49
Kirk,
A nice series of posts capturing the shift to modern characterizations of aquarius, thanks.

Whenever I try a psychological approach to aquarius I think of Rip Torn and Nick Nolte's mug shots. Then I start laughing.

50
got to be careful what one says or the local god might show up and say " I'm locking the thread..."" forget about conversation.. it freaks some folks out!!!

i was going to write a longer post, but until the dynamic on this website changes, i won't bother...

kirk, i like how you keep knocking down those straw men!

try knocking this one down while you are at it..

quote from "on the heavenly spheres, a treatise on traditional astrology", by helena avlar and luis ribeiro.

page 49
"aquarius ; masculine, diurnal, of air, sanguine ( hot and moist), fixed or solid, ruled by saturn.. the fixed air associates the fluid and dynamic characteristics with constancy and perseverance, giving rise to an expression that is distant, individualistic, and with a great tendency toward abstraction."

i never cared much for stephen forrests approach to astrology, but he does have mercury/mars in aquarius and is entitled to his opinions.

the guy who wrote the song 'i gotta be me' was a guy named walter marks.. the song was originally called 'i got to be me' but sammy davis jr with aries rising was going to make it his own,lol... walter marks birthdate is jan 15 1934 - and he does indeed have a few important placements in aquarius - saturn/mars conjunct, just like sammy davis jr, except sammy had the saturn/mars conjunction in scorpio..

i think folks have to arrive at an understanding of aquarius in their own way and one can't be guided only by books. same thing with the planet uranus, but at least one won't have to read about any of that in a trad astro book...

52
kirk, i like your image.. it reminds me of the moderator who will remain un-named.. i suspect that is exactly what they do too! shutting down threads is all they have!!

i think anyone can have an opinion on the nature of a sign or planet.. that is really all one is going to read in the astrology field as i see it.. opinions.. nothing is ever substantiated and to my own thinking has to be taken as a whole, as opposed to in pieces.. these cookbooks are fun to kick around, but that is all they are.. they are meant as a guide, and perhaps some of them are really lousy guides too.. folks have to figure out what is what for themselves as i see it. life is a contradictory mess of things for the most part.. astrology tries to make sense of it, but then so does religion and see how that typically works out, lol.. not all insight is equal.. i like knocking down straw men and making things up too, so we share that in common..

53
i always enjoyed the book 'a handbook for the humanistic astrologer' by michael r. meyer.. it too is like a cookbook, but i remember reading this back in the 70's and still find it relevant. here is what he says about aquarius page 61.

quality : fixed/air
principle : social expression
process : exteriorization of social position
purpose : response to social need

concrete meaning : science, music and genius. political movements and revolutions. humanitarianism, group and collective ideals.

abstract meaning : the ability to creat and express in social or collective terms. personal insecurity.

cyclic meaning : the individual is now a complete social entity, though his own sense of individuality has been sacrificed in the process.

15 degree aquarius : the release of power and purpose of social need.

in emphasis : a need to be independent of social and cultural support.

human anatomy : the legs and ankles. "

maybe someone will get something from me sharing this.. on the other hand, maybe one has to read the whole book in order to fully appreciate it.

55
i took a look at a few trad books to see what i could find on aquarius, which might help you out.
this from rhetorius the egyptian, page 8 holden translation. it is not much but all i could find..

"signs harmful to the eyes"
the signs harmful to the eyes are taurus, because of the pleiades; cancer because of the nebula; scorpio, because of the sting;sagittarius, because of the point; capricorn, because of the thorn; aquarius, because of the pitcher; and also leo in part. and you will find out about these things in more detail further on."