aquarius

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

from NewsScope July 2, 2002

Last week the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals outraged the nation by ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional since the phrase "one nation under God" violates the separation of church and state. But then the Supreme Court ruled that public funding of religious schools through vouchers do not violate the separation of church and state.

Many astrologers see a diminishing role for organized religion since we are collectively entering the Age of Aquarius and leaving behind the Age of Pisces. The shift from the last age to the next is certainly boosted by the transits of Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius as simultaneously the traditional concept of "God" is undergoing intense questioning.

Film buffs show how the spirit of the times can be read through modern mythology, which is often symbolically portrayed in movies. One of the most popular American stories, The Wizard of Oz, reflects where we can find God in this New Age. In this fable Dorothy and her companions have completed their tasks assigned to them by the great and powerful wizard, only to discover that the wizard is no wizard at all, just an ordinary fellow.

Dorothy's disillusionment reflects our excessive dependence on external images of God, and religious authority figures in general. As Glenda the Good Witch suggests, the answer to your spiritual journey lies within you. In the Age of Aquarius our collective relationship to the divine shifts away from bearded patriarchs toward recognizing our role as co-creators in global events.

Shifting the Epicenter of Global Attention

from NewsScope January 11, 2005

Is it just a coincidence that the catastrophic tsunami took place off the coast of Indonesia, the world's most populous Islam nation? Such wide scale disaster begs the theological question, what was God thinking? Although astrologers profess no common religion, many do express a belief that we are on the cusp of the Age of Aquarius and leaving the Age of Pisces behind.

One distinction between these two ages is that the faith-oriented Pisces era was characterized by religious, cultural enclaves while the Age of Aquarius is moving toward a global consciousness, a collective self-awareness. The 9-11 attack and the invasion of Iraq focused the world's attention on the Piscean schism between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Suddenly, the tsunami shifted the epicenter of world attention from religious antagonism to Aquarian universal empathy for the millions of survivors, no matter what their religion or ethnic background.

Across the global village peoples from diverse cultural heritages began pouring their collective compassion, money, and strategic resources into Southeast Asia. Call it an inflection point, a shift in the established order. Astrologically, this might be attributed to Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, now in Pisces, and Neptune, the ruler of Pisces, now in Aquarius.

They are in each other's sign, what astrologers call mutual reception. This seven-year phase may be seen as the inflection point between the Age of Pisces, where religion is a function of geography, to the Age of Aquarius, where global communications and transportation systems are linking the world's cultures into one people living on one planet. In this sense, the tsunami was a blessing.

Saturn and Neptune Shape Global Village

from NewsScope November 7, 2005

Although transiting Saturn in Leo will soon turn retrograde, over the next two years it advances into an opposition to Neptune in Aquarius, an outer planet dynamic that will shape geopolitical events across our global village. Authoritarian Saturn in imperial Leo represents the empowerment of central governments and charismatic or autocratic leaders. Neptune in Aquarius, on the other hand, is the networking power of decentralization and democracy.

The Saturn-Neptune polarity brings a phase of bridging the hopes and ideologies (Neptune) with pragmatic, realistic goals (Saturn). The first of three exact oppositions between these planets occurs in August 2006, with the next two taking place in 2007. Great revolutions unfold during this planetary combination, including the Bolshevik and Mexican revolutions in 1917 when Neptune was in Leo and Saturn in Aquarius.

The Saturn-Neptune opposition happens to land right on the U.S. Midheaven/IC axis, pointing to profound political dynamics pending in this country. With Neptune on the nation's fourth house cusp, we can expect that the political, economic, and military policies will be shaped by the oil and gas industry. Saturn at the Midheaven informs us of American dominance in international affairs. However, with the opposition to scandal-plagued Neptune, some American leaders will certainly fall.

On a more esoteric level, Saturn opposite Neptune in Aquarius begs the question: are we in the Age of Aquarius yet? Astrologers have reached no consensus on the date, but like the dawning of a new day, the moment may be defined as the first glimmer of light, or the actual appearance of the Sun. We do see signs of the coming New Age, notably, the internet moving us toward a de-centralized, information-based society. However, as long as we collectively depend on oil and faith-based, organized religion for our energy and spiritual sustenance, Pisces remains the dominant paradigm.

Alito and the Age of Aquarius\

from NewsScope January 18, 2006

A NewsScope reader expressed concerns about individual rights should Samuel Alito be confirmed to the Supreme Court. "I would like to hear your take on what is going on since this issue is so central to what direction the country takes in the next 30 years. The talk about executive power grabs... the spying on American citizens.... Where is the Constitution and Bill of Rights in all this?"

As Ray Grasse so eloquently stated in his visionary book Signs of the Times, the issue of individual rights v. the needs of the collective is a primary dilemma associated with the Age of Aquarius. That the conflict is arising now is a sure indicator that the Age of Aquarius is upon us, and the current transits reflect this message.

Neptune in Aquarius has just entered the U.S. fourth house of domestic concerns. Neptune idealizes the Aquarian values of democracy, freedom of expression, and equal treatment under the law. Americans in general have always treasured and protected these values since the U.S. Moon is in Aquarius. This past week transiting Pluto was exactly sextile the U.S. Moon, empowering the people in this particular case.

The Age of Aquarius, according to Grasse, also features the elemental values of Leo, the polar opposite of Aquarius. The U.S. with its Leo Midheaven encourages individual success, promotes talent and creativity, and treats its celebrities like deities. Saturn in Leo now gives authority to the government to do what it has to do while engaged in the War on Terrorism.

In 2006 Saturn and Neptune oppose each other while aligned with the U.S. Midheaven. This celestial showdown pits the government's national security needs against traditional American values regarding civil rights. Ideally, the opposing parties can find a way that safeguards what both sides need. But the issue won't go away, since the War on Terrorism will likely be with us for the next 30 years*. The advent of the Age of Aquarius seems more disturbing than dreamers had hoped.

Altered Oceans in the Age of Aquarius

from NewsScope August 7, 2006

A NewsScope reader wonders what the astrology is behind the Los Angeles Times five-part series on ocean pollution*. "If you read it, you'll see that agribusiness, oil, and sewage are behind the pollution," she writes. Astrologically, there's no national chart that reveals the extent of the problem since the runoff from industrial society is local everywhere and is not restrained by any national borders.

As a global problem, the solution requires a global approach. A few astrologers (Charles Harvey and Ray Grasse come to mind) tell us that the issue is a sign of the emerging Age of Aquarius, and that any consideration of the Age of Aquarius must also take into account its polar opposite, Leo. Leo represents the sovereign rights of individuals to be monarchs of their realms, whereas Aquarius works with systems to address common problems, as in democracies.

In the Age of Aquarius, finding solutions means recognizing that irresponsible actions taken by many individual entities can add up to a huge collective problem. This month, transiting Saturn and Neptune oppose each other in the signs of Leo and Aquarius, offering a unique celestial window for viewing the Age of Aquarius zeitgeist. Neptune is the natural ruler of the seas, and in Aquarius, carries the mythological ideal, the transcendent message of the Age of Aquarius.

Saturn in Leo represents the rights of individual corporations to run their businesses as they see fit. The LA Times series reflects this Saturn-Neptune polarity, but ultimately we'll need an effective global government to oversee and enforce environmental regulations. This won't happen until Pluto works its way through Capricorn (the sign of government), and those born with Neptune in Aquarius reach political maturity.