Uranus & Aquarius
Aquarius
The constellation of Aquarius (Latin for ‘water bearer’) is so named because the stars seem to form a picture of a figure pouring water, or sometimes just a water bearing object, such as an urn or a bucket. Depending on the way one connects the stars of Aquarius together, it can look like Aquarius is pouring the waters of the Eridanus constellation, which looks like a river.
Aquarius is one of the oldest recognized constellation pictures and has several stories associated with it. The Greek story of Ganymede tells how Zeus fell in love with this young boy and took him to Mount Olympus where he became the cup bearer to the gods. Another Greek story associates Aquarius with a flood myth, involving Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, who survived the flood and repopulated the earth. In various mythologies, Aquarius is in the sky during a time of rain, whether it overflows the rivers and brings fear of floods, or replenishes a dry earth during planting season. Aquarius is therefore indirectly associated with rain gods in various myths.
The idea of water being the source of life is a prevalent and ancient one. If water is the source of life born—and renewed—then perhaps the Aquarian association of the pursuit of a life born from one’s individuality can be a fitting one.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive”—Howard Thurman
Uranus (Ouranos)
Ouranos was the Greek sky god and he was considered part of the creation myth itself—having no parents in most accounts, but being where the story starts, as he bore children with Gaia (Earth). Gaia was not happy with this setup, especially because Ouranos buried some of them in Tartarus which was deep within the Earth, so she got one of her sons, Saturn (Kronos) to castrate Ouranos to put an end to the arrangement. Kronos did, and started a family tradition. You’ll remember Uranus from a couple of prior issues — he’s Saturn’s dad, and Saturn is Jupiter’s dad. We’ve got a whole family heritage of threatened and power hungry fathers bringing down their own ruin through attempting to prevent their sons from overthrowing them, which began with Ouranos and Gaia. Although, ironically, Ares (Mars), who is part of the continuation of the lineage, being born from Jupiter, didn’t castrate, kill, or overthrow his father, but instead waged war on everyone else!