What is the Age of Aquarius?
The Great Conjunction of Saturn & Jupiter in Aquarius by Richard Chasemore
“When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius…”
You know the rest.
If these lyrics make no sense to you, do not worry, they’re not supposed to. Ironically, we’ve almost all heard of the Age of Aquarius purely because of these few lines. Despite becoming the rallying cry of the free, youthful generation of the 1960s, they’re not meant to be taken literally. In reality, Jupiter and Mars are often in alignment and the Moon travels through the seventh house once a day. Spanning over two thousand years makes it incredibly difficult for Astrologers to pinpoint precisely when an astrological age has begun. Although almost everyone has heard of the Age of Aquarius, astrologers still vary in their opinion on its beginning; depending upon who you speak to, we’re either already in it or its dawning is imminent. That being said, on the 21st December 2020 we experienced a Great Conjunction. Jupiter and Saturn came together for the first time in decades. The fact that it is taking place under the sign of Aquarius has led some to believe that this is the signalling of a new age: the Age of Aquarius. However, very few people actually know what it even is, we just have the general sense that whatever it is, it’s going to be ‘big’. With so much humanitarian upheaval in the past year and a Great Conjunction in Aquarius, it is thought that we are finally here, the Age of Aquarius is upon us. So perhaps it is time to finally find out what it actually is.
Alright, let’s get the technical stuff out of the way. The Babylonians lay the foundation for the science of astrology as we know it today. They named the zodiac signs after the constellations in the sky. When astrology was first formalised both signs and constellations were considered to be identical. But with time these separated into the different studies of Astrology and Astronomy. It was the Greek Astronomer Hipparehus in the second century B.C. who found that slowly the Earth shifts its position as it spins through the solar system. Today that is commonly referred to as the ‘wobble’. Instead of staying upright, the earth leans a little from side to side as it revolves. As a result, the position of the earth shifts and leads to a shift in the line of the celestial equator. Now, (stay with me here because we’re about to bring it all together) what this adds up to is the fact that as time passes the point where the path of the Sun crosses the celestial equator takes place in an entirely different constellation. This movement of Earth’s tilt takes place at a glacial speed (we’re talking about 2,100 years per sign) and is called the recession of the equinoxes (it moves backwards through the constellations). When the Babylonians first calculated the zodiac, the vernal equinox took place in Aries, by the time of Christ we were in Pisces. About 2,000 years later now and we’re finally moving into Aquarius, hence ‘the dawning of the Age of Aquarius’.
The Age of Aries was dubbed the Iron Age and was infamous for its militant and aggressive style. The Age of Pisces saw the dawning of Christianity and the changes of sacrifice and struggle it brought to the world. The Age of Aquarius is said to bring that universal peace we’ve apparently all been searching for. Starting with the sign itself, Aquarius is known for its brotherhood and humanitarianism. This sign is kind, compassionate, free-spirited and creative. However, Aquarians are overwhelmingly intellectuals. The people under this sign have a great power to form and understand abstract concepts; their intelligent and unique ideas have led them to be called intellectual geniuses. Naturally, in the Age of Aquarius, the most striking change in societal structure will be the focus on intellect as king. Astrologers believe that the special privileges those of high birth have held for centuries will be replaced by a celebration of knowledge and the intellectual instead. The aristocrat of the future will be the most intelligent or learned person in the room. With Aquarius as the sign of scientific invention its virtually impossible to dream up what technologies will be invented in the next 2,000 years during this age. But as a mental sign, we know the future will be marked by unthinkable intellectual achievement.
This shift is going to bring out the best and the worst in mankind. While we may grapple with a technological existence we cannot even fathom at this moment, as a human species we will have to work hard to stay connected to our fellow man. Fortunately, Aquarius is just the sign to make this happen. On a humanitarian front, caring for the planet and its people will always be under the domain of Aquarius. Aquarius is the sign the astrologers believe is the most qualified for improving life on the planet. Astrologer Maria Soha Marmanides tells us, ‘There’s a huge potential for progress and shifting paradigms to make these structures work more equitably for everyone…we all need to work together to make the status quo something that benefits everyone’. The hope is that during this age, we will finally understand our connection to one another through nothing higher than the bonds of humanity. Social justice, free and equal access to resources will be available to everyone. Though often the source of division, the internet has also connected us on a level never before seen. The Age of Aquarius offers us hope that we can harness this power of connection to the planet and one another and rise to the challenges of a new age.
‘Don’t forget these ages are likely to be like a tide coming in, not a light switch going on’ Chris Brennan and Kenneth Miller of The Astrology Podcast tell us. 'It’s not like, “Oh, Age of Pisces!” Suddenly, everyone wakes up the next day and everything’s changed. It’s more like a tide coming in; one tide recedes and another tide comes in with its influence’, they continue. Perhaps it is a tad too optimistic to say that this age will finally bring about world peace, but as the sign of hope and ruled by Uranus, the planet of the future, a promise of a new world is being held out to us, whether we choose to accept it or not is up to us.
Words: Holly Westwood