I have recently received a few queries about this rumour that the current concentration of planets in the sign Aquarius heralds the “dawning of the Age of Aquarius”, and to be frank, I find it a little amusing that many seem to be taking so seriously the “prophecy” from the hippie musical “Hair”, to the effect the Age of Aquarius begins “when the Moon is in the 7th House and Jupiter aligns with Mars...”. I suspect the writer of the song simply tossed around some relatively random rhyming astrological jargon that had the right prophetic ring to it.
The fact is that Mars and Jupiter will “align” roughly every two years, and the Moon is in the 7th House for about two hours every day. So, the Moon will be in the 7th House whenever Mars and Jupiter “align”. I'm not sure where all the current excitement about 14 February started, but I'd be surprised if it could be traced to an astrologer of standing.
During the past several decades there have been a few astrological events that have been considered by some to be “the signal” that the Age of Aquarius has begun. I believe these have at best been partial truths, and more often than not merely fanciful notions. I say “partial truths” because perhaps the Age of Aquarius would be “anchored” through a series of significant, but relatively minor, astrological events. Jupiter/Saturn Conjunctions, for example, occur every 20 years and are considered important in terms of larger or more general social processes. The last Jupiter/Saturn Conjunction occurred in 2000, and there was then (in May 2000 in particular) a major alignment in the solar system that was arguably far more profound than the current one.
There is unfortunately a lot of hype out there regarding “the end of days” being immanent. I would, for example, be very surprised if 2012 isn't less dramatic than many people are anticipating; and I am not saying there is no significance to that date and the fact that the Mayan “long count” comes to an end then, I simply believe that the “popular wisdom” about it may be less than thoroughly enlightened and that there's an element of sensationalism in the way it is often presented. It will no doubt be discussed with increasing fervour between now and then.
One reason why I do not take the fact that there is currently an alignment of several planets in the sign Aquarius (ignoring for a moment the “Hair Prophecy”) as indicating the beginning of the Age of Aquarius is that the sign Aquarius in which Mars and Jupiter and other planets are now conglomerating is actually the zodiacal constellation of Capricorn, and it is these zodiacal constellations (as opposed to the Tropical Zodiac signs used in western astrology) that are used to time the “Ages”.
The subject is quite technical.
The Sun is said to enter the sign Aries around the 21st of March every year. Note that this date is also the Northern Hemisphere's Spring Equinox. This is very important, because what makes the Sun's position in the heavens at that time “Aries” is NOT the stars or constellation behind the Sun at that time, but the fact that it is the Equinox, and the beginning of the seasonal year. The actual zodiacal constellation behind the Sun on the 21st of March is in fact Pisces, and that is why we are said to be in the Age of Pisces. The zodiac signs used in western astrology are NOT aligned with the actual visible constellations- hence I say that most of the planets in the current Aquarius alignment are in the constellation of Capricorn.
So, the Sun's position at the time of the Northern Hemisphere's Spring Equinox (the Autumn Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere) is the “marker” showing which age or “great month” we are in, and this “marker” moves very gradually backwards (in terms of the usual sequence of the zodiac signs- hence we go from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius) along the actual visible zodiacal constellations. This gradual shifting backwards along the constellations of the Sun's Equinoctal position is due to what is known as the “Precession of the Equinoxes”. This is normally described as a “wobble”, similar to what one sees in a spinning top, in the earths axis that occurs in an approximately 25 000 year cycle.
Now, here's “the rub”. The actual zodiacal constellations do not have very precisely definable boundaries. You can point to the stars that make up the constellation Aquarius easily enough, but where exactly does Aquarius begin and end, how far does it protrude in either side of the stars that compose it? The experts are bound to differ, even if only slightly, and here a degree (out of 360) will equate to about 72 years in terms of the precession cycle. We can only vaguely know that the March equinox is approaching the constellation of Aquarius. Some would say the age of Aquarius has already begun (such as the Tibetan Master Djwal Khul who taught through Alice Bailey, and whom I consider an authority on such things, compared to other modern commentators). From another perspective, however (if you take the Sidereal Zodiac as defining the boundaries of the zodiacal constellations), it won't begin for at least another 300 years or so. It all depends on which measurements and authorities you choose to use and trust.
The guru of Paramahansa Yogananda (author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi), Sri Yukteswar, presented an interesting theses on this precession cycle, that is linked to the Vedic concept of “Yugas”, in a book called The Holy Science. According to many (or most) Vedic scholars we entered the 432 000 years of “Kali Yuga” about 5 000 years ago or so. Kali Yuga is considered the “dark age”, and it is believed we will be sinking ever more deeply into the mire for some hundreds of thousands of years to come. “A dark prospect!”, as Sri Yukteswar puts it.
He (fortunately) suggests that these calculations are in error (as a result of the loss of knowledge that resulted from the “dawning” of Kali Yuga), and that in fact Kali Yuga ended at the end of the 19th century. His theory (which is a little too intricate to present here in full- see The Holy Science) indicates that the peak of Kali Yuga was around 500 A.D., and that the scientific progress that has been accelerating since the 17th century A.D. has been due to the “turning of the tide”. “Dwapara Yuga”, which we are about 110 years into now, is marked by greater knowledge and scientific advances, and specifically greater knowledge of electricity and magnetism. However, during Dwapara Yuga (and especially early in the cycle) there is still a significant degree of materialism in humanity, which may account for the abuse of knowledge, and the consequent human and environmental catastrophes that we are so familiar with. The good news is that ever since 500 A.D. we are in an “ascending” half of Sri Yukteswar's 24 000 precession cycle, and humanity will be growing steadily more enlightened and spiritual till at least 10 500 from now, when we arrive at the highest and purest and most spiritual stage of the precession cycle.
