A Funny Thing Happened in the 21st Century – Part 2

The current 21st century from an astrological perspective is a ‘mild’ century.  In Part 1, an initial examination of the 21^st century was made which proposed that the 21^st century is not as dangerous compared to the 20^th and 22^nd centuries due primarily to the fact that both these centuries have a major sub-age cusp whereas the 21^st century does not.  The primary influence in the 21^st century is from the Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970-2148) and a basic examination of Scorpio archetypes was undertaken.  Sub-age cusps are not the only harbingers of disasters and difficulties, and in this post, a deeper examination of the differences between the current 21^st century compared to the two adjoining centuries is made.

For those readers not familiar with periods used in macro-astrology, you may find your understanding significantly increases if you first read Age of Aquarius for Dummies

The 20^th century saw both the peak of the Scorpio sub-age wave in 1970 and the peak of the Pisces sub-age decan (the middle decan of the Scorpio sub-age) wave in 1910.  Normally a wave associated with a sub-age decan should have only one-third the strength of a sub-age wave – but like the inevitability of Murphy’s Law, there is always an exception.  The peak of the Pisces sub-age decan wave in 1910 was the exception to the rule.  The greatest wave of all is caused by an age, and that last rolled in on an unsuspecting world in the 15^th century.  The age cusp in the 15^th century marked the boundary of the Pisces and Aquarian ages, but in the 15^th century Pisces is the sign of strength while Aquarius is just the new spindly kid on the block.

In the 15^th century, the Pisces age broke like a tsunami and is currently washing over the world for thousands of years bringing all manner of Pisces archetypes along for the ride.  Pisces is traditionally associated with Europe, is the primary sign on the USA’s totem pole, is the sign for corporations (fake bodies) and thus strongly linked to capitalism, and is the apocalyptic sign which is why key Pisces religions such as Christianity and Islam look to the end of the world for salvation.  Even many science fiction and futuristic movies often portray a post-apocalyptic future.  Pisces is the sign of endings, and many people are convinced about the imminent and messy end of human society or society as we know it.

Coincidentally Pisces archetypes include self-deception, delusion and a lack of clarity. Under Pisces’ spell, when Pisces was at its peak the Roman Catholic Church (and the new Protestantism) behaved like the Taliban or ISIS and burnt at the stake many people, exiled or persecuted them by other means due only to their beliefs.  There were massive religious wars between the Protestant and Catholic nations (similar to the Sunni and Shiite antagonism currently playing out in the Middle East).  The Black Death ravaged Europe.  The majority of the American Indians were killed by disease upon contact with their European superiors, if they had not already been murdered or enslaved.  Millions of innocent Africans were transported to become slaves with many millions dying a horrible death on route.  It was not a pretty picture.  There were many developments on the positive side of Pisces at this critical juncture but at this point, I am looking for worse case scenarios.

When the tsunami of the Pisces age wave passes over the centuries, if it comes across a significant Pisces sub-period it resonates with the smaller Pisces period creating, for a short time, a far greater impact than can normally be expected from a smaller wave.  When the Pisces age wave hit the early 20^th century, it resonated with the smaller Pisces sub-age decan wave and reminded the world of what it was like to live under medieval Pisces in earlier centuries.  This is why in the first half of the 20^th century the world saw two World Wars, the Great Depression and the millions of deaths associated with the Spanish flu in 1918 which killed more people than the First World War.  How many hundreds of millions of people were cut down before their time in the first half of the 20^th century? Again, I am focusing on the dark side of Pisces only. The first half of the 20^th century was the great disaster of modern times, and there is nothing remotely like it indicated in the current 21^st century.

On the other side of the 21st century, the 22nd century has something that only appears once every age.  Each age has three age-decans.  The cusp of one age decan coincides with the cusp of the ages so can be discounted, leaving the two remaining cusps.  The first of these two age-decan cusps takes on additional role.  The first age-decan cusp of any age is of the opposite sign of the second last age overflow and stops it in its tracks!  The whole of the Pisces age (732 BC – 1433 AD) was dominated by the Aries age overflow in the same way that the current Aquarius age (1433 – 3574) is dominated by the Pisces age overflow. However when the 15^th century arrived unleashing the Pisces age-overflow, the remnants of the Aries age overflow continued to be carried along in the slipstream.  Aries brought the Age of Warfare and the continuation of the military madness associated with Aries has carried forward into the modern world – but it has a time fuse attached to it.

War is not the only archetype attached to Aries, it is the sign of male-dominated society and sits high on the European totem pole along with Pisces in contrast with the Far East which has a focus upon Libra.  Aries has driven the constructive urge in the world where nearly everywhere in the world has numerous examples of spectacular engineering feats.  Somehow, all this comes to a screeching halt from the middle of the 22^nd century onwards because of the peak of the Libra age decan in 2148 – with Libra countering Aries’ archetypes.  Furthermore, age-decan cusps produce serious schisms, and the strength of an age decan cusp is such that even the constitutional integrity of the US government will most likely be compromised (for a short time) before political continuity returns.  Major empires and regions have a history of collapsing upon the arrival of an age-decan cusp.  Age-decan cusps are serious business.  Nothing like this is seen in the current 21^st century.

Before examining the 21^st century in detail, it is important to reiterate what has been investigated so far.  The current 21^st century, for all its problems, will in no way be comparable to the extreme destruction witnessed in the first half of the 20^th century nor what is projected to occur in the 22^nd century.  The mood however for the 21^st century will be desultory and people will feel vulnerable – some will feel very vengeful. A new ethos will grow and develop over the century which can be sourced back to the 1960s and 70s.  This has precedence and previous incarnations of this same phenomena occurred with the rise of the workers commencing the early 19^th century, and the earlier rise of the bourgeoisie (self-employed businessmen). Prior to that there was the sudden appearance of the Puritans and Protestant Christians.  In each case, these movements were associated with sub-ages – the Puritans with the Capricorn sub-age, the bourgeoisie with the Sagittarius sub-age and the workers with the Scorpio sub-age.  In all cases there were long germinations times.

Each of these sub-ages of the Aquarian age have produced a major new socio-political movement

What is the new movement or ethos emanating out of the current Libra sub-age (1970 – 2148)?  It is the New Age movement, and the growth of this new environmentally-friendly social ethos is sure to follow the same pattern.  We will not experience its culmination in this century.

The two key aspects that need to be examined for a top-down view of the 21^st century are the influences from the Scorpio sub-age overflow and the newly arrived Libra sub-age (both 1970-2148 and this period can be labelled the Scorpio-Libra sub-age) plus the role of the two sub-age decans cusps that occur in the 21^st century.  Because of the wave-like nature of all periods in macro-astrology, no period is solely influenced by only one sign.  The Scorpio sub-age overflow and Libra sub-age are occurring simultaneously as the Scorpio wave has attained its peak ascendancy in 1970 and ‘breaks’ over the following period while in 1970 the Libra sub-age comes online ready for its 179 years climb to its peak.  Abbreviating the period to the Scorpio-Libra sub-age indicates the role of the two signs in this period and the dominance of Scorpio of Libra in the timeframe.

The Scorpio-Libra sub-age (1970-2148) has a demarcation line around the year 2059.  Before 2059 Scorpio is the absolute dominant sign in the partnership, but from around 2059 Libra becomes noticeably more powerful.  The input from Scorpio has already been covered in brief, but there is more to Scorpio than regeneration.  The other key archetype associated with Scorpio is reduction including minimalism.  Scorpio likes to prune the tree.  All the predictions for the world population indicate a continuation of the exponential growth in the number of people in the world.  The population explosion was a direct result of the Sagittarius sub-age overflow (1791-1970) and few people will disagree with the association of a booming population with the sign Sagittarius.  However it is now Scorpio’s turn, and Scorpio is not expansionary like Sagittarius – in many ways it has an opposite quality.  Scorpio wants the population of the world to reduce!

How will the world’s population reduce when all the pundits predict the opposite?  Most people latch onto apocalyptic scenarios, but this melodramatic view of the future is associated with Pisces, and though Pisces is the primary sign in the world for many more centuries to come, there is no Pisces period of strength in the 21^st century to resonate with.  The most it can do is prop up the Pisces micro-age and overflow (2059-2074-2089) where it is likely to create another economic bubble which will again crash spectacularly around 2092 to 2097.

The fall in population is already occurring but most people cannot see it.  Most western nations have had negative population growth for decades which means the number of children being born is less than the number of people dying.  The only reason western countries are not shrinking is due to immigration.  This population contraction is now not limited to only western nations, many second tier nations are witnessing the same.  Furthermore, as the spread of the middle class extends from developed nations to developing nations, population growth falls because middle class families do not need to depend upon their children for their social security and labor as they grow old.  Recently, for the first time in history, more people live in urban centers than in rural areas.  This is merely confirmation of the worldwide trend towards an urbanized middle class with greater wealth than their average rural counterpart, resulting in families with significantly less children.  In addition, China, with 1.3 billion people is the most populace nation on earth and had for many decades an enforced One-Child policy which has drastically affected population growth for a significant proportion of the world’s population.

It may be too unrealistic to suggest that all the population contraction will be based solely on economic issues – other mildly catastrophic events may reduce population growth, but if disease, epidemics, pollution, violence and so on become factors that prune the world’s population, it cannot be at the same echelon of disasters that befell the world in the first half of the 20^th century.  One possible reason for population decline is due appropriately to growing rates of infertility – infertility is in the stable of Scorpio archetypes.  Infertility or difficulties for women to become pregnant has substantially increased in western nations since the 1960s.[i]  Infertility clinics are becoming as common as McDonalds.

The effects of the astrological ages and sub-periods are not uniform around the world but always radiate out from the age-empire or civilization focal point of the time.  Since the 15^th century this has been the prerogative, for better and worse, of western culture – firstly in Europe, but during the powerful Pisces resonant point in the early 20^th century, this was passed on to the USA.  The emergent developments will tend to occur first in western nations then radiate out to the rest of the world over the following decades or centuries.  The negative population growth of western nations has commenced radiating out past western nations, and though it may not hit Africa for over another century or more, it will ultimately get there.

The other big picture association to Scorpio is pollution.  Pollution will be a significant factor in world affairs at least until the early 23rd century.  When the world arrives at the peak of the Taurus sub-age decan[ii] around 2207, a counterbalancing period lasting many decades will reign in pollution or its effects one way or another.  There is no need to review the plethora of dire consequences that environmental scientists predict for the world except for one major aspect that I did briefly refer to in my book published in 2011.  Global Warming is real, and currently the heat is not going into atmospheric temperature but into rising oceanic temperature.  Apart from melting the ice at the poles, hot water expands.

“Can any insight be gained from the astrological ages about the prediction by many scientists of a serious rise in ocean levels due to climate change? Pisces takes control of the oceans, and scientists are stating that the conclusions of the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are too optimistic and conservative. The average ocean levels rose about 17 cm in the twentieth century. Most people are aware that the melting of glaciers and ice sheets is contributing significantly to sea level rise. However, global warming is also causing the existing seawater to expand, thus further increasing sea level rise. Based on the combination of meltwater from melting ice and expanding oceans, some experts believe ocean levels could rise by 1 meter by 2100 CE.” [iii]

The scientific evidence suggests that the sea level will rise around one meter (over 3 feet) per century for the next five centuries.  Since the 15^th century the strongest sign in the world is Pisces and will remain Pisces at least until 2500 – therefore the astrology supports the scientists.  This will be an ongoing major catastrophe in slow motion and satisfies the requirement of our current century that detrimental change is here, but not to the destructive level of the early 20^th century.  Recently I was discussing the issue with a university lecturer in marine biology and he stated that the effects of an average sea level rise of just one inch can push back the shoreline by 20 yards or more.  Most of the world’s coastal cities are doomed, but not immediately – how long can Venice survive?

In conclusion, both the 20^th and 22^nd centuries have major astrological precipitators creating extreme situations due to the Pisces sub-age decan resonating with the Pisces age overflow in the early 20^th century, and the Libra age-decan cusp in the 22^nd century opposing the violent influence carrying over from the Aries age. The funny thing is that nothing on this level occurs in the current 21^st century.

Each sub-age produces a sub-culture with a new ethos, and I have proposed that the new and emergent sub-culture that will be in a position to deal with the world’s problems will evolve from the New Age movement and Green sympathizers.   The population explosion is not only likely to continue to considerably slow down, it may even start reducing the world population as the 21^st century unwinds, unless this is totally reserved for the 22^nd century.  Ages and all sub-periods ‘radiate’ and at this stage of the Age of Aquarius, it is western culture that is the source of the radiation, and its radiating influence will slowly but steadily affect the rest of the world for better or worse (torturing prisoners or highly questionable interrogation tactics such as waterboarding will also radiate out to the rest of the world).  On the other extreme is the Peace or New Age movement which was developed within western culture.

Finally pollution will increasingly become the issue that must be resolved and the second half of the 21st century looks promising in this regard.  The astrology suggests that the current ethos of western culture is incapable of adequately addressing the major issue of pollution due to the overriding focus upon financial profit, and that it will only be due to the growing influence of the New Age/Green movement, or whatever emerges from this movement, that will sufficiently address the problem – possibly as early as 2059 or shortly thereafter.  The drive towards addressing pollution and Climate Change will build and develop in the period leading to 2059.

References

[i] http://www.fertility.com/en/stage1/articles/article8/article8.html

[ii] This Taurus sub-age decan belongs to the Virgo sub-age (c.2148-2327)

[iii] Terry MacKinnell “The Dawning”,Xlibris, 2011, p 237-8

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

 

When Will the USA Retreat from the World?

The dominance of the USA in world politics since the Second World War is clearly obvious. This coincides with a significant Pisces hotspot in the Pisces-Aquarian age (1433 – 3574) between 1910 and 1970 that strongly promoted the USA in the world due to the fact that the primary sign for the USA is Pisces. Recently chinks in America’s armor has all kinds of pundits and commentators predicting the USA’s fall from its exalted position – usually coinciding with the rising might of China. My soon to be released book on the astrological ages (see www.macro-astrology.com) compares the astrological signatures of China and the USA and how these two nations will weather the 3^rd millennium.  The USA wins hands down but China will most likely take the yin position to America’s yang for most of the current 3^rd millennium.

The most dominant sign in the 3^rd millennium is Pisces because the whole of the 3^rd millennium sits in the Pisces-Aquarian age that commenced in 1443 AD – and Pisces is the dominant sign in the Pisces-Aquarian age (and is also the dominant sign for the USA).  Pisces is a dual-bodied signs so it promotes dualities and polarities. For most of the first decan (one-third) of the Pisces-Aquarian age this duality has mainly played out in Europe.

Firstly the Catholic nations versus the new Protestant nations, then the various opposing blocs in Europe exemplified in the Napoleonic Wars leading into the 20^th century with Germany and its allies against the rest of Europe and played out in the two 20^th century world wars. Finally the short-lived Cold War expanded the scope out from Europe to the rest of the world with communism and capitalism firmly fighting for dominance. Since the collapse of the communist USSR and the arrival of capitalism into communist China the capitalist-communist divide has all but dissolved. However Pisces demands – as a rule of thumb – an ongoing political and cultural polarity in the world.

The strength of these political polarities wax and wane – within the Pisces-Aquarian age – depending upon smaller cycles within the ages. My observation is that that prime factor that defines these waxing and waning of  political dualities sits with the sub-age decans.  Each astrological age of some 2150 years each has 12 sub-ages of 178-9 years each.  Each of these sub-ages have three decans of approximately 60 years each.  These 60 years sub-age decans appear to define the geo-political reality in the world.

For example the bi-polar signs of Gemini, Libra and Pisces enhance political dualities.  The recent Pisces sub-age decan overflow (1910 – 1970), apart from promoting the USA, basically defined the rise to power of communism and its inevitable clash with capitalism until communism basically left the field of battle when the USSR imploded in 1991.  The current Scorpio sub-age decan overflow (1970 – 2029) is a mono-sign and so does not enhance polarities.  The next sub-age decan overflow is the polar sign of Gemini (a dual-bodied sign) with its full effect expected from 2029 to 2089. The world is gearing up to this new geopolitical reality and since 2000 the world has entered into a period with increasing Gemini influence – a kind of preparatory period for the Gemini sub-age decan overflow.

I expect the Gemini sub-age decan overflow will see the polarity of the USA and Western culture on the one hand and China plus Asia on the other.  This does not insinuate that this polarity will involve any significant wars or conflicts as the world is astrologically in the process of departing the multi-thousand years Age of Warfare. How will the USA react to this slow but inexorable rise of China as its sparring partner on the world stage?

The clue is the relationship of Gemini to the major sign associated with the USA – which is the sign Pisces.  Gemini stimulates the astrological 4^th house to the sign Pisces (Gemini is four signs past Gemini in the zodiac).  The 4^th house stimulates introversion, domestic affairs and avoidance of sabre rattling over issues of status.  This is a recipe for the USA to retire from its dominant role in the world and return to its more traditional isolationist approach to world affairs. This in no way detracts from its status as the age-empire of our times – it just means that the age-empire retreats to its own shores and avoids costly and divisive overseas wars or political turmoil.

The following sub-age decan after the Gemini sub-age decan overflow (2029 – 89) is the Aquarian sub-age decan overflow (2089 – 2148).  Aquarius is not a dual-bodied sign so it implies that whatever is behind the China-USA duality that exists for most of the 21^st century – that it will not extend into the 22^nd century to any degree worth mentioning.  Aquarius is the second strongest sign in the USA’s astrological signature. This indicates that this Aquarian sub-age decan overflow (2089 – 2148) should be positive for the USA but though evidence is scant – it also suggests that the USA will remain introverted or non-interventionist.  The most dominant micro-age between the two world wars of the 20^th century was the Aquarian micro-age overflow (1925 – 40) when the USA again retreated form the world after the First World War and tried to avoid international controversies – only to be rudely awaken in 1941 by the Japanese.  The sign Aquarius seems to make the USA orientate itself upon itself.

At the beginning of the 21^st century – with the USA engaged in two military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan – it seems inconceivable that the USA will not continue to behave like John Wayne on the international stage – shooting first and asking questions later. The USA has (as of 2010) been in its interventionist side of its nature for 69 years (slightly longer than the length of a sub-age decan). The astrology suggests that this has a time fuse on it (similar to the rise and fall of communism), and the USA is now on the countdown to returning to its isolationist nature.

There are astrological clues that support America’s return to isolationism. While Gemini is strongest in its sub-age decan overflow (2029-89), the embryonic Gemini sub-age decan arrived in 1970 – just in time to turn public opinion away from the war in Viet Nam. The next increased in strength for Gemini occurred in 2000 which witnessed the unprecedented mass opposition to the US led war in Iraq (and Afghanistan) by many former close allies and supporters around the world. The main support came from America’s core Anglo-Saxon allies – the UK and Australia. Here we are witnessing the whittling down of international support for America’s international interventionism.

The next increase in strength for Gemini takes place in 2015 when the Gemini sub-age (2015 – 29) arrives.  From around this date onwards we should see further examples of America’s deteriorating interventionist international foreign policy.  The arrival of the Gemini sub-age decan overflow in 2029 is the coup-de-gras. The big question is – will the USA’s retreat to isolationism be positive or negative?

I have made a big deal about the USA’s bi-polar nature oscillating between being interventionist on the world stage and being isolationist but there is another polarity associated with Pisces that should also be associated with the USA. Pisces is the ‘serve or suffer’ sign. Astrology indicates that it is not so important if America is interventionist or isolationist but rather whether it is serving (the rest of the world) or suffering as a consequence of not doing ‘the right thing’.

If you examine the history of the USA you will notice many examples of the USA ‘serving’.  The USA selflessly served liberals in Europe when it came belatedly to their rescue in the two world wars.  The USA also enacted the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 which basically protected the rest of the Americas from interference from colonizing Europeans.  The USA also attempted to protect China from the same marauding Europeans in the 18^th century.  Whenever the USA actually helps or serves it receives accolades.

When America follows its self-seeking policies or follows the demands of its industrial-military complex to engage in yet another conflict it is increasingly being jeered and even ostracized. America’s secret is not to focus upon the oscillation between isolationism and interventionism but to orientate itself to truly helping those nations, regions and people that need help.  Whenever America serves it reaps its benefits, whenever it follows its self-seeking policies (oil in Iraq) it suffers.  Once America suffers enough it will retreat back to isolationism – not realizing that the problem was not its intervention in the wider world, but its self-seeking intervention.

The USA is slowly on the path back to isolationism but this may seem far-fetched at this point of time. However there is a highly volatile micro-age that the USA must pass through between now and the arrival of the inward-looking Gemini sub-age decan overflow in 2029. The Cancer micro-age overflow (2015-29) indicates much conflict in the USA as historically whenever Cancer is strong there is much discord in the USA (due to Capricorn being the third sign on USA’s totem pole and Cancer is opposite Capricorn in nature).  For example, the last Cancer micro-age overflow coincided with the American Civil War.  The previous Cancer micro-age overflow (1687-1702) also witnessed much internal strife in the American colonies.

Prognostications upon the Cancer micro-age overflow (2015-29) must wait for another blog entry – but my instincts tell me that the USA of today will be very different to the USA of 2029. So while it seems incongruous that the USA of today will turn away from the wider world and mainly be concerned with its own affairs, after the tumult of the Cancer micro-age overflow (2015-29) is another story.

The Wisdom of the Ages

There is much wisdom to be gained from the astrological ages.  In my research and study of the ages I have taken the novel approach that to understand the ages it is necessary to ‘stand under’ the ages and let the ages teach me how they operate.  The ages do not operate in the way that the urban myths of the ages have spread.  Most astrologers define the ages and what supposedly occurs within ages based on theoretical considerations and wishful thinking, not from evidence.   The ages never indicate that paradise, utopia or a world exclusively based on consciousness, reason and rationality is around the corner – or even a possibility at any time.

In our modern world we have enough information and knowledge to examine ages in detail all the way back to the deglaciation of the world that commenced around 14,000 years ago.  It is true that highly detailed information is thin on the ground for the first few thousand years, but what information that is available from those ancient times not only support the existence of the astrological ages, but also that each age consists of positive and negative archetypes associated with the astrological sign concerned.

This is not new to astrologers.  All experienced astrologers know that the horoscope for each individual person is a combination of positive and negative elements.  Most people have a relative equal number of positive and negative astrological attributes.  There is no perfect human being and there is no perfect age.

The perspective of the ancient Chinese philosophers and sages got it right – everything associated with physical reality is composed of a combination on yin and yang, with a little bit of yang in the yin and vice versa.  What happens as each new age arrives is that the positive and negative archetypes associated with the new sign slowly take over from the positive and negative archetypes of the influence from the previous age.  This is what is happening in the world today.  The Pisces momentum from the Pisces age has promoted the positive and negative archetypes of Pisces while the new Aquarian age has commenced pushing its own positive and negative archetypes to the fore.

What are the positive and negative archetypes of Pisces?  On the plus side we have compassion, charities and social security (less so in the USA compared to most other Western nations); great poetry, drama and artworks from the likes of Shakespeare, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci onwards (including the modernists such as Picasso), an incredible array of movies, fictional novels and abstract concepts; pharmaceutical drugs for a whole range of ailments.

On the negative side of Pisces are alcoholism, poisonous chemicals, prisons, addictive drugs, propaganda (spin) and swindlers, religious delusions; slavery and now sex slaves.  In addition, there are a number of areas that can be either positive or negative depending upon your point of view.  These ambivalent Pisces activities include Buddhism, Christianity and Islam; European culture; petroleum, corporations and recreational intoxicants.

These positive and negative aspects of Pisces remain the dominant archetypes in the world but Aquarius has progressively introduced its positive and negative aspects since it arrived in 1443 (or 1442).   For example, Aquarius has promoted democracy on the positive side counter-balanced by fascism.  Whenever Aquarius is strong the sea-saw will tend to go towards fascism or democracy as both are strong Aquarian archetypes.  This is keenly demonstrated by the USA that so strongly promotes democracy within its borders yet since the Second World War has supported fascist dictators and governments around the world over democracy whenever it suits the commercial or political interests of the USA.  In fact, the USA is an excellent example of democracy and fascism conjoined – but that is another story altogether.

Positive developments associated with Aquarius include flight, electricity, humanitarianism and idealists, inventions, modernization, civic organizations and associations, and free thought.  Negative elements include lack of stability, mental instability and illnesses, emotional detachment (think of the Holocaust).  Other elements that can go either way are rebelliousness and revolutions (some bring democracy and freedom while others bring tyranny); and socialism (which can be extended to communism).

Are all zodiacal signs equal in their positive and negative aspects?   There are two schools of thought on this – the modern school typically indicates that each sign and planet is basically equal in its positive and negative aspects.  Traditionalists believe that some planets and the signs they rule are more orientated towards either positiveness or negativity.

In my observation, I believe that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  No planet or sign is all bad or good – each contains both good and bad, but some planets and signs do tend slightly more to the negative while others tend towards the positive but some sit in the middle.  I believe that Pisces does err mildly on the negative side but Aquarius is either balanced or very slightly biased towards the positive side.  This does not make the Pisces age negative and the Aquarian age positive.

Therefore, though the world is not passing from the ‘dark’ Age of Pisces to the radiant Age of Aquarius, Aquarius does seem to offer some advantages over Pisces.  This can be easily demonstrated.  Whenever the ubiquitous Jehovah’s Witnesses would arrive at my doorstep they would quickly draw my attention to all the problems and deteriorations in the world.  My standard counter was ‘if the world is so bad today, when in the past was it better?’  This perspective always left them floundering.  Do you think 1978, 1988, 1998 for example were better than 2008?

Even with all the problems of pollution, corruption, inequality, terrorism, war, violence, criminal activity and so on, the world in general today is better for a higher proportion of the world’s population compared to any time in the past.  It reminds me of something I heard not too long ago.  Someone said that if your life is 51% positive and 49% negative then you are experiencing a positive life.  The same situation applies to the world.

The majority of the world does not live the relatively gifted lifestyles of the populations of the First World countries.  The proportion of the world that does get to experience modernity is growing.  Even over the last few decades hundreds of millions of people around the world have been embraced by modernity partially or fully – one way or another, especially in China and India.

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.  The arrival of modernity from its seed that was planted over 500 years ago when the Aquarian age first arrived unannounced is steadily embracing a greater proportion of the world.  The modern world is not a perfect world but from my subjective perspective, it is superior to the medieval (Pisces) world it is replacing.

This is the wisdom of the ages.  There is no perfect age, and the Age of Aquarius is definitely not perfect.  The quest for the mythical perfect Age of Aquarius is just the hangover from Pisces.  Pisces rules delusions and self-deception.  You have a choice – you can continue to listen to delusions about a fantasized Age of Aquarius that will never arrive – or you can open your eyes and perceive the dawning of the Age of Aquarius – warts and all, that is occurring all around you and has been for over 500 years

There are many warts associated with the Age of Aquarius but in the end, it comes down to a simple issue – is the glass half full or half-empty?  On a daily basis, I give thanks to whatever reality that produced the universe and world we live in.  Is there any other time in history that is superior to today?  For the huge majority of us living in the modern world, we should be truly thankful for this unique experience since our evolution from the animal kingdom.

I sincerely hope that the dawning of the Age of Aquarius continues until all the people in the world have the option to live in this modern world.  The wisdom of the ages indicates that this will not occur this century and may not even be completed in the next one thousand years.  This is not based on my personal preferences but on what investigating the ages has taught me.

Will There be Peace in the Age of Aquarius?

 This week I received an email stating that the ‘Aquarian age will not truly begin until the whole of humanity is at peace’.  This is not a lone sentiment as many people look expectantly to the Age of Aquarius for a millenarian change.  Peace, security and harmony, for example, are all qualities that any sincere person would like to see manifest in this contrary world.  However will the Aquarian age respond in kind?

Peace has different meanings for different people.  For some peace means absence of war.  However if there is no war are people necessarily at peace?  I have also heard that peace is not the absence of war but a quality of its own.  In other words, someone can experience peace even in prison, the middle of a battle or war, but in a time of peace people may feel discontent.  This suggests that at a minimum, there are two kinds of peace, peace in the world, and peace within an individual.  My email commentator was looking for peace in the world.  However is peace possible in the world if people do not experience peace in their own lives?

In the early 70’s I had a reasonable exposure to the Hindu religion for a short period.  In the Hindu religion they have an interesting philosophy that this world is `maya’.  Roughly translated, maya means ‘illusion’.  This is not to suggest that what we experience, see and feel in this world is an illusion like a cartoon, but an illusion in the sense that it does not incorporate the ultimate reality or Truth with a capital ‘T’.  In the Hindu philosophy that I encountered, the ultimate reality is only found within an individual person.  This is probably the source of the urban myths of the states of nirvana, enlightenment or liberation.

Someone experiencing nirvana, enlightenment or liberation is like a lotus in a swamp.  The lotus is beautiful but exists and grows from the murky and muddy waters of the swamp, representative of the maya of this world.  From the Hindu perspective there is never peace in this world as peace and maya are mutually exclusive.  If the Hindu sages are correct, there will never be peace in the Aquarian age or any other age, but people can individually be at peace in any age.

Even if peace cannot exist in this world absolutely, the level of war, violence and mayhem varies over time.  Some periods of time seem less violent than others.  Some societies appear very peaceful while others are violent by nature.  For example before the Maoris arrived in New Zealand, an earlier group of Polynesian settlers lived there peaceably.  After the Maoris arrived these earlier settlers disappeared but a remnant group continued to exist on an island far off the east coast of New Zealand.  The whalers of the 19^th century discovered this remnant group and informed the Maoris.

The whalers subsequently took the Maoris to the island and the Maoris commenced killing the inhabitants.  The hapless inhabitants did not know what to do because all forms of violence was so far removed from their reality that they did not understand what was happening to them even as they were being slaughtered.  This fierceness of the Maoris’ saved them from defeat by the British in the 19^th century, and in place of conquest the British government entered into a treaty with the Maoris that continues to this day.

Some societies are comfortable with violence and other societies are not.  At certain times in history violence has been the dominant theme, while at other times a more peaceful existence ensured.  History indicates that the upsurge in war commenced about 5,000 years ago which coincidentally was aligned to the beginning of the Aries age in c.2916 BC.  Aries is ruled by the planet Mars, the traditional God of War.  Aries and war go hand-in-glove but Aries does also foster sport, competition, construction and achievement.

Before the arrival of the Aries age the world did appear somewhat less violent.  Historians have noted a general lack of defensive structures or armaments in Europe over 5,000 years ago.  This compares with the 1^st millennium BC where Europe was a series of hill fortresses on high military alert and there is wide evidence of swords.  As one historian noted, there is only one thing you can do with a sword.

Despite the lack of widespread warfare over 5,000 years ago, one of the oldest cities in the world is Jericho dating from 9000 BC.  From its earliest days Jericho was fortified by a defensive wall.  Obviously it needed a defensive wall to ward off raiding parties from surrounding inhabitants.  So even well before the violent Aries age, violence was still around, but historians state that it was not so widespread or as entrenched as later periods.

The arrival of the Aries age in c.2916 BC saw the arrival of mass warfare.  The Mesopotamians turned increasingly to war and the first empire gained through military means was the defeat of the Sumerian by Akkad under Sargon who reined from 2270 BC – 2215 BC.  From hereon in the history of the world is virtually the history of war.  At the end of the Aries age when the momentum of Aries had reached its full power, the little village of Rome was formed, ushering in a new age of war under the military-orientated Romans.

One quirky problem the Romans encountered as their empire expanded is that neighboring cities within the Roman Empire could not fight each other once they were incorporated in the Roman Empire. The traditional approach to government by the Romans was to allow conquered cities to maintain their own government.  However what these city governments wanted to do most of all was go to war with their neighbors.  This the Romans would not allow so often the sulky citizens refused to maintain their own governments.

The whole military and war momentum has continued in the world to the 20^th century but there are now indications that since the 2^nd World War the incidence of war has significantly subsided in the world.  Many people are not convinced however, but this is probably due to the unpainted wall syndrome.

The unpainted wall syndrome basically means that if a room has three walls freshly painted, and one wall in its original state, an onlooker will focus their attention on the unpainted wall.  If the unpainted wall is then painted except for a small one foot by one foot patch, this is where the focus will lie.  If this is painted but a mark or blemish is left in the painting, the attention is drawn to the blemish.

The unpainted wall syndrome applies to war in the world.  Wherever war, discord or military action appears, the media will focus upon it, and the general public will be made keenly aware of the effects of the war or skirmish.  The fact that modern media is incredibly adept at bringing war and conflict into our living rooms in full colour and in stereo increases the impact upon us.  But the fact remains that the effects upon the world by war is very small and shrinking despite the invasion of Iraq.

If Aries is linked to war, the opposite sign, Libra, should be linked to peace.  To a certain extent this is true.  This is good news for the world because the Aquarian age has three decans and the first decan encountered in the Aquarian age is the Libran decan – the sign of peace.  The full effect of Libra’s peace potential will not occur much before 2148 and the world may experience a mini Golden Age of Peace roughly between 2148 and 2863.  This may be peace on a relative scale (i.e. far less wars and conflict compared to the last 5,000 years).  But don’t despair if you are holding your breath for a more peaceful world – peace is progressively appearing, and the peace momentum shifted up a gear in 1791.

How could the peace momentum increased from 1791 when there have probably been more people killed in war since 1791 compared to all the previous wars in history with most killed in the 20^th century?  The answer is rather simple but overlooked.  If the world is to remove itself from its violent past, that commenced around 2916 BC, then some deterrent effect to starting wars should occur.  This is exactly what has happened.

Examine the following significant wars in the 20^th century which excludes civil wars, internal strife or border disputes as these types of conflicts have a different dynamic the internal wars usually involving throwing off an oppressive ruler.  After the war will be given the protagonist and if they won or lost the war:

1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War – Russia Lost

1914 -18 First World War – Germany & Austria – Lost

1939-45 Second World War – Germany, Italy & Japan – Lost

1950-53 Korean War – North Korea & China – Lost

1951 – Chinese Invasion of Tibet – China Won

1956 The Suez Crisis – UK, France & Israel – Lost War (won the military assaults)

1959-74 Viet Nam War – USA Lost

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion – USA and Cuban expatriates Lost

1967 Six Day War – Egypt, Jordan, and Syria Lost

1979-89 Invasion of Afghanistan – USSR – Lost

1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War – Iraq Lost

1982 Falklands War – Argentina Lost

1990-91 Gulf War – Iraq Lost

2001 9/11 Terrorist Attack on USA  – Al Qaeda in Afghanistan – (Afghanistan) Lost

2003 USA’s Coalition of the Willing invasion of Iraq – USA (In Progress)

Based on the above 15 major wars or conflicts, but excluding the invasion of Iraq by the USA and the Coalition of the Willing, because its outcome in uncertain, the only war won to date is the invasion of Tibet by China in 1951 but even the long term success for China of this invasion is uncertain.  The moral seems to be that if you want to lose a war then start one including a pre-emptive strike!

This may be a bad omen for the USA in Iraq, but not necessarily so in Afghanistan.  The Afghanistan Taliban government protected Al Qaeda and while under this protection Al Qaeda attacked the USA.  Al Qaeda started the war and the Afghanistan government fell due to its support of the protagonists.

If there is to be a deterrent to war, having the protagonists continually losing the war is a good start towards peace.  The momentum towards avoiding war will continue in the lead up to the mini Golden Age of Peace forecast for between 2148 and 2863 but here is the problem.  The major problem facing the world in the 21^st century is not war but pollution.  Even if the world avoided war and conflict it could suffer far worst consequences from the effects of pollution and global warming.  Are we facing a no-win situation?

In the 1960’s and 70s the world faced the prospect of nuclear annihilation.  Now in 2008 the nuclear arsenal remains in place but in the addition of the ongoing possibility of nuclear annihilation, we are facing environmental annihilation in a worse case scenario, or significant environmental problems in a best case scenario.  What kind of world may be left when the mini Golden Age of Peace arrives mid next century?  Will there be peace because there will only be a remnant population left in the world following the disastrous consequences of environmental damage?

Are the Hindu sages correct?  If we want peace perhaps inner peace offers the greatest security and surety?  From the astrological standpoint the prospect of inner peace is currently at a peak due to Scorpio.  Within the Aquarian Age, the effects of the Scorpio sub-age are at their peak between 1970 and 2148 leading up o the mini Golden Age of Peace.  Scorpio is the sign that indicates rebirth, metamorphosis, regeneration and inner strength thus implying that enlightenment, nirvana or whatever is on the menu.  In any Scorpio period people feel vulnerable and lack security due to the instability in the world which is prone to cataclysmic upheavals in Scorpio periods.

The sign Scorpio indicates weakness on the outside but strength within.  The source of peace in a Scorpio period is within.  Maybe the path of inner awareness is the most reliable path to peace in this world of ours at this point of time.  If the requirement that the world be at peace before the Aquarian age arrives is correct, it is unlikely we will ever have an Aquarian age.