aquarius ♒

January 20th - February 18th

mythology

Aquarius is the 11th sign of the zodiac, represented by a young man bearing either a pitcher of water or a cup. The young man is Ganymedes, a shepherd, and the son of Tros who gave his name to Troy. Zeus took a fancy to Ganymedes and took him to be the cup bearer to the gods, previously the duty of Hera's daughter, Hebe. He was given the food of the gods, ambrosia, and Zeus sent down his pet eagle (Aquila) to bring Ganymede to Olympus. Hera's pique at this insult to her daughter annoyed Zeus who set Ganymedes in the sky as Aquarius. Once, when the Earth was lacking in water, Ganymede pleaded with Zeus to give water to humans. Zeus agreed, and so Ganymede sent water down to Earth in the form of rain.

astronomy

Aquarius the Water Bearer is an Summer constellation, and can be best viewed in the night sky during the month of September. This faint constellation is seen along the ecliptic. The sun passes through Aquarius from mid-February until mid-March. There are many interesting celestial objects in this large constellation, including globular clusters (M2 and M72), planetary nebulae (NGC 7009 and NGC 7293), the star group M73, a double star (zeta Aqr). Aquarius is the radiant for the meteor showers: March Aquarids, Delta Aquarids, Eta Aquarids, and Iota Aquarids. Alpha Aquarii (the brightest star in Aquarius) is called Sadalmelik (meaning the Lucky One of the King) and beta Aquarii (the second-brightest star in Aquarius) is named Sadalsuud (meaning the Luckiest of the Lucky); they are twin supergiants.

astrology

Mode: Fixed
Element: Air
Ruler: Saturn
Exaltation: (not exalted)

Birthstone: Chalcedony, Crystal, Amethyst
Body Part: Ankles
Color: Violet
Day: Saturday
Metal: Lead alloys
Perfume: Galbanum
Plant: Olive
Animal: Man, Peacock

Qualities: Humanitarian and altruistic. Communal, socialistic and progressive. Idealistic and utopian. Detached, romantic and dreamy.

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