BACK TO PAGE SIXTEEN
COFFEEHOUSE CULTURE -- Issue 2

If you are as confused by the multiple new millennium celebrations as we are, the start of the Age of Aquarius is something you would probably prefer not to consider. But maybe you should. As the New Millennium really starts to find its feet, change is clearly in the air. It is just down on earth that there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of it. Be that as it may, we can all sense the ferment within the currents that play around and within our lives and our psyches. It might all be subtle, ill-defined and ambiguous but many can see the New Age approaching. In the storm before the lull, however, the oracles are silent, the seers are wearing shades and the psychics are out cycling. Except for our own Astrological Consultant, that is.
MClearly the start of the new millennium, whether fabricated or not, is in itself a big event. And, as one would expect, an event of such worldly importance is more than reflected in the heavens. Consulting her ephemeris, Sandy Hughes, says: 'To fully comprehend the potency of the exciting times in which we live, we need to plot our course through recent world history and piece together the symbols, omens and signs. On New Year’s Eve of 1999, Chiron (the most recently discovered planet in our solar system) and Pluto met (in Sagittarius) for the first time since 1941. It was that explosive conjunction (in Leo) that precipitated the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the escalation of the war in Europe to worldwide proportions. In 1945 Chiron met Neptune (in Libra), precipitating the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
M‘The conjunction on New Year’s Eve of the year 2000, however precipitated no such event. Or did it? Although only discovered in 1977, Chiron’s effects on world events are easy to plot. Seeking holism, Chiron is seen as symbolising both our wounding and our healing. Maybe we are in the process of experiencing its healing influences.
M‘Much has been made of the astrological influences throughout the 1960s. And not without good reason. It was in the 60s that this all started and it is all there in the heavens for anyone to read. That remarkable decade of revolution and revelation coincided with a continuous conjunction of Uranus (radical change/higher consciousness) and Pluto (social ferment and rebirth) -- the most explosive combination there is. But with Neptune in Scorpio contributing the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll element, it became a more benign and less dramatic social upheaval than many would have wished.
M‘In retrospect the effects of this powerful conjunction are clear to see if somewhat subtle and ill-defined. While Pluto contributed the social ferment and Uranus was the consciousness changer, it was Neptune that was responsible for all that subtlety.
M‘It is only through looking at recent history and coming to some understanding of the subtle forces at work that we can get to see that the Age of Aquarius is actually happening right now.
M‘When the cast of the musical ‘Hair’ sang ‘This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,’ in 1968, they were just about spot on. It would seem that it truly was. Dawn, however, is only the start of the process that brings increasing light into the world. And as the light increased the events that brought the clarity were mirrored in the heavens. In 1989 as Saturn (status quo), Uranus (radical change and higher consciousness) and Neptune (unity of spirit) met in a rare conjunction in Capricorn, last seen in 1306 (in Scorpio), and the Berlin Wall fell.
M‘On New Year’s Eve 2000, that precipitator of change, Uranus forms a square to Neptune’s position in the mid-60s, suggesting a rebirth and furthering of that evolutionary consciousness. At the same time Chiron also squares its own 60s placement suggest-ing a confrontation with our higher selves. Add to these powerful influences the presence of Chiron and Pluto in Sagittarius (the truth seeker) and Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius (the truth teller) and the astrological equation becomes a potent one.
MAs for the Age of Aquarius, for that you will have to wait. Although there are almost as many views of when it truly starts as there are astrologers, the majority vote goes to 2012 -- aligning with the end of the 5000-year Mayan calendar. However my vote goes to 2011. In February of that year Chiron is in exact conjunction with Neptune at 28° Aquarius, for the first time since 1945, and by December 22nd, 2011 it has returned to Pisces where it was in the 1960s. Also on that date Uranus (ruling Aquarius) is at 0° in Aries (the first degree of the entire zodiac), the Sun is at 0° in Capricorn, Jupiter is at 0° in Taurus, Chiron is at 1° in Pisces and Venus is at 1° in Aquarius. Even TransPluto/Persephone (the Planet beyond Pluto) which has been in Leo since the 30s, will be at 0° in Virgo. And there is more. Also at 0° at dawn on December 22nd, 2011 are the Black Moon Lilith (in Taurus and in conjunction with Jupiter) and Vesta, which is in Pisces with Chiron at 1°. That sure sounds like a lot of new beginnings to me.’



Written for Coffeehouse Culture by Sandy Hughes