Aquarius Season: Dare to Be Different
“If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”
Maya Angelou may have given us the perfect tagline for Aquarius.
Aquarius Season – Permission to Be Different
Aquarius season dares you to embody your avant-garde, unique, and even eccentric Self. And there’s a lot of Aquarius energy in the next month, with the Sun, Mercury, and our first solar eclipse of the year (and new moon), all in Aquarius. Aquarius archetypes include the Avant-Garde Revolutionary, the Cosmic Visionary, and the Humanitarian Scientist.
Aquarius has a deep need for freedom – freedom to roam in the intellectual and spiritual realms. It invents new ways to serve the collective, especially in the realm of consciousness. Aquarius is here to learn how to follow its own unique, unconventional, and even weird path! This is a big theme in my own chart.
A Personal Example – How This Shows Up in My Chart
My Sun is in Capricorn, and my Rising Sign (Ascendant) is also Capricorn. As the archetype of the Teacher, Counselor, or Elder, Capricorn leads and responsibly manages whatever it builds – like a family, a business, or a community. The Capricornian mission is to create structures that can sustain life for the next seven generations. My chart certainly calls me to embody this archetype.
And yet, there’s a part of Capricorn that urges convention – to follow an acceptable path, to do what’s approved by the culture, by “The Fathers.” It can feel safe but often constricts, making it hard to move beyond what's already been mapped out.
My Venus and Mars in Aquarius, however, have other ideas. They say:
Dare to be different. Pursue the unconventional path. Fully embody your true expression, no matter what anyone else thinks.
My Turning PointMy long-standing interest in people and inner growth led me to pursue extensive training in psychotherapy. That path also satisfied a very Capricornian desire to be officially sanctioned through licensure. But along the way, something essential felt missing and I knew I had to pivot.
At that point, I asked myself a simple question:
What do you love to do?Choosing a Less Conventional Path
I was already practicing the deep, psychological form of astrology I still work with today – using it for my own growth, to help raise my children, and by reading charts for friends. As I cautiously dipped my toe into Aquarian waters, I found myself wondering:
Do I dare call myself an astrological counselor?That was four years ago.
While what I do isn’t therapy, teaching people about their astrological charts – and how astrology can support their lives – is deeply fulfilling for me.
Astrology has shown me that when I consciously embody the different archetypes in my chart, my life naturally comes into better alignment. When I work with those energies – rather than resisting or overriding them – things tend to move with more ease, less friction, and a greater sense of harmony.
Naming the Shadow
As with all signs, it’s important to highlight the shadow. Aquarius can be so focused on the light that it forgets there is a shadow. It can become overly detached, come across as aloof, and disconnect from emotions and the body. (Aquarius is also famously good at forgetting to eat.)
Human beings are conditioned to conform, largely out of fear – fear of not being accepted or liked. So, we tuck our True Selves away, often believing that no one really wants to see who we are beneath the surface.
An Invitation from AquariusThe Aquarian archetype invites us to peel those layers back. It encourages us to dare to think and act in ways we’d genuinely like to, and to follow our own road less traveled.
Just like our fingerprints, each of us is a unique expression of All That Is. So, ask yourself:
What avant-garde, visionary ideas or projects are ready to come alive through you?How can you step into your own eccentricity, even in the smallest of ways?
Ponder those questions alongside this beautiful poem by Rilke:
I want to unfold…
I don’t want to be folded anywhere,
Because where I am folded,
There I am a lie.— R.M. Rilke
If you would like a fresh look at your life, let's work together to discover who you are and why you're here.
P.S. Continue reading below for information on a once-in-a lifetime cosmic event!
And eclipse season begins too: A period of accelerated change, when what’s been hidden comes into focus and decisions can’t be postponed.Other Important Astrological Events
If you only read the first one, you’ll get a sense of the rare “initiation point” humanity is in right now:
Saturn conjunct Neptune at 0 Aries (February 20th)
This is a global reset, a long-term shift in the “rules of the game!”
Saturn and Neptune coming together equates to bringing “practical tools” and “Divine vision” together – a long-term structural change in how humans live.
It supports:Values shaping how power is usedA shared commitment to what truly mattersBuilding new structures that serve people and the greater good Watch for the shadow of this combo:Big ideas hardening into rigid systemsStructures used to control or divideLosing the human heart in the name of efficiency or progressNeptune moves into Aries (January 26th)
Neptune in Aries = Brave action guided by compassion
Watch for: Ideals disconnected from responsibility
Do: Turn one of your inspirations into a grounded, heart-led action
Saturn moves into Aries (February 13th)
Saturn in Aries = Owning your direction and building structures to support it
Watch for: Fear-based control, rigidity, or overwhelm
Do: Choose one plan, boundary, or practice and follow through
New Moon & SOLAR ECLIPSE in Aquarius (Feb 17th)
Aquarius Eclipse: Ending outdated roles in order to align with the future
Watch for: Isolating/detaching instead of evolving
Do: Choose being authentic over approval, even in small ways
Mercury goes retrograde (February 26th – March 20th)
Mercury in Aquarius, retrograde: Rethink how ideas are shared and how systems communicate
Watch for: Miscommunication, mental detachment
Do: Review, revise, and slow down – experiment with new ways of thinking