Humanitarian rebel, innovative and eccentric thinker, a vision beyond our time. These are the words that come to mind whenever I think about Aquarius and its energy – an energy worth putting on your bookshelf to nurture a forward-thinking mind with a caring spirit for the goodness of humanity.

The Aquarian Vibe

Aquarius continues the heavy Saturnian energy that also influences Capricorn season, yet Uranus, planet of progressive breakthroughs and innovative technology, also rules Aquarius. So as the Saturnian energy continues to dwell over our winter days, we begin to have innovative thoughts about what changes we must make, what habits are more aligned with our morals and even contemplating how we can give back to our communities.

In this post, I’ll be sharing the three books I’ve been reading during this season that reflects the Aquarian energy based on its humanitarianism, critical thinking and progressive nature.

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

As a result of the abusive exploitation of these European colonisers, African, Asian and South American countries find themselves ironically dependent on the very countries that have caused their underdevelopment. Besides, many countries find themselves reluctant to facing the opression of their neocolonialist governments.

Although the book was published in 1972, Rodney’s logical and humanitarian view still resonates with the world’s underdeveloped countries. It continues to encourage countries and its people to face their historical oppressors and finally become the countries they were destined to be before being wrongly occupied and exploited.

Teaching Critical Thinking by bell hooks

Regardless of whether you are currently studying or even teaching as a profession, Teaching Critical Thinking is a must read for everyone.

In our lifetime, we are continuously learning and teaching others, consciously or not. With bell hooks’ enlightening perspective on cultivating a mind rich in critical thinking, she makes us realise that life’s most precious thing is the human longing to know – to understand how life works.

We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality.

thich nhat hanh

How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley

How Fascism Works is a fantastic introductory book on the traits of fascism and how it has morphed its way into our modern society and even infiltrated many of the world’s governments, knowingly or not.

Stanley uses recent events to highlight the contemporary form of fascism in our society, both Western and non-Western, basing his examples on the ten pillars of the far-right ideology. He demostrates how fascism has been disturbingly mythicised to the extent that its distinct traits seem to be unrecognisible extremes that cannot coexist in our so-called democratic states.

The book opens anyone’s eyes that our world that is growing more and more trivial as well as naive to detect the dangers of fascism being normalised in our modern world.

Aquarius is the amalgam of the restrictive, authorative Saturn and rebellious, innovative Uranus. Despite being a logic-driven sign that may have it misinterpreted as an emotionally-detached sign, its priority is the greater good for humanity.

With its knowledge of tradition and authority along with its original, futuristic vision – Aquarius manages to bridge the past and the future. It highlights what breakthroughs need to happen in order to progress on an intellectual and logical level for humanity to thrive.

Not surprisingly, any person who has many Aquarian aspects are a rebellion in themselves. They are the activists, the ones that make us see things in a different perspective – they are the observers, the ones who work behind the scenes that make our world a little bit better.

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

Albert Camus, French philosopher