January 19—As the days begin to noticeably lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun enters Aquarius. Ruled by the outermost traditional planet, one of the Aquarian themes is exile. Saturn represents notions of beyondness, outside the pen of comfort and stability, and those places that are unconducive to life. Out here, strewn into the unflinching winds, we often find the outcast, the non conformist, and the wayfarer.
One Example
The upcoming indie film Nomadland follows the story of a widower who after the death of her husband and the catastrophic effects of the Great Recession has lost everything. As a 60-something, she joins others—migrant castaways living in cars and vans like herself—in the incessant hunt for work. Uprooted from jobs, homes and comfortable lifestyles, these modern day nomads represent the very real conditions many Americans, including elders, live with. As we near February when an assembly of planets will join in Aquarius, I hope that one of the first issues the new US administration tackles is the rights of the homeless and nomadic populations.
Nomadland is being hailed as a modernized Grapes of Wrath. Interestingly, both Steinbeck and director-writer-editor of the film, Chloé Zhao, have their Venus in Aquarius. This placement can relate to the outsider. It has the ability to connect insiders to isolating themes thereby deepening perspectives and healing divisions.
Whenever I talk with clients who have significant Aquarius energy, they relate to feeling as though they watch from the outside. There can be a profound individuality that borders on aloneness (not loneliness). Even though we often speak of Aquarius as a humanitarian sign, it’s not so much as a connection to people as it is to the ideals that connect us all. Aquarius Sun Ed Abbey hinted on this individuality when he wrote on the pristine spaces in nature. It was here, in the majestic quiet and land left-alone that he found connection to the sacred. Perhaps for Aquarius, refuge is not found in belonging to the spelled out letters on the page, but more in circulating the white space that surrounds them.