Age of Aquarius – part three or when does the New Age begin?

In the earlier texts that now make up the trilogy of the coming Age of Aquarius, we have dealt with the qualities of this Age through various symbolic representations. Thus, in the first part we looked at the age of Aquarius through the prism of mythology and esoteric philosophy, and the second part was concerned with astrological symbolism of the coming change. In this final part, I will try to come up with an answer to the question that has caused many brainy astrologers to sit and wonder, and that is when does this New Age actually begins?

The Aquarius era is considered to be a spiritual turning point – for society as well as for each individual. There is a lot of speculation about its beginning. Has it already begun, is it yet to come, or is humanity already in the middle of that Era? Opinions are completely divided, so that International Astronomical Union (IAU) takes the year 2601 as the starting date, some astrologers declare that the year 2375 is the beginning, and, as we are about to see, the opinions are equally incoherent among various mystics.

Our quest is hindered by the fact that the transition period during the shift of such long periods of time  takes quite a long time in itself as well. In this sense, I think that we can freely accept one of the fundamental astrological principles here, which is that when a planet or a horoscope point finds itself in the last five degrees of one sign, it already partially assumes the characteristics of the next. Why are these five degrees important now? Precisely because, according to generally accepted astrological calculations, the precession point of equinox is now at five degrees Pisces. Therefore, this may also be the reason why we are already feeling this coming change, as described above, so I think that in essence, no fixed date of this change can be determined, but that we are rather speaking of gradual flow directed by different turning points. One such point is the primary theme of this text.

It is worth revisiting here this famous precession of the equinoxes and what does it really mean? The Sun completely circles the zodiac every year and returns to the point from which it began – the spring equinox – and every year it misses a little to make a complete circle in the sky within the prescribed time. As a result, it crosses the equator slightly behind where it was last year in the zodiac circle. Each zodiac sign consists of thirty degrees and, as the Sun loses one degree every 72 years, it returns through the entire constellation (or sign) in approximately 2160 years (which represents one Age), and through the Zodiac in 25920 years. . This retrograde movement is called the precession of the equinoxes. This means that over the course of about 25,920 years, which makes one Great Solar or Platonic Year, each of the twelve signs occupies a position at the spring equinox for almost 2160 years, and then it shifts to the previous sign.

age of aquarius
Precession of the Equinoxes

This definition provides us with an essential information, namely that an astrological age lasts approximately 2160 years. So to determine when will Aquarius take the throne it would be important to know when the Pisces age began, and to measure 2160 years from that point. In this search, it seems to me that many have overlooked a very obvious reference, and this is precisely the calendar that we use. This calendar takes as its starting point the birth of Jesus Christ and is marked as a Christian era, a new era, that is, dividing time into that before and after Christ. When we remember that the current age of Pisces symbolically matches Christianity, we can quite clearly identify the concepts of the Christian era and the age of Pisces. From this setting, the calculation would be very simple, the Aquarius era begins in 2160.

Why is it that the religion is so significant in this story? According to Abu Ma’shar, “religion” is what precedes the formation of any ruling dynasty and, accordingly, it is the fundamental principle of every social order. It should be noted that he doesn’t refer to “religion” as being of non-secular type; it is a simple explanation that religion inspires people’s faith in the laws that stem from it. These laws in turn allow and give legitimacy to the formation of dynasties from which rulers are recruited. After the establishment of religion and its laws, it is possible to predict changes in centers of power between nations, even within the same nation, ie. between different ruling families. (1)

Thus, the true causes of the greatest changes in social order are not the shifts of individual rulers, but changes of religion that has primary power in establishing a new order. When we refer to “religion” we are usually inclined to think of some esoteric doctrine that necessarily contains the concept of “god.” But it is easily forgotten that everything that requires to be fatefully accepted is a religious doctrine, whether it is belief in some “higher power” or that human ethics and morality are the highest authority (“democracy”). The only difference between these is that one is secular, the other is not.

Whether they have been aware of this important fact or not, but many esoteric and other traditions have emerged, proclaiming their religion or teaching as a paradigm of the new age, and that it is their doctrine that represents the new world religion that will usher in the Age of Aquarius. We described many of these currents in the first part of this trilogy, when we stated that we did not see them wrong or contradictory, but as different aspects of one current.

age of aquarius
Atu XX – Aeon – from “Non Est Secundus Quia Unus Est”, book of Tarot archetypes by Richard Moult

Thus, for example, Aleister Crowley proclaimed that the New Age began on April 8, 1904, when he received an obscure publication called the Liber Al Vel Legis (‘Book of Laws’) from the “celestial powers” in the period between April 8 to April 10, proclaiming it to be the “Bible” of the new era. At that time, according to his interpretation, the “Aeon of a Murdered God” (Osiris) was replaced by the “Aeon of the Crowned and Victorious Child” (Horus). In the 1938 issue of Liber Legis, in connection with the arrival of the Horus Aeon, Crowley considers: “ He rules the present period of 2,000 years, beginning in 1904. Everywhere his government is taking root. Observe for yourselves the decay of the sense of sin, the growth of innocence and irresponsibility, the strange modifications of the reproductive instinct with a tendency to become bisexual or epicene, the childlike confidence in progress combined with nightmare fear of catastrophe, against which we are yet half unwilling to take precautions. ” Similarly, Anton Szandor LaVey founded the Church of Satan in 1966, also as the religion of the new aeon. Furthermore, the Theosophists tell us, through Alice Bailey, that according to Tibetan teacher Djwhal Khul, behind whom the Eastern Hierarchy of the “Master of Wisdom” powerfully stood, Aquarius was inaugurated in June 1945. on the full moon when, at the strongest energy base beneath the Gobi Desert, Christ-Maitreya assumed the scepter of power, becoming supposedly the World Master and Leader for the next 2,500 years: “In the center of this triangle / = Light, Love and Power / Christ has taken His position : from this point His work begins in the Age of Aquarius, and will last for 2,500 years. Thus, He began a new age, and a new world religion began to form on the inner spiritual levels. ” According to Jungian astrology, it is on February 7, 1962 that we entered the Aquarius era: at that time, most of the planets of the solar system were grouped in Aquarius. Divine clairvoyant Jean Dixon (USA) stated that on February 5, 1962, the Great Antichrist was born – “A child born somewhere in the Middle East shortly before 7:00 A.M. (EST) on February 5, 1962 will revolutionize the world. Before the close of this century, he will bring together all mankind in one all embracing faith. This will be the foundation of a new Christianity, with every sect and creed united through this man who will walk among the people to spread the wisdom of the almighty powers.” In the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, there was a certain awakening among humankind, Aquarius was everywhere present; but the nature of this movement was rather raw, rebellious and enthusiastic, best exemplified by the hippie movement, which sought to make opium and psychedelics a religion for the people; but it should be said that in those eccentric hippies who anemically and anecdotally imitated Christ, some saw those who are “preparing” the coming of Aquarius in all its power.

Now it would be worthwhile to consider some methods of mundane astrology, especially the so-called Great Conjunction of chronocrators – Jupiter and Saturn, which can give us significant insights in this regard. So, in the first chapter of the first part of his work “On Great Conjunctions”, Abu Ma’shar states what elements for the purposes of mundane predictions need to be analyzed.

The first place / level takes the transition ie. the return of the JU / SA conjunction into signs of fiery triplicity and this is the so-called Great Conjunction. Abu says that this new beginning occurs in the sign of Aries every 960 years, but if we look at the series of conjunctions of the chronocrators 7000 years back, we will see that it never happened in Aries, but all were without exception in Leo (except the last one, which happened 1663 to Saggitarius). This period does not last for 960 years, but for the period from 795 to 854 years.

However, the actual number of years is a side matter, the essential idea is that the return of the conjunction of the chronocrators in the sign of fiery triplicity becomes an indicator of a universal new beginning, a radical change in the structure of the previous order of things. The last such change occurred in 1663, so it is interesting to note that it was followed by social and political changes that almost perfectly fit into the symbolism of Aquarius. Thus came the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment, and numerous revolutions such as the French and the emergence of the United States of America, which in a sense can be considered the epitome of that “new democracy” stemming from the maxim of the French revolution “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” a guiding idea in this brave new world. There is also the industrial revolution, which, in only few hundred years, was inherited by the enormous breakthrough and advancement of science and technology, up to the quantum physics and information age we are witnessing today. However, this “new democracy” faces many adversities, so we cannot quite accept that it is this new religion of the coming age.

On the second level, we have the so-called „medium conjunctions“ ie. those that transition from triplicity to triplicity, representing a change over a period between 179 to 238 years, as the series of 12-13 conjunctions of chronocrators last in signs of the same triplicity. This indicator provides information on developments in religions, kingdoms and dynasties, and announces the birth of a new religion or dynasty. The second level is contained in the first and not vice versa; the former gives indications of the latter, but the latter cannot give indications of the former, which points to a clear hierarchical principle upon which this theory rests – in accordance with the philosophy of astrology as a whole. It is especially interesting that such a change, that is, the transition of the great conjunction into Air triplicity, occurs precisely on the winter solstice in 2020, namely at 0 Aquarius!

What could all this change bring? In the sense of the foregoing, I think it is worth recalling that the shift of this conjunction into water triplicity, more precisely in Scorpio, led to the birth of a new religion – Islam. Can we then interpret this next conjunction, though this time in air triplicity, as predicting of the emergence of a new religion or a new doctrine that is so necessary in the Age of Aquarius? What we can find in the sources of the astrological tradition is that Abu Ma’shar gives an overview of the strength of conjunctions depending on the sign in which they occur, and explains how the transition of conjunction to the new triplicity generally reflects the geographical shift of centers of power / influence. Conjunction in airl triplicity symbolizes the rise of the peoples of the northern regions, the strongest of those conjunctions being in Aquarius, medium in Libra and weakest in Gemini. As conjunction occurs in Aquarius, traditionally, this sign is related to the following areas: according to Ptolemy, Asian Russia, the wider area around the Amu Darje River on the northern border of nowdays Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan all the way to the Aral Sea, Arabian Peninsula, whole East Africa. According to Vettius Valens, places symbolized by Aquarius are: the Red Sea and Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya and northeast Europe above the borders of ancient Thrace. The same parts of the US and Canada belong in the subdivision to this sign. That is, all northeastern parts of any geographical entity can be assigned to aerial signs so that the northern parts always belong to Aquarius, south to Gemini, and Libra to the easternmost.

In general, these would be some areas where significant changes could occur and that are most likely to  shape the main stream of the currents of this new Aquarius’ age. By this I do not want to proclaim 2020 as the year of the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, but merely point out this important symbolic representation as being particularly indicative of the new age. Without any intent to announce some extremely apocalyptic scenarios, I still think it is important to keep in mind that the possibilities are indeed numerous – it may be the birth of a new world religion, the creation of a new bloc or alliance of states, perhaps the birth of a new leader, some revolutionary scientific discovery, or something similar. The modality in itself is not that important, as much as the fact that this is something that will essentialy and decisively direct the development of humanity towards the symbolic representations of the Aquarius era, the qualities of which have been discussed in the previous section. It is through this symbolism and characteristics, with the above geographical and formative references, that we can follow the events in the period after 21.12.2020. for the said change will represent their strongest sublimation. That is, some new religion or doctrine will have all the features described above and will emerge among the peoples of the north, and I would say that it will be the most important impulse in unwinding of this shift towards the Age of Aquarius. This will create fruitful ground for the emergence of new archetypes, mythos, new urban legends with ancient rural legends restored, which will open a portal to something still mysterious that cannot be accurately described by the known words, so we look for it in the language of symbolism. The process of gradually discovering this spiritual impulse is both collective and individual, marked by various turning points. Mankind as a whole goes through this process, just like any individual human being. Accordingly, this observation of mine may only be yet another of such points, which ultimately doesn’t have to prove as being so important, although, due to its temporal reference and symbolic significance, in conclusion, I would describe it as being of strongest influence so far.

Age of Aquarius – part two

In the previous text, we have considered the Age of Aquarius from the perspective of religion, mythology and esoteric philosophy, now it’s time to look at the astrological connotations regarding this issue. At the outset, it is worth considering the traditional astrological symbolism of the Aquarius zodiac sign. First, it should be said that Aquarius is a male, airy, fixed, hot and moist sign of human and Western symbolism. It symbolizes high places, roofs, eaves. It has a light blue color. In terms of the west, it may be significant to notice that religions and mystery schools have been saying that the Messiah will appear in the west.

The symbolic emblem of Aquarius is the aquifer, who is, while kneeling, pouring the water he brings in the act of humble service. Although classified as an air sign by its elemental qualities, Aquarius is, in many respects, considered a “forgotten” water sign, its very name indicates this connection to water, and ultimately it draws many of its symbolism from the aquifer’s spout. But this symbolism of the free flow of water has little to do with the ever-burdening ocean of the psyche displayed by the signs of water triplicity, but in this act it seeks to purify, enlighten, and clarify. The floods that followed the culmination of this sign and seasonal change were seen by the ancients as periods of refreshment, when the earth, again baptized, would be cleansed of sin. The month of February was named in honor of the purification ceremonies that would take place during the passage of the Sun through Aquarius (Latin: Februa = purify + auris = pertaining to), when society’s attention would be focused on purifying home, body and soul. After the cleansing, we are restored, so this classic symbolism also captures the element of youth and innocence through the identification of the aquifer with Ganymede, whose gentleness and beauty captivated Zeus, as we saw earlier.

In traditional astrological sources, we come across the following descriptions of  Aquarius:

aquarius
The symbol of Aquarius

Vettius Valens says that „Aquarius is the celestial sign which is masculine, solid, anthropomorphic, somewhat damp, single. It is mute, quite cold, free, upward-trending, feminizing, unchanging, base, with few offspring, the cause of troubles arising from athletic training, carrying burdens, or work in hard materials, an artisan, public. Men born under this sign are malicious, haters of their own families, incorrigible, self-willed, deceitful, tricky, concealing everything, misanthropic, godless, accusers, betrayers of reputations and the truth, envious, petty, occasionally generous (because of water flow), uncontrollable.“ (Anthologies, Book I)

The astrological influences of the constellation given by Manilius:

“The youthful Waterman, who from upturned pot pours forth his stream, likewise bestows skills which have affinity with himself: how to divine springs under the ground and conduct them above, to transform the flow of water so as to spray the very stars, to mock the sea with man-made shores at the bidding of luxury, to construct different types of artificial lakes and rivers,” and to support aloft for domestic use streams that come from afar. Beneath this sign there dwell a thousand crafts regulated by water. Why, water will even set in motion the face of heaven and the starry habitations, and will cause the skies to move in a novel rotation. Never will the sons of Aquarius grow tired of the works which come in the wake of water and follow springs. They who issue from this sign are a gentle sort and a lovable breed, and no meanness of heart is theirs; they are prone to suffer losses; and of riches they have neither need nor surfeit. Even thus doth the urn’s stream flow” [Astronomica, Manilius, 1st century AD, book 4, p.243.]

Firmicus Maternus in „Mathesis“:

“If the ascendant is in Aquarius, whatever the native attains will be lost and ruined; whatever he seeks he will lose again, but whatever he has lost he will regain easily. He will do favors for many and help them with means of subsistence, but they will always be ungrateful. He will be in great danger so that his life is despaired of, but he will be freed by protection of the gods. Many men will attack him with fierce hatred. He will work with divine or religious writings and will be known to many for his good deeds. ”

Abraham Ibn Ezra:

“Aquarius is one of the air signs, male and day, moderate in the group of winter signs, immobile, its ascension hours shorter than normal (short ascension), tilted on the ecliptic. Its nature is warm, moist and destructive, symbolizing the air that destroys everything that is alive and exterminates. A man born under this sign will be low in stature, with a large head and one foot larger than the other. He is generous, attractive and confident, and his only ambition will be to increase his wealth. He will either be impotent or with few or no children. Born in the first face (decan) of this sign, he will have a beautiful face and body, with a scar on his chest and will be refined. Born in the second face, he will be tall and ugly and have a scar on his back and below the elbow. Throughout his entire life he will be miserable. The one who is born in the third decan of this sign will be low but attractive and will be lover of women (will be craving). At the very end of the sign, a man will be inconsistent in his appearance and actions… ”

To understand Aquarius, we can hardly do anything better than take the other three kerubic signs and harmonize them. The Aquarian has all their powers and qualities to some extent, but never to excess. He has the kindness of Taurus without its blind devotion, the courage of Leo without his combative and challenging qualities, the scientific spirit of Scorpio without the passionate intensity. Aquarius is essentially the all-round man. One cannot put one’s finger upon a definite lack in his character, and at the same time, one cannot say that he markedly excels in any feature save that of being armed at all points.

As we can see, the descriptions vary a lot, which partially complicates our task of putting them in the context of the Age and its peculiarities that we are talking about. Nevertheless, the interpretation of Robert Zoller, one of the leading astrological authorities, especially from the point of view of its esoteric essence, can certainly help us here, which interpretation we find to be the most complete. Therefore, Zoller notes the following:

During the Piscean Age, the benefic Jupiter ruled the angles. Jupiter ruled both Pisces on the 1st and Sagittarius on the 10th, and thus, while there was confusion of hierarchical religious institutions and political institutions and while this inevitably led to hypocrisy, the Age was nevertheless one in which truth and philosophy mattered to men. The Piscean Age will, as this Aquarian Age unfolds, be seen as a halcyon period of semirespite from the essentially malefic and spiritually destructive nature of life.

In the Aquarian Age the malefics once again rule the angles and with them returns the natural severity of worldly life. Where once the religions of the Age south to embody the City of God in early hierarchies, the New Order will seek to perfect the Machiavellian political philosophy that “its better to be feared than loved if one cannot be both.

The Novus Ordo Saeculorum, the New Order of the Ages, will rule through the power of life and death (Scorpio, which is on the 10th), through behaviour modification, cloning, genetic engineering, mind control and the occult. Might makes right in this New Age. If the preceding Age produced metaphysical materialists, who duped the people through the opiate of religion, the New Age will produce materialist metaphysicians who will make the preceding political power elites look like inept apprentices.

In the Age of Aquarius, religion will be humanistic love of fairness and justice. While feeding the people with Libran platitudes, the Scorpionic rulers will work tirelessly toward the realization of their goal – absolute power over others, as Leo is seen in position on the 7th house. The will of the people will be towards freedom of expression (Aquarius), and they will be encouraged to do their own thing so that they keep their minds off what their rulers do.

Scorpio rules through oligarchic power elites who manage to be seen in the light they wish to be seen in. This means capturing to the utopian hopes of the people: offering them the collective doctrines such as socialism (not necessarily Marxism, but in one of its many guises). Extreme brands of Fabian communism and new versions of communism have merged with technocratic, scientific socialisms to produce a new strain of sociopolitical reality in which it is often impossible to discern left from right. These changes have been apparent since the 1990s and will continue. The west, as was so tragically shown on September 11th 2001, is increasingly coming into conflict with the traditional values predominating in the east. We will see this conflict intensify until the dialectic brings a proper resolution.

The family will be considered property, and in the great selfless movement to come, great pressures will be put upon the population to dissolve family completely. So great will be the pressure that in some cases familial connections will have to be kept secret. Those who are able to maintain the blood bond (in all its various manifestations) will be in a position to wield extraordinary power temporally, economically, and politically. These groups will give rise to certain secret societies, which will quietly cultivate the traditional values and institutions until the 2160 year dark age is passed. These secret societies, or secret families, as indicated by the earthy triplicity Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn – especially Taurus and Capricorn – will be the only direct route to the traditional Prisca Theologica, the true, secret, esoteric tradition, since ten signs from Capricorn brings us to Libra. This indicates the area in which the activities of these groups will be felt, in the 9th house, where they will be surreptitiously supplanting the official party line regarding religion, or more properly philosophy. The word religion will be offensive to the humanistic emphasis of the Age.

We cannot forget, however, that Saturn, ruler of Aquarius, is exalted in Libra and that in the Aquarian Age Libra will be on the 9th house. Thus there will be strong drives among Men during the Aquarian Age for 9th house teachings. The emphasis will be for the most part humanistic, for the preference for ancient forms in Aquarius and Saturn will preserve the ancient teachings, even though other forces in society will, as we have said, seek to suppress them.

Thus, the Aquarian Age, while not a dualistic Age, will nevertheless be intrinsically one in which the battle between spirit and matter will go on as never before. The opportunities for perfection, (Saturn as ruler of the 1st and exalted in the 9th) will be greater than ever, and the obstacles due to the doubt inherent in the Air signs. Aquarius, for instance, in an Air sign, and in the libertinism of the Age will also be greater than ever. Social interaction will be philosophic (Sagittarius is on the cusp of the 11th house). Groups of friends discussing and studying philosophical subjects should be a common enough occurrence that, occasionally, one will find some who seriously approach the teaching, (Sagittarius – three signs from Libra and from the archetypical 9th house). Many social groups will centre on the athletic activities, which are also Sagittarian.

Money will be seen as a means for satisfying one’s sensual drives and fantasies (Pisces on the 2nd), as well as providing emotional security, specifically as a means of escaping from the unpleasantness of the world. The co-rulership of Jupiter of the 2nd and the 11th points to income being a more important means to social selection than at present, despite the apparent universal socialism of the Age.

Knowledge will be valued only insofar as it leads to the ability to wage war and destroy, because Aries is on the 3rd house. In fact, the cultivation of knowledge as a source of military power will eventually lead to a secret means of altering and controlling such things as earthquakes and the Earth itself, even the core. This knowledge will be held by secret societies and eventually leads to a new socio-political system far more earthbound than the Capricornian Age after the year 4320.

As the Aquarian dream of humanistic science and universal brotherhood is a vision of the world to come in Pisces, and realized in Aquarius, so too, the Aquarian avant-garde will look forward to an Aquarian Golden Age on the one hand, while the Aquarian technocrats will look for a world corporation to fossilize society into a rigid caste system run technologically. Elements are already working for this, but, while it may be realized to some degree in Aquarius, the Age being essentially rebellious will deny it and present innumerable obstacles to its completion until the Age of Capricorn.

The danger in Aquarius is the abuse of knowledge and science, not of industry and trade.“

age of aquarius
Richard Moult – The Exile’s Song

We can already testify to many aspects that indicate that this famous Aquarian era will not be as colorful and beautiful as the descriptions that are often encountered suggest, because one cannot neglect the fact that it is an era dominated by the essential malefic. However, it is true that Saturn is slightly different in Aquarius, it is its main house and the place he most rejoices in, so it has more intellectual qualities here. Aquarius is the sign of the highest intellectual abstractions and achievements, and in it Saturn gives an intelligent, very stable and rational nature capable of understanding the most difficult intellectual problems, and as such is more scientific, and therefore this rapid development of science and technology is not surprising. But we are also fearful as to where is all that development leading us , because robotics, genetic engineering and the like are leading towards the creation of a mass of obedient robots and dehumanization. Yet, when we recall Saturn’s symbolism, we see that it also symbolizes all those who are humble and withdrawn, persistent, serious and devoted to science, symbolizing orphans, eunuchs, monks, ascetics and sages, magicians and those who practice magic and those who know the secrets and who convey the secret knowledge. It represents our grandparents, symbolizes long life and longevity, the elderly, and in the night charts it represents native’s father. The reference I find most intriguing is about those who know the secrets and pass on the secret knowledge, since Saturn is the planet of esoteric philosophy, and especially in nativities that have this planet as almutem figuris. I particularly find this evident in the airy Aquarius, which is also one of the best positions for Mercury. Consequently, and as Hall correctly observes, the Sun assumes the symbolism of the sign of precession, and therefore its divine form, so it is to be expected that this time will bring some new symbolic synthesis of science and religion, or spirituality, that complement each other. This is especially notable when we consider fanaticism of science as the antithesis of religion, so it is only logical that, according to the old dialectical formula: thesis-antithesis = synthesis, some new science and spirituality will emerge, which will be the paradigm of this new age. Something like this can already be observed in theories of quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the like that are increasingly gaining scientific ground, while dealing with those unfathomable segments we traditionally regard as god. On the other hand, in this theological and symbolic sense, Saturn indeed represents Satan, and in many ways his age is already here, but we cannot say that this new age entirely can go into such heavy materialism and self-indulgence, since these conditions are a kind of antithesis to centuries long  religious suppression. Ultimately, I believe that in the future, in this new age, science will evolve towards the development of cosmic potential and the conquest of the Cosmos, but not through a purely empirical and over-obsolete scientific method that is fundamentally materialistic, but through a new method by which we will attain parallel universes, thus developing our potentials and awareness for a new evolutionary leap, which is certainly the Cosmic destiny of humanity. The Age of Aquarius will indeed give us unprecedented opportunities to attain spiritual liberation, purification toward enlightenment, but nevertheless, as astrologers, we cannot ignore the darker, sinister, and malefic forces of the planet Saturn that will be in operation during this period. Moreover, I think we will witness a dystopian future in at least one period, but there are still enough indicators to hope that we will be able to direct our evolution toward the vision described above, even if we have to go through the already described technocratic tyranny.

From these two texts we have been able to gain enough interesting insights into the characteristics of this new age, whose outlines we can clearly recognize in the present, so we have yet to determine when this new age comes, which we will deal with in the third part of this series of texts.

Age of Aquarius – part one

Aquarius and its age are one of the major astrological, but not only astrological, debates. Starting with the hippie movement of the 1960s and the famous Age of Aquarius theme, we wonder when this “golden age” will come, whether it is already here, what will mark its beginning, etc. According to some authors, the main symbolic lines are already present, and although there are promising aspects in the form of spiritual liberation and the like, we can also note some negative trends. This is especially true of the fact that the 20th century was marked by the greatest casualties in human history (60 million in World War II, and another 40 million during Mao Tse Tung), the atomic bomb and the most devastating weapons ever, but also by rapid scientific and technological advances, man first set foot in space, so the conclusions of that new age are at least ambivalent. Of particular importance is the paradigm that will be dominant in this age, since it depends on how further scientific advances will be employed, which will in many respects also determine the main trends. In this quest, we decided to follow the path of symbolic representations, beginning with mythological, religious, esoteric and of course astrological, as the most relevant, given that all currents of human history have their roots and origins in them.

As the deepest symbolic meanings on a particular topic can be obtained from relevant mythological material, we will first address the myth that lies behing the constellation Aquarius. This is so because all the symbolic threads that form the later basic features of what they represent, be it on individual lever, or on the level of certain nation(s), state(s) or even of one Age, are woven into the myth. This stems from a kind of dialectical connection between Mythos and Ethos, in which Ethos (to put it simply – ethics) actually imparts the basic symbolism of myth to the level of applicable, and more importantly adopted social rules at the level of collective consciousness, from which  more concrete principles and rules derive that so form reality. For us, this relation may be best observed  in the relation of the Myth of Kosovo and the Serbian people, whose complete ethics and faith are built on that Myth. Likewise, the Aquarius myth certainly offers us enough symbolism to interpret its future ethos and thus to discover the key aspects of the coming age.

Aquarius is based on the myth of Ganymede. Ganymede is known as a classic mythological figure from the heroic age of ancient Greece. The myth is first mentioned in Homer, who presents Ganymede as one of Troy’s three sons, the legendary founder of Troy. Because of its extraordinary beauty, Ganymede is abducted by the gods to be a cupbearer to Zeus and enjoy the life of an immortal. As is common with Greek myths, different forms of story have developed – some heroes are referred to as the fathers of Ganymede, who is abducted by the gods, or even Zeus himself, or on his command. When the kidnapper is Zeus, he appears either as a mortal, or takes the form of an eagle, or orders the eagle to grab the boy as he leads his flocks to Mount Ida. All the gods rejoiced in his coming except Hera who despised him. Hera, in fact, complained that this offended both her and her daughter Heba, who had until then served the gods with wine; however, she only managed to anger Zeus, who put Ganymede among the stars as Aquarius. Some mythographers claim that this was the reason why Hera was against the Trojans in the Trojan War. Ganymede’s father mourned for his son. With regret, Zeus sent Hermes with two horses that were so fast that they could even run on water. Hermes convinced Troy that his son was immortal and that he now serves wine to the gods, and that he did not need to worry. It is also interesting to observe that aspect of Zeus’ love for Ganymede, which is often cited in ancient sources. At an early age, god and boy were considered archetypal lovers. Sophocles (fifth century BC) writes of Ganymede, who “inflames the power of Zeus with his thighs.” This couple also served to justify the homoerotic tradition. Hence the sixth century BC Teognis speaks of Zeus and Ganymede as an example of the joy of love with a boy, and ends one short poem with the words: “So, Simonide, don’t be surprised that I knelt in love with a wonderful boy.” The myth was inspiring for poetry, and we find it in Ibikus in the sixth century, and in Pindar and Euripides in the fifth century A.D. When Xenophon (fourth century) portrayed Socrates condemning copulation between men, he felt it necessary to remove all the appeal of the myth of Ganymede by interpreting Ganymede’s name (Ganymede is in Greek a compound of the adjective ganos – great and medea – male genitals but also prudence, cunning) as referring to someone who is of “tempting reasoning” rather than “tempting body” (or genitalia), which would be a more relevant interpretation. As we can see, the Ganymede myth has been interpreted in different ways. Plato believed that the myth was invented by the Creteans to justify love relationships with boys or young men. Xenophon explained this myth as a moral allegory that signifies the superiority of the spirit in comparison with the body (the etymological basis already mentioned), which would prove that intellectual rather than physical advantages gain the favor of the gods and ensure immortality. The Renaissance interprets this myth in connection with the Neoplatonist doctrine of furor divinus. In his commentary on Dante’s Purgatorio, Landino explicitly draws the line between Neoplatonic and Christian interpretation. Plato says that his abduction is “cleavage from the body, and since he forgets material things, he focuses fully on contemplating the mysteries of heaven.” In this respect, I am particularly interested in the symbol of the eagle, since the Eagle is one of the forms of the constellation of Scorpio, though the rarest. As Scorpio is a sign of occult initiation, the flying eagle – the king of birds – represents the highest and most spiritual type of scorpion in which it transcends the poisonous terrestrial insect. We will return to this reference later when we talk about astrological symbolism and its interpretations.

age of aquarius
The Abduction of Ganymede

The Aquarius constellation, identified with Ganymede, first represented the Egyptian god who ruled over the well of the Nile, pouring water rather than wine from the condy (Pindar: Fragment 110). More specifically, it is Osiris, the symbolic god of the Nile. The Nile would float in late July and is associated with Leo, during a full moon in Aquarius. This act symbolized Osiris’s dominance over the earth, who was then killed and torn apart, to eventually resurrect. Aquarius is therefore a vital force that renews and fertilizes all things.

What exactly is the precession of the equinoxes, and what are the principles on which it resides? The Sun completely circles the zodiac every year and returns to the point from which it began – the spring equinox – and every year it misses a little to make a complete circle in the sky within the prescribed time. As a result, it crosses the equator slightly behind where it was last year in the zodiac circle. Each zodiac sign consists of thirty degrees and, as the sun loses one degree every 72 years, it returns throughout the entire constellation (or sign) in approximately 2160 years (which represents one age), and throughout the zodiac for 25920 years. . This retrograde movement is called the precession of the equinoxes. This means that over the course of about 25,920 years, which makes one Great Solar or Platonic Year, each of the twelve signs occupies a position at the spring equinox for almost 2160 years, and then passes the place to the previous sign.

For the ancient peoples, the Sun always symbolized the shape and nature of the constellations through which it passed to the spring equinox. For the last nearly 2000 years the Sun has shifted to the Pisces constellation (two Pisces) at the spring equinox. 2160 years before it had passed through the constellation Aries. Previously, the spring equinox was in the sign of Taurus. During these times, or eras (aeons), religious worship takes the form of a corresponding celestial sign – of the one that the sun takes as his personality, in the same way that the spirit takes over the body. During this period, in ancient Egypt, Apis (bull) was dedicated to the sun-god, worshiped through the animal equivalent of the celestial sign, which, at the time of his passage into the northern hemisphere, was filled with his presence. This is the meaning of the ancient saying that the celestial Taurus “broke the egg of the year with its horns.” Then the Sun took over the body of Apis, and the Bull became dedicated to Osiris. In the Old Testament, we find a reference to this shift of aeons, when Moses, upon his return from Mount Sinai, found his followers glorifying the Golden Calf, which he then destroyed by throwing it into the fire (which signifies purification and rebirth), and then, as we find in Genesis 22:13 : “ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.” During the Age of Aries, the Lamb was considered sacred and the priests were called shepherds. Sheep and goats were sacrificed on the altars, and the scapegoat was designated to bear the sins of Israel. During Pisces, the fish was a symbol of divinity, as the Sun God fed the crowd with two small fish. Not only is Jesus often called the Fisherman of the People, but, as John P. Landy writes: “The word Fish is an abbreviation for the whole name, „Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior and Cross“, or as St. Augustine says: “If you combine the initial letters of the five Greek words Ιησούς Χριστός Θεού Υιός Σωτήρ, you get ΙΧΘΥΣ, which means Pisces, a word through which Christ is mystically understood, because he was able to live in the abyss of this mortality, as in the depth of water, but without sin ”. Aquarius is the name for the man with the pitcher of water on his shoulder referred to in the New Testament (Luke 22:10; Mark 14:13), when the apostles should prepare the Last Supper, and Jesus instructs them to follow the man carrying a mug of water. It is also referred to as the “Face of Man” in the Book of Revelation, as one of the fixed signs of the Zodiac. From a mystical point of view, this can also be seen as a guideline, since the apostles have traditionally been associated with the 12 signs, the so called houses of the Sun, so the entry into the house where a man with a jug of water leads them, can also be seen as a reference to entering in the age of Aquarius, especially if the myth of Christ is taken as a symbolic representation of the whole age of Pisces, or Christianity. He is sometimes portrayed as an angelic character, supposedly androgynous, who either pours water from an urn or carries a pot on his shoulder. Among the Oriental peoples only a water bowl is used. According to all this, the Sun will still take the form of the zodiacal sign in which it is located, ie. Aquarius, which is a human sign, hence the emphasis on humanism and the age itself will adopt the symbolism of this constellation, both in religious worship and in ethics.

Esoteric philosophy is the next one whose insights are worth considering in this regard. This is because precisely the different Schools of Mysteries knew how to properly understand and employ these symbolic mythological representations, often even creating individual myths themselves. Therefore, in this place, we would like to address one esoteric aspect of the time, which concerns the Age, or Aeon, as well as their succession.

In the last few centuries, since Occultism in the West experienced a renaissance and some ideas began to spread more openly – many mystical and esoteric traditions occasionally proclaimed the appearance of a New Age, naming it and describing it differently, relative to one another. Some Masonic authors have heralded the Age of Aquarius, on the basis of astro-theological heritage; The Theosophists spoke of the ages of the seven human races, relying on the Hindu tradition of the seven ages, proclaiming that we were currently living in the age of the fifth Aryan race; The Hindu tradition teaches that we live in the age of Kali-Yuga; The Order of the Nine Angles, although it has a slightly different concept from the Theosophical, also recognizes the seven ages in the development of the human species, but proclaims this present age – the Age of the Mother of Blood; Crowley and the Telemites believe that we are in the Age of Horus – a child, after the earlier times of Osiris – the father and Isis – the mother; Anton Szandor LaVey and the like proclaim the Age of Satan, etc. At first glance, studying all these teachings, of these different traditions, one might think that there must be contradiction and that all these ages are not fully compatible with each other. Needless to say, all followers of the above traditions are blindly clinging to inherited dogmas, largely denying others. We see things a little differently. We see no contradiction or genuine conflict between them all, but consider that they all speak only of different aspects of the same New Age. For example, one can already feel the coming of what the “Age of Aquarius” should represent – rapid and remarkable spiritual and technological progress, as well as a sudden break with the tradition, values ​​and religions created in the “Age of Pisces”; All these achievements have been predominantly presented by representatives of the Aryan race, if the Theosophical classifications are to be reiterated; Hypocrisy, injustice and insanity also ruleng, as described in the Hindu representations of Kali-Yuga, along with the appearance of devotional and compassionate religious forms, devoid of traditional and restrictive ritualism, both in the East and in the West; There is also an evident increase in the dominance of the female principle and female influence in society, but not that of the motherly and caring female principle from the cave age, but precisely as represented by the Order of the Nine Angles through the archetype of the Mother of Blood, manifesting itself as the judge and executioner of the patriarchal system so far. . ; Again, Crowley is correct in referring to the Age of Child-Horus, in which, as he describes it himself, there will be evidence of widespread confusion, incoherence, increased freedoms, bisexuality, homosexuality, and the outbreak of the most insane and bloody war conflicts; Of course, LaVey also accurately proclaimed the age of Satan, since Satanism as such is increasingly accepted as a perfectly legitimate religion, that Satan is publicly worshiped, and that all those things that were once “sin” and “devil’s work” are increasingly accepted as standard and something normal. So, esoterically, we see all these representations of the New Age only as different aspects of that and such an Age, which complement one another.

In the second part of this quest, we will look for answers in purely astrological symbolism, which will give us additional insights into aspects of this emerging new age.