Zodiac SAL - Aquarius

Welcome to the  Zodiac SAL.  I will be posting on the first Saturday of each month with information about that month's sign and a linky for anyone who wants to join in.  The linky will stay open until the end of the month.

Last month we had three people link up with me, please do visit them now if you missed their posts before:

Tiffstitch

Jocondine

Leonore

Aquarius is the Water Carrier (or Pourer) but is an Air sign ruled by Uranus and Saturn.  Aquarians are both between 20th January and 18th February.

The constellation of Aquarius is found in a region often called the Sea due to its profusion of constellations with watery associations such as Cetus the whale, Pisces the fish, and Eridanus the river.  At apparent magnitude 2.9, Beta Aquarii is the brightest star in the constellation.

Aquarius constellation by June Bug & Darlin'

Aquarius is identified as GU.LA "The Great One" in the Babylonian star catalogues and represents the god Ea himself, who is commonly depicted holding an overflowing vase.  The Babylonian star-figure appears on entitlement stones and cylinder seals from the second millennium.  It contained the winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age.  In Old Babylonian astronomy, Ea was the ruler of the southernmost quarter of the Sun's path, the "Way of Ea", corresponding to the period of 45 days on either side of winter solstice. 

Aquarius was also associated with the destructive floods that the Babylonians regularly experienced, and thus was negatively connoted.

In Ancient Egypt astronomy, Aquarius was associated with the annual flood of the Nile; the banks were said to flood when Aquarius put his jar into the river, beginning spring.

In Greek mythology the water carrier is Ganymede, a beautiful Phrygian youth.  Ganymede was the son of Tros, King of Troy.  While tending to his father's flocks on Mount Ida, Ganymede was spotted by Zeus.  The king of gods flew down to the mountain in the form of a large bird, whisking Ganymede away to the heavens.  Ever since, the boy has served as cupbearer to the gods.

Source: Wikipedia - Aquarius (constellation)

Aquarius by Josephine Wall for HAED

Aquarius People: What They’re Like
Aquarius is the sign of friendship and teamwork, so Aquarians tend to be more focused on the group than the individual. Freedom is important to Aquarians, which is why they like to keep things light on an interpersonal level. That way, they won’t feel bad about running off to the opposite corner of the world at a moment’s notice. At times, this nomadic strategy backfires, leaving them lonely and disconnected. Aquarians are uncomfortable with too much intimacy. These free spirits belong to the world, and feel off-balance giving their considerable energy to just one person. While their friends get first-class treatment, families and lovers see a different side of Aquarius: moody, brooding, anxious and neurotic. Or they may pick one (and only one) person to open up to, getting attached to the point of obsession. Learning to accept and express their emotions can help Aquarius people avoid the massive freakouts and anger flashes that come from pretending everything’s cool when it isn’t. Aquarians appreciate a quirky or eccentric twist and have some colorful characters and countercultural personalities as friends.

Source: Astrostyle - Aquarius

Aquarius by Illustated Ink for Gecko Rouge

Famous Aquarius People & Celebrities:
Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston, Bob Marley, Harry Styles, Justin Timberlake, Emma Roberts, Alicia Keys, Bobby Brown, Nick Carter, Sarah Palin, Mischa Barton, Michael Jordan, Ellen DeGeneres, Taylor Lautner, Ed Sheeran, Shakira, The Weeknd, John Travolta, Chloe Grace Moretz, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Dre, Ayn Rand, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Virginia Woolf, Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, Charles Dickens, Toni Morrison, Christian Dior

Dickens' Characters by Bothy Threads

Marley was Dead by Stitcher Anon

For the stitching part of the SAL I have chosen a series of designs from the Donna Kooler book 365 Tiny Cross Stitch Designs. I am stitching them all on one piece of 32 count Millenium Blue fabric. Here is Aquarius:

And here is the whole piece so far:

I am also stitching the Satsuma Street Zodiac and here is Libra which represents my older son and my husband:

stitched on 28 count black Jobelan

My younger son is an Aquarian, although I do not recognise him from the description above at all!  His birth sampler was rather delayed as I could not find a design I really liked until this chart was gifted to me, Teresa Wentzler - You Were Hatched:

This is the place for you to link up if you want to join in, please link to the actual blog post, not your blog homepage and include your name so we can see who has joined in.

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Finally, you may have heard of the Five Peaks Challenge?

Climb Five Mountains

A little bit too strenous for me, so here's my variation:

I run five blog hops per year (see this page for details).  Anyone who takes part or comments on all five hops will be entered into a draw at the end of the year.  Taking part is obvious but as not everyone can take part in all five you still get a chance if you comment on my post which is hosting the Blog Hop.  If you take part AND comment on the post, you get TWO entries into the draw.

The first Hop is the Secret Stitching Sweetheart on 14th February and you still have time to sign up to take part.  If not, then remember to leave a comment on my Blog Hop post.