Understanding Aquarius, the Wild Child of Our Solar System

 “Lots of people like rainbows. Children make wishes on them, artists paint them, and dreamers chase them, but the Aquarian is ahead of everybody. He lives on one. What's more, he's taken it apart and examined it, piece by piece, color by color, and he still believes in it. It isn't easy to believe in something after you know what it's really like, but the Aquarian is essentially a realist, even though his address is tomorrow, with a wild-blue-yonder zip code.”

- Linda Goodman

Like Lisa, the character in Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, confused while wandering in the labyrinths, one needs to be constantly prepared for surprises in an encounter with people led by the planet Uranus. 

While these folks are normally polite and calm by nature, they love to challenge public opinion and secretly delight in shocking people with their random behaviors. These kind and gentle people can leave you speechless with their surprising statements and actions, often at unpredictable moments.

Meet Aquarius

As the late Linda Goodman wrote in Sun Signs, the typical Aquarian is half Albert Schweitzer and half Mickey Mouse. His feet can be wearing sandals, boots, oxfords, or hush puppies, and he'll seldom bother to check whether they're appropriate for the occasion.

He'll show up barefoot if he feels like it, and laugh at you for laughing at him. Freedom-loving Aquarians can be wildly funny, perverse, original, conceited, and independent, but they can also be diplomatic, gentle, sympathetic, and timid.

Being in a state of constant experimentation just makes the Aquarian more curious to delve into the next mystery, and the next mystery on the horizon might be you.

According to Goodman, to spot an Aquarius, just look for a strange, faraway look in their eyes, as if they contained some kind of magic, mysterious knowledge you can't penetrate. Goodman describes Aquarius’ eyes as vague, with a dreamy, wandering expression.

Aquarians’ physical attributes also give them away, Goodman writes. Their hair is frequently straight and silky, likely to be blonde, sandy, or light brown; the complexion is pale and the height is usually taller than average.

They also carry a marked nobility in their profile, Goodman writes. Uranus’ features are finely chiseled, suggestive of Roman emperors cut on old gold coins.

True Aquarians will often adopt the pose of the drooping head when they're thinking about a problem, or just after they've asked a question. The head drops abruptly forward, or cocks to one side, waiting for your reaction. Curiously, thanks to the dual sexuality of Uranus, there are often feminine characteristics in the male body, such as broad hips, for example-and masculine characteristics in the female body, such as broad shoulders.

You can often spot a person born under this air sign because they frequently say the word "friend". The famous Aquarian Franklin Roosevelt began many of his fiery speeches with the phrase: "My friends ..."

Original, creative and independent, Aquarians can be an enigma to others – but never to themselves. That’s part of what makes them so charming.

So, what makes this air sign tick?

Ideas

Aquarians are highly intellectual and creative. Marked by independence, they don't like to be instructed on what to do. Aquarians are ideas people, never suffering a drought of inspiration. They are known to be progressive thinkers who can see patterns in things others might not notice.

While they can be social, they are not likely to participate in social interactions unless they truly want to.

Career Paths

Aquarians shine with their innate ability to think outside the box. This makes them excellent journalists, social workers, humanitarians, and medical workers. They also tend to be very tech-saavy, which makes them a great match for the IT department.

Careers that require a lot of travel are also a good fit for the Aquarian because they love to meet new people and explore different cultures.

Relationships

Goodman describes Aquarians as being loyal friends and romantic partners who have a smaller inner circle that lasts throughout their lifetime.

In love relationships, Aquarians are open-minded, sensitive, passionate, and spontaneous.

So which sign is a compatible match for the Aquarius? Leo. Shared qualities between Aquarius and Leo such as leadership, courage, and honesty seal the deal.

Superpowers

While Aquarians have many strengths, they have superpowers that make them stand out in the crowd. They think outside the box, are fearless in the face of change, they work well in groups, and are excellent collaborators.

In Aquarius' world, it is more valuable to be different rather than to blend in with the crowd. Those born under this sign are unconventional and original themselves.

Being unafraid of change is another strong point for Aquarius signs, who do not dwell too long on whether the change is inherently bad or good, instead diving immediately into how they can learn from it.

Aquarians are also excellent team members.  They view collaboration as essential and find joy in combining their abilities with those of others.

Those born under this sign see their own unique skills as integral parts of a greater whole.

Challenges

While Aquarians do regulate their emotions well internally, they can struggle to effectively communicate those emotions with others.

They tend to be less expressive than the other signs, sometimes having difficulty finding the words to match how they feel on the inside. This can end up being a pain point for Aquarians in building intimate relationships.

Signs Aquarius Most Likely Will Affect in 2023

We think of each sun sign season as the moment in which those celebrating birthdays get to soak up the spotlight — and that is certainly the case! However, people born with their sun in Aquarius aren't the only ones who will be affected by the electrifying, quirky, rebellious vibes of this season.

Anyone born with their sun or major planetary placements in any of the fixed signs  — Taurus (fixed earth), Leo (fixed fire), and Scorpio (fixed water) — could come away from Aquarius season feeling especially fired up to let go of the past in order to more fully embrace a brilliant new vision of the future.