Will the Age of Aquarius Solve the Problems of the World?

What is it about the Aquarian age that makes many people feel history will go against itself and create a problem-free age?  Has there ever been a problem-free age?  Perhaps every time the Age of Aquarius turns up around every 26,000 years the world takes a sabbatical from wars, violence, anger, catastrophes and natural disasters and creates a totally different age compared to all the other ages?

 

As ridiculous as this sounds, there is an element of truth to this concept.  Of all the twelve zodiacal signs, Aquarius is the one sign that is the different, radical or eccentric sign.  In other words Aquarius behaves very differently to the other eleven zodiacal signs.  Therefore if Aquarius behaves very different to the other signs, and if historically the other ages are full of problems, logic says that in the Aquarian age it should not have these problems.  Unfortunately this is faulty logic.

 

The reason that the logic is faulty is that it can be very different in the Aquarian age compared to other ages, but continue to be full of major problems, or problems of a very different nature.  How about this for a different kind of major problem – in this age, for the first time in history, the world may be destroyed or severely affected by humans due to the use of their nuclear arsenal or from the effects of pollution. Have humans previously been capable of destroying the world?

 

There is another way of approaching the difference associated with the Aquarian age compared to other ages.  If the difference is so fundamental between the sign of Aquarius and the other eleven zodiacal signs represented in the astrological ages then we should also see this with people. Have you noticed that Aquarians stand out from other people as being problem-free or saint-like?  If you have then you must know some incredibly rare Aquarian.  There is no evidence whatsoever that Aquarians are problem-free or better than the other signs.  The great people of the world are not overly represented by Aquarius, if they are then this would be one of the greatest secrets in astrology!

 

Unless there is some evidence to suggest that Aquarius is better than the other eleven zodiacal signs there is no reason to believe that the Aquarian age will be better than any other age.  If the Aquarian age is not better than any other age then why would the world be problem-free in the Age of Aquarius?

 

The world is very different in this Aquarian age to date compared to the known historical events of any other age.  No other age has seen the human population anywhere near current levels.  In no other age could humans light up the world at night so that it is observable from space.  In no other age could some people fly, watch TV and have all the labour savings devices available in this modern Age of Aquarius.

 

What is noticeable to date from the Aquarian age is that the benefits seem much greater compared to previous ages and the problems see much greater compared to earlier ages.  This in itself satisfies the Aquarian archetype that it must be somehow fundamentally different to other ages.

 

There is a secondary aspect to the issue of whether the Aquarian age will solve the problems of the world.  This aspect relates to the nature of astrology.  Does anything related to astrology improve anything?  Do the inhabitants of the world sit back in their sun lounges by a pool, sipping alcoholic beverages, waiting for the Aquarian age to come along like some mechanized street sweeper to clean up the world?  This is very comforting as it means we can continue to be as stupid as we have always been, but the Aquarian age will fix up all the mess we have made.

 

At the end of the day the world is full of people, and the sum of all the positive and negative aspects of each person produces all the positive and negative aspects of our world.  It is a major cop-out to think we can sit back in a lazy stupor and the Age of Aquarius will behave like our fairy godmother, wave her wand and suddenly all our individual and collective problems will disappear in a puff of magic smoke. It’s not a happening thing!

 

Does astrology help?  This is a very interesting question as I have been studying astrology for thirty-six years so I have learnt some things about astrology.  Now I know that astrology ‘works’ in the sense I can see the relations between planets and zodiacal signs and events affecting people and the world.  But does knowledge of this improve the situation?

 

The answer is, yet again yes and no.  Is it worth knowing from the weather forecast if it will be raining tomorrow or not?  Very often yes because at a minimum it may make the decision to take an umbrella easier to make.  However if you were to attend a conference full of astrologers, will you come across people that demonstrate they have a superior approach to life or even a superior life?  The answer is no.  In all my thirty-six years of studying astrology, and fraternising with astrologers, I have never seen any example of astrologers leading a life that has any fewer problems and greater advantages than normal people.

 

Some astrologers are nice, well mannered, interesting and rich, other astrologers are nasty, rude, dull and close to the poverty line.  In between are all the other astrologers in the normal bell curve arrangement you would expect from any group of people randomly chosen.  There is no evidence that any random group of astrologers demonstrate any greater achievements, skills or quality of life compared to a placebo group with similar qualities to the astrologers except they are not astrologers.

 

If knowledge of astrology does not benefit astrologers in a noticeable way, then why should knowledge of the Age of Aquarius help in any way?  Astrology does not appear to help astrologers avoid problems.  So if astrology cannot even help astrologers, how can the Age of Aquarius solve the problems of the world?

 

The Age of Aquarius is not going to save the world.  The Age of Aquarius is not going to raise your consciousness.  The future of the world depends upon the sum of all the people in the world.  It is what all the people in the world do that will make things happen. The Age of Aquarius for some people is a cop-out – allowing them to continue their destructive mode of living in this world because the Age of Aquarius will fix it up.

 

Judging by its track record to date, the problems and benefits in the Age of Aquarius will be much greater than previous

Will There be Peace in the Age of Aquarius?

 This week I received an email stating that the ‘Aquarian age will not truly begin until the whole of humanity is at peace’.  This is not a lone sentiment as many people look expectantly to the Age of Aquarius for a millenarian change.  Peace, security and harmony, for example, are all qualities that any sincere person would like to see manifest in this contrary world.  However will the Aquarian age respond in kind?

Peace has different meanings for different people.  For some peace means absence of war.  However if there is no war are people necessarily at peace?  I have also heard that peace is not the absence of war but a quality of its own.  In other words, someone can experience peace even in prison, the middle of a battle or war, but in a time of peace people may feel discontent.  This suggests that at a minimum, there are two kinds of peace, peace in the world, and peace within an individual.  My email commentator was looking for peace in the world.  However is peace possible in the world if people do not experience peace in their own lives?

In the early 70’s I had a reasonable exposure to the Hindu religion for a short period.  In the Hindu religion they have an interesting philosophy that this world is `maya’.  Roughly translated, maya means ‘illusion’.  This is not to suggest that what we experience, see and feel in this world is an illusion like a cartoon, but an illusion in the sense that it does not incorporate the ultimate reality or Truth with a capital ‘T’.  In the Hindu philosophy that I encountered, the ultimate reality is only found within an individual person.  This is probably the source of the urban myths of the states of nirvana, enlightenment or liberation.

Someone experiencing nirvana, enlightenment or liberation is like a lotus in a swamp.  The lotus is beautiful but exists and grows from the murky and muddy waters of the swamp, representative of the maya of this world.  From the Hindu perspective there is never peace in this world as peace and maya are mutually exclusive.  If the Hindu sages are correct, there will never be peace in the Aquarian age or any other age, but people can individually be at peace in any age.

Even if peace cannot exist in this world absolutely, the level of war, violence and mayhem varies over time.  Some periods of time seem less violent than others.  Some societies appear very peaceful while others are violent by nature.  For example before the Maoris arrived in New Zealand, an earlier group of Polynesian settlers lived there peaceably.  After the Maoris arrived these earlier settlers disappeared but a remnant group continued to exist on an island far off the east coast of New Zealand.  The whalers of the 19^th century discovered this remnant group and informed the Maoris.

The whalers subsequently took the Maoris to the island and the Maoris commenced killing the inhabitants.  The hapless inhabitants did not know what to do because all forms of violence was so far removed from their reality that they did not understand what was happening to them even as they were being slaughtered.  This fierceness of the Maoris’ saved them from defeat by the British in the 19^th century, and in place of conquest the British government entered into a treaty with the Maoris that continues to this day.

Some societies are comfortable with violence and other societies are not.  At certain times in history violence has been the dominant theme, while at other times a more peaceful existence ensured.  History indicates that the upsurge in war commenced about 5,000 years ago which coincidentally was aligned to the beginning of the Aries age in c.2916 BC.  Aries is ruled by the planet Mars, the traditional God of War.  Aries and war go hand-in-glove but Aries does also foster sport, competition, construction and achievement.

Before the arrival of the Aries age the world did appear somewhat less violent.  Historians have noted a general lack of defensive structures or armaments in Europe over 5,000 years ago.  This compares with the 1^st millennium BC where Europe was a series of hill fortresses on high military alert and there is wide evidence of swords.  As one historian noted, there is only one thing you can do with a sword.

Despite the lack of widespread warfare over 5,000 years ago, one of the oldest cities in the world is Jericho dating from 9000 BC.  From its earliest days Jericho was fortified by a defensive wall.  Obviously it needed a defensive wall to ward off raiding parties from surrounding inhabitants.  So even well before the violent Aries age, violence was still around, but historians state that it was not so widespread or as entrenched as later periods.

The arrival of the Aries age in c.2916 BC saw the arrival of mass warfare.  The Mesopotamians turned increasingly to war and the first empire gained through military means was the defeat of the Sumerian by Akkad under Sargon who reined from 2270 BC – 2215 BC.  From hereon in the history of the world is virtually the history of war.  At the end of the Aries age when the momentum of Aries had reached its full power, the little village of Rome was formed, ushering in a new age of war under the military-orientated Romans.

One quirky problem the Romans encountered as their empire expanded is that neighboring cities within the Roman Empire could not fight each other once they were incorporated in the Roman Empire. The traditional approach to government by the Romans was to allow conquered cities to maintain their own government.  However what these city governments wanted to do most of all was go to war with their neighbors.  This the Romans would not allow so often the sulky citizens refused to maintain their own governments.

The whole military and war momentum has continued in the world to the 20^th century but there are now indications that since the 2^nd World War the incidence of war has significantly subsided in the world.  Many people are not convinced however, but this is probably due to the unpainted wall syndrome.

The unpainted wall syndrome basically means that if a room has three walls freshly painted, and one wall in its original state, an onlooker will focus their attention on the unpainted wall.  If the unpainted wall is then painted except for a small one foot by one foot patch, this is where the focus will lie.  If this is painted but a mark or blemish is left in the painting, the attention is drawn to the blemish.

The unpainted wall syndrome applies to war in the world.  Wherever war, discord or military action appears, the media will focus upon it, and the general public will be made keenly aware of the effects of the war or skirmish.  The fact that modern media is incredibly adept at bringing war and conflict into our living rooms in full colour and in stereo increases the impact upon us.  But the fact remains that the effects upon the world by war is very small and shrinking despite the invasion of Iraq.

If Aries is linked to war, the opposite sign, Libra, should be linked to peace.  To a certain extent this is true.  This is good news for the world because the Aquarian age has three decans and the first decan encountered in the Aquarian age is the Libran decan – the sign of peace.  The full effect of Libra’s peace potential will not occur much before 2148 and the world may experience a mini Golden Age of Peace roughly between 2148 and 2863.  This may be peace on a relative scale (i.e. far less wars and conflict compared to the last 5,000 years).  But don’t despair if you are holding your breath for a more peaceful world – peace is progressively appearing, and the peace momentum shifted up a gear in 1791.

How could the peace momentum increased from 1791 when there have probably been more people killed in war since 1791 compared to all the previous wars in history with most killed in the 20^th century?  The answer is rather simple but overlooked.  If the world is to remove itself from its violent past, that commenced around 2916 BC, then some deterrent effect to starting wars should occur.  This is exactly what has happened.

Examine the following significant wars in the 20^th century which excludes civil wars, internal strife or border disputes as these types of conflicts have a different dynamic the internal wars usually involving throwing off an oppressive ruler.  After the war will be given the protagonist and if they won or lost the war:

1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War – Russia Lost

1914 -18 First World War – Germany & Austria – Lost

1939-45 Second World War – Germany, Italy & Japan – Lost

1950-53 Korean War – North Korea & China – Lost

1951 – Chinese Invasion of Tibet – China Won

1956 The Suez Crisis – UK, France & Israel – Lost War (won the military assaults)

1959-74 Viet Nam War – USA Lost

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion – USA and Cuban expatriates Lost

1967 Six Day War – Egypt, Jordan, and Syria Lost

1979-89 Invasion of Afghanistan – USSR – Lost

1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War – Iraq Lost

1982 Falklands War – Argentina Lost

1990-91 Gulf War – Iraq Lost

2001 9/11 Terrorist Attack on USA  – Al Qaeda in Afghanistan – (Afghanistan) Lost

2003 USA’s Coalition of the Willing invasion of Iraq – USA (In Progress)

Based on the above 15 major wars or conflicts, but excluding the invasion of Iraq by the USA and the Coalition of the Willing, because its outcome in uncertain, the only war won to date is the invasion of Tibet by China in 1951 but even the long term success for China of this invasion is uncertain.  The moral seems to be that if you want to lose a war then start one including a pre-emptive strike!

This may be a bad omen for the USA in Iraq, but not necessarily so in Afghanistan.  The Afghanistan Taliban government protected Al Qaeda and while under this protection Al Qaeda attacked the USA.  Al Qaeda started the war and the Afghanistan government fell due to its support of the protagonists.

If there is to be a deterrent to war, having the protagonists continually losing the war is a good start towards peace.  The momentum towards avoiding war will continue in the lead up to the mini Golden Age of Peace forecast for between 2148 and 2863 but here is the problem.  The major problem facing the world in the 21^st century is not war but pollution.  Even if the world avoided war and conflict it could suffer far worst consequences from the effects of pollution and global warming.  Are we facing a no-win situation?

In the 1960’s and 70s the world faced the prospect of nuclear annihilation.  Now in 2008 the nuclear arsenal remains in place but in the addition of the ongoing possibility of nuclear annihilation, we are facing environmental annihilation in a worse case scenario, or significant environmental problems in a best case scenario.  What kind of world may be left when the mini Golden Age of Peace arrives mid next century?  Will there be peace because there will only be a remnant population left in the world following the disastrous consequences of environmental damage?

Are the Hindu sages correct?  If we want peace perhaps inner peace offers the greatest security and surety?  From the astrological standpoint the prospect of inner peace is currently at a peak due to Scorpio.  Within the Aquarian Age, the effects of the Scorpio sub-age are at their peak between 1970 and 2148 leading up o the mini Golden Age of Peace.  Scorpio is the sign that indicates rebirth, metamorphosis, regeneration and inner strength thus implying that enlightenment, nirvana or whatever is on the menu.  In any Scorpio period people feel vulnerable and lack security due to the instability in the world which is prone to cataclysmic upheavals in Scorpio periods.

The sign Scorpio indicates weakness on the outside but strength within.  The source of peace in a Scorpio period is within.  Maybe the path of inner awareness is the most reliable path to peace in this world of ours at this point of time.  If the requirement that the world be at peace before the Aquarian age arrives is correct, it is unlikely we will ever have an Aquarian age.

How Long is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius?

© Terry MacKinnell 2008, All Rights Reserved

Numerous publications and blogs tell us that this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.  Some people think that the Age of Aquarius has already arrived while others think that it is due in the next decade or two.  If you refer to the topic Astrological Ages at Wikipedia  you will discover that there no agreement about the arrival of the Aquarian age, researchers are divided as to whether the Aquarian age arrived five centuries ago, or as late as 3621 AD, or anywhere in between.

Some researchers claim that the cusp of an age is equivalent to 10 degrees.  Because there are 12 signs to share the 360 degrees of the circle, each sign or age is allocated 30 degrees.  If each age is approximately 2150 years, then 10 degrees represents about 717 years.  This is rather strange as if we equate an age with a day, a day has 24 hours but the dawn of an average day is about one hour maximum.  One hour as a fraction of 24 hours is .0416666 of a day.  The same fraction of an age of 2150 years is 90 years.  Therefore if there is any correspondence between days and ages, the dawning of an age should be about 90 years.

Alas and alack, logic rarely comes into the argument when it involves the astrological ages.  This is all due to the influence from the previous age, the Age of Pisces.  Each sign has an opposite sign, and the sign opposite Pisces is Virgo.  Virgo is the sign of purity, details, exactness and perfection.  If Virgo is full of clarity, then Pisces is the exact opposite.  There is no clarity with the sign Pisces.  I am always entertained by my Pisces friends as they all behave like actors on a stage where not only can they set the rules to their hearts content, they can change the rules whenever they like.  Furthermore Pisces rarely provide details about what they have done, are doing or will do, and if they do provide anything, it will be wide of the mark.

You can’t help but like Pisces as it is the chameleon sign, changing its hue and colour to suit circumstances.  Pisces highly developed ability of deception makes them ideal actors, and they are highly represented amongst movie stars, fashion models and spruikers, especially those born-again Bible thumpers on weird hours in television land.  Yes television, Disneyland, cartoons, movies, Hollywood, fantasies, myths and so on all have a common denominator – Pisces.

In a previous post, Is the Aquarian Age Like a Block of Granite?, I provided the example how each astrological age behaves like a new government.  The new government is faced with the previous governments’ policies, laws, judicial appointments and for a long time, the old government will hold sway.  The same with ages – though the world is well and truly in the Aquarian age, the influence from the previous Age of Pisces is incredibly strong.  This can be demonstrated by the New Age Movement.  The New Age Movement is a living parody of Pisces as described in Aquarius in Pisces Sheep Clothing.

What all this means is that for anyone looking for clarity about the Aquarian age, it is almost impossible because the environment for any such enquiry is Pisces.  Pisces has set the parameters, and Pisces’ parameters never bring clarity.  Looking for clarity in a Pisces environment is like trying to get your work done while drunk or stoned – it ain’t a happening thing.  This is why, from an astrological perspective, everything to do with the arrival of the Aquarian age, including its dawning, is lost in the mists of  dreams and fantasies.  This is why the delusions of the Aquarian age are exactly that – delusions.  The delusions of the Aquarian age are collectively everything that the world is not, never has been, and never will take place.  But let’s not behave like a Virgo- enjoy the delusions like a good movie with a happy ending.

The dawning of the Age of Aquarius is so long and drawn out that one blogger actually called it the `yawning of the Age of Aquarius’.  Everyone seems sick and tired of waiting for the Aquarian age to dawn.  Is the dawning of the Aquarian age going to take over 700 years?  The answer, as with so many things, is yes and no.

First the good news – the Age of Aquarius arrived like the tolling of the midnight chimes of a church or town hall bell.  There is no confusion about midnight, and there is no confusion about the arrival of the Aquarian age.  The Aquarian age arrived at the same time as the modern world.  Historians constantly tell us that the modern world arrived over 500 years ago, and this is exactly when the Age of Aquarius arrived.

Now for the bad news – it will take all of the Age of Aquarius for Aquarius to extract itself from the Pisces quagmire and stand on it own two feet.  For all but the very end of the Aquarian age, Pisces will be incredibly strong, stronger than Aquarius, especially in the first half of the Aquarian age.  So from this perspective we can say it will take about 2150 years for the dawning of the Aquarian age.

Now back to the good news.  Though Pisces is stronger than Aquarius for most of the Aquarian age, Aquarius is not impotent.  Aquarius has been, is and will continue to introduce new and innovative developments into the world since it has been doing since 1433.  First there was Leonardo da Vinci, then Copernicus, Galileo and all the revolutionaries that defied the (Pisces) church and introduced reality as an antidote to delusions.  In the cat and mouse game between Aquarius and Pisces, Pisces has the might (Christianity, bureaucracies, corporations etc) but the underdog Aquarius has the ability to introduce new and startling discoveries like a lightening bolt.

Another lightening bolt came from Charles Darwin, when the lateral thinking that sits in Aquarius’ arsenal of weapons, produced the theory of evolution.  The whole diversity of scientific discoveries over the last five and a half centuries are at least 50% attributable to Aquarius (the other 50% is Capricorn but that is another whole subject altogether).  Aquarius did not limit itself to scientific discoveries, the advent of democracy in modern times also coincides with Aquarius.

The first appearance of the new Aquarian-inspired quest for democracy and freedom came from the Martin Luther in 1517, only 84 years inside the Aquarian age.  The Protestant Reformation was against the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and the pope.  The new Protestants did not want an authority on high (the pope) telling them how they should think.  The Protestant churches as a rule, adopted a fairly democratic structure along the Aquarian egalitarian model.  Martin Luther was a standard bearer of the new Aquarian age.

The rise of secular western nations is another example of Aquarius.  The American colonists called this `freedom of religion’.  Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion.  The fact that normal citizens in most developed nations are not forced to attend religious services, or abide by the antiquated religious behaviour of established religions is another example of Aquarius.  This is a progressive development.  I remember in the 1980’s being locked out of our local movie theatre on Good Friday while we were watching the Life of Brian.  Evidently the law banned movies on Good Friday.  This is no longer the case, as this antiquated law that upheld religious values has been removed.  This is progressive evidence of the Age of Aquarius in action.

The Age of Aquarius arrived with certainty, conviction and unexpectedly in the 15^th century but it will take until around 3574 AD for Aquarius to unfold its wings and fly to its preordained heights.  We only get to experience the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, but has the world witnessed any comparable dawning to date?

Further resources from Terry MacKinnell

Online Institute of Macro-Astrology – details on how to learn macro-astrology

www.macro-astrology.com – details of purchasing the book available

At the Cutting Edge of the Aquarian Age – Cutting edge research into the astrological ages for astrologers

The Aquarian Age Rocks!

© Terry MacKinnell 2008 All Rights Reserved

Recently I had the pleasure of attending Richard Tarnas’ workshop The Harmony of the Spheres.  What was so special about this workshop is that Richard was able to demonstrate how music related to specific planetary energies.  For example the whining electric guitar is Uranus (the planet Uranus is the ‘ruler’ of Aquarius).  Venus (ruler of Libra) produces a totally different sound, rich in melody and harmony.  Neptune (Pisces) introduces serenity.  Richard provided many examples including the Big Brother and the Holding Company (Uranus/Aquarian) electric guitar lead in to Janis Joplin’s deep and intense (Scorpio) singing.

What I found so interesting is that the 1970’s marked the highpoint of the Scorpio energy within the Aquarian age (the Scorpio sub-age of Aquarius to be technically correct).   Scorpio introduces the rhythmic sexual intensity of rock-and-roll and Aquarius contributes the electric guitar.  This fusion of Scorpio with Aquarius that was at a highpoint in the 1960’s and 70s defined the rock and counterculture revolution of the time.  This is the time that urban myths refer to as the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, and some people actually think these two decades were the Age of Aquarius, not realizing that ages last some 2150 years.

There is one very good reason why people mistake the 60s and 70s for the start of the Aquarian age.  Certainly these two decades were exciting, revolutionary and confrontational to mainstream society.  Some archetypes are associated with only one sign, but many archetypes are associated with two or more signs.  For example airplanes are associated with both Aquarius (flight) and Sagittarius (long distanced travel).  Revolution is associated with both Aquarius and Scorpio.  It is easy to see that when Scorpio arrived at its high energy point in the 60s and 70s (at the end of the Scorpio sub-age) that is located within the Aquarian age, revolution was the winning archetype.

This revolution was not limited to music.  There was also the Sexual Revolution (sex is ruled by Scorpio).  Unfortunately there were also a lot of assassinations (President Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King etc) as Scorpio rules death.  In addition Scorpio also rules excrement, and the excrement of the world is pollution.  Ever since Scorpio attained its height in the 60s and 70s, the effects from the scourge of pollution, that has been silently and relentlessly contaminating the atmosphere, oceans and soil, can no longer be ignored.   Scorpio also rules evolution and metamorphosis – and right on cue arrived born-again Christians.

The list of Scorpio archetypes is much greater than I have mentioned above (i.e. atomic bombs, nuclear energy and minimalism are also associated with Scorpio) but you should recognize the general drift. The impact of the strong influence from Scorpio upon the world within the Aquarian age should extend to the middle of the 21^st century.  So while the world waits with expectation for the Aquarian age (that actually arrived many centuries ago) the real issue at our neck of the woods in the unfolding of world history is actually Scorpio.

The good and bad news related to Scorpio is that the world is again heading for another Scorpio hotspot, releasing once again much of the stored up revolutionary fervor of the 60s and 70s.  This little Scorpio hotspot in the new episode will only have about a five years moment of glory between 2009 or 2010 and 2015 but nevertheless we should see the first serious crack in the conservative wall that politicians have created since the 60s and 70s.

On the music level, it should start some serious rock-and-roll again.  This Scorpio hotspot is resonating with the energy of the Scorpio sub-age.  Whatever Scorpio does, it must do in harmony with Aquarius, as the age over rules a sub-age in authority.  A key archetype of Aquarius is excitement.  When hippies dreamed of the paradisiacal Age of Aquarius expecting love, cosmic harmony and a lift in consciousness little did they realize that these attributes have nothing to do with Aquarius – but a lot to do with Libra (love) and Pisces (dreams, paradise, cosmic harmony). Aquarius is technology, electricity, flight, freedom, democracy, fascism, dictators, mental illness (thus the need for anti-depressants) and especially excitement.  It is always exciting in the Age of Aquarius.

You can feel the excitement of the Age of Aquarius when it arrived many centuries ago.  Leonardo da Vinci was so excited about his scientific speculations that he wrote with both hands simultaneously.  Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler made astonishing discoveries in astronomy – dispelling the notion of a flat earth for example. The printing press was invented and people became stimulated by a rush of new ideas and concepts – all very exciting and many historians believe this explosion of new ideas promoted the rise of democracy.  Michelangelo stunned the world with his art.  Sailors discovered the Americas and untold number of countries, islands and cultures as they intrepidly explored the far reaches of the world.  Scientist discovered logic and set in train the modern Scientific Revolution.  Democracy reared its head in the USA and went forth and multiplied.  Charles Darwin unlocked the secret of evolution.  Computers were invented, the internet developed.  The world has never seen previously this level of excitement (to our knowledge) – why, because Aquarius is synonymous with excitement.

We live in exciting times, not perfect times.  There is nothing in the traditional associations of Aquarius that suggest that the Aquarian age is the Age of Perfection or the Age of Love. The urban myths of the Aquarian age are a fantasy – there is no Garden of Eden in the Aquarian age – it is the Age of Excitement.  Unfortunately the followers of Hitler were incredibly excited by his promise of a thousand years of Nazi domination in the Third Reich.

Why do tyrants and dictators come under the wing of Aquarius, the sign of democracy?  Tyrants and dictators are so inspired or excited by their own absolutely true insights that they have no qualms about forcing these on the less realized.  Aquarius rules mental stimulation.  Dictators like Hitler were mentally stimulated.  The German people even said they were `electrified’ by Hitler’s speeches (electricity is also ruled by Aquarius).  Charles Manson is another classic example on the wrong side of Aquarius – all signs have their dark side!.

While the urban myths of the Aquarian age perceive a paradise, it cannot be based upon the astrological ages as there is no perfect sign in astrology.  The closest thing to perfection is the sign Virgo, but even here it is a two-edged sword.  The archetypes of purity, virginity and perfection align themselves to Virgo, but if you don’t measure up to Virgo’s high standards you will be severely criticized – compassion is thin on the ground near Virgo.  If being hen-pecked is your idea of perfection then you should have delayed your birth until the Age of Virgo.

Perfection, the Garden of Eden, everyone behaving like mahatmas, universal love and so on will not arrive in the Age of Aquarius, and if they did the situation would be short-lived.  Why?  Because other strong archetypes associated with Aquarius are inconsistency – and sudden and unexpected changes.  The Aquarian lightening flash of inspiration brings excitement, but can suddenly and unexpectantly pull the rug out from under you before you know it!  Aquarius works both ways.

Therefore in the Aquarian age, take whatever excitement you can, as there is no guarantee it will last.  If it is not some dictator or conservative politician it will be some religious figure or fanatical group that will do their best to dampen the excitement.  Notice recently the Pope wants to add another seven sins to the list.  Obviously things are getting far too exciting!  Notice that it is still not a sin to get drunk but the new sins comes down heavy on other intoxicants.  While many people will behave like some kind of school principal and try to force you to recant your exciting lifestyle, remember that this is the Age of Aquarius and the Aquarian age rocks!  This is the time to thumb your noses at authority – a little Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix or John Lennon may remind you of this Aquarian reality with a strong Scorpio flavor.