Ascendant Aquarius
From 21.1. to 20.2
For Aquarius to be well understood, we can hardly do anything better than combining the other three cherubim signs. Aquarius possesses all their powers and qualities to a certain extent, but never excessively. He possesses the kindness of a Taurus without the blind devotion characteristic of him, the courage of a Leo without his combative and challenging qualities, scientific spirit of a Scorpio without its passionate intensity. In essence, Aquarius is versatile. One cannot point the finger at a certain flaw in their character, but neither can it be said that they stand out in any particular way in any trait, except that they are armed in all fields.
This completeness of mind must be carefully separated from the superficial one of the mutable air sign Gemini because this mind is not as separate from heaven and earth as in Gemini. Aquarius feels like he is on his own on all planes and never separates them. However, he rarely becomes an expert in pure mathematics because the dryness of that matter is repulsive to his humanitarian side. Scorpio is a much better surgeon because Aquarius finds it difficult to view the operation as pure “cutting and sewing”; there is always the feeling that it is a human being on the table. We often find him prominent as a physician, where he can combine the patience of Taurus, the courage of Leo, and the insights of Scorpio.
Aquarius is often spoken of as a revolutionary type, but he always tries to make progress without disturbing the existing conditions, from which we can see the dominant Saturn line. He has a good sense of reality and does not close his eyes to facts, but he tends to use existing facts to combine them into something new, rather than create completely new ones. There is nothing fanatical about this guy. His tolerance is wide and deep. Aquarius never leaves balance. More extreme types, such as Scorpio, are irritated by the calmness and moderation of Aquarius’ approach. Aquarius is too practical to be a visionary. People hate nothing more than good advice.
People who do not understand Aquarius often describe them as ineffective or lacking in focus. This is very far from the truth. This illusion is caused by the fact that the conclusions of this native are set on a fairly broad basis. He omits nothing, so the superficial observer assumes that he did nothing.
However, the lack of Aquarius’s temperament is reflected in the difficulties he has in dealing with emergencies when they arise. There are situations in life when even the most violent actions are necessary. The natural inclination of a man with a stomach ache is to undergo some extreme medication that will make him feel worse. If an Aquarius was to advise him, he would tell him to give up, that he should simply be careful with his diet, to rest, to wait a while. Even if a person has appendicitis, this plan would be just as good for him as any other, but there are still situations where a person with such inflammation can die if not operated on in the next few hours, and it is questionable whether Aquarius has ever given such drastic advice. The same goes for almost all of life’s problems.
In underdeveloped types, this deficiency is a serious matter. Uneducated or semi-literate people, without knowledge of history or any personal experience, are almost helpless in emergencies, even when it comes to domestic trivia. As a rule, the mind of Aquarius is not fast in action, so there is often a tendency to retreat. The native is perfectly active and competent when he controls the situation, but there is no doubt that new things can confuse him.
This does not mean that he opposes new ideas, on the contrary, he gladly accepts them but does not go so far as accepting them enthusiastically. The average person can’t appreciate anyone who doesn’t react immediately to an impression without any thought. At the same time, in many cases, it must be acknowledged that hurried and even stupid action can be better than wise thinking. It is not the fault of wisdom, but the folly. A habit of thinking, which is good, can easily become a habit of avoiding obligations or situations, which is wrong. Even if that doesn’t happen, thinking can seem like procrastination and even cowardice.
Aquarius’ breadth and balance, which distances him from the petty interests of other people, bring him into close contact with the high ideals of humanity. He is much more interested in medicine for consumption than medicine for the consumer, in alleviating some economic difficulties than in personal problems of that nature. He is kind by habit, there is no mistake, but general well-being is so fixed in his mind that it is difficult for him to look at an individual case in any other way than it being just yet another case.
There is no doubt, however, that there is a certain coldness in this type. The native seems to be saying to himself “most human problems come from selfishness and exaggeration of one’s feelings”, which is quite true, but humanity as a whole does not admit it, nor will it for a long time. Aquarius instinctively recognizes that humanity has not progressed to his level, but still speaks and acts as if he is on the same level with them. Occasionally, an error of assessment may occur because Aquarius is too optimistic for the average mind. However, it often happens that native, wanting to give as much understanding as possible to a person in need, is understood as saying only superficial, general things – in short, as to do it without a heart. The situation, however, is quite the opposite.
Aquarius is generally a person you can trust with money. He considers it to be only a means to an end and values it primarily because of its usefulness in facilitating those transactions that contribute to the well-being of the human race. He never wastes money or piles it up, but he is willing to spend money when he thinks he is doing something really good, while when he acts too cautiously, he does so because he wants to keep the power to use it wisely.
This sign is proving to be good in the household as a whole. The devotion of Taurus is sometimes not wise, it is exaggerated. Aquarius develops an appropriate level of independence. He respects himself, respects others, and expects the same from them. Such a basis is much better for domestic life than sentimentality. The native is not particularly willing to leave his home, but he isn’t particularly attached to it either. He develops his independence quite early, but he always tries to maintain the friendliest relations with his kin.
The universality of the spiritual characteristics of the sign does not allow him to fall in love easily. It is difficult for him to concentrate on the fact that the meaning of humanity is at the level of the individual, he is too advanced, too sensitive; romanticism seems to him rather ridiculous and not that valuable to the more developed soul. He is much more inclined to fall in love with school, art, or science than with another person. This is not to say that he is insensitive when it comes to love in the usual sense, but we must note that his position on this issue largely depends on the position of Venus, ie. much more than is the case with other signs. He likely cultivates an inclination equally strongly for both sexes. When he loves, his generally friendly nature does everything to please the other side’s feelings, similar to Sagittarius.
Aquarius is a great parent, although this sign is not particularly fruitful. Yet there is no better person for children. His influence is gentle and reasonable, encouraging independence of thought and action, while at the same time correcting mistakes with sweet sanity and a perfectly appropriate amount of firmness.
The strongest quality of Aquarius is in its friendly nature. He is much better in this role than in marriage or love because there is no limit to the number of things he can dedicate himself to. Aquarius never forgets that the point of friendship is not in having a good time together; he knows its importance in facilitating the exchange of ideas and does not miss its true purpose in facilitating life by caring for others and opportunities to help those in need.
As a partner in marriage or business, Aquarius is all that can be desired. He never causes trouble, and his reason and practical wisdom help him avoid it. The only problem may be due to their strong intellect, which can be difficult for the partner to follow.
This native further shows an exceptional capacity for work and executes it intelligently and with some moderate enthusiasm, but the very thing of “making money” does not particularly attract him. He always acts above materialism. The closer the nature of the business is to its nature the better success he will achieve. Nothing motivates him as the true value of humanity.
The subconscious mind is in harmonious cooperation with the conscious, so it can be said that insights from the inner self are much more accessible to the native than it is the situation with other signs. When it comes to religion, Aquarius is tolerant and sensitive, not very indifferent, but with a desire to free religion from its great handicaps: atavism, superstition, and fanaticism. A fanatical Christian, an Islamist would describe him as a heretic, an infidel, an atheist, or any other word you can think of, but Aquarius will only pity such narrow-minded actions of his attacker.
