The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays. Theresa Cheung

inner life, and herein lies the secret of their success as they age. Once they learn to listen to rather than repress their intuition, and pay attention to the small as well as the big things, their destiny is to inspire others with their highly original ideas and make an unforgettable and often exceptional impact on the world.

      Tarot card, lucky numbers, days, colors: The Sun, 1, 2, Saturday, Sunday, brown, orange

      Born today: James Watt (engineer); Edgar Allan Poe (author); Janis Joplin (singer)

      Potential: Visionary, independent

      Dark side: Immature, unfocused

      

      

       AQUARIUS

       THE WATER CARRIER

       (JANUARY 20–FEBRUARY 18)

       Element: Air

       Ruling planets: Saturn, the teacher, and Uranus, the visionary

       Tarot card: The Star (hope)

       Lucky numbers: 4, 8, 11

       Favorable colors: Calming and expansive sky blue; yellow, white and lilac

       Driving force: Innovation

       Personal statement: I confidently express my original ideas

       Chinese astrology counterpart: The Tiger

       Although they are known for their visionary, frequently rebellious, “off-the-wall” approach to life, Aquarians are often friendly and compassionate. They often have a deep desire to help others and make the world a better place. They are independent and find it very tough to conform to other people’s expectations. But even though they love to be totally original and do things their way, their curious minds can be swayed by logical argument.

      Personality potential

      Aquarians have revolutionary instincts. They often feel that their role is to push for improvements and progressive change. Their instincts are humanitarian and idealistic, and nothing makes them feel more fulfilled than using their insight, intelligence and skills to help and inspire others. It’s not surprising that many people born under this sign are drawn to human rights, environmentalism, politics, people management, technology and others areas where they can help create positive and innovative change for others or for the planet. Their inventive and original thinking and approach to life can often earn them a reputation for being eccentric—a reputation they take great pride in.

      The Aquarian instinct is to not respect rules and regulations imposed on them by others unless those rules and regulations make sense to them. They are a law unto themselves at times, but they rarely use their inventive ideas in a destructive manner. In the great majority of cases, the secret to their happiness is to find ways to use their intuition and insight to bring benefit, not just to themselves or a close group of people, but to everyone. Aquarians can’t think small. They see the bigger picture.

      This sign is ruled by Saturn, the planet of self-discipline, and Uranus, the planet of originality, idealism, unpredictability and endless change. This goes some way to explaining why Aquarians don’t just cope well with change, they thrive on it. They adore finding out about new things and doing things in different ways to what has been done before. You will rarely find an Aquarian who is content living in their comfort zone. These people need to constantly push boundaries in some way to feel truly alive.

      Aquarians are often very sociable, tolerant and friendly people with the ability to adapt easily to any person or situation. However, despite having an engaging personality, their intellectual approach means they can find it difficult to allow others to get close to them. They have an enviable ability to detach themselves emotionally from others and from situations. This ability to step outside and observe without attachment means they can offer much-valued objective insight. Even though there is always going to be an element of untouchable aloofness and a dreamy quality about them, they are capable of giving a lot of themselves to those they care about and will go out of their way to offer help and support to loved ones and friends when needed.

      Above all, these pioneers are way ahead of their time. They are the people of the future. If inspired, they are capable of flashes of intuition and insight that can be breathtaking in their scope and originality. Blessed with an innate ability to see the upside or the positives rather than the negatives, they are an uplifting breath of fresh air with their refreshing and quirky approach to life, even when things are not going their way.

      “Aquarians don’t just cope well with change, they thrive on it…”

      Personality pitfalls

      Depending on which planetary ruler—Saturn the teacher or Uranus the visionary—is stronger at the time of their birth, Aquarians can be unpredictable or downright quirky. When Saturn dominates, they may be prone to serious bouts of stubbornness and impatience; when Uranus dominates, they are likely to have disruptive and rebellious tendencies. They can also possess a streak of perfectionism that can be soul-destroying to both themselves and to others. Fanaticism and bigotry can sometimes find expression in their belief that only they know how to make the world a better place. With a love of change they can rebel simply for the sake of rebelling or follow a set of beliefs blindly without pausing to consider that there could be other approaches.

      The objectivity and detachment of people born under this sign may sometimes come across as cold-heartedness. They are idealistic but not always warm-hearted; revolutionary but not always considerate; altruistic but not always sensitive. Indeed, they can be downright tactless and perverse on occasion. They are also prone to so overinvesting in a cause or a set of beliefs that they have little of themselves left over for their family and friends. And sometimes, when the burden of responsibility or expectation is put on Aquarians, it can be in their nature to do exactly the opposite of what is needed or requested, for the simple reason that they like to be perverse. And although they often have large numbers of friends, many of these are in fact merely acquaintances. Aquarians often need to exercise more discretion in their relationships. Fulfilling relationships require both parties to open up and share their feelings—something Aquarians can struggle with, and the reason they tend to have more acquaintances than true friends in their lives.

      Darkest secrets

      Many Aquarians present a distinct, sometimes eccentric image to the world, but deep down many suffer from imposter syndrome, unsure of who they really are. This uncertainty can drive them to nonconformist behavior in the misguided belief that rebellion will give them the identity and sense of purpose and self-belief they crave.

      Symbol

      The symbol for Aquarius is the water carrier. Water represents feelings and Aquarians are noted for their ability to offer compassion, but those feelings are carried, which represents the ability of Aquarians to detach themselves if need be. This symbol is also thought to represent the union of feelings and intuition with reason and logic to serve the greater good.