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Welcome to this paradoxical zodiac sign.
By Emily Ratay — Written on Jan 06, 2022
Aquarius is one of the few zodiac signs in astrology that can make their negative personality traits work for them. It's not that Aquarius can’t be frustrating and annoying at times, but if anyone can see this as something positive, rather than destructive, it’s going to be Aquarius.
There’s something about the Aquarius personality that can confuse a lot of people, though. That's because this sign is a total paradox. With so many contradictions happening within this sign, it can be difficult to really know their strengths and their weaknesses.
For one thing, the ruling planet for Aquarius is Uranus. This is the planet of unpredictability, rebellion, and detachment.
If that’s not enough to describe Aquarius, Uranus also spins clockwise in a "retrograde rotation," rather than counterclockwise like most of the other planets (Venus being the other exception). So, it makes sense that this paradoxical planet would rule Aquarius, a zodiac sign that is filled with unpredictable energy.
Of course, before Uranus was discovered, Saturn (the planet of structure) ruled Aquarius. While Aquarius might be chaotic and erratic at times, this minor influence from Saturn makes it easy to see why they can also be set in their ways.
Aquarius is an Air sign, which means it's one of the zodiac signs ruled by the air element. Air signs are constantly looking to move forward, make changes, and keep things new and exciting.
Of course, there’s always a catch, and that comes in the form of fixed signs. As a fixed sign, Aquarius is the kind of zodiac sign to always have a plan, build a stable foundation, or set a goal before getting started.
With all of this craziness going on with this zodiac sign, there’s bound to be some debate on whether Aquarius’ personality traits are really weaknesses. And when your weaknesses are given more attention than your strengths, it can be easy to slip into that negative side of your zodiac sign.
Learning all the good and bad parts of your sign is important. You might not always like what you hear, but astrology is supposed to be fun, too.
Here are 4 negative traits that represent the dark side of the Aquarius zodiac sign.
1. Aquarius can be robotic and unemotional.
Aquarius much prefers to approach situations with her head than her heart because it makes more sense to her that way. Of course, not everyone is as logic-driven as she is.
Seeing as we’re all humans (and not robots), it’s often easier for us to handle problems and go through situations using emotions and feelings, which just isn’t Aquarius at all.
She would much rather rely on fact and reasoning than anything else, which not only makes it hard for her to connect with others, but it also makes it hard for her to problem-solve any other way than the way she’s always done it.
Besides this robotic-like way of handling social situations, Aquarius can also seem pretty unemotional. As a rule, Aquarius tends to keep everyone at a distance. It can take her a lot longer than most zodiac signs to warm up to others and let herself be vulnerable.
And what makes these negative personality traits of hers so much darker is that even if part of her does want to be able to open up and love the way other zodiac signs do, there’s always a good chance that something will block her from doing it without still feeling guarded.
2. Aquarius is impossible to sway.
Aquarius is one of those zodiac signs who will stick to her guns, no matter what. While this makes her a great person to have on your team when you’re both fighting for humanitarian rights, it also means you get the ever-stubborn Aquarius who won’t listen to your opinion.
She likes to think she can be the kind of person who is open-minded enough to listen to what others have to say, but, in reality, she’s much more likely to cover her ears with her hands and pretend she can’t hear you.
Not only is Aquarius stubborn about her opinions, but she is also always sure that she’s right. No one believes in Aquarius like Aquarius does — admirable at times, yes — which means that no one is going to get through except herself.
Aquarius will rebel against what everyone is taught to believe because her need for freedom includes having the freedom to think, too. Arguing with Aquarius is a futile effort as well because once she sinks her teeth into something, she won’t let anyone take it away from her.
3. Aquarius prefers to alienate people.
Aquarius has a free-spirited nature that encourages her to share the love and live by the “no strings attached” rule.
While she does enjoy being part of a group, she’s also fiercely independent, often to a fault. Her ability to stay detached in almost every situation, including ones with people she considers friends, can alienate her.
It’s common for her to lead a nomadic lifestyle, keeping to herself and choosing to be alone instead of surrounded by friends and family. This can obviously backfire on her and make her even more detached than before.
But even though preferring to be alone is not always the healthiest choice, Aquarius would rather alienate people than let them in. Intimacy and closeness scare her, but it can be more than that, too.
Even when she’s part of a group, she has to stand out and shock those around her. This might mean standing out in appearance or opinion, but no matter how you look at it, Aquarius deliberately alienates herself so that it’s always her against the world.
4. Aquarius is paradoxical in nature.
Being a paradox might be more interesting than anything else, but when it comes to Aquarius, being a paradox can turn into being a hypocrite very fast.
Even though Aquarius is a social butterfly and can make friends very easily, she almost always prefers to be on her own and will isolate herself for no reason other than that’s what she prefers.
She can also be the kind of person who wants to be in an exclusive relationship with someone but often chooses to keep things casual just so that she can maintain her need for total independence.
What makes this paradoxical zodiac sign so frustrating at times is that she’s not contradicting herself on purpose. Sure, she might look like a hypocrite on the outside, but that’s just her. Like how she’s one of those most open-minded and progressive zodiac signs in astrology, but give her a second opinion and she’ll show you just how stubborn and pig-headed she can be.
Dealing with an Aquarius can make your head spin, but she somehow has all of these paradoxes on lock and even knows how to make her complex personality look effortless.
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Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She's passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes. She plans on writing a book in the future.