This year is nuts, obviously. But for Aquarians it’s next-level nuts. They’re not used to being outweirded so a cynic would argue that they’re just jealous but no, it’s deeper. They – you? – need help and here it is. Yes, it may apply to you if you’re an Aquarius Moon/ Ascendant person or if you were born with a Saturn-Uranus alignment.*
Aquarius Fuqery Factor One: Saturn in Aquarius.
It’s easy to pontificate about harvest gods and self-acceptance when Saturn isn’t in your birth sign. Then Saturn steals in, mundane reality intrudes on your groove and before you know it you’re apprehensive about aging, status or security. You can track the incursion of Saturn via your browser history: observe the segue toward questions about teeth bones and tax factoring.
It’s hard on any zodiac sign – the novelist Henry Miller referred to Saturn as “the stellar imposter” and “that lymphatic globe of doubt and ennui.” Adele blamed her divorce on Saturn and the most popular Feng Shui products are anti-Saturn cures – they call it Wu Wang or the ‘Five Yellow Star.’
But it’s trickier for Aquarians to integrate because they consider ‘normality’ to be – at best – a mood disorder. They’d tweak it with Fibonacci numbers and a parallel dimension they spun up with their garage particle collider if they could. The classic Aquarian trope is to not feel as if they’re from ‘here’ – often from an early age – but Saturn is always ‘here.’
Aquarian Fuqery Factor Two: Saturn’s Dystopian Backdrop.
If this had occurred even a few years ago, the Aquarius could have burned off damp Saturn vibe with exercise benders or an ambitious trip, clubbing, bodywork, sunbathing, hikes, therapy, whatever. In pandemic-land, even if some of those things have been ostensibly available, they’re not the same. A sign as airy and cerebral as Aquarius needs massage to help ground them in their body -not from a friend or a lover because then they feel obliged to respond and their mind will power up.
Freakier still, Aquarius is arguably the zodiac sign most dubious of authority, government over-reach and of corporatocracy. Saturn in Aquarius would have bought such concerns – along with ancient angst – to the surface anyway but they are massively amplified by the 2021 backdrop: talk of freedoms taken or returned, the narrowing of discussion, cognitive climate dissonance and a host of other phenoms. If you define Saturn simplistically as ‘restrictions’ then Aquarians see Saturn embodied everywhere they look this year.
Aquarian Fuqery Factor 3: The Psychic Quake.
Before the 1781 discovery of Uranus, Saturn ruled Aquarius. Actually, Saturn ruled everything. It was the outer limit of the known cosmos. Saturn is still sometimes called the ‘co-ruler’ of Aquarius but really, it’s Uranus. Some Aquarians are more saturnine and others distinctly Uranian but many are an uneasy** blend. Who hasn’t been surprised to discover the secret saturnine hustle or insecurities of an Aquarius who otherwise acts like a freelance Chaos Magician?
Saturn has been in terse alignment with Uranus all 2021 and this won’t back off until January 1. This square hasn’t occurred in these signs since 1522/1523. For Aquarians, the Saturn-Uranus square opens a psychic rift that is as metaphysically intense as the geophysical Canary Islands volcano rift. Many are fearing that they’re failing at both Saturn goals (linear, easily recognized by mainstream metrics) and their defiantly unconventional Uranus goals. Because this is a fixed sign square, it can seem more immutable than it is and Mars in Scorpio is about to add more pressure.
Aid For Aquarians
There is more on this in What The Astro-Fuq? but the current situation is not locked in. The Saturn-Uranus square is exact for the third time on Xmas Eve and then it fades out by January 1. After that there are no more tetchy Saturn to Outer Planet aspects until 2028. Saturn in Aquarius over 2022 won’t be the piece of work it was this year, especially for Aquarius people. And when Saturn vacates Aquarius in 2023, guess who arrives shortly after? Uncle Pluto.
The last Pluto in Aquarius was renowned for revolutions – literally – and extremely progressive. Beneath this year’s travails, Aquarians have been humming away with fantastic ideas – growth-centric Jupiter is still in Aquarius – and the weirdness has liberated many from having to pay fake homage to anachronisms. Despite the awkwardness of it, could the metaphysical healing and new depth be prep for Pluto in Aquarius success or even leadership? Yes!
* Saturn-Uranus alignment years include 1965-1967 and 2008-2010 (the opposition), 1988 (the most recent Saturn-Uranus conjunction) 1951-1952, 1975-1977 and 1999-2000 (Saturn-Uranus squares.)
**This is a whole other subject but the mythological Saturn usurped his father, the Sky God Uranus and much of the Aquarius starlore comes from old Babylon and their Storm God.
“Many are fearing that they’re failing at both Saturn goals (linear, easily recognized by mainstream metrics) and their defiantly unconventional Uranus goals.” This defines my Moon-Aquan existence right now
Wtf. My friend/neighbour has just found out his abusive father is dying of cancer. His girlfriend came over today to help move furniture. I felt sick in the guts. I asked how he was going. She said they want him to carry the coffin. He won’t last the weekend. I said no, it’s a trap. I can feel it in my guts.
She said he had diahorrea and sick all day.
I had to stop myself going over as I am way too sensitive on this Scorpio new moon. Dinner and watching Meet Joe Black tonight.
Maybe a cry.
“Death and taxes”. No wonder I was shaking today. I’m better now.
🙂
I an extra pleased to have some Aqua (sun & venus) recognition around the struggle. In most ways, this year has been incredible for my growth and connection with community. I had another baby, I’ve been going deep into Human Design and it’s been a blessing. Then, there are the growth edges that are incredibly difficult in terms of maintaining self-love. My relationship with my partner has taken a massive shift, as I have decided to accept his desire to love other women. The one in question is a gorgeous incredibly bright-energy Taurus, and I myself am crushing on her a bit. Luckily, we are friends and sensitive to each other’s desires. Yet, it’s been so hard to keep my heart open and feel like I’m also part of the dynamic. We are all working on keeping communication as open and raw as possible, which is a struggle for me, in a good way, I suppose. She doesn’t even want an intimate relationship, yet, but already they are more on equal ground that me and partner (also Taurus, and they both have Scorp rising, so of course). I’m still deep in my lows and having to claw my way into the light to enjoy the highs and keep smiling. I just really don’t want to be left out, and I also tend to push myself away from everyone in attempt to keep from hurting (thus hurting even more, ironically). Everyone wants me to be totally meshed in the experience, and I want to just leave my body for a while and forget I’m human. Let me feel free, Saturn! The babies definitely remind me of the bigger picture. Heal that cultural trauma & and break through the restraints around love. Life is a sad and an ecstatic, simultaneously. Blah blah blah. Thanks for letting me spew that out in some astro space, y’all.
Geez. That’s quite a bit to process.
Expanding beyond the boundaries of monogamy (and mono-amory?) pushes against *so* many edges. Sexual. Self-esteem. Culture & religion.
Sending you good vibes for this phase of your journey. Remember to be gentle with yourself as you try to hold space for everyone else (sounds like you are, but just in case).
Gah, what a good reminder, that I’m holding space for this all to happen. Sometimes I forget how easy it is to do that for others without thinking of how much work it in itself can be.
Thank you for the kind words and good energies!
All the Saturn-Uranus alignments (above) have brought super weird, freaky-swift, shitt-churning life lessons. Same as this time around – especially with Uranus sq natal Uranus too (sitting in the middle of my 10th H stellium). Everything has been blown up & i feel like i’m falling upside down in slo-mo amongst the debris which used to be my life. Aqua rules my IC so i should be used to this sh*t – from the moment i was born when i slid from the doctor’s grasp & was dropped on my head: Welcome to planet Earth – get used to it.
Thank you never worked so hard in all my life Sun in Aqua Square Saturn; Virgo Asc and Moon in Scorpio. I have been working on a complete revamp major projects that have had me project managing so many people via zoom, online stuff. The projects involve partnering and women in a big way. This week I saw the first peeps of success coming through, with some funding $ for the first time. I have funded it from my mortgage( I hate debt) but the projects should come to fruition in January to May next year. Personally, I have been so ground down and exhausted by 2021 I am crawling across the finishing line. Dread to imagine how hard this could have been without any Jupiter around.
So I have Taurus Moon trine Uranus, Gemini Sun square Uranus and the Asteroid Uranus conjunct my Pisces Rising. To be honest I never really considered myself Aquarian when in fact I found out I did have those traits from Mystic. I numbed them out with heavy grounding food, wine and beer like a mediaeval serf. And pretending to fit in with my backward, regional friends and neighbours just to keep the peace.
But as I have recently undergone some profound metaphysical healing on my own I feel the need to slowly nurture myself by eating etc we’ll again.
I was teased as a child by my older brother because of my Uranian side and the Pisces Ascendant was just too sensitive. And the joke is he is an Aquarian Sun with 5 planets in Aquarius.
Anyhow the inner nerd needs to come out of its shell. I go on about nurturing the Pisces but now I will add the little Uranian.♒🐣
There’s this weird subset of Aquarians, often born between Feb 8 – 12, that are *really*. problematic: Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Alex Jones and Charles Manson Yoga inventor, whatever-his-name-is Bikram are all born in this three or four days. They are convinced of their genius, but are also vehemently convinced they are egalitarian populists, and totally authoritarian about it. To this day I am totally surprised Steve Bannon isn’t one of them. As an Aqua with multiple planets and major Uranus aspects, it’s a tad distressing but I’ve learned to accept it. ;-p
I’m a Super Uraniac and this absoulutey describes not only everything that’s been going on for months running as a subscript but schizz I was absolutely angsting over today to the point of wishing to simply dissipate into the ether. Thank You Mystic!
PS. Fuqin Uncle Pluto (grumble grumble grumble)
Grumble Granola ! 🙂
Also would love to hear more about this:
“much of the Aquarius starlore comes from old Babylon and their Storm God”
💖✨
This is such an ensouling and timely post. I was just feeling a bit bummed this week for not making more from having Jupiter on my Aqua moon-mercury right now–but of course I’ve also got Saturn edging up on my sun and this bigger square. Basically I’m recalibrating to make a big push on hustling to get a long-time creative project out there. So in reality I’ve got lots of long-term goals poised to happen but the reality vs. vision gap has been feeling a bit rough and daunting. SO it’s great to put this in the bigger picture and see that that’s exactly where the hero’s journey of the current astro should be placing me. E.g. just when the heroine thinks she’s reaching the summit there’s actually another push to be made and conquering that and making that happen is a vital part of the quest.
I also feel like I’ve had a lot of subconcious sludge that’s been fuelling my relationship with the Pisces come up to be inspected. Still feel caught between seeing bad patterns but also how much I love him, actually pulling away, but it feels like some deep realizations there–seeing that my lover can be like my mother, alternately affectionate and resentful/overwhelmed–and our dynamic a bit like my parent’s, with me the more buoyant, steady one like my dad, and our partner more wounded/easily rattled and rocked–even down to my and dad (also aqua) and I being night owls who get cold easily and my mother and partner being morning people who overheat, &c &c. So it feels like some deep deep scar tissue is getting unearthed, but that energy and vim I’d like to bring to the world and my work is a little waylaid. And who knows, maybe looking at this and getting the strength to change it ask for more IS jupiter on my moon (was hoping that with mercury it would be more like my inbox full from literary agents).
It’s great to look at the bigger picture here–and hear that actually being in the crosshairs of these inner and outer pressures is right for the aqua energy of this time, just as I don’t doubt that wonderous things are being created through the pressure.
Time to alchemize!
Sun in Aqua. I am done. Down in the dumps today. This year not only started off in survival mode as a collective, but also recovering from a personal trauma. As it is about to end, I am stalled – romantically, in fertility realms, career wise, money wise. As compared to my siblings, friends and the whole wide world really, I feel like a fish thrashing in the net. And Transit Pluto conj my Cap moon ensures that everything feels super raw. Every little bump on the road is felt deep within my psyche. I am done. When will things look up?
I can’t even cry around other people – even family, and lately, I have constantly been on the brink of embarrassing myself by threatening to solve world water crisis. 😓
What fresh hell is explaining the “eat elk for more testosterone” rugged frat boy podcast debacle and when will it end?
Is literally everything just marketing? Parsing out-of-context quotes from German celibate coke addicts with syphillis from days of yore to sell supplements?
Has it always only ever been this?
Aqua sun venus mercury and with the wider, later end of that Saturn Uranus conjunction–I am STRUGGLING. Been counting down until January 2022 since May. I can say that I have had immense growth. Kicked multiple addictions (I got sober in 2020 but it turns out there are lots of “non-addictive” things that I can get compulsive with!). The hardest part is that my mind is electrically-alive at all times but with fear instead of the usual creative Uranian buzz.
Aqua rising with Uranus scrapping across a stellium. Just did Mercury heading for it again when direct then Ops, Ceres, Mars and NN/Sun. Sheesh crisis city, ready for 2022
Aqua sun and Mercury and yeah, the past few years have steamrolled me flat, I feel about one hair away from being a nihilist.
I must say, having checked out that corporatocracy link and on reflection there’s a lot about what’s happened since the CC that lends credence to the great reset idea. It’s without a doubt the most successful wealth transfer of my lifetime. More so than the subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent bailouts of the banks, more than the “great” wars. And yeah, government overreach and crony capitalism has had a massive shot in the arm. Or whatever. Not sure if we even have the language to describe it perfectly but certainly it’s only the companies that had the infrastructure in place already who’ve benefited. Mom and pop stores and small businesses have by and large not seen much advantage from all this. My optimistic side wants to see it as hard but necessary change but the more cynical part of me feels quite dispirited and almost disassociated. It’s as if the idealism and courage to speak out against authoritarianism has been beaten out of me. Compliance and shuffling along unnoticed seems more practical.
I feel this. A bright spot was the whole GameStop/AMC trading thing earlier this year. I think it really highlighted both the organizing power of the internet and also brought a spotlight to how rigged everything is with Robinhood ceasing trading essentially only for normal people.
I watched some of that Vice show “While the Rest of Us Die” on Netflix and it explains how legislature passed in the 80s and 90s resulted in many of the things we are going through now… also really entertaining to hear about how concerned billionaires are with security, not losing their wealth, and how to physically survive when people wake up and get pissed off. Weirdly sleep is probably their biggest problem lol. Everyone has to sleep and if your guards aren’t incentivized to not kill you in a political/financial collapse then… you’re done. I find it so bizarre how many of these uber-rich people are so spiritually immature and do not seem to understand that amassing wealth does not protect them from death. Instead of having an existential crisis they are building rockets to relocate to Mars. 🙄
This is so true. I’m chuckling at Musk and Bezoz having trouble sleeping. Some consolation I guess. 🙃
Gotta admit I have loved this year. Not every single aspect of it obviously. There’s a lot that’s been and continues to be hard about it but they strike me as things / people and limitations I’d have had to deal with regardless of the geopolitical situation. I’m referring to the changes wrought by the Capricorn Convergence that have affected almost everyone and from the massive outcry on social media, admittedly from affluent extroverts enjoying the perks of neoliberalism and success as defined by the traditional metrics. I’m obviously aware that it’s the least affluent who’ve been hardest hit but it’s the most entitled who complain the loudest so that’s what we hear.
I guess I was having a hard time already and had sort of gotten used to being under Saturn’s foot and Pluto’s thumb and so a certain amount of shadenfreud (you know what I mean) probably cushioned the blow for me. It’s not as if I had that much to lose when the pandemic rolled in anyway. My progressed ascendant is Aqua and I have a Saturn- Uranus trine so maybe that grants me some immunity?
sigh.
I don’t know.
it’s hard to tell tbh.
2019 was RAF (rough as)
so was 2018 and then honestly 2017 might have been the worst year of my life. So yeah. For me it’s been okay and honestly kind of stable. I guess when you’ve been climbing out of hell for a few years already uphill is hard but it beats the alternative and you already have a little stamina under your belt. 🤷♀️
I don’t want to be unsupportive of those who are having a rough time of it. One of the strangely uplifting things has been the open sharing on social media of mental health issues rather than the compare and despair inducing gratuitous bragging ethos that was dominant pre covid. I definitely think the soothing influence of Uranus in Taurus has helped and opened our eyes to how easy it is to work from home if we prefer it, or shop locally and generally not be slaves to a system that ignores sustainable, responsible and edifying in favour of bigger better faster and more.
Thank you
Fear of failing at Saturn goals and failing at Uranus goals, aka, failing at life.
Yep, that pretty much covers it.
‘Fear is the mind killer’….quote from Dune.
Can verify; my mind is cactus.
Reading it right now and loving it—yes it’s another male messiah story but also brilliant to see a future totally reimagined via its spirituality and mythmaking.
Exactly this. I don’t have much Aquarius in my chart – I think just the South Node – but gahh I feel like I’m failing to attain “status quo” things, but also my lofty dreams and ambitions.
Meanwhile, everyone else is a rockstar influencer/business coach/entrepreneur … Or now, a crypto/NFT/metaverse millionaire.
*sigh*
Oh, you too?
Only have Aqua Acs, but heavily aspected Uranus and Saturn. Take a look at your planets, might give clue.
Funny, G. Just looked at my current planets and Saturn is really close to that Acq South Node. Meanwhile Uranus is *right* on top of my natal Chiron. Think it’s time do to some shadow work meditation. LOL. Both planets are definitely muck-raking right now in my world.
They are?
It seems that way (at least on Instagram). And of course I know it’s a bit toxic, so I do take breaks. But then I fall down the scroll-hole on LinkedIn and see the career primping and accomplishment p*rn instead.
I do try to talk myself off the ledge – but reading more into the Saturn/Uranus situation is helping me understand why it’s been so difficult to even get ahold of my own thoughts. So thx as always, Mystic!
It’s hard to sum up this year. I’m an Aquarius Sun and Midheaven and also a Saturn-Uranus conjunct (in Sagg, 1987) person.
While there were many trials and tribulations, I made some decisions last year (ended a very stagnant relationship, moved from the city to the forest, got back into horses, got into a new amazing relationship) that set me up for contentment in day to day life this year. I also really love the covid work-from-home thing, it’s been great for me. I can easily get all my work done and make all my myriad health and bodywork appointments (also good to know Aquas need it to be grounded! Makes sense) as well as seeing my horse every day. Then I computer late into the night like a creepy code vampire.
The amazing romantic relationship with a Leo and also my relationship with the new horse I got in February were frought with at-times bombastic arguments in the first half of the year and required a lot of self-inquiry on the part of all. My partner is a former therapist and knows some actually-good therapists so I was able to unravel a lot of what was actually going on with me getting super triggered and having transference of people and situations that caused my C-PTSD initially being confused with him. We went from a stretch of fighting all the time to fighting not at all for several months now and it’s been amazing to be in a relationship where both of us are simultaneously committed to speaking our minds and needs but also committed to working on constant compassion and trying to cultivate good will and deescalate, examine what is really going on when something gets tense.
I have also grown immensely from my relationship with my very difficult Gemini horse, Jupiter, a fellow air Sun square earth Moon creature. He is an extremely free spirit, unafraid to express himself and his opinions about whatever we are doing. People around me used to compliant, deadened horses urged me to sell him after experiencing his outbursts. It’s very input-output with some of them. You tell him to do this, he must do it. You punish him this way, he must yield. This approach does NOT work with him. Just makes him increasingly defiant. I’ve been on a fast-track path of growth in learning how to communicate in another language (horse language, body language), how to be firm but fair, how to be in communication and relationship with a thousand pound flight animal and get him to want to cooperate and work with me without assuming I am inherently superior or have an automatic right to be the dominant entity. I have SO much more to learn and apply to our relationship but it’s been a total paradigm shift, much like in my romantic relationship. If you want to see some amazing work with horses, Google “Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling”. He’s been a huge inspiration for me in enacting non-violent but grounded and powerful communication with horses.
I’ve appreciated Saturn’s influence on my career. I left my corporate job and started an agency with my partner. When I left my last job I was so burned out I couldn’t imagine getting excited about coding again. But having the freedom to influence the design of the things I am building and work in a more artistic space than before has made me become very into work again! It’s sort of like with my horse… being forced to do things and having no say in what needed to be done made me dead inside and not care. But having an active creative participant role has made me excited to do the boring Saturn work to get the result.
Overall I would say that having Saturn in Aquarius seemed beneficial for me in that I have become much more focused on what routines and disciplined actions make me happy in day to day life. Because of covid I have focused more on building a small universe that makes me happy vs going out and seeking adventure.
I am scheduled for a major surgery in February and hoping that Saturn (bones) is a favorable placement during this time.
Rachel, you did the work you got the payoff. Horses are so psychic observing you with all of their senses some of which many of us are unaware of, but not you :-).
I’m in awe of the history of horses especially in battles of old, massive training and intuition required whilst carrying more than 150 kilos in man and armour plus their own protection.
Horse racing breaks my heart. ‘They shoot horses don’t they’.
Best of luck and propitious planet for your op in February.
Thanks, Pegasus! And yes they are FAR more emotionally intelligent than us, they can sense the heart rate of another creature at such a far distance! People ask me if horses “sense fear” and that is an unequivocal yes. Not only do they sense fear but all kinds of other emotions often hidden to ourselves. But they are not totally benevolent enlightened creatures. They will push your buttons and see what they can get away with. But I have realized that they have an inherent sense of fairness and justice. It’s part of being a herd animal. They are testing you to see what your boundaries are… in that way horses have also been amazing teachers for me to simultaneously have compassion and understanding of the perspective of the other while still maintaining my own, fair, boundaries.
There’s such a culturally ingrained perspective of horses! Because they were essentially our first technology, used primarily as a tool and not as a pet. A great book I read about horses and how they shaped society and also about how ethical/intuitive treatment of horses resulted in a better functional result than those who used force for the Knights Templar is “The Message From the Horse” by the aforementioned Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling. It’s his only book written in novel (vs. instructional) format and so moving.
Wow Rache it is brilliant to “hear” from you again!
Your trajectory on the horse, into the forest metaphorical, metaphysical and legit irl is fascinating and weirdly unsurprising given how insightful and brave you are. I’m psyched about this new universe you’re creating and these bold, intelligent life choices. Go you.
And tell me more, I want to know everything.
All of today, and for a while actually but I’ll say recently it’s been dawning on me that I’ve settled into a stultifying status quo bias. After so many costly stands on principle and positive but ego shattering changes I have allowed myself to become stagnant and afraid of making the kind of bold life changes that are necessary if I’m to keep it moving. It was you who mentioned the Polish psychotherapist and his theory of positive disintegration. I’m reading Ghent and Shaw and De Young mostly now and often see that book you recommended as a pivotal shift in my understanding. I’ve subsequently found that stability and routinisation can also bring me tremendous peace and strength. But wow hey it’s so cool to hear from you. Hiiiiiiiiiiii
HI YOU! It’s been awhile! I have not lurked the blog as much the last two years but still keep up with weekly scopes and really like the new(ish) daily transits tool.
Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration! I was just thinking the other day that I should revisit that as it has been awhile since I have and when I last did I was stuck in a holding pattern that I have broken through.
I would not judge yourself too much for perceived stagnation… I am a firm believer in the whole Bukowski stay-in-bed-for-three-days (https://www.openculture.com/2018/08/charles-bukowski-explains-how-beat-depression.html) think both on that micro level and also on a bigger scale if that’s where you are. I don’t think I would be as happy with how everything’s going now if I hadn’t taken the time to wallow/research like I have for extended periods of time in the past. When you’re ready to emerge you will… often in the rearview there’s some inciting incident preceding a massive amount of positive change that would never have happened if you had kept forcing yourself to continue plodding forward for the sake of plodding forward, y’know?
I may be in London next year for a conference I am helping to organize and if I am I will try and find you on here and see if we can meet up! I was there in 2019 for the same conference and it was such a treat to fully enjoy the city before lockdown life began.
Bukowski is the best.
Oh man I’m sad I wrote a really long response to you and apparently it is not here! My internet has been crap lately as my partner steals all of it to upload massive files related to our augmented reality business… Anyways I can be found on instagram @techno_cowgirl and if you are on there I would love to add you and have another way to keep in contact!
Hey so we found each other on the gram and your Jupiter is the most beautiful horse I’ve ever seen
Im curious too about the UX you’ve been working on. UX is such a crucial aspect of a thing. It sounds shallow to say this but if that’s not right it doesn’t matter how cool the rest of it is. Yeah I feel 🤮 saying that out loud but you know… it’s so good to connect again and yes I’m keen to meet up when you come to London. If you can tear yourself away from that noble stallion and the forest for a minute.
🤸♀️ I’m so curious and excited about this path you’ve taken. It feels balanced and right. That research obviously paid off.
I’m a Taurus Sun/Mercury and Aqua Moon/NN so when I tell you this year has been kicking my ass it’s a total understatement