Almost 60 years ago, a musical called Hair burst upon the scene featuring an opening song “Aquarius”. For many, this lyrical proclamation loudly announced that a new age was dawning for humanity where there would be transformation of the human condition with respect for the value of all individuals to be paramount. There have been many attempts to evaluate a correct starting time for this next great Age of Aquarius. These estimates are associated with the shifting seasonal star patterns in the sky resulting from the “precession of the equinoxes”, or the wobble of the Earth on its axis.
In a previous article Precession, what is it?, I discuss the impact on our perception of the heavens produced by the Earth’s axial movement. About once every 71.6 years, the constellation that appears behind the rising Sun on the Spring Equinox (usually around March 21st) shifts its position by 1º, which is currently the constellation of Pisces. Overtime, this Sun sign constellation gradually changes, which means we are heading towards the sign of Aquarius after Pisces. Extrapolating this data, astronomers have estimated that it takes about 25,772 years for the Earth’s axis to precess a full circle back to its initial point. In other words, if we project that number of years (25,772) into the future, when we look into the night sky, the position of the stars and constellations in the heavens should appear exactly where they are today. But what about conditions now and zodiacal movement produced by precession in the coming years? When’s this Age of Aquarius supposed to arrive?
As an astrologer, to determine where we are coming and going in the 12 great Ages of Astrology, there are two primary initial assumptions we must make. The first is that the zodiacal band totals 360º and is divided precisely into 12 equal divisions of 30º for each zodiac sign. The second assumption is to define a starting or linkup point in time so that each sign of the zodiac properly corresponds to its associated constellation (i.e. the zodiac sign of Pisces matches up with the defined position of the constellation of Pisces). For this last assumption, variances in interpretation have produced many options or astrological systems. For myself, I have chosen the “Fagan-Alan” method (referred to as a Western Sidereal System of Astrology) which seems to be the most viable approach to defining a appropriate initial point in time for sign and constellation alignment.
Forgoing the voluminous calculations and numerical details, the Fagan-Alan system effectively puts us with about 350 years still to go before we “enter” the zodiac sign of Aquarius, beginning the astrological year with Aquarius at 0º behind the Sun during the Spring Equinox. Since that date’s a ways off, what else might we consider now in our desire to explore the coming Age of Aquarius? Here’s some information to consider…
Using the Fagan-Alan sidereal astrological system, we can calculate the number of degrees of the zodiac we are currently away from the Age of Aquarius. It turns out that we are presently in the sign of Pisces at position of about 25º which corresponds to the transition into the sign of Aquarius being about 5º away (the Procession of the Equinoxes is considered a clockwise “retrograde” motion on a zodiac chart). Next, if we examine the system of positional orbs used in defining the influence of astrological energy, 6º is a common value used to assign planetary aspects (for further details on the subject of orbs and their corresponding aspects, please refer to my article Unaspected Planets).
When a 6º orb is used, it generally pertains to the influence or effect from the proximity of one planet upon another that forms an astrological “aspect” (a conjunction, sextile, square, etc.). During a planetary conjunction (two planets side by side, one immediately next to another), the orb ranges from +/- 6º from an exact conjunction at 0º. The culmination of the two planets in a conjunction produces an effect that is synergistic and powerful resulting in both acting collectively as a single combined force, their archetypes commingled into an outward expression of energy. If we consider an orb value greater than 6º for the two primary luminaries of astrology, the Sun and Moon, many astrologers justify the use of a 9º or even 10º orb for those luminaries. The innate power of these planets distinctively indicates an orb as great as 10º is not uncommon to gauge the influence of the Sun or Moon upon another planet or point.
In a corresponding situation of proximity, it’s a valid argument to consider the transition between two signs, such as going from 29º of Pisces to 0º of Aquarius, as a time when the radiant power of the approaching sign is experienced as it progressively builds a presence in the shift between signs. In the transition into the Age of Aquarius, there are considerable influences to examine from the archetypes associated with Aquarius. Of important consideration is the prominent evolution of technology (ruled by Aquarius and its planetary cohort Uranus) as it has impacted human society and general existence.
By examining the mathematics of the approaching Age of Aquarius, a 9º orb from the transition would put us at about 21º of Pisces, or, in terms of years, this corresponds to about 1750 CE. It’s interesting to note this date corresponds to the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the west, officially identified as ranging between 1760-1840. Considering a tighter 6º orb from the Age of Aquarius (at 24º Pisces), that time period corresponds to about 1960 CE. From this date, we must consider two important and undeniably linked milestones in the advancement of mathematics or physics of awareness and technology.
In 1956, the Dartmouth college summer academic workshop was held to openly clarify concepts of “thinking machines”. The organizer of the workshop, John McCarthy, coined the term “Artificial Intelligence” to describe this new field of investigation. Then, in the early 1960s, research into mathematical modeling was being conducted using computers that eventually lead to the development of “Chaos Theory”. The upshot of the collective academic work around this subject was to firmly establish a new branch of mathematics intimately linked to computation. Chaos theory identified the exponential difficulty of accurately modeling or forecasting complex or chaotic systems of nature (such as weather). It established that successful forecasting required enormous amounts of data and extensive processing power to simulate effectively. Concurrently, the role of fractal patterns and the diverse occurrence of fractal geometry in nature became apparent (please explore influence of the Mandelbrot set), paving the way for more accurate modeling of physical structures in our world. These examples, Chaos theory and fractals, have led to major advancements in the modern implementation of AI modeling which are accelerating the growing influence of technology. The resulting manipulation of limited human perception is no small matter to consider as a consequence. Understanding the exponential growth needed to continue this trend is discussed in my previous article on Exponential Growth.
Finally, let’s consider two astrological events in the current age that indicate a significant relationship to Aquarius from a Tropical astrology perspective (pertaining to matters of the outer world). First, the Universal Gnostic teacher, philosopher and author Samael Aun Weor declared February 4, 1962 as heralding the Age of Aquarius by the alignment of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the Tropical sign of Aquarius. Second, there’s the “Great Conjunction” event which occurred on December 21, 2020. The outer planets Jupiter and Saturn were in exact conjunction in the Tropical sign of Aquarius and seen from Earth to be closer together in the heavens than they’d been for the about 800 years. Both of these events, and the significance or recognition they’ve been given, indicate a growing consciousness in our human relationship to the coming Age of Aquarius. By the indications I’ve presented, we are not there yet, but the proximity is palpable!
It’s still hundreds of years off, yet from today we must look to a growing pattern of Aquarian belief systems to emerge in our world. This includes the benefit of others over the individual, visionary designs from a future time, technology (both good and bad) playing a greater role in our lives helping us in defining who we are, the role of volunteering and being of service to others, plus the responsibilities inherent in a higher mission of awareness. At the same time, expect the last phases of the Pisces Age to be a factor. Pisces includes a desire to see the forest over the trees, to form community around a non-physical reality, to see the role of spirituality as critical to our mission, to be both susceptible to addiction and/or fantasy, yet gaining knowledge in the connection to the non-physical, dream state, and spiritual realms. Keep yourself open and flexible during this time. Our successful future will depend on it.
