The Astrology of Global Warming

Astrological ages are very long – approximately 2150 years each.  This is why it is better to refer to sub-periods of the ages for greater delineation.  Each age has twelve sub-ages of approximately 179 years each.  The 1960s and ’70s marked the peak expression of one of the twelve sub-ages of the Age of Aquarius – the revolutionary Scorpio sub-age.  It is this revolutionary characteristic associated with Scorpio that makes people mistake it for the actual Aquarian age.  Both Aquarius and Scorpio promote revolution and unsettling conditions.

Scorpio is currently the pre-imminent sub-period within the Aquarian age (see Scorpio – the Sign of the Times).  Scorpio also traditionally rules the waste product of any process and for example, can be aligned with sewerage works.  Pollution is the waste product of human activity and industry in the world.  Therefore when Scorpio is strong in the world, pollution can be a significant factor.

Another archetype associated with Scorpio is regeneration and transformation.  Therefore Scorpio can be also aligned with recycling and sustainable activity plus the transformational change that will be necessary to turn this world around from a polluting hive of activity to a sustainable hive of activity.  The growth of this new environmentally conscious approach aligned with Scorpio can be easily seen by the formation of Greenpeace in 1971 – only one year after Scorpio arrived at its peak energy.

The Scorpio influence that peaked in 1960’s and 70’s will extend well into the 22^nd century due to the Overflow Effect (see Is the Aquarian Age Like a Block of Granite?).  Therefore pollution will be a serious issue until the middle of the next century.  There are many consequences of pollution.  The media has been exploiting fears (as usual) about the effects of environmental degradation such as global warming, rising sea levels, acidification of the oceans, melting polar caps, drought, increasing frenzy in climatic conditions, loss of biodiversity and so on.  The astrology of the ages may shed some light upon the expected negative consequences of pollution gone feral.

Over the last decade much fanfare has been made over global warming.  Recently the issue of water supply due to drought both in Australia and overseas, particularly sub-Sahara Africa, has made headlines.  The astrology of the ages can indicate where the effects of pollution will be felt and the time frames involved.  This is accomplished by examining wheels within wheels within wheels.

In the same way, the world is currently experiencing the effects of a Scorpio sub-age within the Age of Aquarius, within the sub-ages are smaller sub-periods called micro-ages (lasting about 15 years each plus an overflow period of another 15 years).  For example between 1985 and 2015 the world has been experiencing significant effects from a Leo micro-age with its most potent period from 2000 to 2007.  Leo is the sign that traditionally rules the Sun and Leo is a Fire sign indicating its affinity to heat.  It is during this time that the issue of global warming has come to the attention of the world.  Scientists have been taking the data of the increasing temperatures and have extrapolated the rise in temperatures to the end of this century and more with dire warnings.

However, the astrological analysis indicates while global warming is currently a hot topic – this is only a short term consideration because it is associated with a relatively short-termed micro-age.  By around 2015 onward this ceases to be the prime issue.  Between 2015 and 2022 the main issue of concern will be water supply – including both oversupply in floods and undersupply in droughts due to climate change.  This is because the Leo micro-age will be replaced by a Cancer micro-age, and Cancer is a Water sign.  From 2007 to 2015 is a transition period between Leo and Cancer moving from the effects of global warming to issues related to water.

The grandfather of all Leo periods is the Leo age. The last time the world experience a Leo age was from c.11,880 – 9600 BC.  This correlated exactly to the beginning of the deglaciation of the world at the end of the last Ice Age.  Up until this time, almost half the northern hemisphere was covered in glaciers or experienced very cold conditions compared to today.  It is very appropriate that in the Leo age with the sign Leo `ruled’ by the Sun that basically the Sun melted the glaciers and commenced forcing the ice and cold back to the polar regions of modern times.

The Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan at 62 km (39 miles) is one of the longest alpine glaciers on earth.

The opposite sign to Leo is Aquarius.  The world has been in the Aquarian age since the 15^th century.  It seems logical that if Leo equals heat, that Aquarius should produce the opposite.  This runs counter to current thinking on global warming.  However, the astrology of global warming indicates that this is an extremely short term phenomenon.  Some scientists have recently expressed an additional concern that the whole weather of the world may be upset in a totally different way due to the melting and retreating ice and glaciers in polar latitudes.

Europe and much of the Northern Hemisphere depend upon the Atlantic Conveyor Belt current to bring warm water to Europe, making Europe much warmer then if it had to depend solely upon sunlight for warmth.  The Atlantic Conveyor Belt has been fairly consistent over the last 10,000 years or so but at times the Atlantic Conveyor Belt has shut down, plummeting Europe into severe cold snaps lasting many centuries.

The last severe cold period was the Mini Ice Age of 6200 to 5800 BC due to meltwater from a final major ice sheet in North America flooding into the North Atlantic and shutting down the Atlantic Conveyor Belt.  This coincided with the Aquarian decan of the Gemini Age (c.7351-5122 BC).  (In addition to dividing each age into twelve sub-ages, each age can be divided into three decans containing exactly four sub-ages each … see The Dawning of the Aquarian Age)  The Aquarian decan affected the period 7351-6608 BC while its more powerful overflow period carried forward the momentum of Aquarius to at least 5865 BC, almost perfectly in synch with the Mini Ice Age.

Though this does not prove that Aquarian periods bring cold or ice ages, it does support the hypothesis that there can be a correlation between Aquarian periods and coldness.  The relevance to us in the 21^st century is that not only are we in an Aquarian age (c.1433-3574) but also there is an Aquarian sub-age decan in the near vicinity (sub-ages also have their decans in the same way as ages).  The approaching Aquarian sub-age decan stretches from 2029 to 2089 however the most powerful period for the appearance of any sign is in the period following (which was also the case in the Mini Ice Age).

If the Atlantic Conveyor Belt was to shut down bringing a mini ice age to the modern world, the most likely time frame in the contemporary context is between 2089 and 2148.  Astrology cannot say what will happen, it merely provides higher or lower percentages for possibilities.  From the perspective provided by the analysis of the astrological ages and their sub-periods, it if far more likely the world will experience a mini-ace age in place of continuing global warming before the middle of the 22^nd century.

Left to its own devices global warming probably would continue proportional to the increase in carbon dioxide in the air.  However, the warmer climate melts the ice and the remaining glaciers.  The addition of this cooler meltwater to the oceans in the past has shut down the Atlantic Conveyor Belt.  If enough cold fresh meltwater is added to the Atlantic Ocean over the next 150 years it may cause the Atlantic Conveyor Belt to shut down again.  If the Atlantic Conveyor Belt shuts down it will most likely bring a mini nice age to Europe as it has done in the past.  This would be the most catastrophic event for Europe and the world since the appearance of civilization.

This astrological analysis does not conclusively forecast that a mini ice age is around the corner, but the possibility of a mini ice age is strong – as far as probabilities are concerned.  If humanity is smart it would wise up now and start being serious about the ramifications of the population explosion, production gone feral and pollution way out of control before it is too late.  Today people seem more concerned about the price of gas and fuel due to rising oil prices.  This problem is insignificant compared to the prospects of a mini ice age.

Astrology does not like a vacuum.  Scorpio rules pollution and environmental sustainability.  The vacuum must be filled somehow by Scorpio content.  If it is not filled adequately with environmentally sustainable practices it must fill the hole with something else ruled by Scorpio.  Scorpio is also a Water sign but of the three Water signs in astrology, Scorpio is the Fixed Water sign. Fixed Water is analogous to ice.  Even Scorpio wants more ice if given the opportunity.

It is unlikely that in a worst case scenario involving a mini ice age that this will affect any of us except for the extremely young. This is no reason to ignore it.  However, there is a more immediate problem looming due to pollution that has the potential to affect many of us in our lifetimes.  This more immediate problem may not be as catastrophic as a mini ice age but it is still serious.  Stay tuned for the next blog on this subject.

Postscript:  Maybe it is because I am a Sagittarian that I am an optimist.  I sincerely hope that humanity will get it together to deal adequately with the problems of pollution and all the possible negative ramifications of pollution whether it is in my lifetime or not.  I am not a doomsday merchant – every day I express thanks for the wonderful gift of this life, world and universe.

 

Females, Women and Feminists in the Age of Aquarius

How will the status and quality of life develop for females in the Aquarian age? The answer is a continuation of the dramatic improvement already experienced to date. To understand why the lot of women in the Aquarian age will continue to improve, and the stages that will define these improvements, it is necessary to do some elementary dissection of the Aquarian age.

Each sign in astrology can be divided into three decans. The three decans of Aquarius are Aquarius, Gemini and Libra. However for the same reason the astrological ages move backwards through the normal order of the signs, decans are also reversed. Therefore the first decan encountered in the Aquarian age is the Libra decan that is in its formative period from 1433 to 2148. The world is currently in this formative or developing Libra period.

Libra and Cancer are the two signs most strongly associated with women. Cancer veers more to the mother figure while Libra to the lover, wife or partner but this delineation is not carved in stone. The planet Venus, the Goddess of Love, rules the sign Libra. Think of the Venus images since antiquity such as the Venus de Milo.

The developing Libra influence has been constantly promoting women since 1433, but there are distinct gear changes in the Libra decan that rapidly improve the status of females in a short period. The key steps or milestones in the path of Libra are: 1433, 1791, 1970, 2059, 2089 and 2148. These are not random dates, but dates of strong significance in the evolution of the Libra decan of the Aquarian age

[For the technical minded: 1433 marks the start of the Aquarian age and the Libra decan. 1791 marked the halfway point of he Libra decan. Halfway points are very significant. 1970 is the start of a smaller period in the Aquarian age than a decan (wheels within wheels). Each age can be divided into 12 sub-ages, and 1970 was the start of the Libra sub-age. Combined with the ongoing Libra decan this again lifts the status of Libra. 2059 marks the halfway point of the Libra sub-age. 2089 marks the start of the smaller Libra sub-age decan (within the Libra sub-age).]

It is difficult to say if any of the key dates associated with the Libra decan is more significant than the others. Probably the three most significant dates are 1791, 1970 and 2148.

1433 can be associated with Libra’s first gear. The Libra decan commenced from a standing start and so it was slow going at first. This is reflected with only a few gains by women – for example the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the reign of Queen Elizabeth in England from 1558 to 1603. Her reign was so popular it was not only known as the Elizabethan era, but also a golden age for England. Even Pocahontas gets into the act during the Libra first gear period.

Despite some isolated instances, before approximately 1791 only limited progress was made in balancing the rights and status between males and females. As 1791 drew closer, the situation definitely moved into second gear. In 1788 women gained the right to stand for election in the USA. In the following year during the French Revolution the issue of female suffrage was raised, and in 1793 the concept was agreed to in principal but this was not carried through into law. In 1792 women temporarily served in the French army. Also in France in 1792 marriage and reform laws were amended to give women equal rights (but abolished by Napoleon in 1804).

The change in gear was also dramatically displayed by the grandmother of British feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft, who published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792 and dared to refer to women’s sexuality – a taboo subject at the time!

Despite the vacillation of the French, the status of women’s rights consistently expanded throughout the 19th century. This included educational opportunities, the rights of single mothers and unmarried adult women, financial independence, inheritance rights, the ability to teach and the right to divorce. Women were granted the early right to vote at various locations around the world commencing with Pitcairn Islands in 1838, South Australia in 1861 and temporarily in the Paris Commune in 1871.

At the end of the 19th century New Zealand was the first country to grant women voting rights. This momentum continued into the 20th century with women gaining the right to vote a standard practise in most democracies in the 20th century. The whole period covering the 19th century and 20th century up to the 1960’s is termed by some as the first wave of feminism indicating that this period was a significant step forward for women in general.

The next astrological milestone was 1970 and coincided basically with the second wave of feminism or Libra in third gear. This period witnessed the Sexual Revolution as a result of relatively freely available birth control in the 1960’s. While the first wave of feminism focussed upon legal obstacles to equality, the second wave focused upon unofficial discrimination and inequalities based on sexual stereotypes and encouraged women to leave the home and develop careers. Since the 1970 women are marrying later (if at all) and having fewer or no children. The modern woman in the First World has commenced taking control of her life.

Though the status of women in most western or First World nations have dramatically improved, this advance is not uniform throughout the world. But the milestones of the evolving Libra decan of the Aquarian age indicates that at least three more significant gears are to be encountered in the next 150 years – with the next shift (into forth gear) due around 2059. What developments can be expected in the three gear shifts commencing around 2059? Though it is impossible to say what exactly will happen with the three upcoming gear shifts, some general observations can be made.

It can be expected that the improvements in the rights and status of women will strongly affect two areas. Firstly while women have generally gained the right to vote and run for office in the 20th century, most political power in the world and in each country generally remain with a male-orientated power structure. In the First World nations it can be expected that a balancing act reaches a critical point where women actually have on average approximately 50% of the power at all tiers of government, and that there are no social or other impediments discriminating against women.

Secondly the rights of women in developing and Third World nations should make a slow and steady step forward, similar to what western culture experienced in the 19th and 20th centuries. Much of this wider improvement may have to wait until post 2148. Culture is resistant to change, and some cultures are more resistant to change than others.

2148 indicates the end of the Libra decan, Libra sub-age and Libra sub-age decan. Similar to a three stage rocket, these three Libra energies propel the Libra momentum out onto the world with powerful repercussions for the following seven and eight centuries at a minimum. These seven or eight centuries under the full impact of Libra may be a mini golden age for the earth commencing midway around the next century. As the current state of the world indicates there is quite a distance to cover between now and then.

There is another very pertinent reason why women may have to take more control of the reigns of political power in the world in the coming centuries. Since the glaciers commenced melting around 14,000 years ago humans, like all living beings, have been opportunistically exploiting the environment. This was of little consequence until the last millennium. Now that humans have become like a cockroach plague upon the world, this opportunistic exploitation of the environment has become a deadly issue, in league with the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

There is no doubt that astrology indicates the rise of women, females and feminism in the coming centuries. However astrology rarely indicates why something happens – only the astrological correspondences. There is at least one very good reason why the status of women will continue to significantly evolve over the coming centuries.

The world can no longer continue down the path of opportunistic exploitation if it does not want to do irreparable damage to the environment and the welfare of future generations. The world needs nurturing in place of exploitation. Nurturing is not limited to women, but in the same way that males have traditionally taken the physically dominant role, women have taken a more nurturing role. A world requiring nurturing that will by necessity promote the role of women in society.

Astrology always indicates that for every situation there are two sides, and that any new development behaves like a pendulum. The pendulum of increasing feminist input into the world will at different times and places go to the opposite extreme. Fascist feminism will appear at some times and places. Compromise or indecision will sometimes replace decisive action when decisive action will be required. At the end of the day females are human like males and thus suffer the foibles of humans. Males can be productive and industrious, or aggressive and destructive. In extreme situations some negative consequences of feminism of one sort or another will manifest. This is the natural appearance of yin and yang in the world.

Despite some negative consequences associated with greater power and influence being handed to women in the world in the coming centuries, this is no reason to object to this new reality. The world today is basically a product of male politicians and the dual problems of nuclear proliferation and environment destruction has basically occurred under the watch of male power structure. The male power structure obviously does not work.

The world will probably need women like it has never experienced before if it is to solve the environmental tragedy of the contemporary world. There is no place for bloated armies in an environmentally sustainable world. Development at all costs cannot be left unchecked. Patriotism cannot make countries compete with each other for the scarce natural resources.

Though the next significant step in this process is not due until 2059 there are Libra hotspots when Libra will exert its charm and persuasion. The next Libra hotspot is from 2020 to 2029 (plus or minus a year or two). Seen in context, Libra is arguably the second strongest developing astrological influence after Aquarius, in the mega narrative of world history. Libra is a relatively gentle sign, and though it does not hit you over the hammer with a club to get its point across, it will get its points across, and the third decade of this century will be another small experience of Libra in action.

The Eight Most Popular Posts for Further Investigation

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SCORPIO – the Sign of the Times …. Revisited – Part 1

Generational Astrology – Introduction (Part 1)

Gemini’s Role in our Modern World (or Battle of the Brains)

Trump is Representative of the Age of Aquarius

Is Trump the New Caligula

Baby Boomers in the Age of Aquarius

Everyone wants to live at the beginning of an age.  Every half century or so someone somewhere thinks we are at the beginning of some new age, era or epoch.  The Nazis thought they were at the beginning of a glorious thousand years age under the swastika.  With the Mayan calendar finishing in 2012, many people will proclaim this the beginning of a new age and some have already claimed (erroneously) that 2012 marks the start of the Age of Aquarius.

Though we are not at the beginning of the Aquarian age, Baby Boomers are an identifiable generation that is associated with the Age of Aquarius.  Where do Baby Boomers sit in the Aquarian Age?  This is not as difficult as it sounds as there is only one sign that booms (if you exclude the boom of cannons which would make it Aries).

The best way to approach this question is to think of a clock with an hour, minute and second hand.  In the Aquarian age the hour hand points to Aquarius.  Just as in each hour there are minutes, each age has sub-ages.    The equivalent to the second hand is a micro-age.  Ages are approximately 2150 years long, sub-ages 179 years and micro-ages 15 years.

It is the second hand, pointing at micro-ages that indicate the relationship between Baby Boomers and the Age of Aquarius.  Between 1940 and 1955 was the Sagittarius micro-age with its momentum carrying over up to 1970.  The Sagittarius quasi micro-age (1948-1962), representing the peak of the Sagittarius micro-age bell-curve aligns itself remarkably well to the baby Boomer generation.  According to Wikipedia, Baby Boomers are those people born between 1946 and 1964, peaking around 1957 but plummeting from 1964 onwards due to the availability of the birth control pill.

Sagittarius is the sign that is associated with expansion, good fortune, optimism and good luck.  The Baby Boomers is the generation that far exceeded the normal population explosion in western culture both before and after this generation.  Expansionary Sagittarius aligns itself well with the Baby Boomer generation.  Sagittarius is the sign that booms – preferably an economic boom.

What can Sagittarius tell us about the Baby Boomers in general?  On the positive side it indicates that the Baby Boomers are lucky, optimistic, fortunate and have had expanding possibilities in their lives.  In addition Baby Boomers have had plenty of opportunities for overseas travel, philosophical reflection and excess materialistic resources.  On the negative side this generation has over-consumed, gained too much weight (or allowed their children to do so), devoured too many resources, overly moralistic and prefers to depend upon luck to solve problems rather than wisdom.

If we pull back from the second hand and examine the minute hand that calibrates the sub-ages, the Baby Boomers were the last generation born under the even larger boom time of the Sagittarius sub-age and overflow (1612-1791-1970) .  The Sagittarius sub-age brought to the world the Industrial Revolution and massive population explosion over the last two centuries.  The Baby Boomers are the last hurrah of this expansion gone mad.

Once the second hand moved on from Sagittarius it encountered Scorpio well and truly by the mid 1960’s.  On a larger note, the Sagittarian Sub-Age was overtaken by the influence of the Scorpio Sub-Age around 1970.  On two counts Scorpio has arrived at the Baby Boomers doorstep just as they were getting out of their diapers.  Scorpio is a very different sign than Sagittarius but the Baby Boomers have brought their innate good fortune into Scorpio territory ever since the 1960s and 70s.

Scorpio is the sign of revolution, contraction, minimalism, pollution, nuclear weapons and energy, sex, debt, instability, the world wide web, underground criminal networks and hidden power plays by politicians to name just a few associations.  The Sagittarian Baby Boomers hit the new Scorpio paradigm with the throttle full steam ahead.  This created those heady revolutionary days of the 60s and 70s where anti-war, anti-conscription and anti-government protests, demonstrations and riots were the order of the day.  Revolution was a growth industry in the 60s and 70s.

Remember when a significant number of the Baby Boomers discovered marijuana.  Their innate optimism thought it would be legalized within a few years.  They flouted sexual taboos, dropped out and created the counterculture.  They did everything in the booming extroverted way always associated with Sagittarius.  The 60’s and 70s was an optimistic Scorpio revolution of the youthful Baby Boomers in an extroverted Sagittarian manner.  Only people without materialistic concerns can drop out – you don’t see many starving Sub-Saharan Africans willingly drop out.

Since the 60s and 70s things have calmed down somewhat because at the end of the day the world has moved on from Sagittarius to Scorpio.  The Baby Boomers may not have been born at the beginning of an age, but they were early witnesses of the transition from the expansionary days of Sagittarius to the minimalist sign of Scorpio, mostly during their teenage years or early twenties.

Scorpio is a cold, brooding almost malevolent sign compared to Sagittarius, with Death as its patron saint.  In the same way that in Lord of the Rings Gandalf told Frodo that the ring wants to be found and returned to its evil master, Scorpio wants the world to contract – and in many ways.  It wants a serious drop in population, output and production but it will foster anything in its own camp.  Scorpio will promote debts (national debt, credit cards etc), financial instability, destruction and death, the world wide web, nuclear weapons and energy, genetic engineering, pollution, AIDS, the sexual revolution, instability and seeking inner truth.  For a full assessment of Scorpio see Scorpio – the Sign of the Times.

It is unlikely the Baby Boomer generation will have to deal with the full impact of what Scorpio has in mind, as Scorpio has all of the next few centuries to reveal its hand.  Baby Boomers continue to bring their sometimes groundless enthusiasm with them whenever they look to the future.  Why bother about global warming and pollution – scientist can go and invent something to solve the problems.

Will future generations idealise or curse the Baby Boomers?  They will probably look back enviously at these carefree (Sagittarian) days.  Days where a significant amount of the world’s oil reserves, that took hundreds of millions of years to create, get consumed in a matter of seconds, relatively speaking.  Days when stock markets, business opportunities and travel appeared to provide a never ending vista of possibilities and new horizons.  Jumping in a V8 and putting your foot down – a Sagittarians dream.

Baby Boomers will want to continue in their modus operandi of expansion until the day they die, but morose old Scorpio has different plans.  Scorpio wants to pull the rug out from under Sagittarius.  The fact that Scorpio will do this is unquestionable, the question is, how much success will Scorpio have in the Sagittarian Baby Boomers’ lifetimes?

One very demonstrative way Scorpio has surreptitiously insinuated its way into our lives is through the collective feeling of vulnerability.  People feel incredibly more vulnerable today.  As a result people don’t want their kids out playing in the streets and parks, they want to see what they are doing all the time.  People feel vulnerable travelling due to the spectre of terrorists – yes terrorists are ruled by Scorpio, so they are a growth industry for the next couple of centuries.

The media is on the payroll of Scorpio – any problem, death, unrest, violence and so on virtually anywhere in the world can be brought into your home in a matter of hours in full colour.  So though war and violence in general are on the decline, reportable incidences have been on a significant increase due to the enhanced ability of the media to present these issues to you in a manifold number of ways.  This is only one way Scorpio has commenced to bite, there are many more waiting.

It is unlikely that the Baby Boomer generation will want to mend its ways much at all.  A lion cannot change its spots.  The generations following the Baby Boomers have the stronger Scorpio credentials to face the serious Scorpio issues facing the world.  The Baby Boomers witnessed the arrival of a significant new (Scorpio) period in the history of the world by getting stoned, dropping out, avoiding conscription and then rolling up their sleeves and getting seriously stuck into it – pushing the world further out on the over-production plank as Sagittarius has been doing for the past few centuries.

Baby Boomers are the last generation of the old paradigm – development, expansion and consumption at all cost.  One the other hand some Baby Boomers have entered the new world of Scorpio (environmentalism, recycling and renewables).  Baby Boomers have one foot in each camp.  If Baby Boomers took their enthusiasm and optimism to face the worlds’ (Scorpio) problems and apply real solutions they may leave a more positive heritage to their descendants.  Or will Baby Boomers be remembered as the generation that consumed far more than their fair share of the worlds finite resources with no consideration for future generations.  Sagittarians can behave like pigs at the trough or they can provide positive counsel!

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

FaceBook – keep up to date with what is happening