“The needs of the many outweigh needs of the few—or the one.”  -Spock

In my previous post I introduced the 3 characters in the present Triple conjunction in Aquarius:  Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune.  In this post I’ll talk about what it means that they are in Aquarius (see more posts on the nature of Aquarius here).

Aquarius Is About Change
This sign is associated with breakthrough, change and experimentation.  Aquarius is radical, progressive and drawn toward the cutting edge.  This Fixed Air sign loves ideas and abstract thought—a well-thought-out idea is valued for its own sake.  Aquarius is associated with breakthrough thinking and paradigm-shifting, giving access to the “Eureka!” experience—that moment of insight when the light bulb goes off over your head.

Aquarius Is About Science and Technology
Aquarius (and its ruler, Uranus) is the Scientist (sometimes the Mad Scientist!), the Brilliant One, the Nerd.  This sign is experimental, loving to step back and look at things objectively.  Aquarius is cool and collected, intellectual and logical.  Uranus rules electricity and networks and Aquarius loves the rapid changes and developments in the computer field.  Having to keep current with computer and software updates is a joy to Aquarius.  This sign is fascinated with all things scientific and technological.

Aquarius Is About Community and Networks
Let’s face it, Aquarius loves people—but at a distance.  Aquarius is the Humanitarian. the Social Activist, sometimes even the Scapegoat—willing to take the hit for the progress of the team. This is the sign of the Rebel or Revolutionary, the one who overthrows the King (Leo, Aquarius’ polar opposite) and decentralizes power, bringing it to the people.  But Aquarius has difficulty getting intimate with actual individuals in real time.  Connecting a little with a lot of people while keeping them at a cool distance is much more comfortable for this ultra-gregarious sign.

The Aquarian Dark Side
It’s easy to see how this sign, while associated with beautiful themes, can also go too far.  Aquarius can be overly analytical, cold, emotionally detached, preferring hard logic over feelings or even inhuman to the point of being a sociopath who does not feel a part of the rest of humanity.  Embracing social change can go too far, resulting in a radical who wants overthrow of the current order regardless of consequences or a social changer who wants their group’s agenda forwarded with no regard for the cost to others.  Aquarius is prone to groupthink, to loss of individualism within the group-mind.

What It Looks Like When Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter Act In Your Life Through The Medium Of Aquarius
Neptune, the Spiritual Awakener, acting through Aquarius will bring you into contact with groups of people for the purpose of spiritual growth.  Neptune in Aquarius says:  “I am the spinner of dreams and fantasies.  In Aquarius I’m dreaming of ideal communities, places where people can come together and feel a sense of universal connectedness in humanitarian causes.  Some of the visions I dream up may not work in material reality and may lead to disappointment, but I’ll dream them anyway.”  Neptune’s dark side expressed through Aquarius can bring you into contact with groups of deluded people who together subscribe to a shared point of view that alienates them from the rest of humanity, instead of connecting them to it.  This is the sort of place people end up when they crave acceptance and will do anything (or believe anything) to get it.

When Chiron, the Wounded Healer, is in Aquarius, the time is ripe for healing past experiences of groups.  Chiron in Aquarius says:  “I’m going to get you into situations where you feel like an outsider so you can deal with the sense of alienation and rejoin the human family.  I’ll also bring opportunities for joining groups that give you a sense of community in areas of your life where you may have not thought it possible.  If ultimately you come to the understanding that we’re all in this together, my work will be well done.”  The dark side of Chiron in Aquarius is the witch hunt, a situation where one person is cast out, misunderstood and the group is pitted against them.  A witch hunt is hard to distinguish from a intervention, where a group gathers to show an individual his own shadow, because they love him and want him to stop some destructive behavior.  Whether a situation is a witch hunt or an intervention often depends on your perspective and whether or not you take a victim stance.  It is possible to endure something you may at first call a witch hunt and ultimately to respond to it in a way that make you more whole, not more broken.

And last, but definitely not least, Jupiter in Aquarius will create opportunities for playful, growthful and expansive group experiences.  Jupiter says, “Go do a workshop, because your personal growth will go better with other people around.  Throw a party and have fun with like-minded folks.  Gain confidence in your ability to hang out and take up space with lots of people around.  Expand your social network and enjoy all the varieties of people you’ll meet.”  Jupiter’s Aquarian shadow side has to do with grabbing the group spotlight and puffing oneself up to be bigger than others.  Jupiter in Aquarius secretly thinks, “of course everyone is equal—but some are more equal than others,” and sees himself and his contribution to the group as superior.  This attitude can be leavened with a little humbleness to bring Jupiter back onto a level with his peers.

What is the mission of the Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune conjunction?  How can we use it to make our lives better?  Tomorrow I’ll finish up this 3-post series by bringing it all together.  And maybe we’ll overhear a dialogue among these 3 planets.

To begin the thread you are in at the beginning, read this:
May’s Triple Conjunction of Neptune, Chiron & Jupiter

If you want to read other articles about 2009’s triple conjunction of Neptune, Chiron & Jupiter, look here:
Jupiter Conjuncts Neptune: Let Your Dreams Run Wild
Jupiter & Chiron Ask “Am I Too Big Or Not Big Enough?”
Neptune & Chiron Ask You To Bridge Heaven And Earth

One of the central traits of Aquarius is inventiveness. Aquarian (aka Uranian) “types”* tend to come up with new, cutting-edge ideas. How do they do it? And how can you do it too?

1. Love Ideas For Their Own Sake
Aquarians simply love thinking. They love using their brains to tease out the pieces of a problem, to make connections, find patterns and eliminate possibilities. For them, analyzing ideas is more than just fun—it’s a way of life. If you love thinking and ideas, you are more than halfway to breakthrough thinking.

2. Think Outside The Box
Aquarians/Uranians know instinctively that nothing new can be made from assembling pieces of the old. They reach outside the confines of conventional expected thinking styles and out into the wilds of the unknown. Be willing to see beyond the limitations society agrees you have and the limitations you imagine for yourself.

3. Embrace Chaos
“I tell you: one must have chaos within oneself, to give birth to a dancing star,” said Nietszche, an Aquarian type. Chaos is scary. Order is predictable. But you can’t get to a truly new idea from remaining inside the predictable. Uranians (secretly or not) enjoy a little chaos. To emulate them, next time something chaotic happens in your life, don’t close down or run away. Instead, lean into it. The solution might be nearby, behind a wall you don’t know is there.

4. Make It An Experiment
Form a hypothesis, then try to prove or disprove it. Stand at a distance from your subject. Take a truly objective perspective. Ask yourself, “How would this experiment work in a different environment, country, culture?” Or “What if I had to explain this idea to someone who knew nothing at all about it, like a Martian?” Ask open-ended questions, rather than closed (yes/no) questions. Embrace the mind of the beginner.

5. Do The Weird Thing
Be willing to look like a weirdo in your experimentation. It is rumored that Einstein changed his shirt so infrequently that his wife sometimes had to cut it off him. He didn’t have time for worrying about whether this made him look strange. He was busy thinking new thoughts. If you are concerned about how you look, breakthrough thinking might not be for you.

These things are things Aquarians do effortlessly, like breathing. They cannot seem to help it. Fortunately, everyone has at least a little Uranian electricity in their chart, giving us all access to startling, new ideas, when we choose to open to them.
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* Remember that when I say “Aquarians” I do not just mean individuals who have the Sun in Aquarius, although some of those might be strong enough types to resonate with what I’m saying. To qualify as an Aquarian type, you might simply have Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, placed strongly in your chart. An astrologer can look up your chart and tell you.

More about Aquarius coming in the next few weeks . . .

Aquarians, how about a special birthday present?
Your birthday is your own personal New Year’s Day.
Having an astrology reading at this time can help you
get clear on your ideals
and see your life’s progress in the coming year.
Contact Jamie at Pandora@pandoraastrology.com
to schedule a reading
or put one on your wishlist this year.

Is every Aquarian a “people person?”  Probably not, but you can bet every Aquarian has a humanitarian streak that runs pretty deep.  At their best, Aquarians are gregarious, highly social creatures.  They believe in human rights and they take an egalitarian view.  They think power should be shared among many, rather than gripped in the hands of a few, privileged individuals.

As I’ve said before, not every person is true to the temperament of their sun sign, because your sun sign is not all you are.  So take this with a grain of salt.  Having said that, I can speak strongly, despite the fact that Aquarians tend to hate being categorized.

No, strike that.  Aquarians will happily categorize themselves.  They just don’t like other people to do it.  Your neighborhood child of Uranus will stand up and be counted for a cause she believes in.  Uranians love to be connected to and to further the interests of social groups they feel a part of, because everyone “has rights too.”  Arguing for rights and political agendas of fringe groups are especially delightful to Aquarians.  They can become quite impassioned and up in arms.  Political activism appeals to them.

Aquarius takes the Libran ideal of fairness to a new level.  Libra is the air sign that comes before Aquarius in the wheel of the zodiac, and Libra is very much about fairness and balance between two.  That’s why Libra enjoys playing devil’s advocate.  Aquarius, by contrast, is about fairness among many.  That’s why Aquarius is so egalitarian—the Uranian impulse is to treat everyone equally.

This can take frustrating forms in an Aquarian’s private life.  Sometimes an Aquarian may be uninterested in or resistant to viewing one person as “special.”  This is a source of annoyance to his girlfriend or wife, who may feel, oddly enough, that being loved equally with the Aquarian’s mother, his sister, all his friends and neighbors and his pets is not really enough to satisfy her.

Oh, by the way, people commonly think Aquarius is a water sign.  It’s not: it’s an air sign.  Aquarians love ideas, concepts, abstract thought.  They are not very emotional (as water signs are).  When an Aquarian becomes passionate, it’s usually because an idea has gripped her.  Pure feelings can be very uncomfortable for a Uranian to encounter in themselves or in others, causing a response that can be cool, logical, even oddly scientific, as the Aquarian puts the feeling under a microscope to examine it and find out what makes it tick.

Aquarians may have their faults (as all signs do), but they are the force of the future.  They are willing to stand for a cause, to fight and even to die for what they truly believe in.  They push all of society forward, right to the cutting edge.  Find your neighborhood Aquarian and ask him about his ideals for “his people.”  Prepare for a very interesting conversation.

More about Aquarius coming in the next few weeks . . .

Aquarians, how about a special birthday present?
Your birthday is your own personal New Year’s Day.
Having an astrology reading at this time can help you
get clear on your ideals
and see your life’s progress in the coming year.
Contact Jamie at Pandora@pandoraastrology.com
to schedule a reading.