Libra micro-age and overflow (April 1627 – May 1642 – April 1657)

This is a ‘full size’ 30 year Libra period being the Libra MA&OF (April 1627 – May 1642 – April 1657) and is the second of this size in the Libra age-decan (1433 – 2149). The most significant influence for this Libra period was dour old Capricorn, and its negative influence upon gay Libra is readily identifiable in many of the historical events of this period – especially the absence of notable women.  This Libra period fell under the shadow of the Capricorn sub-age overflow (1612 – 1791).

As to be expected, some major conflicts affected this Libra period and the major conflict of note is the British Civil Wars (1639 – 1653) and therefore closely shadowing the Libra MA&OF (1627 – 1657).  The wars included rebellions, civil wars and invasions with the most important being the English Civil War which ended when the English parliamentarian army won followed by the execution of the king, the abolition of the monarchy, and the founding of the Commonwealth of England which lasted until 1660 – only a few years past the end of this Libra period. [1] No English king had ever been previously executed.  The English Civil War, similar to the American Civil War, was a major event in the history of the UK.  Family was against family, and in all regions of Great Britain, the population was fairly evenly split in their loyalties to the crown or parliament.

Some historians claim that this civil war was the result of the arrival of the Renaissance into England which changed the balance of power, but governments tend to lag behind such changes at their peril.  The Puritans played a decisive role, and the Puritans were energized Protestants, and Protestants do represent the arrival of the Age of Aquarius into Europe as many of Protestant features invoke Aquarius such as anti the pope (anti the magnificent Leo leader), and the fact that the Protestant cults usually had strong democratic features as opposed to the hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church modelled after the government of Ancient Rome. 

Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658) was the head of state (Lord Protector) under the new commonwealth.  However his approach quickly fell out of favor after his death and his corpse was subsequently dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded. Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in British and Irish history, considered a regicidal dictator by some, and a military dictator by Winston Churchill, a class revolutionary by Leon Trotsky, and a hero of liberty by John Milton.  Cromwell was a Puritan who used his political power to actively promote the suppression of vice and encouraged virtue.[2]  Cromwell’s main generational sign was Aquarius, and his more fine-tuned generation was an Aquarius-Capricorn generation with Aquarius providing the revolutionary spirit and Capricorn the conservative Puritanism.

People today just do not understand the excitement unleashed by the Protestant revolution and arrival of the Age of Science early in the Age of Aquarius.  These excited people were able to seize the government of England for a while, and stamp out the monarchy like it was a cigarette which provided the first Aquarius revolution in the new age.  However, Aquarius is always detrimental to the UK as the UK has Leo high in its astrological signature.  It did not take long for the monarchy to return and Aquarius’ revolutionary zeal headed to North America!

A number of developments occurred due to the English Civil War with close ties to Libra.  In 1641 English law made witchcraft a capital crime (Capricorn and Libra) and a few years later in 1644 the first witch-hunter made his career in the eastern counties of England. In 1642 the English Parliament ordered the closure of all theatres in London, effectively ending the era of English Renaissance theatre established in the previous Libra period and followed by the banning of all stage plays in theatres anywhere in the country due to the stern approach to life adopted by the Puritans.  The Taliban, ISIS and ISIL were merely following in the footsteps of European fascism from earlier centuries.

Libra the balance may have archetypally influenced the appearance of the Levellers, a political movement during the English Civil War (1642–1651) with (Libra) justice strongly represented in its manifesto – popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller philosophy was its emphasis on equal natural rights.  They were not the only ones going down this path.

The Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers was formed in 1648 from ‘divine insight’ and as a Protestant Christian cult, its relevance to this Libra period is its opposition to (Aries) war and elevation of women.  In the 1650s, individual Quaker women prophesied and preached publicly, developed charismatic personae and spread the word. This practice was bolstered by the movement’s firm concept of spiritual equality for men and women. Thus the Quakers were unwittingly in service to Libra (and the spirit of Aquarius).  Interestingly, early Quakers disliked paganism so they refused to use the usual names of the days of the week, since they were derived from the names of pagan deities (planetary gods) and they refused to celebrate Christmas because they believed it was based on pagan festivities – which is true as the early Christian church borrowed Saturnalia from the Romans and rebadged it as Christmas (the general consensus of historians is that Jesus was not born in December).[3]  Only a few years past this Libra period in 1662 Quakers were persecuted for a time in the UK and American persecution commenced in 1656, only a year before the end of this Libra period, and four Quakers were actually hanged in 1660 in Boston.[4]

Libra’s connection to jurisprudence is again clearly demonstrated with the publication of a series of legal treatises The Institutes of the Lawes of England which were written and published between 1628 and 1644. Widely recognized as a foundational document for English common law, they have been cited in over 70 cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, including several landmark cases including Roe v. Wade (1973), where The Institutes were cited as evidence that under old English common law, an abortion performed before quickening was not an indictable offence. An earlier case in 1895 referred to The Institutes for their definition of monopolies.[5]

The publication in 1644 of Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England by the English poet John Milton who strongly opposed censorship is amongst history’s most influential and impassioned philosophical defenses of the principle of a right to freedom of speech and expression. Many of its expressed principles have formed the basis for modern justifications.  Milton has been acclaimed as the “greatest English author”, and he is regarded “as one of the preeminent writers in the English language”. John Milton also promoted the legitimacy of divorce publishing The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce in 1643 which was considered heretical at the time.  Libra’s quest for justice is again displayed.

Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) was an English philosopher who is considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. He is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory.  Social contract definitely has a Libran tinge and the main argument is that individuals have consented, one way or another, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order. Hobbes was an early exponent of this balanced argument.[6]

Colonial America contributed to Libra even at this extremely early stage. In 1628 Puritans settled Salem, which later became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.  In 1629 around 350 English Puritans sailed from England to Salem, to settle in the Massachusetts Bay Colony which was granted a Royal Charter in the following year and it became a self-governing entity.  The following year brought another 700 passengers including Anne Bradstreet, America’s first poet of significance and who in 1646, became a founding mother of Andover Parish (modern-day North Andover), Massachusetts.

1630 saw the settling of Boston and a group of emigrants arrived at Southampton Hundred, on the James River in Virginia.  The first governor was appointed to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631 with the first English settlement in Maryland and in the following year Charles I of England issued a charter for the colony of Maryland.  Also in 1631, the Dutch West India Company started a settlement of the Delaware River.   In 1634 a group from the Plymouth Colony settled in Windsor, Connecticut, making it the first settlement in the state.  In 1635 Roger Williams (theologian) founded Rhode Island. And such was the rush to the colonies, in 1637 King Charles I of England issued a proclamation, attempting to stem emigration to the North American colonies.

In 1637 Elizabeth Poole became the first woman to found a town in the Americas – Taunton, Massachusetts.  In the following year, Anne Hutchinson was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for heresy, and moved to Rhode Island.  In 1643 the New England Confederation (also known as the United Colonies of New England) was formed as a military alliance comprising the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Saybrook (Connecticut), and New Haven. Its primary purpose was to unite the Puritan colonies in support of the church, and for defense against the American Indians and the Dutch colony of New Netherland. It was the first milestone on the long road to colonial unity.  Interestingly, even at this early stage, the nascent American psyche was on display as John Quincy Adams remarked two centuries later:

“Its history, like that of other confederacies, presents a record of incessant discord – of encroachments by the most powerful party upon the weaker members, and of disregard, by all the separate members, of the conclusions adopted by the whole body. Still the main purpose of the union was accomplished.”[7]

The Pisces American psyche is aptly demonstrated in the above statement.

In 1652, Rhode Island passed the first law in North America making slavery illegal.[8]  In 1655 John Casor, became the first legally recognized slave, as a result of a civil case.  He was the first person of African descent in the Thirteen Colonies to be declared as a slave for life.  His master was perversely a freed African-American and the Virginian court sustained the right of free blacks to own slaves.  Laws racializing slavery hardened during Casor’s lifetime and after this Libra period in 1662, the Virginia Colony made a ruling that children of enslaved mothers would be born into slavery, regardless of their father’s race or status. This was in contradiction to English common law for English subjects, which based a child’s status on that of their father.[9] However, this does shift the emphasis to Libra even if it is perverse!

One of the earliest voices for modern democratic ideals in the USA was pioneered by Roger Williams (1603 – 1683), the founder of what would become the Colony of Rhode Island.  Though he was a Puritan minister, he was also a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with Native Americans, and he was one of the first abolitionists as he organized the first attempt to prohibit slavery in any of England’s North American colonies. His views were far too liberal for the conservative Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay authorities and in 1635, he was convicted of sedition and heresy. They declared that he was spreading “diverse, new, and dangerous opinions”.  He was considered an important historical figure of religious liberty at the time of American independence, and he was a key influence on the thinking of the Founding Fathers.[10]  Even at this early formative time, with Roger Williams we see the divergence of American culture between modern and medieval in line with Pisces, represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions.  Pisces is the number one sign for the USA and this Pisces-divergent culture remains in place and recently demonstrated by the presidency of Donald Trump.

The discovery of Tasmania (an island south of the Australian mainland) and New Zealand in 1642 by Abel Tasman (1603 – 1659) followed by the charting of northern and western Australia (New Holland) two years later suggests a Libra connection to Australia and New Zealand especially as these voyages occurred at the pinnacle of this Libra period.

China was also a major focus within this Libra period. In 1627 the Manchus took advantage of Korea’s war-weakened state due to the unsuccessful Japanese invasion in the previous Libra period and invaded in 1627 and 1637, and this was even before the Manchus had taken over China.  In 1637 a Chinese encyclopedist published Exploitation of the Works of Nature which is considered one of the most valuable encyclopedias of classical China.  In 1641 a massive epidemic struck in northern and central China with some local areas and towns having 90% of the local populace wiped out, which may have contributed to the fall of the Ming Dynasty just three years later. In 1644 the invading Qing army captured Beijing marking the beginning of Manchu rule over China proper.  The Ming dynasty had ruled over China from 1368 to 1644 while the Qing dynasty survived until 1912 (also in a Libra period).  This major and highly significant political development in China supports a close connection between Libra and China.  However, the 1368 commencement of the Qing dynasty occurred in a Cancer sub-age decan (1314 – 1373) and Cancer appears to be the most powerful sign associated with China. 

On the artistic level, in 1642, Rembrandt finished his painting, The Night Watch – the most substantial of the important group portrait commissions which he received in this period.  In the decade following the Night Watch, Rembrandt’s paintings gave way to the use of frontal lighting and larger and more saturated areas of color. At the same time, there was a marked decrease in painted works in favor of etchings and drawings of landscapes. In these graphic works natural drama eventually made way for quiet Dutch rural scenes.  Libra’s rulership of parks and gardens is coming into play! 

Rubens’s (1557 – 1640) later period coincided with the first part of this Libra period.  He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Between 1627 and 1630, Rubens’s diplomatic career was particularly active, and he moved between the courts of Spain and England in an attempt to bring (Libra) peace between the Spanish Netherlands and the United Provinces. Rubens was knighted by Charles I of England in 1630. In 1628 He began a renewed study of Titian’s paintings, copying numerous works.  By 1629 he completed one of his most important works – the Allegory of Peace and War which illustrates the artist’s lively concern for peace. His international reputation with collectors and nobility abroad continued to grow during this decade, and one prominent example was The Assumption of the Virgin Mary (1625–6) for the Cathedral of Antwerp. In 1630, four years after the death of his first wife, 53-year-old Rubens married his deceased wife’s 16-year-old niece, who inspired the voluptuous figures in many of his paintings from the 1630s, including The Feast of Venus, The Three Graces and The Judgement of Paris with his wife the model for various depictions of Venus including sculptures.[11]   

Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599 – 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in his homeland and Italy.  He is best known for his portraits of the aristocracy, most notably Charles I (before he was beheaded), and his family and associates. Van Dyck became the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years.  King Charles I was the keenest collector of art among the Stuart kings, and saw painting as a way of promoting his elevated view of the monarchy (this was the time of Capricorn). In 1628, just inside this Libra period, he purchased the fabulous collection that the Duke of Mantua was forced to sell.  Van Dyck remained in contact with the English court and helped King Charles’s search for paintings.  In England he developed a version of his style which combined a relaxed elegance and ease with an understated authority in his subjects which was to dominate English portrait-painting to the end of the 18th century. Many of these portraits have a lush (Libran) landscape background.[12]

Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643) was an Italian musician and priest who composed both secular and sacred music, and was a pioneer in the development of opera – he is considered a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance and Baroque periods of music history.  This Libra period mainly coincided with Monteverdi’s late flowering period (1637 – 1643) commencing with the opening of the first public opera house in Europe at San Cassiano in 1637, which stimulated the city’s musical life and coincided with a new burst of the composer’s activity.  By 1656, the first opera house opened in London. Monteverdi’s contribution to opera at this period is notable and is credited for the rebirth of theatrical music and that “he will be sighed for in later ages, for his compositions will surely outlive the ravages of time.”[13] Monteverdi’s drive may have come from the fact he was born of an Aries-Aries or Aries-Pisces generation.

Molière (a stage name) (1621/2 – 1673), was a French playwright, actor and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world literature. He turned to acting in 1643 only one year past the peak of this Libra period.  His extant works include comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie-Française more often than those of any other playwright today. His influence is such that the French language is often referred to as the “language of Molière”. Despite his own preference for tragedy, Molière became famous for his farces. He began to write full, five-act comedies in verse in 1654 [14] towards the end of this Libra period which he outlived.  His attraction to farce may be explained by the fact he was born in a Scorpio-Scorpio generation and his troupe did go bankrupt at one stage.

Though highly notable females seem absent in this period, an abstract focus did prevail.  In 1629 a Chinese emperor of the Ming dynasty reiterated the state prohibition against female infanticide.  However, as perhaps an example of oriental yin yang, the same year actresses were banned from the stage in Japan. 

In 1631, the death in childbirth of the Mughal emperor’s wife caused the emperor to commission the Taj Mahal at Agra, as a mausoleum for her. Constructed from 1632 to 1653 – it also became the emperor’s tomb (at a cost of about $US956 million in today’s money).  The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage” and it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative.[15]  It could be dedicated to Libra both as a work of art and beauty plus an expression of love in marriage!

One of the 7 wonders of world and one of the major tourist attraction of India. Agra is synonymous with that monument of love, which is the stunning Taj Mahal and it is surrounded by beautiful lush green gardens and a river in backward Yamuna.By Kristian Bertel – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99288433

The elevation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Queen of Genoa in 1637 is again in the Libra camp. And finally, Libra’s ruling planet Venus gets some attention in 1639 when the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks made the first successful prediction and observation of a transit of Venus.

Cafes breed (Libra) socializing, and the appearance of cafes in Europe coincided with this Libra period with the first café in Europe opened in Venice in 1640.  Coffee drinking became popular in Paris by 1643 and England saw its first coffeehouse open in 1651 and such were their popularity, by 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England.

Finally, Libra’s connection to all things beautiful naturally must include flowers, and so it is fitting that in 1637 saw the collapse of Tulip mania in the Dutch Republic. At the peak of tulip mania, in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled crafts worker. Another example suggests that one tulip bulb was bartered for 12 acres (5 hectares) of land.  It is believed to have been the first recorded speculative bubble and bust in history but it did not create an economic crisis for the Dutch Republic, which at the time was the world’s leading economic and financial power.[16]

Finally, the 1656 invention of the pendulum clock by Christiaan Huygens is interesting because 1656 is heavily influenced by the Capricorn sub-age overflow, Capricorn sub-age decan overflow as well as the Capricorn quasi sub-age – in other words, Capricorn the sign of time and clocks, was incredibly strong when the pendulum clock was invented.  However, the swing motion of the pendulum invokes Libra!  Pendulum clocks were the most precise timekeeper, accounting for its widespread use until the 1930s and 40s when they were overshadowed by less-expensive, synchronous, electric clocks[17] in the Capricorn micro-age and overflow (1925 – 1940 – 1955).  In my youth I can remember when I stayed at my grandparents’ house, I used to go to sleep every night listening to the half hour and hour chimes of their mantelpiece pendulum clock which they wound up every day.

The most notable aspect of this Libra MA&OF (April 1627 – May 1642 – April 1657) is the lack of notable women.  There would have been some notable women that fail to register with us today, but there is a plausible astrological reason why highly placed notable women are largely absent in this larger than average Libra period.  The following list displays the Libra periods since the start of the Age of Aquarius in 1433 that have been investigated to date in this Libra series:

Pisces-Capricorn sub-age (1433 – 1612)

• Libra micro-age and overflow (March 1463 – March 1478 – March 1493)
• Libra micro-age decan and overflow (December 1527 – November 1537)
• Libra micro-age decan and overflow (August 1582 – July 1592)

Capricorn-Sagittarius sub-age (1612 – 1791)

• Libra micro-age and overflow (April 1627 – May 1642 – April 1657)

With the first three Libra periods located in Pisces-Capricorn sub-age (1433 – 1612), Pisces overshadows Capricorn.  The current Libra period however is located in the Capricorn- Sagittarius sub-age (1612 – 1791) where Capricorn is the major player.  The current Libra period is the first in the Capricorn-Sagittarius sub-age overflow and is buffeted by the strongest Capricorn influence of all the Libra periods investigated to date.  Capricorn is naturally anti-feminine due to Cancer being the opposite sign to Capricorn – and Cancer shares with Libra a strong association to females.  Furthermore, the first sub-age decan in the Capricorn- Sagittarius sub-age (1612 – 1791) is the Leo sub-age decan (1612 – 1672) and Leo is male-orientated. Naturally, the darkness of Capricorn did not limit the accusation of witchcraft against women, if anything, it magnified this horror.

The major conflict of note was the English Civil War resulting in the execution of the king and the establishment of a commonwealth in England that also banned anything frivolous or fun, as Capricorn promotes a stern authoritarian lifestyle.  This is why all theatres were closed in London in 1642.  Nevertheless Libra inspires justice, and this can be seen with the Levellers promoting modern liberal ideals – well ahead of their time.  The Quakers also promoted equality of the sexes.  The publication of The Institutes of the Lawes of England clarified many aspects of English common law that spread to the USA and other countries.  Other legal perspectives from John Milton and Thomas Hobbes pushed the boundaries of English medieval laws towards modernity.

This Libra period saw great activity in North America, especially New England or what would become the hub of the northern states in the USA and suggests that in Pisces USA, one of the fish has strong Libran qualities of justice and equality.  These new settlements include: Salem, Boston, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.  The creation of the United Colonies of New England was a forerunner for the creation of the revolution USA.  The seeds of the American Civil War were put in place in this Libra period when Rhode Island passed the first law in North America making slavery illegal.

The first extensive European exploration of Australia and New Zealand in this period also suggests that inclusion of Libra into the astrological signatures for these countries (and Canada whose name was coined in the previous Libra period) provided future Libra periods confirm this assessment.

China had an exceptional development with the fall the Ming dynasty replaced by the Manchu dynasty in 1644.  The publication of the Exploitation of the Works of Nature in 1637 provides an invaluable insight into the Chinese world of this period. However, before the Ming collapsed they did reiterate the state prohibition against female infanticide

Probably the most notable development in this period was on the artistic side.  This Libra period captured key periods in the life of extremely famous artists and musicians such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Monteverdi, and Molière with Rubens the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition and Van Dyck dictating portraiture for the next 150 years. Monteverdi virtually created opera and Molière as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world literature.

Appropriately one of the most famous marriages in history occurred in this Libra period with the death in India of the Mughal emperor’s wife and his construction of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world – the Taj Mahal.  As a temple (ceremonial structure), ruled by Capricorn, it is better known than his wife to whom the temple is dedicated. Though this period is bereft of famous females, the elevation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Queen of Genoa in 1637 does make an attempt.  Venus (the ruler of Libra) gets a focus when the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks made the first successful prediction and observation of a transit of Venus

Coffee promotes (Libra) social interaction and coffee made its move in this Libra period with the first European café in 1640. Libra’s association with flowers does see its manifestation with the boom of the tulip market in the Dutch Republic, followed by its bust and setting the precedent for economic cycles over the following centuries including the 21^st century.  Finally the invention in 1656 of the pendulum clock aligned with Capricorn, the ruler of time, is a fitting end to this review.

Previous Libra periods Examined:

Libra micro-age decan and overflow (Aug 1582 – Jul 1592)

Libra micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 1527 – Nov 1537)

Libra micro-age and overflow (Mar 1463 – Mar 1493)

References

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[1] Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Wikipedia, Retrieved 04:55, January 21, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wars_of_the_Three_Kingdoms&oldid=1000880639

[2] Oliver Cromwell, Wikipedia, Retrieved 04:45, February 25, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cromwell&oldid=1008321447

[3] Date of birth of Jesus, Wikipedia, Retrieved 04:11, March 6, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Date_of_birth_of_Jesus&oldid=1010445690

[4] Quakers, Wikipedia, Retrieved 06:30, February 24, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quakers&oldid=1007761337

[5] Institutes of the Lawes of England, Wikipedia, Retrieved 04:17, January 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Institutes_of_the_Lawes_of_England&oldid=986080859

[6] Thomas Hobbes, Wikipedia, Retrieved 06:34, February 23, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Hobbes&oldid=1007665084

[7]Quincy Adams, John, ed. (1843). The New England Confederacy A Discourse delivered before the Massachusetts Historical Society, at Boston, on the 29th of May 1843; In Celebration of the Second Centennial of that Event. Charles C. Little and James Brown.

[8]“Time and Place”, . Slavery and the Making of America. Thirteen. 2004. Retrieved 2018-02-24. Rhode Island passes laws restricting slavery and forbidding enslavement for more than 10 years.

[9] John Casor, Wikipedia, Retrieved 05:26, January 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Casor&oldid=1002559074

[10] Roger Williams, Wikipedia, Retrieved 03:08, February 24, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roger_Williams&oldid=1005846600

[11] Peter Paul Rubens, Wikipedia, Retrieved 06:19, February 23, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Paul_Rubens&oldid=1007461296

[12] Anthony van Dyck, Wikipedia, Retrieved 06:50, February 23, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_van_Dyck&oldid=1004592942

[13] Claudio Monteverdi, Wikipedia,  Retrieved 07:12, February 23, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Claudio_Monteverdi&oldid=1004321005

[14] Molière, Wikipedia, Retrieved 07:28, February 23, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moli%C3%A8re&oldid=1005804549

[15] Taj Mahal, Wikipedia, Retrieved 04:34, January 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taj_Mahal&oldid=1002938914

[16] Tulip mania, Wikipedia, Retrieved 04:43, January 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tulip_mania&oldid=1002054053

[17] Pendulum clock, Wikipedia, Retrieved 06:53, February 24, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pendulum_clock&oldid=999057862

Aquarian Age Myths, Fallacies & Distortions

© Terry MacKinnell 2008, 2016 Under the Berne Convention

Why do people project Pisces’ archetypes onto the Age of Aquarius?  Most astrologers claim that Jesus commenced the Pisces age and most people believe the Age of Aquarius commenced in the 1960s and 70s.  However how can both these facts be true if ages are at least 2150 years in length?  Most projections of what we can expect in the Age of Aquarius is a paradisiacal age free from all the problems that have encumbered the world in recent millennia.  Are your Aquarian friends perfect?  Do they stand out as superior to the other 12 signs of the zodiac?  Why should the Age of Aquarius be more positive than any other age?

The Age of Aquarius has become an urban legend ever since the theatrical production of Hair proclaimed “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius ….”  Most newspapers and comments on blogs clearly relate the dawning of the Age of Aquarius to the 1960’s and 70’s when Hair first appeared.  Many people are so disappointed with the direction the world has taken since those inspiring times (for some) of the 60’s and 70’s to the point where the sentiment has become `where is the goddamned Age of Aquarius anyway?’  Some journalists even state that the Age of Aquarius was a 20 year phenomenon applying only the 1960s and 70s and has now died an ignoble death.

This is a poster for the musical Hair.

While people are ready to accept an Aquarian age commencing in the 60’s and 70’s as a fait accompli, rarely does anyone check the sources of such claims about the Aquarian age.  The song’s lyrics contain the following:

When the moon is in the Seventh House
and Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

While it is certainly melodious, from an astrological perspective it is absolute nonsense.  The position of the moon in the seventh house, eleventh house or any house has no relationship in any way with the Age of Aquarius.  Jupiter aligns with Mars (i.e. a conjunction) every couple of years or so and this has no relationship to the Age of Aquarius either.  There is no reason why the Aquarius song should maintain astrological integrity due to poetic license.  However this poetic license has continued unabated in the general public’s perception and many astrologers of this urban legend.

The above stanza is followed by the following lyrics. In addition, I have underlined the key word or words in each line and assign them the astrological sign that is most commonly associated with the word or phrase.  The following is the result:

Then peace will guide the planets  – Libra
And love will steer the stars  – Libra

Harmony and understanding  –  Libra, Gemini?
Sympathy and trust abounding  – Pisces, Pisces
Golden living dreams of visions  – Leo, Pisces
Mystic crystal revelation  – Pisces, Pisces, Pisces
And the mind’s true liberation  – Aquarius?
As our hearts go beating through the night  – Leo
We dance unto the dawn of day  – Pisces
To be the bearers of the water  – Aquarius
Our light will lead the way  – Leo
We are the spirit of the age of Aquarius  – Pisces
Angelic illumination  – Pisces
Rising fiery constellation  – Aries
Travelling our starry courses
Guided by the cosmic forces  – Pisces
Oh, care for us; Aquarius  – Pisces

Removing repetitive choruses and lines the archetypal information that the song is telling us indicates 11 instances of Pisces, Libra 3, Leo 3, Aquarius 2, Aries 1 and Gemini 1.  Of the 21 instances from the above lyrics that can be related to astrological archetypes, 52% relate to Pisces and 10% to Aquarius.  Even if some of the above archetypal assignations are incorrect, much the same result of a great focus upon Pisces remains.

The lyrics to a song, like poetry, can engage in poetic license.  Poetic license has definitely occurred in the song Aquarius because only 10% of it is directed towards Aquarius while over half is directed to Pisces.  So why is a song that is directed at the Age of Aquarius full of Pisces metaphors?

This issue has an extra edge as the Age of Aquarius follows the age of Pisces.  On a simplistic level what this song indicates is that our collective view of the new Aquarian age is so corrupted by our entrenched Pisces sensibilities which will not allow us to accurately project Aquarius.  When we wish to project Aquarius we project Pisces. Why, because in the first half of the Age of Aquarius at least, the momentum from the Pisces age is stronger than Aquarius which is the new kid on the block and has not yet had time to age and mature.

The poetic license that exists in Aquarius does not end with this song.  It has continued unabated over the last three and a half decades with the result that over half the projections of the new Aquarian age actually describe Pisces.  Though anecdotal, my observation is that over 90% of the projections of the Aquarian age relate to Pisces.

For example, take the following excerpt was obtained online in 2008:

 This millennium came in with great expectation. Many people thought it was a new age that would usher in the age of Aquarius, the water bearer and the bearer of spirituality. As a result of this transformation the foundational western belief, dualism, would be shaken and give way to a more holistic approach to living. Spirituality would be available to everyone experientially and we would all be enlightened. Perhaps this will happen, but when we take a look around the world right now it’s obvious that it really hasn’t happened yet.[i]

The underlined text in the above is those keywords that draw upon Pisces archetypes.  In other words, this writer’s expectations of the Age of Aquarius is that it will bring in a Pisces paradise, but paradise belongs to Pisces, not Aquarius.

Another excellent example along the same theme is provided by (sic) theeKultleeder  in 2008 – the underlining of Pisces archetypes are mine:

 Some New Age adherents explicitly describe the new age as a return to paradisiacal Eden —…  Joel Kramer, in Yoga Journal 1980-Jan, wrote “In the mid-Sixties, many people believed that we were on the verge of an exciting and glorious new age in human evolution. The popular song, ‘Aquarius,’ captured the spirit …. , Many of us naively expected the human race to smoothly and quickly cultivate the earth into a new Eden.” In a poem titled “Age of Aquarius”, a New Age adherent named Cecil Hickman wrote in 2005-Feb: “A future to dream, we live in peace and love. / Glorious time for all of Earths humankind, / Eden reborn as promised from our Lord above. […] United as a planet, love will live, prejudice cease. […][ii] 

In the above peace and love and United as a planet, love will live evoke Libra.

The greatest myth of the Aquarian age is that it will bring in a Pisces paradise with a strong support from Libra.

Another typical example is the following from Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi:

  So, now a New Age has started which is called the Age of Aquarius, meaning the pitcher carrier of spiritual holy water that is the work of Kundalini.[iii]

Spirituality is Pisces likewise all psychic phenomena and subtle forces such as Kundalini.

It is a fascinating that most comments, statements and expectations about the Age of Aquarius promote Pisces.  I am not the only astrologer to notice this extreme contradiction but the momentum of misinformation about the Pisces-colored Age of Aquarius is so strong that it continues like a never ending tragic soap opera – Pisces also rules tragic soap operas!  Occasionally someone refers to Aquarius archetypes in their projection of the Age of Aquarius, but they are a small minority.

The upshot of this is it is more likely than not that anything anyone states about the Aquarian age is pure (Pisces) myth.  The unfortunate repercussion of the myth-laden Age of Aquarius is that the misinformation spread about the Aquarian age prevents people from really seeing the Aquarian age in its own right.  Visualize an Pisces wolf in an Aquarian clothing – this is the situation today with the urban myths spread about the Age of Aquarius.  The Aquarian age does not need to recreate the mythical Garden of Eden to be a great age.  The Aquarian age does not require the comical spectacle of humanity all being enlightened – who will collect the garbage?  The Aquarian age can stand on its own feet and display its self-esteem about its Aquarian archetypes that will predominate in the Age of Aquarius. However, of all the signs, Aquarius is the sign of lowest self-esteem as its opposite sign, Leo, vacuums up self-esteem by the spade full leaving scant remnants for Aquarius.

The poetic license associated with the Age of Aquarius is so strong that probably in excess of 90% of everything ever stated about the Age of Aquarius is poetic license.  In other words, if a concept about the Aquarian age sounds good – it must be true!  This approach has not only been maintained by the general public, but also by most astrologers.

Why has this situation come about?  It is very simple really.  The astrological fraternity has not a clue about the Age of Aquarius.  Charles Carter, a leading 20^th century British astrologer, stated:

It is probable that there is no branch of Astrology upon which more nonsense has been poured forth than the doctrine of the precession of the equinoxes

Note: precession of the equinoxes is the astronomical source for the ages such as the Age of Aquarius. All astrology has an astronomical source.  In the case of the astrological ages, precession of the equinoxes means that the Earth spins like a top but wobbles.  This wobble creates a 26,000 year cycle which when divided by 12, allows for the creation of 12 ages per cycle at a little over 2,000 years per age.

It is this total lack of clarity amongst astrologers referred to by Charles Carter that has created a knowledge vacuum about the Age of Aquarius.  In this vacuum poetic license has filled the gap.  So what is the solution to this mixed-up urban myth?  The only solution is that nothing should be believed about the Aquarian age (or any other age) unless some proof is tendered that a reasonably intelligent person can understand.  Unless some proof is tendered it is more likely than not that anything anyone states about the Aquarian age is pure myth or fallacies even though the astrologers peddling such misinformation are well intentioned – another Pisces archetype!

The Aquarian age did not begin in the 1960’s or ’70s

Another commonly stated myth about the Aquarian age is that it commenced in the 1960’s 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-fueled times.  Just because the musical Hair proclaimed 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!

When it comes to the Aquarian age, astrologers want to eat their cake and keep it.  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

Homer Simpson

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 takes approximately 26,000 years to make one revolution therefore each age appears for approximately 2150 years each.  If the Pisces age commenced with Jesus then the Aquarian age cannot commence before approx. 2150.

Furthermore, some astrologers actually believe that the length of an age is taken literally from the size of the zodiacal constellations along the zodiac.  For example, the constellation of Pisces is much larger than normal, so therefore the Pisces age must be even longer than 2,150 years.

The problem with the Aquarian age arriving in the middle of the 22nd century is how to explain all the Aquarian developments in the world today.  Such Aquarian developments include electricity, computers, flight, space travel and democracy.  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 above 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, why could not the Pisces age be already in place when Buddha was alive around six centuries earlier?

The whole mess of an Aquarian age not arriving before 2150 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 astrological age topic is that 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 La-La-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.

The upshot of all this is that from a simplistic and obvious point of view the Age of Aquarius has arrived.  What have ipods, cell phones, large-screen LCD TVs, super-jumbo jets, Facebook and blogs got to do with Pisces?  What astrologers have failed to recognize here is that unless astrology ‘works’ it is useless.  Unless the ages ‘work’ why even refer to them.  If the evidence suggests that the Aquarian age has arrived, why not investigate this to discover the real truth about the ages in general and the Age of Aquarius in particular?  Why not look at the evidence and avoid the idle and unfounded speculation?

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 (with Aquarius electricity) so that it is observable from space.  In no other age could some people fly, watch TV and have all the labor savings devices available in this modern Age of Aquarius.  In no other age has any human walked on the Moon.

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.

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.  Judging by its track record to date, the problems and benefits in the Age of Aquarius will be much greater than previous.  However, there is every reason to believe from the evidence provided by astrology that in this age of uncertainty, there is a much higher chance than normal that the world is heading for a mini-golden age associated with the Libra age-decan of the Age of Aquarius that will be firmly in place by around the middle of the next century (the 22nd century). See  A Celebration 7,000 Years in the Making

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Illustrations

Hair poster – By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26559170

Beware the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Sam Phillips – http://samphillips.co.nz/wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing-tattoo-print/

Homer Simpson – By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7781941

References

[i] http://test.proshopsale.com/2008/03/08/the-greatest-teacher-is-nature-and-you/ but no longer available?

[ii] http://spelunkingtheeideosphere.blogspot.com/2008/03/unearthing-religious-and-new-age.html but no longer available?

[iii] http://www.adishakti.org/age_of_aquarius.htm

Revolution in the Middle East

The rather sudden and startling quest for greater freedom and democracy in a number of Middle Eastern countries in the last few months is part of a greater orchestration towards political and social evolution around the world that commenced with the French Revolution (in the late 18^th century) aligned with the arrival of the Scorpio subage (1791 – 1970), and continuing on in the Scorpio subage overflow (1970 – 2148) due to the overflow effect associated with all ages and their sub-periods. The Scorpio subage is the third subage of the Age of Aquarius (that commenced in 1443 AD – see figure 1), heralding in the modern world. 

Figure 1 – the first four subages of the Aquarian age

 

 

Most historians and historical reference books indicate that the Modern World commenced in the 15^th century – or, at a minimum, the 15^th century was an extremely exalted time in the history of human society.  Apart from a plethora of other supporting facts, the 15^th century was the first century that humans (i.e. Europeans at least) could comprehend the whole world for the first time due to the maritime exploits of its sailors circumnavigating the world. The arrival of ages is marked by highly significant events!

The arrival of the third subage within the Aquarian age, the Scorpio subage in 1791 basically demarks the end of the Early Modern Period (according to many historians at around 1800) and the beginning of the Modern Period.  Within the Scorpio subage (1791 – 1970), the most significant large scale political revolution that has ever been experienced in the world, took place.  At the beginning of the Scorpio subage most countries in the world were ruled by monarchs or local aristocracy (the USA was the black sheep of the time being already a rudimentary democracy).  By the end of the Scorpio subage in 1970 most of these monarchs had been overthrown and replaced with democratic governments, communism or military juntas.  Only in some less politically developed regions, particularly in the Middle East, did the old monarchial way of life continued – mainly propped up in the 20^th century by Western and European nations to ensure a ready supply of fossil fuels.

The arrival of a new astrological period such as an age or subage does not affect the world uniformly.  The arrival of a new period is like the bow of the boat – surging into previously uncharted waters and leaving its ever expanding wake as evidence of its passage.  This wake then slowly affects all other regions of the world.  The wake from any age or sub-period of an age is even larger after the end of its own period (as represented in figure 1).  The primary focus of the initial Scorpio surge mainly affected western nations (including all of the Americas), but by its close in 1970, over half the world was deeply affected by its wake including an independent and democratic India on the one hand, and a communistic China on the other – but bereft of its former ruling class or aristocracy.

The transference from the Scorpio subage to Libra subage in 1970 actually marks an increase in tempo for Scorpio (due to its ever widening wake).  Libra has arrived, but it is the new kid on the block, and the wake from its bow wave has relatively little impact in the world in comparison to Scorpio.  Until near the end of the Libra subage in 2148, Scorpio is the dominant sign in the world (at the subage level).  The transition between the Scorpio subage and Scorpio subage overflow was marked by the revolutionary sentiment expressed in the late 1960s and early 70s resulting in the almost choreographed student and youth demonstration and riots throughout much of the western world. Other spectacular icons of this period are the hippy movement that sprang out of San Francisco, the music revolution first associated with the Beatles, the Woodstock festival in New York, the anti-war movement against the Viet Nam war, the French student uprising that nearly toppled the government and feminism at full bore and armed with the newly invented oral contraceptive (associated with sex – another Scorpio archetype).

It must be remembered (or recognized by the younger generations) that western society in the 1950s was extremely conservative, mono-cultural, with women knowing their place in society and much stronger fascist elements compared to western society of 2011. The arrival of the 60s and early 70s baby boomers with their long hair, drugs and free love temporarily created the normal fracas when any establishment or society meets a new evolutionary sociological phenomenon.  This is why students peacefully protesting the Viet Nam war were gunned down and killed in the USA, restrictive drug laws savagely enforced to persecute the new social movement and contentious objectors to compulsory military serviced were sent to jail. By and large the formerly stodgy and arch-conservative west has moved on to a certain degree since those heady days of the 60s and 70s. The formerly frowned upon music of the 60s and 70s now appears regularly in TV commercials, men can have hair whatever length they like but, except for some isolated pockets of enlightened thinking, the west maintains a witch hunt against recreational drug users, treats homosexuals as second class citizens and has not given full equality to women. The west is in the ongoing and long term process of assimilating the new cultural paradigm that appeared in the 60s and 70s and it will probably take another 150 or so years before some reasonable progress is made.

With the arrival of the Scorpio subage overflow in 1970, the bow wave of the Scorpio juggernaut continues to spread its influence.  However if you think that the revolutionary spirit has been a little subdued for the last few decades then you are quite right.  This is because subages have smaller periods within them called micro-ages.  Micro-ages are almost 15 years in duration (plus another 15 years overflow) and until very recently, the micro-ages encountered at the beginning of the Scorpio subage overflow have been conservative micro-ages (see figure 2).  

Figure 2 – the first four micro-ages of the Scorpio subage

The conservative (and stable) micro-ages belong to the Earth and Fire signs – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The conservative Virgo micro-age was in place from 1970 to 1985, followed by the conservative Leo micro-age (1985 – 2000) with both periods promoting stability over change but also enforcing the status quo as much as possible. It is only with the current Cancer micro-age (2000 – 2015) that we begin returning to the progressive but destabilizing signs.

Not only is the world returning to progressive micro-ages, this process is still accelerating.  The historical effects from any period associated with the astrological ages are always relatively sluggish to appear in a kind of delayed effect.  So while the current Cancer micro-age rules from 2000 to 2015, it is not until its overflow period (2015 – 2029) that it can fully express its Cancerian intentions. However a significant shift in gears appeared at its halfway point of Cancer micro-age in 2007 in its climb up Mount Cancer – and the current revolutionary fervor in the Middle East is part of this Cancer play (along with numerous floods around the world always associated with Cancer). 

Why the Middle East?  Each region and country is associated with an astrological signature.  One key component of any astrological signature associated anywhere where Islam is strong is the sign Cancer.  Islam shares the underlying commonality of Pisces with Christianity as both came into existence in the Pisces age (along with Buddhism).  However Christianity formed near the peak expression of the Scorpio age-decan of the Pisces age (8 BC) while Islam formed much closer to the peak of the Cancer age-decan in 713 AD (see figure 3).

Figure 3 – the age-decans of the Pisces age

 This is why in Islam their view of paradise is closely associated with rivers (ruled by Cancer), they follow a lunar calendar (the Moon is the ruler of Cancer), and many female adherents either voluntarily or are forced to hide themselves away under burkas and veils (Cancer rules shyness and places a focus upon women).  These are just a few of the major Cancerian associations to Islam.

With the revolutionary Scorpio subage overflow (1970 – 2148) passing over the Cancer micro-age (2000 – 2015) it is reasonable to conclude that Scorpio’s revolutionary archetype will marry with Islamic Cancer to produce revolutionary ferment in the Middle East.  But this is not the end of the story.  Within the Cancer micro-age (2000 – 2015) are three micro-age decans of Pisces, Scorpio and Cancer in chronological order with the Scorpio micro-age decan influential from 2005 to 2015, and particularly in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (see figure 4). 

Figure 4 – the micro-age decans of the Cancer micro-age

This little Scorpio micro-age decan resonates with the Scorpio subage overflow (1970 – 2148) to create a veritable Scorpio hotspot.  Hotspots, like their name suggests, are more potent than their surrounding periods in stimulating action outside of the norm. Certainly the unrest in the Middle East is extraordinary.

Nevertheless the kind of revolutions we can expect will not, as a rule of thumb, be focused upon violence but with a firm preference to peaceful methods.  This is because the world is in the early stages of the Libra subage (1970 – 2148) and Libra is a peaceful sign opposite violent and militaristic Aries. This does not mean that those expressing revolutionary sentiment will not use force, but their use of force will be in most cases be in response to the force unleashed against them by power-mad autocrats.  Lest you judge these Middle Eastern societies harshly for their despotic rulers, anti-democratic ways and highly visible levels of corruption, you do not need go very far back in history to find the same abominable behavior in western society.  For whatever reason, the Aquarian age has arrived relatively early for the west, but it still took about 500 years to ensconce itself in Europe – Europe was a bloody nightmare for the first 500 years of the Aquarian age.  So we should not be harsh in our judgments of other society’s shortcomings.  The only real difference is that when the west went through its democratic catharsis over the last 500 years, no one was sitting on the sidelines criticizing or forcing them to be democratic with a gun held at their head as the USA did in Iraq. At least with the current Middle Eastern unrest, it is the vision of the citizens that is demanding the change – not an outside entity.

Also see: SCORPIO – the Sign of the Times …. Revisited – Part 1 –Revolution and Tyrants 

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 recognized 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 indicates 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 phenomenon.  We may not see the tree but we can watch the sapling grow!

Blog Index

 

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.