AQUARIUS   JANUARY 21 – FEBRUARY 18

“It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself.”

Betty Friedan (Feb 4, 1921 – Feb 4, 2006) died on her 85^th birthday. Betty reformed women’s rights with her book, The Feminine Mystique. She powerfully influenced the whole women’s movement. As founder of NOW (National Organization for Women), she organized the first International Feminist Congress in 1973. A true Aquarian, Betty’s war cry was “Make policy not coffee”.

Many people think Aquarius is a water sign. They see a water bearer and a symbol that looks like waves. Water symbolizes emotion, feeling, and unconscious. The water bearer is discarding feelings in favor of thinking by pouring them out of a jug.  Air waves are sharp and geometrically precise. Aquarius is fixed thinking. Thinking is Destiny.

Aquarians are the coolest, most detached, and friendly of all types. While they love free spirited friendships, they avoid intimacy. Much time is spent in a world of their ideas and inventions. They value their freedom of speech and overvalue their own opinions. Aquarians should be aware of their Leo opposition. They seem to think they can solve problems better than other people (and sometimes they can). As independent, progressive, and original beings, they pride themselves on their unconventionality, eccentricities, and uniqueness. They must learn to value their uniqueness for what it is and not for the sake of being different. Many Aquarians relish a revolution when the cause is right. They attract other unconventional and unusual people who they can commune with. The best way to convince an Aquarian to change his or her mind is to be extremely logical. Make good sense. Aquarians love technology. Encourage them to innovate. They’ll be happier.

Uranus, first son of Gaea and Chaos, was ruler of the Sky and Father of the Titans in Greek myth. No matter what your sun sign, strong Uranus symbolism makes for strong Aquarian energy. Uranus is closely conjunct my Gemini Sun. People often ask me how I make a living. My answer ~ I invent ways of making a living. For over half a century, I have steadily transformed from Megalomania, to Egomania, to Ecomania, to Humania.

A keyword for Uranus is sudden change. Sudden and unexpected change is what got me here. Why was shit always hitting the fan when I was about to taste real success? I wasn’t supposed to be doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing.

Uranians can be predictably unpredictable and erratic. Many Aquarians are blue-sky thinkers. Jules Verne ~ sci-fi writer, Buzz Aldrin ~ second man on the moon, Helen Gurley Brown ~ editor of Cosmo, James Dean, Charles Dickens, Michael Jordan, Charles Lindbergh, Bill Maher, Wolfgang Mozart, Paul Newman, and Franklin Roosevelt.

Tarin Chaplin (Dec. 4, 1941 – May 30, 2009)

An “eco-choreographer,” activist, writer and dancer, Tarin sought to connect people to the earth, the elements, and the sentient and non-sentient beings that share this universe with us (Burlington Free Press). Tarin was a Sagittarian and nature spirit with no planets in Aquarius. She shows us her Aquarian personality by revealing her square palms and widely spread long fingers in an inventive way. Tarin was a bundle of creative expression. She was also practical, responsible, and reliable (crooked middle fingers), which frustrated her sometimes because she over-committed and obligated herself to too many worthy causes that delayed living in her ideal world. The Intimate Act of Choreography is one of Joanna’s favorite dance books and a classic text used in dance departments across the country.

Pattie Canova is a Taurus. She’s the Queen of Pentacles. Pattie behaves more like an Aquarian, the Queen of Swords, with her square palms, long straight fingers, stiff thumbs, and a strong head life line connection. Pattie is my all~time favorite tarot teacher. I had studied with other tarot teachers, but never truly connected with the archetypes until I met Pattie. Her knowledge and understanding of the 78 archetypes and the corresponding psychology is awesome. Her genuine passion and desire to share what she knows places Pattie way ahead of her competition. Pattie also has the uncanny ability to remember anyone’s and everyone’s names forever. I’m jealous because I have Alzheimer’s for names. Notice how Pattie’s fingers lean toward her index fingers that project outward from her hands ~ Pattie is a ‘Giver’. The bright pink color on the heels of her hands reveals her psychic ability. I’ve watched those lunar mounts glow like hot coals when Pattie’s psychic intuition is cranking. Pattie performs feats of tarot magic on stage and radio. In her unique way, she shares her Aquarian thoughts and ideas in a letter she sent me years ago. I’m sharing them with you.

“My work on stage may seem frivolous and at times it can be. My audience can ask the most banal of questions, but it’s fear that keeps them from themselves. They’re a great reflection for my process; what I love about it and what I’ve just given myself to receive from it all is the experience of joining, of oneness, the giving up of judgments and quieting of my perception. We are all on the same journey. Doing what I’m doing has helped me take it out of my head and into my heart and practice. We all walk that hard road toward enlightenment. I so trust the outcome. I so trust the absoluteness and the power of spirit. I know that everyone in their own way ‘hears’ something, either through feeling or insight”.

My sister Jennifer is a Taurus. Her long knotty stiff fingers and thumbs are set on square palms, symbolizing Aquarian behavior.  A fixed thinker, she can be very practical, incredibly logical, and extremely obstinate. I know better than to argue with her. Jenny is a loving parent, partner, daughter, and sister. She’s a compelling story teller, gifted children’s librarian, caring community member, amazing cook, and devoted friend.

Jennifer and her husband Brian suddenly and unexpectedly lost their son, Graham (1/24/1989 – 5/22/2012). Graham, a very talented young Aquarian, was looking forward to embarking on an exciting and fulfilling journey into a mysterious and unknown future.

 

Jenny and Brian continue to be healthy human beings despite the pain of not being able to watch and share their son’s growing, blossoming, loving, and knowing personal fulfillment. I honor Graham by remembering him and by living my life healthfully and meaningfully. Jenny created an amazing blog to help other people who have suffered devastating losses in their lives – http://www.scoop.it/t/grief-and-loss

Kevin McGuire ~ Charismatic Capricorn.  It’s impossible not to like him. His Aquarian hands blend structure, discipline, and focus (Saturn) with originality and chance (Uranus). As a stage actor and director, Kevin has starred in plays on Broadway and acted and directed his way around the globe in Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Jane Eyre, Secret Garden, Uncle Vanya, and many others. Kevin has sung for Presidents Clinton, Reagan, and Ford.

Oprah Winfrey is an Aquarius and intuitive personality type with rectangular palms and short fingers. Sagittarius rises in her natal chart, blending the best and worst of Athena and Artemis. Oprah is an Alchemist. She turned lead into gold when she transformed an abandoned poor black bastard girl from the south into the self-appointed Queen of mass media. A golden pedestal awaits the goddess in her sacred temple. “Damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t”, Oprah makes a difference, but no matter what and how much she does and gives, it’s still a droplet in an ocean of human suffering, misery, and tragedy. Oprah must balance responsibility and transparency by always being true to herself.

As a mutable thinking type, I relate well with Aquarians. Some of my favorite teachers have been Uranian types. When the all too familiar ‘shit was hitting the fan’ years ago, I sought insight from a psychotherapist. I met with Freudians, Jungians, Reichians, and Adlerians and finally chose a Gestalt psychotherapist because my needs felt immediate. I didn’t want to spend my time combing for clues from my childhood to fix my current challenges.

I chose an Aquarian. I call him Ian, for all the “ians” I had rejected. Each session, I’d weave my wordy web of melodrama for Ian. I hoped to earn his understanding and sympathy. When I’d finish, Ian would ask, “So what else is new?”  He’d clean his nails or play with his latest gadget. I felt pissed. Was he listening to me or wasting my time and money? Once I got Ian’s strategy, I knew that he knew exactly when to look in my eyes and talk.

 

I’d say “but…”  He’d say “and…”  I’d say “can’t…”  He’d say “Don’t want to!” He noticed every gesture and expression and didn’t let me get away with a thing. Ian’s unorthodox methods and clever techniques helped me throw a switch in my thinking and transmute.

As a thinking type, Ian’s hands are much like mine. His square palms and long fingers are held widely apart. The primary difference between us is that my hands and fingers are flexible and Ian’s are stiff. He’s strong willed, focused, and determined. I’m a “jack of all trades, master of none”. Ian helped me to focus and to clarify my thinking. I sought Ian’s friendship as well as his therapeutic skills.

Aquarians make stimulating friends. Ian was fascinated with my hand reading skills. We’d share our ideas and theories for hours following our sessions. As a founding director of a Gestalt Psychology institute, Ian convinced me to participate weekly in an intermediate Gestalt study group. I partook for two years and totally loved the experience. I was able to seamlessly integrate physical, psychological, philosophical, and spiritual archetypes with my knowledge of palmistry. My hand reading expertise brought new perspectives to the group. Psychology compliments metaphysics by providing a foundation for counseling. Counseling is a craft that’s been too often neglected in practices of many self-appointed psychics, readers, and healers. It’s much easier to see something than to know what to say about what you see. What you say and how you say it matters.

In Aquarius, Uranus brings sudden unexpected changes on a grand scale. Uranus takes 84 years to orbit our sun. It surfed the raging rapids of Aquarius from 1912 to 1920.

1912 ~ The “unsinkable” Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage.

1913 ~ A series of tornadoes and floods devastate Middle America, killing over 3,000 people and costing over $100,000,000

1914 ~ World War I began.

1915 ~ A German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania.  The first transcontinental phone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell.

1916 ~ Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa invaded the USA, and President Woodrow Wilson retaliated by sending 6,000 troops into Mexico. The Official Gazette of London published the names of 80 United States firms suspected of trading with Germany.

1917 ~ USA declares war against Germany. The largest race riot in American history occurred in Illinois. Congress amends to prohibit alcohol.

1918 ~ Spanish Flu was the worst pandemic since the bubonic plague that wiped out one quarter of Europe’s population in the 14^th century. Daylight Savings Time began.

1919 ~ Prohibition is ratified as the 18^th amendment to the constitution. Congress failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles ~ President Wilson opposed and unsuccessfully took his disagreement to the American people. He died on tour after having a massive stroke.

When Neptune began transiting the sign of Aquarius in 1996, people became even more divided, deceived, and demoralized by the powers that be. As Uranus entered Aquarius in 1996, many esoteric people believed it was the beginning of the Aquarian Age. Humanity would finally get its shit together and would choose real brotherhood and not just what’s fashionable. Instead, the first political act of 1996 was a welfare reform bill that President Bill Clinton signed into effect that made life much harder for poor people. Taiwan had its first democratic election. There were four catastrophic plane crashes. Madeline Albright became the first female Secretary of State. Ellen DeGeneres became the first outwardly gay star of an ABC sitcom. Body piercing and tattoos became more popular.

In 1998, Catholics and Protestants voted for peace in Ireland. We began bombing Iraq. Male virility became pharmaceutical phenonmenon after Pfizer introduced Viagra. The stock market initiated a new form of gambling they dubbed “internet day trading”. DVDs became the fastest growing consumer electronics product in history.  Bribes and drugs tarnished the Olympics. We lost our innocence, civil liberties, and illusion of security and stability.

Neptune rules confusion, illusion, and delusion.  When Neptune entered Aquarius in 1998, the House of Representatives impeached President Clinton. Clinton was accused of giving “perjurious false and misleading” testimony in front of a grand jury. It was bad for the country, but good for the cigar industry. Our government and twenty state attorney generals charged Microsoft Inc. with anti-trust practices for dominating the Internet access market.

 

When Neptune exited Aquarius in 2012, Neptune’s greatest illusion and deception was how public policy affected old, poor, and sick people, and anyone else who can’t afford to have bad shit happening. Only when we truly see and know what’s truly valuable can we transform our inequities. Narcissistic visions for the future will affect over a billion people aged 65 and over by the middle of the 21^st century. Profits of false prophets will continue to confuse, delude, and control the 99%. The Plutocrats who finance our political campaigns own the partisan leaders who control our health care, manage our welfare, gamble with our pensions, and risk our social security. As Neptune entered Pisces in 2012, many old, poor, and sick people were searching for security, stability, and spiritual answers and finding nothing.