Zodiac sign

Aquarius

Direct answer

Aquarius is the eleventh zodiac sign: fixed air, traditionally ruled by Saturn and modernly associated with Uranus, linked with systems, ideals, groups, distance, innovation, and social pattern.

Zodiac SignsThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

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At a glance

In astrology: Aquarius is fixed air, opposite Leo, and blends Saturnian structure with modern Uranian disruption in contemporary practice.
Found in: Zodiac Signs
Related: Zodiac, Sun Sign, Moon Sign, Rising Sign

Deeper Almanac guide: Aquarius zodiac guide. This dictionary entry is a concise definition page; the linked guide remains the long-form topic page.

The zodiac constellation figures ranged along an engraved ecliptic — Zodiac field guide · visual guide **Aquarius**
Aquarius is fixed air, traditionally ruled by Saturn.
The sign glyph and elemental field orient the archetype without reducing it to a stereotype.

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What sets Aquarius apart

Aquarius is the oddity of the air signs: it is pictured as a water-bearer, yet its element is air, and its quality is fixed, so it holds a pattern where Libra weighs and Gemini exchanges. In the traditional scheme Saturn alone rules it, with the Sun in detriment, opposite its own Leo. Uranus has been given the sign only since its discovery in 1781. No planet is exalted or falls here, and Ezekiel's creature of the man is linked to it in later Christian reading.

Sun enters: about 20 January
Traditional ruler: Saturn, also ruling Capricorn
Modern ruler: Uranus, assigned after its discovery in 1781
Detriment: the Sun, from the opposite sign Leo
Exaltation and fall: none for the seven planets

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Aquarius in the traditional textbooks

Aquarius is Saturn's day sign: Dorotheus says Saturn rejoices in it and makes Saturn the day lord of the whole air triplicity. It is fixed, masculine and air, and Abu Ma'shar gives it the shins down to the feet. Dorotheus lists it among the sterile signs. Ptolemy gives its stars the natures of Saturn and Mercury, and Saturn with Jupiter for the stream of water.

Ruler: Saturn. Ptolemy gives it to Saturn because it is cold and wintry, opposite the houses of the luminaries. Its detriment is the Sun, the ruler of Leo, the opposite sign.
Exaltation in this sign: none. Fall in this sign: none.
Triplicity (air): Saturn by day, Mercury by night, Jupiter as partner (Dorotheus).
Nature (Abu Ma'shar): hot, moist, sanguine; taste sweet; masculine, diurnal; winter, firm.
Ptolemy's class: fixed. On the body, it has no special effect on the body.
Body (Abu Ma'shar): shins to feet (al-Qabisi: legs and lower ankles).
Wind (Firmicus): the east wind.
Lands (Abu Ma'shar): al-Suwad, Kufa, the Copts of Egypt, western Sind.

The bounds and decans of Aquarius

The widest bounds are Mercury's and Jupiter's, at 7 degrees each, and the narrowest bounds are Mars's and Saturn's, at 5 degrees each. Saturn, the ruler of Aquarius, holds the bound at 26 to 30 degrees.

Here are the Egyptian bounds of Aquarius, counted from 0 degrees of the sign:

Mercury: 1 to 7 degrees (7 wide)
Venus: 8 to 13 degrees (6 wide)
Jupiter: 14 to 20 degrees (7 wide)
Mars: 21 to 25 degrees (5 wide)
Saturn: 26 to 30 degrees (5 wide)

Laid over the three decans of Firmicus Maternus and al-Qabisi, they fall like this:

The first decan, degrees 1 to 10, belongs to Venus. The bounds inside it: Mercury 1 to 7, Venus 8 to 10.
The second decan, degrees 11 to 20, belongs to Mercury. The bounds inside it: Venus 11 to 13, Jupiter 14 to 20.
The third decan, degrees 21 to 30, belongs to the Moon. The bounds inside it: Mars 21 to 25, Saturn 26 to 30.

The stars of Aquarius, and what the sources say it symbolizes

Hill pairs Aquarius with Taurus as the Cherubim, the half-year of lengthening days, and he makes the man of the four living creatures an Aquarius figure. Some Bible-astrology writers also read the man with the pitcher of Mark 14:13 and Luke 22:10 as an Aquarian image. Those are interpretations, not the text. See the Age of Aquarius for the dates.

Ptolemy gave the stars of Aquarius these planetary natures, in the first book of the Tetrabiblos:

the shoulders, left hand and face, Saturn and Mercury
the thighs, Mercury and less Saturn
the stream of water, Saturn and moderately Jupiter

The story behind Aquarius

Aquarius carries water-bearer symbolism even though it is an air sign.

The spiritual meaning of Aquarius

Spiritually, Aquarius asks what private gift belongs in service to the wider human pattern.

Why Aquarius matters

Aquarius matters because it shows where a chart steps back from personal drama to see the system, the future, the group, or the rule that needs revision.

How to read Aquarius

Astrologers reach for Aquarius when interpreting friendship, networks, technology, reform, outsider identity, intellectual distance, and the house where life asks for pattern awareness.

Aquarius in practice: an example

Aquarius on the ninth house may approach faith, education, and worldview through systems, critique, science, or unconventional teachers.

Where readings of Aquarius go wrong

The usual misreading is to reduce Aquarius to quirkiness. Aquarius can be loyal to principle even when emotionally detached.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source: The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category: Zodiac Signs
Aliases: Aquarius sign, Aquarius zodiac sign
Last updated: 2026-09-26

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ZodiacThe Zodiac is the twelve-sign wheel used as astrology's core sign language. Sun SignSun Sign is the birth sign of the Sun and the most familiar doorway into astrology. Moon SignMoon Sign is the birth sign of the Moon and a key indicator of emotional patterning. Rising SignRising Sign is the sign on the eastern horizon at birth and one of the most personal chart factors. ElementElement groups the zodiac signs into fire, earth, air, and water. ModalityModality describes whether a sign initiates, stabilizes, or adapts.

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