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| Latin
for the Water-bearer or Cup-bearer, aquarius is the eleventh sign
of the zodiac, situated between Capricornus and Pisces.
Its symbol represents part of a stream of water. |
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Aquarius is one of the oldest recognised constellations along the
zodiac, the sun's apparent path. It is found in a region often called
the Sea due to its profusion of watery constellations such as Cetus,
Pisces, Eridanus, etc. Sometimes, the river Eridanus is depicted
spilling from Aquarius' watering pot. |
History
The constellation was immortalized in the 1960s, proclaimed the Age of
Aquarius. However, there is no standard definition for astrological ages,
so the age of Aquarius could begin in 2150 or even 2660, depending on
the preferred definition. Based on the modern constellation boundaries
of Pisces and Aquarius, the age of Aquarius would begin around 2660.
However, with so much of modern society reflecting the qualities of Aquarius
most astrologers believe that this era has begun. Mass production, electricity,
flight and space travel, electronic communications including computers
the Internet, even the growing movement against capitalism in favour of
a more socialist system of humanitarian development are all related to
the Aquarian paradigm.
Mythology
The best-known myth identifies Aquarius with Ganymede, a beautiful youth
with whom Zeus fell in love, and whom he (in the guise of an eagle,
represented as the constellation Aquila) carried off to Olympus to be
cupbearer to the gods. Crater is sometimes identified as his cup.
Aquarius generally resembles the figure of a man, and when considering
fainter humanly visible stars, it takes on the image of a man with a
bucket from which is pouring a stream. Aquarius was also identified
as the pourer of the waters which flooded the earth in the Great Flood,
in the ancient Greek version of the myth. As such, the constellation
Eridanus was sometimes identified as being a river poured out by Aquarius.
It may also, together with the constellation Pegasus, be part of the
origin of the myth of the Mares of Diomedes, which forms one of The
Twelve Labours of Herakles. Its association with pouring out rivers,
and the nearby constellation of Capricornus, may be the source of the
myth of the Augean stable, which forms another of the labours.
Astrology
The Western astrological sign Aquarius of the tropical zodiac (January 20 - February 18) differs from the astronomical constellation and the Hindu astrological sign of the sidereal zodiac (February 16 - March 11). |
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In some cosmologies,
Aquarius is associated with the classical element Air, and thus called
an Air Sign (with Libra and Gemini). It is also one of the four Fixed
signs (along with Leo, Scorpio, and Taurus). Its polar opposite is Leo.
It is the domicile of Saturn (since its discovery Uranus has been considered
Aquarius' ruling or co-ruling planet by many modern astrologers). Each
astrological sign is assigned a part of the body, viewed as the seat of
its power. Aquarius rules the circulatory system as well as the ankles.
The symbol for Aquarius is the water bearer.
The ancient symbol of this sign is the sea monster, which harks back to
the time in antiquity when Capricorn was considered a water sign and not
an earth sign. The symbol for this eventually changed to that of a seagoat,
which is a mythological creature that has the head and upper body of a
goat and the lower body of a fish, and this was an attempt to meld the
watery qualities that this sign originally possessed with the earthly
qualities that astrologers wanted it to acquire. In modern times the symbolism
for this sign has evolved once again, with astrologers doing away with
the figure of the seagoat altogether in favour of the mountain goat, which
has almost eradicated the watery themes that once encompassed this sign.
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