
A “Sakka”, or water-bearer, carrying water on his back in a goat-skin. Wood engraving by [G.L.S.].
Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Credit: Wellcome Library, London http://wellcomeimages.org
images@wellcome.ac.uk
From the inside looking out, Aquarius rising tries to process everything through the mind. This can give the impression of confidence, especially if Aquarius is naturally sharp, but the war inside Aquarius shakes whatever confidence the mental faculties offer to the core: it’s over stability and consistency and nose to the grindstone effort v. originality, ignoring the rules, and a willingness to create upheaval in the name of the revolutionary and new. The weakness here is that the mind simply isn’t equipped to handle matters of emotion, spirit, and the physical, and so Aquarius gets knocked down repeatedly and soon feels that neither approach will pay off. This all originates with the survival needs of childhood, that required Aquarius to intellectually shine (as when the parents ‘show off’ the child’s abilities and take credit for their offspring) or that generally forbid much physical play/ projects or that made emotional displays (especially displays of certain unacceptable emotions, like anger) off limits. Aquarius, in trying to accommodate early caretakers, would turn to the mental arena for activity that garnered acceptance—and sometimes they never get out of this pattern.
This Ascendant generally conveys a lively personality, one that’s engaging, entertaining, and somewhat wearing on others in its less mature forms. The intent is one of exploration focused on what’s new to the individual, to what can be learned (or to discovering all that is known about a subject), so for some their company may be a little too academically inclined. Aquarius likes to discuss things, and there’s no limit to the topics or where that talk may range. They’re brave, in their way, and don’t mind being first with something risky–they display the courage of their Aries brethren, tempered with careful calculations of the odds and of their own abilities: they’re willing to experiment, but that doesn’t mean they’re crazy!
The influence of ancient ruler Saturn encourages a continuing assessment for these individuals, trained on the suitability of the status quo and the potential need for revolution. They watch for those places where the old guard may break down, ready to propose a new order, if the group will support it (and them, possibly in the role of leader–this Ascendant likes to lead during the upheaval, then step back once things settle down).
Aquarius rising thinks about themselves in terms of the group, but always with awareness of their own individuality, measuring perpetually what they are getting, and what they are giving, to the group. Until Aquarius learns to break down those barriers, to remove the ‘me against the world’ thinking, they will continue with a kind of existential loneliness haunting the personality. Often, they’ve been taught to subsume the Self to the group, and when that becomes intolerable, they rebel, and neither response heals the problem. It’s only when Aquarius gives up the childish definition of ‘I’ for the more mature, Leo oriented one (that centers on generosity, on genuinely putting the Self first for one’s health and best expression, on treasuring the Self for talents, abilities, and the Sun-Soul Purpose, on feeling through the heart center) that this rising sign will give up the stubbornness and reactionary take on interaction and supplant it with exchange that makes the most of both the innate intellectual prowess and the original and unique qualities and point of view.
Looking for the current astro-weather? Here it is–
And you might want to try this, over at ‘Been There, Done That’