Aquarius Constellation Meaning in Astrology

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Aquarius Constellation [Stellarium]

Constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer, is one of the 12 ecliptic constellations and lies between Capricornus and Pisces. It also borders Pegasus, Equuleus, Delphinus, Piscis Austrinus, Sculptor and Cetus.
Aquarius is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It spans 40 degrees of the zodiac in the Signs Aquarius and Pisces.
Abbreviation: Aqr
Genitive: Aquarii

Aquarius Constellation Stars

2000	2050	Star	Name	Sp. Class	Mag.	Orb
11♒43	12♒26	ε Aqr	Albali	A1	3.78	1°30′
13♒03	13♒45	μ Aqr	Albulaan I	A3	4.73	1°00′
16♒24	17♒06	ν Aqr	Albulaan II	G8	4.50	1°10′
23♒23	24♒06	β Aqr	Sadalsuud	G0	2.90	1°50′
24♒07	24♒49	ξ Aqr	Bunda	A7	4.68	1°00′
28♒43	29♒25	ι Aqr		B8	4.29	1°20′
02♓06	02♓48	ο Aqr	Sadalmulk	B7	4.74	1°00′
03♓16	03♓57	θ Aqr	Ancha	G8	4.17	1°20′
03♓21	04♓03	α Aqr	Sadalmelik	G2	2.95	1°50′
05♓23	06♓05	σ Aqr		A0	4.82	1°00′
06♓43	07♓24	γ Aqr	Sadachbia	A0	3.86	1°30′
08♓36	09♓18	τ² Aqr		K5	4.05	1°20′
08♓36	09♓18	π Aqr	Seat	B1	4.80	1°00′
08♓52	09♓34	δ Aqr	Skat	A3	3.27	1°50′
08♓55	09♓37	ζ Aqr	Achr al Achbiya	F3	3.65	1°40′
09♓25	10♓07	κ Aqr	Situla	K2	5.04	1°00′
10♓01	10♓43	88 (c²) Aqr	Safina	K1	3.68	1°40′
10♓24	11♓06	η Aqr	Hydria	B9	4.04	1°20′
11♓34	12♓17	λ Aqr	Shatabhisha	M2	3.73	1°30′
13♓27	14♓09	98 (b¹) Aqr		K0	3.96	1°30′
16♓19	17♓01	ψ¹ Aqr		K0	4.24	1°20′
17♓08	17♓50	φ Aqr		M2	4.22	1°20′
19♓40	20♓22	ω¹ Aqr		A7	4.97	1°00′
20♓12	20♓54	ω² Aqr		B9	4.49	1°10′

Aquarius Star Names

α Aqr is officially named Sadalmelik, meaning “the lucky [star] of the king.”

β Aqr is officially named Sadalsuud, meaning “the luckiest of the lucky stars.”

γ Aqr is officially named Sadachbia, meaning “the lucky star of the tents.”

δ Aqr is officially named Skat, meaning “the shin.”

ε Aqr is officially named Albali, meaning “the lucky star of the swallower.”

ζ Aqr is traditionally named Achr al Achbiya, from the Arabic akhir al‑khibāʾ, “the last tent,” and Alsad, from the Arabic al‑saʿad, “the fortunate.” ^[1]
α, γ, ζ, η, and π Aqr formed the 23d manzil Sadachbia, from Al Saʽd al Aḣbiyah, which has been interpreted as “the Lucky Star of Hidden Things or Hiding-places,” because when it emerged from the sun’s rays all hidden worms and reptiles, buried during the preceding cold, creep out of their holes! But as this word Aḣbiyah is merely the plural of Ḣibāʽ, “a Tent,” a more reasonable explanation is that the star was so called from its rising in the spring twilight, when, after the winter’s want and suffering, the nomad’s tents were raised on the freshening pastures, and the pleasant weather set in. This idea renders Professor Whitney’s “Felicity of Tents” a happy translation of the original. ζ, in the centre, marking the top of the tent; Kazwini, however, considered this central star as Al Saʽd, “the Lucky,” and the three surrounding ones his tents. ^[2]
ζ Aqr is also known as Sadaltager, from the Arabic صعد التاجر Saᶜd al-Tāğir, “the Merchant’s Favorable One,” of unknown origin. It is therefore impossible to know whether it is a corruption of an existing name or a name formed outside of the major known catalogues. Mustafa Pultar (2020) abbreviates it to Altajer. ^[3]
ζ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Fénmù, “Tomb,” representing “Tomb hills,” and has the traditional name Fénmùyī, “1st star of Tomb.” ^[4]

η Aqr is traditionally named Hydria, from the Greek ‘υδρια meaning “jug,” ^[5]where it is located in the figure.
η Aqr belonged to the 23d manzil Sadachbia ^[2](see ζ Aqr)
η Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Fénmù, “Tomb,” representing “Tomb hills,” and has the traditional name Fénmùsān, “3rd star of Tomb.” ^[4]

θ Aqr is officially named Ancha, meaning “the haunch.”

ι Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Lěibìzhèn, “Line of Ramparts,” representing “Fortifications around the barracks,” and has the traditional name Lěibìzhènwu, “5th star of Line of Ramparts.” ^[4]

κ Aqr is officially named Situla, from the Latin situla, “the bucket, pot.” ^[6]
A Latin word meaning “pot, or bucket,” used in Renaissance philological studies as the translation of the modern Arabic constellation name al-dalw, for Aquarius. Subsequently, the word was applied as a star name to κ Apr.
The indigenous Arabs located al-dalw (“the Well Bucket”) in today’s Square of Pegasus. In that location, it corresponded to what in other cultures was Aquarius among the zodiacal signs. The modern Arabs subsequently used the indigenous name al-dalw for the Greek Water Pourer (Aquarius). An alternative modern Arabic name for Aquarius was the translation sākib al-mā’, “the Water Pourer.” ^[7]
κ Aqr. Situla is applied to this from the classical Latin term for “a Water-jar or bucket”; the later Arabic word is somewhat similar, Saṭl, and the earlier Al Dalw.
Gassendi, however, derived it from sitis, “thirst,” the Waterman’s Urn having been figured by some as an Oven!
Theon the Younger, father of the celebrated Hypatia of our 5th century, termed this star Ὀινοχοεία, “the Outpouring of Wine,” as if by Ganymede; and others, Κάλπη, and Urna, the southern edge of which, near the outflow, it marks. In China, κ was Heu Leang, the Empty Bridge. ^[2]
κ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Xūliáng, “Temple,” representing “ Empty garden tomb,” and has the traditional names Xūliángsān, “3rd star of Temple,” and Sāngōng, “Three leaders.” ^[4]

λ Aqr is officially named Shatabhisha.
From Śatabhiṣa (शतभिष), literally “hundred physicians,” is the name of the 24th nakshatra of Vedic astronomy. Its earliest attestation is in a Vedic religious text (Atharvaveda) from the first millennium BCE, and in an astronomical text (Vedanga Jyotisha) dating to around 300 BCE. As the yogatara (main star) of this nakshatra, λ Aquarii stands “pars pro toto” for the entire constellation. ^[8]
λ, with about 100 stars surrounding it, was the 23rd nakshatra Catabhisaj, “the Hundred Physician,” whose regent was Varuna, the goddess of the waters and chief of the Adityas, the various early divinities of Hindu mythology, and all children of Aditi, the Sky and the Heavens.
λ Aqr also has the traditional names Hydor, from the ancient Greek Ὕδωρ, “water,” and Ekkhysis, from εκχυσις, “outpouring.”
λ Aqr is the most prominent of the first stars in the Stream. Proclus followed Aratos in calling it Ὕδωρ, “the Water,” and others, Ἔκχυσις, “the Outpouring.” Although these titles, appropriated by Bayer for λ, originally were for the whole group set apart as the Stream. ^[2]
λ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Lěibìzhèn, “Line of Ramparts,” representing “Fortifications around the barracks,” and has the traditional name Lěibìzhènqī, “7th star of Line of Ramparts.” ^[4]
2 Cet is now officially named Hydor. ^[8]Stellarium (Jan 2026) still lists λ Aqr as Hydor

μ Aqr is traditionally named Albulaan, from the Arabic al-bāliʿ, “the swallower.” It shares this name with ε and ν Aqu. ^[1]
Stellarium lists μ Aqr as Albulaan I.
ε, μ and ν Aqr formed the 21st manzil, Al Saʽd al Bulaʽ, “the Good Fortune of the Swallower.” μ and ν were also known as Al Buläān in the dual. ^[2]
Albulan I is the proper name of the star μ Aqr. It is the Arabic البلعان al-Bulaᶜān. This name results from an individualization of the stars of the group ε, μ, ν Aqr called سعد بلع Saᶜd Bulaᶜ, which is, in the traditional Arabic sky, the name of the group ε, μ, ν Aqr constituting the 23rd manāzil. The first star, ε Aqr, is named البالع al-Bāliᶜ, literally “The Swallower,” because, according to a commentary by the scholar Ibn Qutayba (9th century), it is the brightest star in the ε, μ, ν Aqr group and literally devoured the next two, called البالعان al-Bulaᶜān. In fact, even though the root √BLᶜ contains the idea of “swallowing,” this is an astronomical explanation devoid of cultural context. The series of السعود al-Suᶜūd does indeed contain names linked to ancient deities, and this is the case for البالع al-Bulaᶜ, from which البالع al-Bāliᶜ was formed. Moreover, in the Arabic linguistic universe, Bulaᶜ is a proper noun attested in Southern Arabia. The name سعد بلع Saᶜd Bulaᶜ therefore means “the Favorable One of Bulaᶜ.” It follows that if البالعان al-Bulaᶜān are “the Two Swallowed,” it is only if one forgets that Bulaᶜ is a proper noun. The least bad option, if one can say so, would be to translate البلعان al-Bulaᶜān as “the Two Bulaᶜ.” The name Sa’d bula‘ was given to the group μ, ν Aqr by Johann Elert Bode (1801). ^[9]
μ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Nǚ, “Girl,” representing “Women’s matters, women weaving, the turtle or snake basaltic,” and has the traditional name Nǚsùèr, “2nd star of Girl.” ^[4]

The figure of Saᶜd Bulaᶜ in the traditional Arab sky. [Roland E. Laffitte]

ν Aqr is traditionally named Albulaan, from the Arabic al-bāliʿ, “the swallower.” It shares this name with ε and μ Aqu. ^[1]
Stellarium lists ν Aqr as Albulaan II.
ε, μ and ν Aqr formed the 21st manzil, Al Saʽd al Bulaʽ, “the Good Fortune of the Swallower.” μ and ν were also known as Al Buläān in the dual. ^[2]
ν Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Tiānlěichéng, “Celestial Ramparts,” representing “Fortifications in heaven,” and has the traditional name Tiānlěichéngshí, “10th star of Celestial Ramparts.” ^[4]

ξ Aqr is officially named Bunda, a lunar mansion name in Persian astronomy. ^[6]
β and ξ Aqr constituted the Persian lunar station Bunda and the similar Coptic Upuineuti, “the Foundation.” β Aqr, ξ Aqr, and 46 (c) Cap were the 22d manzil Sadalsuud, from Al Saʽd al Suʽud, liberally translated “the Luckiest of the Lucky.” ^[2]
ξ Aqr was Al Mouakket’s Thanih Saad al Saaoud, from taanii sa’d al-su’ūd, translated into Latin as Secunda Fortunæ Fortunarum, “the Second of Luck of Lucks.” ^[10]
ξ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Tiānlěichéng, “Celestial Ramparts,” representing “Fortifications in heaven,” and has the traditional name Tiānlěichéngyī, “2nd star of Celestial Ramparts.” ^[4]

ο Aqr is traditionally named Sadalmulk, from the Arabic saʿd al‑malik, “the lucky star of the king”. It shares this name with α Aqr. ^[1]
ο Aqr, a little to the southwest of α Aqr, was associated with it under the title Al Saʽd al Mulk, “the Lucky One of the Kingdom.” In China it was Kae Uh, the Roof. ^[2]
ο Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Gàiwū, “Roofing,” representing “Palace officials on behalf of management of the roof,” and has the traditional name Gàiwūyī, “1st star of Roofing.” ^[4]

π Aqr has the traditional names Seat, and Wasat al Achbiya, from the Arabic wasṭ al‑khibāʾ, “the middle tent.” ^[1]
Stellarium lists π Aqr as Seat.
π Aqr was called Seat by Grotius, as one of the group Al Saʽd al Aḣbiyah, the 23d manzil Sadachbia ^[2](see ζ Aqr)
π Aqr was Al Mouakket’s Wasat al Achbiya, from wasath al ahbiyah, translated into Latin as Media Tabernaculorum, “the middle of luck of the homes (tents).” ^[10]
π Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Fénmù, “Tomb,” representing “Tomb hills,” and has the traditional name Fénmùsì, “3rd star of Tomb.” ^[4]

τ² Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Yǔlínjūn, “Palace Guard,” representing “The ancient imperial guards,” and has the traditional name Yǔlínjūnèrshísì, “24th star of Palace Guard.” ^[4]

φ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Lěibìzhèn, “Line of Ramparts,” representing “Fortifications around the barracks,” and has the traditional name Lěibìzhènbā, “8th star of Line of Ramparts.” ^[4]

ψ¹ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Yǔlínjūn, “Palace Guard,” representing “The ancient imperial guards,” and has the traditional name Yǔlínjūnsānshíjiǔ, “39th star of Palace Guard.” ^[4]

ω¹ Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Yǔlínjūn, “Palace Guard,” representing “The ancient imperial guards,” and has the traditional name Yǔlínjūnsìshísì, “44th star of Palace Guard.” ^[4]

ω² Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Yǔlínjūn, “Palace Guard,” representing “The ancient imperial guards,” and has the traditional name Yǔlínjūnsìshíwu, “45th star of Palace Guard.” ^[4]

88 (c²) Aqr is officially named Safina, from the Arabic al‑safinah, “the ship.” ^[6]
Safina was an Indigenous Arabic constellation of the Ship was between Diphda and Fomalhaut. Considering the close vicinity of the Greek star name [for 2 Cet] “Hydor” (The Water) north of it, it becomes a sunken treasure ship. ^[8]
88 Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Yǔlínjūn, “Palace Guard,” representing “The ancient imperial guards,” and has the traditional name Yǔlínjūnèrshíbā, “28th star of Palace Guard.” ^[4]

98 (b¹) Aqr belongs to the Chinese asterism Yǔlínjūn, “Palace Guard,” representing “The ancient imperial guards,” and has the traditional name Yǔlínjūnsānshísì, “34th star of Palace Guard.” ^[4]

Aquarius Constellation [Urania’s Mirror]

Aquarius Constellation Astrology

Manilius (@ 35 AD)

Aquarius pouring out his Urn, imparts
An useful Knowledge in resembling Arts,
To find out Springs, and with new Streams supply
The Barren Countries, and refresh the dry;
To raise in Pipes, or to extend in Beams,
And in high Rooms imprison Foreign Streams;
Affront the Sea, for State, not use, restrain
The Waves with Motes, and curb the raging Main:
Or Engine raise, whence Waters mount above,
And mix the lower, with the higher Jove,
A thousand other Arts, which Waters sway,
As Channels lead, or else as Pipes convey,
Depend upon the Influence of his Ray.
And to his Births the World oblig’d shall owe
Spheres, Cycles, Orbs, and turn New Skies below,
Soft, easy Tempers, loving Coin for use,
Not sordid, but inclin’d to be profuse;
Not pincht, nor yet too swelling in Estate;
Thus flows the Urn, and fixes this for Fate. ^[11]

The youthful Waterman, who from upturned pot pours forth his stream, likewise bestows skills which have affinity with himself: how to divine springs under the ground and conduct them above, to transform the flow of water so as to spray the very stars, to mock the sea with man-made shores at the bidding of luxury, to construct different types of artificial lakes and rivers [reservoirs and aqueducts], and to support aloft for domestic use streams that come from afar [Vitruvius and Flores]. Beneath this sign there dwell a thousand crafts regulated by water. Why, water will even set in motion the face of heaven and the starry habitations, and will cause the skies to move in a novel rotation [referring to a model planetarium operated by water]. Never will the sons of Aquarius grow tired of the works which come in the wake of water and follow springs. They who issue from this sign are a gentle sort and a lovable breed, and no meanness of heart is theirs; they are prone to suffer losses; and of riches they have neither need nor surfeit. Even thus doth the urn’s stream flow. ^[12]

ASCENDING

The Good, the Pious, and the Just are born
When first Aquarius pours out his Urn. ^[11]

But if you would have a man that is pious, pure, and good, you will find him born when the first portion of the Waterman rises above the horizon. ^[12]

Ptolemy (@150 AD)

Of the stars in Aquarius, those in the shoulders exert an influence like that of Saturn and Mercury, together with those in the left arm and the cloak; those in the thighs, like that of Mercury in a greater degree and like that of Saturn in a lesser degree; those in the stream of water, like that of Saturn and, in some degree, like that of Jupiter. ^[13]

Maternus (@335 AD)

III.29. Ascendant in Aquarius. If the horoscope is found in Aquarius, whatever he has obtained, whatever he has gained, he will again squander it with tearing, and whatever he has had or sought he will again lose, but what has been lost is often collected by easy means; he will receive many people with affection, and will provide food for many, and there will be ungrateful people around him to whom he has given anything, and if he is placed in grave danger, and despaired of by men, he is delivered by the protection of the gods. He will be struck by the envious noise of many. But he will treat of divine letters or sacred or religious duties, and will be great men in good deeds. known. If MC. is found in Scorpio, he will be strong, but he will be shaken by a hard life and harsh conversation.
30. He will make a transition from place to place, and if he is a simpleton, he will perform servile duties, but later on he will be followed by successful events in all things. But he will also suffer miserable misfortunes regarding his wife and children in the beginning, and later on he will be granted happiness from the knowledge of his ancestors. If he is set in Leo, he will disagree with his wife due to various quarrels. For when he marries an unworthy woman or one who is [excluded or] captured by the ardor of various loves, and he will suffer plots from his own people, and enemies are raised against him by sudden actions, and with his own strength and virtue he takes away ***** the wife of another’s right, or the bride of another, or certainly he contracts marriage with a widow.
31. If IMC. If he is in Taurus, he will be great and will be associated with many powerful people, and he will have glory in all things, and he will govern the substance of many, so that many things will be entrusted to him because of the truth of his discipline, and he will die after a long period of time, oppressed by the long weight of old age, if the lord of his procreative condition, having followed the power, and being placed in the principal places of procreative power, adorned with both the sign and the part, has determined the full number of his time.

III.49. Saturn in Aquarius. Whoever has Saturn in Aquarius will be cast down in his prime, and will lose whatever he has received from his father. But whatever he had at first, he will squander with the same laceration, and then he will himself and by himself make great progress by great deeds. But he will have the greatest storms of life from illnesses, but he will be freed from all these. But there will be dangers in the ebdomatic and enneatic years up to the 43rd year of age.
50. But there will be the greatest dangers at this time, there will be illnesses, there will be causes, there will be terrors, there will be wanderings, there will be such humiliations as to come to the detriment of captivity and slavery, there will be distresses, there will be labors. But all these will be such as to approach the likeness of a miserable death. But after all these distinctions, if Jupiter and Venus are well placed in procreation, glory, gain and dignity follow insignia. They will also have either a defect or health, or a notable scar from fire and steel.
51. But whatever wives they may have been allotted by the laws, they will be useless and such as live contrary to the order of the law. But they will suffer from these inconveniences as long as Saturn comes into the sign of Leo. For before it comes into Leo it diminishes the patrimony. Then it decrees losses, then injuries, then vanities, then deaths of domestics, then it decrees such misfortunes that men, shaken by the continuation of evils, vehemently try to bring death upon themselves.
52. But when it is in square sides, it decrees by the same similar reason that these inconveniences of evil increase day by day. Then there will be sorrows from the death of relatives, then cold weather, then there will be miserable inconveniences of poverty, especially if Saturn is placed in square places, the 7th or 9th year of age will come. For then there will be guards of disgrace, beggars, a shower of unshorn hair, especially if Saturn is placed in Aquarius, and he himself is the lord of the times.
53. However, many ***** , as in the temples themselves they are involved in laborious acts. But from these acts they are affected by various dangers, so that they cannot easily escape, and thus constituted they will find no path to happiness, but everything will be spent, ***** but public causes perhaps speaking. But <if> Jupiter, thus placed <Saturn> , is found in the necessary places of procreation, and at these times in which there are dangers, they are withdrawn either by flight or by long journeys.
54. But when Saturn has fulfilled all these, and when the maximum time of life has run through these evils, then gradually freed from misfortunes they raise their heads, and having washed away all the filth of filth, they clothe themselves with the honorable dress of dignity, consulting themselves and erecting their lives by each step, and establishing themselves with such dignity of patrimony, that even the government and government of men are committed to them. They will be glorious, having the insignia of the greatest power, placed in charge of regions and peoples with the license of power, so that in public places and cities an everlasting memory of their dignity is left.
55. Then they will be joined to powerful men, then to kings, by the grace of friendship, according to the measure of their procreation, then they will obtain gifts, then places in temples, then priesthoods, then they will receive the fruits of joy, then riches, then they will possess service, then foundations, then the dominions of men and women, then movable property, then money will be bestowed upon them, and they will be enriched with such riches that they will also support others with their own means. Then all their relatives will be relieved by the protection of their defense. But when this They will have felt the benefits of happiness, and when they will have been abundant in the affluence of magnificent riches, and when they will have reaped the fruits of those riches, they will die long-lived with a good reputation. ^[14]

Allen (1889)

Aquarius, The Waterman,
has universally borne this or kindred titles; Ideler assigning as a reason the fact that the sun passed through it during the rainy season. In connection with this the proximity of other analogous stellar forms is worthy of note: Capricornus, Cetus, Delphinus, Eridanus, Hydra, Pisces, and Piscis Australis, all the watery shapes in the early heavens, with Argo and Crater, are in this neighborhood; some of whose stars Aratos said “are called the Water”; indeed in Euphratean astronomy this region of the sky was ‘the Sea’, and thought to be under the control of Aquarius.
The constellation immemorially has been represented, even on very early Babylonian stones, as a man, or boy, pouring water from a bucket or urn, with an appropriate towel in the left hand, the human figure sometimes being omitted; while the Arabians, who knew of the latter but did not dare to show it, depicted a mule carrying two water-barrels; and again simply a water-bucket. This last was Ulug Beg’s idea of it, his original word being rendered by Hyde Situla, the Roman Well-bucket; but Al Bīrūnī had it in his astrological charts as Amphora, a Two-handled Wine-jar, that he may have adopted from Ausonius the poet of our 4th century. Even Vercingetorix, Caesar’s foe in Gaul, 52 B.C., is said to have put the similar figure on his stateres with the title Diota, a Two-eared Jar.
On a Roman zodiac it was a Peacock, the symbol of Juno, the Greek Herē, in whose month Gamelion — January-February — the sun was in the sign; and at times it has been shown as a Goose, another bird sacred to that goddess.
Its nomenclature has been extensive but consistent. In Greek literature it was Ὑδροχόος, the epic Ὑδροχεύς, or Water-pourer, transliterated by Catullus as Hydrochoüs, and by Germanicus as Hydrochoös; although the latter also called it Aquitenens and Fundens latices, saying that it personified Deucalion of the Greek Deluge, 1500 B.C. Ausonius had Urnam qui tenet; Manilius, Aequoreus Juvenis, or simply Juvenis, and Ganymedes, the beautiful Phrygian boy, son of Tros and cup-bearer of Jove.
In Babylonia it was associated with the 11th month Shabatu, the Curse of Rain, January-February; and the Epic of Creation has an account of the Deluge in its 11th book, corresponding to this the 11th constellation; each of its other books numerically coinciding with the other zodiacal signs. In that country its Urn seems to have been known as Gu, a Water-jar overflowing, the Akkadian Ku-ur‑ku, the Seat of the Flowing Waters; and it also was Rammān or Rammānu, the God of the Storm, the still earlier Imma, shown pouring water from a vase, the god, however, frequently being omitted. Some assert that Lord of Canals is the signification of the Akkadian word for Aquarius, given to it 15,000 years ago (!), when the sun entered it and the Nile flood was at its height. And while this statement carries the beginnings of astronomy very much farther back than has generally been supposed, or will now be acknowledged, yet for many years we have seen Egyptian and Euphratean history continuously extended into the hitherto dim past; and this theory would easily solve the much discussed question of the origin of the zodiac figures if we are to regard either of those countries as their source, and the seasons and agricultural operations as giving them names.
Aben Ezra called it the Egyptians’ Monius, from their muau, or Μῶ, Water;⁠ Kircher said that it was their Υπευθέριαν, Brachium beneficum, the Place of Good Fortune; which Brown, however, limits to its stars α, γ, ζ and η as a Coptic lunar station; and our Serviss writes that “the ancient Egyptians imagined that the setting of Aquarius caused the rising of the Nile, as he sank his huge urn in the river to fill it.”
With the Arabians it was Al Dalw, the Well-bucket; and Kazwini’s Al Sākib al Mā᾽, the Water-pourer; from the first of which came the Edeleu of Bayer, and the Eldelis of Chilmead. The Persians knew it as Dol or Dūl; the Hebrews, as Delī (Riccioli’s Delle); the Syrians, as Daulo, like the Latin Dolium; and the Turks, as Kugha, — all meaning a Water-bucket. In the Persian Bundehesh it is Vahik.
With the Magi and Druids it represented the whole science of astronomy.
In astrology it was the Airy Trigon, Gemini and Libra being included. With Capricorn it was the “House of Saturn“, governing the legs and ankles; and when on the horizon with the sun the weather was always rainy. When Saturn was here, he had man completely in his clutches — caput et collum; while Jupiter, when here, had humeros, pectus et pedes.
As Junonis astrum it was a diurnal sign, Juno and Jove being its guardians, and bore rule over Cilicia and Tyre; later, over Arabia, Tatary, Denmark, Russia, Lower Sweden, Westphalia, Bremen, and Hamburg.
Proctor’s Myths and Marvels of Astronomy has a list of the astrological colors of the zodiac signs attributing to Aquarius an aqueous blue; while Lucius Ampelius, of our 2d century, assigning in his Liber Memorialis the care of the various winds to the various signs, intrusts to this the guardianship of Eurus and Notus, which blew from the east, or southeast, and from the south.
The astronomers’ symbol for the sign, ♒, showing undulating lines of waves, is said to have been the hieroglyph for Water, the title of Aquarius in the Nile country, where a measuring-rod may have been associated with it;2 indeed Burritt drew such in the hand of the figure as Norma Nilotica, a suggestion of the ancient Nilometer.
Aquarius is not conspicuous, being chiefly marked by the stars γ, ζ, η and π, — the Urn, the familiar Y, — called by the Greeks Κάλπη, Κάλπις, Κάλπεις, and Situla, or Urna, by the Latins, Pliny making a distinct constellation of the latter;⁠ and by the line of fainter stars, λ, χ, φ, ψ, ω and others indicating the water running down into the mouth of the Southern Fish, or, as it is occasionally drawn, uniting with the river Eridanus.
Geminos, in his Ἐισαγωγή, about 77 B.C., made a separate constellation of this stream as Χύσις ὕδατος, the Pouring Forth of Water; but Aratos also had called it this as well as the Water, although in the latter he included β Ceti and the star Fomalhaut. Cicero gave it as Aqua; and the scholiast on Germanicus, as Effusio aquae; while Effusor and Fusor aquae were common titles. The modern Burritt has Fluvius Aquarii and Cascade. ^[2]

Bullinger (1893)

The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).
The Atonement being made, the blessings have been procured, and now they can be bestowed and poured forth upon the Redeemed. This is the truth, whether we think of Abel’s lamb, of patriarchal sacrifices, the offerings under the Law, or of that great Sacrifice of which they all testified. They all with one voice tell us that atonement made is the only foundation of blessing.
This was pictured and foreshown in the heavens from the beginning, by a man pouring forth water from an urn which seems to have an inexhaustible supply, and which flows forth downwards into the mouth of a fish, which receives it and drinks it all up.
In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah it is the same idea, though the man holds two urns, and the fish below seems to have come out of the urn. The man is called Hupei Tirion, which means the place of him coming down or poured forth. In some eastern Zodiacs the urn alone appears.
This agrees with its other names–Hebrew, Deli, the water-urn, or bucket (as in Numbers 24:7); the Arabic Delu is the same…Aquarius is the modern Latin name by which the sign is known. It has the same meaning, the pourer forth of water. ^[15]

Robson (1923)

AQUARIUS. The Waterman.
Legend. Aquarius is said to represent Ganymedes, son of Callirhoe, the most beautiful of mortals, who was carried to heaven by an eagle to act as cupbearer to Jupiter. According to other accounts, however, it is Deucalion, son of Prometheus, who was translated to heaven in memory of the mighty deluge from which only he and Pyrrha were saved.
Influence. Ptolemy makes the following observations: “The stars in the shoulders of Aquarius operate like Saturn and Mercury; those in the left hand and in the face do the same: those in the thighs have an influence more consonant with that of Mercury, and in a less degree with that of Saturn: those in the stream of water have power similar to that of Saturn, and moderately to that of Jupiter.” By the Kabalists Aquarius is associated with the Hebrew letter Nun and the 14th Tarot Trump “Temperance,” over which virtue the constellation appears to have some rule. The beauty of Ganymedes and his flight through the air also link it to the ideas of personal charm and aviation with which it is certainly connected. ^[16]

Rigor (1979)

AQUARIUS: Symbolized by the water carrier.

MYTHOLOGY: In Jacobs lecture to his 12 sons, Napthalie is identified with Aquarius. Napthalie is a hind foot let loose, he giveth goodly words. When the Sun enters this sign it is like a hind that is freed, for it is rushing towards spring vernal equinox. The stream of water flowing from the water bearers urn into the mouth of the southern fish symbolized the stream of life. The southern fish seems to be swimming up stream, symbolizing the struggle upwards to the source of all life, while the stream from the urn symbolizes the descending life.

AQUARIUS indicates reliability, ease of making friends, generally an understanding of human nature, a well-developed social life, and a public life appeal. Financially, affairs may be chaotic, somewhat careless. The environment will have a great effect on the life of an Aquarian, who requires harmony. Domestic life in general is not a problem. Aquarians are enterprising. An unsettled state of mind is not advantageous to an Aquarian. They require ambitions partners. Sometimes Aquarians require a certain amount of solitude. Because of their sense of sociability, they can become an enigma to some partners.
Negatively; Aquarians tend to be destructive, stirring up conditions, being erratic and unreliable, tending to be very nosy, interfering when they should not. They can be touchy and argumentative. They also tend to be overly prideful and very vain, sensitive about personal remarks, taking offense at the smallest details. They tend to lack common sense and waste time in abstract ideas.

KEYWORDS for the Aquarius constellation:

(+) Positive: Altruistic; intuitive, psychic, modest, affectionate, clever, original, innovative, discreet, reliable, ambitions, tactful, stable, visionary, prideful, imaginative.

(–) Negative: Extremism, careless, overly sensitive, touchy, restless, impatient, demonstrative, reckless, thoughtless.

SUN IN AQUARIUS (+) Endows its natives with humane ideas, one who is dignified and independent. One who has a companionable nature. One who seldom bears malice, has unique or inventive ability, a charitable and discriminating nature. One who is thoughtful and practical, easily influenced by kindness, has devotion to duty. One who is open-minded, tolerant.

SUN IN AQUARIUS (–) The native is too imaginative, impractical, lacks constructive ideas. Of an unpredictable nature, tendency to be rebellious, aloof. Tends to be ‘touchy’ and argumentative. May become contentious. A contrary person. One who is fixed in their opinions. One who is proud and too sensitive, one who develops unconventional ideas, has a friendly disposition, develops their own type of philosophy. Subject to impractical idealism. An eccentric person. One who is too easily influenced, subject to being thoughtless. Personal freedom of utmost importance.

MOON IN AQUARIUS (+) Endows its natives with an instinctive feeling for humanistic qualities, social awareness. The native may develop altruistic tendencies, be of a companionable nature, is intuitive and of universal appeal. One who is gracious, open-minded, has empathy for the ‘underdog’.

MOON IN AQUARIUS (–) Native is subject to erratic behavior, is somewhat aloof, can be very stubborn, seeks personal freedom at all costs regardless of consequences, has fear of personal involvement. Unpredictable nature. Subject to nervous tension. May develop a suspicious attitude, a desire to get revenge.

MERCURY IN AQUARIUS (+) Endows its natives with a brilliant, independent, somewhat Scientific and inquiring mentality. One who is discriminative, capable of thorough analysis. May advocate social reform ahead of times, has high ideals and aspirations, is kindly and sociable with a keen insight into human nature. One who is loyal and understanding, tolerant, hopeful and confident. One who is original and inventive, an excellent judge of human nature. One who has a clever perspective for humanities needs. Generally, unemotional but friendly and kind.

MERCURY IN AQUARIUS (–) The native may develop a streak of disloyalty, ready to take undue advantage of friends, associates. One who may be overly critical, one who creates their own problems. An eccentric person, mentally erratic. One who is too ready with criticism and slander. One who has a keen imagination or intuition. “An enemy seeking its prey”.

VENUS IN AQUARIUS (+) Endows its natives with a fondness for social activities and pleasure. Native is open-hearted, kind and frank, capable of a detached form of love relating to beauty rather than passion. Native is diplomatic, friendly, gentle, a magnetic companion and with an artistic nature. Native attracts friends of a humanitarian nature. Native has an understanding and amicable nature.

VENUS IN AQUARIUS (–) Native is subject to secret alliances, affairs and unexpected events. Tendency towards an unconventional relationship. Tends to be too social and not very discriminative. There may be a personal detachment that would repel.

MARS IN AQUARIUS (+) Endows its natives with an enthusiastic personality, a ready debater, generally very convincing. One who is aggressive and enterprising, optimistic and hopeful, ingenious and capable of quickly grasping and executing ideas and plans. One with fixed ideas, but not totally stubborn. One who is intellectual, quick-witted, sometimes rash but very determined. Native has a penetrating mentality and a power of concentration that moves and gives them a powerful influence. Native may be romantic but not a ‘gushing’ type person.

MARS IN AQUARIUS (–) Native is unpredictable, appears to be bombastic; too independent, generally develops a bluntness in speech and mannerisms. Native becomes resentful over imagined insults or insinuations. Native is difficult to get along with, becomes contentious, is of a quarreling nature. Encounters losses through unwise speculations. Too inquisitive into affairs that are none of their business. Subject to emotional discord. One who deliberately creates opposition and loses friends. ^[17]

Noonan (1984)

Aquarius was represented as a man or boy pouring water from a bucket even on very dry Babylonian stones. To the Magi and the Druids this sign represented the whole science of astronomy. In China it was the symbol of the emperor Tchoun Hin, in whose reign was the great deluge; and the Epic of Creation has an account of the Deluge in its 11th book, corresponding to this eleventh sign, Aquarius is the “Place of Good Fortune” and the ancient Egyptians imagined that the setting of Aquarius caused the rising of the Nile as he sank his huge urn into the river to fill it.
Those born under this sign will be magnanimous, attractive, and self-laudatory. Their sole ambition will be to increase their wealth and they will either be impotent or will have very few children. In the Middle Ages it was considered a sign “of so small note, since there was no disputing that its stars possessed influence, virtue and efficacy, whereby they altered the air and seasons in a wonderful, strange, and secret nature.” When Saturn is in this sign the Classicists asserted that he had made man completely in his (Saturn’s) clutches. Early almanacs state that when Aquarius was on the horizon with the Sun the weather was always rainy.
In physical appearance the Aquarian will be of medium height leading to tall. They will have a narrow forehead and dark grey to black eyes, with the black part being wider than the white. They will have coarse lips, a broad chest, a downcast look, and the overall appearance will be of a good-looking individual with a well-filled-out body. Modern astrologers add that the complexion is usually fresh and well-colored.
In personality the native will be well-disposed, chaste, eager to accumulate riches, eager for magnificence, a gourmet, bad-hearted, inert, indolent, restful, and too anxious about world affairs. Men will want to assert their manliness. Those born in the first decanate will be refined, gregarious people; in the second, Ibn Ezra asserts that “he will be grieved all his life”; and those born in the third decanate will be fond of the opposite sex.
Modern astrologers assert that the personality of the Aquarian native includes helpful, altruistic, detached, scientific, too bold, apt to go to extremes, outspoken, rude and tactless, clever, intuitive, refined, modest, cranky, and original.
The professions include servants, traders, and makers of glass and jewelry. Al-Biruni also includes ass-drivers, uneducated people and grave robbers. Modern astrologers add airmen, broadcasters, inventors, photographers, radiologists, and scientists. ^[18] [Classical Scientific Astrology, George Noonan, 1984, pp. 79-80.]

Noonan (1990)

The Constellation of the Water Bearer
The constellation of Aquarius (Aqr) is traditionally the place of good fortune. It indicates full-flowing rivers and springs and portends a sufficient amount of water for agricultural requirements. When in matutine rising or in vespertine setting aspect with the Sun the indication is for rains (but not floods). In medieval astrology Saturn in the constellation of Aquarius meant that mankind was completely dominated by this planet. Ptolemy stated that the fixed stars in the shoulder exert an influence like that of Saturn and Mercury, as do those in the left arm and in the cloak. The stars in the thighs have a nature like that of Mercury and, to a lesser degree, of Saturn. The stars in the stream of water are, according to Ptolemy, akin to Jupiter and Saturn. While none of the named stars are of the Saturnian spectra, the house of Saturn can be expected to exert its influence throughout the constellation. ^[19]