Thanks to the hit song by The Fifth Dimension from the Broadway musical “Hair” we all seem to know “this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius” but what does that mean, actually? Well… let’s see if I can give a shot at explaining:
Generally speaking, ages in astrology last a little over 2,000 years, and there is no common consensus among astrologers as to exactly when one ends and the other one begins. Some claim the 1960s were when the Age of Aquarius began. Some say the past couple of decades. Me, when I look at some of the meaning and symbolism of the Aquarius, I could see it as beginning at the dawn of the Industrial Age. Aquarius is partially about new ideas, new inventions, and new technology. And it is also about using that new technology to help the world. The symbol for Aquarius is the water bearer. In ancient times the water bearer was the one who went to the well or river or any source of water and brought it back to the tribe. The water bearer was an individual bserving the greater good.
And the ages of astrology go backwards through the zodiac, so we have left behind the Age of Pisces. Pisces embraces everyone in the world as one. Aquarius acknowledges we are all one, but also respects the individual, respects personal freedom and everyone’s uniqueness. If one looks at the start of Aquarius connected to the Industrial Age, which is generally dated as beginning in the 1700s, this is also when human rights became an issue. The individual became important. Monarchies were getting toppled. The American colonies and France both had revolutions to overthrow royal rulers. The Dutch abandoned royalty a century earlier.
So I think the past 300+ years or so have been the growing pains and adjustment period of the start of the Age of Aquarius. The past 30 years in particular have seen quite an acceleration in Aquarian activity. The Internet and all of its social connections have certainly shifted power from the top-down model. In a funny way we are becoming more tribal again. It has given us the ability to connect with many other like-minded individuals regardless of location. In my own experience, before social networking, I had direct contact with maybe 10 or 20 astrologers, and I live in NYC. Now I have access to hundreds of astrologers’ opinions through Facebook groups and online websites. And this carried through in many areas of interest. Scratch the surface of the web and there are mutual interest groups for politics, embroidery, Bob Dylan fans, cooking clubs, and on and on. Everyone has an equal say, and if they don’t like one group they can find another or else start their own. The other side of the past 30+ years includes a swelling of interest in “new” ideas that challenge the status quo belief systems. “New” can mean ancient practices seeing a revival, such as astrology, numerology, feng shui, etc., and it also can be applied to modern inventions like biofeedback, reiki, quantum physics and more.
I believe much of the current upheaval in the world is the result of traditionalists resisting change, and traditionalists always will. And I am not knocking tradition. There are many valuable things that should be kept and brought forward. The dawning of a new age (actually I think it is mid-morning already) does not mean trashing everything that went before. The ideal response will be to keep what resonates and still serves us, and trash the rest.
And one of the best guidelines for what to trash vs what to save can be found in the symbolism of Aquarius, where personal freedom matters, where respect for each individual matters, and where each individual respects the common good, and each other. And Aquarius is also about new ideas, crazy challenges and uniqueness.
Personally I encourage people to let go of traditional beliefs and to cobble together their own spirituality, create their own religion. In the Age of Pisces when many people wanted to merge together, mutually held beliefs mattered, but that was then. The new truth is, one size does NOT fit all. We can have common ground and still all be unique and distinct. Every one of us matters, whether they are public figures or socially involved or introverts hiding out at home, participating in the world via the Internet.
We are deep enough into the Age of Aquarius that I think it is time to embrace it, and not fight it. If it is the future vs the past… well… the future usually wins. The clock keeps ticking.
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NOTE: My Internet radio show solo is also called Cosmic Tuesdays. It is on every Monday from 9:30pm to 11pm on the HeyZRadio network. A half-hour shorter, but just as good. Join me for 90 minutes every Monday and we can have some fun together. I interview astrologers, psychics, palm readers, Kaballah experts, acupuncurists, energy channellers and all kinds of interesting people.
Hi Tony I wrote a whole big paragraph on a different page, I believe it was for the radio station though,had a black background. Don’t know what happened but I lost it , oh well that’s the story of my life always losing “stuff”. I had alot of fun last Sunday with you guys. Celeste is hysterically funny without even trying. The dynamics between my aunt and her are fascinating, just a tad dysfunctional yet so typical of the Sena clan. My mother and I are MUCH worse. I read your page(s) and thanks for being so candid and honest about yourself – quite refreshing. I would like to come to 53rd street one night as I find personal appeal in all of these for as long as I can remember I was always interested in these topics. The whole family would see some of my books and I was branded as the flaky weirdo who was “out there”. I still want you to do my chart, not to spend an inordinate amount of time on it, just a little something. Maybe it will give me some hope (hopefully) which I find myself in desperate need of at this time for obvious reasons. I am grateful we have someone like you in the family. Looking forward to your Monday show, I think I can get it on you tube, no?