Aquarius Vibes: What's with All the Aliens?
Oh yeah, and Pluto's there too.
Welcome Back, Witches!
Happy Tuesday!
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Ok, back to our regularly scheduled posting: This week, I’m pumped to finally dig into the sign of Aquarius, who like Capricorn, is a bit misunderstood in the internet-astrology zone.
And because everyone is talking about it, you’ve probably heard that Pluto has moved into Aquarius this weekend as well. Doomsayers are popping up all over to tell us that this is where the robots take over, among other tech-based catastrophes they’re predicting, so we’ll also dispel a bit of that.
What am I waiting for? Let’s get to it!
Aquarius & Aliens: Blame Zeus
“Why is it always about aliens though?” as a double-Aquarian friend of mine often laments in our group thread about memes of her star sign.
And like any stereotype, it turns out that the “Aquarii 💚 aliens” trope has roots in the myth behind the astrology. And it all starts with Zeus’ general insatiability and a mythological hottie named Ganymede.
Once upon a time, before he was the constellation of Aquarius, Ganymede was just a hot, young princeling, son of a king of Troy, himbo-ing about his days in Greek luxury. Zeus, who has never been famous for self-restraint, decides the boy was so beautiful that he’s basically a collectors’ item — like a rare Pokémon or Beanie Baby.
And that’s just what Zeus does: he collects the pretty human.
Disguised as an eagle, Zeus sweeps Ganymede off to Mount Olympus and dubs him cupbearer of the Gods. It was a role that both allowed Zeus to show off his new as arm candy* while also conferring an immensely high status on him.
On the surface, cupbearer is no big deal. He pours wine and ambrosia at Zeus’ table. Whatever. However, at this time in history, people — and petty gods with a lot of time on their hands — really leaned into poisoning to handle their qualms with leadership, which seems prone to happen when power is passed by bloodline. So within that context, the trusted role of cupbearer is no joke.
"Look for Aquarians anywhere that humans are organizing themselves and not doing a great job of it. Like Virgos, organizing themselves is a 50/50 proposition for Aquarius placements, but seeing how the whole should come together? That’s their jam.”
This elevation to Mount Olympus puts Ganymede head and shoulders above his fellow humans. He has a gods’-eye view of humanity, and can see the totality of the human existence play out from his perch on Zeus’ arm.
But from that distance, Ganymede is also completely removed from the human experience on an individual level. Although he’s on Olympus, he’s still not a god . In kidnapping Ganymede, Zeus consigned him to this solitary state between god and man.
*Note: No one actually shipped them as a couple until about the 5th century BC, but you know how historians are about this kind of thing. They’ll chalk any queer romance up to “close roommate” situations or “impassioned friendships.” Whatever you say, Stanley.
What Does that Have to Do with Aliens Though?
A couple paths bring us from Ganymede to aliens.
From that high perch of the gods, Ganymede and later Aquarius came to represent big picture thinking, especially related to technology and progress. In the time of myth that meant flying (e.g., Icarus), but once flight was achieved (sans melty wax) that has generally meant exploration of the cosmos, and search for life beyond earth: Aliens.
But more than anything, Aquarius gets saddled with the aliens bit because when it comes right Ganymede was a bit alien himself. If he’d gone back to earth in the myth, you can bet there’d be some hijinks involving not understanding how to be fully human any more.
Human-ish, but culturally removed and distant, Aquarius placements are always going to throw down their own beat to march to, and that’s what I love about them.
And yes, sometimes they’ll just want to be stoned on the couch contemplating the universe, but more often, I look for Aquarians anywhere that humans are organizing themselves, and not doing a great job of it. Like Virgos, organizing themselves is a 50/50 proposition for Aquarius placements, but seeing how the whole should come together? That’s their jam.
Ok FINE, Let’s Talk About Pluto
This past Saturday, Aquarius season started off with a bang when Pluto and the sun moved into the sign of the cupbearer together. While the sun will only stay until mid-February, Pluto’s stay will extend, save for a short retrograde period later this year, over the next twenty years.
And people will not shut up about it.
Driven by my own Aquarius moon who likes to buck a trend, I’d been planning to completely ignore this transit and let others cover it.
And then I spent the weekend answering questions about and swimming in the energy of this transit. So let’s take a quick moment to get into what has everyone wetting their collective astro pants, shall we?
Pluto, like Aquarius, is not especially in touch with individuals so much as humanity as a whole, and as a planet it’s all about transformation through airing out secrets and exploring taboos. Strangely, it also means riches, which doesn’t sound related at all. What gives?
The best way to think of Pluto is a bit like a volcanic island—it contains a primordial explosive and hidden power, and though destructive AF, it’s also fertile as hell.
Combining that with Aquarius, many astro-nerds, myself included, see the potential for destructive, disruptive transformation in the areas of technology—like AI— and humanitarian struggles, which we can see in at least two ongoing wars. And of course, some knuckleheads somewhere are predicting this is when aliens will land on earth.
The thing to remember is that Pluto is a SLOW freaking planet. It changes signs roughly once per generation, and will be in Aquarius until 2044. It’s not going to be like OOPS SOCIETY IS CHANGED THIS WEEK. And it’s going to apply way beyond anything we can imagine right now.
This is energy that’s settling in for the long haul. And as it does, it’s inviting us collectively to look at things we might normally overlook or disregard. It’s inviting us to get uncomfortable in service not just of progress, but of creating a richer, more vibrant world.
And That’s All She Wrote!
She, of course, being me. I hope you enjoyed the read — I had a lot of fun writing it for you!
Reply to this email or leave a comment to let me know what you thought and these energies are showing up in your life. I love to hear your stories. 💜💜💜
See you all next Tuesday for more planetary fun and who knows what else!
As an Aquarian I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of us! Spot on!! ❤️❤️