Wednesday, July 29, 2015

What time is it? Quite possibly it's Gemini Phase of Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces.

I have wondered, from time to time, (no pun intended) whether the whole "Age of...." thing isn't just so much Taurean Excrement. Astrological Ages are calculated, not with direct reference to our tropical zodiac, but by the points at which the Sun enters each astronomical constellation at the vernal equinox, as equinoxes precess. Because the constellations are of varying size, Ages are of varying lengths. The spanner in the astrological works, to my mind has always been that delineation of constellations is a man made construct. Humans designated the shape, extent and patterns of constellations, who's to say the delineations we use are the correct way to carve up the sky? The best we can do, with any certainty, is relate events in history, throughout the world, to astrological symbolism and use that as guide. What we come up with may not be astronomically accurate, but who's to say that astronomy has the last word on this particular topic?
All that can really be said is that at some indeterminate point in the very distant past, for reasons unknown, there came the moment known to science as t = 0. We were on our way.
(Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, p.10)

Some detail from a book by Robert FitzGerald: Signs of the Times has helped me to see more sense in the whole astrological ages issue. Excerpts are available via the link.

Robert Fitzgerald divides astrological Ages into more accessible chunks: Eras and Phases.

At present we are in transit through the Age of Pisces. By this author's calculation the Aquarius Era of the Pisces Age ran from 1800 to 1980 - which could well account for insistence by some that we are already living in the Age of Aquarius.

Then, the author divides time into even smaller slices. 1950 to 1965 becomes the Aquarius Phase of the Aquarius Era of the Age of Pisces....that slice includes the psychedlic 1960s, often thought to be quite Aquarian in flavour - so with a double dose of Aquarius: Phase and Era, it actually fits....and always with a background of Pisces dreaminess.

1965 to 1980 = Pisces Phase of the Aquarius Era of Age of Pisces.

From 1980 to 2160 is the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces. We are presently in the Gemini Phase: 2010 to 2025 of the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces. How appropriate that is! What could be more Geminian than the mushrooming of communication via social media (Facebook, Twitter, old fashioned blogs like this one), and the ubiquitous cellphones and smartphones? While these are most prevalent in developed nations, there must be few parts of the globe where their influence remains unknown.

Cancer Phase of the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces will run from 2025 to 2040. That sounds like an emotional ride and a half coming up some ten years hence, doesn't it!

For a brief rundown on all of these Eras and Phases, and comparisons with similar eras and phases throughout history, do take a look at the website, linked above.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

And then there are the 'micro-age decans'!

https://macroastro.wordpress.com/

I did skip around the site you linked to and it's a wonder to me how many peeps (including many so-called fundamentalist Christians) believe Mankind (sic) is rapidly approaching a new 'Golden Age' when Christ (amongst others as your link author would have it) will return and some New Age genetically (and spiritually?) improved humanity will live in peace and 'brotherhood' (sic) once again.

Christopher Hitchens - sorely missed.

Twilight said...

Sabina ~ Curiouser and curiouser! :-) I followed the link within the link you've included (thanks for that) - "Astrological Ages for Dummies" - it details his theory.
Maybe both these theories or some variation of them are on the right track - maybe not. It's interesting to ponder on possibilities.

Humanity living in peace and brotherhood? Not on this 'ere planet! Not gonna happen, not with Mars just down the street in our neighbourhood. Perhaps if we get off our butts and explore, and some of us were to move to some other life-supporting planet out in the universe, humanity would, after some generations, find improvement, peace and brotherhood - and sisterhood. ;-)

mike said...

As is said, "it is what it is", regardless how one defines and labels it. We humans have an unnatural desire to tweeze apart nature and rearrange it synthetically to our liking and sensibility..."the sum of the parts is greater than the whole" and often vastly greater by magnitudes. We inherently understand one sunrise to the next is one day, but we modern, civilized individuals are allowed to fractionate the hours, minutes, and seconds of any moment. The humans of yesteryear would have simply comprehended the placements in their view of the sky, maybe against a reference such as Stonehenge. Most of us moderns have to synthesize that view mathematically into a 2D representation on paper or computer screen, complete with formulated boundaries between signs and houses selected to fit our astrological ideology, with minimal acknowledgement of the true constellations giving rise to all of this. If we truly concern ourselves with the basis of astrology, the constellations, we have a mess on our hands that defies the logic we purport.

I've mentioned in prior posts that astrology is a lot like Lyra Belacqua's alethiometer in the "His Dark Materials" series, by Philip Pullman. The first book of the trilogy is "The Golden Compass":

"For some time during pre-publication of the novel, the prospective trilogy was known in the UK as The Golden Compasses, an allusion to God's poetic delineation of the world. The term is from a line in Milton's Paradise Lost, where it denotes the drafting compass God used to establish and set a circular boundary of all creation:

Then staid the fervid wheels, and in his hand
He took the golden compasses, prepared
In God's eternal store, to circumscribe
This universe, and all created things:
One foot he centred, and the other turned
Round through the vast profundity obscure
— Book 7, lines 224–229"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Lights_%28novel%29

Anonymous said...

Searching for Blake's perfect illustration, most apt to Mike's remarks, found this -

http://harpers.org/blog/2008/08/miltons-golden-compass/

(Am a great admirer of Harpers, esp under Lapham, and now Lapham's Quarterly when my pocketbook runs to it.)

I've only seen the movie The Golden Compass and gnash my teeth the series was never completed. Perhaps I should read the books, although I'm always hesitant to approach 'children's literature' as an adult. Waited too long to read Lord of the Rings and simply could never get past the first pages.

Twilight said...

mike ~ Very well put! :-)
I must try to see "The Golden Compass" movie again - maybe it's available somewhere via Roku. We saw it years ago at our local cinema, but I don't recall much about it other than a polar bear. ;-/

The poetry reminded me of William Blakes' lovely painting....but Sabina has beaten me to it! :-)

Twilight said...

Sabina ~ Two minds and a single thought! I've posted that image before - love it! Your link is a better version than mine in my post about William Blake though ~

http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2009/07/arty-farty-friday-william-blake.html

LB said...

"What could be more Geminian than the mushrooming of communication via social media (Facebook, Twitter, old fashioned blogs like this one), and the ubiquitous cellphones and smartphones?"

Considering the times we live -and our widespread preoccupation with quick facts, superficial bits of information and the false gods of technology- Gemini's influence seems to fit.

I consciously check my reaction whenever one of my complacent, New-Agey friends responds to some unpleasant truth by avoiding the issue, reminding me how humanity has reached a turning point and is now *quickly* waking up, evolving.

If we're here, then the great majority of us are probably learning and evolving to some extent, but that's not what they mean. I also understand how easy it is to become tempted by one extreme or the other, either doing too much or too little, without embracing the middle path where opposites overlap and the space becomes wider, more inclusive ~ something Gemini energy can sometimes struggle with. Which doesn't mean other signs don't struggle too.

Chris Hedges wrote something a few months ago related to this:

"Wisdom is not knowledge. Knowledge deals with the particular and the actual. Knowledge is the domain of science and technology. Wisdom is about transcendence. Wisdom allows us to see and accept reality, no matter how bleak that reality may be. It is only through wisdom that we are able to cope with the messiness and absurdity of life."

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/our_mania_for_hope_is_a_curse_20150524

I never (or rarely) agree with everything anyone says, and this particular article of Chris Hedge's is no exception. Still, I agree with a lot of it, as well as the overall point he's *hoping* to make.:)

Twilight said...

LB ~ Good points!
Yes, Gemini seems to fit our present "atmosphere" far better than Aquarius. I tend to look askance at any article declaring that we are now "in the Age of Aquarius".
Pisces (our current Age) has two strokes/fishes as its glyph/logo, and Gemini (perhaps our current Phase) has two strokes/human figures as its glyph/logo. As well as being in a phase of communication gone mad, maybe we're functioning, in some manner, on even more distinct than usual dual tracks. Nature has inbuilt duality anyway, but in an Age and Phase such as this, our dual nature might become even more discernible.

I've not read much of Chris Hedges lately, he used to depress me too much. But thanks for the link, will go have a look. I certainly agree with his point about knowledge and wisdom. :-)

Twilight said...

mike ~ How has today found Mademoiselle GiGi and Monsieur Mike ? I hope you both had a better day - and night, last night.

mike (again) said...

Thanks...Miss GiGi is in full recovery mode, as am I. The infirmary is closed!

BTW - "The Golden Compass" movie was not well received and reviews were poor. I didn't see the movie. I read the three-book series and very much enjoyed the tale. Each book is diverse and distinct from the other. Best to read them in order, but don't expect a homogenous continuum.

Anonymous said...

It says ...

She craves adventure, and her promptness of action, adaptability and curiosity prove to be valuable assets ...

however ...

Gigi is not fundamentally qualified for the vocation of a housewife ...


http://www.first-names-meanings.com/names/name-GIGI.html

kidd.

Twilight said...

mike (again) ~ So pleased to know that!

Looked for Golden Compass on Roku streams tonight - it's available at Amazon and elsewhere but only for an extra fee. I'll wait to find a cheapo DVD. I ought to read the books - agreed! Maybe I will.

Twilight said...

Anon/kidd ~ Dang - but of course not! The very thought!

mike (again) said...

LOL, kidd!!! No, she's trained me thoroughly on picking-up after her, preparing her favorite meals and serving them on time, the mandatory visits with her fellow dog friends (& their humans), and adventurous explorations of the outdoors looking for critters (squirrels) and smelling the grass and concrete. She demands her half of any chair, too.