© Terry MacKinnell 2008, 2011 All Rights Reserved
The most commonly stated urban myth about the Aquarian age is that it commenced in the 1960s or ’70s. Blogs from one end of the world to the other repeatedly discuss the arrival of the Aquarian age in those rebellious and drug-fuelled times. Just because the musical Hair commenced proclaiming in the 1960s that ‘this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius…’ does not make it so. If all the people in the world jumped up and down in unison declaring this is the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, Aquarius could not care less, even if everyone sang it in key!
The behind-the-scenes understanding of the Aquarian age, and astrological ages in general, requires some knowledge of astronomy and astrology. However, even in the astrological world, very few astrologers research the subject, while most of the other astrologers have little more knowledge on the astrological ages than the general public. The most common statement on the subject, from those few research astrologers that examine the ages, is that the previous age, the Age of Pisces, arrived with the birth of Jesus Christ. Pisces is the sign of two fish. Since early times Christians preferred the fish symbol for Christianity, so astrologers behave like Homer Simpson and say d’oh – ‘Jesus must have started the Pisces age’.
However if Jesus commenced the Pisces age, the earliest the Aquarian age can arrive is around 2150. Why? Because the cycle of ages due to precession of the equinoxes takes approximately 26,000 years to make one revolution. In the approx. 26,000 years cycle each age appears for approximately 2150 years each. Therefore if the Pisces age commenced with Jesus then the Aquarian age cannot commence before approx. 2150. Secondly, many astrologers believe that due to the haphazard sizes of the zodiacal constellation, the Pisces age must be closer to 2600 years in length as the constellation of Pisces is a large constellation on the ecliptic, and takes up more than 30 degrees – the average or standard size assigned to each zodiacal constellation. Based on this approach, many
astrologers believe the Aquarian age will not arrive until around the year 2600 – almost six centuries into the future.
The problem with the Aquarian age arriving in the middle of the 22nd or much later at the beginning of the 27th centuries is how to explain all the Aquarian
developments in the world today. Such Aquarian developments include electricity, computers, flight, space travel and democracy. All these have strong archetypal affinity to Aquarius and no relationship to Pisces. What do these have to do with the Pisces age?
To get around this awkward question the solution is easy – just state that we are approaching the cusp of the Pisces and Aquarian ages, and at the cusp there is a blurring of the two influences. Unfortunately no experienced astrologer to my knowledge has ever experienced cusps. Cusps are an urban myth popular with those members of the general public with a little knowledge of astrology and with novice astrologers who do not know any better. In over three decades of studying astrology, I have never encountered a factual explanation of cusps that justify their existence nor heard from any experienced astrologer that cusps have any validity.
The common approach to the astrological ages is a good demonstration of irrationality at work. When no justification for the arrival of the Aquarian age before 2150 can be supplied, astrologers have invented a solution that no one has proved or can substantiate. In past times this is called ‘building your house on sand rather than rock’. The house is going to fall down if built upon the sand. Cusps are made of sand.
What else is sand here? Something very simple and totally overlooked. There is no doubt that Christianity has a relationship with Pisces. Pisces shares the fish symbol with Christianity and Pisces is also associated with mysticism and mystical religions, and religions based on salvation. But the BIG question is, why
should the Pisces age begin with the arrival of the avatar of Western culture? Who said that ages must begin with a famous person? What about Buddha or
Zoroaster, why could not the Pisces age be already in place when Buddha appeared around six centuries earlier?
The whole mess of an Aquarian age not arriving before 2150 or much later is dependent on the unsubstantiated assumption that Jesus began the Pisces age. When I have confronted some astrologers about this anomaly their eyes turn blank and their aura recedes because astrologers are not accustomed to think about the ages in general and the Aquarian age in particular. Astrologers are deep thinkers, but not when it comes to the ages. The study of the astrological ages is one area in astrology where astrologers can dream up all manner of unsubstantiated nonsense and pretend it is true. If this is how astrologers behave, no wonder the urban myths on the Aquarian age are in lala land.
If the Aquarian age arrived, say at 1970, then the Pisces age should have arrived at around 181 BC (1970 AD – 2150 = 181 BC). What happened around 181 BC to indicate a major historical shift in gears? Nothing! There is no reason to believe that the Pisces age arrived around 181 BC. However this does not mean that 181 BC was not in the Pisces age.
One of the main reasons that astrologers, and many members of the general public, have a problem aligning astrological ages with history is that, by and large,
astrologers and the general public are not historians. For the historical-challenged (i.e. most people), the revolutionary fervent around the 1960s and 70s was strongly evident. Yes there were bohemians well before this time, and beatniks appeared in the 1950s but the intensity of youthful revolutionary passion in the 60s and 70s was awesome in comparison. However the historical problem with a new age arriving in the 60s and 70s is that the revolutionary fervent occurred in a culture in progress that has been developing for many centuries.
Historians claim that the modern world is the result of many significant changes that have their seed around the 15th century – often called the Early
Modern Period. Even Wikipedia states that:
modernity has been associated with cultural and intellectual movements of 1436—1789 and extending to the 1970s or later
Some commentators state that the world has recently entered the era of postmodernism, and some claim that we are now in the period of post-postmodernism. The common denominator of Early Modern, modern, postmodernism and even post-postmodernism is that these are all aspects of modernity. The modern world commenced unfolding in the 15th century. Along the way, many significant and major developments have occurred within the unfolding of the modern world, but they are all one continuum. Most people are unaware of the significant historical events that occurred and began
in the 15th century.
The upshot of all this is that from a simplistic and obvious point of view the Age of Aquarius has not only arrived – it arrived in the 15th century! Another reason why astrologers are unaware of this reality (apart from a lack of historical perspective) is that for over the last 2100 years, the calibration technique adopted by astrologers to determine the astrological ages has been incorrect. Many of the techniques of the ancients have been found faulty, and from the 15th
century onwards, scientists and academics have turned upside down ancient science and replaced ancient approximations or incorrect approaches with
approaches based on evidence and logic (empiricism). Until recently, the calibration technique adopted by the ancients to measure the arrival of the
astrological ages such as the Age of Aquarius has not been closely examined.
Though the Aquarian age did not arrive in the 1960s and 70s, an important point within the Aquarian age did occur in 1970. Each age contains 12 sub-ages of around 179 years. In 1970, the Scorpio sub-age came to its end and simultaneously achieved its highest power. Both Aquarius and Scorpio are associated with revolution – so at a Scorpio high point around the 1970s, revolution will be very powerful.
For more details of the Scorpio sub-age, refer to SCORPIO – the Sign of the Times.
Demystifying the Aquarian Age 