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Age of Aquarius
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- This article is about the astrological time period. For the song, see Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. For the album, see The Age of Aquarius (album).
In astrology, the Age of Aquarius is one of the twelve astrological ages. According to astrologers, it is either the next age to come, or else it is the current age. Each astrological age is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods that can make ages much longer and shorter depending upon the technique used.
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- This article is about the astrological time period. For the song, see Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. For the album, see The Age of Aquarius (album).
In astrology, the Age of Aquarius is one of the twelve astrological ages. According to astrologers, it is either the next age to come, or else it is the current age. Each astrological age is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods that can make ages much longer and shorter depending upon the technique used. Unlike sun-sign astrology where the first sign is Aries, followed by Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces whereupon the cycle returns to Aries and through the zodiacal signs again, the astrological ages proceed in the opposite direction or order. Therefore the age before the Age of Aquarius is the Age of Pisces. Following the Age of Aquarius will be the Age of Capricorn, then the Age of Sagittarius and so on.
Overview
According to different astrologers' calculations, approximated dates for entering the Age of Aquarius range from 1447 AD (Terry MacKinnell) to 3621 (John Addey). The start date for the Aquarian age is somewhat contentious and there is little uniform agreement upon the date or process leading from the previous Pisces age to the Aquarian age (or between any two ages). Nicholas Campion in "The Book of World Horoscopes" lists various references from mainly astrological sources for the start of the Age of Aquarius. The following is taken from Campion's book and lists the century and the number of people who claim that the Aquarian age commences in that century:
| Century | Claims |
|---|
| 15th century | 1 | | 16th century | 0 | | 17th century | 3 | | 18th century | 4 | | 19th century | 5 | | 20th century | 29 | | 21st century | 7 | | 22nd century | 6 | | 23rd century | 2 | | 24th century | 12 | | 25th century | 8 | | 26th century | 7 | | 27th century | 7 | | 28th century | 6 | | 29th century | 1 | | 30th century | 0 | | 31st century | 1 | | 32nd century | 0 | | 33rd century | 1 | | 34th century | 0 | | 35th century | 0 | | 36th century | 1 | | 37th century | 1 |
Astrological ages exist as a result of precession of the equinoxes. The stars and constellations appear to slowly rotate around the Earth independent of the diurnal and annual movements of the Earth on its own axis and around the Sun. This slow movement takes slightly less than 26,000 years to complete one cycle. Traditionally this rotation is calibrated for the purposes of the astrological ages by the location of the zodiacal constellations at the Vernal Equinox around the 21st of March each year. Approximately every 2,160 years a new zodiacal constellation appears at the Vernal Equinox. However zodiacal constellations are not uniform in size and so some astrologers believe that the corresponding ages should also vary in time - this however is a contentious issue amongst astrologers.
In 1929, the International Astronomical Union defined the edges of the 88 official constellations. The edge established between Pisces and Aquarius technically locates the beginning of the Aquarian Age around the year 2600. Many astrologers dispute this approach because of the varying sizes of the zodiacal constellations and overlap between the zodiacal constellations.
Astrological meaning of the Age of Aquarius
Ages are believed by some astrologers to affect mankind while other astrologers believe the ages correlate to the rise and fall of mighty civilizations and cultural tendencies. Aquarius traditionally "rules" electricity, computers, flight, democracy, freedom, humanitarianism, idealists, modernization, rebels and rebellion, mental diseases, nervous disorders, and astrology. Other keywords and ideas believed associated with Aquarius are nonconformity, philanthropy, veracity, perseverance, mankind and irresolution. The appearance or elevation in status of many of these Aquarian developments over the last few centuries is considered by many astrologers to indicate the proximity of the Aquarian age. There is no uniform agreement about the relationship of these recent Aquarian developments and the Age of Aquarius. Some astrologers believe that the influence of a new age is experienced before it arrives because of a cuspal effect or Orb of Influence. Other astrologers believe the appearance of Aquarian developments indicate the actual arrival of the Age of Aquarius.
David Williams
LCDR David Williams claims that the Age of Aquarius arrived about 1844, with the harbinger of the Siyyid `Alí Mu?ammad (1819–1850), also known as the Báb, founder of Bábism. Williams adopts a sub-period approach to the ages whereby each age is divided into three decans. The three age-decans of the Aquarian Age in chronological order are Libra, Gemini and Aquarius. Williams states that the world is currently in the Libran decan of the Age of Aquarius which is why the world has been so affected by wars (due to Libra) and revolutions (due to Aquarius). He relates ideologies such as Socialism, Communism and Fascism to the arrival of the Age of Aquarius. While Williams acknowledges the massive influx of technology associated with Aquarius, he bemoans the creation of a race of morons willing to sit down and be spoon-fed from their TVs. Finally, Williams debunks the notion that some new world leader, teacher, or Messiah will arrive and instantly fix all the ills of the world.
Though he acknowledges great progress since the Aquarian Age arrived about 1844, the world will have to wait for the Aquarian decan of the Aquarian Age before the true fellowship of humankind is experienced in the world. (According to Williams’s calculations, the Aquarian decan of the Age of Aquarius will arrive in about 3284, lasting until about 4004).
Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas
Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas promoted the view that though no one knows when the Aquarian Age begins, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the discovery of electricity are all attributable to the Aquarian Age. Moore and Douglas make a number of predictions about the trends that they believe will develop in the Aquarian Age. These include people becoming more impersonal (detached), yet more altrusitic and humane. Developments involving flight and space travel will result in decentralization. Inner cities will shrink and burgeoning outer suburbs and industrial areas will reduce congestion.
Vera Reid
Vera Reid takes a common position expressed by many astrologers and New Agers about the Age of Aquarius. Reid sees the Age of Aquarius as that time when humankind takes control of the Earth and its own destiny as its rightful heritage. As such, humankind will become the "Son of God". Reid believed that the keyword for Aquarius is 'enlightenment'. The destiny of humankind in the Age of Aquarius is the revelation of truth and the expansion of consciousness.
Reid also believed that the many crises the world is experiencing are attributable to the waning days of the Age of Pisces meeting the incoming tide of Aquarius, with the transition between ages lasting approximately 280 years. Reid also promoted the idea that some people will experience mental enlightenement in advance of others and therefore be recognized as the new leaders in the world.
Robert Zoller
Robert Zoller, a leading proponent of medieval astrology was awarded the renowned Regulus Award for research and innovation in 2002. Zoller’s bleak predictions for the Age of Aquarius suggest that the Pisces world where religion is the opiate of the masses will be replaced in the Aquarian Age by a world ruled by secretive power-hungry elites seeking absolute power over others. Families will dissolve completely, or family ties will be hidden. Zoller also believes that knowledge in the Aquarian Age will only be valued for its ability to win wars; scientists may even be able to precipitate earthquakes for military means, and the danger in the Aquarian Age is that knowledge and science will be abused, not industry and trade. Zoller sees the Aquarian Age as a Dark Age wherein religion will be seen as offensive.
Albert Amao, Ph.D.
Amao states that the transition period between any two ages is based on two degrees' leeway at the point of intersection of two adjoining zodiacal constellations. Based on this transitional structure, Amao has the Age of Aquarius commencing in 1948 with the transitional period from the Pisces age to Aquarian age covering the period 1876 to 2020. Amao follows the causative approach to the ages and believes that the energy from the arriving constellation of Aquarius is actually creating the changes on Earth that many astrologers associate with the Age of Aquarius. The key characteristics of the Aquarian age according to Amao are: science; disbelief in God; knowledge and reason; freedom and equality, equality of the sexes and of religion; space exploration, supremacy of the USA over the former Pisces supremacy of Europe; and finally revelation of the Mystery.
Amao also states that the Mayan Long Count calendar, that has an end-date of December 21 2012, is associated with precession of the equinoxes and therefore can provide an important demarcation for the Age of Aquarius. Another technique used by Amao is the longterm conjunction cycle of the planets Saturn and Jupiter that will have a conjunction of these two planets at the very beginning of the sign Aquarius in 2020. Combined with the closing transition date of 2020 derived from the one degree cusp method, Amao is fully convinced that we lie at the threshold of the Aquarian age.
Neil Spencer
Neil Spencer provides another sobering overview of the Age of Aquarius stating that the rise of scientific rationalism combined with the fall of religious influence is possibly an indication of the Age of Aquarius. The growth in demands of human rights since the 1780s, though remaining unfulfilled, is another indication of Aquarius. Spencer points to the exponential growth of technology, especially of computers and the Internet, plus the growth in flight and space travel as examples of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Spencer also questions the New Age utopian view of the Age of Aquarius with the modern astrological perspective that each sign is different but equal. Possible negative examples of Aquarius include dumbed-down media and consumerism and rapacious international corporations. Finally, Spencer states that nuclear power must be a manifestation of the Aquarian Age and comments on the parallel between the 25,000 years it takes for uranium to decay with the 26,000 cycle of the astrological ages.
Louis McNeice
Louis McNeice reports that Rupert Gleadow saw the Age of Aquarius ruled by the planet Uranus and thus in the Age of Aquarius the attributes of Uranus such as inventions, machines, worldwide organizations, international collaboration, and the fellowship of humankind would spread. McNeice also states that Ingrid Lind believes the Age of Aquarius has already arrived and the recent appearance of modern ideas and inventions supports this assertion.
McNeice also reports that Gleadow believed that the recent conflicts in the world (presumerably the 20th century) correlate to the conflict between Saturn, ancient ruler of Aquarius and Uranus, modern ruler of Aquarius. Gleadow states that Saturn represents control, restrictions, and slavery, while Uranus represents culture, civilization, and intelligence. Though Gleadow viewed Uranus as a good planet, the famous astrologer Raphael believed Uranus to be evil and truly malefic.
Ray Grasse
Ray Grasse provides a guide to the Aquarian Age analogous to a travel guide for someone entering a foreign land. Grasse suggests that if you want help navigating through the Aquarian Age, you should leave room for silence in your life; create a center in your life (preferably involving a connection to the Absolute); and resist the deadening of your world, so instead of filling up your life with manufactured goods or artificiality, bring living organic things into your life. Furthermore, you need to maintain a compassionate heart; be involved in a network or group; become more self-reliant; avoid being hypnotized by the "group trance"; and take control of your everyday attitudes (i.e., do not depend upon external events for your inner fulfilment). This last point is relevant, as Grasse states, "How do we know if the Age of Aquarius will be 'a utopia or an Orwellian nightmare?'".
Terry MacKinnell
Terry MacKinnell states that the Age of Aquarius arrived between 1441 and 1433 CE. Mackinnell adopts a number of innovative approaches to the astrological ages. One key point is that in the Aquarian Age, the most powerful sign is Pisces from the momentum of the previous Pisces age. Nevertheless, emergent historical developments since the 15th century are oriented to Aquarius. Aquarius is considered a "modern" sign, and Mackinnell claims that modernity is the Age of Aquarius. Furthermore, many historians claim that the modern world developed from the 15th century onwards, in support of the Aquarian Age having arrived in the 15th century.
MacKinnell also claims that the USA is the current age's empire (the American empire) similar to the former empires of ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, and Mesopotamia in their respective ages.
Esoteric Christian tradition
According to the Esoteric Christian tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian, the proximity and entrance in the Age of Aquarius - occurring after the present Age of Pisces (or age ruled by the "Sword") - will bring to the majority of human beings the discovery, true living and real knowledge of the inner and deeper Christian teachings which the Christ spoke of in Matthew 13:11 and Luke 8:10. This age is regarded as an intermediary preparation toward the Christ in the etheric plane, the New Galilee: the "new heavens and a new earth" to come in a future not identified time. In the Aquarian age at hand it is expected a great spiritual Teacher to come ("is coming"), through the school which works as herald of this age, in order "to give the Christian Religion impetus in a new direction".
Common cultural associations
The expression Age of Aquarius usually refers in popular culture to the heyday of the hippie and New Age movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The New Age movement is more accurately a phenomenon and yet seen by many as the harbinger of this future changeover of values associated with the arrival or imminent arrival of the Age of Aquarius.
The New Age phenomenon is seen by some astrologers as marked by the conjunction of the planet Uranus, ruler of the sign Aquarius, and the coming age, with Pluto, ruler of the masses, bringing radical change in the 1960s. However, as the song relates, it is only considered by astrologers to be the dawning of the age, but the song does announce the actual start of the age and within the first lines. "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 alignment occurred on February 14, 2009 – Valentine's Day. However, according to Neil Spencer, this is `astrological gibberish' as Jupiter aligns with Mars several times a year and the Moon is in the 7th House for about two hours every day. Though the lines of this song are merely poetic licence, many people take them as a literal truth.
Although more rock than New Age in genre, the 1967 musical Hair, with its opening song "Aquarius" and the memorable line "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius," brought the Aquarian Age concept to the attention of audiences worldwide.
The Japanese card game and anime series Aquarian Age borrows its name from this, but has no other connections to this or the New Age Movement.
See also
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