The eleventh sign · Air

Aquarius

The god who poured the rains, and an age still to come.

20 Jan to 18 FebAirFixedRuled by Saturn

The Sun next enters Aquarius on Wednesday, January 20, 2027 at 07:30, Greenwich time. Exact Aquarius dates

Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the zodiac, a fixed air sign ruled by Saturn in traditional astrology and Uranus in modern astrology. The Sun is in Aquarius from around 20 January to around 18 February. In a chart, Aquarius describes independence, ideas bigger than the self and loyalty to the group, in whatever part of life it falls.

Aquarius at a glance

Symbol
The Water Bearer
Sun in Aquarius
About 20 January to 18 February (exact times vary by year)
Element
Air
Modality
Fixed
Ruled by
Saturn in traditional astrology, Uranus in modern astrology
Exaltation
None in traditional astrology
Detriment
The Sun
Fall
None in traditional astrology
Natural house
The 11th house
Opposite sign
Leo

Which stars make up Aquarius?

Aquarius sits in a part of the sky ancient astronomers called the Sea, surrounded by other watery figures, among them the fishes, the sea monster Cetus, the river Eridanus and the southern fish. Its brightest stars are only third magnitude.

Its best known pattern is the Water Jar, a small Y of four stars. From it, a winding stream of faint stars pours down toward Fomalhaut, the bright star of the southern fish, which drinks it.

the Water JarSadalsuudSadalmelik

Where does Aquarius come from?

In Babylon this figure was GU.LA, the Great One, the god Ea pouring water from an overflowing vessel. The Sun passed through it during the rainy season, and the sky’s water bearer matched the flooding rivers below.

The Greeks made him Ganymede, a young Trojan so beautiful that Zeus, in the shape of an eagle, carried him to Olympus to pour the gods’ wine. The eagle is still flying nearby, the constellation Aquila.

Aquarius also hid a planet. In September 1846, Johann Galle turned his telescope to a spot in Aquarius predicted purely by mathematics and found Neptune within an hour.

The “Age of Aquarius” is real astronomy too, with a long wait. By modern boundaries the spring equinox enters Aquarius around the year 2600.

  1. c. 1000 BCE

    The Great One

    Babylonian star lists name GU.LA, the Great One, Ea pouring water as the rains arrive.

  2. Greek myth

    Ganymede

    Zeus, as an eagle, carries the Trojan youth Ganymede to Olympus to serve as the gods' cupbearer.

  3. 1846

    A planet on paper

    Johann Galle finds Neptune in Aquarius, exactly where mathematics said it would be.

  4. c. 2600 CE

    The Age of Aquarius

    By modern boundaries, the spring equinox drifts out of Pisces and into Aquarius.

  5. c. 150 CE to today

    Seasons, not stars

    Aquarius is measured from the equinox. The water bearer's stars now host the Sun from mid February to mid March.

How does Aquarius line up with the real sky?

There are three different versions of every sign. The Earth’s axis wobbles like a slowing spinning top, a full circle about every 25,800 years, and that drags the spring equinox west against the stars by about one degree every 72 years.

Western astrology

Tropical: measured from the spring equinox

20 January to 18 February

Vedic astrology

Sidereal: measured from the stars (Lahiri)

12 February to 14 March

Astronomy

The Aquarius constellation (IAU boundaries)

About 16 February to 11 March

Dates of the Sun's passage in 2026, computed by Hali.

Western astrology stays locked to the seasons, Vedic astrology follows the stars, and the two are now 24.2° apart. Hali uses the tropical zodiac because it follows the seasons the signs were named for.

Does science support astrology?

Not as a way to predict personality or events, and controlled studies have found no such effect. We get the sky exactly right and treat the meaning as a language for reflection. Read more in Is astrology scientific?

How often is Aquarius rising?

The share of each day with Aquarius on the Ascendant, and how long it takes to rise, at four latitudes. In London it is the 10th most common of the 12 rising signs.

PlaceShare of the dayTime to rise
Equator8.3%119 min
Madrid6%87 min
London4.8%69 min
Reykjavík1.5%22 min

Find your rising sign

The rarest rising sign, city by city

How common is Aquarius?

In US birth records from 1994 to 2014, 7.93% of babies were born under Aquarius, about 79 in every 1,000. That makes Aquarius number 10 of 12, where 1 is the most common.

See all 12 signs ranked

When is the Moon next in Aquarius?

The Moon is next in Aquarius from Sun 15 Nov 09:24 UTC until Tue 17 Nov 21:19 UTC.

The next new moon in Aquarius is on Saturday 6 February 2027.

Where is the Moon today?

Sources and methods

Tropical and sidereal (Lahiri) dates for 2026 computed by Hali; constellation dates approximate, from IAU boundaries. Babylonian names follow the MUL.APIN star compendium.

Dignities follow Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I. Our data is free to use under CC BY 4.0.

Aquarius in your chart

Sun in AquariusMoon in AquariusMercury in AquariusVenus in AquariusMars in AquariusJupiter in AquariusSaturn in AquariusUranus in AquariusNeptune in AquariusPluto in AquariusAquarius rising

Aquarius with every sign

Aquarius and AriesAquarius and TaurusAquarius and GeminiAquarius and CancerAquarius and LeoAquarius and VirgoAquarius and LibraAquarius and ScorpioAquarius and SagittariusAquarius and CapricornAquarius and AquariusAquarius and Pisces