The ♒ Aquarius Emoji: Meaning, Origins, and How to Use the Water Bearer
The ♒ (Aquarius) symbol represents the eleventh astrological sign of the zodiac, known as the Water Bearer. Depicting two parallel zigzag lines that represent waves of water or electricity, this symbol is primarily used to indicate someone born between January 20 and February 18. In astrology, Aquarius is an air sign associated with innovation, rebellion, and humanitarianism.
The zigzag lines of the Aquarius symbol have ancient roots. Babylonian astronomers associated the constellation with the god Ea, often depicted holding an overflowing vase. Later, the Greeks and Romans linked it to Ganymede, the cupbearer to the gods. The modern astrological glyph simplifies this mythology into two jagged lines, representing the water flowing from the bearer's pitcher or, in modern interpretations, the flow of energy and sound waves.
In the Unicode Standard, the Aquarius symbol is located in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. Its official code point is U+2652. Originally added to Unicode 1.1 in 1993 as a standard text character, it was later upgraded to emoji status under Emoji 1.0 in 2015. Depending on the platform, it renders either as a simple black glyph or a colorful emoji, typically featuring white waves on a purple or blue background.
On social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X, the ♒ emoji is a staple in user bios to signal their zodiac sign and connect with fellow astrology enthusiasts. Beyond astrology, you might occasionally spot these parallel waves in creative typography or graphic design to represent water, radio waves, or electrical currents, though standard wave emojis are more common for literal water. In programming, developers building horoscope apps or dating platforms use the U+2652 code point to parse and display the sign accurately.
Typing the ♒ symbol is easy across different devices. On mobile keyboards for iOS and Android, you can find it in the emoji panel by searching "Aquarius" or browsing the symbols category. On Windows, press the Windows key and the Period (.) key to open the emoji picker. On Mac, use Control + Command + Spacebar to bring up the Character Viewer. If you need to code it directly into a website, use the HTML entity ♒.
The Aquarius symbol is part of a larger zodiac family within Unicode, sitting alongside signs like ♑ (Capricorn) and ♓ (Pisces). While it represents the water bearer, it shouldn't be confused with the literal 🌊 (Water Wave) emoji or the 〰️ (Wavy Dash), which is a punctuation mark used in East Asian typography.