THE SILENT REVOLUTION

© Copyright Terry MacKinnell 2008

 

The Aquarian age has become part of our cultural heritage since the musical Hair with most people relating the Aquarian age to those psychedelic and revolutionary times of the 1960’s and 70’s.  Ages are very long, at about 2150 years each, and while the Aquarian age did not commence in the 20^th century, the 1960’s and 70’s was a significant milestone.  Very few people realize that ages can be divided into sub-ages of about 179 years each.  The 1960’s and 70’s marked the beginning of the peak expression of the Scorpio sub-age within the Age of Aquarius.

Whenever a sub-age arrives at its peak expression new and emergent cultural and historical developments appear for better or worse.  The previous Sagittarius sub-age unleashed upon the world the Industrial Revolution leading to the population explosion and the associated hyper-production that has lead to today’s pollution.  A key archetype of Scorpio is the waste product from anything.

Pollution is not the only development associated with the new dominancy of Scorpio within the Age of Aquarius – nuclear energy and weapons are also included.  Other clearly defined Scorpio developments that have appeared are space travel; the sexual revolution including birth control, sexual predators and the Scorpio health scourge – AIDS; recycling and the sustainable environmental movement; the death penalty as a deterrent; genetic engineering, cloning and GM foods; the massive growth of debt by countries and individuals including the explosion of credit cards; a general sense of insecurity; constant change; born-again Christians; terrorism, revolutions and revolutionaries; underground criminal networks; assassinations; espionage and spying to list of few associations.

Within the present Scorpio sub-age influence are clearly defined hotspots.  The first Scorpio hotspot was the 1960’s and 70’s.  The world is in the process of entering the second Scorpio hotspot that will build up like a wave between 2005 and 2010 and peak between 2010 and 2015.  We can already see the resurgence of Scorpio in action.

The whole nuclear energy issue has recently received prominence in the media and many people are now using the threat of global warming from pollution as a new reason to go nuclear.  Global warming due to pollution reached a new sense of urgency and crisis in 2007 with the release of the UN Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change in 2007.  The former Russian spy Litvinenko was murdered late in 2006 by deadly radioactive poisoning in perhaps the first case of nuclear terrorism (a double Scorpio association).  A prominent Lebanese leader was assassinated in 2006 and the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007.  This is only the thin edge of the wedge of what can be expected to occur between now and 2015.

Most social commentators have noted the increasing rise of insecurity in the world in recent times.  Recently on a trip to the USA I read in a local newspaper about how some immigrants let their children go down to the park to play on their own.  These immigrants were publicly told that this is not how things are done in the USA.  There is no statistical reason for this rising insecurity because if anything the world is safer now than a generation ago, especially in First World countries.

What has changed is the media.  Now when any disaster, murder, kidnapping or child molestation occurs anywhere in the world the media can bring it almost instantly into our living room in high definition.  The barrage of negative news naturally makes people fearsome.  This leads to insecurity.  In the Scorpio world we reside in, security and stability will not be experienced in the outer or public world.

There is an entrenched myth amongst many people that the new Aquarian Age will bring in a period of peace, justice and harmony in the world.  This implies that the former Pisces age was somehow negative and the new Aquarian age is positive.  There is no basis for this assertion.  Each age and period has its own collection of positive and negative influences.  Whenever has there been a period of perfection in this world?  Why should it change now?

The influence from the Scorpio sub-age within the Age of Aquarius indicates that the world has come to a critical juncture, as amongst many other associations a strong archetype of Scorpio is death.  Will humanity die in its own filth that is polluting the air, water and earth?  Is the massive loss of biodiversity and animal species over the last century giving us a foretaste of our own destiny?

Another Scorpio archetype is regeneration or metamorphosis like a butterfly evolving from a caterpillar.  Will the world rise above its former unconsciousness and stupidity and tackle its self made problem of pollution?  The astrology of the ages cannot provide the answer.  Astrology does not provide a high definition video image of the future with surround sound – alternatively it does not produce a blank sheet of paper either.  Astrology causes absolutely nothing to happen – it is merely a technique involving synchronicity.

The solution to the mega problem of pollution lies obviously with the population of the world.  If the world is to change then the people of the world must change.  If the world is to be environmentally sustainable people must be environmentally sustainable.  One very key solution to pollution is to reduce the burgeoning population of the world.  The sign Scorpio also indicates ‘reduction’ as one of its archetypes and the world should see a significant decrease in population over the coming century and a half, especially from around 2029 onwards.  Already First World countries in general are experiencing significant falling population growths with second tier countries following suit.  China has its One Child policy.  The more affluent a country becomes, the lower the population increase.  This population decrease, if accelerated, may help save the world but it is not good for the capitalistic economic system!

Another key archetype associated with Scorpio is hidden matters, and the icon for this archetype is an iceberg with 9/10^th of its mass below the surface.  In a Scorpio time there is hidden movement and changes barely perceptible above the surface such as the already mentioned spies, terrorists and criminals.  There is also another hidden development that I call the Silent Revolution.  Sub-ages tend to unleash new social and cultural movements aligned with the archetypes associated with the sign.  The Silent Revolution complies with the Scorpio archetype in a number of ways.

What is the Silent Revolution?  The Silent Revolution is that emergent outlook on life that was first noticed around the 1960’s and 70’s.  It was a new social movement sometimes referred to at the times as the counter culture and has been silently and slowly spreading ever since in various forms and guises.  The Silent Revolution is not a direct political movement but a change in outlook by a growing number of people that influence the broader society.  It is a cultural evolution.

 

The typical but not uniform attributes of the members of the Silent Revolution are a relaxed sense of sexual morality; heightened environmental consciousness; an inner sense of worth independent of former status symbols such as social class, career or wealth; a willingness to accept change and reject outmoded values and morals; and a wider acceptance of different religions, cultures and views leading to multiculturalism.

The Silent Revolution is, like Scorpio, evolutionary and adapts to the times.  In general its members are anti-nuclear; anti-war; and highly suspicious of big business and global corporations.  The incidence of vegetarianism or preference towards organic produce is higher in this group than the wider population – as is the use of use of alternative remedies and health practises and avoidance of genetically modified foods.   Intoxicant preferences are not limited to the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol, non-addictive recreational drugs are also popular.

Some members of the Silent Revolution take a more spiritual or holistic approach to their lives but usually not with the established religions.  It must be remembered that the 1970’s spawned a range of cults including Ananda Marga, Meher Baba, the Moonies, Rajneesh and the Krishna devotees to name a few. Regardless of their authenticity or sincerity these cults tended to promote an inner path or orientation instead of reliance of external and worldly gains as the doorway to true fulfilment.  In a Scorpio period strength is not found on the outside, but on the inside.

Astrology does not suggest that the Silent Revolution will encompass the whole world over the coming 150 years.  The sub-age that follows Scorpio is Libra, and Libra’s key archetype is balance.  This is highly suggestive that a balance will develop between those with a sustainable environmental outlook with those following the more traditional approach (i.e. economic activity and jobs are more important than pollution).  The growth in this sustainable environmental outlook by members of the Silent Revolution will mimic the rise of the working class from abject exploitation in the 18^th and 19^th centuries to achieving equitable rights in the 20^th century.  It is not something that will be achieved in a decade or two.  Big problems take a long time to solve.  Pollution is a big problem.

In the meantime we must deal with the coming seven years of the current Scorpio hotspot.  Both the negative effects of pollution and the rising chorus of solutions to pollution will grow during this period.  Resurgence in the construction of nuclear reactors should be expected including the proliferation of nuclear weapons with the high probability of a nuclear accident, rogue atomic bomb or explosion of some sort.  Political assassinations, espionage, terrorism and insecurity will increase.  The negative consequences of debt for individuals and Third world countries will create problems and social unrest.  Banks will suffer, and not just from the sub-prime market. Birth control will spread, as will the sexual revolution and one destructive consequences of this – AIDS.  How well the world deals with these issues over the coming seven years is a preview of how the world will deal with pollution.  The track record to date is not inspiring.

Despite the strength of Scorpio within the Aquarian age, Aquarius involves a far longer timeframe.  There has been a slow but steady tide in the world towards technology in all its guises, democracy, freedom and individual rights over the last five centuries leading to the modern world in parallel with the arrival of the Aquarian age in the 15^th century.  In response to pollution the world is not heading back to horse drawn carts and living in caves as some reactionary pundits declare.  Technology in all its forms, flight and computers are on a very long term upwards trajectory curve.

Regardless of the political effectiveness in controlling pollution and other entrenched problems in the world the Silent Revolution will accelerate in the next seven years.  Cults, groups or personal perspectives that promote inner worth, strength or peace will again come to the notice of the general public in a way not seen since the 1960’s and 70’s but without the psychedelica of the former period.

Alvin Toffler called this emergent Silent Revolution the Third Wave.  Initially he was depressed about the direction of the world until he found between the lines this new outlook.  We have a similar choice – we can focus on the negative and decaying attributes of the world including pollution, or the emerging new reality based on our inner strength, consciousness, understanding and self-worth.