AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)

You are a highly intellectual sign, most often associated with technological advances and social innovation. Ruled by Uranus, the planet associated with striking and unexpected change, rebellion, surprise, individualism, and at times eccentricity, you are happiest when you can freely follow the path you’ve chosen without interference from others. You don’t like feeling hemmed in, by a romantic relationship, a career, or a boss, for these circumstances don’t allow you to be quintessentially “you.”

Many Aquarians have strong feelings about humanitarian issues, and they are also sensitive to social injustice. At some point in your life you are likely to find at least one community, humanitarian, or charity cause to act upon, whether the scale be large or small. Equipped with what the ancient astrologers called a “third eye” or ability to see the future clearly and what must be done now to prepare, you don’t wait to act—you swing into action whether or not others see your point.

It is often the role of your sign to reveal important social trends before the rest of us see them emerging or even consider them to be a soon-to-be growing problem. Many Aquarians are interested in politics too, and will either run for office or support a candidate.

To be clear, Aquarius works with large groups and becomes a leader to create a movement, such as to save the coral reef, protect the rain forest, or help women faced with domestic violence, among a myriad of other possible social urgencies that need to be addressed. In contrast, the following sign, Pisces, prefers to help others on a personal one-on-one basis, such as to stop by the apartment of the elderly lady upstairs to help her open jars before running off to work.

As an Aquarius, you are usually so far ahead of the curve that you see solutions clearly that others fail to see, even with deep thinking. It may take time for the people you are trying to convince to catch up to you, as your ideas may at first be quite foreign—even odd—to their ears. As you come up with many workable, practical answers to questions that have eluded others, you may sometimes make others feel inadequate. As your star rises, you become a target of criticism by those who were embarrassed by not having seen the problem quickly enough and who have failed to come up with the same solutions that are so obvious to you.

The greater the adulation you receive, the more jealousy you may face. Your desire to help others is always strong, so let the knowledge that you are doing great work to help society be your true reward. Money and prestige do not attract you as a prime motivator as you are not materialistic, and you do not allow money to lead your decisions. You have your own yardstick for success, the reason others cannot control you—the true individualist that you are, you don’t really care if others like you or not! To you, life is not a popularity contest—it’s about creating needed change and innovation in society.

In your style of dress, you are as individual as you appear in other phases of life. You may wear cutting-edge fabrics developed by NASA, unusually creative designs or, conversely, the same jeans and black turtleneck day after day. You focus on the project at hand, not the clothes, but if you do work in fashion, you are interested in all that is new, fresh, and original. You are particularly excited to explore new fabrics. All things new and untried are quintessentially “you.”

You are very friendly and have hundreds of contacts, but you allow very few friends into your private circle. This surprises some, but Aquarius belongs to the world, and often you can be so consumed with helping a part of society that has been overlooked and downtrodden that you can temporarily forget about your own family members, most likely your children, who need more tending than you might assume. Your family has become used to feeling a little neglected—usually circumstances will pull you back, and all is well again. Yours is the sign of genius—often misunderstood at first, but always proven right in time. You have a very special destiny, dear Aquarius.