Eleventh: Aquarius

If you haven’t already, I urge you to read the article explaining how the zodiac may be seen as a collection of twelve psychological types and thus gain context.

With Aquarius, we arrive at the final fixed sign of the zodiac, signs of power concentration and liberation. Such power was generated by the previous cardinal sign, in this case Capricorn, which comes in two flavors: equinoctial and solstitial, as we will presently see.

You can see in the symbol that Aquarius has the fifth level of Night Force in its Spiritual blend, the second highest, but only the second level of Day Force. These are the same levels of Scorpio, however this time the high Night Force is diminishing while the Day Force is too low to effectively compensate. Aquarius recognizes this intuitively, for Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the planet of intuition, and many of its characteristics stem from the possible reactions to that imbalance of Spiritual forces.

Two Types of Power

Physics tells us that power is energy used to do some work in a period of time, and that there are two types of energy: dynamically “in use”, called kinetic, and statically “stored” and ready to be used, called potential. In Astrology, these correspond to the energies generated at the equinoxes and solstices, respectively. Therefore, we can talk about two different types of power: equinoctial (Taurus and Scorpio) and solstitial (Leo and Aquarius).

The former is generated by the eagerness and naïveté of signs that, both, feel the rush of having one of the Spiritual forces finally prevalent but only a vague and idealistic idea of such force’s goal, which is either an individuality or a collectivity. The equinoxes are instants of equilibrium between the Day and Night forces, but it’s a precarious and very dynamic equilibrium. Aries and Libra are both root symbols of their respective operative coupling with Taurus and Scorpio acting as their confirmation symbols. Taurus will put the impetuous and universalizing energies of Aries at the service of organic forces for concrete use, while Scorpio transforms the social eagerness of Libra, at times diffuse, into a firm state of identification with a purpose or a person.

Solstitial power, however, is generated from the maximum intensity of one of the forces and must be liberated, at times explosively. The energy contained in the integrated individuality (Cancer) will produce power in Leo that may express and expand it, or destroy it completely. So in Leo we can have one of two extremes: either the individual who procreates and fulfills the promise of the home, or one who goes on endless love adventures, gambling, or violent behavior, only to ruin his personal integrity. In Aquarius, the collectivity is who expresses itself through the individual, making it the sign of groups, communities, and ancestral or societal cultures. On one side it can expand the collectivity through inventions or social reforms, but it can also give rise to rebellions, revolutions, and the complete destruction of the State or civilization through the power of a new type of man, one with new ideals that the State simply cannot assimilate and thus tries to destroy.

Aquarian Individual I

Broadly speaking, the individual with a strong Capricorn psychological type may be a politician, social automaton or a hermit working on a new order. When the emphasis is in Aquarius, the individual may be a rebel or a true reformer, an eccentric trying to sell society on his unique ways or a religious devout whose faith may renew social masses. He may lean toward social asceticism much the way a Leo person may show a violent pride in his creations or attachment to his theatrical emotions.

Paradoxically, he is the social person who goes against society, for he despises being the creation of the State and yet has a great amount of Night Force that ushers him to respect tradition and thus join another group, this time to reform or overtake the State. Whatever the case, he does not tend to fly solo, instead he will be a dedicated man of his party who truly shines when the party is persecuted by the State, or a fanatic whose fanaticism lacks an individual rudder. But, he may be an Edison who responds to the real needs of society with new inventions, or the freedom fighter who liberates a nation from slavery. He is able to renew an entire civilization without tearing down its structures! Rudhyar puts it eloquently: “He may serve young wine in old wineskins or break the wineskins and pour it on the ground for lack of suitable receptacles”.

Age of Aquarius through Sagittarius

It is fashionable to sing praises to Aquarius, which is understandable as we see the traditional structures, essentially born in feudal Europe, now disintegrating. People feel the need for change even as their rational mind resists it desperately. Capricorn and its conservatism are doomed and everybody knows it, but the elites and guardians of religious traditions cannot give way to the necessary changes due to fear. Whereas in Europe, World War II provided the needed reform after the initial revolution, such reform has yet to happen in the United States whose current State is too far removed from its Sagittarian vision of moral rectitude, healthy desire for adventure and religious dreams. Such Sagittarian values have become so crystalized in negative Capricornian structures that several layers are being destroyed now to rediscover the democratic ideals. It should be noted that the chart erected for the US Declaration of Independence¹ has a Sagittarius Ascendant.

The arrows of Sagittarius, the archer centaur, must be aimed to fall in the urn of Aquarius, the water bearer, their tips with an alchemical substance, ambrosia or poison, that transforms ideals into collectivities living them. In Sagittarius, the universal principles and the social and religious ideals are captured by a mind that rises above personal, racial or geographical levels to operate at the highest level of generalizations and connections. Sagittarius gives form but Capricorn gives structure crystalizing the form and, over time, the structure no longer reflects a desired form. The structure must be modified (re-formed) from within and in accordance to a new form, which is the job of Aquarius.

On Democracy

Democracy, a prototypical Aquarian concept, is nothing more than the most extreme generalization man can make about human relationships, the result of a Sagittarian process. Tribal law, including all fascist thinking, is based on immediate connections; yet democratic law can’t care less about our archaic instincts whose origins are the exclusivity of blood (genetic) lineage or religious heritage, or just cultural pride. With democracy, using the term as broadly as possible with respect to human interactions and not the parliamentary system, the mind of Sagittarius expands to the highest level of a universal civilization. Christianity is founded on the belief that we are all “Sons of God” and thus belong to a catholic community—the word catholic comes from the Greek katholikos: universal. However, the early Catholic Church, established limits on spiritual salvation and introduced the fires of hell to non-believers. Such Capricornian limits were kept in the papacy and medieval church until it attracted the necessary Aquarian reformers.

Democracy, in its most general sense, is even broader, for it goes beyond religion or ethics. It polarizes all value systems such that differences based on blood (genetics) or human emotions, and all possessiveness based on ancestral traditions, lose their roots. That said, democracy is an ideal that must be made concrete as a system of organization at the sociopolitical level. In doing so, the Capricornian techniques subjugate or even replace the Sagittarian values, so the ideal democracy becomes applied federalism. The United States, now an entire cycle-of-Pluto old, has been living an unstable democratic system, stubbornly relying on the often twisted mechanisms of federalism, and which is currently cracking at its core.

We have equated democracy with its parliamentary system of equality in voting and majority rule, a very naïve viewpoint when we realize that it is perhaps more important how the elective process works. What we have is the success of Capricorn and its political machinery for the personal and dictatorial triumph of whom can best manipulate the public opinion. The individuality, impulsed by the Day Force at its lowest, merely becomes a vote that may be bought or cajoled, depending on what the masses need.

The Dark Side

While on one side Aquarius will react by displaying the best, and worst, of communal living, on the other it will seek the return of the Sagittarian ideals. So, we have city living with its material comfort and technology alongside mental confusion and moral degradation, but also citizens trying to reestablish their own values through personal rebellions, eccentricities, emotional fanaticism or allegiance to particular groups or cults. Aquarius seeks to revive the vision of Sagittarius, betrayed by the Capricornian metropolis and power elites, by returning to some original state: perhaps relating better to Nature (vegetarianism), reaching for a “personal democracy” (anarchist ideas of some sort), or belonging to a “universal brotherhood” (spiritual or esoteric groups). Hence we have the Aquarian desire for everything strange (not familiar), foreign, novel, and especially for movements aimed to restore human liberty and true democracy.

But, as we saw earlier, the blend has still too much Night Force and everything is understood in terms of social activities and measured with regards to social issues. Thus, Aquarius often depends on the same social forces he so vehemently criticizes. The Day Force is so weak that the individuality is unable to function outside a social framework, for he is not the visionary but the implementer of the vision. Sagittarius forms, Aquarius re-forms. Aquarius is able to “see” the Sagittarian form deep within the existing Capricornian structure, he is the sculptor able to perceive the new civilization within the partially-completed “marble” of the current one. The reformer will chisel out and finish the sculpture, the rebel will blow it up and start anew with a different marble, both being plausible Aquarian solutions.

Aquarian Individual II

Unlike in Capricorn, where it could be silenced, the Day Force in Aquarius makes the individuality present at times, almost capriciously, often merely reacting to other individuals taking part at a given social situation. It is not strong enough to take over the personality, that won’t happen until Aries, but at times it manifests in great personal gestures, just as Leo sometimes displays great social gestures to hide a deep sense of social insecurity or “inferiority complex”. In Aquarius, the insecurity is personal, although likely subconscious, coupled with a fear to confront stronger personalities. Such fear may, under the most favorable conditions, turn to devotion; without resentment for being a devotee in the shadows nor desire to feel equal or superior to the object of devotion.

An individual with a strong Aquarius cannot deny his dependence on his social and ancestral foundations, although he may pretend around friends that he does to increase his social status. The truth is that depending on his own individuality is a terrifying idea given that it means very little in terms of security. Being a self-secure person must involve at least some intellectual regard. The Aquarian individual is afraid of being himself, deprived of all social and cultural foundations, just as the Leo leader fears being just a social person without a privileged position among those with whom he feels like being “social”. Whereas Leo abhors the idea of being one more among equals, Aquarius is perfectly happy there. He is comfortable in society plus is able to use whatever social power he may obtain from ancestral traditions or social consent but, in the end, he needs an official social status, at least official to him, proving that society needs him.

Gift of Service

At the start of this article, we noted that Aquarius is the sign of power obtained from the collective efforts of society and we know that power must be used and, perhaps most importantly, managed. It is the last fixed sign of the zodiac and thus it receives the power of the society built by Capricorn from the Sagittarian ideals, as we just saw. As we enter the Age of Aquarius, the Western civilization alone has enough power to destroy the planet many times over. Needless to say, with such amount of power comes an equal amount of responsibility. Ultimately, the power comes from Spirit through Its Night Force, and remember that Spirit is the integrating Principle of Wholeness. All of us, and especially Aquarian individuals, must constantly choose the manner in which we use social power, both individually and collectively, and Spirit helps us make the choice with His Gift: Service.

The new civilization, in the Age of Aquarius, must be filled with men and women who incorporate in their lives and their philosophy the ideal of service. As Rudhyar says: “… seek no greater glory than to be known as servants of humanity”—emphasis mine.

The power obtained from a social group, regardless of its size, must be used in the service of the same social group. Whoever holds onto power for power’s sake, or seeks to use it in a self-centered way, is on the path to destruction. “Power can bring wholesome fruits only to those who hold it in trust for the Whole and, with it, serve the Whole”, writes Rudhyar. Unfortunately, most men and women have yet to learn this lesson, despite multiple attempts, and won’t change their ways until they are compelled to do so. Spirit does not compel, but facts do, and the facts around us are quickly becoming compelling.

Power, Purpose, Peace

As the hand is the servant to the brain, so the manager should be the servant to the spiritual purpose of the new civilization. Forget idealism or goodness, humanity is in dire need of spiritual purpose. All of us must become conscious of the evolutionary goal next ahead for humanity. The power is there, and the men and women of the Aquarian Age will know how to manage it but, to what end? The only possible answer is: service! The Aquarian citizen of the new civilization must become “the Servant”. Humanity, Rudhyar tells us, is the Great Orphan that must be fed with power but power must be given a purpose. And there is but one true purpose: peace.

Our vision of who we are, even as we praise our divinity within, is so paltry, so insignificant, that when we come in contact with power, we cling to it. But neither power nor love are to be clung to. As Rudhyar often remarked, power is to be used. Love is to be used. Life itself is to be used. All that we touch, experience, think, is to be used. And managed to serve a purpose that is true, real, divine. An evolutionary purpose that “goes forward in greater, deeper, nobler, more inclusive creative activity” (Rudhyar). Every individual or group is forever judged by the use it makes of power. Our collective refusal to transform our lives and our civilization to the horizons opened by the new consciousness will not be judged kindly.

Epilogue

As I have mentioned, the “Gifts of the Spirit” for the signs come from the section of that name in Rudhyar’s book: “An Astrological Triptych”, published in 1968 from a series of twelve original articles written in 1946, when the world was shocked by the power just unleashed to end WWII. So, no later than 1978, when the second edition of the book was published, but perhaps as back as 1946, he ended the chapter on Service with the following words that ring especially true today:

The gates of the New Age have been blown open. Men of little faith can see through the gaping space only the horror of death. But to those whose hearts and spirit have assumed the responsibility of creating a future; to those who have accepted the joy and the martyrdom that come with the true station of world-service, space curves skyward into a threshold. Beyond it, there is God become Man; Man, bearing on his shoulders the urn of infinite power, as Jesus once bore his cross; Man pouring—oh, profusely pouring—upon all that have need and yearning for it, the joy, the wealth, the plenitude that can be ours if only we dare accept the challenge of power and peace, our whole nature singing in service to the Whole.

— Dane Rudhyar

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

1. July 4, 1776 at 5:12 PM in Philadelphia, PA. ↩︎