Aquarius Zodiac Sign: Dates, Personality and Compatibility

Who’s that alluring person at the party, flirting with the edges of the crowd until a fascinating conversation captures their attention? Oh, that’s surely an Aquarius! These astute people care about the collective good, and their ideals lead them to challenge oppressive practices. They’re the first to fight for everyone’s right to live the way they want.

Because of the prefix “aqua” and the wave symbol (♒), it’s easy to mistake the Aquarius for a water sign. However, this air sign’s name actually means “water bearer,” or someone who carries water. From January 20th through February 18th, Aquarius energy reflects its rebellious ruling planet Uranus, the hope of The Star tarot card, and the eleventh house of collective interests.

Ancient Babylonians and Egyptians associated this constellation with the rainy season and the flooding of the Nile, respectively. Later, the Greeks added the imagery of the kind boy Ganymede, whom Zeus chose to be the gods’ cupbearer. Aquarius is the largest zodiac constellation, but it’s not bright, which represents the subtle but far-reaching influence of the sign.

The Aquarius zodiac sign also has a fixed modality, meaning the sign arrives mid-season. The combination of the air quality with a fixed sign makes the Aquarius disciplined and committed to ideals. Though Aquarius people are often unyielding in their beliefs, their radical commitments are necessary for lasting change. When many would compromise, these individuals hold their intellectual ground.

Aquarius Dates: January 20 – February 18

If your sun sign is Aquarius, you mark your age in the middle of an intense season as the weather begins to shift. The water bearer enters when practical Capricorn departs on January 19th. After February 18th, dreamy Pisces helps us integrate Aquarius’ grand visions into our collective imagination.

Zodiac Sign Calculator

Aries

What makes an Aries unique? Learn more about the Aries zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Taurus

What makes a Taurus unique? Learn more about the Taurus zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Gemini

What makes a Gemini unique? Learn about the Gemini zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Cancer

What makes the Cancer zodiac sign unique? Learn about Cancer personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Leo

What makes a Leo unique? Learn about the Leo zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Virgo

What makes a Virgo unique? Learn about the Virgo zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Libra

What makes a Libra unique? Learn about the Libra zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Scorpio

What makes a Scorpio unique? Learn about the Scorpio zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Sagittarius

What makes a Sagittarius unique? Learn about the Sagittarius zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Capricorn

What makes a Capricorn unique? Learn about the Capricorn zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Aquarius

What makes an Aquarius unique? Learn about the Aquarius zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Pisces

What makes a Pisces unique? Learn about the Pisces zodiac sign, including personality traits, relationship preferences, ideal careers, and more.

Personality Traits of an Aquarius

Because Aquarius is near the end of the zodiac year, the sign corresponds to the stages at the end of life. As people enter their seventies, they embrace the absurdity of life and care less about the opinions of others. Although Aquarius is associated with keen analytical powers, it also relates to renewed childlike wonder.

Everything you need to know about Aquarians comes down to their progressive way of thinking. They are inventors eager to contribute big-picture innovations that improve people’s lives. They accomplish anything they put their minds to, but they’re most motivated by justice and personal freedom for themselves and others. Although these unconventional types can be very headstrong about their beliefs, it’s often because their visions are ahead of their time.

The season also has three segments of time, known as decans, that affect Aquarius personality traits, Aquarius horoscopes, and the birth chart. For instance, January Aquarius people are the quirkiest and most artistic. The second decan of early February emphasizes communication and other social traits. Finally, people born within the third decan are most likely to form strong, pleasurable communities.

Aquarius Strengths

This sign’s powers of perception lead them to a deep understanding of systemic injustice. To push society forward, Aquarius people rely on the following strengths:

Altruism
Creativity
Experimentation
Humanitarianism
Independence
Inventiveness
Nonconformity
Observation
Originality
Self-reliance

Aquarius Weaknesses

Because Aquarius individuals prize freedom and individualism, they’re prone to a few antisocial tendencies:

Aloofness
Boredom
Capriciousness
Coldness
Cynicism
Inscrutability
Oddness
Stubbornness
Superiority complex
Unpredictability

Aquarius in Love and Relationships

Aquarius people’s aloofness attracts interest, and their open-mindedness then sustains their appeal to many suitors. As an Aquarius gets to know lovers, interactive and probing conversations keep them interested. However, because they’re fascinated by love as an idea, they’re not always forthcoming about their emotions. Protective of their independence, they might avoid long-term commitments and find themselves unfulfilled in love.

Of course, the right partner can profoundly inspire an Aquarius lover. With ample personal space, unorthodox relationship structures, and sexual experimentation, Aquarius people will express their charming, selfless side for years to come. They want to progress their relationships, so sharing political views or humanitarian goals might be especially important. A mutual appreciation of each other’s artistry or intellect also helps.

Aquarius Women in Relationships

Thoughtful, generous, and sharp, an Aquarius woman is a great listener and extremely good in a crisis. Drawn to mutually empowering relationships, she desires a partner who can challenge her to be her best self. She’s emotionally honest but not always expressive, and her partners should appreciate that she must explore her identity in her own way.

Aquarius Men in Relationships

Aquarius men need to feel aligned with their partners. They want to be able to envision futures for their relationships. They might seem stoic in public, but privately they reveal compassion and care. Aquarius men love to be silly and strange with their people! They’re attracted to confidence and conviction as long as beliefs don’t differ too drastically.

Compatibility: Best and Worst Matches

When it comes to Aquarius compatibility, Gemini and Libra people are the most stimulating for Aquarius lovers. The fire signs also create a powerful spark, especially Leo. On the other hand, Taurus, Scorpio, Cancer, and Virgo might have such different values that they’re incompatible with the water bearer.

Most Compatible with Aquarius

Between Gemini and Aquarius, there’s never a boring day. The fascinating conversation between the two air signs strikes a helpful balance between productivity and play. Like Aquarius, Libra is focused on fairness. Each sign strives to understand the other, which creates stability.

With Sagittarius, Aquarius embarks on adventures. Both make space for their partner to do their own thing, so Aquarius can occasionally retreat while Sagittarius indulges in extroversion. Aries and Aquarius share a direct communication style; the ram inspires while Aquarius grounds Aries. Finally, Leo and Aquarius admire each other’s unique way of expressing individuality, and their differences diffuse competition.

Least Compatible with Aquarius

Although Taurus and Aquarius could learn from one another, the latter typically wants more change than the former. Relatedly, the Aquarius person might see the Taurus partner’s drive for security as materialistic. And although Scorpio and Aquarius are both private people, the former may consider Aquarius too avoidant.

Meanwhile, Cancer tends to withdraw like Aquarius does. As a result, it might be hard to build trust, and they might misunderstand each other’s attempts to connect. Finally, Virgo seeks domestic stability, which doesn’t always feel compatible with the Aquarius need for intellectual excitement.

Aquarius in Friendship

As friends, Aquarius people are very accepting, though they don’t share their deepest feelings right away. Because they adore quirky people, they often form relationships with other loners. Thus, their social network grows through intense one-on-one connections. Over time, Aquarius people want to explore all facets of life with their friends—nothing is off the table.

These individuals want to see their friends succeed, and they support others by offering ideas and adding levity. Some people might feel locked into endless debates with Aquarius friends who are obstinate about beliefs, but others find that exciting. An Aquarius might also disappear for a time without warning. However, they fall right back into a groove when they return.

Careers Fit (and Unfit) for an Aquarius

Aquarius workers need intellectual stimulation, as well as the freedom to experiment with and research multiple concepts and strategies. Though they can apply their intense concentration to any field, roles that offer flexibility for work processes are ideal. People with the sun sign Aquarius are also gifted at devising plans to achieve goals, but they need time to explore before setting those goals.

Because their opinions can be extreme, these individuals won’t love collaborating with folks who aren’t invested in similar ideas. Therefore, they seek work cultures that encourage either independent work or open questioning of tried-and-true procedures. If coworkers feel threatened by this, an Aquarius withdraws. As managers, Aquarius people value autonomy, which most people appreciate.

Finally, these trailblazers often take unconventional career paths in art, science, politics, or other mission-based sectors. They love the cutting edge, unafraid of risk and change. Because finances don’t occupy the forefront of their minds, they can put themselves in tight situations. At the same time, resourceful Aquarius is well-equipped to solve any logistical problem around money that they face.

Best Careers for an Aquarius

The following jobs support Aquarius people’s desire to prioritize creativity, equity, and thorough investigation:

Scientist
Environmental or political activist
Architect
Musician
Product designer

Worst Careers for an Aquarius

Roles that require strict compliance with documented rules and regulations without any opportunities to diverge from them won’t sustain the water bearer’s interest. Examples include the following:

Accountant
Banker
Compliance officer
Police officer
Tax specialist

Famous Aquarius Personalities

If your zodiac sign is Aquarius, you’re in the company of people who are prime candidates to be cultural icons. They’re proudly committed to their beliefs, even and especially if they oppose social norms, which you can observe in the famous figures below:

Abraham Lincoln
Charles Dickens
Frederick Douglass
Harry Styles
James Dean
Michael Jordan
Rasputin
Rosa Parks
Susan B. Anthony
Thomas Edison
Yoko Ono