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Age of Aquarius:
A New Age Dawning
by Ed Perrone
Mankind stands today on the
threshold of a new World Age. The concept of an imminent new Age -- and the
concurrent idea of the approaching end of the present Age -- have been
popularized (and commercialized) throughout all levels of society in recent
years. Nevertheless, few people consciously understand what the transition
to the Age of Aquarius actually implies. To most people, the "Age of
Aquarius" remains a vague phrase.
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Esoterically, the cycle of
World Ages traces an aspect of the spiritual evolution of consciousness. It
has as its astrological basis the circle of the zodiac (hence, the "Age
of Pisces," the "Age of Aquarius," etc.). Humanity evolves as
a whole-expanding and developing the collective consciousness of the race --
at the same time that each of its members is evolving in his or her own
personal way. Individual evolution, therefore, proceeds simultaneously with
and complements racial evolution.The cycle of World Ages
traces the development of humanity's racial consciousness. In the same way
as your personal horoscope reveals your individual level of development, and
the continuing planetary cycles in relation to your chart indicate the
actual process of your growth, so does the long-term, cosmic cycle of World
Ages reveal the collective spiritual development of mankind.
When we discuss the World
Ages, then, we are dealing with evolution on a global scale. In a sense, we
are studying the spiritual evolution of all life on the Earth itself -- or
more specifically, the evolution of the Planetary Being (the Logos), whose
physical body of manifestation is the globe we call Earth.
Since all existence on every
level is constantly evolving, this Planetary Being is not yet perfected. The
Logos continues to evolve on its own level. This evolution is reflected in
the evolution of humanity, which considered as a coherent unit is analogous
to a specific organ in the body of the Logos.
The actual evolution of the
Logos is beyond the scope of our discussion here. We are concerned
specifically with the evolution of our own race, that is, with the way the
spiritual evolution of our Planetary Being is reflected in the evolution of
humanity. Therefore, we must narrow the focus of our interpretation, in
order to study the cycle of World Ages as it affects mankind.
This great cosmic cycle is
based on an astronomical phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes.
The precession, in turn, arises from the fact that the earth's axis does not
always point to the same place in the sky, relative to the fixed stars. The
earth, in fact, has a slight "wobble" in its motion, much like
that of a spinning top. This results in the line of the earth's polar axis
(extended in imagination from the North Pole) tracing a rough circle through
the fixed constellations in the northern sky.
The present pole star -- the
star at the end of this imaginary extension of the North Pole -- is Polaris,
in the constellation Ursa Minor. But due to the "wobble" in the
Earth's motion, Polaris was not always the Pole Star, and it will not remain
in this position. The North Pole points to a series of stars in succession,
as the polar axis gradually changes its direction.
Thus, in the period around
4000 B.C., the pole star was one of the stars in the constellation Draco; in
4000 A.D. it will be a star in the constellation Cepheus. The entire polar
cycle -- that is, the length of time it takes for the North Pole to complete
one circuit -- is just over 25,000 years. This period is known as the Great
Sidereal Year; and it is this cyclic motion of the polar axis that gives
rise to the precession of the equinoxes.
The equinoctial precession
is what we actually use to measure the passage of the World Ages. As a
result of the earth's gyration (the axial "wobble"), the Sun is
not found in the same location in the sky at each vernal (spring) equinox.
(Again, this is in reference to the fixed, visible constellations.) Instead,
the location of the equinox moves slowly backward through the zodiac,
completing one passage through the circle every 25,800 years.
It is this motion that we
use to measure the cycle of World Ages. The equinox takes roughly 2,150
years to pass through each constellation ("roughly" because the
constellations are not evenly spaced through the zodiac). This period is the
length of a single World Age.
At the present time, the
equinoctial point is passing through the visible constellation (not the
sign) Pisces. It entered this constellation near the time of the birth of
Christ and will reach Aquarius in the next one to four hundred years. We are
therefore concluding the Age of Pisces and preparing to enter the Age of
Aquarius.
The next questions which
logically arise are: Precisely when will the equinox enter the constellation
of Aquarius? And what will be the significance of this?
The first question has
several answers. None is positively "right" because not only are
the constellations unevenly spaced through the zodiac, but it is impossible
to measure their exact boundaries. Obviously the time that the equinox will
enter a certain constellation depends on what we define as the border of
that particular group of stars.
Some astrologers put the
beginning of the Aquarian Age within the next 50-100 years. Others set the
date as far ahead as 2375. Still another group says that the Piscean Age
began several centuries before Christ's birth, and that therefore the
Aquarian Age began early in this century, about the 1920s.
Additionally, there are
those who claim that the precessional movement of the equinoxes, being
merely an effect of the polar cycle, is not the primary indication of the
passage of the World Ages at all. Instead, these astrologers say, we should
study the polar cycle itself and the specific influences of the stars to
which the Pole regularly "points". The nature of the World Ages
would then be described according to the specific influence of the star from
which the Pole is then drawing its energy.
This viewpoint obviously has
quite a bit of merit. I personally have little knowledge of this particular
aspect of astrology, but it appears to me to be an area well worth
investigating. Some work has already been done here, but much more is
needed. Even so, it would still be impossible to determine a specific date
for the beginning of a World Age from any of these movements and cycles.
So when will the Aquarian
Age begin? In many ways, the precise physical time is irrelevant. My
personal feeling, based on the precessional movement itself, tends to
support the later dates, about 400 years from now, as the beginning of the
New Age. But I must quickly add that I believe this represents the time of
the actual manifestation of the New Age on earth.
The spiritual
"seed" of the Aquarian Age has already been planted. It is, in
fact, already growing. I date the spiritual beginning of the Age of Aquarius
from the time of the discovery of the planet Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius,
in the year 1781.
I have many reasons for
this. Chief among them is that at this time truly Aquarian energies began to
manifest themselves in the physical world. The walls between cultures,
nations, races, and social classes began to break down. The French and
American revolutions fundamentally altered the established political order.
Democracy gradually emerged as the dominant form of government -- the
Aquarian ideal to be sought and perfected. The Industrial Revolution had a
similar effect on the social order.
In short, coinciding with
Uranus's discovery, isolation, a quality of Pisces, began to give way to
cooperation, a quality of Aquarius. A glance at the world history before and
after the late 1700's bears this out strikingly.
In the 200 years since the
discovery of Uranus, the process has accelerated tremendously. Humanity is
now well on its way toward the manifestation of a global and interdependent
consciousness.
This brings us to the second
point -- the significance of the New Age. What does it mean to "enter a
new World Age"?
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Article Source |
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 This
article was excerpted with permission from Astrology: A
New Age Guide written by Ed Perrone. Reprinted with permission of the
publisher, Quest Books http://theosophical.org.
Info/Order
this book.
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About The Author |
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Ed Perrone
was a freelance writer from 1977-1998, when he wrote
articles for The Progressive, Business
NH, Black Elegance, American
Astrology, Dell Horoscope, Llewellyn
Sun-Sign Book, and numerous local, in-house, and organizational
publications. Topics have included the Three Mile Island nuclear
accident, mutual fund investing, marketing, publishing, and astrology. He was also a monthly
columnist for American Astrology magazine
from 1987-1998. He is presently an Interactive Online
Programmer who designs, tests, deploys, maintains, and supports
World Wide Web sites and other interactive online services for clients.
You can find links to many Web sites and interactive programs he's
developed at www.edperrone.com.
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In the most basic terms, the
cycle of World Ages signifies the steps on the ladder of global evolution.
Each sign is a phase of spiritual growth, but on a racial scale. The
entrance into a new World Age indicates the emergence of the consciousness
of humanity onto a new and broader level of awareness. It is an
"initiation" of the race as a whole. Our collective consciousness
expands as we spiritually grow and evolve, and this eventually manifests on
the physical level as a new world order.
The energies of the pairs of
opposites are again involved here; evolution itself is fundamentally a
succession of reconciliations of various opposites. Astrologically, the
pairs of opposites represent levels of awareness, and the essential change
that takes place in the transition from one World Age to the next is in the
spiritual awareness of humanity.
The so-called Age of
Aquarius is in reality the Age of the Aquarius-Leo pair, and it is only in
terms of the pairs of opposites that the transition from one age to the next
-- the collective evolution of humanity -- can be understood.
As we enter the Aquarius-Leo
Age we are, collectively and on the spiritual level, reconciling these two
opposites. The process of reconciliation itself, worked out through the
means of the physical level, gives rise to the expanded awareness which will
characterize the New Age. In essence, we are spiritually merging the
collective (Aquarius) with the individual (Leo) through physical means. We
will eventually manifest the resultant new level of awareness in terms of
the emphasized member or the pair: Aquarius, the perfected, manifested
whole.
Once again, as was the case
on an individual level, the spiritual energies are those of the pair; they
manifest in the nature of the pair's emphasized member.
As to the precise nature of
the manifested world order under the New Age, this is impossible to
describe, or even to imagine. The time of its actual concretization is still
too far in the future, and we are still too enmeshed in the physical forms
of the Age of Pisces. Our physical, emotional, and mental bodies are still
molded according to the Piscean energies, making the Aquarian influence
virtually alien to the dominant aspects of our natures. A great many
individuals remain unresponsive to even the spiritual influence of Aquarius,
which at the present time is the only level on which its energies can be
felt and even partially understood.
But in the same way that the
precise date that the New Age will fully manifest is basically irrelevant,
so is the physical form it will take. More important at the present moment
is the course and direction of our evolution as we enter the New Age. Our
actions now, in fact, will determine the eventual manifested form of the
Aquarian Age.
A glance at the present
world situation makes the exoteric aspects of this obvious. The spiritual
pull between the two force -- the outgoing Piscean and the incoming Aquarian
-- is reaching its breaking point on the physical level. At the same time,
on the spiritual level, the ongoing reconciliation of the opposites
(Aquarius and Leo) is adding further tension to the physical manifestation.
The most important factor
here is the spiritual reconciliation of the opposites; if this is achieved
successfully, the physical transition to the New Age will follow smoothly on
the heels of the spiritual.
All of these influences
combine to paint a very optimistic picture for the immediate future of
mankind. To me, they show the actual beginning of the Age of Aquarius on
earth. I feel I should mention this because it directly contradicts what
appears to be the prevailing opinion concerning the transition from the
Piscean to the Aquarian Age.
The basic fault I find with
these prophets of doom is that they concentrate solely on exoteric factors,
while ignoring the fact that the dawn of a new World Age is essentially a
spiritual event. Furthermore, they seem to center (shortsightedly) on the
close of the Age of Pisces. I look ahead --
to the birth of the Age of Aquarius.
The distinction between
these two views is an important one as we move ever closer to the actual
time of decision. We must not react out of fear that "the end of the
Age (or the world) is at hand." Instead, we must act, on the basis of
our firm spiritual knowledge that the procession of World Ages is
inevitable, as are all evolutionary cycles. One age follows another, as the
Aquarian will assuredly follow the Piscean. The only cause of our
destruction, if we are to be destroyed, will be our own lack of receptivity
to the impulses of the New Age, and our inability to manifest these impulses
through our racial consciousness.
I do not believe that we are
saddled with either of these handicaps. Since the time of Uranus's
discovery, the Aquarian energies have been building. They are evoking a
response in a growing number of individuals who are now consciously assuming
their roles in the transition. Even those who cling most tightly to the
worn-out Piscean forms are slowly releasing their grip. They, too, are
increasingly taking up their cosmic roles, although they usually do so
unconsciously.
A renewed and concerted
effort by those who are already responsive to the Aquarian influence will
bring the energies of the New Age even closer to the physical level. In
turn, a greater response will become apparent as others join in the great
work of inaugurating the New Age. I see no need for pessimism, fear, or
despair, only for intense activity and work, so that we may perfect the body
of humanity in order to fully and perfectly manifest the growing awareness
of its soul.
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