Currently,
the vernal equinox is in Pisces; and at the cusp of Aquarius. The exact date was important to many early civilizations
which made no distinction between between science and religion. This
date is commonly held to be December
21, 2012 but there are many alternative views.
On
the web, the most cited authority who differs, is
Astrological Historian, Dr Shepherd Simpson, [geocities.com/astrologyages/
]Dr. Shepard uses an alternative
definition based upon "the space definition of the vernal equinox" to
stretch the Age of Pisces to last from 90 BC to 2600 AD. The
ancient world and today's both use a cycle of 360 degrees
where 72 years is one degree 2160 (72 x 30) which would put Dr Simpson's
end time using the more practical 12 x 30 degrees definition of the
Precession of the Equinoxes at 2070. Most other web authorities use the
Birth of Christ as the beginning of the age of Pisces and end of Aries.
All agree that with every passing day we move more into the Age of
Aquarius.However, for most of us, its the signs
of the season that matter. The Piscean age started fading with the rise
of science and new ideas 500 years ago during the Renaissance.
Intuitively we understand we are on the cusp of something, be it
Armageddon or the Space Age, we are called to be born anew.
Carl Jung is the scientist who
first used the Age of Aquarius to help us understand the new paradigms
available when we bring the unconscious to consciousness. Astrology and
the prehistory use of the zodiac, like everything, has a relationship to
the zeitgeist today but our story of the future lies more in our ability
to see the advantage to seeking balance and knowing when we are close to
this harmony.
This is closer to art than science and has till recently been the
territory claimed by religion. Our ability to successfully navigate this
change, explained by Jung as a "transformations in the collective
psyche", is not certain, but knowledge is power.
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"transformations of the collective psyche" |
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"As we know from ancient Egyptian history,
there are symptoms of psychic changes that always appear at the
end of one Platonic month and at the beginning of another. They
are, it seems, changes in the constellation of the psychic
dominants, of the archetypes or "Gods" as they used to be
called, which bring about, or accompany, long-lasting
transformations of the collective psyche. This transformation
started within the historical tradition and left traces behind
within it, first in the transition of the Age of Taurus to that
of Aries, and then from Aries to Pisces, whose beginning
coincides with the rise of Christianity.
We are now nearing that great change which
may be expected when the spring-point enters Aquarius. It would
be frivolous of me to conceal from the reader that reflections
such as these are not only exceedingly unpopular but come
perilously close to those turbid fantasies which becloud the
minds of world-improvers and other interpreters of "signs and
portents".
But, I must take
this risk, even if it means putting my hard-won reputation for
truthfulness, trustworthiness and scientific judgment in
jeopardy. I can assure my readers that I do not do this with a
light heart. I am, to be quite frank, concerned for all those
that are unprepared by the events in question and disconcerted
by their incomprehensible nature. Since, so far as I know, no
one else has yet felt moved to examine and set forth the
possible psychic consequences of this foreseeable change, I deem
it my duty to do what I can in this respect. I undertake this
thankless task in the expectation that my chisel will make no
impression on the hard stone it meets."
C G Jung 1959 AD:
Flying Saucers,
Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies. Published by the
Bollingen Foundation
Introduction, pp xi - xii
geocities/astrologyages/jungageofaquarius
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a plane in space called the
plane of the ecliptic.
Because
the
Precession
is the same effect you see with a top.
The
circle traced out by the north celestial pole can also be observed
on the celestial sphere.