACCEPTED SEXUAL IDENTITIES
Tansvestite/prostitute (Transvestite 25910
Homosexual 12591
Homosexual 8791
Brian Grieg,
an openly gay senator (Sun, Mercury, Mars and Saturn applying to the Moon, all
in Aquarius) who was an activist for the Gay Australian community. (Note the
importance of Mars applying to the Moon--activism.)
ASTROLOGY/ARTS
Cheryl Fournier, an
astrologer (No other biographical information.)
Francesco Piccolo,
author whose writings focused on family structure, First-Born Children, and
only children in the family, true Uranian/Saturnian themes.
Alexis
Curvers who wrote “Pius XII, The Outraged Pope.”
On a topic unrelated to Greek mythology, but as part of Aquarian symbolism, the sky area of the stars of Aquarius has the cross-cultural connection to the waters of the earth and sky. During Uranus’ transit of sidereal Aquarius we’ve seen the great Indonesian quake/tsunami and the destruction of New Orleans by floods along with additional severe flooding events throughout the world.
SIDEREAL AQUARIUS TENTH HOUSE SUNS
There are different ways that the effects of a sign can be studied. Above I simply took Aquarian stelliums composed of the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus and/or Mars. This part of the study looked at 10th house Suns in Aquarius square Taurus ascendants within 7 degrees. Invariably, there were additional planets in Aquarius along with the Sun. There were 47 charts in ADB 4 that filled the research requirements. As usual I igonred charts with such designations as “Child of famous person X.”
The largest group (9) could be called Humanitarian in that their careers or occupations were aimed at helping their fellow human beings. These included astrologers interested in counseling and healing, a psychic, psychologists, and two other professions which were given humanitarian emphasis. I’ll briefly describe those plus one of the astrologer’s biographies. All the birth charts discussed in this article are from ADB 4 and can can be seen on the Wiki AstrodataBank site.
Tun Razak (Sun, MC, Uranus in Aquarius) was a Malayasian politician who was instrumental in helping Malaysia gain independence from Great Britain. He was also a key figure in furthering the country’s rural and national development. His leadership led to the establishment of friendly relations with China. He was known to have high personal integrity and lived a simple, frugal lifestyle.
As can be seen by his biographical notes, Razak wasn’t the typical Jupiterian politician. Since he did work with groups (not an Aquarian trait), this is shown astrologically by Mars in Scorpio squaring his Aquarian planets. (Recall that sidereal Scorpio moves in stimulating circles that frequently group oriented.) Anciently Mars also was a patron of farming. As for establishing friendly relations with China, Razak also has Venus (his ascendant lord) in Pisces near the zenith.
Another atypical Aquarian who was a humanitarian is Bruce Ritter, a Catholic priest who was called “the Mother Teresa of Times Square.” Ritter has Sun and Jupiter in Aquarius at the zenith, but Mars conjunct the ascendant. So again we see the combination of Mars with Aquarius. Scorpio also comes into the mix since Saturn applies to the Moon in Scorpio on the 7th cusp. Ritter established shelters aimed at getting drug addicted kids off the streets and into work and recovery programs. Simply classifying Ritter as a priest doesn’t really tell the story of his life. His efforts led to the establishment of similar recovery centers in other major cities.
Astrologer Douglas Bloch (Mars, Sun in 10th) is an author, teacher and counselor who writes and speaks on the topics of psychology, healing and spirituality. He’s known as a lifeline for those who suffer mental disorders. Among other books, he’s written Healing from Depression. In Boch’s chart we see that the more depressive side of Aquaius (Saturn and Uranus) is used in the role of healer. Bloch also co-authored with Demetra George an Aquarian sounding book, Asteroid Goddesses.
As something of a crusader, Bloch also has a Mars emphasis since his Sun applies to Mars in Aquarius. Uranus trines this conjunction while Saturn opposes it. Bloch’s Sun-Mars conjunction has been applied in counseling rather than athletics: Sun is in the bounds of Venus while Mars is in the bounds of Jupiter. There are no planets in Scorpio.
The motivation of those in the humanitarian group is more important than the professional titles they happen to carry. This is no doubt why the Gauquelins moved from emphasizing professional groups per se to paying more attention to individual psychology.
The next largest professional group (8) was the Arts Group composed of artists, designers and writers. What are these doing in Aquarius? I believe the answer is in viewing each trigon of signs as more or less a unified whole. The other two signs of Aquarius’ trigon are Venus-ruled Libra and Mercury-ruled Gemini. This trigon is also more likely to choose occupations with a lot of alone time rather than working in a group situation as Scorpio prefers. This group includes fashion icon Andre Courreges who has Mercury, M.C., Uranus, Fortuna and South node in Aquarius in 10th.
Another large group (8) is the Homosexual Group composed of both Gay men and Lesbians. This symbolism may combine Venus (from Libra) and Uranus/Saturn from Aquarius as a less socially accepted sexual preference. It’s interesting to speculate that this situation may change as homosexuality becomes more generally accepted. The older traditional texts link homosexuality to a combination of Venus and Saturn and the interchange of planets in signs.
Another group (8) is loosely composed of vocalists, dance, and acting. But the emphasis is on stage and theater rather than film, and the only big name in this group is Harry Belafonte, folk and ethnic artist. Again, as a Black, the emphasis is on a race (at that time) less accepted in society. In Belafonte’s time frame, it would have been inconceivable that America would one day have a Black president.
Tragic situations (homicides, birth defects, major health conditions) account for anther 8 charts The worst of these was the Dunblane massacre, the Scottish shooting of a teacher and class of children. Fifteen children died along with a teacher. This chart has Mars at the zenith in Aquarius in the same degree as the ascendant. Mars applies to the Aquarian sun, both in the bounds of Saturn. Because Scotland is so far north, the M.C. is a sign and a half away from the zenith. Uranus is at the M.C. in mid Capricorn, but it is the Mars square to the ascendant that is the most descriptive.
There were 2 scientists, but 5 athletes in this group of Aquarian 10th house suns. The athletic charts illustrate how planetary influence should always be considered along with sign symbolism. I looked individually at the athletic charts:
William Russell, basketball center; Sun with Mars at the zenith (both Aquarius); Mars is lord of 7th, competition. Mars is also on the navamsa ascendant and conjunct natal Sun.
Lionel Mallier, rugby; Sun is in the bounds of Mars, and Mars conjoins the ascendant; Mars is also in navamsa Aries.
Kenny Dalglish, soccer coach; This isn’t the chart of an athlete and after one season Dalglish was let go due to poor performance.
Claude Piquemal, field and track (non-team sport); Jupiter at the zenith (Aquarius) is in the bounds of Mars, and Mars applies to the Moon in the 7th. Mars is in Aries in the navamsa chart.
David Douillet, judo champ (non-team sport); Mars on cusp 7 in its own bounds is square Sun at the zenith.
No other information was given for the athletes, so we don’t know in what waysAquarian energy might have been expressed.
With Aquarian 10th house Suns, the emphasis is on humanitarian interests, the arts, less popular sexual preferences and life’s misfortunes. Indian astrology might relate these “out of the blue” misfortunes to past-life karma, which would reflect the symbolism of the most ancient of the planetary lords of signs, Uranus and Saturn. There isn’t much emphasis on science as we might expect from astrological texts. If there are sportsmen, it’s due to a strong angular Mars influence including planets in the bounds of Mars. Mars is connected to the 10th house in various ways. Athletes also typically are active in their sport for a limited number of years, and Aquarius may somehow reflect later life occupations and interests.
In this Aquarian group there are no entrepreneurs or executives, no financial wizards and no prima donnas or flashy movie stars. The majority of these Sun and planetary positions would be in tropical Pisces whose traditional lord is Jupiter. Instead, in sidereal Aquarius we see less emphasis on flash and bravado, a quieter expression of personal ego which is more reflective of Saturn’s energies.
Therese Hamilton
23 September 2009
© 2009 Therese Hamilton