Mankind stands today on the threshold of a new World Age. The concept of an imminent new Age -- and the concurrent idea of the approaching end of the present Age -- have been popularized (and commercialized) throughout all levels of society in recent years. Nevertheless, few people consciously understand what the transition to the Age of Aquarius actually implies.
To most people, the "Age of Aquarius" remains a vague phrase.
Esoterically, the cycle of World Ages traces an aspect of the spiritual evolution of consciousness. It has as its astrological basis the circle of the zodiac (hence, the "Age of Pisces," the "Age of Aquarius," etc.). Humanity evolves as a whole-expanding and developing the collective consciousness of the race -- at the same time that each of its members is evolving in his or her own personal way. Individual evolution, therefore, proceeds simultaneously with and complements racial evolution.
The cycle of World Ages traces the development of humanity's racial consciousness. In the same way as your personal horoscope reveals your individual level of development, and the continuing planetary cycles in relation to your chart indicate the actual process of your growth, so does the long-term, cosmic cycle of World Ages reveal the collective spiritual development of mankind.
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Since all existence on every level is constantly evolving, this Planetary Being is not yet perfected. The Logos continues to evolve on its own level. This evolution is reflected in the evolution of humanity, which considered as a coherent unit is analogous to a specific organ in the body of the Logos.
The actual evolution of the Logos is beyond the scope of our discussion here. We are concerned specifically with the evolution of our own race, that is, with the way the spiritual evolution of our Planetary Being is reflected in the evolution of humanity. Therefore, we must narrow the focus of our interpretation, in order to study the cycle of World Ages as it affects mankind.
This great cosmic cycle is based on an astronomical phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes. The precession, in turn, arises from the fact that the earth's axis does not always point to the same place in the sky, relative to the fixed stars. The earth, in fact, has a slight "wobble" in its motion, much like that of a spinning top. This results in the line of the earth's polar axis (extended in imagination from the North Pole) tracing a rough circle through the fixed constellations in the northern sky.
The present pole star -- the star at the end of this imaginary extension of the North Pole -- is Polaris, in the constellation Ursa Minor. But due to the "wobble" in the Earth's motion, Polaris was not always the Pole Star, and it will not remain in this position. The North Pole points to a series of stars in succession, as the polar axis gradually changes its direction.
Thus, in the period around 4000 B.C., the pole star was one of the stars in the constellation Draco; in 4000 A.D. it will be a star in the constellation Cepheus. The entire polar cycle -- that is, the length of time it takes for the North Pole to complete one circuit -- is just over 25,000 years. This period is known as the Great Sidereal Year; and it is this cyclic motion of the polar axis that gives rise to the precession of the equinoxes.
The equinoctial precession is what we actually use to measure the passage of the World Ages. As a result of the earth's gyration (the axial "wobble"), the Sun is not found in the same location in the sky at each vernal (spring) equinox. (Again, this is in reference to the fixed, visible constellations.) Instead, the location of the equinox moves slowly backward through the zodiac, completing one passage through the circle every 25,800 years.
It is this motion that we use to measure the cycle of World Ages. The equinox takes roughly 2,150 years to pass through each constellation ("roughly" because the constellations are not evenly spaced through the zodiac).
This period is the length of a single World Age.
At the present time, the equinoctial point is passing through the visible constellation (not the sign) Pisces. It entered this constellation near the time of the birth of Christ and will reach Aquarius in the next one to four hundred years. We are therefore concluding the Age of Pisces and preparing to enter the Age of Aquarius.
The next questions which logically arise are: Precisely when will the equinox enter the constellation of Aquarius? And what will be the significance of this?
The first question has several answers. None is positively "right" because not only are the constellations unevenly spaced through the zodiac, but it is impossible to measure their exact boundaries. Obviously the time that the equinox will enter a certain constellation depends on what we define as the border of that particular group of stars.
Some astrologers put the beginning of the Aquarian Age within the next 50-100 years. Others set the date as far ahead as 2375. Still another group says that the Piscean Age began several centuries before Christ's birth, and that therefore the Aquarian Age began early in this century, about the 1920s.
Additionally, there are those who claim that the precessional movement of the equinoxes, being merely an effect of the polar cycle, is not the primary indication of the passage of the World Ages at all. Instead, these astrologers say, we should study the polar cycle itself and the specific influences of the stars to which the Pole regularly "points". The nature of the World Ages would then be described according to the specific influence of the star from which the Pole is then drawing its energy.So when will the Aquarian Age begin? In many ways, the precise physical time is irrelevant. My personal feeling, based on the precessional movement itself, tends to support the later dates, about 400 years from now, as the beginning of the New Age. But I must quickly add that I believe this represents the time of the actual manifestation of the New Age on earth.
The spiritual "seed" of the Aquarian Age has already been planted. It is, in fact, already growing. I date the spiritual beginning of the Age of Aquarius from the time of the discovery of the planet Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, in the year 1781.
I have many reasons for this. Chief among them is that at this time truly Aquarian energies began to manifest themselves in the physical world. The walls between cultures, nations, races, and social classes began to break down. The French and American revolutions fundamentally altered the established political order. Democracy gradually emerged as the dominant form of government -- the Aquarian ideal to be sought and perfected. The Industrial Revolution had a similar effect on the social order.
In short, coinciding with Uranus's discovery, isolation, a quality of Pisces, began to give way to cooperation, a quality of Aquarius. A glance at the world history before and after the late 1700's bears this out strikingly.
In the 200 years since the discovery of Uranus, the process has accelerated tremendously. Humanity is now well on its way toward the manifestation of a global and interdependent consciousness.
This brings us to the second point -- the significance of the New Age. What does it mean to "enter a new World Age"?
In the most basic terms, the cycle of World Ages signifies the steps on the ladder of global evolution. Each sign is a phase of spiritual growth, but on a racial scale. The entrance into a new World Age indicates the emergence of the consciousness of humanity onto a new and broader level of awareness. It is an "initiation" of the race as a whole. Our collective consciousness expands as we spiritually grow and evolve, and this eventually manifests on the physical level as a new world order.
The energies of the pairs of opposites are again involved here; evolution itself is fundamentally a succession of reconciliations of various opposites. Astrologically, the pairs of opposites represent levels of awareness, and the essential change that takes place in the transition from one World Age to the next is in the spiritual awareness of humanity.
The so-called Age of Aquarius is in reality the Age of the Aquarius-Leo pair, and it is only in terms of the pairs of opposites that the transition from one age to the next -- the collective evolution of humanity -- can be understood.
As we enter the Aquarius-Leo Age we are, collectively and on the spiritual level, reconciling these two opposites. The process of reconciliation itself, worked out through the means of the physical level, gives rise to the expanded awareness which will characterize the New Age. In essence, we are spiritually merging the collective (Aquarius) with the individual (Leo) through physical means. We will eventually manifest the resultant new level of awareness in terms of the emphasized member or the pair: Aquarius, the perfected, manifested whole.
Once again, as was the case on an individual level, the spiritual energies are those of the pair; they manifest in the nature of the pair's emphasized member.
As to the precise nature of the manifested world order under the New Age, this is impossible to describe, or even to imagine. The time of its actual concretization is still too far in the future, and we are still too enmeshed in the physical forms of the Age of Pisces. Our physical, emotional, and mental bodies are still molded according to the Piscean energies, making the Aquarian influence virtually alien to the dominant aspects of our natures. A great many individuals remain unresponsive to even the spiritual influence of Aquarius, which at the present time is the only level on which its energies can be felt and even partially understood.
But in the same way that the precise date that the New Age will fully manifest is basically irrelevant, so is the physical form it will take. More important at the present moment is the course and direction of our evolution as we enter the New Age. Our actions now, in fact, will determine the eventual manifested form of the Aquarian Age.
A glance at the present world situation makes the exoteric aspects of this obvious. The spiritual pull between the two force -- the outgoing Piscean and the incoming Aquarian -- is reaching its breaking point on the physical level. At the same time, on the spiritual level, the ongoing reconciliation of the opposites (Aquarius and Leo) is adding further tension to the physical manifestation.
The most important factor here is the spiritual reconciliation of the opposites; if this is achieved successfully, the physical transition to the New Age will follow smoothly on the heels of the spiritual.
All of these influences combine to paint a very optimistic picture for the immediate future of mankind. To me, they show the actual beginning of the Age of Aquarius on earth. I feel I should mention this because it directly contradicts what appears to be the prevailing opinion concerning the transition from the Piscean to the Aquarian Age.
The basic fault I find with these prophets of doom is that they concentrate solely on exoteric factors, while ignoring the fact that the dawn of a new World Age is essentially a spiritual event. Furthermore, they seem to center (shortsightedly) on the close of the Age of Pisces. I look ahead -- to the birth of the Age of Aquarius.
The distinction between these two views is an important one as we move ever closer to the actual time of decision. We must not react out of fear that "the end of the Age (or the world) is at hand." Instead, we must act, on the basis of our firm spiritual knowledge that the procession of World Ages is inevitable, as are all evolutionary cycles. One age follows another, as the Aquarian will assuredly follow the Piscean. The only cause of our destruction, if we are to be destroyed, will be our own lack of receptivity to the impulses of the New Age, and our inability to manifest these impulses through our racial consciousness.
I do not believe that we are saddled with either of these handicaps. Since the time of Uranus's discovery, the Aquarian energies have been building. They are evoking a response in a growing number of individuals who are now consciously assuming their roles in the transition. Even those who cling most tightly to the worn-out Piscean forms are slowly releasing their grip. They, too, are increasingly taking up their cosmic roles, although they usually do so unconsciously.
A renewed and concerted effort by those who are already responsive to the Aquarian influence will bring the energies of the New Age even closer to the physical level. In turn, a greater response will become apparent as others join in the great work of inaugurating the New Age. I see no need for pessimism, fear, or despair, only for intense activity and work, so that we may perfect the body of humanity in order to fully and perfectly manifest the growing awareness of its soul. [source]
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This article was excerpted with permission from Astrology: A New Age Guide written by Ed Perrone. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Quest Books http://theosophical.org.
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