The Age of Aquarius

SO much has been expressed about this incoming ‘age of Aquarius’. There is, most probably, no one in the western world who has not heard this expression. It is possible that even in the Far and Middle East, this expression is known and, possibly, somewhat understood. We all know what it means when we call someone an ICON—a representative of a particular time, a symbol of a collective idea, someone who is more than themselves, even other than themselves. Well, this expression has become iconic. It suggests limitless possibility, unimaginable freedom, absolute justice and the fullness of what the future might bring to us all. It is the hope that we all hold deep in our hearts. So many dreams are woven into this expression; so much anticipation, even longing. When we hear the expression, we look forward to something brighter and better, something that is more than all that we currently can imagine. It is a testament to the power of the astrological model that this little phrase has so permeated our consciousness, even to the point of being the title for a popular song, first released in the 1960’s.

The astrological ages follow a precise schedule and as we observe this apparent movement through the zodiac we can co-relate the flavour of any given era on earth to the zodiac sign that is associated with that time. The complete cycle through the 12 signs, when observed from this vantage point, takes about 26,000 years. Thus, each individual ‘age’ is about 2000 +/- years long. When we study history using this broader timeline, we can more easily see the major trends of any given epoch; the things that define a particular age. Futurists can gain great insight when studying history in this way and their predictions become more insightful, more precise. Looking back at history is always a good tool to use when attempting to look forward to the history that is yet to be made. Obviously, at the transition point between the ages, things become intense, muddled and chaotic. At this point in time, we are in the final few gasps of the Age of Pisces or, put more positively, the first few breaths of the Age of Aquarius. Either way, both of these energies are manifest around us, collectively.

One of the resonances of the Piscean age was DEVOTION. This passionate application of principle took many forms throughout the last 2000+/- years but we can surely see it very clearly in the KIND of philosophies, both secular and religious, that dominated. As a collective we believed that we should be followers of a ‘god’ or of his apparent representatives here on earth. We deferred to ‘his’ better judgment and gave ourselves over to any number and types of dogmas and creeds. We saw ourselves as disciples or devotees of whatever doctrine we followed, whether religious or secular. We sacrificed ourselves to our passion, our chosen way of life. Who has not heard the expression, “For God and Country!” This is surely indicative of this type of devotion to something other than ourselves. This kind of ‘devotion’, which can lead to the ultimate sacrifice, is aptly symbolized by the image of a man hanging on a cross. Who does not respond to this iconic symbol with some kind of emotion? It surely could be regarded as the symbol of the Age of Pisces, at least here in the west. Certainly, the symbol of the supplicant, whatever the religious protocol, is another of the images that can be associated with the Age of Pisces.

At the highest level of vibration, Pisces taught us to aspire to higher principle, to believe in the magical aspects of faith; that it could sustain us even in the face of unimaginable circumstances. We learned to serve others and to exercise compassion to all. Reactively, we gave our power away to something outside of ourselves. We learned to feel like victims or martyrs to something that was larger than we could ever be. The distortions of this energy led to holy wars, wholesale killing in the name of some lofty ideal, judgment, censure and genocide. The primary lesson that we (hopefully) learned was that the essence of ‘god/dess’ could not be found outside of our own perception of reality. Ultimately, we learned to turn inward and to locate the god and goddess in ourselves through the process of faith, that is through the DOING of good , rather than through some nebulous attachment to the idea of faith which, in and of itself, has no impact on our immediate community.

And so, here we are at the threshold of the Age of Aquarius. What are the next 2000 years going to look like? Well, that really depends on us. In Aquarius we discover the principle of lateralism or egaliterianism. We understand that hierarchies belong to another time. We begin to truly understand that there can be no mediator between the god principle and the human being, thus, laying to rest the religious disciplines of the past 2000 years. We, each one of us, are the gurus. We, individually, can find our own pathway into illumination.

It is essential that the current feudal-like societies, where a chosen few have privilege, while the greater majority slave to sustain an unnatural social system, become a thing of the past. The ‘top-down’ kind of system is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for the collective mind to swallow. Aquarius promises us a place within ‘the web’ of life’, with no one position being superior to another. This is the age of the ‘EVERYMAN’ where all can aspire to greatness. Individually we each can find a fullness of personal expression where our talents, whatever they might be, are expressed freely, easily and contribute to our community. And, really, if we could choose one concept to define the shaping of the next two millennia, let us choose COMMUNITY and let’s really begin to think in global, even universal terms. Let’s redefine the word, “border” so that it refers only to that edge that exists around the outside of a card or piece of paper. Let’s forget that it describes a world divided into parcels of land and groups of people who regard each other with distrust and fear. With the electric energy of Aquarius guiding us, we have the opportunity to redefine what ‘community’ means, to transform the way we live with one another into something that is healing, supportive and totally different from the fractured communities that exist today. We are, truly, a group of peoples who naturally like to ‘tribe’. Today, this tribal impulse has been severely distorted. Though we live in what looks like a multi-member community—cities, towns, villages, even, to a certain extent, countries, we can go for days, weeks and even years when we barely say a word to our nearest neighbour. This is unnatural and we see the results of this distortion everywhere around us; an aging population that feels a growing fear because there is no support system, youth who are left to grow without direction because the parents are caught in the treadmill of necessary materialism, entire societies that have lost their sense of purpose and expend all of their energy in defensive actions rather than in the creation of strong and vital communities which can sustain and nurture their members. As we move into this ‘new age’, we face the challenge of recreating the way we live together and of truly implementing the ideals of equality and justice so that a new society can emerge from the ruins of our current global reality. Hopefully, it will be a true global community and not the unbalanced one that exists today where the strong rape the weak and the powerful dominate through force and in the interests of their greed rather than in the interests of the collective.

Aquarius, then, is the energy of the future. It is the energy of innovation and change. It is the ‘aha’ moment, the aspiration to a greater and better vision. The Aquarian personality excels in the application of mental energy. There is an inherent ability to ‘see’ things from a variety of focal points, giving the personality adeptness in the area of problem solving. This energy is often linked to metaphysics because it describes someone who is able to think and reason inclusively rather than exclusively. Often, Aquarian types are ‘out of the box’ thinkers, able to make that impossible leap that propels the human mind into a completely new mode of thought and being. Some of the principles that are of paramount importance to Aquarian types are ones such as community, justice, fairness, equity. Innovative, often eccentric, sometimes solitary yet always able to network and make those necessary connections, Aquarian types are the hidden leaders amongst us. Social issues and group action are often linked to this energy so it is not unusual to find Aquarian type people behind the scenes in activist groups or for that matter, any kind of association or group. They have an intuitive understanding of the principle of collectivism, that there is strength in numbers and that unity leads to victory while discord ends in defeat.

Reactively, this energy can get stuck in its own brilliance and begin to believe that it has all the answers. I call this the “Egalitarian Dictator Syndrome”. The ‘dictator’ says, and with a smile that is oh so charming, “Please, do as you choose. Just make sure that is according to my instructions!” We hear the first part while missing the second part. Because Aquarius is so mentally agile, there is always another argument to support his position and the arguments are SO good! They make so much sense! And down that rabbit hole we go!

A strongly Aquarius persona must always, always, monitor their nervous system. Oftentimes, these folks can be very ‘sparky’, even giving off real electrical charges. They need regular rest, lots of water and the kind of exercise that facilitates grounding like Tai Chi or Yoga. It is easy to stay in one’s head and suddenly realize that the body has been left behind when there is so much mental and electrical energy being generated. Anything that can remind the Aquarian type that she inhabits a physical body is a good thing. With a lot of this energy present within the psyche it is fairly easy to disconnect from the emotional body so it is important that these ‘types’ access body work of all kinds along with strategies that open and balance the emotional part of the personality.

Astrologically, Aquarius is a fixed air sign, belonging to the family that includes Gemini and Libra by element and Taurus, Leo and Scorpio by modality. Fast moving, yet strong, light yet substantial. A key lesson for all Aquarian types is FOCUS and METHOD. There is little that an Aquarian type cannot accomplish once she learns to maintain focus on first thought and develop a practical method to support that first thought. The danger is that that first thought leads to another thought and another thought and ten other thoughts and so forth and that once the mind is engaged in the sheer delight of chasing the thoughts as they flit across its screen, any hopes of developing a method of application are dashed! So, Aquarius, hang on to that first thought and follow it through to its finish. Because the mind is so fertile, it is helpful to carry around a ‘jot it down’ journal to catch the ideas as they pass through. Remember, this is the ‘age of Aquarius’ so in a sense it is the Aquarian’s time. What comes through the filter that lies between us and spirit—the ascended energies—can certainly first land in the consciousness of the Aquarian type.

The symbol associated with Aquarius is the Water-Bearer and the Zodiac symbol is the double wave, representative of flowing water. Because of this, many wrongfully assume that Aquarius is a Water sign. Water, however, means life, movement, change, all aspects of this wonderful energy. Interestingly, water serves as the source for electrical power and the Aquarius glyph of the double wave does, indeed, also evoke a sense of electrical charge. This is such an important aspect of Aquarius; that it is plugged in to the very source of being. After all, without the spark that gets things going, there is no life! The Water-Bearer is one of the few human symbols found in the Zodiac, again demonstrating the potential of nobility contained herein. It is through conscious expression of the feeling body that we, as humans can aspire to a full expression of the god/dess energy within us all. Water is also a symbol of knowledge and as the Water-Bearer pours his water upon the earth, nourishing it, so does the Aquarian part of the collective bring us all a never ending source of information that we can use to expand our minds and grow into a place of wisdom. The search for knowledge and understanding facilitates the evolution of the human psyche. The more that we understand, the more we expand; the more we expand, the more we learn and so forth.

Each of us has this energy wired into our psyches somewhere. When it is activated, we are asking ourselves to look at things from a different point of view, to be open to invention and re-invention. Wherever we find this energy in ourselves, is where we have the potential to soar to the greatest of heights, to find a unique expression of being and share it with our community of choice. Aquarius is the potential of genius in every one of us.

Star Crossings

The planets associated with this Zodiac sign are Saturn, the traditional ruler, and since its formal discovery in the 1700’s, (it was first spotted in the late 1600’s but thought to be a star), the planet Uranus. Both of these planets are considered to be heavyweights in the planetary pantheon. Saturn correlates to that part of our psyche that deals with reality and its ongoing construction through the power of our will and perceptive abilities. Uranus correlates to the personal unconscious; that place within the self that holds everything and the urge to individualize. As you can imagine, these are serious things and worthy of our attention. Last month I discussed Saturn and his entry into Libra, where by the way, this energy finds as much comfort as is possible for it to find. Libra is the great swing (think scales of justice) into balance and Saturn, above all else, seeks to bring balance. As the Lord of Karma, he establishes balance impartially and sometimes brutally. To review, once Saturn is firmly into his transit of Libra by mid 2010, he will join Pluto and Uranus in what has been dubbed the Cardinal Concord, where all three of these heavyweights will be posited in Cardinal signs, Libra (Saturn), Aries, (Uranus) and Capricorn (Pluto). Though the configuration is one that suggests tension and confrontation, it also suggests movement, action, innovation and initiative. With Pluto in Capricorn acting as the foundation and grounding mechanism while Saturn in Libra acts as the balancer, Uranus in Aries can search for new strategies to tackle the complex problematic situations that define our times. To personalize this idea we can say that we, as a collective will draw on our strength and common sense (Pluto) and to an extent, all that we have so far learned (Capricorn), as we look for new and innovative ways to address issues (Uranus in Aries), while never forgetting our ethical selves in the pursuit of these solutions (Saturn in Libra). We want to transform the very structures and foundations of our society (Pluto in Capricorn) and this is NOT a bad thing. If we are to survive, we MUST change the way we operate. Yes, yes, there is always a reactive side to any energetic set-up but to focus on what can go wrong serves no purpose. Rather, we should all, as a unified consciousness focus on what can go right in this situation. Form follows thought, after all.

So then, let’s look at Uranus. This is a slow moving planet, taking about 8 years to move through a single sign of the Zodiac. Currently, he is in the last degrees of Pisces. Anyone who has planets, especially personal ones in these late degrees of Pisces could well feel the urge to shift, to change, to alter aspects of their lives. Or, if you are resisting change, you could well go through some major events that force you to shift gears. The key to experiencing this sort of ‘transit’ in the most positive of ways is to be willing to change things up. Hanging on to old ideas, habits and mental attitudes does not work. If it is the heart that is being activated, then you have to be ready to either, welcome new friends and lovers into your world or let old ones leave. Both of these things can be challenging to say the least! As stated previously, Uranus moves into Aries for the first time in 84 years in May of 2010. He will move back into Pisces after he turns retrograde (apparently moves backward) as of August of 2010. This apparent backward motion will take him all the way back to about 27* Pisces when he stations direct in December of 2010. Finally, he will move once again into Aries in March of 2011 and here he will stay until 2018 when he moves into Taurus.

So, all you Aries types, get ready for some action! And all of you Libra types will also feel the poking from this ornery fellow. Always remember to be ready to move, and change direction, especially with fiery fast moving Aries energy as the fuel for this upcoming transit. Pay attention to intuitive ideas, be open to ‘out of the box’ solutions to long-standing problems, and do not become overly attached to any habits or ideas. Keep focusing on the concept that life is change and that change is good! Uranus transits are opportunities to align more closely with deep seated desires, to become more of who you want to be. Because we tend to ‘settle’ into patterns of behaviour that are convenient or familiar, when the opportunity to change presents itself, we can react with either fear or refusal. But, if we flow with the change, we often find that what falls away is that which we no longer needed and even, in some cases, that which was holding us prisoner to outmoded patterns of living.

Uranus transits can often be felt as difficulties and the main reason for this is that, generally speaking, humans tend to want to maintain that which they know. Security is found in all that is definable and quantifiable. Uranus says, “come with me, I am not exactly sure where we will end up since I don’t actually have a map but I can promise you that we will end up somewhere.” This is not exactly the way most of us like to approach a journey! However, if we can let go, detach from ego expectation, we can suddenly find ourselves alive in the moment and living that moment in spectacular technicolour.

So, “BE HERE NOW”, “GO WITH THE FLOW”, and SEIZE THE MOMENT”! These expressions are all evocative of the energy of Uranus. To truly become all that we have the potential to be, we must be willing to leave behind anything and everything at the drop of a hat. Can we do It? Are we up to it? Is it possible? Go and stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself the question(s) and see what you say in response. And then, JUST DO IT!


Nest month the Sun moves through Pisces. The planets associated with this energy are Jupiter and Neptune.


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Happy Valentine’s day everyone! Spend February 14 giving everyone you meet hugs!