Water Woes Will Replace Global Warming

The astrology of the Aquarian age strongly supports the reality of progressive adverse affects upon earth from climate change at this section of the age.  However while the scientists claim the major problem is global warming, the astrology of the Aquarian age does not agree.  The astrology of the Aquarian age indicates that as the earth’s atmosphere is contaminated and polluted at an alarming rate over the foreseeable future, different symptoms will be expressed.  Global warming is just the first of many symptoms. 

 

At present the world is in the Aquarian age (c.1433 – 3574), but each age has 12 sub-ages of approximately 178 years each, and each of the 12 sub-ages has 12 micro-ages of approximately 15 years each.  The world is currently in transition from the Leo micro-age to Cancer micro-age.  Global warming arrived first as a contentious idea then as a more certifiable scientific fact under the influence of Leo.  This conforms to the fact that the sign Leo is ruled by the hot sun and is a Fire sign (along with Aries and Sagittarius) so it makes sense that in a Leo period, concerns and symptoms of global warming are paramount.  In this transition time as Leo wanes and Cancer waxes, the importance of global warming will also wane while the water woes in the world will grow. 

 

Cancer is a Water sign (along with Scorpio and Pisces).  Cancer rules homes and real estate.  The current global financial crisis was precipitated by the sub-prime real estate fiasco where countless bonds based on almost worthless real estate lost most or all of their value sending banks, finance and insurance companies to the brink of collapse if not for government bailouts.  Cancer rules more than homes and real estate – many issues related to water are also ruled by Cancer.  Other key water items associated with Cancer are: water supply, dams, canals, and riparian corridors and shipping disasters.

 

In this transition time however Cancer is still growing in strength and will not come out in full glory sometime around 2012 or 2013 – but will have a strong impact until 2022, with a residual influence until about 2029.  The Cancer micro-age will divert the attention from global warming to water woes.  This is already occurring.  The 2005 flooding of New Orleans is a classic example of Cancer as when the levies broke, New Orleans was flooded.  On March 26 2009 a state of emergency was declared in Minnesota crippled by flooding in icy conditions at much the same time as a dam collapsed in Indonesia killing many thousands of people as villages were washed away.

 

Further evidence of widespread water problems can be found in all directions.  For example where I live in Queensland, Australia, the state government has recently constructed a sewerage recycling plant which basically purifies ‘toilet water’ and pours the purified water back into the dam that supplies the states capital city.  Other cities in Australia are building desalination plants to convert sea water to drinking water.  Australia’s major river system (equivalent to the Mississippi River in the USA) is in dire straights due to lack of water flowing in the river system – in many areas it is just a series of mud puddles. 

 

China in 2009 announced drastic plans to cut water usage by its industry and agriculture by 60% by 2020 following its worst drought in 50 years.  This drought is compounded by the rivers that are so polluted the water cannot even be treated effectively ⁽¹⁾.  China interestingly has more dams than any other country (China and dams are ruled by Cancer), and the recent earthquake in Sichuan that killed 70,000 people is also the location of the greatest concentration of dams in China.  Many of these dams were damaged.  Three decades ago a dam collapsed in China killing 80,000 people.  The frightening possibility is that as more dams are built in China, the likelihood some will collapse with significant deaths and damage will increase ^(2).

 

California declared a state of emergency in early 2009 as below average rainfall and snowfall has caused a major drought ⁽³⁾.  The United Nations has warned that by 2025 a third of the world may be scavenging for safe drinking water.  Places like Mexico City, Jakarta and Bangkok are depleting their non-renewable underground water sources at alarming rates.  Beijing’s aquifers now must go down an extra 40 feet to find water for the city.  Similar alarming situations are developing in India and Israel⁽⁴⁾.  

 

Some unresolved issues about the allocation of water between different countries may exacerbate political tensions as many rivers pass through or border multiple countries.  This is the case with the Nile in Egypt, Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Turkey, Syria and Iraq and the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States.  Five of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. states are on the Colorado River’s catchment and consequently only a trickle of water arrives in Mexico.  Other shared rivers include the Amur River between Russia and China, the African Niger River plus the Mekong in South-East Asia, and Indus and Ganges in Asia⁽⁵⁾.

 

We are at very early days for Cancer and the water problems that will be associated with Cancer.  No matter how dire and detrimental any damage or problems caused by excess water or drought over the coming two decades will be, this will not be the final or greatest problematical symptom of climate change.  The sign that follows Cancer is Gemini, and it will be three times more powerful than Cancer. 

 

The fault with current predictions of climate change and global warming is that most scientists extrapolate current trends into the future in a straight line or following a fixed projection from the present data trends.  The earth is under great stress, and as more and more pollutants are injected into the finite atmosphere, many new symptoms will appear that were not originally factored into the equations.  The astrology says that climate change will first foist global warming onto the world, then move on to water problems from too much or too little water, then move onto the even more serious issue of the quality of the air we breathe.  It will not stop at air quality as it will keep moving – it may even lead to destructive global cooling in the last quarter of the 21^st century.

 

However I am an optimistic pessimist, I am not a doom and gloom merchant.  There are some very positive sides to Cancer.  It will promote the role of women, reduce the impact of iconoclastic authoritarian figures that believe they have the right to tell other people how to act and behave, increase the sensitivity or diplomacy between nations and increase the joy of day-to-day life.  Every cloud has a silver lining!

 

References:

(1)   New Scientist, 21 Feb 2009, Pg 6

(2)   New Scientist, 7 Jun 2008, Pg 5

(3)   Water Calamity – California drying up, The Sunday Mail, Mar 1, 2009

(4)   A thirsty planet looks for solutions to water shortage by Marlowe Hood, March 20, 2008  http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/a-thirsty-planet-looks-for-solutions-to-water-shortage-20080320-20ko.html

(5)   http://whyfiles.org/131fresh_water/2.html]

 

 

 

Is the World Doomed?

As a young child I remember many cartoons depicting some misfit carrying a placard saying that ‘the end is nigh’ or the ‘world is doomed’.  There was a good reason for this despondency – there were enough nuclear warheads ready to blow humans to smithereens.  I remember a graffiti message from this era ‘mutate now and avoid the rush’.  However now, in addition to the nuclear arsenal, humans are attempting to pollute themselves into oblivion. 

 

One thing we know for certain is that the world is definitely doomed.  Eventually the Sun will reach its terminal stage, expand and snuff out the Earth like some unlucky cockroach wacked with a folded newspaper.  However this reality of certain doom is not due for many billions of years to come.  In the meantime we have to contend with the world’s nuclear arsenal and carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere at unnaturally high levels.  Will either of these potential doomsday scenarios arrive on our doorstep in the immediate or near future?

 

James Lovelockdeveloped the Gaia hypothesis in the 1970s.  He basically stated that the Earth as a whole can be viewed as an interaction of living (organic) and non-living (inorganic) material that in combination with each other regulates the environment of the world.  Lovelock was instrumental in the worldwide CFC ban to protect the slowly depleting ozone layer that provides a protective shield for the world.  However he is less enthusiastic about global efforts to protect the world from carbon emissions.  Basically Lovelock says:

 

 “I don’t think we can react fast enough or are clever enough to handle what’s coming up”   

[ref: We’re doomed, but it’s not all bad, New Scientist, 24 January 2009, Pg 31].

 

The astrology of the Aquarian age agrees with Lovelock.  Each age has twelve sub-ages that interact with each other and the Aquarian age to produce a basic outline of what can be expected.  Between 1970 and 2148 the key sub-age is the Scorpio sub-age.  The previous sub-age was the Sagittarius sub-age.  In line with Sagittarius’ expanding and positive qualities, the world went into overdrive with the Industrial Revolution and the world population explosion – both the key factors producing pollution.  Scorpio is a very different zodiacal sign – it does not promote expansion and positivity but rather contraction, pollution, vulnerability and financial duress amongst a menu of Scorpio archetypes.

 

Since 1970s the world has been in a transition time where the baton is being passed from Sagittarius to Scorpio.  There are key timeframes in this transition.  The 1970s saw the first glimmer of Scorpio with the rise of environmental groups concerned about the degradation of the environment or promoting sustainability.  However despite some improvements the world continued in its merry way of expanding with the associated expansion of pollution.  Money, profits, economy and jobs were more important than the atmosphere or environment. 

 

Even in the current economic crisis many politicians are saying that measures to limit pollution should be put on hold – clearly implying that the economy (i.e. profits) are more important than the environment.  A good argument can be made that it is the quest for profits that is either the key factor or a key factor in the degradation of the environment.  Another key ingredient that results in environment degradation is debt – especially credit card debt.  Debt allows people to consume now what they cannot afford.  It is consumption that creates pollution.

 

Between 2005 and 2015 a second key Scorpio period appears, and during this time it is driving its point home – the world is on a collision course with global warming and environmental degradation.  In addition Scorpio is the sign associated with debt – and the recent global financial crisis is one manifestation of debt gone feral.  This is the time that serious remedial action should be put in place – but this is unlikely to occur to the extent necessary.

 

James Lovelock discredits the current approach that world leaders are giving lip service to.  He is especially scornful of carbon trading (this merely props up the economic establishment with profit in their sights), carbon sequestration (“it’s a crazy idea and dangerous”) and believes that it’s already too late for emissions reduction measures.

 

Lovelock believes that the result of humanity’s collective stupidity is that the world’s population will have to plummet from a projected nine billion people to one billion people by the end of this century as a world four degrees centigrade hotter than now cannot support more than about one bullion people.  Though the astrology of the Aquarian age cannot be as proscriptive to the actual numbers as Lovelock indicates, Scorpio is the sign that wants to contract.  Think of the biblical seven fat cows and seven scrawny cows – Scorpio is the scrawny cows.  The population of the world will contract – but the amount of contraction is difficult to say based exclusively on astrology.

 

Population contraction has already been occurring for decades – first in most of the developed First World countries, and now in the second tier nations such as Korea.  It is just too expensive to have many kids in the modern world.  This contraction is hidden by immigrants so that First World countries can still log an expanding population – but not by the birth-rate alone.  The comical result of this natural contraction of birth-rates is that many countries (including Australia) are providing significant financial bonuses for parents to have children. 

 

The reason that the Earth is suffering from pollution is that there are too many people who are consuming too many goods and services that are producing too much pollution.  These same governments that are supposedly going to save us from our own folly in the environmental area are encouraging (Sagittarian) population growth – the old paradigm.  As Lovelock states, Kyoto was 11 years ago and the only thing that has happened is endless talks and meetings.  The reason that governments behave the way they do is that they reflect the views of the general population.

 

Any study of history will show that human beings can rise to challenges, produce mighty artworks, cultures and civilization but equally go to war, persecute their citizens or neighbours and murder and kill enormous numbers of people.  This is all done in the name of patriotism, ideology or religion – in essence masking stupidism.  What will happen in the coming century? Is stupidism or awareness going to be the dominant paradigm that guides the world to either destruction or rebirth?

 

The current Scorpio influence within the Aquarian age cannot answer this question, but it does provide a short list of outcomes.  Scorpio promotes death and destruction, pollution, secret deals, debt and tyranny.  It also promotes rebirth, renewal, environment sustainability and minimalism.  Minimalism indicates a limit to the number of off-spring, currently occurring voluntarily in the West, and by government edict in China’s one child policy.  Which path will the world go down?  Will the world continue in its current trajectory towards environmental doom and a massive population cull?

 

I essentially concur with the outlook of James Lovelock but with an added twist.  I believe that the world will go the point of no return before serious effort is put into turning around our current consumption and polluting paradigm.  This may seem like a contradiction but in reality the result is surprising similar to what James Lovelock surmises. Lovelock says he is an optimistic pessimist about the dire environmental issue facing the world. 

 

Global warming and water scarcity are stepping stones to much greater problems.  The sub-periods of the Age of Aquarius indicate that air quality will be a much more serious problem from about 2030 onwards (at the latest).  When significant numbers or people commence dying prematurely due to atmospheric degradation (remember the air we pollute is the same air we must breathe), when breathing without coughing plague much of the world (with the attendant lung diseases and problems) – surely something more realistic and drastic will be done?

 

Fortunately some very significant astrological elements appear in the current century that has not occurred in the world for around 7,000 years.  These astrological elements involve progressive and lateral thinking of the highest order.  The first one comes online between 2015 and 2029.  The second appearance occurs at 2074 – 2089 and wraps up with a final one around 2133 – 2148.  More of these revitalising elements appear about 700 years later. 

 

From a rational perspective (as provided by James Lovelock) the world is in a bad way and getting worse.  The astrological configuration on one hand supports this pessimistic assessment but equally it supports the addition of an unexpected new spirit or sense of renewal that is available to humanity this century.  Even the election of Barack Obama as president of the USA may be a titillating foretaste of the potential change that is coming our way.  Barack Obama may be part of the advance guard preparing the way for a new perspective that does not have companies’ profits as the base.

 

There has been no century in recorded history that is not a combination of various degrees of difficulties, natural calamities, adversity and problems with advancement, survivability and relative peace.  There is no reason to believe that the 21^st century will be the perfect century or that any century can ever be a perfect century.  The 21^st century will be a century of change, fragility, passion, catastrophe, financial losses, renewal, transformation and rebirth.  The ancient Chinese would to say to their enemies: ‘may you live in interesting times’.  Interesting times was a euphemism for upheaval.  The 21^st century will be an interesting time!

 

 

James Lovelock’s latest book is The Vanishing Force of Gaia

 

 

 

The Future of Capitalism in the Age of Aquarius

The crash of share indexes leading to a lack of confidence in the world’s financial systems is at a very low point.  Some people say that this is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  Some forecasters are having a field day enunciating with virtual glee the prospect of economic recession and other predictions of doom and gloom.  However from the perspective of the Aquarian age this is all so humdrum.

 

The development of corporations, growth in free enterprise and international trade and finally globalism are perfectly in line with the arrival of the Aquarian age in the 15^th century.  Sure it took a few centuries to get its momentum going but the fact that the economic system of the modern world arrived in time with the Age of Aquarius indicates that  capitalism is not going to be extinguished in the near future (i.e. the next century or two). 

 

Capitalism is aligned to the (Aquarian) free spirit desiring to undertake some profitable venture.  Personal gain from your own efforts is an extremely strong motivating factor.  However capitalism is not the only economic approach aligned to Aquarius – socialism is also incorporated into the stable of Aquarius archetypes.  Aquarius is the sign of friends and groups of people combining their energies to undertake some joint task for the mutual benefits of all.  A classic example of Aquarian socialism is NASA and the various space agencies around the world including the International Space Station.

 

The neo-cons and extreme capitalists throw their hands up in horror at the thought of socialism.  To these extremists socialism is akin to communism and therefore socialism needs to be beaten on its head whenever it dares to show itself in public.  The recent bail-out of banks around the world and the virtual nationalizing of many banks at the brink of collapse has opened the Pandora’s box of socialism in the heart of capitalism – much to the anguish of die hard conservatives.  Socializing space stations is one thing, socializing banks is a massive insult at the heart of capitalism.

 

The Aquarian age will continue to strongly foster capitalism for thousands of years but it will also foster socialism.  Though socialism has been reviled, discredited and ostracized there are signs that it has been making a surreptitious return to the world stage apart from the recent nationalization of banks.  In a recent Time magazine [October 27 2008] Joshua Kurlantzick makes the case in his article Central Command – The financial crisis spotlights the benefits of government-guided capitalism – like China’s that many countries are looking at the gains that China, Russia and some Persian Gulf states have made in recent years by a hybrid capitalism and state control.  State control means socialism.  For example these state control economies usually foster key industries such as oil or automobile production but then let them compete on the international market in a free trade platform from the strength of economy of scale.

 

The collapse of the former communist block left the world basically in the hands of the capitalists.  This is an extreme situation and therefore can only last so long.  The middle path indicates that capitalism and socialism must coexist.  China, Russia and some Persian Gulf states may adopt a hybrid capitalism-socialism model, while other countries will probably revert to a partnership of capitalism and socialism.  Has the privatization of electricity benefited us? Does the privatization of virtual monopolies promote free enterprise? 

 

The reason why socialism will return as an economic reality on the world stage is not limited to its association with the Age of Aquarius but also due to the first decan of the Age of Aquarius.  Each age has three age-decans and the first age-decan of the Age of Aquarius is the Libra age-decan.  Libra is the balance.  As the world trundles along towards the Libra age-decan high point around 2148 the pressing need for balance and the middle path (between extremes) increases at an exponential rate.

 

The balance that Libra brings is of course not limited to the economy – it also apples to the sexes, the environment and opposing political ideologies amongst numerous other fields.  The neo-cons cannot accept the place that socialism has within an economic system as they believe that capitalism is perfect.  If that is the case then we have just had the perfect capitalist crisis.  Only last week Alan Greenspan said he made a mistake in assuming that capitalism worked best if left alone – a basic extremist capitalist viewpoint.  Furthermore if Eastern mystics have any credibility they state that perfection does not exist in this world. The problem with holding up capitalism as the perfect economic system is that its basic underlying premise is seriously flawed.   There is no perfect person, nor perfect country or perfect president or political leader. 

 

There is also another critical problem with capitalism overlooked by most commentators.  Capitalism requires an expanding market and we have witnessed this phenomenon over the last three centuries to the point that the world will choke and drown in its own pollution if some serious remedial action is not taken over the coming decades.  Pollution is the direct consequences of consumption powered by capitalism.  An environmentally sustainable world needs a lower population with people who on average are all consuming less – this is in basic conflict with capitalism.  Can capitalism and an environmentally sustainable world coexist?

 

Apart from the age-decans there are also smaller divisions of the ages into sub-ages.  The sub-ages indicate that we are at the tail end of the strong influence of the Sagittarius sub-age – the sign of expansion.  Astrology always includes a balancing mechanism and the opposite sign to Sagittarius is Gemini – which is now growing in strength.  [The Gemini influence comes from the first sub-age decan of the Libra sub-age (c.1970 – 2148)].  Gemini will reach its full potential around 2029 but the exponential curve commenced in 1970.  It stepped up a gear in 2000, and another step will be attained around 2015. Additional steps are indicated between 2015 and 2029.  So while the arrival of Gemini in 1970 had little influence (apart from reducing populations in First World countries), it will progressively reign in Sagittarius. 

 

The world economic situation is not solely due to Aquarius, Libra, Sagittarius and Gemini – Scorpio is also taking a key role.  The Scorpio sub-age (c.1791 – 1970) has gone into its powerful overflow mode since 1970 [see Scorpio – the Sign of the Times].  Scorpio prefers minimalism and contraction.  Scorpio wants the world to shrink.  It wants the population lowered, consumption reduced and therefore it promotes downsizing.  Its ability to get its way increases as the power of Sagittarius wanes. 

 

Downsize now and avoid the rush!  This may be too melodramatic as history shows that most fundamental changes in the world take a long time to flow through to their conclusions.  It will take until the middle of the next century at least for the world to wind down to the level required for a sustainable environment.  What we will experience in the meantime is numerous incremental adjustments that most of the time are not too great, but accumulate to exact a great change over the next one and a half centuries.  In addition there is the three-steps-forward-and-two-steps back rule which indicate that some short term reversals of the long time contraction will occur.

 

Nevertheless in the short term over the next decade we can expect that contraction and instability will be the order of the day, and the instability is not limited to economics.  The world hit a Scorpio hotspot in 2005 which then saw its first exponential increase in 2007 around the first stirrings of the sub-prime crisis.  Another significant Scorpio increase occurs around 2010 (possibly 2009) and between 2010 and 2015 some serious unsettled times are due but definitely nowhere near the proportion of the Great Depression.  In fact very few people alive will witness anything of the same magnitude as the Great Depression as the astrological circumstances associated with the Great Depression will not return until around the year 2089.

 

Despite this prediction for unsettled times it is extremely unlikely that the doom and gloom currently disseminating around the world will be evident one year from now (or even by Christmas 2008).  The current doom and gloom outlook is associated with a very small part of the Aquarian age that lasts for only around 15 months.  A short digression into the bowels of the Age of Aquarius will show where the world is in relation to the roadmap through the Age of Aquarius.

 

Ages are around 2160 years long while age-decans exist for about 720 years.  Sub-ages are about 179 years and these can be divided into 12 micro-ages of approximately 15 years each.  Currently we are in a Cancer micro-age (c.2000 – 2015).  Cancer equals real estate.  Cancer dramatically increased its strength at its halfway point in 2007 coinciding with the first widespread reaction to the US sub-prime debacle. 

 

Drilling down into the Cancer micro-age are three micro-age decans – and the Scorpio micro-age decan sits from c.2005 to 2010.  Scorpio equals debt (and derivatives).  Scorpio is also opposite Taurus – the sign that rules banks.  Not only are banks on the wrong foot in a Scorpio period, they are bound to be experiencing even more serious opposition in the period from 2010 to 2015.  Scorpio introduces the debt and derivative aspect of the present crisis and the role played by banks. 

 

This is not the end of the story.  Within micro-ages are also 12 nano-ages of some 15 months each.  Due to the overflow effect the 15 months immediately following any nano-age is the most powerful manifestation of the nano-age.  Currently the world is experiencing the effects of a Capricorn nano-age overflow.  When the world experienced the Great Depression the world was in the Capricorn micro-age (c.1925 – 1940).  Capricorn periods nearly always bring difficult times plus doom and gloom.  The current difficult economic situation however is only 1/12^th the strength of the Great Depression.  So while the world is experiencing a wee little Capricorn nano-age it may feel like the roof is falling in (if you are an investor or employed in the financial world) and people may hark back to comparisons with the Great Depression of the 1930s.  However this is a relatively short lived situation.

 

On the nano-age level there will shortly be a reversal when the overflow of the Sagittarius nano-age pushes Capricorn aside for slightly more than a year.  This will temporarily push some optimism and exuberance back into the spotlight, but with a broken arm and bandages.  Capitalism will not recover its former glory after this current financial mess.  2009 may see a suckers rally as the short term optimism and exuberance will not be sustained past 2009 or 2010.

 

Capitalism may be down but it is not out.  For as long as the Aquarian age exists or has influence capitalism will exist.   In the same way that the worst extremes of socialism manifested as communism in the 20^th century, the worst excesses of capitalism have now also seen its day.  The world is looking for the middle path.  It is no longer the time for extremist capitalism or socialism – but rather somewhere in the middle.  This is what the sub-periods of the Aquarian age indicate.   And finally, the 21^st century will be the most dynamic progressive century seen in the world for over 7,000 years – judging by the condition of the world at present it has its work cut out!

The Future in the Age of Aquarius

The Age of Aquarius arrived in the 15^th century exactly in tune with the arrival of the modern world.  Anything modern is aligned to the sign Aquarius.  If you want a good rundown on the Age of Aquarius check the Modernity topic at Wikipedia.  This topic is not about astrology, it is about history, but it accurately narrates the arrival of the Aquarian age in the 15^th century.    

 

Wikipedia’s Modernity splits modernity into three time frames.  The Early Modern Period is 1500 – 1800, followed by the Modern period, and late in the 20^th century some commentators state that the post-modern period arrived.  The commonality of these three periods is ‘modernity’.  Furthermore there are very sound astrological reasons why modernity since 1500 has been divided into three sections.  These three divisions align themselves very well with the first three sub-ages of the Age of Aquarius. 

 

There is another archetype associated with Aquarius that is often overlooked – the future.  The future is ruled by Aquarius which is why astrology is considered to be ruled by Aquarius.  You may think – what is the big deal about the future?  The big deal is that before the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 15^th century, people did not think about the future.

 

There is one very good reason why people did not think about the future – because by and large the future was much the same as the past.  Perhaps someone made an improvement to the plough, or someone learnt how to build arches and so on, but change occurred rarely and infrequently so that each generation lived much the same way as the previous generation.

 

Contrast this with our modern Aquarian world.  I was watching a movie recently that was made only twenty years ago.  Already it was markedly dated as no one had cell phones.  In the IT world, the performance specifications of computers generally double every two years but with the same or lower price tag attached.  We are surrounded by change, and this change does not appear to be abating.

 

According to Robert Heilbroner in his book Visions of the Future there is no reference in ancient clay tablets or Egyptian texts that there was any mention of a future any different to their present.  The past was basically the land of changelessness.  Heilbroner claims that around 250 years ago the changeless Yesterday ended and “…. that the future now enters into human consciousness as a great beckoning prospect.” [Pg 11]

 

This change did not occur universally, it was a notable development limited to Western Europe and North America, which is where the Aquarian age made its first major impact.  Ages do not impact the entire world the same way at the same time.  Astrological ages are like the bow wave from a boat.  The bow wave slowly spreads out to affect a wide expanse of water.  Those nations closer to the bow get affected first. 

 

We take the future for granted.  Today kids have Futurama but Baby Boomers had the Jetsons.  At school in the 1960s it seemed like only a few decades in the future that we would have the option of a holiday to the Moon.  We think about the future and in the Aquarian age the future has become commonplace.

 

A classic example of how futurism has entered our world is the prospect of climatic and environmental devastation from pollution.  Most pundits are claiming that the biggest problem the world is facing is the environmental catastrophe if we do not reign in pollution.  The environmental catastrophe lies in the future.  When in the historic past has human society been faced with a future problem of similar magnitude? In the past societies faced problems as they arose, usually due to some marauding army.

 

In the modern world the future has become just another space to fill up.  We expect the future to be technically more stunning than the present provided we don’t all die from the consequences of our consumerist extravaganza.  The future holds both positive and negative issues for us to consider, think about and debate.  This is another example of the Aquarian age in action. 

 

The mass confusion amongst astrologers and laypersons about the arrival of the Age of Aquarius is sure to make a comic documentary one day.  Aquarius is associated with numerous familiar archetypes other than the future such as flight, democracy, electricity, computers yet astrologers do not have anywhere near the consensus that the Aquarian age has arrived. 

 

The reason why there is so much confusion amongst astrologers about the arrival of the Aquarian age is that astrologers have inherited a methodology applied to the astrological ages that is over 2,100 years old.  In the 2^nd century BC an ancient Greek astronomer and astrologer ‘discovered’ the astrological ages.  He applied a specific technique to the zodiacal constellations to calibrate them. 

 

Since the 2^nd century BC astrologers have continued to use this ancient technique.  This situation is very similar to science.  Many ancient Greeks and Romans stated many scientific concepts such as Aristotle, Galen and Ptolemy.  In the scientific world, all these ancient claims were thoroughly examined commencing with the Scientific Revolution commencing in the 15^th century (naturally in the same century as the age of Aquarius arrived).   Most ancient claims were relegated to the dustbin of history once empirical evidence confirmed or denied the ancient claims. 

 

Since the 15^th century science has been funded by governments, and so scientists have the means to check all the ancient claims.  Unfortunately astrology is not funded by governments, and so any research must be funded by individual astrologers.  This has seriously impeded some aspects of astrology.  Astrologers have not reviewed the claims of the ancient Greek astronomer and astrologer who developed the technique of calibrating the ages. 

 

My research clearly shows that the ancient technique which is still revered by astrologers is patently incorrect.  I don’t intend to go into detail here about the ancient technique and its errors but the result of these serious errors has created the current confusing situation.  Based on the ancient technique the Age of Aquarius is not due until around 2600.  To get around the problem that so many Aquarian developments are occurring in the world astrologers fall back upon the cusp argument.

 

The cusp argument states that before a new age arrives that there is a blurring of influences from the old age and new age before the new age arrives.  No serious or reputable astrologer has ever claimed that cusps in astrology work in this manner.  The cusp argument is just one of a number of band aids that have been put on the astrological ages to hide the incongruity of a world full of Aquarian developments occurring in the supposed age of Pisces.

 

Perhaps in the future astrologers will come to terms with the Aquarian age that arrived in the 15^th century.  Until then we must reside in the comical present situation where over five hundred years of the Aquarian age has already transpired yet astrologers are still arguing if the Aquarian age arrived in the 20^th century or if we must wait until 2600.

This Time Last Age

Very few people realise that sitting here in the modern world in 2008 that we exist within the Age of Aquarius, the sub-age of Libra (there are twelve sub-ages in every age), and eight years within the Cancer micro-age (there are twelve micro-ages in every sub-age – think of wheels within wheels within wheels). If we go back to the last age, the Pisces age, and also search for its sub-age of Libra, and eight years within its Cancer micro-age – we arrive at the year 27 AD.  What was happening around 27 AD? 

 

From the top down this was only three years before the execution of the Christian Messiah – Jesus Christ.  But this must be put into perspective.  The death of Jesus at the time had no impact upon the world outside of his family, very small band of followers and agitated opponents in Jerusalem – an unimportant distant outpost in the Roman Empire.  Think of some local in modern Croatia, Bulgaria or Outer Mongolia being killed by a small mob of angry townsfolk – it would not even appear as a blip on the radar screen of modern media.

 

Therefore if ages regurgitated events along a similar timescale as previous ages, anyone in the world today fulfilling the role of Jesus would be unknown, out of the public eye, and their death would go as unnoticed as did the death of Jesus in the year 30.  Nevertheless at the time of Jesus’ death, akin to our year 2011, a very specific astrological signature was present.  This signature is based on the signs Scorpio and Pisces. 

 

Since the late 1960s, Scorpio has been the key sign within the Age of Aquarius, and will remain in this powerful position until midway through the next century when Libra takes over.  Whenever a smaller Scorpio period arrives within this major Scorpio period the results are magnified.  At the same period in the last age, the most powerful time for Scorpio was 29 – 34 AD while in this age a similar status exists from 2010 to 2015. 

 

How is Scorpio related to Jesus?  Most astrologers relate the sign Pisces to Christianity and Jesus due to the symbol of fish used by early Christians and various analogies to fish in the stories, parables and life of Jesus.  However very little in astrology is the preserve of only one zodiacal sign despite the confidence trick played onto the general public by sun-sign astrological columns in newspapers and magazines.  Scorpio takes rulership of death, rebirth, regeneration and inner experiences.  All these Scorpio trademarks are closely associated with Jesus.  Jesus and Christianity at the early stage was an amalgam of Pisces and Scorpio.

 

The critical issue at the death of Jesus from a predictive astrological context is the conflict and discord that was created in this small Jewish settlement by the new Christian/Jewish cult.  One of the key signs associated with Jews is the sign Taurus.  Coincidentally the signs Taurus and Scorpio are opposite.  What this means for Jews is that a Scorpio period created dissension within and without.  Enemies are at their throats (i.e. the Roman Empire) and dissension exists within with new cults (i.e. Christianity amongst others).

 

Taking a leaf out of the Scorpio period 29 – 34 AD the same stress and pressures should be expected by Jews and Israel in the period 2010 to 2015 (even 2009).  Jewish interests around the world and Israel in particular can expect to have to deal with the enemy without, and possibly dissension within.  The last time Israel encountered a powerful Scorpio time was from 1962 to 1978 – the peak of Scorpio power from the end of the Scorpio sub-age.  During this time Israel had to deal with the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1972 Munich Olympic Games hostages and deaths, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War amongst a medley of attacks by the PLO and related groups.  Another potent Scorpio time is on the way for Israel.

 

Will Israel attack Iran, or will Iran attack Israel?  Will Hamas deal a mighty blow against Israel or will Israel drive Hamas out of Gaza?  The details are uncertain, but what is sure from the astrological age’s standpoint, the aggressor is not favoured (see Will There be Peace in the Age of Aquarius?).  Alternatively or additionally it is possible that the hawks and doves within Israel may be at odds with each other and that internal dissension is the order of the day.

 

Another interesting development occurred in Rome in the former Scorpio period when in the year 33 the Roman Emperor Tiberius founded a credit bank offering interest-free loans to offset a severe financial crisis. Real estate values plummeted, and interest rates increased leading to a crisis of confidence severely affecting the upper classes and wealthy.  Many wealthy Roman families were ruined by this credit crunch.  Sounds familiar? 

 

The year 33 is akin to our 2014.  Scorpio is rarely a good sign for banks, money, wealth and the wealthy as they are ruled by Taurus – Scorpio’s opposite sign.

The recent sub-prime and banking crisis originating in the USA may be the preview for a more serious banking and financial crises that may hit between 2010 and 2015.  The Roman experience supports this.

 

One final note on this time last age.  The current Cancer micro-age affects 2000 – 2019 while the former Cancer micro-age one age ago affected the years 19 to 49 AD.  This period covered the Roman Emperors Tiberius (reign 14-37) and Caligula (reign 37-41).  Tiberius was depressed, reserved and “the gloomiest of men”.   Caligula was considered an insane tyrant who was cruel, extravagant and sexually perverse.  The next insane Roman emperor was Nero but he came later.  The relationship between these mentally troubled Roman emperors and Cancer is that Cancer is one of the key signs that indicate insanity, lunacy and depression.

 

It is extremely possible and probable that in our modern Cancer period covering 2000 – 2019 that some significant world leader or leaders will also be insane or severely depressed.  Time magazine recently reported that huge numbers of US soldiers in Iraq are being given anti-depressants – the seeds of Cancer are being sown!  This reflects the massive number of people in Western societies taking anti-depressants.    Certainly there has been a spate of shootings by mentally troubled people in recent times.  However the world has not even arrived at the strong point for Cancer yet.

 

The likelihood of adverse mental health issues affecting the world today is far greater than in the last age because Aquarius is another sign that indicates mental problems.  Aquarius plus Cancer equals a double whammy.  The worst time in the period 2000 -29 for mental health issues to negatively affect the world is the period 2015 – 20 but the tempo is quickening every year from 2007 to 2015.  Hopefully one of these depressed or mentally deranged people will not have their finger on the big button.  The mad Roman Emperors could murder and create havoc but they did not have access to atomic weapons that can create so much misery.

 

The Wisdom of the Ages

There is much wisdom to be gained from the astrological ages.  In my research and study of the ages I have taken the novel approach that to understand the ages it is necessary to ‘stand under’ the ages and let the ages teach me how they operate.  The ages do not operate in the way that the urban myths of the ages have spread.  Most astrologers define the ages and what supposedly occurs within ages based on theoretical considerations and wishful thinking, not from evidence.   The ages never indicate that paradise, utopia or a world exclusively based on consciousness, reason and rationality is around the corner – or even a possibility at any time. 

 

In our modern world we have enough information and knowledge to examine ages in detail all the way back to the deglaciation of the world that commenced around 14,000 year ago.  It is true that highly detailed information is thin on the ground for the first few thousand years, but what information that is available from those ancient times not only support the existence of the astrological ages, but also that each age consists of positive and negative archetypes associated with the astrological sign concerned.

 

This is not new to astrologers.  All experienced astrologers know that the horoscope for each individual person is a combination of positive and negative elements.  Most people have a relative equal number of positive and negative astrological attributes.  There is no perfect human being and there is no perfect age. 

 

The perspective of the ancient Chinese philosophers and sages got it right – everything associated with physical reality is composed of a combination on yin and yang, with a little bit of yang in the yin and vice versa.  What happens as each new age arrives is that the positive and negative archetypes associated with the new sign slowly take over from the positive and negative archetypes of the influence from the previous age.  This is what is happening in the world today.  The Pisces momentum from the Pisces age has promoted the positive and negative archetypes of Pisces while the new Aquarian age has commenced pushing its own positive and negative archetypes to the fore.

 

What are the positive and negative archetypes of Pisces?  On the plus side we have compassion, charities and social security (less so in the USA compared to most other Western nations); great poetry, drama and artworks from the likes of Shakespeare, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci onwards (including the modernists such as Picasso), an incredible array of movies, fictional novels and abstract concepts; pharmaceutical drugs for a whole range of ailments.

 

On the negative side of Pisces are alcoholism, poisonous chemicals, prisons, addictive drugs, propaganda (spin) and swindlers, religious delusions; slavery and now sex slaves.  In addition there are a number of areas that can be either positive or negative depending upon your point of view.  These ambivalent Pisces activities include Buddhism, Christianity and Islam; European culture; petroleum, corporations and recreational intoxicants.

 

These positive and negative aspects of Pisces remain the dominant archetypes in the world but Aquarius has progressively introduced its positive and negative aspects since it arrived in 1443 (or 1442).   For example Aquarius has promoted democracy on the positive side counter-balanced by fascism.  Whenever Aquarius is strong the sea-saw will tend to go towards fascism or democracy as both are strong Aquarian archetypes.  This is keenly demonstrated by the USA that so strongly promotes democracy within its borders yet since the Second World War has supported fascist dictators and governments around the world over democracy whenever it suits the commercial or political interests of the USA.  In fact the USA is an excellent example of democracy and fascism conjoined – but that is another story altogether.

 

Positive developments associated with Aquarius include flight, electricity, humanitarianism and idealists, inventions, modernization, civic organisations and associations, and free thought.  Negative elements include lack of stability, mental instability and illnesses, emotional detachment (think of the Holocaust).  Other elements that can go either way are rebelliousness and revolutions (some bring democracy and freedom while others bring tyranny); and socialism (which can be extended to communism).

 

Are all zodiacal signs equal in their positive and negative aspects?   There are two schools of thought on this – the modern school typically indicates that each sign and planet is basically equal in its positive and negative aspects.  Traditionalists believe that some planets and the signs they rule are more orientated towards either positiveness or negativity.

 

In my observation I believe that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  No planet or sign is all bad or good – each contains both good and bad, but some planets and signs do tend slightly more to the negative while other tend towards the positive but some sit in the middle.  I believe that Pisces does err mildly on the negative side but Aquarius is either balanced or very slightly biased towards the positive side.  This does not make the Pisces age negative and the Aquarian age positive.

 

Therefore, though the world is not passing from the ‘dark’ Age of Pisces to the radiant Age of Aquarius, Aquarius does seem to offer some advantages over Pisces.  This can be easily demonstrated.  Whenever the ubiquitous Jehovah Witnesses would arrive at my doorstep they would quickly draw my attention to all the problems and deteriorations in the world.  My standard counter was ‘if the world is so bad today, when in the past was it better?’  This perspective always left them floundering.  Do you think 1978, 1988, 1998 for example were better than 2008?

 

Even with all the problems of pollution, corruption, inequality, terrorism, war, violence, criminal activity and so on, the world in general today is better for a higher proportion of the world’s population compared to any time in the past.  It reminds me of something I heard not too long ago.  Someone said that if your life is 51% positive and 49% negative then you are experiencing a positive life.  The same situation applies to the world.

 

The majority of the world does not live the relatively gifted lifestyles of the populations of the First World countries.  The proportion of the world that does get to experience modernity is growing.  Even over the last few decades hundreds of millions of people around the world have been embraced by modernity partially or fully – one way or another, especially in China and India.

 

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.  The arrival of modernity from its seed that was planted over 500 years ago when the Aquarian age first arrived unannounced is steadily embracing a greater proportion of the world.  The modern world is not a perfect world but from my subjective perspective it is superior to the medieval (Pisces) world it is replacing.

 

This is the wisdom of the ages.  There is no perfect age, and the Age of Aquarius is definitely not perfect.  The quest for the mythical perfect Age of Aquarius is just the hangover from Pisces.  Pisces rules delusions and self-deception.  You have a choice – you can continue to listen to delusions about a fantasized Age of Aquarius that will never arrive – or you can open your eyes and perceive the dawning of the Age of Aquarius – warts and all, that is occurring all around you and has been for over 500 years

 

There are many warts associated with the Age of Aquarius but in the end it comes down to a simple issue – is the glass half full or half empty?  On a daily basis I give thanks to whatever reality that produced the universe and world we live in.  Is there any other time in history that is superior to today?  For the huge majority of us living in the modern world we should be truly thankful for this unique experience since our evolution from the animal kingdom.

 

I sincerely hope that the dawning of the Age of Aquarius continues until all the people in the world have the option to live in this modern world.  The wisdom of the ages indicates that this will not occur this century and may not even be completed in the next one thousand years.  This is not based on my personal preferences but on what investigating the ages has taught me.

The Quest for Peace in the Age of Aquarius

Is the peace orientated New Age movement related to the Age of Aquarius?  This is murky territory as the term `New Age’ has become a virtual brand image for a whole range of disparate concept and images.  Behind the ubiquitous New Age sits the Aquarian Age, but if the New Age is murky, the Aquarian Age is ethereal.  There are a number of reasons why the Aquarian Age is a wraith-like figure, and they all lie with the uncertainties surrounding the astrological lore associated with the great ages. 

 

The Aquarian Age, along with the Pisces Age and all the other ages associated with the zodiacal signs do not have a monopoly on large scale epochs or periods.  The Hindu Yugas, Mayan and Aztec calendars, cycles of the outer planets (especially the combination of Jupiter and Saturn) and cycles based on the monthly lunation cycles are examples of some well trod avenues by the ancients in an attempt to corral historical events into meaningful brackets.  However it is the ages based on the zodiacal signs that have made the greatest inroads into urban myth.

 

Though the term `the Aquarian Age’ gets bandied around regularly, few people outside of the arcane world of astrologers know why these ages exist.  Without going into astronomical detail, the world spins on its axis every 24 hours as it makes its annual jaunt around the sun.  However this axis behaves like a spinning top, and like a top this axis wobbles.  It takes almost 26,000 years for this wobble to make one revolution.  This has direct consequences on earth, because very slowly, the orientation of the earth based on the seasons slowly move in relation to the position of the stars and constellations.

 

The evidence suggests that 4,000 years or more ago the ancient astrologers in Mesopotamia defined 12 zodiacal constellations circumnavigating the earth in a band where the sun, moon and planets are usually located – and it is very possible they did this to calibrate the effects of the wobble.  Due to the 26,000 years wobble of the earth’s axis, as seen from the earth, all the stars and constellations shift by one zodiacal sign approximately every 2150 years. 

 

About an hour before dawn on the March Equinox (northern hemisphere spring equinox) around 21^st March each year, you will see the constellation of Aquarius just above the eastern horizon – but very quickly the stars will disappear due to the rising sun.  2150 years ago at the March equinox, you would have seen the constellation of Pisces.  2150 years in the future you would see the constellation of Capricorn.  It is this slow movement of the zodiacal constellations against the eastern horizon at the March equinox that traditionally has been used to calibrate the ages. Did the ancient astrologers know that their zodiacal constellations slowly moved over thousands of years?

 

Though we lack the understanding of the motives of the ancient astrologers there is very little agreement or understanding in the astrological world today about the ages such as the Age of Aquarius.  Astrologers who research ages, such as the Aquarian Age, are few and far between, with less than 200 recognised as contributing significantly to the ongoing debate over the last century or so.  Astrologers agree on very little with respect to the astrological ages, and differences of opinion dominate the ongoing arguments. 

 

The approach to the ages I have pioneered is almost considered heretical by most astrologers because my research clearly indicates that not only is the world in the Aquarian age, it has been in the Aquarian age for many centuries.  This is extremely disappointing for those believing a new Aquarian age is around the corner to bring peace to this world.

 

The focus of my research is not on the ages, but sub-periods of the ages. My big breakthrough in understanding these ages occurred in 1988 when I discovered that each age of some 2150 years each, had 12 sub-ages of around 179 years each.  These sub-ages are much more manageable when dealing with history compared to the cumbersome ages.  Many people now know that the common zodiacal signs can be subdivided, and the most common division is decanates (abbreviated to decans).  A decan is a third of a sign.    

 

For example the world is in the first part of the Aquarian Age, the Libran decan of the Aquarian Age.  Libra rules peace (amongst many other things), and the desire for peace expressed by so many people around the world is allied to the fortunes of this Libran decan of the Aquarius age.  The fortunes of this Libran decan are increasing all the time, albeit slowly, but it is not until the end of the Libran decan around the year 2148 and beyond, that full expression of Libra’s peace will appear.  This is due to a little known quirk of the ages – the ages go `backward’ through the zodiac, and so they are strongest at their end and weakest at their beginning – the exact reverse of traditional zodiacal signs that go `forward’ through the zodiac. 

 

Therefore when the Libran decan of the Aquarius age comes to its end c.2148, it will be at full strength.  This peaking of the Libran decan of the Aquarius Age around 2148 will be like a breaking wave.  The wash from this breaking wave will pass over the succeeding several centuries.  This is a key time when the world is at one of its greatest potential to be a garden paradise and focused upon beauty, compromise and peace plus equality of the sexes. 

 

Though the epoch of peace is not yet arrived, it is under development.  Before something occurs it must be aspired to.  There is no doubt that significant sections of the world’s population aspire towards greater peace and equality of the sexes and the astrology of the ages indicate that this aspiration will see fruition in the centuries to come.  We only get to see the early formative stages of this push towards peace and appreciation of beauty.  We should value whatever peace there is, and foster the desire for more peace as this sentiment is a growing phenomena.  We  may not see the tree but we can watch the sapling grow!

Blog Index

 

US Presidents in the Age of Aquarius

The recent elevation of Barack Obama to the Democratic contender for the 2008 presidential elections in the USA has been linked by some commentators to the Age of Aquarius.  For many people the 1960s and 70s was the Age of Aquarius (see The Aquarian age did not begin in the 1960’s or ’70s).  I decided to have a look at the relationship between US presidents and the generational markers within the Age of Aquarius.

 

While most people now about the Aquarian age, and some people know that the Age of Aquarius follows the Age of Pisces, very few people realize that within the Age of Aquarius are twelve sub-ages.  These sub-ages last approximately 179 years each.  Within the sub-ages are twelve micro-ages per sub-age.  These micro-ages are approximately fifteen years each.  These fifteen years micro-ages provide the generational markers that identify one generation from the next.

 

As a classic example, between 1940 and 1955 was the Sagittarius micro-age.  Sagittarius is associated with archetypal themes of expansion, growth, optimism and good luck.  This Sagittarian micro-age correlates to the Baby Boomer generation.  The Baby Boomer generation is considered to apply to those people born from 1946 to the early 60s – a period slightly longer than 15 years and slightly out of phase of the Sagittarius micro-age by about six years.  Anything that booms can be related to Sagittarius unless it is the boom of a gun.

 

I discovered some interesting correlations when all the US presidents are examined, commencing with George Washington.  Either the voting public has preferences to specific generations or specific generations are over-represented amongst politicians that run and win the presidency (or vice presidency).  For example 42% of all presidents were born in Air generations (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius).  30% of presidents were born in Fire generations (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius) while only 16% were born in Water (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces) and 12% in Earth (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn).

 

There are an unequal number of Earth, Air Fire and Water generations available and the weighted average is 27% for each of Air, Fire and Earth while Water is 20%.  This indicates that the worse performing element is definitely Earth at 12% which is 15% below average (Water at 16% is only 4% below average).  This disparity between Air and Fire to Water and particularly Earth tentatively indicates that politicians are drawn more from Air and Fire generations and slightly less than average from Water and significantly below average for Earth.  Alternatively the voting public prefer candidates from the Air and Fire generations over the Water and especially Earth generations.

 

Whatever the case, Air indicates intelligence and intellect while Fire indicates dynamism, drive and leadership.  Perhaps these qualities are stamped upon presidents from these Air and Fire generations.  Water and Earth signs indicate empathy, sensitivity and compassion respectively.  These generational traits are at a low ebb in US presidents to date, especially the qualities of practicality and sensibility.

 

Examining the zodiacal signs associated with the generations indicates that more presidents are born in Aquarian generations than any other sign.  19% or almost one in five presidents were born in an Aquarian generation whereas from a random statistical analysis only 12.5% of presidents should be born in an Aquarian generation.

 

There are only two possible Aquarian generations that presidents have been born – the first is 1746-1761 and the second 1910-1925.  In the 18^th century Aquarian generation are presidents Monroe and Madison.  In the 20^th century Aquarius generation are George Bush senior, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. 

 

There may be an urban myth that Aquarius breeds a radical and rebellious nature, similar to those revolutionary times of the 1960s and 70s, but this is only one possibility associated with Aquarius.  Aquarius indicates strong civic responsibility regardless of the side of politics.  Aquarius engenders fascism as much as democracy and personal freedoms.  There are always two sides to each zodiacal sign.  Regardless of the political leanings of the politicians, somehow far more politicians born in Aquarian generations get elected president compared to the average.

 

This brings us to the current scenario of Barack Obama and John McCain – and to this I will add Hillary Clinton.   Hilary Clinton comes from the Baby Boomer generation ruled by Sagittarius.  Presidents born in Sagittarian generations are about average in numbers.  Sagittarian generation presidents are presidents Buren, Tyler, Taylor, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. 

 

John McCain was born in a Capricorn generation.  Capricorn generations significantly under perform with only 7% of presidents from a Capricorn generation when the weighted average should be 12.5%.  There are only three presidents from a Capricorn generation all born in the 18^th century – John Quincy Adams, General Jackson and William Harrison.

 

Barack Obama was born into a Scorpio generation and is only one of two signs that have never had a president (the other sign is Virgo) but this is due to a statistical anomaly as there has not been a Scorpio micro-age available since the formation of the USA until the Scorpio micro-age 1955-1970.  Therefore no conclusion whatsoever can be drawn from Barack Obama’s birth in a Scorpio generation.

 

Therefore Barack Obama is the wild card in the draw.  Capricorn generational presidents appear below average and we don’t have any idea how Scorpio will perform except possibly from the fact that Scorpio is a Water sign.  Water signs do perform slightly below average but John McCain’s Earth sign is at the bottom of the totem pole.

 

The only other inference is that Barack Obama is born in the generation that coincided with the student revolution, anti-war and sexual revolution of the 1960s that carried over into the 1970s.  Scorpio is a sign of revolution (on a bad day) and change you can believe in on a good day.  How much of these Scorpio associations are insinuated into Barack’s Scorpio generation is anyone’s guess?

 

There are also finer generational markers within the micro-age generations based on decans.  Each micro-age generation of 15 years has three decans of five years.  These decan influences provide a favoring or color to the major generational influence.  For example both George W Bush and Bill Clinton (and Hillary Clinton) came from the Leo decan of the Sagittarian Baby Boomers.  Leo implies strong leadership (both good and bad) and support to mainstream values.  Leo does not like to rock the boat because Leo believes it is the boat!

 

John McCain’s decan influence is Capricorn – the same as his generational sign thus strengthening his Capricorn credentials.  Only one President to date has been born in both a Capricorn generation and Capricorn decan – President William Harrison (b.1773 – d.1841).  President William Harrison shares some uncanny traits with John McCain.  Harrison was ex-military, gaining distinction in fighting the American Indians and as a general in the War of 1812. 

 

President Harrison was also the oldest president until Ronald Reagan.  Interestingly Capricorn is the sign that rules old age and the elderly.  Unfortunately for President William Harrison he died thirty-one days into his term – the briefest presidency in the history of the office.  No other US president was born in a Capricorn decan of any other generation.

 

Barack Obama was born in the Pisces decan of the Scorpio generation.  The only other presidents who were born in Pisces decans (but not in Scorpio generations) are Thomas Jefferson, Grover Cleveland and LBJ.  Thomas Jefferson was an intellectual and apart from his civic responsibilities he was a horticulturist, statesman, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, author and inventor.  Pisces is a dual sign (represented by two fish swimming in opposite direction) and so when Pisces is strong the field of action is split.  Jefferson was obviously interested in more than just politics.

 

Grover Cleveland had an image of purity and “… possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not.”  Cleveland was a Democrat island in a sea of Republican presidents that ruled from 1860 to 1912 – except for Cleveland.  Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms – perhaps this is the manifestation of Pisces duality?

 

LBJ won a resounding victory in 1964 on a platform extolling the “Great Society” legislation that included civil rights laws, health care for the elderly and poor, aid to education, and the “War on Poverty.”  His reputation on the political Left was significantly tarnished by escalating the war in Viet Nam.  Pisces is also the sign related to social security, charity and compassion as well as bureaucracy (big government) and self-made problems.  LBJ also demonstrated the Pisces duality with successful domestic policies and fatal foreign policies in Viet Nam. 

 

If the Pisces influence on Barack Obama’s generation manifests and if he wins office we should expect a two edged sword associated with the dual-bodied sign of Pisces. 

 

The only other way of understanding Barack’s Scorpio generation is to examine those presidents that were born in the opposite generation – Taurus.  Only two presidents were born in a Taurus generation – Coolidge and Hoover.  Coincidentally both were born in the Virgo decans within their Taurus generation, also directly opposite Barack Obama.  Therefore presidents Coolidge and Hoover come from diametrically opposite generations compared to Obama.

 

Republican Coolidge (1923-29) was anti-union, anti-big government, avoided scandals, and was very popular with the electorate when he left office.  He promoted the values of the average person and was fondly remembered by President Reagan’s administration – especially for the fact that Coolidge left the free market economy to itself.

 

President Coolidge was succeeded by the Republican President Hoover (1929-33).  Hoover was more interventionist than Coolidge and believed that social and economic problems could be solved by technical solutions. However Hoover was unable to provide any real solutions to the Great Depression.  Furthermore opposition to Prohibition during his presidency ensured that Hoover was only a one term president.

 

As a sign Taurus is conservative, unable to evolve or change, and prefers to keep things as they are rather than risk any turmoil.  Both Coolidge’s and Hoover’s presidencies support the insinuation that Taurus generations promote Taurus’ qualities.  If Taurus breeds Republicanism and passiveness it should be expected that Obama’s generation is more to the Left and pro-active in promoting change.

 

What is the mood of the US public?  The preference for strong leadership of Clinton and Bush junior is a continuing factor but less evident than in the last two elections.  Americans still want a strong leader, and the strong showing of Hillary Clinton’s supporters demonstrates this aptly as Clinton’s generation markers are the same as her husband and Bush junior. 

 

However the world is in a transition stage between Leo and Cancer micro-age influences and an increasing number of Americans will be looking for a president with sensitivity and diplomacy.  Cancer is opposite John McCain’s Capricorn generational signature, and while he would profile a leader with backbone, this is not what Americans are moving towards in their favorite characteristics for the new president.  Public opinion is growing in strength to the detriment of a leader who goes against public opinion for their personal belief in what is best for the country.  Thus Obama is also favored over McCain in this respect.

 

Finally within the current micro-age influence, the decan influence is moving from basically Pisces in the 2004 election to Pisces/Scorpio in the 2008 election.  Under Pisces the American public is always captivated by spin, propaganda, superficiality and anything that promotes the American Dream.  Pisces remains strong, but has recently been slightly eclipsed by the incoming Scorpio decan.  The Scorpio decan must favor a president from Obama’s Scorpio generation as the new Scorpio decan demands change and evolution. 

 

The American public does not want a revolution.  They want a leader with enough strength or leadership to maintain mainstream values, at least pay lip service to the American Dream but make some changes.  This we have Obama’s slogan “change we can believe in”.  The incoming Scorpio thrust will be much more powerful than the average micro-age decan influence as it resonates with the powerful Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970-2148).  Scorpio is always synonymous to unsettled times, revolutions, terrorism and vented pent up frustrations.  The main stage for this new Scorpio influence will stretch from 2009/10 to 2014/5.  Therefore any incoming president will have to deal with deep and intense issues over the coming few years. 

 

The sub-periods of the Aquarian age favors Obama’s generation over McCain’s generation in the 2008 election, but this is not a prediction or pronouncement that Obama will beat McCain.  

 

 

 

 

 

Will New Agers Rule the World?

A recent documentary on the 60s reminded me of the arrival of the hippies, counter culture, and new age movement that was precipitated in the late 1960’s.  In the early 1960s I was living in San Francisco (attending junior high school) and had direct experience of hippies’ forebears – the beatniks. Even at so tender an age I loved the beatniks – I somehow empathised with their highly individualistic and eccentric fashion sense in an age of mind-numbing suburban conformity.  While the world will focus upon the hippies, it was probably not an accident that hippies first flourished in the city of beatniks.

 

When anything new emerges, becomes noticeable or hits the world stage, it is usually after some lesser known developments have taken place.  Finding the seed or source of emergent developments requires a Sherlock Holmes’ approach to history. 

 

So while hippies having love-ins at Golden Gate Park or hanging out in Haight-Ashbury was a news phenomenon, the lesser known beatniks set the magic spell in motion.  The beatniks evolved out of the Beat Generation first widely publicised by Jack Kerouac’s On the Road in 1957 and William S. Burroughs’s Naked Lunch in 1959.  However the defining moment or original magic spell for this revolutionary wave is attributed to Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl in 1955.

 

Howl promoted social misfits, outcasts, drug addicts as the best minds in society – severely going against the grain of the post Second World War conservative population.  Howl introduced the anti-capitalist attitude that became so pervasive in the hippie movement.  Howl was a little known revolutionary tract that was the seed for what eventually evolved into the New Age movement.  Like the ring that binds them all, this poem allegorically cast the spell that has rippled around the world.

 

The New Age movement, and the spin-offs that it has produced such as the environmental movement, remains a peripheral or minority influence in mainstream society in western culture, and insignificant elsewhere.  What do normal people think when they see people sporting dreads wandering around, tribal associations, elemental fashion and all the hallmarks of New Agers?  People do what people have traditionally done and continue to do – they demonize them. 

 

Society, cultures and sub-groups love to demonize others that are different to themselves.  Most people are genuine and sincere and therefore feel that their own approach to life, the universe and everything is relevant and reasonable, and so anyone not following this approach must be strange, untrustworthy and even evil.  The Nazis did this to the Jews in the 1930’s following a long European tradition of persecuting the Jews because basically they were slightly different.  The persecution of recreational drug users for example is just another example of the ongoing demonization of minorities and sub-groups.  We have also seen this with homosexuals, single mothers, illegal immigrants and so on.

 

New Agers promote different concepts, don’t value career or ambition as much as mainstream society, tend to avoid organised religions, wear funky clothes, like alternative medicine, take an anti-war and anti-violence stance and so on plus are pro-choice on just about everything.  Imagine if they ruled the world?  Would the person of the year be maintaining a small sustainable organic farm with solar power and riding an electric bicycle in place of a car?

 

As absurd as this all sounds, the astrology of the Age of Aquarius does support the growing influence of the amorphous New Age movement in the world over the coming one and a half centuries. The reason why is not directly due to the Age of Aquarius, but the Scorpio sub-age within the Age of Aquarius.  The Age of Aquarius has twelve sub-ages, and the Scorpio sub-age arrived in 1792, reached its culmination point in 1960s and 70s and fans out its influence to at least 2148.  This is why the 1960s and 70s was such a revolutionary period as Scorpio is a sign of revolution (see The Aquarian age did not begin in the 1960’s or ’70s)

 

Key developments that occur around these dates (1792, 1970 & 2148 ) portend long term and significant developments.  For example from 1792 onwards two significant revolutions occurred that took over a century to reach their goals.  Firstly, and quickly, women began fighting for equal voting and legal rights, and only a few decades later the downtrodden workers began fighting for better working and living conditions. 

 

Both these revolutions were hard fought throughout the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, and it was not until the early 20^th century that Western culture generally gave women equal voting and legal rights.  By the second half of the 20^th century the working class in western culture arrived at their Mecca.  Deep cultural developments take time to arrive.

 

The emergence of the counter culture, hippies and New Age movement at the critical 1960s and 70s also puts a new ball in motion down a bowling alley that is over one and a half centuries long.  It is unlikely that in the middle of the 22^nd century that the President of the USA will be wearing flairs, sporting dreads, and smoking a joint in their address to the nation.  However it is very likely that the core attitudes of the New Age movement will be a major part of the mainstream political apparatus, though not necessarily dominating society.

 

The world is always moving into new territory and the ages with their sub-periods can foreshadow the journey ahead.  The sub-age following Scorpio is the Libra sub-age.  The Scorpio and Libra sub-ages have overlapped since 1970 and by 2148 Libra will be as triumphal as Scorpio’s revolutionary fervour was triumphal in the 1960s and 70s.  Libra promotes balance, compromise and peace. 

 

The growth of Libra from 1970 onwards (at about the time of arrival of the Peace Movement) will accelerate significantly around 2060 onwards.  Libra the Scales is a dual sign (like Gemini the Twins and Pisces the two fish).  This suggests that society will not be a homogenous monotone mainstream with very similar values.  It suggests that two very different outlooks will coexist side-by-side at a minimum.  Based on previous examples, I predict that the current mainstream outlook upon the world will continue to evolve into one significant aspect of society while the New Age pro-environment outlook will evolve into the other bloc.

 

So while hippies may not rule the world in 2148, their descendants’ evolved cultural values and outlooks will significantly contribute to the world’s culture.  It is perhaps the addition of this new holistic outlook, balanced with the current consumerism outlook in the world, which may save it from the worst excesses of the environmental vandalism that has been unleashed upon the world since the Industrial Revolution.  Libra implies that these two blocks will learn how to compromise.  The penalty for not compromising in a Libra environment is fighting losing battles – just like Iraq!

 

For a more comprehensive examination of the above topic, see The Silent Revolution.

 

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Windmills Windmills Everywhere

In my last post The Astrology of Global Warming I made the claim that global warming is a red herring except for some short term symptoms the world is currently experiencing.  Global cooling is more likely to be the real culprit, but this is extremely unlikely to occur in our lifetimes. Ten years from now people will be concerned about water supplies in place of temperature, though they may be connected.  There is a much larger issue looming that may have more serious consequences then global warming.

 

This is where astrology comes into its own.  Scientists around the world are extrapolating the current small increase in temperatures, and predicting the dire consequences that will result if this increase in temperature continues.  Remember when men first went into outer space and the moon?  Most of us thought that we would be holidaying in space in our lifetimes.  Current developments always seem the most important, but many current developments have a short time span.

 

Astrology can see global warming, but it is a 15 to 30 year wonder, with most of the worst already over.  It is the new developments that cannot be easily foreseen that astrology shows its mettle.  Astrology can see around the next corner before we get there.  It can see around the corner in the climate change direction, and the issue around the corner is not temperature (in our lifetimes at least).

 

The much larger problem that will arrive due to pollution is deteriorating air quality.  Even from a non-astrological perspective this makes sense.  The world is pouring into the atmosphere millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other toxic chemicals at an ever increasing rate.  The contamination of the atmosphere can affect temperature resulting in global warming, the acidity of the oceans and so on, but common sense says that greatest impact will be on the air itself rather than secondary manifestations.  Astrology indicates that the degradation of the air will impact the world at least three times greater than the current impact of global warming and drought.

 

The reason why air quality will be a very serious issue by the end of the third decade of this century (i.e. by 2028 or 2029) is due to wheels within wheels within the Age of Aquarius.  Since the world entered the Aquarian age in c.1433, the world has passed through the Capricorn, Sagittarius and Scorpio sub-ages (each 1/12^th of the Age of Aquarius and lasting some 179 years each).  The Libra sub-age stretches from 1970 to 2148.  It has three decans, Gemini, Aquarius and Libra.  The Gemini decan covers the period 1970-2029. 

 

Gemini is associated with everything to do with communication, transportation, cities, lung diseases of all types, the metal mercury, schools, nervous system (Attention Deficit Syndrome).  We have already experienced a revolution in communication with emails and the World Wide Web.  Transportation is commencing its revolution with the oil price explosion, and the sharp increase in hybrid and electric vehicles.  Cities have come under enormous pressure over the last three decades with mass migrations from rural areas, especially in developing countries like China

 

The wave-like action of ages and their sub-periods indicate that when Gemini reaches its highest strength around 2029, like a wave it will break over the succeeding 60 years or so.  The period 2029 to 2089 is when developments with Gemini credentials will be at their strongest.  On the positive side this indicates far greater efficiency and developments in electronic and digital communications taking the email revolution to another level.  Mobile telephones will also see a spectacular leap in technology.  The greatest novelists and their novels for many centuries will appear.  Massive developments in public transportation and improvements in private transportation will take place.  Wind mills generating electricity will flourish and exceed solar power.

 

On the problematical side under Gemini the world will see the devastating and corroding capabilities of the atmosphere full of carbon dioxide and poisons as Gemini is an Air sign.  Gemini also indicates lung diseases (asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, TB, pleurisy etc), nervous system problems, mercury poisoning and stunted mental development.  Lung diseases makes sense – if the air is full of contaminants, it is the lungs that have the first point of contact.  At a certain point the level of contaminants in the atmosphere will be so high this will start to affect a large number of people, especially in the Northern Hemisphere where pollution is heaviest.

 

Cities are already the main source of pollution in the world.  Their combined growth in population around the world is staggering.  Carbon dioxide producing cars will be drastically reduced, banned altogether, or petroleum will be in such short supply anyway that economic necessities will force non-toxic forms of local transportation. Public transportation will see its heyday.  Public transportation is the way of the future.   

 

Mercury poisoning is already a growing reality.  Recently health experts are advising people and especially children to avoid over eating large fish.  Large fish tend to accumulate greater mercury than smaller fish.  Already cases of children with stunted mental developments are occurring and health experts attribute this problem to regularly eating large amounts of fish.

 

Some places in the world are already experiencing chronic pollution and the types of problems mentioned above – Chinese cities are a good example.  The World Bank has stated that 750,000 people a year are dying in China prematurely due to pollution.  This calamity will spread unless cities take control of their pollution strategies.  Some cities are already doing this.  London plans to cut its carbon footprint by 60% of its 1990 level by 2025.  Though this may seem extreme, this is what they have calculated must be done to prevent the worse case scenario occurring, similar to what some Chinese cities are already experiencing.

 

Gemini also indicates that another development will take place from 2029 onwards which will help to significantly lower the level of pollution.  The opposite sign to Gemini is Sagittarius.  The key sub-age involved with the Industrial Revolution and the world wide population explosion is Sagittarius – the sign of expansion.  However the appearance of Gemini at full strength in the 21^st century indicates that the expansionary phase associated with Sagittarius will come to an end or be severely curtailed.  Preliminary indications of this slowdown are already evident.

 

The most demonstrable slowdown in the Sagittarian related expansionary process is the population explosion.  While the worldwide population continues to expand at an apparently unstoppable rate, the population expansion rate for the typical developed country is contracting.  Evidence of the slowdown in population expansion is also now noticeable in the second tier of nations while China has been enforcing their one child policy for many years.  Each person in this world contributes their share towards pollution – therefore the lower the population the less pollution.  

 

Unfortunately a shrinking population and lower activity undermines the capitalistic economic system.  The period 2044 – 2059 is aligned to the sign of money and finances in a Taurus sub-period (within the Gemini sub-age decan overflow).  Research indicates that Taurus periods are generally aligned to recessions and depressions (the first serious economic period in the 21^st century).  Due to the adverse economic circumstances that will arise at this time, most likely due to the effects of having to deal with over pollution, a temporary lapse in applying anti-pollution measure is likely to take place with devastating adverse results.   Conservative reactionary elements in the world are bound to put pressure on avoiding dealing with the issues of pollution at this time (and at any time) to protect their wealth.

 

The astrology associated with the astrological ages indicates a menu of options.  Which option humanity chooses is not up to the stars – it is up to people.  Will humanity go down the path of sustainable economic activity, or will it continue to be powered by the current economic paradigm with production, consumption and profit at the bottom line the guiding principal?

THE WINDMILL

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (and corrupted by Terry MacKinnell)

 

Behold! a giant am I!
  Aloft here in my tower

With my watts of electricity I power

  All the appliances I desire

Without polluting this world of ours.

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