For those readers of this blog that are interested in diving into the deep end of the astrological ages, my first book on the astrological ages will hopefully be published later in 2010. It has been a writing project in progress for three years and it will provide a definitive explanation of the astrological ages, the mechanics of the astrological ages, and some important divisions of the astrological ages based on decanates (decans or one-third of an age). Most of the content is devoted to the correlation of the astrological ages to historical developments over the last 12,000 years.
Some readers of this blog may not want to wait until later in 2010 for the book. Therefore I have produced a pdf version of the first ten chapters of Part 1 of the book (including the preface, two appendices, and glossary) for $US5 a copy and available at macro-astrology.com
The following is extracted from the beginning of Chapter 1 of the draft version of the new book:
The musical Hair proudly proclaimed in the late 1960s that ‘this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius’. Since then the Age of Aquarius has become part of our cultural milieu to the extent that most westerners have an opinion on the Age of Aquarius, including those who are against astrology. Occasionally when I express to someone that the Age of Aquarius arrived within a few years of 1433 AD, the response is usually one of amazement and sometimes hostility. The most common response is along the lines: “Isn’t the Age of Aquarius just starting around now or soon?” This is because the ages, or more specifically the Age of Aquarius, have entered into the realm of contemporary mythology.
On any day usually over ten new references to the Age of Aquarius are found somewhere on the web, and each week a number of newspaper articles from around the world will reference it.[1] They commonly assume that the start of the Aquarian age coincided with the 1960s and 70s rebellious youth, hippies and appearance of the counter culture, alternative culture or New Age movement. The second assumption in these newspaper articles (but particularly noticeable in New Age, psychic or mystical websites) is that the Aquarian age will usher in some kind of utopia, higher consciousness or superior age. Many concepts are associated with the Age of Aquarius and they fascinate idealists and dreamers. Unfortunately, the information that is broadcast throughout western media and books accounts for less than one percent of the true reality of the astrological ages. The Age of Aquarius sparks idealistic concepts and interpretations without any recourse to research, substantiation or any supporting evidence. Some astrologers show greater knowledge and expertise on the subject but they also fail to agree on the concrete details of the astrological ages.
What is the Age of Aquarius and what is its meaning? What came before it? How long does it last? When exactly does the Age of Aquarius start and how long is its dawn? Is there any connection between the ages and the common astrological sun-signs? For example, will someone born with Aquarius strong in their horoscope handle the new Aquarian age better than people without this Aquarius? Despite the acceptance of the Age of Aquarius into our cultural heritage, very little is known about it by the general public. Even astrologers don’t fare much better. It is commonly expressed that the Age of Aquarius will usher in a new age of peace and harmony. This statement assumes that the age that Aquarius will replace was negative or somehow lower in standard than Aquarius. The age before the Aquarian age is the Pisces age. Is the zodiacal sign Pisces bad and Aquarius good? Not in modern astrology but traditional or earlier forms of astrology did assign positiveness and negativity to different signs and planets.
Each zodiacal sign is a collection of positive and negative archetypes, and some signs are more positive or negative than others. As a new age replaces an older age, a new set of positive and negative archetypes replaces the old set of positive and negative archetypes – possibly with a mildly different ratio of positiveness to negativity. Nevertheless, there is a cultural expectation that a new and bright dawning of the Aquarian age is going to bring to the world an utopia without wars, greed and corruption. And that small communities will live an organic existence in this mythical semi-medieval paradise, at one with the environment and cosmic forces. The Aquarian age is expected to be far more positive than the former Pisces age, but this implies that Aquarians in society would demonstrate greater achievements or positivism in their lives compared to Pisces people. To my knowledge, this has never been the case. Many people in western society expect that a soon to arrive new Aquarian age will correct all the ills and problems of the world. Culture is not rational and people tend to cling to their cultural values like a security blanket. Acknowledging that the Aquarian age arrived over 500 years ago undermines that cultural expectation and suggests that the utopia associated with the Aquarian age is a fantasy. This hard reality is fiercely resisted.
The situation is little better among astrologers who also fall to the cultural expectation of an Aquarian age utopia. Very few astrologers research or study the ages and, among those that do, there is very little agreement about the ages and the Age of Aquarius specifically. The purpose of this book is to answer the unanswered questions of the ages to anyone who is interested based on research stretching over two decades. The astrological ages are truly fascinating as a new reference point for history and current world developments and ultimately may appeal more to historians than astrologers.
The material in this book is controversial to many astrologers due to its radical and innovative approach to the ages. For over two thousands years, astrologers have followed the lead of an Ancient Greek astronomer, Hipparchus (c.160-125 BC) as the initial authority on the ages. This situation has parallels in the scientific world. Until the Renaissance, Ancient Greek and Roman scientists such as Aristotle, Galen and Ptolemy were the accepted authorities in their fields. Once European scientists from the Renaissance onwards started testing their theories, they discovered that experiments failed to confirm many of their claims. The introduction of empirical experiments from the Renaissance onwards resulted in the modern scientific revolution. The position Hipparchus took in relation to the ages has not undergone the same thorough testing until now. This major oversight by astrologers in the field of the ages has prolonged a significant error Hipparchus unwittingly made. This is not an implied criticism of astrologers, as astrologers have not had the benefit of government funded research, unlike their distant cousins in academia over the last 500 years. Without funding, astrological research based on the continuation of an antiquated approach to the astrological ages is understandable.
This book focuses upon three critical areas involving the ages. Firstly, the correlation between periods of time based on the ages and the corresponding historical events based mainly upon traditional history. Secondly, the accurate assignment of dates for the cusp of the ages to within only a few years margin of error. Therefore, when I state that the Age of Aquarius arrived in 1433 AD, the error range is 1431-1433 (i.e. two years). In contrast, there is a huge variation of thousands of years for the possible start of each age among astrologers. For example, Nicholas Campion produced a list of expected dates for the arrival of the Aquarian age that is over six pages long and ranges from 1447 (a slightly inaccurate date that I supplied some years ago) to 3621 AD.[2] Thirdly, the emphasis will be taken away from the ages as homogenous periods and much attention will be placed on historical developments within ages that apply to only portions or specific parts of ages. Ages are approximately 2,150 to 2,160 years long and are not a constant figure. At this point of the cycle of ages at least, each age is slightly shorter in length compared to the previous age.
[1] Information provided by Google Alerts for the period 12 – 19 Nov 2007
[2] The Book of World Horoscopes, Pgs 489-495
Demystifying the Aquarian Age 