The Myth of Modernity

On an extremely elementary level, myth is associated with Pisces and modernity with Aquarius and this dichotomy provides the crux of not only this post, but the big-picture view of our world at large.  Though the world is currently in the Age of Aquarius, the overflow from the previous age of Pisces is even stronger – especially in the first half of the Age of Aquarius [see Age of Aquarius for Dummies for details].  A more inclusive way to name the Age of Aquarius is the Pisces-Aquarius age, which followed the Aries-Pisces age (when Aries was more powerful than Pisces).  The combination of Pisces with Aquarius means that the influence of ‘myth’ from the Pisces age overflowing into the Aquarian age is greater than the influence of modernity even though modernity is easier to perceive – which is why most people live in the delusion that we are modern.

It is extremely easy to see modernity as it is represented by electricity, computers, technology, the internet, flight and the most widespread application of various forms and quality of democracy in the world to date – with most of this evidence tangible to the eye (with only democracy being the most nebulous item in this list).  Myth is a far more imprecise concept to deal with as it behaves like smoke and mirrors – what you perceive is not necessarily what exists if you can perceive anything at all!

Modernity is not a myth, the myth is that most people perceive that the world is modern without any qualification – an axiomatic situation.  Modernity may be the most noticeable game in town but Pisces’ myth and other Pisces’ associations are more influential in contemporary society and current affairs compared to Aquarius archetypes.  Modernity only plays the supporting role to myth, yet people believe modernity is the main focus.  This surreal situation is created by Pisces – the sign of delusion, illusion and vagueness overflowing into our ‘modern’ time.  Pisces is the branch we are all sitting upon as our reference point which, due to the nature of Pisces, we are generally unaware.  Furthermore, Pisces promotes medievalism – the name historians gave to that period before the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in the 15^th century.

What is medievalism?  There are a number of definitions and associations to medievalism, but in general terms, it refers to that period when there were knights in white shining armor, kings, lords, dukes, barons and so on ruled the lands either benevolently or ruthlessly via a system of feudalism that resembled slavery – another archetype belonging to Pisces.  It was a time when (Pisces) Christianity had an extremely strong influence in western society where the beliefs of individuals could be classified as heretical at the whim of the church followed by punishment of one form or another – including the possibility of execution.

A 13th-century French text representing the Medieval tripartite social order: those who pray (clerics), those who fight (knights from the nobility) and those who work (peasants and members of the lower middle class).

In medieval society, logical understanding and rationality took the back seat to knee-jerk reactions and decisions based on dogmatism, chauvinism and sectarianism rather than fact – similar to how many or most contemporary politicians and governments often operate today.  Facts were scarce in medieval times, and to fill the vacuum, beliefs filled the void.  The time of medievalism was known as “a period contrary to reason.”[i]  Anything different was generally feared, ostracized or condemned and very little accurate information was known about the laws of physics or science.  Society was marked by prejudices and taboos – females were considered inferior, and people could and would believe anything – just as many follow this pattern today.

The more correct term for the current Age of Aquarius is the Age of Pisces-Aquarius, and this indicates that while medievalism is supposedly finished, it actually has continued to exist and dominates society – though feudalism has disappeared.  Another difference between contemporary society and medieval society is that our society has made some progress in extracting itself from irrationality, but the main difference is our harnessing of technology since the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in the 15^th century.  This is why historians claim that medievalism finished in the 15^th century and was replaced by Early Modernity. Wikipedia states that Early Modernity, based on traditional historiography, arrived in 1453 – only 20 years after the arrival of the Age of Aquarius (or Pisces-Aquarius age).  Some historians claim Early Modernity arrived in 1436[ii] – displaying a scant three year error to the correct date.

Early Modernity led to Modernity around the 18^th century but while historians and people, in general, congratulate themselves on modernity, this places the focus upon mainly technological developments and ignores the root medievalism that permeates contemporary western society.  Just consider that at the apex of modernity supposedly sits the USA – but about 25% of Americans refute the idea of evolution and the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago, and embrace a conception of the world that has existed for only about 6,000 years.  This is not the only example of contemporary medievalism.  A better description of western society since the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in the 15^th century is that we live in the age of Techno-Medievalism.

There are so many examples of contemporary medievalism in society, and when we leave western society and examine Second and Third World countries – the medievalism jumps in magnitude. One easy way to see this is that in many Second and Third World countries, religious doctrine of one sort or another is written into law and enforceable by governments – with some ‘modern’ western countries also enforcing religious doctrines usually based on some fundamentalist Christian belief.  Another classic example is President Trump – irrational, often incoherent, appearing deceptive and deceitful but supported by a very large minority of voting Americans because he promises to support their values – with most of these values based on conservative belief systems sourced from medieval outlooks.

There is a very good reason why the USA embodies technological advances and democratic practices on the one hand, and atavistic belief systems with strong fundamentalist Christian overtones on the other.  The USA was settled by basically medieval Europeans who brought their medieval belief systems with them.  Europe continued to evolve, but their colonizing cousins who went to America held on to many of their medieval beliefs far longer than Europeans due to their ‘isolation’ from Europe.  Europe at that time was at the nexus for the cutting edge of progressive developments and European society moved on somewhat.  This is similar to what many 20th-century immigrants experienced when migrating from post-war Europe to the USA, Canada, Australia and so on.

For example, so many Greeks migrated to Melbourne, Australia after the Second World War that Melbourne was labeled the third largest Greek city in the world.  But when many of these Greek migrants eventually returned to Greece after many decades, they were shocked to find that the Greece culture they knew and kept alive in Melbourne no longer existed – as the Greeks in Greece had continued to evolve their culture.   I have heard similar stories about Pakistanis migrating to the UK.

Unless we recognize that we are not modern but live in the Age of Techno-Medievalism, we are deluding ourselves.  However, this does not mean that things do not or cannot improve – the dramatic improvements I have experienced in my lifetime are awesome.  No longer does religion have a stranglehold over western legal systems as it did back in the 1950s.  Then there is the sexual revolution that came out of the 1960s and the decriminalization of homosexuality, abortion and the recent judicial investigations of religious sexual deviants.  Recreational, and in some cases hard drugs, have been partially or completely decriminalized or approaching a medical condition rather than a legal issue in many western nations.  Even Malaysia has recently acknowledged they have lost their war on drugs and plan to decriminalize drugs.  Euthanasia is seeing the light of day.

The problem with the many recent social and legal improvements is that people don’t seem to notice them – their focus remains on the ills and deficiencies of contemporary society and legal systems.  By analogy, it is like entering a room that urgently needed all surfaces painted.  If a painter turns up to do the job, but runs out of paint before the last wall is painted – which wall will draw your attention when you enter the room?  The unpainted wall of course.  This is what many progressives tend to do, not acknowledge the gains and only focusing upon the ills of society.

Modernity is a development in progress.  It did not wait until the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in 1433 AD to start splashing, but with the arrival of the Age of Aquarius – Modernity got down to the serious business of modernizing the world.  But, according to the astrological ages, Modernity, and all its trappings, is a process that parallels the Aquarian age and overflow (1433 – 3574 – 5697) and furthermore, its momentum will strongly extend about another seven centuries past 5697 to  c.6397 AD before it starts experiencing a serious pushback (from the Leo age-decan of the distant Sagittarius age).

Based on the above, if we take the whole period where the process of modernization is under development (1433 – 6397), a period of 4,964 years, in the year 2019 we are only 586 years inside this modernizing period.  This indicates that only approximately 12% of the possible modernization to come has made its impact to date.  The remaining ‘necessary’ 88% of modernization remains to be tackled. This is a very low level of modernization in our world, as the medieval influence can be argued to sit at around 88%.

The world remains at the kindergarten level of modernization (and democracy) – much more is yet to come.  So the big question is – what fills the gap between contemporary modernization and the level we are to achieve over the coming millennia?  It is mainly Pisces archetypes with a dash of Aries.  The world remains strongly influenced by the Aries age and overflow (2916 BC – 732 BC – 1433 AD) and while the momentum from this Aries epoch continues on with its male macho aggressive influence – its days are numbered.  The current Libra age-decan and overflow (1433 – 2148 – 2863) is in the process of overthrowing the vestige influence from the Aries epoch, and the recent strides females have made since the arrival of the Age of Aquarius and Libra age-decan is part of the accelerating Libra influence (which shifted into second gear in 1791).  Libra is even stronger next century (when it shifts into third gear).  In the meantime, we still have leaders in the world mentioning the possibility of using nuclear weapons demonstrating the ongoing legacy of violent Aries.

The Pisces epoch is defined as the Pisces age and overflow (732 BC – 1433 AD – 3574 AD), plus an additional seven centuries at the end (until it hits the might of the Virgo age-decan and especially its overflow around 2,000 years from now).  Pisces is not only the sign of today, it has also passed through about 80% of its time of might and so we know a lot more about the influence of Pisces.  In a nutshell, Pisces is associated with medievalism.  Combine medievalism with the remnant from macho Aries and you have a popular combination for the president of the USA modeled after John Wayne. and a growing number of wannabees around the world such as the UK, Brazil and so on.

No sign is associated with only positive archetypes.  The current Libra age-decan and overflow (1433 – 2148 – 2863) at the beginning of the Age of Aquarius breeds opposition.  This may help explain the developing divide of progressive versus conservatives around the world – but mainly in western society at present as each side of the debate sours with increasing frustration at either lack of progress or too much progress.  Another developing divide is autocratic governments (China, Russia etc) versus the ‘free’ world.  These divides will grow over the coming centuries due to the increase in influence in the Libra age-decan and overflow, especially post 2148 – though the astrology does indicate the possibility of a compromise of sorts.

The currents Libra sub-age and overflow (1970 – 2148 – 2327) is accelerating toward the 2148 high point of the first age-decan in the Age of Aquarius – the Libra age-decan and overflow (1433 – 2148 – 2863).  This suggests that all those science fiction apocalyptic or doom and gloom scenarios that have presented to us about the future are actually the transformation of our current pessimistic outlooks into the future and does not take into account the ‘softening’ of the world social and political situation associated with Libra.  Libra is not associated with austerity or living in caves or ruins of cities in a post-apocalyptic world due to climate change, nuclear war etc.  However, it cannot be absolutely ruled out that Libra will return the world to its garden state because humanity has wiped itself out by nuclear or environmental issues before Libra extends its influence from around 2059 onward.  If we survive, things look much better in the future, if we don’t, the world will improve anyway.

All the above however remains under the long term shift in emphasis from Pisces to Aquarius, and while progressive policies may fluctuate between centuries, it does not change the fundamental outlook that progress is a slow and extremely long term process.  I am sure that in the middle of the next century, progressives will still be gnashing their teeth and conservatives searching for ways to trip them up.  In addition, just to complicate matters, it is absurd to think that all initiatives of progressives or liberals are ‘good’ and that conservative initiatives are bad.  This is an absurd gross oversimplification that would imply that progressives are better people than conservatives.

In my decades of research, I have come to the conclusion that nearly everyone believes they are doing the right thing – and promoting the best policies or outlooks for their family, community, society, nation and world regardless of their political orientation.  It is important to be able to empathize with your political opponents and understand where they are coming from – because your opponent is usually equally sincere in their beliefs as you are.

In the meantime, living in the Age of Techno-Medievalism means that we must deal with a lot of backward and regressive issues due to our early position in Modernity.  There is only so much modernization that can occur in every century, and we will have to realize that the sum total of modernity cannot arrive either in our lifetimes, this century – or even this millennium.

Furthermore, progressive are not anti-medieval and conservatives pro-medieval.  This black and white narrative is incorrect.  Every person, group and country is a mixture of medieval and rational attributes.  The Greens and progressive political parties often demonstrate adherence to medieval values in their pursuit of modern progressive objectives.  A classic example is Greenpeace’s  Rainbow Warrior and its confrontational objectives. Another example is vegans breaking into animal farms and destroying property.   Is it ideal to seek idealistic solutions using yesterdays’ confrontational methods?  Many progressive believe so and indicates how pervasive Pisces medievalism remains out of control in our early 21^st century world.

It is not good enough having progressive policies, it is also necessary to be highly conscious in dealing with opponents.  For millennia to come, every Aquarius archetype that appears will be shadowed by Pisces!  We all have the court jester, a knight in white shining armor, witch persecutor or damsel in distress in each of us. Instead of resorting to medieval tribalism, it is far more rational to respect political opponents and to be conscious in any dealings with them.  The views of our conservative opponents are usually a reflection of their gestational social and family environment which is rarely under their control.  A conservative cannot help being a conservative any more than a progressive can help being a progressive.

In conclusion, if you are a frustrated progressive, there is very little you can do to immediately correct all the ills in society other than by voting, expressing your opinions, belonging to groups engage in progressive change, participating in peaceful demonstrations etc with the understanding that progressive policies are very slow in arriving.  On a recent visit by Al Gore to Australia, he stated to the effect that:

‘expected change is much slower in coming than what is expected, but when it does come, it comes much faster than expected’

Despite the need for progressives to be more realistic in the fulfillment of their expectations, what is under our control is our interrelationships with conservative people, institutions and governments and society as a whole.  Gandhi captured the astrology of our times with his non-violent resistance. Non-violence also applies to the nature of our expression and treatment of people that do not agree with us.  The only limit to our personal modernization is ourselves.  Modernity may remain a myth for a long time to come, but our own personal or inner modernization is something we can all work on every day.  The Age of Aquarius is not going to come along and deliver to us a fantasy world on a silver platter where everything is great – that is just a typical Pisces myth.

See my YouTube Channel for more details on macro-astrology and the video of the above p[ost should be available soon.

RELATED POSTS

Peace has Sent a Message of Peace to the World

Is Western Society Due Another Revolution?

The Real Revolution in the USA

The Progressives’ Lament

Is the World a Calamity in Progress?

Aquarian Age Myths, Fallacies & Distortions

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

Pisces America

Will There be Peace in the Age of Aquarius?

REFERENCES

[i] K. J. Christiano, W. H. Swatos and P. Kivisto, Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments (Rowman Altamira, 2002), p. 77.

[ii] Modernity. Wikipedia, Retrieved 06:37, September 27, 2019

The Progressives’ Lament

The perspective from outside of the USA is that Darth Vader from the Evil Empire has just been elected president of the USA.  While many Democratic voters are incredulous that such a ‘travesty’ has occurred, many on the other side of the political divide are ecstatic that finally they have someone who can champion the cause of the downtrodden folk, especially in the rust belt.

How does this election conform to the long term narrative?  The long term narrative is very clear even without recourse to astrology.  There is a multi-century sweep of technical, social and political progress and advances but these advances are not uniform and not always in the forward direction in the short term.  Hitler and Stalin demonstrated that it is possible to go totally against the current and create incredible havoc, but the current wins in the end.  Few can doubt the impressive advance humanity has made over the last 5 centuries despite all the glaring problems and injustices that remain in the world today.

Technology, which includes medicine, has made exponential improvements over the last 4 or 5 centuries.  Many naïve astrologers believe that the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 1960s and 70s and that the landing of men on the Moon is confirmation.  Landing a man on the Moon did not happen overnight but was the result of a long trajectory of scientific advances that commenced in the Scientific Revolution centuries ago.  The latest date that is attributed to the beginning of the Scientific Revolution is the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus Copernicus’s “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”.

The same has occurred in politics.  Five hundred years ago the world was run by kings and sometimes queens utilizing the aristocracy as their bureaucracy.  Now that the world is ruled by democracies and dictators, kings and queens have been sent scurrying except in some mainly ‘ornamental’ roles like a living piece in a museum.

What does the past and present tell us about the world?  Simply stated, the world is a work in progress.  Since the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in the 15^th century, liberal progress has been the overall narrative but progress certainly does not mean advance at every step and turn along the way.  Also, many developments combine both advance and regression at the same time.  For example the Communist revolutions in the early and mid-20^th centuries brought social and economic equality and security to many but also stifling bureaucracy that affected anyone that stepped outside the straight and narrow communist ideology.  The Chinese communist government has taken China from being a basket case to the second strongest nation in the world.  Is this progress or not?  It is a mixture.

Science fiction movies generally paint an apocalyptic dystopian future of various sizes and colors.  Is this a reflection by many people that bad news in some big way is on the way?  Most science fiction movies about the future of the Earth are very pessimistic.  Does Hollywood get the future right – is the future a bleak and dreary place?

For this to be the case, Libra (or Venus and Libra) must be a beak and dreary planet and sign.  However these are not archetypes normally associated with either Venus or Libra.  On the negative side of Venus/Libra are many things, but not bleak or dreary. Bleak and dreary belong to Saturn/Capricorn.  The big picture narrative of the world is strongly associated with Libra.  On the down side this will mean problems associated with too much pleasure and too little willpower such as obesity and illnesses associated with sugar such as diabetes and cardiac diseases.  The big problem with Libra is that too much of a good thing can be highly detrimental.  Does this sound like living tribally in caves following an apocalyptic cataclysm?

Why is Libra so powerful in the world?  Each age has three age decans.  The three decans of Aquarius are Aquarius, Gemini and Libra.  However, precession of the equinoxes, which underpin the astrological ages, travels ‘backwards’ through the zodiac, so when the world arrived at the Age of Aquarius it arrived at the backdoor to Aquarius, as it entered Aquarius from the sign Pisces, not Capricorn!  This is why all age decans and sub-periods of the astrological ages such as sub-ages, micro-ages and nano-ages are always in the reverse of their normal order.  This also explains why all ages and sub-periods are far stronger at their endings because the beginnings of all signs are strongest at their start.  When signs are reversed for the ages, the beginning of a sign becomes the end of an age.

When the world entered the Age of Aquarius in 1433, the pre-imminent sign was and remains Pisces because the Age of Pisces had over 2,000 years to build up its momentum to a crescendo in 1433 and then like a tsunami, this Pisces has swept over the world BUT dragging the new kid on the block with it.  The new kid is Aquarius.   The Age of Aquarius peaks in 2863 and therefore has some way to go!  Libra, as the first age-decan in the Age of Aquarius is approaching its peak now.

During this over 700 year period, the Libran age-decan (1433-2148) also slowly evolves like the new bud of a plant and it blooms by 2148.  While it will be another 1600 years before the Age of Aquarius blooms, Libra’s bloom is just around the corner next century.  This is why Libra is so powerful in the world even though Pisces and Aquarius are powered by the more powerful ages. We are racing towards the Libra corner of the Age of Aquarius.

Even on an elementary level we can see the strength of Libra currently in the world just by the fact that over the last century or so, females in western democracies have become politically enfranchised, and in many developing countries as well.  Political equality does not mean equality and there is a lot further before equality becomes true on many levels.  This is because Libra is a work in progress too, and this is why there remain so many problematic issues involving females both in western countries and the rest of the world.  Libra is a work in progress, and we will not see its blooming in our lifetimes.  Therefore, a huge number of issues related to females will not get resolved in our lifetimes, but for those with perception, we can witness the seed of the final solution.

The same situation occurs in politics in general.  Since ‘civilization’ arrived, the world has never had it so good as it currently stands.  There is no time in the past that any sensible person would want to be transported to in place of today’s world.  Firstly, there was a 50% chance you would be dead by 20.  Secondly you would not be Cleopatra or Julius Caesar, you would most likely be doing hard labor just to survive in the most basic of circumstances.  Though many people had great lives in past times, the lottery of life in those times was against this being a secure reality.  One historian noted that Julius Caesar would have given everything he had to be an average person in the modern world!

The world today at the beginning of the 21^st century is not an end product, it is work in progress.  Any study of history will show that social and political evolution is a slow process.  For example, in the early 19^th century, workers, many who were still children, lived and worked in appalling conditions because at the time, money was more important than people, and to a certain degree, this remains the case.  So the workers started to get organised.  They were vilified, attacked, killed and persecuted but after a hundred years or more, they basically got their wish.

This is a poster for the musical Hair announcing a New Age

The 1960s and 70s precipitated another socio-political revolution, not a workers revolution but a new age revolution.  The hippies and empathizers introduced a new ethos to Western society, and the majority of this ethos is associated with Libra.  The peace symbol is a Libra archetype.  “Make love not war” is another Libra expression.  This new movement may have started in the 1960s and 70s, but it will not bloom until the middle of next century.

Why did this movement appear in the 1960s and 70s?  Every age has three decans and 12 sub-ages, so every age-decan has 4 sub-ages.  The 4 sub-ages in the current Libra age-decan in chronological order are Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio and Libra.  1970 was the cusp of the Scorpio sub-age (1791-1970) and the Libra sub-age (1970-2148).  You should note that every age-decan concludes with a sub-age of the same sign which is why they are stronger at their end compared to their beginning.

The 1960s and 70s had revolutionary Scorpio at its peak and Libra much more powerful than is normally the case because the new Libra sub-age is not isolated, it is part of the longer and more powerful Libra age-decan (1433-2148).  The ethos of the New Age movement is primarily Scorpio and Libra which also defines the rock music that also came out of this period.

The impact of the new ethos has already greatly affected western culture to the point that gay rights have been, or are in the process of, being legally enshrined.  Relationships have been deregulated from the clasp of religious dogma, and even many states and countries are either deregulating or legalizing recreational drugs.  Of course there is far more to the social revolution of the 1960s and 70s than gay rights, free love and marijuana but underlying it all are the two core archetypes associated with Scorpio and Libra – metamorphic change combined with fairness and tolerance.

Whenever there is a progressive change, there will be a reaction, and one aspect of Trump’s recent success is that on the conservative side of politics, the new ethos of the 1960s and 70s is destroying their perception of a proper life and world.  However, even on the so called progressive side of politics, Bernie Sanders could not even garner enough support to become the nominee for the Democrats.  The new ethos remains a fledgling in western society.

In many countries, but not the USA due to its restrictive electoral system, the new ethos is represented by the Green Party.  In my country, the Greens get about 10% of the vote.  Twenty years ago it would have been lucky to get 5% of the vote.  In 2059 the incoming Libra sub-age energy becomes stronger than the outgoing Scorpio sub-age overflow energy, and this will be the time that about 20% of western nations will support the Green party or similar parties with similar liberal new age policies.

Twenty percent is the tipping point.  Once a group gets to 20%, they have far greater influence upon society than just a 1/5^th influence.  There will be some striking headway by the new ethos later this century.  In the meantime, it is not time.  The groundswell or conservative reaction and support for Donald Trump is far stronger than the fledgling new age ethos movement.  Even though the dominant change of the last 40 to 50 years has radiated out from the new age ethos, it will take until the middle of the next century to achieve their goals.  Even in the middle of the 22^nd century, only about 50% of the population will be in the new age ethos camp.  However, this should be enough for a Mini Golden Age.

One of the reasons I misjudged the US presidential election is that I was very aware of the above long term narrative, and so I mentally live partly in that future, or a small bubble of the future.  As of December 2014, the world has entered the most progressive astrological time for over 7,000 years.  Why, because it all has to do with earth, air, fire and water.  After much research, I have found that whenever an earth or fire sign is dominant, conservative influences predominate.  Whenever water and air signs dominate, progressive and evolutionary tendencies predominate.  However, water and air signs bring volatility which means big problems while the conservative fire and earth signs usually bring stability – including economic stability – but only on average as Capricorn is an earth sign and always brings big problems.

As of December 2014, the world is in the Pisces age overflow and Age of Aquarius (1433-3574), Pisces age-decan overflow and Libra age-decan (1433-2148), Scorpio sub-age overflow and Libra sub-age (1970-2148), Cancer micro-age overflow and Gemini micro-age (Dec 2014-Nov 2029).  Notice that all these signs are either air or water.  This has not occurred for over 7,000 years.  There are only nine 15 year micro-ages in the whole of the Age of Aquarius where this occurs, and as of December 2014, we are in one of them.  The next one is not due until the Pisces micro-age overflow and Aquarius micro-age (2073-2088).

This is why I erroneously believed Hillary Clinton would become president. If the election had been after 2059, a very different result would have occurred.  But prior to 2059, the new ethos remains too weak on the political agenda.  However, it can readily be seen that this absolutely highly charged revolutionary 15 years has not disappeared in a whimper, it has channelled its energy through Donald Trump.  Remember, water and air signs bring progressive policies and volatility.  While I do believe Trump will bring some progress to the conservative side of politics, it is the volatility that is probably going to be the main game.  Also, 15 years is a long time in politics, and after Trump, it will not be business as normal.  This highly energized Cancer micro-age overflow and Gemini micro-age (Dec 2014 – Nov 2029) will have many more upsets and progress.

There is no need to lament at the outcome of the 2016 presidential elections.  Social change occurs faster than political change, which is why politicians try so hard to prevent or restrict progressive social evolution.  But this is like trying to stop the tide from coming in with a six inch sand wall.

Is America Entering a New Victorian Era?

Journalists, historians, anthropologists and social commentators often observe historical cycles better than the average person including astrologers because they pay great attention to the unfolding of events.  This is certainly the case with the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in the 15^th century – a century most prominent historians consider being the most important century of recent times for numerous reasons as well as being the demarcation century between Medievalism and Modernity.  The modern world has sprung out of the 15^th century.  The claim that a new age began in the 20th century is simply absurd to historians.

One observant journalist, Michael Barone, writing in the conservative Townhall.com,[1] asks if the USA is returning to Victorian values.  He first notes that 47 years ago with the opening of the musical “Hair” that the audience was informed that America was entering the Age of Aquarius and therefore the old moral rules were extinct.  He then acknowledges the massive rise in divorce, cohabitation and illegitimate births in the following decades supporting the concept of the beginning of a new period.

However, Barone now claims that recent trends indicate a return to Victorian values in contrast to the expectation of the freedom-seeking hippies of the 1960s that the Age of Aquarius would continue indefinitely.  The social changes Barone refers to in the USA are the significant decline in teenage sexual activity since 1988, in both males and females, coinciding with a sharp decline in teenage births and drop in the rate of abortions.  Other contemporary Victorian values include new college rules against male-female sexual contact.  Baone referred to a recent poll which indicated that 63% of Americans are uncomfortable with American’s society direction on social issues.  Barone has stated:

“Even the legalization and vastly increased approval of same-sex marriage has a Victorian aspect. The early same-sex marriage advocates Andrew Sullivan and Jonathan Rauch argued that marriage would domesticate homosexuals. There’s logic to that — marriage inevitably includes elements of restriction and restraint — and we will see how it works out.”

In conclusion, Barone suggests that the USA is moving away from the Age of Aquarius and instead heading towards a new Victorian Era.

From the astrological perspective, this is fascinating because, while the sub-periods of the Age of Aquarius do support the recent trend towards a new Victorianism, as suggested by Barone, it does not suggest any long term deviation from the direction of the Age of Aquarius.  The traditional dates for the Victorian era are 1837 to 1901[2] – a period of 64 years and remarkably close to the length of a sub-age decan (see the Age of Aquarius for Dummies).

portrait photograph of Queen Victoria dressed for the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Albany

The Scorpio sub-age (1791 – 1970) commenced with the Cancer sub-age decan and overflow (1791 – 1851 – 1910) with the highpoint of Cancer associated with the Cancer quasi sub-age (1821 – 1881).  There was a strong overlap between the Cancer sub-age decan and the Victorian era.   The term “Victorian morality” can be used to describe any set of values that promote sexual restraint, low tolerance of crime and a strict social code of conduct.  However the hypocrisy of Victorian time’s has also been widely noted  as prostitution and child labor was endemic.

The world is not returning to Victorian era values aligned to the Cancer sub-age decan, but we are in the middle of a small but temporarily strong Cancer period.  Currently the world is at the peak of the Cancer micro-age and overflow (2000-2014-2029) and so there will be a short term exposure to archetypes associated with Cancer. Such archetypes as shyness, reticence and meekness are associated with Cancer and hedonism is associated with Cancer’s opposite sign Capricorn, so Cancer periods can be anti-hedonistic periods.  The current Cancer period however is not an era, we are in fact in an era defined by Gemini – the first sub-age decan of the current Libra sub-age (1970 – 2148).  The next time your see someone transfixed by their cellphone or tablet, think Gemini era!

There is a common misconception in the press and urban myth that the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 1960s and 70s but has come and gone.  Firstly the Age of Aquarius did not arrive in the 20^th century.  What arrived in the 1960s was a peak at the center of the Scorpio sub-age and overflow (1791-1970-2148).  The commonality between Scorpio and Aquarius is that they are both revolutionary signs, and so revolution was definitely in the air in the 1960s and 70s.  The Age of Aquarius is like an incoming tide.  In an incoming tide, every wave does not extend further up the beach compared to the previous wave – but on average, the waves slowly move up the beach.

So, while Barone may be incorrect in concluding that the Age of Aquarius has been shunted aside by a new Victorian conservative future, his perception of Cancer archetypes in both the Victorian era and current period is perceptive and relevant.  I prefer to refer to non-astrologers for historical assessments as historians, journalists etc are experts in their field, while astrologers are only experts in astrology unless the individual astrologer is also an historian, journalist etc.  This is why so many astrologers make the utterly absurd claim that the Age of Aquarius has recently arrived.  Its like saying the Telephone Age began with the Apple iphone!

FURTHER READING:

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

Cancer – the New Paradigm for the World

REFERENCES:

[1] Michael Barone, “Is America Entering a New Victorian Era?”, Townhall.com, Jul 28, 2015, http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbarone/2015/07/28/is-america-entering-a-new-victorian-era-n2030956/page/full and https://www.aei.org/tag/age-of-aquarius/

[2] Victorian era. Wikipedia, Retrieved 01:06, August 9, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Victorian_era&oldid=672647699

Photograph of Queen Victoria – Photographer – Alexander Bassano (1829–1913), 1887, Source:                http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/2105818/portrait-photograph-of-queen-victoria-

This is the Dawning of the Aquarius Micro-Age Decan

No Baby Boomer, or anyone born later, has ever experienced a serious Aquarius sub-period of the Age of Aquarius.  When some Baby Boomers turned on, tuned in and dropped out in the 1960s and 70s they were not responding to the new Age of Aquarius, they were mainly responding to the 1970 peak of the Scorpio sub-age and overflow (1791 – 1970 – 2148). The combination of revolutionary Scorpio and revolutionary Aquarius produced a major shakeup of mainly western culture and the ripples of this cultural shakeup are still strongly affecting society today.  The latest example is the recent confirmation by the US Supreme Court of the nation-wide legalization of gay marriage. This ruling is also an early example of the new Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow.

The new Aquarius micro-age decan (Dec 2014 – Dec 2019) is the first micro-age decan of the new Gemini micro-age (Dec 2014 – Nov 2029) which resides in the Libra sub-age (1970 – 2148) – the forth sub-age in the Age of Aquarius.  For an explanation of the sub-periods of the astrological ages, see the Details of the Age of Aquarius for Dummies.

Why should gays have an easy time in an Aquarius micro-age decan?  Aquarius is an extremist sign, and so it places a focus on the outliers of the bell curve, not the mainstream majority.  Any group or sub-culture that is different, eccentric or on the fringe is favored by Aquarius – and this includes homosexuals.  Under Aquarius minorities can temporarily swing the mainstream their way.  This has mixed results as there is no guarantee the minority group is forward thinking with a positive effect upon society.  For example, any examination of the last Aquarius micro-age (1910 – 25) reveals the ability of the fringe Bolsheviks in Russia to take over their government and commence the worldwide communist revolution.

In the more potent Aquarius micro-age overflow period (1925 – 1940) the Nazi’s were able to sway the German public to their fascist principles at the same time similar events were occurring in Spain, Italy and Japan with echoes in most western countries including the USA.  Few people realize that the German Nazi’s never obtained more than a little over 20% electoral support.  The term “Fascism” was first used in 1915 by members of Mussolini’s movement, the Fasci of Revolutionary Action. [1]

The world is not even past the one year mark of the current Aquarius micro-age decan and already it has stamped its mark upon an unsuspecting world.  In the same way that the revolutionary peak of the Scorpio sub-age and overflow in the 1970s resonated with the revolutionary Age of Aquarius, so to the current revolutionary Aquarius micro-age decan resonates with the revolutionary Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970 – 2148).  We are indeed in for some interesting times, especially in the Aquarius quasi micro-age decan (Jun 2017 – Jun 2022) which corresponds to the upper half of the Aquarius micro-age decan bell curve.

What has occurred since December 2014 that points towards Aquarius apart from confirmation of gay marriage in the USA?  One small but noteworthy item is the clearance given the propose law to the compulsory vaccination of children in California otherwise they will be prevented from attending public or private schools.  This is an example of the coercive fascist side of Aquarius.  On the other side is the legalization of gay marriage in Ireland in May 2015.

On the serious negative side we have the Charlie Hebdo terrorist massacre in January 2015 which can be directly linked astrologically to the four ISIS inspired attacks in June including the deaths of 40 people at the Tunisian resort at Port El Kantaoui.  Aquarius is the sign of radicals and revolutionaries.  There will be more than just radicals and homosexuals associated with the current Aquarius micro-age decan.  In the more advanced or evolved societies, the push will be towards progressive policies, and the legalization of gay marriage is just one such avenue.  In the less evolved societies, there will be a tendency towards fascism of one sort or another.  Countries like Russia, Thailand and much of Asia, Africa and South America will tend towards totalitarian autocratic type rule to solve their problems.  The more entrenched democratic societies are generally protected from such autocratic tendencies but fascist anti- immigration groups will get more powerful and influential even in First World Countries over the coming decade.

Senator Bernie Saunders

How will the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow play out in the USA?  Already Donald Trump has jumped on the fascist-leaning bandwagon with his declaration of virtual war against Mexicans.  Fascism always tends to deal with issues in a black and white fashion exploiting populace views.  The already polarized political spectrum in the USA will become more polarized.  If on one extreme we have Donald Trump, on the other extreme we have Bernie Saunders nominating for the Democrats as their presidential candidate. Bernie is the perfect example of a progressive promoting the positive side of Aquarius.  Hillary Clinton also pushes the Aquarius button as a female president of the USA is a progressive development.

President Franklin Roosevelt

The last Aquarius micro-age and overflow (1910-1925-1940) is instructive about how the two sides of Aquarius can manifest.  This period saw the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt (1882 – 1945) who was actually one of the most progressive presidents in the history of the USA and in response to the devastation of the Great Depression, he introduced a range of very progressive policies under the New Deal.  He was president from 1933 to 1945 aligned roughly with the Aquarius micro-age overflow (1925 – 1940). FDR’s New Deal promoted united labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, African Americans, and rural white Southerners while at the same time more closely regulating business and high finance.  Also in line with freedom-loving Aquarius, Prohibition in the USA was repealed in 1933. However all was not rosy in the USA in the 1930s, and the clash of the collective strength of the impoverished and destitute versus local fascism was ably portrayed in John Steinbeck’s novel “Grapes of Wrath”

However in parallel with the progressive FDR, was the appearance of the Black Legion, which included in its membership serving members of the military and National Guard.  This group was the most violent expression of organized opposition against FDR and his New Deal policies. The Black Legion openly acknowledged that they considered the president a threat and sought the overthrow of the government.  The group primarily targeted Communists, blacks, Jews, and Catholics in the name of God for the protection of white Protestant America. The group was heavily associated with the Republican Party.  The group was political, large, and took serious action, including lynching people, shooting murders, floggings, kidnappings, and general threats of violence against people and groups that they opposed. The Black Legion was also acting in accord with the interests of some corporations and actively assisted corporations in union busting and threatening labor organizers.

In addition to the thugs of the Black Legion, some of the most famous American companies and business people were deeply involved with the Fascist regimes of Europe in the 1930s of which they admired.  These included: William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Kennedy (JFK’s father), Charles Lindbergh, John Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon (head of Alcoa, banker, and Secretary of Treasury), DuPont, General Motors, Standard Oil (now Exxon), Ford, ITT, Allen Dulles (later head of the CIA), Prescott Bush, National City Bank, Coca-Cola, and General Electric. It was reported by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1974 that:

 “The activities of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler prior to and during World War II…are instructive…… In short, they were private governments unaccountable to the citizens of any country yet possessing tremendous influence over the course of war and peace in the world.  The substantial contribution of these firms to the American war effort in terms of tanks, aircraft components, and other military equipment is widely acknowledged. Less well known are the simultaneous contributions of their foreign subsidiaries to the Axis Powers. In sum, they maximized profits by supplying both sides with the materiel needed to conduct the war.”[2]

The fascist way of describing corporations is to label them as anti-democratic dark forces of concentrated wealth, but this would be pure idiocy.  Like nearly everything, there are two sides to corporations and business interests.  The wealth and affluence we experience today is due to the successful wealth creation of corporations and business interests over the last few centuries.  When communism banned corporations and private enterprise they not only threw the baby out with the bathwater, they threw out virtually the whole family.  20^th century communism was an abject failure but people have difficulty with big picture perspective and therefore cannot see that the world pendulum has swung the other way and has arrived at extreme capitalism.  While extreme capitalism continues to exist, it can sway and influence governments, governmental policies and laws and even more, as the Murdoch press did to the 2000 US elections in what could be regarded as the first corporate coup in the USA.  Corporate heavyweights also planned a coup to topple FDR.  Despite the dark forces around him, FDR instituted many progressive reforms in the USA.

Pushing back to previous Aquarius periods of note we arrive at the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow (1851 – 1861) of the Gemini micro-age (1851 -1866).  This is the same combination and arrangement as the current Aquarius micro-age decan.  The 1850s in the USA was the decade of ‘Bleeding Kansas’ when a series of violent political confrontations between anti-slavery and pro-slavery elements took place mainly in the Kansas Territory between 1854 and 1861, exactly coincident with the Aquarius micro-age decan overflow (1856 – 1861) when this Aquarius period was at full strength.  The heart of the conflict was the question of slavery.  This conflict was a proxy war between anti-slavery forces in the North and pro-slavery forces from the South.

This conflict presaged the Civil War (1861 to 1865)[3] exactly coincident with the middle Libra micro-age decan overflow (1861 -1866) of the 19^th century Gemini micro-age. This suggests that Libra is a dangerous sign for entrenched traditional elements in the USA and suggest the period 2024 to 2029 (again aligned to a Libra micro-age decan overflow) will be an extreme confrontational period in the USA.  The seeds of this conflict should appear with the current Aquarius micro-age decan (2014 – 2019) and become bleeding obvious in the period 2019 – 2024.  This does not suggest anything as extreme as a civil war, as the 19^th century period occurred just past the 1851 peak of the Cancer sub-age decan and overflow (1791-1851-1910) with Cancer in opposition to the highly conservative Capricorn element high on the USA’s totem pole.  Context is everything in macro-astrology.  However the levels of opposition and bitterness will reach new heights.

There is the possibility that another progressive president of FDR genus may appear in American politics under the current Aquarius period.  Bernie Saunders may be FDR reincarnated?  However the current Aquarius period is one third the strength and size of FDR’s Aquarius micro-age and overflow.  This limits both the degree of progressive policies that will occur and the opposing fascists’ sentiments of conservative groups.  However, fascist tendencies will also strengthen in the USA over the coming decade in the current Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow even if Hillary Clinton or Bernie Saunders becomes president.

If the world just kept going around in circles, we would have the likes of Hitler and Mussolini appear regularly, but  each decade and century pushes the world further into the heartland of the Age of Aquarius, and the astrology strongly suggests that the world is heading towards a more progressive and democratic  world.  As an example, all OECD nations[4] are firmly democratic.  Since December 2014, for the first time in over 7,000 years, the world is in an age, age-decan, sub-age, sub-age decan, micro-age and micro-age decan which when combined with all their respective overflow periods, are ALL in Water or Air zodiacal signs.  It is the Fire and Earth signs that breed conservatism while the Air and Water signs promote progressive liberal policies.  So while there will be some backtracking, especially in the Second and Third World nations, the world is not speeding towards fascism but towards secular progressive democratic liberalism.

The liberal-fascist struggle will be played out mainly in the Middle East, China, Russia and Africa in the coming decade with fascism always the easy option.  The current Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow sits under the shadow of the Cancer micro-age overflow (2014 – 2029).  Cancer promotes China, Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, New Zealand and much of Polynesia, the Middle East including Greece.  These countries and regions excluding Scandinavia, Canada and New Zealand may succumb to backward political developments.  Progressive modern countries will be influenced by both sides of Aquarius but fascism needs an undemocratic environment to succeed and these countries are unlikely to succumb to populace brute force over democracy.

The revealing years for the current Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow is the overflow period of December 2019 to November 2024 when the era of military coups so strong in the 1960s and 70s (under Scorpio) will again affect less evolved countries.  Some second tier countries will make progressive advances and other will turn more to fascism to control their populations.  Third World countries will be the most prone to autocratic exercise of fascism.  The countries most at risk are associated with Leo  as Leo is opposite Aquarius and therefore Leo countries will be either under threat or aggressive.   The Leo associated countries also include all of South America plus Bhutan, France (and particularly Paris – the City of Light), Greece, India, Israel and Zimbabwe – though these lists are incomplete.

Already Paris has been hit with the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.  Greece resorted to a democratic defense in July 2015 to attempt to fight off the international bankers.  The likely contenders to be caught in the Aquarius net are:  Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and South America in general, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey and the USA. Singapore and Turkey will be interesting case studies to watch to see how far they may graduate into progressive countries or regress into fascism even though Turkey is an OECD country.

Countries that are financially vulnerable under Aquarius are any country associated with Cancer.  This includes a significant number of countries with China at the top of the list followed by Middle Eastern countries, much of Polynesia, France, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, Russia, and the UK.  Countries that can lose prestige in any of a number of ways are those countries associated with Scorpio.  Scorpio countries include France, Germany, Indonesia and Japan (though Germany has a strong relationship with Aquarius and therefore avoid any loss of prestige).  The Roman Catholic Church’s reputation or status is also awkward in this period as the Roman Catholic Church is a Pisces-Scorpio institution (with plenty of Aries and Capricorn thrown into the mix).

The four stages of the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow are as follows:

Stage	Start	End	Strength
1	Dec-14	Jun-17	Weak
2	Jun-17	Dec-19	Medium
3	Dec-19	Jun-22	Strong
4	Jun-22	Nov-24	Medium-Strong

The next upgrade of Aquarius is around June 2017 where even stronger hints of what lie ahead should appear.  From December 2019 onwards it is Aquarius all-the-way but from June 2022 it will pull back somewhat as the Libra quasi micro-age decan comes online but there is always a sting in the tail of all periods in macro-astrology.

The Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow will also archetypally interface in part with the Cancer micro-age overflow (2014 – 2029) because Cancer is anti-authoritarian and Aquarius is revolutionary which means it is usually fighting authority.  People from one end of the world to the other will be seeking to break free of out-of-date restrictions and limitations.  In response, reactionary forces will institute draconian and fascist’s measures to counter such ‘insurrection’ and the strength of each society will determine which of the progressive or reactionary forces succeed.  In some cases it will be the opposite scenario where the revolutionary forces (ISIS, Taliban, Al Quada etc.) or anti-immigration parties will attempt to exert their views upon society and either succeed or fail.  The anti-immigration forces will strengthen as the Cancer micro-age decan overflow that commenced in December 2014 ensures 7 years of increased movement of people between countries seeking a better home and lifestyle compared to before December 2014.

Another side of Aquarius is excitement.  The last Aquarius micro-age coincided with the Roaring 20s and the Jazz Age.  The cultural aspects of the Roaring Twenties began in leading metropolitan centers, especially Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin and London; then spread widely in the aftermath of World War I producing a period with a distinct cultural edge. The French called it the “Crazy Years” emphasizing the era’s social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood and Art Deco peaked. The era saw the large-scale use of electricity (ruled by Aquarius) plus significant changes in lifestyle and culture. In most major countries women won the right to vote.  The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity associated with (Aquarius) modernity and a break with traditions. Everything seemed to be feasible through modern technology. New technologies, especially automobiles, movies and radio enhanced the surge of “modernity” to a large part of the population. At the same time, jazz became popular and the period is also often referred to as the Jazz Age.[5]  We can expect exciting times ahead under our smaller Aquarius period and perhaps we will see some Jazz musicians the likes we have not seen for decades? The discordance of jazz matches the eccentric nature of Aquarius.

Finally, the new Aquarius period will ‘oppose’ the remnant influence from the Leo micro-age and overflow (1985-2000-2014) with the Leo micro-age period proper (1985 – 2000) aligned to the greatest bull market of all times.  The first major threat to the (Leo) bull market was the Scorpio micro-age decan overflow (2010-2014) coinciding with the darkest years of the recent Global Recession as Scorpio ‘demotes’ anything associated with Leo.  The remnants of the Leo bull market left in the world will get trampled upon by the Aquarius period, especially its overflow commencing in December 2019. This may already be affecting China’s share markets.

Aquarius is one of the ruling signs for astrology, the other two keys signs also recognized as being associated with astrology are Scorpio and Cancer.[6] Considering the world is in the most potent Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970-2148), Cancer micro-age overflow (2014 – 2029) and now in the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow (2014-2019-2024) we can expect some significant developments in the world of astrology, especially in the period 2019 to 2024.

As the world slowly creaks towards the strength of the Aquarius Age over the coming centuries, the tide passes over different landscapes, and the main landscape at this part of the Age of Aquarius is defined by Scorpio due to the Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970-2148).  Change is accelerated at this time as both Scorpio and Aquarius promote change.  Despite the great change forecast for the rest of this century, there is nothing as dire or gloomy as existed in the much of the first part of the 20^th century.  However Scorpio provides a hint at how to best deal with our time.  Scorpio indicates that what is external is vulnerable because the strength lies inside.  Scorpio is the time of inner truth and history indicates that in previous Scorpio periods, there were a far greater number of seers, visionaries and promoters of Truth compared to other periods.  For example one of the greatest promoter of inner truth (when he was alive) was Jesus Christ[7] who lived almost at the same exact stage the world is in now but in the previous Scorpio sub-age overflow (8 BC – 173 AD).  Our 2015 corresponds to year 36 AD.  For those worried about climate change and the environment, the world will eventually be saved by the ethos of the new green and environmental movement that grew out of the alternative revolution of the 1960s and 70s at the peak of Scorpio.  This will not succeed in the coming decade, but it will eventually succeed.

Never a dull moment under Aquarius!

RELATED POSTS

Trump is Representative of the Age of Aquarius

The Progressives’ Lament

References:

[1]. Paul O’Brien. “Mussolini in the First World War: The Journalist, The Soldier, The Fascist”. p. 52

[2] RG Price, “Fascism Part II: The Rise of American Fascism”, May 15, 2004, http://www.rationalrevolution.net/articles/rise_of_american_fascism.htm

[3] Bleeding Kansas, Wikipedia, Retrieved 02:09, July 5, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bleeding_Kansas&oldid=666234463

[4] OECD nations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,  Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015, June 27), Wikipedia, Retrieved 02:03, July 11, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Development&oldid=668900043

[5] Roaring Twenties. (2015, July 8). Wikipedia, Retrieved 01:02, July 9, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roaring_Twenties&oldid=670526191

[6] Research has found that over the last 2,000 years whenever significant periods are ruled by Cancer, Scorpio or Aquarius, great strides are made in the evolution of astrology.

[7] Glenville Whittaker, “For Christ’s Sake: pressing the refresh button on the life of Jesus”, 2014

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Associated Posts

A Funny Thing Happened in the 21st Century – Part 1

Will New Agers Rule the World

Scorpio – the Sign of the Times

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Further resources from Terry MacKinnell

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

The Age of Aquarius for Dummies – explains the structure and sub-periods associated with the astrological ages

Aquarian Age Economics – Examines the relationship between macro-astrology and financial cycles

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

FaceBook – keep up to date with what is happening

“The Dawning” is available from Xlibris, Amazon etc

Detailed examination of the astrological ages from the Age of Leo to the Age of Aquarius including age-decans

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A Funny Thing Happened in the 21st Century – Part 1

The astrological ages behave like mighty ocean waves. Each age-wave mimics each other age-wave, in shape, size and velocity, but the variation is in the archetypes associated with each wave.  Each wave brings a different set of archetypes with it.  The problem with astrological ages is that they are spaced around 2,150 years apart and very few people can contextualize a series of historical currents separated from each other by 2,150 years.

Dividing an age into three equal parts creates age-decans with each age-decan in the order of around 700 years may be slightly more palatable, but the time spans involved are still taxing for most people.  Sub-ages of around 179 years each may be a little more familiar to many people as most people have some kind of familiarity with the Renaissance followed by the Age of Maritime Exploration with the Scientific Age closely on its heel.  Next came the Industrial Revolution leading to the worldwide population explosion, followed by the Atomic Age and now we have the desultory period of post-modernism.  Sub-ages enter the realm of relative familiarity.

In the same way that ages can be divided into three decans, so can sub-ages.  It is my observation that the smaller sub-age decans of approximately 60 years is the most palatable way for most people to relate to history because 60 years approaches the average span of life.  The normal person will have personal experience of at least two sub-age decans over the course of their life, and the cultural remembrance of the sub-age decan experienced by their parents or grandparents is so strong, that a third sub-age becomes almost as real as the two that are directly experienced.  For Baby Boomers at least, they have direct experience of the Scorpio sub-age decan, the current Gemini sub-age decan, with handed down tales of the Pisces sub-age decan of their grandparents, supplemented with the movies of the 1930s we saw as kids on TV.  Younger generations may be too removed from the Pisces sub-age decan, but they should assimilate the arrival of the coming Aquarian sub-age decan in 2029!

These 60 years sub-ages are not only understandable by most people due to their direct experience, they also seem to dictate the geopolitical reality of the world that sits upon the collective expectations and reality of the world’s population.  The sub-ages provide a structure to analyze what can be expected to occur in the current 21st century.  The 21^st century is mainly focused upon the Gemini sub-age decan (1970-2029) followed by the Aquarius sub-age decan (2029 – 2089).  These two sub-ages are the first two of three sub-ages of the Libra sub-age (1970-2148).  The funny thing is that the current 21st century will be ‘milder’ than last century and next century.

Before delving into the sub-age decans of the current 21st century (2001 to 2100) it is important to place the 21^st century into context.  The 21^st century sits between the 20^th and 22^nd centuries.  The 21^st century is not only bookended by each of these two centuries but also dwarfed by each of them.  The 20^th and 22^nd centuries are far more powerful than the current 21^st century.  This can be readily explained.

The 20^th and 22^nd centuries each have a sub-age cusp located within them whereas the 21^st century lacks such an event.  The Scorpio sub-age came to an end in 1970, and the current Libra sub-age will truncate in 2148.  Each of these cusps can be viewed as the crest of their respective waves.  The wave associated with a sub-age is the third strongest of all the waves, and is only exceeded by the age-decans’ and age cusps’ waves. In a superficial analysis, the fact that the current 21^st century has no wave of the size of a sub-age cusp may indicate that it is a ‘lessor’ century.  This may or may not be the case because approximately every second century lacks a sub-age cusp.  Since 1000 AD, the 12^th, 14^th, 16^th and 19^th centuries all lacked a sub-age cusp.  It is very possible that each of these centuries were subordinate to the centuries that did contain a sub-age cusp.  A superficial examination of all the centuries since 1000 AD in Wikipedia does qualitatively support this notion but even if true, it is probably a moot point.

So while our 21^st century is bereft of a sub-age cusp, it sits directly under the path of the Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970-2148) which in essence is like a tsunami passing over a hapless world. Scorpio does not bring peace or security but disaster and regeneration.  Scorpio is not the sign of war, but it is the sign of terrorism and terrorists. It is the sign of underground criminal networks and disenchanted individuals willing to die for whatever cause.  It is the sign of vulnerability where despite statistical indications to the contrary, people feel that crime, death from war and violence and premature death is occurring more frequently. Scorpio is also the sign of debt, so instead of countries being rated on their gold reserves, they are rated on their debt level.  People use credit cards instead of cash.  The recent GFC was extremely painful for many who had borrowed heavily to fund their stock portfolios.

However, the great scourge associated with the Scorpio wave that peaked in 1970 and is now washing over the world is pollution. Some astrologers have a problem with pollution being associated with Scorpio, but in reality, pollution is the excrement of our modern enlightened society and associated economy.  Many people fear the advent of the Third World War, but the scourge of this century is not a world war but something that has the potential to be just as deadly.  Of course atomic bombs and nuclear power stations are ruled by Scorpio, and their proliferation since the arrival of the Scorpio sub-age decan overflow in 1970 plus some of the nuclear accidents that have occurred to date, strongly suggest that nuclear radiation contamination is also in the hand of cards now being played.  Fukishima again demonstrated our increasing vulnerability to nuclear accidents.

Not everything is dark and gloomy with Scorpio, after all, sex is a strong Scorpio archetype. The Sexual Revolution unleashed in the 1960s and 70s aligned to the peak of the Scorpio wave has fundamentally changed western society and continues to ripple out to the rest of the world. The arrival of legalized gay marriage in some regions of the western world demonstrates that the Scorpio wave of sexual liberation is showing no signs of faltering.  Even Muslim countries like Malaysia have recently allowed their gays to come out of the closet while more backward nations have strengthened their anti-homosexuality laws – but the focus remains on Scorpio.

Is Scorpio a doom-laden gloomy sign compared to most other signs? This is a matter of perspective.  Certainly a key attribute of Scorpio is its death-rebirth nature.  On the one hand this breeds born-again Christians (and seemingly born-again Muslims) but on a more significant perspective, it indicates a time of renewal following a breakdown.  Is the world breaking down?  Is it renewing?

I recently had the fortunate experience of attending the 2014 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali.  This was not the first time I had attended one of these festivals in Bali, but it was the first for a few years.  It is a great place to feel which direction the wind is blowing.  The almost unanimous consensus by the writers, intellectual s and attendees was that the direction the world is heading is wrong.  Specifically the economic paradigm introduced or forced upon the rest of the world by powerful western nations (since the arrival of the Pisces age overflow in the 15^th century) benefits the minority rich at the expense of the vast majority of the world population.  The accumulation of wealth by a few is disproportionate to the number of extremely poor people in the world.  Furthermore, the environmental degradation of the world is a direct consequence of this unquenchable quest for wealth by those who basically are already wealthy in relative terms.

In contrast to chasing wealth, many people at the festival expressed the need to find value from non-materialistic aspects in life.  This was probably best expressed by Keibo Oiwa from Japan who is a cultural anthropologist, film-maker, environmental activist, public speaker and the author of over 50 books.  His slogan for the future was the need to be ‘slower, smaller and simpler’. He received much applause.  Thus we are seeing the dawn of a new perspective on the modern world, one not focused upon wealth and power but upon quality and happiness.  No one was calling for the destruction of capitalism but the sentiment was that capitalism will have to be house-trained.

Keibo Oiwa is not alone, and ever since the 1960s and 70s there has been a small but growing number of people attempting to live an alternative lifestyle or opting out of the money-centric world of extreme capitalism that we now find ourselves in.  Is the shopping mall a sign of progress?  One Balinese teacher complained how her youthful students were totally focused upon what we would call junk-food, because in their eyes, cool people overseas ate rubbish at McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and the like – anyone with a white skin was considered cool.  It seems that humans are like chimpanzees that want to mimic each other.

This alternative urge towards house-trained capitalism and quality of life over wealth will be a growing phenomenon of the current 21^st century but for a while, this new movement will be dwarfed by terrorism, epidemics, failed states, criminal gangs, tyrannical leaders and megalomaniac states but this does not mean a rebirth is not in progress.  According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of “The Tipping Point”, it only takes about 20% of the population to move towards a new idea, trend, or social behavior which then crosses a threshold and spreads like wildfire.  Already in Australia, about 10% on average of the voting population vote Green in every election.  How many decades until this figure is 20%?

The work is certainly cut out for the world in the 21^st century, but any examination of the two centuries that sandwich the 21^st century suggests that while change is imminent, due to the Scorpio wave passing over the whole of this century, the level of destruction or chaos that will be experienced in the 21^st century is limited. The destructive influence on both the 20^th and 21^st centuries are much greater compared to the 21^st century.  We have already passed through the 20^th century, and survived, and the inherent problems in the 21st century should not be as great, despite contemporary society’s pessimism.  A funny thing about the present 21st century is that it should be ‘milder’ on humanity compared to the previous 20th century.

Relevant time periods:

Scorpio sub-age and overflow (1791-1970-2148)

Libra sub-age and overflow (1970-2148-2327)

• Gemini sub-age decan (1970-2029)
• Aquarius sub-age decan (2028-2089)

The sub-age decans of the Libra sub-age

Notes

All ages and sub-periods behave like a wave in the shape of a bell curve.  When any period commences, it is at its weakest point, and steadily build in strength to its apogee at the end of its period.  It then breaks like a wave and washes over the following period like a wave in what is called its ‘overflow’.  Research indicates that the sign associated with any period appears stronger in the overflow period.  For example the Scorpio sub-age was 1791 to  1970 but Scorpio will appear to diversify much further in its overflow period compared to its period proper. A funny thing about the present 21st century is that it should be ‘milder’ on humanity compared to the previous 20th century.

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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 

How will we be judged?

….. or to be more precise, how will our contemporary modern world be judged in one thousand years time?

I was inspired to write this blog after partially watching an interesting TV documentary Life After People.[1] This documentary explores the fictional notion that somehow all of humanity suddenly disappears, leaving the world intact as it is today but minus human beings.  Without humans, everything begins to decay.  Termites begin chewing through the wooden structures, iron rusts and vegetation takes over. Even concrete ‘dissolves’ as modern concrete is not as sturdy as the ancient concrete employed by the ancient Romans (and modern concrete produces far more pollution than Roman concrete).  In about 1,000 year’s time, there is virtually nothing left – except for ancient monoliths such as the Egyptian pyramids.

This documentary contrasted ancient monuments and modern construction techniques.  Modern construction materials are not orientated for longevity. Without constant rebuilding or intense maintenance, most of our constructed modern world will quickly deteriorate.  In stark contrast, the pyramids have lasted over 4,000 years, and many of ancient Rome’s impressive building remain available for tourists to visit. These remnant Egyptian monuments are likely to last for many more thousands of years.

The contrast between ancient Egypt and the modern world has an underlying astrological connection.  Ancient Rome was the empire of the Taurus age.[2]  The modern world currently is the product of the Scorpio sub-age and overflow[3] (of the Aquarian age). Taurus and Scorpio are opposite signs!  Therefore what is strong in a Taurean period is weak in a Scorpio period (and vice versa).  When we think of ancient Egypt we think of grand pyramids, the Sphinx and massive rock facades on valley walls – plus the aroma of incense, essential oils and freshly baked bread ….. and other sensual delights.  Ancient Egypt was Taurus made manifest.  There will be no other time in the world where Taurus will be as strong, as when ancient Egypt thrived, for round about another 19,000 years.  So despite the modern technological revolution, it is unlikely any society over the next 19,000 will produce a society that leaves so many archaeological epitaphs for many thousands of years compared to ancient Egypt.  Egypt has set the benchmark for a long time!

We automatically conclude that our modern world is superior to what came before.  However the astrology of the ages indicates otherwise.  For example, why hasn’t the contemporary modern world with vastly greater population produced a better poet than Shakespeare?  Why aren’t modern classical composers superior in quality and quantity compared to the classical musicians from a couple of centuries ago?  The answer is very simple.  At various times over the course of the Great Year (some 26,000 years long), there are twelve astrological ages, and these ages indicate a peak of archetypal energy associated with the zodiacal sign of the astrological age.  For example the Aries age and overflow (2916 BC – 1433 AD) indicates a peak time for war and violence.  Despite the fact nothing in the past is of the magnitude of the two world wars of the 20^th century,[4] the person who conquered more of the Eurasian land mass than anyone prior or later is Genghis Khan (c.1162–1227 AD).  This occurred under the influence of Aries and is unlikely to be repeated until around another 23,000 years when the world enters the next Aries age.  The sub-ages of ages also demonstrate this same trait. 

The modern world is a passing experience – and it does not mean that the modern world is superior to all of what came before.  From the perspective of the Scorpio age and overflow (1791 – 2148 AD) within the Aquarian age, that has produced much of what we recognize as the contemporary modern world, certain developments that are archetypally associated with Scorpio will set benchmarks that should withstand the next 2,000 years.[5]  What are these Scorpio benchmarks?  These include the internet, genetic engineering and all its spin-offs including GM foods, the sexual revolution, abortion, nuclear power and weapons, national and personal debt, loans, credit cards, tyrants (Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot etc), pollution, recycling, revolutions, underground criminal networks (e.g. the Mafia, Triad etc) and unseen forces such as insecurity and spiritual regeneration  – to name a few. The appearance of these Scorpio archetypes will withstand the winds of change for quiet some time. 

It is possible to predict the next peak of human activity based on the slow movement of the ages.  Of the twelve sub-ages (approx 179 years each) that exist within each astrological age, sub-ages can be broken down into three sub-age decans (of approximately 60 years each).  The Gemini sub-age decan and overflow (1970 – 2074 with its peak period 2029 – 2074) will witness the greatest manifestation of Gemini since 1073 AD (around 1,000 years ago).  What can we expect from Gemini – especially in the period around 2029 to 2074?  Firstly the continuation of the communications revolution due to cell phones (mobile phones), emails and the internet. Other areas strongly associated with Gemini include: the massive growth of education around the world[6] – especially pre-university education; the automobile revolution utilizing clean energy; a new futuristic road network; environmentally sustainable transportation; a revitalization of cities; and the minimalization of language due to texting; plus the greatest novelist(s) of the last 1,000 years. Amazon’s Kindle and Apples iPad are ongoing example of new direction in (Gemini) literature. On the negative side the world may be prone to major wind storms, deteriorating air quality and massive increase in lung diseases due to pollution.  Gemini currently remains in its formative period (1970 – 2029), and all the Gemini archetypes referred to will be at their most powerful in the period 2029 – 2074.

Though we can expect amazing novelists to spring out of the peak of the current Gemini influence around 2029, the influence of the larger and current Scorpio sub-age is much greater.  How will people in the future judge our modern world?  On the negative side they will see the modern period as the greatest example of rapine of the Earth where much of the oil and gas laid down over many millions of years and many other limited natural resources are extracted from the ground and used injudiciously with scant regard for future generations.  We are behaving like pigs at the trough.  We will be earmarked as that strange period when atomic energy and bombs were developed and utilized for good and bad – provided we have not blown the world to smithereens or totally polluted it with nuclear waste so that it is inhospitable to humanity.

On the plus side, we will be seen as that time in history when the world revolted, and dismissed its hereditary kings, monarchs and aristocracy.  The internet will be seen as a gift.  The Sexual Revolution will also be noticeable in one thousand years time when humanity commenced to be liberated from archaic sexual roles and gender inequality. We will be remembered for our spiritual and religious reinvigoration as displayed by the arrival of born again Christians, the growth of fundamentalism in Christianity and Islam plus the increased spiritualism associated with new sects and groups that have proliferated since the 1970s and the natural spirituality of the New Age movement.

Though it has not occurred yet, we will probably be well remembered for the grassroots revolution against rampant and ecologically unsustainable consumerism (this grass roots revolution is unlikely to see its culmination prior to the middle of the next century).  We will be seen as that strange time before the coming ecological golden age (2148 – 2863).[7]  Our modern world is actually the gear-change time where the 10,000 years momentum of unplanned and ad hoc development of the world collides with its ecological consequences.  This is part two of a mighty revolution that is underway.  Part one was the revolution that dethroned the kings – part two is the environmental revolution that we are only seeing the beginning.

Unfortunately we will most likely be remembered badly – because compared to what is to follow, we don’t look good.  The mini-golden age due around the middle of next century and lasting for around seven centuries indicates a world of balance, equality, ecological awareness and most likely a much smaller world population compared to today’s world.  Scorpio is the sign of pruning – how much of the world’s population will be pruned over the next 150 years or so?  From the current figure of 7 billion people, at least half may be pruned.  This is already occurring.  Most first world nations now have a negative population growth, with many second tier nations also falling in line.  Research indicates that the more educated and economically prosperous a region – the lower the birth rate.

The astrology of the ages supports the realization by many that the world is on a collision course with environmental degradation due to pollution.  How far will we go before something decisive and effective is done about the deplorable ecological situation?  The influence of the Scorpio sub-age strongly insinuates that the world will go past the point of no-return before anything effective is done – with some severe long-term consequences for this lack of timely and direct counter measures. Despite the appearance of a possible golden age next century associated with the Libra decan of the Aquarian age, Libra produces indecisiveness – as no zodiacal sign has only positive qualities associated with it.  So while the steady increase in Libra that has been occurring in the world has produced greater environmental awareness by a significant amount of the population, the amount of indecisiveness and the degree of luxury people want to experience (and damn the consequences) is also on the increase.  The perceived failure of the Copenhagen Accord in late 2009 on climate change to really tackle the issue head-on is an example of this indecisiveness.

We must put the present parlous circumstance of the world in context.  What period since the arrival of civilization has been viewed as a golden age?  The earliest and only recorded possible contender for a golden age is in the Gemini age many thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) when farmers first settled down into villages but no form of government existed.  It appears that political and social decisions were made through consultation and the family elders.  This golden age occurred at the cusp of hunter-gathers and the new farmers before all the developed attributes of civilization had evolved (i.e. laws, regulations, leaders, armies, police, religions etc).  Civilization brings great benefits and great problems.  Are the benefits greater than the problems?  On average perhaps not, but the next 150 years may be the exception to the rule where problems of civilization are far greater than the benefits.

I fear that in one thousand years time we will be judged badly but with two qualifications.  Firstly I am assuming that civilized society exists in 1,000 years time – which cannot be assumed.  Secondly I am assuming that people in 1,000 years time will be judgmental – like they are today, and seem to have been for many thousands of years.  Perhaps people in a thousand years will be more evolved and will follow the maxim “judge not and you will not be judged”?

---

[1] see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_After_People and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBtHICMmDJk

[2] Specifically the Taurus age overflow (2916 – 732 BC)

[3] the Scorpio sub-age and overflow (1791 – 2148) – the third sub-age of the Age of Aquarius (see Is the Aquarian Age Like a Block of Granite?). Basically each astrological age has 12 sub-ages.  The most influential sign currently in the Aquarian age is Scorpio.

[4] To be statistically correct, the many millions of deaths associated with the two world wars of the 20^th century need to be put in context of the world population at the time.

[5] In around 2,000 years time in the next age, the Capricorn age, there will also be a Scorpio sub-age.  The current Scorpio sub-age is the most powerful example of Scorpio until that time and therefore provides us with a 2,000 years Scorpio benchmark.

[6] India has just announced (in 2010) a massive plan to educate its vast millions of uneducated children over the coming decades.

[7] The ecological golden age is associated with the Libran age-decan of the Aquarian age.  Each age has three age-decans.

Females, Women and Feminists in the Age of Aquarius

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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