Why do they say Aquarius/Uranus create astrology?

david starling

Well-known member
What is meant by emphasizing pouring over bearing?
Bearing children, for example, is both the carrying and the pouring.

Aquarius channels the flow. A river channels the flow of water from the mountains to the sea, which can also be described as "carrying water to the sea", which relates to Pisces through its Domicle-ruler Neptune.
 
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waybread

Well-known member
Nisaba became Nabu. The Hellenistic astrologers associated Nabu with Apollo, patron of the 9 Muses, including Urania, Goddess of the Heavens and Muse of astrology. They also envisioned the constellation now known as Aquarius with water-flow, not water-carrying. The latter was a 12th century Christian interpretation.

David, I don't know what you're reading, but I highly recommend www.theoi.com on Greek mythology, a compenium of original sources; or an earlier book compendium, Robert Graves, The Greek Myths. On ancient goddesses who got "demoted," or whose functions were usurped by male gods, see Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of Goddesses. On Babylonians, Gavin White, Babylonian Star Lore.

As you know, the gods' myths and functions could change substantially over time.

The Sumerian goddess Nisaba evolved (devolved??) into the wife of the Babylonian god Nabu, who basically took over her primary functions. He assimilated to the Greek god Hermes, and from Hermes to Mercury, not Apollo.

Apollo was not notably a planetary god until he took over from Helios and Phoebus.

Regardless of whether the constellation Aquarius "bears" or "pours," it had nothing to do with the founding of ancient astrology.
 

waybread

Well-known member
The symbol :aquarius: can be interpreted as "channelling the flow". [IMO]

This was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for water. It was not always standardized, sometimes having one, two, or three parallel wavy lines. Their hieroglyph for the sun was borrowed by astrologers; a circle with a central dot.

Please don't read more into this material than it warrants.
 

david starling

Well-known member
David, I don't know what you're reading, but I highly recommend www.theoi.com on Greek mythology, a compenium of original sources; or an earlier book compendium, Robert Graves, The Greek Myths. On ancient goddesses who got "demoted," or whose functions were usurped by male gods, see Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of Goddesses. On Babylonians, Gavin White, Babylonian Star Lore.

As you know, the gods' myths and functions could change substantially over time.

The Sumerian goddess Nisaba evolved (devolved??) into the wife of the Babylonian god Nabu, who basically took over her primary functions. He assimilated to the Greek god Hermes, and from Hermes to Mercury, not Apollo.

Apollo was not notably a planetary god until he took over from Helios and Phoebus.

Regardless of whether the constellation Aquarius "bears" or "pours," it had nothing to do with the founding of ancient astrology.

I got the Hellenistic Apollo connection to Nabu from Wikipedia, "Nabu". There's 2 footnotes citing sources.
Without knowing about the Uranian planet, Mercury was the next best until Urano (Spanish) was discovered. The Muse connection is obvious.
 

Gemini888

Well-known member
The Muses were very real to the ancient Greeks. The question was, why Aquarius and its Domicle-ruler would be considered responsible for creating astrology. That's where Urania:)uranus:) comes in, and, as Goddess of the Heavens, is a perfect fit for the constellation Aquarius, which is about pouring out meteor showers.
I'm using the ancient name "Urania:)uranus:)" in place of "Uranus", which is a modern, made up name, never actually used in ancient times. And, as the Muse of astrology, Urania:)uranus:) inspired the creation of astrology.
If a pop astrology website claimed that Mercury is the ruler of Gemini, would that be a reason to doubt it? :biggrin:
I have no problem with Mercury going with Gemini. Merc moves fast but never moves too far away from the Sun, indicating short travel. Merc also comes from Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods. Hermes is notorious for his trickery behavior too. Gemini being the ruler of Merc is reasonable in my opinion. I actually have more problem with Virgo ruling Merc. Virgo is too cautious and enthical to represent the God of thieves.


One thing I find baffling is how NN is exalted in Gemini. I think either Scorpio or Pisces fits the role better, seeing that NN represents the higher self and pulling away from your past.
 

david starling

Well-known member
I have no problem with Mercury going with Gemini. Merc moves fast but never moves too far away from the Sun, indicating short travel. Merc also comes from Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods. Hermes is notorious for his trickery behavior too. Gemini being the ruler of Merc is reasonable in my opinion. I actually have more problem with Virgo ruling Merc. Virgo is too cautious and enthical to represent the God of thieves.


One thing I find baffling is how NN is exalted in Gemini. I think either Scorpio or Pisces fits the role better, seeing that NN represents the higher self and pulling away from your past.

Good, you're a "free thinker" like myself. We respect what has been generally agreed upon from the past, but reserve the right to decide for ourselves, using logic and intuition.
 

waybread

Well-known member
I have no problem with Mercury going with Gemini. Merc moves fast but never moves too far away from the Sun, indicating short travel. Merc also comes from Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods. Hermes is notorious for his trickery behavior too. Gemini being the ruler of Merc is reasonable in my opinion. I actually have more problem with Virgo ruling Merc. Virgo is too cautious and enthical to represent the God of thieves.


One thing I find baffling is how NN is exalted in Gemini. I think either Scorpio or Pisces fits the role better, seeing that NN represents the higher self and pulling away from your past.

Virgo doesn't rule Mercury. Signs don't rule planets, it's the other way around. Technically we would call planets domiciled when they are in the sign they rule.

Each of the planets has a mythological and cultural history. The Sumerian goddess Nisaba (or Nidaba) was credited with counting and writing. She was the goddess of scribes, and writing is a Mercurial function. Among the things Nisaba counted were grain stores, probably the form of tribute or taxes paid to support ancient city states. Virgo to this day rules grain and places where grain is stored. The goddess also recorded stars, on a lapis lazuli tablet.

Over time, and the supplanting of the Sumerians by subsequent cultures like the Babylonians, the goddess merely became the wife of the god Nabu, who morphed into the Greek god Hermes and the Roman god Mercury as astrology diffused from Mesopotamia into southern Europe.

He didn't invent it but Ptolemy popularized the idea signs and planetary rulers were organized with distance from the sun and moon, and with time from the equinox (0 Cancer) and hottest month of the year (Leo.) Read the left column down and the right column up.

sun(Leo).................moon (Cancer)
Mercury (Virgo).......(Gemini)
Venus (Libra)..........(Taurus)
Mars (Scorpio)........(Aries)
Jupiter (Sagittarius)..(Pisces)
Saturn (Capricorn)...(Aquarius)
 

waybread

Well-known member
I don't see the NN as representing your "higher self" (for which a big argument could be made against Scorpio,) but as showing where your personal growth lies.
 

CapAquaPis

Well-known member
If the first sign of the astrological year is Aquarius instead of Aries, it really represents the sign has a lot to do with the zodiac and the field of astrology.
SIGNS: TROPICAL is first (Jan 20-21:new year), SIDEREAL is next (Feb 14-15), the months of the calendar year (Jan 1: new year should be Feb. 1 logically) and the sign's ruler planets in modern astrology: Uranus should come first.

Aquarius Jan 21 - Feb 19 Feb 15 - Mar 14 February Uranus
Pisces Feb 20 - Mar 20 Mar 15 - April 14 March Neptune
Aries Mar 21 - April 20 April 15 - May 15 April Mars
Taurus April 21 - May 20 May 16 - June 15 May Venus
Gemini May 21 - June 20 June 16 - July 15 June Mercury
Cancer June 21 - July 21 July 16 - Aug 15 July Moon
Leo July 22 - Aug 22 Aug 16 - Sep 15 August Sun
Virgo Aug 23 - Sep 22 Sep 16 - Oct 15 September Mercury
Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22 Oct 16 - Nov 15 October Venus
Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 21 Nov 16 - Dec 15 November Mars
Sagittarius Nov 22 - Dec 21 Dec 16 - Jan 14 December Jupiter
Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 20 Jan 15 - Feb 14 January Saturn
 

david starling

Well-known member
Virgo doesn't rule Mercury. Signs don't rule planets, it's the other way around. Technically we would call planets domiciled when they are in the sign they rule.

Each of the planets has a mythological and cultural history. The Sumerian goddess Nisaba (or Nidaba) was credited with counting and writing. She was the goddess of scribes, and writing is a Mercurial function. Among the things Nisaba counted were grain stores, probably the form of tribute or taxes paid to support ancient city states. Virgo to this day rules grain and places where grain is stored. The goddess also recorded stars, on a lapis lazuli tablet.

Over time, and the supplanting of the Sumerians by subsequent cultures like the Babylonians, the goddess merely became the wife of the god Nabu, who morphed into the Greek god Hermes and the Roman god Mercury as astrology diffused from Mesopotamia into southern Europe.

He didn't invent it but Ptolemy popularized the idea signs and planetary rulers were organized with distance from the sun and moon, and with time from the equinox (0 Cancer) and hottest month of the year (Leo.) Read the left column down and the right column up.

sun(Leo).................moon (Cancer)
Mercury (Virgo).......(Gemini)
Venus (Libra)..........(Taurus)
Mars (Scorpio)........(Aries)
Jupiter (Sagittarius)..(Pisces)
Saturn (Capricorn)...(Aquarius)

Once the connection is made between the planet :uranus: and the Muse of astrology, Urania, it's clear that the Domicle-ruler of Aquarius is the intelligence behind the development and study of astrology. Urania is even pictured holding the Celestial Sphere and a pointer.
 

david starling

Well-known member
If the first sign of the astrological year is Aquarius instead of Aries, it really represents the sign has a lot to do with the zodiac and the field of astrology.
SIGNS: TROPICAL is first (Jan 20-21:new year), SIDEREAL is next (Feb 14-15), the months of the calendar year (Jan 1: new year should be Feb. 1 logically) and the sign's ruler planets in modern astrology: Uranus should come first.

Aquarius Jan 21 - Feb 19 Feb 15 - Mar 14 February Uranus
Pisces Feb 20 - Mar 20 Mar 15 - April 14 March Neptune
Aries Mar 21 - April 20 April 15 - May 15 April Mars
Taurus April 21 - May 20 May 16 - June 15 May Venus
Gemini May 21 - June 20 June 16 - July 15 June Mercury
Cancer June 21 - July 21 July 16 - Aug 15 July Moon
Leo July 22 - Aug 22 Aug 16 - Sep 15 August Sun
Virgo Aug 23 - Sep 22 Sep 16 - Oct 15 September Mercury
Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22 Oct 16 - Nov 15 October Venus
Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 21 Nov 16 - Dec 15 November Mars
Sagittarius Nov 22 - Dec 21 Dec 16 - Jan 14 December Jupiter
Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 20 Jan 15 - Feb 14 January Saturn

CAPs, do you have any problem with a female version of the planet :uranus:? Goes to gender fluidity.
 

CapAquaPis

Well-known member
CAPs, do you have any problem with a female version of the planet :uranus:? Goes to gender fluidity.

No, it goes to show the idea of God is beyond gender, Uranus like God is the king of the heavens, actually is a spirit without a biological sex, an ultimate genderless being. You can say the Abrahamic or monotheist God is inspired by Uranus, since the idea of God is he or it rules the heavens. God has both a male and female nature, to be both a seeder/father or carrier/mother of humanity's souls...and as a result, Uranus has a genderfluid nature just like that.
 
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