It seems these days that every metaphysically-minded person is saying we are in the Age of Aquarius. Well, putting aside the fact that many people believe Astrology is bunk, let’s examine the facts.
People declaring that the beginning of this Utopian Age was upon us goes back decades. Most notably, because of the “Summer of Love” many people said the Aquarian Age started in the 1960s. This was fueled by the hit musical play, Hair and its signature song, The Age of Aquarius.
For a blast from the past: Age of Aquarius by the 5th Dimension, 1969: https://youtu.be/ILSr9BbhoJQ
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind’s true liberation
Aquarius…….
Aquarius……..
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius….Aquarius!
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in
Let the…Sun…Shine…In.
Actually, that configuration of Jupiter aligning with Mars happens about 15 times every few years, so that prediction turned out to be a bust. And, Jupiter and Mars, both fire signs, hardly speaks of peace and love. The Moon is in the 7thhouse for two hours every day. In addition, the 7th house is also not related to our idea of Aquarius. It is about partnerships and marriage. Hmmm. Maybe the writer of the song wasn’t an astrologer? Astrologer, Neil Spencer said the lyrics were “astrological gibberish.” Methinks the song, created by James Rado, Jerome Ragny and Galt MacDermot was written to sound good and create a sense of a golden age acomin’.
ASTROLOGICAL AGES
Actual Zodiac Ages are determined by astronomy. As the earth moves through space, it appears to us that our sun is travelling backward through the constellations in the Zodiac. There are twelve of these starry beauties that line up in a strip of the sky called the Ecliptic. They are usually listed as Aries through Pisces.
In Astrology, backward movement is called “retrograde or precession.” The sun isn’t really moving backward; it just appears that way to us. In space, there is no forward or backward, only movement in relation to other fixed points. This Precession is due to a slight wobble in the earth’s poles.
This precession, from our perspective, is a slow process. A complete sweep through the Zodiac takes 25,868 years. Divide that by the 12 signs and you get about 2,100 years to each “Age.”
This movement through the signs is called, “The precession of the equinox” and was discovered by Greek astronomer, Hipparchus of Nicaea (190-120 BCE).
What Age we are in is determined by what constellation seems to be behind our Sun at the Vernal Equinox (Spring in the Northern hemisphere). This changes over time as the Sun seems to travel backward through the Zodiac.
Although there is some wiggle room, most astrologers agree that we are currently in the tail end of the Piscean Age and are just entering the Aquarian age. Others say we entered it in 2012.
Here it is 2020, at the time of this writing, and still no world peace.
SO, WHEN WILL THE AQUARIAN AGE ARRIVE?
That’s up for debate because we don’t know for sure when the sun entered the Piscean Age, but most astrologers put it around 100 CE. Other astrologers believe the Aquarian age won’t officially start until 2150. In 1978, Marc Edward Jones, wrote in his book, Fundamentals of Number Significance, that the Age of Aquarius started in 1930 with the discovery of Pluto. No credible astrologer that I know of holds Jones’ view.
Other than the dubious date of the beginning of the Piscean age, astrologers give each constellation in the Zodiac a convenient but inaccurate size of 30 degrees (of a 360-degree circle) in the ecliptic belt. In reality, the constellations vary in size. The 30 degrees is simply one of convenience and uniformity for astrologers. Although each sign has 30 “tick marks,” those marks are closer together for some signs and wider apart for others. Virgo is the largest at 12,194 square degrees. In comparison, Aquarius covers only 980 square degrees and Pisces is 889 degrees.
But for the sake of simplicity, let’s say the dawn of the Aquarian Age started in 2012. This date is agreed upon by many astrologers because the ancients believed that the star, Regulus in the constellation of Leo marked the border between Leo and Cancer. That means the border of the constellations Pisces and Aquarius would be at the March 2012 Equinox point, starting a new age.
SO, WHAT DOES LIVING IN AN “AGE” MEAN?
According to astrologers, each sign of the Zodiac age, influences the overall tone and experience of its inhabitants and the opposite sign (for Pisces, it’s Virgo) acts as a balancer to prevent extremes. It gives an underlying attitude about existence. Individually we will express our astrological birth sign and map through the filter of the “age.” For example, a Leo in the Piscean Age will color his Leo nature with a “base coat” of Pisces harmonized with Virgo.
THE CURRENT AGE OF PISCES
Pisces, a water-element is an age of spirituality thought of as separate from human nature, faith, belief, devotion, monotheism, emotions, mysteries, escapism, and compassion. Over 600 religions arose during the Age of Pisces, including Christianity.
Christianity began about 2,000 years ago. Its iconic hero, Jesus, is a man who was sacrificed for the sake of the rest of us. The symbol of Christians was, and still is, the fish (Piscus), which symbolizes Pisces. Jesus, referred to as the Lamb of God, is also associated with “fishers of men.” Near Rome, when practicing Christianity could mean being thrown into the lion’s den, fish were scratched into the walls of the catacombs as a secret sign to indicate meeting places or to distinguish friend from foe.
The other symbol for Christianity is the lamb or sheep. This is a carry-over from the age of Aries. Jesus is the Christian avatar for their faith, and he is considered, the “Lamb of God.” His crucifixion represents the sacrifice of the “Ram” or the killing of the Age of Aries, which came just before the Age of Pisces.
Even now, 2,000 or so years later, Christianity is based on faith alone. There is no historical, archeological, or anthropological evidence that Jesus ever existed. Most, if not all of the stories about his life were borrowed from Pagan religions and rituals. Yes, even Christmas was borrowed from the Pagan rite of Saturnalia. Easter was repurposed from their Rite of Spring celebrating fertility. Think about it. Eggs and rabbits? Fertility symbols. Many other events in Jesus’ life were lifted directly from the Roman Mithras cult in the 2nd through the 4th centuries.
Mithraism was a secret, Roman mystery school where followers worshipped the Persian god, Mithras. His most prominent symbol was the Bull (Age of Taurus). He was born on December 25 of the virgin, Anahita. As a baby, he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, placed in a manger and attended to by shepherds. He had twelve disciples and he performed miracles. He was called, The Good Shepherd, The Way, the Truth, and the Light, The Redeemer and the Savior. His sacred day was Sunday. There’s more, but you get the idea.
So, Christianity is a religion of adhering to blind faith in a principle of love, forgiveness, and a heavenly afterlife.
The sign of Pisces is also about judgment of good and evil. Very little middle ground. Thus the Piscean Age religions of reward for the faithful and punishment of those who stray from the covenant.
Water plays an important part in Piscean religions, most notably, Christianity, with its baptism ritual, the stories of water-into-wine, and walking on water to calm the storm and save the fisherman. Jesus is sometimes referred to as a “fisher of men.”
Each sign “rules” a part of the body. Pisces rules the feet. One of the traditions of Christianity is purifying the soul through a ritual of foot-washing.
Pisces is about belief, faith, and devotion to something “greater” than ourselves.
The Pisces polarity of Virgo, the Virgin is aptly represented in the mythology of the Virgin Mary, and through the central theme of Christianity, which is peace, love, humility, and charity.
Pisces is a sign of spirituality, inner exploration, and emotions. During this time the birth of psychiatry, psychology, non-traditional spiritual practices, and the joining of the Eastern and Western spiritual thought have taken place.
Virgo, the opposite sign and balancer for Pisces, dissects, questions, finds out how things work, and makes things smaller and more efficient. The rise in technology speaks for itself here. The first successful computer, the ENIAC covered 1,800 square feet of space and could only perform simple and basic tasks. Now enormously complex calculations, whole libraries, entire bodies of scientific knowledge, and more can be stored on a chip so small it cannot be seen without great magnification.
Christianity expresses Pisces’ opposite through the myth of the Virgin Mary. Virgo is an earth element and in ancient times, Mary was depicted holding a sheaf of wheat and standing, or resting her foot on a crescent moon. This is an ancient symbol of the goddess, Diana/Artemis and represents fertility. Mary expresses the qualities of Virgo—modesty, chastity, service, and commitment.
Pisceans have a strong attraction to seclusion, Christian hermits are an example, as is the Catholic, (among others) emphasis on cloistered nuns and monks. The priests are set above the populace like shepherds tending their sheep. Spiritual pilgrimages and walking the medieval cathedral labyrinths barefoot and alone are also examples.
Other religions in the Age of Pisces also have beliefs and rituals that reflect the watery, emotional, mystical, devotional qualities of this age. Islam for example carries the same passionate, emotional, and devotional qualities of all the Piscean religions. Islam reveres the Imams as being above the fray. Rituals and restrictions concerning feet are a part of their beliefs. One instance is that you must not wear shoes in a mosque. Another example are the ablutions performed by Islam worshipers before prayers (Wudu) to purify themselves by washing hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, head, and feet
In Hinduism it is considered rude or an insult to show a holy person the soles of your feet. Also, Hindu Ashram members cloister themselves while seeking enlightenment. There is a Guru who is set above the populace and worshipped as a god. Hinduism, however, is not a Piscean religion and existed long before that age, thus the importance of fire (Aries) in their practices and mythology. Hinduism, among other Aries Age religions has proven to be flexible in maintaining their Aries origins and adapting to the Piscean Age.
Collectively, Pisces people are psychic sponges, soaking in emotions and “vibes” randomly and they need time alone to cleanse, rebalance, and heal.
A motto for Pisces is “I believe.”
A motto for Aquarius is “Prove it to me through science.”
THE AGE OF AQUARIUS
Aquarius, an air element, is about equality, brotherly and sisterly love, innovation, newness, the future, and spontaneity. Aquarius doesn’t like the caste system or the hierarchy of power and influence such as priests and clergy. It is about equality, social involvement, and community. Television (good and bad) and the Internet are striking examples of the Aquarian Age, as is Social Media—also good and bad.
Aquarius is about what’s new. Its planet is Uranus, the king of innovation, the unexpected, sudden changes, and surprises. Aquarius is about connectedness and communication. The explosion of technological advances such as cell phones, streaming services for education, entertainment, and music are examples. Even the now-crumbling empire of cable and satellite TV are representative of Aquarius. ATMs, Apple and Android Pay, debit cards, reliance on credit cards, and the changeover in banking and medicine to computerized services and practices are all Aquarian in nature. Information is now King. One downside is the eroding of privacy in Aquarius’ hell-bent rush toward inclusiveness.
Religion is secondary to Aquarius. It’s not that everyone in the Aquarian Age will become Atheists, although that is one of the fastest growing “religions” in the western world. It’s that religions will become less exclusive and more inclusive—more tolerant of differing beliefs and practices.
In the Age of Aquarius, we will collectively have a strong devotion to independence and individualism while still embracing equality and inclusion.
Sound like a contradiction? Think social media. It’s a place where we can shine individually and express ourselves while being a part of a community of minds through a purely abstract medium of binary 0’s and 1’s.
The Aquarian Age will revere individualism and creativity, inventive and visionary thinking. At the same time, the Uranian mindset will also produce rebellion, gathering together to stand up for a principle or belief. Think Arab Spring, the Yellow Vest riots in France, the Occupy Wallstreet movements in the US, and Black Lives Matter (2020).
Science, so under siege by the Piscean Age hold-outs, will rise. Aquarius challenges authority. Little is held sacred. In the Aquarian Age, we will be focused on getting rid of the old, outdated, useless, and obstructive to make way for the new, “better” way. Remember the highly controversial Green New Deal proposed by U.S. Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in 2018?
Aquarius is known for sudden and unexpected turns in policy, belief, and action. It is futuristic-minded and can often seem to contradict its own beliefs and ways.
Collectively, people born in the Age of Aquarius will be less emotionally swayed by sentiment and often appear aloof and nurturing at the same time. They will be interested in equality and fairness. They will go by the motto that was so perfectly expressed by Mr. Spock in the Star Trek series, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.”
In the positive sense, the Aquarian way will be hallmarked by a tone of congeniality, social, and humanitarian concerns along with individuality, inventiveness, science, and technology advances.
In the Pisces Age, lone inventors and scientists working with small groups of helpers, in the privacy of their homes or laboratories invented, discovered, and rose to prominence; i.e. Newton, Edison, and the Wright brothers. In the Aquarian Age, innovators will prefer large groups and collective action. Aquarian Age people will have a democratic mindset like the Three Musketeers’ motto, “All for one and one for all.” Elitism will be frowned on.
AQUARIUS’ BALANCER: LEO
Integrating Aquarius with its opposite, Leo, we have a dynamic paring. Leo is creative, impressive, powerful, charming, charismatic. Leo wants recognition for his “good deeds” and responds to praise. Leo likes to have power, authority, and creative expression. He needs the cool Aquarius energy to temper extravagance and a pressing need to “be somebody.”
Aquarius stands back and looks at life impersonally. He views events, people, circumstances and himself from a detached perspective that includes less individuality and more global identification.
Without the personalizing, emotional effect of Leo, Aquarius can be too idealistic and too distant from the individual feelings of himself and those around him. He sees only the larger picture and not the pieces that make it up. Leo is the shadow side of Aquarius.
Beneath the cool objectivity of the egalitarian ideals of Aquarius, lies Leo’s urge to roar. Aquarius loves equality and freedom. Leo loves personal applause and recognition. Leo is passionate about life. Aquarius is indifferent to personal passion. Together they balance egalitarianism and passion
Leo’s passion, generosity, and personal identity plus Aquarius’ cool indifference to the individual and passion for the masses = a balance of inward and outward expressions of our connection to others and ourselves.
CYCLES OF THE AGES—THE GREAT YEAR
Let’s look back at cycle of the ages, beginning with Leo/Aquarius starting10,000 BCE. The prominent ages have an overarching “personality” but are influenced by their balancer sign and by many smaller planetary cycles. The whole process creates a complex web of effects that form a symphony of trends, changes, and evolution. As we grow more aware and spiritually mature, we use these cycles and influences for higher and higher purposes. I am hopeful that there will one day be a real Golden Age even though I will probably be long gone by then.
LEO/AQUARIUS (c. 10,000-8000 BCE):
Sun-worship was at the center of religion in the Age of Sun-ruled sign of Leo. In their primitive, coming-into-being stage of development, creativity was the highlight of this age. Basic inventions and discoveries such as fire, the wheel, stone arrowheads, tools, beautiful and bold carvings and cave paintings all reflect the influences of Leo and its opposite sign of Aquarius.
CANCER/CAPRICORN (c. 8000-6000 BCE):
Here, humans emerged from caves and began forming more complex societies. They abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled into permanent homes where they developed agriculture. Settling in and building villages and communities is Capricorn influence.
In China, Egypt, India, and Mesopotamia, fertility cults and rites developed, characterized by round, female carvings with large breasts and stomachs (Cancer). These were used in many emerging cultures of the time, but especially in the Mediterranean. These rites and talismans reflected the influence of Cancer, ruled by the Moon, and represent fertility, motherhood, and the home (Cancer).
Spiritual practices shifted, during this period from worshipping the Sun, to worshipping the Moon (Cancer).
GEMINI/SAGITTARIUS (c. 6000-4000 BCE):
Gemini is ruled by Mercury, god of the intellect, communication, and mobility. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the greatest and most powerful of the pagan gods. He was king of religion, large and dramatic changes, truth, and knowledge.
This age is when writing developed. The written word is probably the first sweeping invention to change global society on a grand scale (Sagittarius). Starting with rough symbolic icons on pottery, writing was quickly refined into the complex cuneiform and the pictogram hieroglyphics of China and Egypt. Gemini is about communication. Writing allowed communication over an expanded, wider area (Sagittarius).
Religion also became more formalized and the first groups of humans gathered in a formal setting to learn and acquire knowledge (Gemini).
This age was the beginning of the university system (Sagittarius). It is also the age where we see the first widespread use of the wheel, which enabled humans to communicate and commune with others at greater and greater distances (Sagittarius).
TAURUS/SCORPIO (c. 4000-2000 BC):
Taurus, the Bull is ruled by the planet Venus and is concerned with physical comfort, beauty, music, and solidarity. Scorpio, ruled by Pluto is fascinated with death, rebirth, secrets, and intensity.
During this time, worship of the sacred Apis Bull was a widespread cult (Taurus). The temples of the time were massive and solid, yet also light, graceful, and airy (Taurus)—an effect that can be dizzying to the visitor even today.
Scorpio’s influence is front and center in ancient Egypt’s cultural preoccupation with death. Their massive tombs and elaborate mummification rites reflect Scorpio’s influence. Crete and Mesopotamia also showed a preoccupation with death.
In the Judeo/Christian religions, the story of Moses tells of the change from the Age of Taurus into the Age of Aquarius. When he came down the mountain, holding tablets created from of a fiery bush, he saw his followers worshiping a golden calf.
ARIES/LIBRA (c. 2000 BCE-100 CE):
Moses symbolizes the change from the age of Taurus, into the age of Aries. Mars and Venus both rule this age. Mars whose Arian urge is for conquest and war, was oddly combined with Venus’ Libran need for peace and balance.
During this time the architecture changed from the massive stone temples and mud brick palaces to the delicate elegance of Greek temples, homes and public buildings (Libra). Ram worship abounded (Aries) and society was wracked by constant and wide-spread wars (Aries).
With conquest after conquest, humans tested their ability to expand and rule. The wandering warlike tribes of Israel are a good example. They believed that the soul resided in the blood (Aries). Their belief that a vengeful God demanded sacrifice, led to near-constant temple slaughter of goats and sheep (Aries). This created a river of blood that streamed down a gutter day and night to appease God.
Violence was typically depicted in art, especially in Greek pottery. And yet, this was the time when balance and equilibrium was also sought after (Libra). Wars and conquests made way for more equality in government, human rights, and a voting senate.
Architecture and literature had a symmetry and elegant beauty that can be found in every culture of the day (Libra).
PISCES/VIRGO (c. 100-2000 CE):
This age was described earlier, especially the influence that these two signs had in the formation of the Christian religion and the story of Jesus—the figure that most represents the moving from Aries into Pisces.
AQUARIUS/LEO (c. 2000-4000 CE):
This time around, the “New Age” will show its influence in space travel, a greater concern for the human rights in the world, a desire to disarm and practice what we preach about global peace, and an increasing dependence on technology and science.
A keyword for Aquarius is “humanity,” and hopefully, the age of Aquarius will bring more global unity and concern for the human race as a whole, aside from nationalistic greed and avarice.
Leo can temper Aquarius’ tendency to leap before looking, and to keep creativity flowing. Aquarius cares about humanity but sometimes neglects those close at hand. Leo can bring concern and caring to those near and dear.
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So, “Let the sun shine in” and dance to the Aquarian Age!
