As of 7:51pm Pacific time today, January 19, 2014, the Sun enters the sign of Aquarius . . .
It is mid-winter in the northern hemisphere, which means it is the time when the Sun enters the sign (or archetype in Shamanic Astrology) of Aquarius. In the depths of the darkness and cold, as with the first month of winter, the seeds lie in wait for the frosts to ebb and the days to become longer. But deep inside those seeds stir; their shells provide the necessary protection, for within lies the knowledge and wisdom of the previous generations of all that came before.
The stirring is the impulse of life in its pre-birth stage, ready to be born from the darkness and shadow into light and freedom. As the stirring becomes more active, the shell begins to weaken, and cracks form along the walls. The knowledge and wisdom desire to be let loose upon the world, equipped to throw off the containment of the old structure to spread their wings. The cracks lengthen and widen and by mid-February, the first green sprouts throw color amid the starkness of winter gray. Life is born.
Aquarius, like all of signs on the zodiac wheel, is rooted in into the Earth’s seasons. The daylight hours begin to grow more visibly, and this situation signals the hibernating life and planted seeds to rouse, at least deep within the minds of the animals and cores within the seeds. Electric impulses are present and the shock of color is exposed toward the end of this mid-winter period of time.
Dane Rudhyar writes in his book, Astrological Signs, The Pulse of Life that Aquarius, “. . . represents civilization expanding or reforming itself through its inventors, seers and revolutionists” (p 116). While that quote is to some degree aligned with Shamanic Astrology, it is viewed with less of a mission and more of a purpose or outlet. In Shamanic Astrology, Aquarius energy represents the 
breaking down of barriers/walls with creation, novelty, humanitarianism and eccentricity. Idealism and cosmic thought prevail in the mind, always in the mind. Experimentation, a love of the unusual and all that is different are prominent in this sign. Aquarius is the fascination with the power of the mind and a detachment from deep in emotional involvement. If the intellect can touch the divine mind, then the attainment of pure consciousness is achievable.
In Shamanic Astrology, the Sun represents the “fuel” we burn to reach our life purpose and the Sun is one component that makes up the whole of a person and of life in general. Ideally, the Sun is the fuel that drives a person to accomplish the intent for his/her current life (from Shamanic Astrology Handbook). People express their Sun sign often, but only about 40% of people actually truly identify with their Sun sign. We are not necessarily our “Sun sign.” as some forms of astrology place too much importance to it. We are not necessarily our Sun signs because most folks have other signs on their horoscope or Astrology Natal Chart (like Venus, Moon or Mars). The Moon sign and Rising Sign in particular are far more individualizing than the Sun sign, which stays in a sign for about 30 days in comparison to 2 ½ days for the Moon and 2 hours for the Rising Sign.
This year, the Sun enters the sign of Aquarius on January 19th, leaving February 18th. Generally, people who were born with the Sun sign of Aquarius have a “fuel” that is airy, visionary, free spirited, a radical inventor and grand experimenter and intellectual. These qualities also apply to people with Venus, the Moon, Mars or their Rising Sign in Aquarius as well but those energies apply toward different components (i.e., Venus represents the inner feminine; the Rising Sign represents what we are training to be in this lifetime). A car could be used as an analogy. The fuel purchased at the gas station would be Aquarius, and the direction of the car is moving is the Rising Sign; what a person is learning about now.
In mythology, Aquarius has no true god or goddess or other deity that is associated with the archetype, but there are two figures that come to mind in a loose fashion: Prometheus and Uranus. Prometheus was a titan who was best known for stealing fire from the gods as a gift to humanity. In other words, Prometheus provided the seeds of knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge. With Uranus, the relation to Aquarius is the association with the sky and heavens. Since Aquarius is linked with cosmic thought, Uranus appears to fit that particular trait quite well. But these associations between Uranus, Prometheus and Aquarius are not as clear cut as, for example, Taurus is with Aphrodite. However, one could say, having no true deity connected to the sign of Aquarius is radically novel.
Like all archetypes, Aquarius also has a shadow side. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, not accepting that there IS a shadow side (or too “light-polarized” ), an aloofness to what is happening, and the belief that everything is happening the way “it should”, therefore this archetype may enforce a strict “policy” of non-interference with the complications of life (like Star Trek’s Prime Directive). It can also be an extreme sensitivity to the natural environment and detachment from their emotions (to the point of denying their feelings). However, being sensitive to the environment and detached from one’s feelings is part of the Aquarian archetypal character and can be expressed in healthy manner.
As the Sun makes its way through the sign of Aquarius, we can look at ourselves and break down the old forms and structures that are preventing us from stepping into our true role or purpose in life. It is a time to take a look to see if there is any stagnation and from that, experiment with doing something radically novel while thinking, “what would it be like if I . . . ?”
In a way the Sun becomes the cosmic observer looking upon the Earth. From this vantage point, solutions can be found and the once solid, rooted structures become more vulnerable. The solutions can very well be to bring down the structures that have served their purpose and are no longer healthy, inhibiting our growth. The wisdom and knowledge has been prepared and has burst forth from the seeds. We are being carried by our thoughts to the farthest reaches, beyond the sky and into the cosmos.
Erik M Roth
Shamanic Astrologer