Aquarius is a sign known for its inclusive and progressive approach to life and, through the 11th house, is concerned with building and fostering a community or a collective or the collective. When I think of a community, I instantly think of religion and religion-based communities since most forms of communities are founded on a religion or philosophic idea. But where did I get the idea that Aquarius and religion could intersect?

Jupiter is the sign’s ruler in Alice Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology (EA) and is the planet of religion and philosophy. Jupiter is also inclusive in nature since it is the planet of expansion and abundance, as well as great synthesis and union. Bailey was Christian and mentions Christ quite often in her work, and in EA she relates Christ to Pisces and refers to the sign as the world Saviour, possibly because fish were one of the first living creatures created by God and, along with bread, is used to feed humanity in almost every biblical story, and refers to Aquarius the world Server.

In some depictions of Aquarius, he seems to be pouring water into the mouth of one of the Piscean fish, specifically the Southern fish, and may be why Max and Augusta Foss Heindel in their book The Message of the Stars believe the Son of Man, or Jesus, is Aquarius and Pisces is the apostles.

The Bible mentions an Aquarius like figure three times. The first time was Luke 22:10 when Peter and John are told, “when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in” leading the men to where the Passover and betrayal of Jesus must take place. Aquarius’ symbol is well known to be the water bearer; a man holding or pouring out water from a jar or urn. In modern times, this sign is known as the rebel, a possible nod to the betrayal of Jesus.

The second time an Aquarian-like figure is mentioned is in Revelations 4:6-9 when heaven is revealed in a vision to “John” and is shown the throne of God which features four beasts “full of eyes before and behind”, one of which “had a face as a man”. As said before, Aquarius is symbolized by a male figure and is one of the only zodiac signs modernly symbolized by a human along with Virgo, the maiden, loosely connected to the Virgin Mary and Eve, and Gemini, the twins. The other three beasts are described similar to the symbols of the fixed signs of the zodiac, of which Aquarius is one: a lion, Leo; a calf, Taurus; an eagle, one of the many symbols of Scorpio.

Aquarius is sometimes depicted as a woman with a jar of water, and this is alluded to in Genesis 24:45 as Rebekah with a pitcher on her shoulder, drawing water from a well, and giving the water to a servant of Abraham, Eliezer, and his camels to drink as confirmation that she shall be the wife of Isaac. Through her marriage with Isaac, Rebekah is the mother of twins Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites, and Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites. The Star card of the Rider-Waithe Tarot deck features a female water-bearer pouring two pitchers of water, producing two streams of water which could be representative of the twin brothers.

The Moon is supposedly another one of Aquarius’ planetary rulers in EA. The Moon always aligns with motherly figures like Rebekah and is the traditional ruler of Cancer, the sign of the mother. Chandra, the Hindu god of the Moon, also goes by the name Soma. The word soma or sóma is a type of drink used in Hindu rituals and said to give immortality according to the Vedas, a collection of sacred, religious Hindu text.

Kumbha is the Sanskrit name given to Aquarius in Jyotish or Vedic Astrology. The name kumbha refers to pottery or water pot, and the sign itself is co-ruled by Saturn and Rahu. Rahu and its counterpart Ketu exist because of the asura, or demon, Svarbhanu tricking the devas, or gods, and taking a drink of amrita, a drink of immortality possibly synonymous with soma. The amrita comes from an ocean of milk and was given to the devas by Mohini, a female avatar of Vishnu, in a similar fashion as Rebekah giving water to the servant and camels. Rahu and Ketu are called the lunar nodes of the Moon, and Ketu is the co-ruler of Scorpio. Additionally, Rahu is depicted as sitting on a lion, a reference to Leo, Aquarius’ opposite sign, and Ketu on an eagle, another former symbol of Scorpio. The ocean of milk is symbolic of the Moon (ocean) and its sign of exaltation, Taurus, the cow or bull (milk).

All of the zodiac signs are mentioned in the Vedas and is one of the main sources of how the signs are to be interpreted in Jyotish. However, the same cannot be said for the Bible. Although the animals used to symbolize some of the zodiac signs are mentioned, such as sheep or lamb for Aries and the four beasts of the fixed signs as stated earlier, there’s no way to definitively say that the symbology of the Bible is referring to the signs directly nor has the Bible ever been considered a source of understanding the zodiac signs and astrology in general.