The Age of Aquarius - The Return of the Alchemical Woman
A deep dive into the symbolism of Aquarius
The Zodiac sign of Aquarius is a paradox on so many levels. It often tricks you into thinking it is a water sign, after all “aqua” forms the root of the word, when in fact it’s an air sign. Traditionally, Aquarius is described as a man pouring water from one or sometimes two vessels, as it’s name stems from the Latin translation for “cup bearer” or “water bearer” and is denoted by the double zig zag ♒︎ glyph, which ironically also happens to be the Egyptian hieroglyph for water. Right away the fundamental images of this Zodiacal sign: water, vessel and two serpentine-like zig zag waves denote the primordial symbols of the Mother Creator/Goddess, which we find as far back as the Paleolithic era.
Is Aquarius another example of patriarchal appropriation of what was a primeval creatrix archetype? This is exactly what I hope to address in this essay, diving into the symbolic decode of Aquarius. In order to do that, we need to travel as far back as we can find archeological evidence of early mankind (to at least the Upper Paleolithic era), to obtain a deeper understanding of the early development of human consciousness, at a time when language was deeply, metaphorically symbolic, as evidenced by the prehistoric cave art, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines sculpted from wood, bone, teeth and later clay.
THE FLOWING WATERS
Art by Johfra Bosschart, Aquarius 1.
“And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight, And the lotus rose, quietly, quietly, The surface glittered out of heart of light.” T.S.Eliot
Water is the origin of life and even today, we continuously search for it on other planets, in the hope that we are not the only ones in our galaxy. Scientists have long proclaimed that the salty, amniotic fluid of the ocean is the original womb, from which primitive life spawned on Earth. Bodies of water like lakes, rivers and seas are often referred to in the feminine, as a she. Even esoterically, water is described as a feminine principle: maternal, emotionally sensitive, intuitive, mutable, creative as well as representing the obscure subconscious. The forerunner to childbirth, is the “waters breaking”, the amniotic fluid gushing from the lips of the vulva, as the fetus prepares to be born. Instantly, we can see the parallel of the water flowing from the lips of the vase.
Astronomically, the constellation of Aquarius is located in a region referred to as the “Sea’ as it is surrounded by numerous watery constellations such as Pisces (The Fish), Capricorn (half goat, half fish), Piscis Austrinus, Cetus (the Whale), and Eridanus (the river). With all that aquatic symbolism, it is no wonder that Aquarius was associated with the annual flooding of the Nile in Egypt. In the Babylonian Star Catalogues, it was also linked to destructive floods and was cited as Gula (the Great One), identified as Ea (Akkadian) or Enki (Sumerian) who is a bearded god often depicted surrounded by flowing water or holding an overflowing vase. In Old English, ēa means river (from Proto-West Germanic *ahu - “waters, river”). Enki is associated with semen and amniotic fluid, whilst Ea’s water is in reference to ritual purification and is deemed as a protector of humanity, as Ea warned of the Great Flood. I suspected Ea was actually another patriarchal overlay onto a more ancient mother goddess archetype and sure enough there is a Mesopotamian goddess that preceded Ea, his own mother, named Nammu, which translates as “creatrix”. Originally she appears as a creator of all kind that arose from the sea but represented freshwater ocean, the Apsu. However, by the 2nd millennium BCE, the goddess loses some of her ranking and eventually her role as creator of mankind is replaced by Ea/Enki. Curiously there was also a goddess named Gula, sometimes referred to as Gula Bau or Ninisinna, who was the great healer but is not the same as the Gula referenced as Aquarius in the Star Catalogues. Time and time again, the more we dig into ancient history, we see the inherent creatrix symbolism being usurped by patriarchal systems and that symbolism then transferred to the male gods. By nature, the female is the giver of life, which seems to be an obscure biological detail overlooked by the male dominated religions.
Greek civilization, 6th century b.C. Black-figure pottery. Attic hydria. Detail with women drawing water from a fountain, one of the duties of women in classical antiquity. Universal Images Group (UIG)
I think it’s fair to say that water indisputably has a strong relationship with women. I interpret the flowing water of Aquarius as symbolic of the lower, uterine waters (pre-birthing, menstrual and lochia) as separated from the milky white waters from above (the breasts). Throughout history and all cultures, we will find women primarily as the water carriers, literally fetching water from wells and rivers, or performing water offerings and purification rituals. We find this heavily depicted throughout art with the well maidens and the illustrative imagery on the terracotta hydrias (water jars) of ancient Greece. Of course, carrying water wasn’t exclusive to women, but arguably it is a very iconic image of a traditionally female duty. This is why, the Water Bearer portrayed as a man, feels so misplaced symbolically in Fixed Air.
Water is very special chemically, in that it is a universal solvent but can shift from solid to liquid to gas. Perhaps, it is in the gaseous phase of water, as a form of higher consciousness, that we can relate it to the element of Air.
Terracotta figure of Rebecca at the well by Friedrich Goldscheider 19th Century
Acasia wood figure of a servant girl. New Kingdom, Egypt (Louvre Museum)
Nuer woman, Sudan
THE AQUARIUS GLYPH
Air signs are deeply connected to the mind and in the case of Aquarius, it is often described as a maverick and is associated with humanity, innovative thinking, technology and electricity (as it pertains to it’s modern day ruler - Uranus). Many have interpreted the zig zag glyph as life force, an electromagnetic sine wave or the lightning bolts, like the one Zeus sometimes held in his hand. However, I suspect a more serpentine connection, due its horizontal orientation and that we often find that pattern on snake skin.
There seems to be a very ancient affinity among the symbolism of the snake, the woman and water.
The serpent is among the oldest animals depicted in Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic artworks and its mythology is widespread and often tied into creation stories. The snake has been a symbol of death and rebirth, due to its nature to shed its skin and regenerate itself. For this reason, we often find it in temples, burial grounds and other sacred sites around the world and also in its capacity as a protector/guardian or for its wisdom or shamanic healing attributes. The zig zag is perhaps one of the most prolific geometric patterns we find in decorative Paleolithic and Mesolithic artefacts and artworks like the famous Shigir Idol (approximately 12,000 years old). I suspect this pattern was used for it’s protective qualities, bestowing symbolically the powers of the serpent.
A traditional Russian folk dress with lozenges (womb symbolism), crosses and zig zag geometric patterns.
The serpent is swift as lightning, streaking forth from subterranean crevices or striking its prey. Snakes meander their bellies on the earth, like a river snakes its way to the sea. The metaphoric richness of the snake through its power of resurrection and fertility has seen it intricately linked to both women’s fertility and vegetative regeneration. The snake and the rainbow is also often affiliated in myths found all over the world, like the Australian creator The Rainbow Serpent and the Norse Níðhöggr (dragon) and the Bifröst (Rainbow Bridge). However, the connection with the rainbow, probably has to do with the water element, as rainbows often appear during or after rainfall. Ultimately, there seems to be a connection between snakes and rain, as we often find snakes more active during the dry season, in search of water. In Northern India, the Nagas - the rain and water deities link the snake and the goddess to the water cycles. Even to this day, the Hopi of North America, perform a rain dance with live rattlesnakes in their mouths (no harm seems to come to both snake and Hopi). So it seems the zig zag, meandering pattern is interchangeable for water and snake.
Plate with a hole in the centre.
Mammoth tusk; carved, polished and engraved. 138 x 81 mm.
Mal'ta Site (excavations by M.M. Gerasimov, 1928-1930), Siberia, the River Belaya, near Irkutsk, Russia
Maltinsko-buretskaya Culture. 23 000 - 19 000 BC.
On one side of the plate we can see three snakes. The snake is rare in northern hemisphere Paleolithic art, presumably because the cold conditions precluded a wide distribution of snakes. In addition, it can be seen that the snakes have very broad heads, as though they belong to the Cobra group - yet Cobras are now known only in southern asian localities.
Photo and text: http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/
Snake Goddess from the palace at Knossos, c. 1600 B.C.E., faience, 29.5 cm high (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, photo: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Egyptian war goddess Neith wearing the Deshret crown of northern (lower) Egypt, which bears the cobra of Wadjet
By Kkhemet - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41656830
When I further ponder the zig zag glyph of Aquarius, it resembles the letters “W”, “V”or “M” repeatedly; all of these letters are synonymous with the female: Womb, Woman, Vagina, Vulva, Mother, Mater, and Matrix to name a few. The snake and the woman or the goddess seem to be a tale as old as time and countless mythologies can be found from around the world (In the future, I plan to do a deeper exploration into snake symbolism). The Egyptian Cobra - the Uraeus or Ouraeus was a hieroglyphic sign for “goddess”, which later evolved into “secret names of God” listed in the Magic Papyri and medieval texts of sorcery.
This connection between snake and woman is often compared with the “shedding” both undergo; the woman her endometrium and the snake its skin. However, the snake is physically very androgynous, as it is often compared to both the phallus and the yoni. I perceive the venomous snakes as physically more masculine, as their head has an arrowhead-like shape, more penile looking, compared to non-venomous snakes which have a more rounded pointy head. I would imagine our early ancestors observing a snake after consuming its prey, with its belly swollen as big like a pregnant woman’s womb and perhaps this is when the metaphoric symbolism originated. Likewise, when the mouth of the snake opens wide, it resembles the vulva. The ouroboros illustrates perfectly the concept of perpetual self fertilisation - the phallic tail penetrating the vulva’s mouth:- life springing from death in an endless cycle.
Image sourced from https://www.evolvingsciences.com/Snakes%20.html
Another way in which I perceive the serpentine zig zag as symbolic of feminine creation, is how it illustratively resembles the traditional birthing position of the legs. Ever since I discovered Gobekli Tepe, I’ve been obsessed with the lone female human-like image depicted on one of the stone pillars, as seen below, which to me is greatly revealing. One could possible say that the position in the below image, is stylistically similar to a swastika, with the arms in a wave like pattern mimicking the leg spread. Since ancient times, the swastika has been a symbol of life force and in Paleolithic times it was symbolic of the womb.
At Göbekli Tepe, a naked woman engraved on a stone slab placed between the so-called lions’ pillars from layer II. It is a debatable discovery (Schmidt 2006.235–237, (foto Dieter Johannes, DAI)
According to Lady of the Beasts by Buffie Johnson:- “The answer may lie in the traditional aid and comfort the snake had given to women in childbirth for untold generations. The belief among Jews that the binding of the belly with snakeskin assured easy delivery and that a snake skin girdle worn during delivery was a protection against mishaps shows the persistence of this idea". As we have seen, the serpent girdle recurs often in the image of the Goddess”.
Mayan Goddess Ix Chel
THE VESSEL IS THE WOMB
Finally, the third essential iconography of Aquarius, is the vessel itself. In Vedic Astrology, this sign is called kumbha "water-pitcher". If the water flowing is emblematic of the “birthing waters”, while the zig zag snake acts as magical protection during childbirth, then the vessel itself has to be the woman, the womb. Reiterating this idea of the woman as the Holy Grail, the Chalice, is the water pitcher which anatomically resembles an inverted uterus. The two handles often depicted on a water jar are like the fallopian tubes, while the lip of the vase corresponds to the lips of the vulva.
“Ix Chel, the Mayan Rainbow and Lunar Goddess of fertility and childbirth holds a jar, a symbol of the womb, upside down so that childbirth may proceed.”
Lady of the Beasts by Buffie Johnson
Similarly, icons like Mary Magdalene are often depicted holding a jar and wearing a ribbon or tassels tied in a knot, the knot signifying pregnancy. Meanwhile in Egypt, Isis had her “tyet”, commonly referred to as the Knot of Isis or the Girdle of Isis, which is thought to be a protective amulet for the womb and symbol of regeneration.
So was the astrological sign of Aquarius originally represented by a woman, a creatrix, in her role as child bearer, holding within her the living waters of consciousness? Somewhere along the line of time, her image was erased but her symbols remained, just transferred onto a male idol.
Sure, we can find some artistic depictions of Aquarius as a woman, but technically as far back as astrology can be traced to Babylon, it’s always been represented by a bearded man and described as a masculine air sign. Curiously, in the Tarot system though, Aquarius is characterised by the Star card, which is usually illustrated by a woman surrounded by 7 stars and one prominent 8 pointed star. Could this 8 pointed star be in reference to the Venus Star or to the Pole Star? That’s a topic for another day.
The Star card symbolises hope, healing and renewal.
Aquarius is the 11th sign of the Zodiacal Wheel of Fate. Eleven, the two pillars which mark the gateway, but the gateway to what? The Woman is the Tree of Life, she is the bridge between realms, drawing from the cosmic womb of creation, the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way; and through her womb, she materialises on the earthly plane. Now, I’m not referring exclusively to the womb’s capacity to conceive a soul, but to much more! What if, Fixed Air in Aquarius is about the flow or frequency of the current of flowing water. The water is always depicted in motion, which I think is an important clue. What if Aquarius is the Gateway to the source of creative consciousness? Could alchemical women, standing in their full capacity, be able to connect with this frequency, to anchor it on the material plain, in order to possibly birth a higher frequency of consciousness through all of humanity? I’ll leave you with these questions and more, to ponder more deeply within you.
In conclusion, as we approach the Age of Aquarius, will it be a sign of the reclamation of the Mother Creator/Goddess in human society? Could this be indicative of us returning to a matrifocal civilisation once again? I suspect the potentiality is there, but it depends on us women, to not only remember our feminine alchemy but to embody it. Like a vessel that has two streams, one for giving and the other for receiving, the woman is by nature, the Holy Grail.
Bibliographical References:-
Lady of the Beasts by Buffie Johnson
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara Walker
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5710185/
https://www.veniceclayartists.com/women-using-traditional-pottery/
https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk/2014/05/watery-offerings-women-and-water-in-the-middle-ages/
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opar-2022-0228/html?lang=en
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8074970/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4696514/
https://www.donsmaps.com/malta.html
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/27/oa_monograph/chapter/2374123
https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/mothergoddess/index.html
This post blew my mind. I will never look at Aquarius the same! The snake to water to rainbow symbolism inmediately made me think of Oxumarê, the Orisha of renewal, transformation, and divine messages, represented by a rainbow snake. Even though he is a male Orisha, he possesses dual nature, uniting male and female, water and earth, mortality and immortality. He is the son of Nanã, an ancient and revered goddess of the primordial mud, the waters of creation. The original Mother, Grandmother, the crone. Also, YES, a thousand times yes, it's up to us to embody the dynamis of the Great Goddess and bring her back to the forefront. It is not an easy task when most of the Earth has been enslaved by the worshippers of a jealous god, but it is the mission we agreed to. We'll succeed or die trying! This was a great read. ✊🏻❤️🔥
Thank you for this essay, I really enjoyed it as an Aquarius stellium...including my Sun...in the 9th house. These are all themes and revelations that have followed me my whole life. So much of this knowledge reverberates with wisdom in my bones. I've often thought of Aquarius as the one who is bringing both the healing waters for the people, and the waters of new culture. Of a culture of the Mother it seems and where are are being asked to individuate to. To remember. To master. Thank you. thank you.