My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. I tend to get spiritual around the month of my birthday, trying to deepen the “meaning” or significance on the one day during the one month of the year that celebrates another year toward retirement. I attribute my getting spiritual on my birthday to my fascination with the fact that while no one 24-hour day will ever repeat itself, someone’s birthday is revisited every 365 days.

My birthday falls under the Aquarius zodiac sign. An Aquarius is generally described as one who is independent, creative, and likes nature. I like to characterize myself as such on varying levels because I feel my personality resonates with these and other Aquarius qualities. I consider myself more independent than (and opposite of) the stereotypical average American female in her 20s plastered half-naked on billboards. I consider myself creative in that I would prefer to produce my own things organically (if and when I could), from food and clothing to stories and paper. And while I’m very much a “city girl”, I appreciate nature as profoundly possible when I’m in it. I also like the phonetics of the word “Aquarius.” It’s soothing. Hearing the word takes me to a serene place where a clean stream of water flows quietly. On the flipside, an Aquarius is prone to rebelliousness, coldness, cowardice and impracticality. And I do hold these qualities, all of them, quite strongly. There’s always some bad that goes with the good. Coincidence? I don’t know. So far, though, my overall personality rings true with being an Aquarius and so far, I accept.

I’m not superstitious but I like reading my horoscope on occasion. When it’s occasional, it’s more fun. My “Quickie” horoscope for February 1st (from Yahoo! Astrology) was the following: “Placing common sense above personal desires can be very empowering.” Coincidentally, I have a similar epigram that I remind myself to follow everyday. I tell myself not to get emotional over frivolous things like the driver who cuts me off in traffic or the many monthly bills I have to pay. When I’m able to control my emotions (and temper), I feel stronger, like I’m at the homestretch finishing a race with full force. I’m not swayed off course from emotional distractions. Following through with what I tell myself to do, though, is challenging. Maybe “placing common sense above personal desires” was my “Quickie” horoscope because I have the tendency to do the opposite. Maybe these horoscopes do serve a purpose…

What I found most interesting and didn’t know until I did a Wikipedia search on Aquarius was that each zodiac sign is assigned an anatomic part of the human body. The Aquarius is said to rule the legs from the knees to the ankles. Another coincidence. I am especially sensitive with my legs and ankles so I wear loose pants and shoes that expose my ankles to air. The Aquarius also has an “element.” Next to being a “water bearer”, the Aquarius’s element is air. Yet another coincidence. I’m sensitive (and picky when I can be) about the water I drink and the water that touches my skin. I prefer drinking expensively filtered water to spring water and if I could bathe in the expensively filtered water, I would. For now, I settle with hard water. And while I’ve been around smokers and have lived in Los Angeles my entire life, I’m not immune to cigarette smoke and car exhaust. Both really bother me. This zodiac stuff is beginning to be more convincing.

If I were born under a different sign I don’t think I’d follow my horoscope. I don’t relate to the other signs as I do to Aquarius. Sure, it’s possible that I don’t relate to other signs because I am an Aquarius. But my intuition tells me that not all Aquarius are the same or even similar. I have an Aquarius friend who is nothing like me or the Aquarius personality. In fact, she’s quite the opposite. What’s funny is she tells me, “You are such an Aquarius!” If she said, “You are such a Taurus!” I would say, “I don’t believe in astrology.” I think I lucked out being born in early February.

I wonder if I’d believe in all horoscopes if I paid for them.

© 2007 Victoria Kraus