I would like to share some thoughts on how to consider Aquarius, specifically how it relates two archetypes: The collective, and more-so Humanitarianism on an individual and/or group scale, through the lens of Hellenistic astrology. [Hellenistic meaning the astrology that originated in Southwest Asia and Northern Africa, from ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures from ~100 BCE - 700 CE.]
I would like to expand what sign and planetary symbolism we associate with Humanitarianism, which is most commonly associated with Aquarius in contemporary astrology practice. I am sure we could even make entire arguments to think of the Moon and Cancer, or even the Cancer-Capricorn axis to describe humanitarians/ism/values, but today I just want to focus on Aquarius (and by association Saturn), as well as Jupiter and the signs they rule.
Humanitarian is defined as the following, and is how I am using the term in this writing(1,2):
Cambridge - a person who is involved in or connected with improving people’s lives and reducing suffering
Mirriam-Webster - a person promoting human welfare and social reform
Humanitarianism in this context then, being the philosophy and related actions of someone who is a humanitarian, valuing things that lead to the reduction of suffering in the world. We could quibble about nuances around these definitions but for my purposes today, this is good enough. In contrast, the opposite set of values would be ones tied to greed, hatred, exclusion, and exploitation.
The main idea I would like to get across is that when applied to an individual person or group, I think we make assumptions about someone’s character and personal values, when it is believed that Aquarian energy naturally leans toward humanitarian actions/results. In equating Aquarius with Humanitarianism, we inadvertently gloss over the challenges and inaccurately assess the potential downfalls of this sign. While I agree that Aquarians can do Humanitarianism, it’s not the default setting, and often can be described from a recipe of natal chart factors, and personal lived-experience and context that lead a person to act in alignment with humanitarian values. Some Aquarians happen to be humanitarians, but not all humanitarians are Aquarian.
Aquarius and Saturn
It’s worth noting here that joli knott of Bhodi Mindful wrote a piece recently on the topic of Aquarius and Saturn that I really enjoyed and think pairs well with this essay.(3)
Similar to joli, I like to invoke the duality pair that is Leo and Aquarius and their rulers, to understand Aquarius better, but my take away is a little different: The Sun as a singular agent that orders the space around it. The visible planet farthest from the central point, the margins and container. If Sun is one person, I don’t think it’s too far out (pun intended) to think of Saturn as the opposite: everyone else.
But similar to what I mentioned at the beginning of this essay, I could just as easily consider the collective to be represented by the Moon using a Sun-Moon duality pair. The passage below from Valens mentions “public” in relation to Aquarius, though I’m not sure if he means the act of being in public, or The Public. In the end, my own reasoning for pairing Aquarius with the collective feels flimsy and I highly recommend joli’s essay.
Humanitarian efforts can be on a collective scale, and so they are related in this way, and yet they are different things. I’m not suggesting that people entirely do away with equating houses/signs, and the association of the 11th house with Aquarius, if that’s an important part of their astrology practice. What I would like people to entertain, is a lens that finds the meaning of the houses through their angularity, configuration to the Ascendant, and via planetary joys. When you read about Jupiter and their signs below, it will sound like the 11th house and that’s the planetary joys at work. Saturn finds their joy in the 12th house, and so they share symbolism. I digress.
Let’s see how else Aquarius has been described earlier in the tradition:
Aquarius per Valens is
“..anthropomorphic, mute, quite cold, free, upward-trending…unchanging…carrying burdens, or work in hard materials, an artisan, public. Men born under this sign are malicious, haters of their own families, incorrigible, self-willed, deceitful, tricky, concealing everything, misanthropic, godless, accusers, betrayers of reputations and the truth, envious, petty, occasionally generous…”. (4)
Saturn rules Aquarius based on the rulership scheme set forth by the Thema Mundi, and so Saturn and Aquarius hold similar symbolism. Valens describes people born under Saturn,
“…petty, malignant, care-worn, self-depreciating, solitary, deceitful, secretive in their trickery, strict, downcast, with a hypocritical air, squalid, black-glad, importunate, sad-looking, miserable, with a nautical bent, plying waterside trades. Saturn also causes humblings, sluggishness, unemployment, obstacles in business, interminable lawsuits…secrets, imprisonment, chains, griefs, accusations…Saturn makes serfs and farmers because of its rule over the land, and it cases men to be renters of property, tax farmers, and violent in action. It puts into one’s hands great ranks and distinguished positions, supervisions, management of others’ property, and the fathership of others’ children.” (4)
Saturn, and especially Aquarius as a fixed sign, can in some cases become rigid. Brittle. Orthodox. Intolerant. In the air element, they get fixed upon certain ideas, ways of thinking, logic. There is a kind of intellectual consistency here that is actually necessary for revolutionary or radical change. You cannot be easily changing your thesis and ideas if you’re going to rail for lasting change.
Taking this potential of mental rigidity into a vacuum - this quality can be used to help the collective or harm it. When we call Aquarius humanitarian, we are making too many assumptions about what people are doing with their fixed air energy. Too many assumptions about what people are willing to allow in order to optimize or enforce the new set of rules (strictness).
Air is open to and engaging with the environment around it. Demetra George, based on logic from Robert Schmidt, describes air as expressing through possibilities and potentialities (5). In my own words, Saturn wants to build something that endures, and ruling over Aquarius, will create the structure or container based on the possibility-oriented thoughts. Air in general in this way, lends itself to humanitarian works that are born out of ideas for what is possible.
Aquarius can be naturally talented at designing and navigating systems or talented in working with large networks of knowledge, but the interest for Aquarius and Saturn is the system itself. This is a related but separate thing than caring for the people affected by the system being designed. One would hope the designer/engineer would care, but alas, someone engineered infinite scroll. Someone designed [insert any systematic approach to oppression or terror]. People invent terrible and large systems of knowledge. We cannot at this point, let biases around words like “potential” or “what is possible” to mean beneficial potentials, or the ones we would want. Potentials and possibilities for a future come in all varieties depending on the personal values and ethics of the thinker/systems designer.
Aquarius is about delivering something en masse. The imagery has been consistent over thousands of years, being described by water poured out of a vessel of some kind. Aquarius is the pouring out of waters, as well as the vessel that holds the water, and the person often depicted pouring. This group of stars was referred to as “The Great One” in Babylonian star catalogues. This constellation is in a part of the sky that includes other watery-themed constellations, with Aquarius’ stream holding several more stars, leading to the fishes.(6)
Prometheus carrying and delivering fire. Aqueducts delivering necessary water and hygiene. Ganymedes holding and delivering the sacred beverages to the gods. Internet delivering information and.. whatever it’s delivering. Aquarius perhaps delivering its ideas about what is possible widely or to a group of people. We’ve also seen periods across history of propaganda blanketed across entire nations - ideas shared en masse that mislead and harm collectives. Containers and their controlled outflow.
Sometimes these Aquarian systems or containers are used in pursuit of humanitarian goals, but not always. Many Aquarians work within big systems, hold big systems of knowledge in their minds. They attempt to have a 9000 foot view. And these abilities can be put toward anything, not just the goals we personally align with.
Finally, like to draw on the pair that is Capricorn and Aquarius: Capricorn the structures that root down and get things started, and Aquarius the slow maintenance and evolution of that original structure over time. Aquarius will attempt to optimize a thing, and may not always be sensitive to the myriad downstream effects. Sometimes you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, or the water back in the vase. We cannot assume this dynamic will always lean toward humanitarian actions and outcomes.
Jupiter, Sagittarius, and Pisces
Jupiter is described by Valens as,
“childbearing, engendering, loves, political ties, acquaintance, friendship with great men, prosperity, salaries, great gifts, an abundance of crops, justice, offices, office holding, ranks, authority over temples, arbitrations, trusts, inheritance, brotherhood, fellowship, beneficence, the secure possession of goods, relief from troubles, release form bonds, freedom, deposits in trust, money, stewardships.” (4)
Sagittarius per Valens is described as,
“the house of Jupiter, fiery, upward-trending, vocal, …men born under this sign are noble, just, great-hearted, judges, generous, loving their brothers and friends…” (4)
Valens thinks Pisces are,
“…mute, motile, in conflict with itself because one fish is northern and the other southern…down-ward trending, servile, changeable, sociable/lewd, the cause of wanderings, varied. Men born under this sign are unsteady, unreliable, changeable from bad fortune to good, sexy, thievish, shameless, prolific, popular.” (4)
Frankly, Pisces does not sound like the best candidate for Humanitarian values, though I do think Valens had something against Pisces (his description is really giving “stupid-sexy-Flanders” in my opinion). And while I do think Pisces care about beneficence and understanding just like Jupiter and Sagittarius, Pisces’ more passive, subjective, wandering and servile nature lacks congruence with what I experience is required of humanitarian efforts. Wide inclusivity and compassion is strong here, but those virtuous qualities needs to be paired with ardency and action to make an impact on others’ quality of life.
From Ancient Astrology Volume I again, Fire is imperative which lends itself to action and giving commands (5), and from this perspective, Sagittarius would be a better candidate for humanitarian working to relieve suffering in the world, compared to watery Pisces.
So we have a set of Aquarius/Saturn archetypes and Jupiterian/Sagittarius archetypes. Which set of things sounds like our collectively-accepted definition of humanitarianism? Perhaps we need both sets in order to do this work. The rules/standards/systematic approach mixed with coherence, goodwill, and abundance. Either way, I do not think Aquarius archetypes alone are sufficient to match humanitarianism.
The collective is a group of people that can decide to believe anything they want. The collective/society/group can enact systems, protocols, infrastructure to further the potentials they are focusing on. This can end up in results that are ethical and help humanity, just as much as results that are unethical and harm humanity, depending on the collective values.
Analogously, Libra-heavy people don’t always do things that are widely considered ethical or fair (e.g. Netanyahu or Ruby Frank).
Examples (opinionated)
First, Dick Cheney, who has a Sun and Ascendant ruler, Mercury, in Aquarius. Saturn is in Taurus conjunct Jupiter. He helped make the Iraq war happen, including the nebulous “war on terror”. I bet he thought he was doing great things for humanity and yet the results: not very humanitarian. (7)
Ronald Reagan (not the best data), allegedly has the Sun in Aquarius, Saturn in Taurus, and Venus in Pisces. He terrorized Black communities in his “war against drugs” that the government essentially manufactured. More of america manufacturing crime in order to oppress Black people. Not a humanitarian. (8)
Queen Victoria has a Jupiter in Aquarius. Saturn is in Pisces conjunct Pluto - these are placements I could imagine combining Jupiter’s good will with a systematic and thoughtful approach, rooted in inclusivity. It wasn’t. It was a rigid level of entitlement that resulting in worldwide campaigns of exploitation and colonization. We cannot assume humanitarian values in someone simply based off Aquarian placements, even benefic-in-Aquarius placements. For anyone who says she was a woman of her time and thought she was doing good in the world at the time: People from 100-200 years ago weren’t unintelligent and also they weren’t immune to propaganda. By comparison, the person we know as Siddhattha Gotama Buddha (Pali) lived over two thousand years ago and plainly instructed to not take things that are not freely given. Without coercion, exploitation, and colonization. (9)
I hope this exercise has added some additional ways of thinking about not only Aquarius/Saturn, but also Jupiter and their signs and how we relate their symbolism to certain beliefs, values, and behaviors. If you’re a practitioner who sees clients, I encourage you to see where these more traditional Aquarian tendencies show up or not in your clients.
Thank you for reading this essay, and enjoy a discount code AQUARIUS for a 30% discount on birth chart readings!
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For transparency,
In the quoted text from Valens, I left out several significations that I found irrelevant to this discussion. For instance, there are notes on gender, bodies, and illnesses, and other correspondences to the signs and planets that I did not find relevant to this exploration. You can find the full quoted passages in reference 4 and 5 below:
“Humanitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humanitarian. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.
“Humanitarian.” Cambridge.org Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/humanitarian. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.
knott j. Understanding Aquarius through Saturn. https://www.bodhimindful.com/blog/understanding-aquarius-through-saturn. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.
Valens V. The Anthology, Mark T. Riley trans. Amor Fati Publications. 2022. p 3,4, 10-12
George D. Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice Volume I, 2nd ed. Rubedo Press, 2019. p 163-164.
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. World Asterisms Project: An Introduction to the Sky Cultures of the World. Volume One: World Asterism Handbook. Version 2024.4. p76-82, 221, 262.
Dick Cheney’s Natal Chart. https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/dick-cheney-horoscope. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.
Ronald Reagan’s Natal Chart. https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/ronald-reagan-horoscope. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.
Queen Victoria’s Natal Chart. https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/queen-of-england-victoria-horoscope. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026