Aquarius Through the Lens of Evolutionary Astrology
Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash
Note: All of my blog posts are written by myself, a real person, and have not been assisted or augmented by AI in any way, shape, or form.
Aquarius, The Water Bearer
January 20th - February 18th
Ruled by: Saturn, Uranus
Element: Air
Mode: Fixed
Corresponds with: 11th house
High Functioning Archetypes: The Exile, The Genius, The Scientist, The Rebel, The Revolutionary, The Truthsayer
Low-Functioning Archetypes: The Misfit, The Kook, The Sociopath, The Criminal, The Iceberg
Evolutionary Astrology: Prescription, Not Description
If you’re an Aquarius, I’m sure you’ve read about how you are independent, eccentric, and intellectual. Or maybe that you are aloof, stubborn, and unpredictable. While these descriptors may resonate with some Aquarian natives, they won’t necessarily fit for all.
Even though pop astrology hinges upon describing the traits associated with each sign, it can be dicey to predict how personalities will manifest with astrology. Human beings are just too complex to fit into descriptive boxes, not to mention that our personalities tend to shift as we change and grow!
According to the Steven Forrest Method, evolutionary astrology looks beyond the description to the prescription. In evolutionary astrology we look at what Aquarius reveals about the specific prescription for your soul’s healing and growth in this lifetime. After all, your current personality—while useful to understand, in order to utilize your gifts most consciously—is ultimately temporary. It’s your soul that continues on.
So, what does the presence of Aquarius in your birth chart say about your soul? What is your soul majoring in if you have planets in Aquarius? What skills are you here to practice? What kinds of experiences are you here to pursue?
Who You Really Are, Versus Who You Were Taught to Be
Aquarius in the natal chart indicates that your soul’s evolution involves individuation in this lifetime–figuring out who you really are, versus who you were taught to be by culture, socialization, familial values, etc. It can be difficult to discern the ways in which we are covertly influenced by external forces, but if you were born with planets in Aquarius, this is the idea.
You are here to challenge the status quo, to question what is assumed and ubiquitous, to think outside of the box. You are here to access your own inner Revolutionary, your own Genius. You are here to practice truly thinking for yourself. This is difficult to do because it won’t win you any popularity contests. You are here to let go of the need for approval.
Worrying Those You Love
One of the most difficult parts of being an Aquarius is that when we seek the particular type of growth and development we need, it tends to make other people uncomfortable. Loved ones who care about us will not understand our path. They will worry. They might encourage us to fall into line, be more conventional, to make more sense. And while this advice is often coming from a place of genuine concern, what our family and friends don’t understand is that if we were to be “normal” it would do a massive disservice to our Soul. So, it is imperative that Aquarian natives do not give in to this pressure to conform. You are here to follow your inner compass and do things differently than those around you.
High or Low Manifestation? The Choice is Yours
Evolutionary astrology does not label certain placements as positive and others as unfortunate, or negative. Through the lens of evolutionary astrology, every sign has a high manifestation, as well as a lower manifestation. How you respond to Aquarius depends on your level of maturity and self-awareness.
The highest, most conscious, evolved version of Aquarius is the ability to think for oneself, to move past the need for approval and understanding, to become aware of how you have been influenced by culture and socialization and to ask the question: “is this something I really want, or is it something I have been told I want? Is this something I really think, or is something I have been told to think?” High Aquarius is able to diverge from the crowd and think for themselves, even when the stakes are high.
Not responding well to the Aquarius in your chart can look like aloofness and false superiority. It can look like being strange and rebellious simply to be obnoxious and get a rise out of people. It can look like taking relatively low stakes risks—which might be “edgy” but still reveal nothing about who you actually are and what you truly believe—while refusing to touch true authenticity with a ten foot pole. It can look like dissociation and numbing of all kinds.
Where does Aquarius land in your chart? How well are you doing with it?
Meet Author
Maggie is an evolutionary astrologer and modern mystic whose approach is therapeutic and psychological. She views the natal chart as a map of the soul, and loves helping others understand the intelligent evolutionary processes at work behind their life experiences.
If you would like to schedule a reading with Maggie, book a reading here.
