Aquarius Season: January 19 - February 18
From now until around February 18, the Sun is in the sign of Aquarius, the Water Bearer. While water is a key element in its imagery, Aquarius itself is an air sign, blending intellect, vision, and creative expression. There is a strong focus on the collective: how humanity is moving forward (or stagnating) together, and how ideas circulate through communities and systems.
When we look at this sign through the lens of the Wheel of Fortune, we’re invited to consider the larger patterns that we’re a part of. Each of us is a spoke on the wheel, contributing to its balance, momentum, and direction. Our choices, words, and actions don’t exist in isolation, but instead ripple outward, shaping the whole. Aquarius asks us to notice where we’re positioned within these systems and how we’re influencing them, and vice versa.
But like Aquarius pouring water from two vessels, there is also an inherent duality here.
While we have a responsibility to the collective, there’s also an opportunity to step back and recenter when needed. The shared motion of the wheel allows us moments of pause to regain our footing, recalibrate, and return with a clearer sense of where we truly belong. Keep in mind that the pressure of the world is not solely on your shoulders (even if it sometimes feels that way).
Aquarius & The Tarot
Each zodiac sign is associated with a small family of tarot cards. For Aquarius, these are the Star and the Five, Six, and Seven of Swords.
Building off our work around stillness and orientation, the Star comes in as a beautiful and powerful symbol. It is a fixed point in the sky, a beacon of hope, a guiding light when everything else feels uncertain. Have you ever stepped outside on a crisp winter night, looked up at the stars, and felt the absolute calm and quiet of that moment? When life is tumultuous, chaotic, and messy, the Star offers us a moment of respite to recollect ourselves. This is a reminder that stability exists, even when we can’t yet see our path forward.
This pause is not empty or passive. It is restorative. Once we have recentered and the dust has settled, we can then find new inspiration, motivation, and a renewed sense of purpose. Like navigating by starlight, we don’t rush forward blindly; we orient ourselves first.
The Decans of Aquarius
The three decans of a sign tell a story about how that sign’s energy plays out in lived experience. For Aquarius, that story is expressed through the Five, Six, and Seven of Swords, cards that explore conflict, awareness, and strategic movement.
Together, they describe a cycle of intellectual and ethical tension that often comes up when we’re on the brink of an important spiritual or moral shift. While these cards warn against impulsive action, they’re also about learning to step back and read the situation before deciding how to move.
They ask us:
When is it wiser to observe instead of act?
When does stillness offer more power than force
The Five of Swords shows us directly faced with conflict and the fractures that occur when our ego takes the lead. We may have won the moment, but in the process we’ve lost trust, integrity, and community. This card reminds us that not every battle is worth the price we pay to fight it. In this scenario, the sharpness of intellect overtakes compassion and empathy. This is a roadblock on the Wheel, an obstacle causing disruption.
The Six of Swords reflects what happens after this realization. It illustrates conscious movement forward, breaking harmful cycles, and deciding what we carry forward and leave behind. Conversely, feelings like guilt or unhealthy attachments can hold us back, leading to stagnation instead of growth. While there is a sense of relief from setting down our emotional baggage, there is also wisdom gained from what we’ve endured. This is the Wheel turning, carrying us into a new phase.
The Seven of Swords represents a strategic pause and repositioning. Here, we step out of old dynamics, observe the patterns from a distance, and choose a wiser vantage point. This isn’t avoidance, but a form of clarity. It’s understanding the terrain before deciding how, or whether, to re-enter it. This is using strategic stillness, which pulls us to the top of the Wheel, giving us an advantage. This warning of this card comes when we intentionally use this advantage to manipulate and deceive others.
Aquarius and its tarot cards don’t force outcomes or predict the future. Instead, they show us how to locate ourselves within shifting systems, re-align with our deeper purpose, and decide how we will (or won’t) participate in repeating patterns. In a year ruled by the Wheel of Fortune, this becomes a powerful and intentional act of stillness, pausing instead of reacting to sudden change and reorienting ourselves before the next turn of the wheel carries us forward.
The next time you're feeling that panicky sense of urgency about something, try this exercise and see if it helps to clear your mind:
