Astrological Ages as an Accurate and Effective Model of History

by Robert Fitzgerald

Those who follow mundane astrology can confirm that history does, indeed, repeat itself. Over the past thirty years, my in-depth research has revealed amazingly detailed correlations between the history of human evolution on our planet and the astrological ages. By examining the smaller 'cycles within cycles' contained in each 2160-year age, I have discovered a fascinating model of history from an astrological perspective. This article is condensed from my findings collected during this in-depth study, which are published in my book, Signs of the Times: the End of the World and the Coming Golden Age. It demonstrates that history itself confirms the accuracy of astrology. This model also offers insight into our current times, as well as possibilities for our short- and long-term future.

The astrological ages are based on the precession of the equinoxes and the backwards wobble of the earth's axis through the constellations, which lie in a circle around the earth along the ecliptic, the belt of the equator. Ages are measured by the wobble of the earth's axis as the North Pole points down towards and marks each age or constellation in succession. This wobble takes 25,920 years to complete, and in one complete cycle there are twelve ages of 2,160 years each. Currently, that marker points to the constellation Pisces, and we are said to be in the 'Age of Pisces'. These ages flow backward through the astrological signs as the earth's axis wobbles in a precessional or backward direction through the zodiac. In addition to this movement through the signs, history indicates that the signs opposite the primary signs also have a powerful influence on the history of each age.

There are also shorter cycles within each age. Within each 2160-year age there is a cycle of twelve smaller periods that I call 'eras', each containing 180 years. And within each era there is a cycle of twelve periods I call 'phases', of 15 years' duration each. Eras and phases indicate smaller cycles of evolution within the larger cycle, but for some reason they flow in a forward direction through the zodiac. Time appears to flow both forward and backward within the same astrological structure. These smaller periods make it possible to date the astrological ages with a much greater degree of accuracy and indicate that the Western Gregorian calendar is actually aligned with these ages. The point known as 0 BC is actually an accurate beginning to the Age of Pisces, as the symbolism of the eras and phases accurately matches the timing of historical events.

My in-depth study of historical events since the Age of Cancer revealed a repeating pattern. Each age is preceded by a build-up period or birthing process for the actual age. Approximately 900 to 720 years prior to the end of the age, during the Scorpio Era, a transition occurs that brings to the fore historical developments that lead us into the following age.

In the Scorpio Era of any age, there is a cycle of death and rebirth. According to astrology, Scorpio rules power, control, death, and rebirth. Most of the power inherent in the institutions and beliefs found in that age die, and seeds are planted that bring forth new discoveries and perceptions that are grounded in the succeeding age. Following the Scorpio Era, the sign Sagittarius blossoms into a dynamically emerging new vision. Sagittarius is a fire sign, which gives to these times the brilliant quality of cultural golden ages. These are periods of Renaissance, as Sagittarius rules vision and exploration. It 'sees' the impulse of the next age and makes it come alive in a rebirth of culture.

Let's take a brief stroll through the last 11,000 years of history. The first age in this study is the Age of Cancer, and it begins with an historical bang.

Age of Cancer: 8640 to 6480 BC

Cancer rules food, agriculture, animal domestication, house building, settled communities, and the mother.

This is the age of the Neolithic Revolution, 9000 to 6000 BC. It heralded the invention of agriculture in several places around the globe, including Southeast Asia and Central America down to Peru. Agricultural tools such as adzes replaced the older Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunting tools. This age saw the building of the first year-round settled communities with permanent housing, especially noticeable in the dry climate of the Near East. Older Palaeolithic hunters travelled constantly, following herds of game animals. Settling down in permanent communities signalled the domestication of man himself, and occurred at the height of goddess worship and matriarchal culture.

Age of Gemini: 6480 to 4320 BC

Gemini rules polarisation, the hands and manual dexterity, travel, trade, thinking and language.

This was our first industrial age. Soon after 6500 BC, there was a sudden and dramatic explosion of more than fifty different craft industries throughout the Near East. Ceramics was the most important for archaeologists because of its symbolic decoration. At the beginning of the age, ceramics were very plain, but within a couple of centuries decorations included beautiful polychrome glazes and abstract symbols. By 5000 BC, there is a similar growth of craft industries in Eastern Europe and in China.

Gemini age man began to move and trade both crafts and ideas. They created a vast trading network that linked the Mediterranean Basin with southern Russia. The Archaic Culture in the New England area of North America also maintained a huge trade network, which by 4800 BC stretched west to Yellowstone and south to the Caribbean. The main commodities traded at this time were ideas and craft techniques more than the crafts themselves.

The Proto-Indo-European language was created around 5000 BC in the Near East. This is considered the parent language of almost all modern languages around the world. There is strong evidence that the root of the Chinese language was also created around 4800 BC. The technological inventiveness of this age also affected the evolution of art. Art began this age as mostly representational. By 5000 BC, art was basically abstract and symbolic, including crosses, chevrons, quatrefoils, etc. These symbols would later become important as religious and mythological symbols, as well as alphabets and written languages.

Age of Taurus: 4320 to 2160 BC

Taurus rules wealth and banking, peace, comfort, refinement, permanence, and monumental building.

After 4500 BC the U'Baid culture moved out on to the resource-depleted river valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. They invented money and banking, and built towns to act as market centres, and in the process became very wealthy. The technological inventiveness of Gemini essentially stopped, both here and in Egypt. The major indicator of social advancement was now incremental increases in wealth and refinement. Wealth and money became the archaeological marker for growth during this age.

Increases in wealth allowed for a process of urbanisation and increasing social complexity. The traditional date for the creation of civilisation is 3200 BC in the city-states of Sumer. Old Kingdom Egypt became the first nation-state in history around 2900 BC. Some archaeologists, noting the increased social complexity of early sites, have dated the creation of civilisation as early as 4000 BC.

Written language, surprisingly, was created as Taurus solidified the older Gemini spoken language into a solid, permanent record. Writing was first used in religion and business to note the exchange of goods and wealth. Religion became more organised and focused around the Taurus symbol of the bull god as their chief deity. Religion was tied closely to the collection of wealth. The earliest examples of pictographic writing were of lists of goods and of real estate transactions. The pharaoh in Egypt functioned as the head of the temple warehouses, where all the wealth of Egypt was collected and distributed. The same process was happening with the En, the spiritual leaders in Mesopotamia.

Megalithic tomb structures were built throughout Europe, beginning as early as 4000 BC. U'Baid and Sumerian temples were built over older temples, eventually creating (around 2900 BC) huge mountain-like stepped pyramids known as ziggurats. Egypt built huge stone pyramids beginning with the Old Kingdom period. Recent discoveries in Peru, dating to 3000 to 2600 BC, reveal a civilisation with huge monolithic pyramids that rival those of the Old World.

Cities were built on a permanent hieratic plan with their walls facing the four cardinal directions and the main religious temple in the centre. Building in this way and adding a strict social hierarchy that defined a person's place in society was seen to mimic the permanent structure of heaven, thus creating permanence here on earth. In this process, cities became huge monumental villages.

The Scorpio opposite energy was also evident in this age. The religions of this age are all strongly focused on death and rebirth in an afterlife. The burial rituals of both Mesopotamia and Egypt reveal an overwhelming consideration for this afterlife. Rulers were buried in huge tombs together with all of their collected wealth, including servants and retainers, in order to fully enjoy their life after death. A similar focus on this type of burial is seen in the Archaic Culture in the Americas at this same time.

Age of Aries: 2160 to 0 BC

Aries rules warfare, overcoming challenges, competition, anger, aggression, and independence.

The general peacefulness seen in the Age of Taurus gave way to warfare on a grand scale with this new age. Sargon of Akkad created the first military empire around 2300 BC. The Gutians in their turn conquered them. The Hurrians overthrew the Sumerians around 2000 BC, the Old Babylonians conquered Mesopotamia around 1900 BC, and the Hittites invaded Mesopotamia around 1600 BC. The Hittites invented iron weaponry, bringing with it the Iron Age. Although they were far superior to bronze weapons, this discovery came too late to protect them from their own defeat. The Hyksos invaded Egypt around 1800 BC, and the list continues through the Assyrians and the Greeks up until the world empire of Alexander the Great, and later the beginnings of the Roman Empire.

In China, the militaristic Shang dynasty came to power around 1850 BC after conquering the Lung Shan, a peaceful farming people, thus creating China's first military dynasty. At their height, they were able to field up to 30,000 soldiers at any given time. Later, in 1122 BC, the Chou dynasty, another militaristic people, defeated the Shang and created an even larger military culture, which then dissolved between 480 and 221 BC into the Warring States Period before the Chin dynasty united China. In the New World, the Olmecs in Mexico, c. 1200 BC, appear to have been a militaristic culture. The monolithic Olmec heads found everywhere are always pictured wearing helmets, either for battle or sports. The walls of the temples of a city recently discovered in the Casmas valley in Peru dating to about 1500 BC are covered with images of war and fighting.

Religion and creation mythology changed towards hero mythology. The Babylonian warrior god Marduk defeated the older mother goddess Tiamat in a heavenly war for independence. Masculine gods all over the world challenged the established feminine goddesses and won their independence. Hero myths are based on the idea of the single warrior winning his way to glory. Beginning around 2000 BC, a patriarchal movement (called by mythologists a mythic solarisation) took place around the globe, universally marking the change from matriarchy to patriarchy. In Aries fashion, the masculine sign Aries fought the older feminine nature of Taurus. The Greek Olympus religion was the height of warrior/hero religions, with all the gods and goddesses choosing sides in human battles while fighting and bickering among themselves. The Hebrew Old Testament was also written in warrior imagery. God is portrayed as the general of his chosen people/army, leading them in conquest of the Promised Land. Although a god of love (perhaps from the older Age of Taurus), he is quick to anger and punish when his authority is questioned. In a manner similar to the Greeks, the Hebrew god seems to be in constant battle with the gods of other people, who are collectively labelled as pagan.

Age of Pisces: 0 to 2160

Pisces rules religion and spirituality, transcendence, prophecies and prophets, drugs, illusion, imprisonment, and fear.

This has been the age of great world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, among others. Judaism transformed itself into a world religion after the Prophetic Revolution in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Hinduism changed from worship of the minor gods such as Agni and Indra to worship of the transcendent gods Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. The warrior-hero ideal of the previous age evolved into the transcendent ideal of the saint, the guru, and the sage. The focus became attaining enlightenment, reaching heaven, leaving the prison of the wheel of life, and defeating Satan. Christianity and Judaism focused on prophecy, and the coming of the Messiah (in Christianity it is the second coming). Christianity claims for itself the ultimate prophet as their God: Christ, the Son of God. Moslems claim that Muhammad is the ultimate prophet. In the Orient, the focus became enlightenment and the defeat of Maya, or Pisces illusion, and release from imprisonment on the Wheel of Life.

These religions became the worlds' first multi-national organisations, spreading their message far beyond any local, national, or cultural boundaries. Early European governments became theocracies, or religious governments, and the politics of this age revolved mainly around Christian concerns. Islam was created specifically as a religious government whose unspoken goal was to expand through conquest. The heart

of these religions, and especially of Christianity, has been the message of prophecy. This message of end-times is fitting in the Age of Pisces, the last sign in the zodiac. There is a spiritual battle between God and Satan, Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, or between enlightenment and release from reincarnation and the darkness of imprisonment on the Wheel of Life. At the end of this cosmic battle there will come a new cycle that heralds the golden age promise of the sign of Aquarius.

Our own Renaissance shift towards humanism and science hints at the nature of the coming Age of Aquarius, which highlights the qualities of genius, science, knowledge, humanitarianism, brotherhood, and infinite possibilities. We are on the threshold of an unimaginably beautiful new world. Understanding renaissances brings us to a brief examination of the eras within each age.

Eras

There are 12 eras of 180 years each within each age. They flow in a forward progression through the signs of the zodiac, while the ages proceed backwards.

The most dynamic illustration of the power of these eras is the recurring cycle of periods of renaissance (Sagittarius), classical periods (Capricorn), and scientific periods (Aquarius) that occur at the height of each age, and plant new seeds that will blossom in the upcoming new age. For purposes of this article, I will explore examples of this recurring cycle during the current Age of Pisces (1260 to 1980 AD).

Scorpio Eras

Death and rebirth, control, suffering, taxation, and the seeds of renaissance to follow.

Scorpio Era, Pisces Age: 1260 to 1440

This period marked the death of Medieval European culture, brought about in large part by several deadly epidemics, the deadliest being the Black Death that lasted 50 to 100 years and killed one fourth of the population of Europe. The Church became greedy and focused on money, selling funerary and mortuary services and relics. The Papacy split, with three separate Popes reigning at the same time over power and control issues. The Spanish Inquisition began to use torture to seek confessions. The longest war in history, the Hundred Years War, brought immense suffering with

it. Called the Age of Dislocations and Disasters, the lives of most people were harsh and extremely depressing during this Era. Heavy taxation led to several peasant revolts. Even weather followed this trend, bringing in a period known as the mini ice age in Europe.

Planting the seeds of the renaissance to follow this era, Giotto began a trend that would lead to a more humanistic focus in art during the Renaissance. Roger Bacon established the scientific method of direct observation rather than the old reliance on papal authority when seeking to know nature. Others planted seeds for a new and more rational approach to understanding the nature of our world.

Sagittarius Eras

Expansion and exuberance, foreign travel, higher thought, and vision.

Sagittarius Era, Pisces Age: 1440 to 1620

This was a period of exuberant blossoming of the various European renaissances beginning with the Italian Renaissance. There was also a brilliant renaissance of culture in Persia. The Ming dynasty supported a tremendous flowering of golden age culture in China, and explorers in the New World encountered golden ages in the Aztec culture in Mexico, and the Incan culture in Peru. A mild renaissance of Mayan art took place after fall of the Mayapan culture in the Yucatan. This was the great Age of Discovery. Portuguese navigators sailed around Africa and out into the Atlantic. The New World was 'discovered' by Columbus in 1492, and Magellan sailed around the world soon after.

It is here that we can begin to see the recurring nature of eras. The various European renaissances mirror renaissances that were taking place 2,160 years prior, during the Sagittarius Era in the Age of Aries (720 to 540 BC). During that time the Chaldeans and Assyrians both had brilliant renaissances of culture. Even the Greek Archaic Period was a time of renaissance that led up to their classical period.

Capricorn Eras

Philosophy and government, precise, logical, classical thinking and classical artistic expression.

Capricorn Era, Pisces Age: 1620 to 1800

Europe settled into a period of classical achievement during which natural philosophy and rational thought laid the foundations for government and art. In various places around Europe this time was called the Age of Reason, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Age of Philosophers and Kings. This was a period of modern European natural philosophers such as Sir Isaac Newton, Adam Smith, John Locke, and Descartes. Outside Europe, the Ching dynasty in China marked the height of their classical period.

This era saw the establishment of absolute monarchies in Europe. A classical enlightened monarchy was formed under Louis XIV, the Sun King, in France. This era also supported the creation of the British Commonwealth, a republican form of government in Britain, which would later lead to democracy in America. Republican forms of government were created in the Dutch United Provinces, in Switzerland, and in Italy. Finally, the French Revolution was an attempt

to create a democracy in France based totally on reason as a god. This era was the matrix for classical and classicist art and classical music throughout Europe. It also was a period of classical Baroque architecture, with the Palace of Versailles as the supreme example.

This period is an even more profound example of the recurring nature of the eras. Not only was this a mirror of the Classical Greeks 2,160 years prior (540 to 360 BC); the Old Kingdom in Egypt, 2,160 years before that, between 2700 and 2520 BC, was the classical height of Egyptian accomplishment during the Age of Taurus.

Aquarius Eras

Genius and science, revolution, brotherhood, utopian ideals, immortality, and world culture.

Aquarius Era, Pisces Age: 1800 to 1980

One of the most powerful indicators supporting the validity of this model of history and of the power of the smaller eras is the history that was made during the Aquarius Era. This era was revolutionary on all fronts, the most obvious being the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine invented by Watts was used in Robert Fulton's steam ship and sailed up the Hudson River in 1807. This venture was the first commercial success for any engine, and it proved that the Industrial Revolution could henceforth be financially successful. This was a turning point that ensured the success of the revolution.

In 1800, Maudslay invented the industrial lathe, and eight years later the world's first large-scale mass production unit was in operation in England at the Portsmouth block- making yard. Skilled engineers came to America to escape the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars, and in 1814 the Boston Manufacturing Company was formed. Traditional industry depended on workers performing various tasks from various locations, often from home. For the first time in history the whole operation of a company was centralised under one roof, and the American system of manufacture was born. Eli Whitney began making interchangeable parts for muskets in 1798, and in 1815 his idea was accepted by other industries. In 1909 Henry Ford invented the assembly line, whereby a worker dealt with only one small part of the product. In the 19th century, industry had become mechanised, and this was a revolution in the creation of goods. In the 20th century, workers became extremely specialised, and this was an even more radical revolution.

The Industrial Revolution brought with it radical change, for better or worse, in many other important and basic areas of our lives, including economics. The means of livelihood for most non-farmers was the ability to create and sell crafts or other goods. Machine-made articles, many with replaceable parts, replaced traditional craft industries. With the centralisation of industrial operations, people had to move to where the factories were in order to survive. Cities began to grow rapidly, both in number and in size. Factories and the factory smokestack replaced the church and steeple as the prominent village or city landmark. As cities grew, so did poverty-stricken slums.

Prior to the 20th century, land had been the primary indicator of wealth. From the land came the food that kept one free from hunger and the raw materials for the small home-based crafts industries. At the top of the social ladder, the aristocracy was traditionally hereditary, mainly because of large tracts of inherited land, and the economy was land- based. Industrial capitalism began to revolutionise that economy, as the machines' ability to produce goods from raw materials became more important than the raw materials from the land themselves. Around 1890, finance capitalism began to replace industrial capitalism. Money became the most important raw material in any industrial venture. The investment of money began to gain in importance, even over the needs of industry.

Industry was no longer there to fill an existing need. Need had to be created in the minds of the purchasing public in order to support industry. Industry thus began to advertise its products, and department stores were created as centres where industry could show off its wares. Advertising and fashion industries grew up around the sales of new products.

The revolutionary idea of credit expanded the purchasing power necessary to support a hungry industrial appetite. In 1910, 'Morris Plan' banks, as they were called after their founder, first began to make loans to private citizens. Following World War II, personal credit began to spread out to the entire population. Today credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard allow private citizens the revolutionary freedom of buying all sorts of manufactured goods and services far beyond our means to immediately pay for them.

A third area of revolution was transportation. The Watts steam engine provided a means of power other than traditional power sources such as animal, wind or water. In 1800, the high-pressure steam engine, designed for over-the- road transportation, was invented. In 1812, the first steam locomotive was created, and in 1825 the first modern railway was built in England to transport heavy loads of coal from the Durham coalfield in Stockton to Darlington. In 1830,

the first combined freight and passenger service was opened between Liverpool and Manchester. From there, railway service expanded at a tremendous rate. In 1830, there were only a few dozen miles of railway track in the entire world. By 1840 there were 4,500 miles of track, and ten years later there were 23,000 miles of track.

Around 1876, the internal combustion engine was invented. Following several attempts at building a personal passenger car, Henry Ford built the first commercially successful automobile in 1908, the Model T. At the same time, men were experimenting with the idea of flight. The Wright Brothers are credited with the first successful flight of an airplane

in 1903 at Kitty Hawk. Humanity's speed and means of transportation have radically changed. We have even gone to the moon. Truly revolutionary!

Technology has revolutionised virtually every aspect of our lives, from communication and knowledge to the home, personal fulfilment, world interaction and culture, art, and warfare. Volta harnessed electricity, ruled by Uranus, for the first time with the invention of his storage battery in 1800. Electricity allowed the invention of the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, and the personal computer. Access to knowledge has been revolutionised through the various media of radio, television and the computer. Avenues for personal fulfilment have been revolutionised through the vast expansion of a workplace and career driven by technology. Even warfare has been revolutionised.

In 1803, Henry Shrapnel invented the exploding artillery shell that replaced the solid cannonball. In 1866, Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, a much more explosive material than black powder. With the increase in mechanisation, war began to change dramatically after the turn of the century. In 1904, the Japanese attacked Russian forces at Port Arthur in southern Manchuria, launching the largest war ever fought to that date. This was the first war to employ armoured battleships, self-propelled torpedoes, rapid-firing artillery, modern machine guns, and land mines. Ten years later, World War I, 'the war to end all wars', broke out in Europe. Tanks and aircraft, as well as toxic chemical weapons such as mustard gas, were added to the arsenal. A mere three decades later, World War II introduced even more revolutionary weapons to the list, including rockets and the atom bomb.

Industrialisation has revolutionised family structure. In 1814, the Boston Manufacturing Company began hiring young farm girls as workers. Other companies found that they could cut costs if they hired women and children, replacing men as the breadwinners in family life. At the same time, children began to learn trades other than those of their fathers. In an increasingly industrial and technological workplace, knowledge was changing rapidly. Traditional knowledge held by parents and elders became increasingly less important. The value of parental wisdom was replaced by the new knowledge of science, as well as the news and stories transmitted through the new media of radio and television.

In 1800, the gas lamp was invented, revolutionising the work cycle of the modern man and woman. This invention allowed industry to work their employees for longer hours, and eventually to keep production going well into the night. This change has thrown the natural circadian cycle out of balance. We no longer work according to the rising and setting of the sun. We now live in a revolutionary new and artificial environment.

Food has undergone a radical revolution. In 1804, Nicholas Appert opened the world's first cannery, or vacuum-bottling factory, near Paris. Food processing would totally revolutionise the new food industry. In 1814, England's Donkin-Hall factory created the first foods to be sold in tins. In 1895, pasteurisation was introduced in order to kill any harmful bacteria present in food to be bottled or canned. As the industry began to grow, chemists in the 20th century created artificial flavours, chemical preservatives, free-flowing agents, and artificial colours to help create more tasty and convenient products.

Aquarius rules genius and science. Advances in science have fuelled industry and technology during this era. The natural philosophers of the previous era, including Sir Isaac Newton, gave way to the pure scientist in this era. The scientist/ inventors of the 19th century such as Volta, Samuel Morse, Marconi, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell led to the true genius of modern science in the 20th century with the Theory of Relativity of Einstein, and Quantum Mechanics of Max Planck. These theories have radically revolutionised the way science looks at the universe we live in. We now know that we live in an expanding universe of uncounted galaxies, speeding quasars, and deadly black holes, where a particle of matter is simply trapped energy. We may also live in a universe containing more than ten dimensions.

Aquarius rules global communications and world culture. Napoleon structurally united all of Europe and reorganised European countries to conform to the organisational ideals of the French Revolution. He consolidated all of the old and confusingly disparate political patterns that had come into being throughout Europe into more manageable patterns. These nations then went on to create wholly new states with a feeling of belonging to a fresh European cohesiveness of identity that would lead to a unification of the world that was previously unknown. Europe opened China and Japan to a burgeoning new level of world trade. With the invention of the steam engine, international and even global transportation soon became a reality. The telegraph began the push toward forming today's global communications network. An international money economy was developed to support international projects, along with the creation of multinational corporations.

Utopian ideals, brotherhood, equality, and progressiveness are all traits of Aquarius. The focus on individual civil rights within government in the previous era culminated in the American Revolution in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789. The political ideals of a basic right to the pursuit of happiness, liberty, equality, and brotherhood were born. America became the utopian ideal for much of the rest of the world, with idealistic images such as America's streets being paved with gold. The new ultimate dictatorship of this era, Communism, was created by Karl Marx, based on the utopian ideal of workers' communes, all toiling in the spirit of equality and brotherhood for the greater good of all. The Cold War during the last decades of this era was a clash of ideals between the utopian promise of capitalism of the West and that of utopian Communism in Russia.

The Aquarian ideals of equality have spread to cover a wide range of people and of all life in this era. Beginning with 'Fanny' Wright in 1824, women have fought for and gained a degree of equality to men in almost every area of life in the West. The Equal Rights Amendment was gaining ground until the end of this era, when the energy changed and it was then finally stalled. Slavery was abolished and Blacks have at last legally been granted equal rights in this country, as have other minorities. The rights of the mentally and physically handicapped are protected by law, as are the rights of the poor and unemployed. Even the rights of prisoners are now protected by law. These rights have also been extended to domestic pets, through organisations such as the Society

for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and even to protected wildlife within national forests and state parks. The Environmental Protection Agency was established to further protect entire ecosystems, including plant life.

One of the most personally promising of Aquarian gifts is that of immortality. Immortality implies not only the lengthening of the average lifespan but also a reduction in the mortality rate of children, allowing more people to survive into adulthood and beyond. Already, in this era, great strides have been made towards that goal. Since the beginning of the 19th century, there has been a very dramatic drop in the mortality rate that has spurred a powerful increase in population growth. In 1800 in Europe alone, there were 190 million people. By 1900, there were 420 million. That same year worldwide, there were 1.165 billion people. Today that number is over 6.5 billion. Over this same period, the average life span of an individual has dramatically increased to almost double that of previous periods. The average lifespan today for both genders is in the upper 70s, with many living well beyond that.

The population growth of these last two centuries has been one of the most important themes of this modern era, for it is linked to almost every other theme. It fuelled the unprecedented rise in huge metropolitan cities and urban living. It created huge consumer markets, making the Industrial Revolution profitable. Socially, it created fertile grounds for strife and armed revolution, as people competed to attain a decent standard of living. Increasing numbers of governmental social institutions were created in order to handle this increasing unrest.

Eras are still long periods of time in relation to the ever- changing flow of history. Looking closer at the Aquarius Era, from 1800 to 1980, the phases reveal yet another level of historical complexity. In addition, the current phases since 1980 reveal that we have entered a potentially destructive period in our history.

Phases

Phases are each 15 years long and move forward through the zodiac. Let's examine those that made up the history known as the twentieth century, and specifically 1905 to 1980, the high point of the Aquarius Era.

Scorpio Phase of the Aquarius Era (1905 to 1920)

Death, rebirth, and suffering mark this period, as well as delving deep into the hidden nature of our world and the human psyche.

This was the intellectual beginning of the twentieth century and the high point of the Aquarius Era. 1905 to 1920 marks the death of the classical world and the creation of the modern. Cubism, Dadaism, and abstract art all indicate

the death of classical or traditional artistic ideals and the birth of modern art. Freud's psychology planted the seeds of a new type of mental belief system, delving deep into the subconscious that marked the death of traditional religious answers to life. Quantum physics and relativity theory supplanted classical Newtonian physics and revealed deep and powerful secrets about our universe.

World War I was the first war fought on a global scale with the devastating power of modern mechanised weapons such as tanks and airplanes. The Spanish 'Flu pandemic killed over twice as many people as the war, and did it in only six months. It was the largest pandemic since the Black Death in the Scorpio Era, and killed over 21 million people. This served to destroy the lingering reliance on religion over questions of good versus evil and allowed humanity to embrace the new more secular and modern vision of our world.

Sagittarius Phase of the Aquarius Era (1920 to 1935)

Vision, exuberance, expansion, mass media, competitive sports, and publishing.

This phase marks a period of exuberance and cultural expansion, much like the larger renaissances of the Sagittarius Eras. This was the period of the Roaring Twenties and is also known as the Negro Renaissance that heralded the birth of jazz. It was also a period of great 20th-century writers, such as Steinbeck and Hemingway. Babe Ruth fostered a period of expanded interest in sports. Technological advances such as radio and television greatly expanded knowledge and learning, and helped promote the creation of a world cultural vision. The Great Depression, caused by an exuberant over- investing by the public without understanding the laws of investment, created a top-heavy market that crashed in a very large and expansive way.

Capricorn Phase of the Aquarius Era (1935 to 1950)

Government, civic responsibility, and tradition.

This period was one of adherence to traditional moral and civic values following the exuberance of the Roaring Twenties in Sagittarius. It was also a time of big government: Roosevelt's New Deal, and the rise of powerful dictators in Europe (Hitler, Franco, and Mussolini). Franklin Roosevelt was the most despotic of all US presidents. World War II was fought on the home front as civic responsibility touched all levels of society. Material drives allowed citizens, including children, to help the war effort. Women in huge numbers went to work in factories to help supply the troops. After the war, which was fought over Germany's quest for more land (Cancer opposite to Capricorn), governments in Europe and America created cradle-to-grave social welfare systems designed to take care of citizens as they grew older.

Aquarius Phase of the Aquarius Era (1950 to 1965)

Science, genius, utopias.

This was an intensified period of science and technology. The nuclear age, the space age, and major advances in electronics and computers, revolutionised the modern world. The Cold War between the Soviets and the West was fought in an intellectual manner (Mercury is exalted in the air sign Aquarius) over ideology. The ideology of this post-war period supported the rapid expansion of a world culture sensibility as both sides sought to create a unified world culture based on the worldwide distribution the ideas of the West and Communism.

The fight was between a Communistic utopian ideal and a capitalistic and democratic utopian ideal. During this time, school curricula changed towards a heavy science focus, as the West wrestled with Communism for scientific superiority.

Pisces Phase of the Aquarius Era, Age of Pisces (1965 to 1980)

Dissolution, lack of direction, fear, delusion.

This was a period of intense social breakdown. Historically this period needs to be understood in relation to the connecting Pisces Era that runs from 1980 to 2160. This is all part of a continuous period. During the Pisces Phase, race riots, student riots, and prison riots all indicate the disintegration of social values and the need for reform at all levels. Toxic industrial pollution and radioactive pollution became powerful news stories during this period, threatening to speed life and humanity towards extinction. Extinction rates reached a level a thousand times above normal. Welfare began a rapid rise that pushed many cities to the brink of bankruptcy. Internal violence and crime increased, dramatically overwhelming the resources of law enforcement and our prison system. Revolutionary terrorism plagued America and Europe, with the SLA and the Weather Underground terrorising the American landscape, while Islamic and other terrorist groups attacked Europe. Death squads were active in South and Central America. Depression and suicide increased dramatically to epidemic levels. Even the environment responded to this energy. There has been a steady and dramatic increase in volcanic and earthquake activity since the seventies. Ozone depletion and global warming were first noticed and warnings by environmental groups were largely ignored.

With this last phase of the Aquarius Era of the Age of Pisces, the modern world began to dissolve. We then entered into the Pisces Era in 1980 and our world has continued to fall apart. Interestingly enough, Pisces rules dissolution and the Virgo opposite rules disintegration and extinction. We are now in times of disintegrating social and ecological systems. This period corresponds to end-time prophesies that are surfacing today in many cultures, ranging from Christian prophesy to Native American prophesy.

By strict definition, this is not the end of the world. Rather it is the end of one period and the beginning of a new period, much like a clock with the minute and hour hands moving past the 12:00 position. The Pisces-Virgo axis in the zodiac marks just such a time. That this axis exists within the zodiac gives support to the religious prophesies concerning an end- time. There can be a historical basis to these ideas.

Pisces Era, Age of Pisces (1980 to 2160)

From this point, we enter the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces. The energy of the Pisces Phase of the Aquarius Era has largely continued as we entered the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces. Pisces rules dissolution, Virgo rules disintegration and extinction. Pisces also rules prophecy and the fulfilment of prophecy.

Pisces Era activity during this time, within the Age of Pisces, creates a double Pisces bath, an end-period of breakdown and chaos. It is a continuation of disruptive trends begun in the previous Pisces Phase, 1965 to 1980. Some researchers now say that we stand at the threshold of a sixth big, all- encompassing, mass extinction of life on earth. Global warming is now recognised as a serious threat to life. This corresponds with religious prophecy from various cultures around the world and with contemporary Native American prophecy, which says that we are now in or on the verge of a major end of the present world scenario.

Now, let's examine the first two phases of this present Pisces Era.

Aries Phase, Pisces Era, Age of Pisces (1980 to 1995)

Aries rules war and violence. Much of the violence of the previous phase continued into this phase, including the internal terrorism and the rising crime rate that had afflicted most communities throughout the seventies. Social violence rose to new levels. Inner city gangs like the Bloods and the Crips now armed themselves with automatic weapons and became what might be called criminal armies. Murder became a rite of passage for initiation into these gangs. Drive-by shootings and other forms of senseless violence entered the American social landscape. Girl gangs soon became as violent as male gangs. Children also began to turn to violence at increasingly earlier ages. There were shocking news reports from this time of very young kids killing their parents or other, even younger children, often just to see what it felt like. By the middle of the 1990s, there were some ten million violent crimes committed in America every year. This was a four-to-five-fold per capita increase in reported violent crimes over the level of the early sixties. America had now become the most violent civilised nation ever recorded in the history of the world.

In 1979, a coup in El Salvador led to a period of intense internal violence. The government as well as civilian and semi-private groups began creating death squads that were directed against their own people in order to quash any and all dissent, or the possibility of any kind of reform. West Africa erupted in a devastating explosion of violence in the nation of Liberia. International terrorism expanded dramatically during this phase, and airline hijackings became a regular news event. Terrorism became a major weapon of fanatic groups worldwide in their fight to promote their own agendas. Islamic groups led the way in both numbers and frequency of terrorist attacks. Groups like Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation were in the forefront of this violence. The Irish Republican Army was also increasingly active in Ireland against the British.

Taurus Phase, Pisces Era, Age of Pisces (1995 to 2010)

Beginning around 1993, there was a noticeable drop in violent crimes. By 1995, that trend became more noticeable as the Taurean energy of peace took hold, and the trend has continued. In addition, the number and intensity of terrorist attacks around the world softened noticeably during this phase.

Since 1995, the major historical focus has turned away from violence and towards the economy. In late 1994, Mexico devalued the peso. This move was an economically sound move designed to allow the peso to float and settle at the point of its real value. The value of the peso went down, and continued to go down. Mexico almost went bankrupt as a result, and the US was forced to step in and offer assistance. At around the same time, the New York Stock Market took off like a rocket, soaring from 2,000 points to over 11,000 in only a year. The stock market had never grown astronomically like this before. Although the market is still up, the stock market has become very volatile, often changing by several hundred points in a single day.

As a result, stocks have remained highly over-valued, which threatens to destabilise the world economy. Following the near bankruptcy of Mexico, wealthy Orange County in Southern California declared that they themselves were also on the verge of bankruptcy. Then in 1997, the economic focus of this period hit home. A severe economic breakdown known as the Asian 'Flu struck Southeast Asia, and quickly spread to Japan, South America, South Africa and even Russia. It threatened to bankrupt every country it hit. It even threatened to send Japan, the world's second strongest economy, into bankruptcy.

Rampant consumerism has created a huge credit bubble that, if it bursts, could bring down every economy in the world. Bankruptcies have increased dramatically since 1995 and have reached a serious enough level that credit card companies have tried to back legislation that would exempt credit card debt from bankruptcy protection.

This phase brought with it the creation, in 1999, of a major new currency, the Euro, as Europe sought to unify the various currencies and economic markets of the European Common Market into a single market with a universal European currency. In 2001, the September 11th attack, '9/11', on the Twin Towers struck at the economic centre of the Western world. According to some conspiracy theorists, this attack was instigated as an excuse to invade the Near East in order to head off an economic crisis for the US. Many of the oil- producing countries were thinking about shifting from the US dollar to the Euro as the economic foundation for international economic interaction. These theories suggest that this would have severely affected the US economy, and that the US felt it had to invade Afghanistan, Iraq, and hopefully, Iran in order to gain control of these regions.

Finally, the present sub-prime mortgage crisis is threatening to take down world economies. Already there are fears of a crash and possibly another depression. Sub-prime loans were made to those homebuyers who would not ordinarily qualify for loans. On one hand, this phase brought an increase in the tendency to want to gratify our desires immediately. At the same time, between 1997 and 2004, home prices increased

by 124%, a very large jump that began to destabilise our economy. During the same period, beginning as early as 1994, sub-prime loans began to increase dramatically. In 1994, sub-prime loans accounted for about 5% of the loans made. By 1996, that rate had almost doubled to 9%. By 2006, sub-prime loans made up 20% of the loans made. In 2006, foreclosures accelerated, leading to a world-wide financial crisis in 2007 and 2008. This crisis has brought down major established financial institutions, including the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the buyout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America. It is now severely affecting economies around the world, from Europe to Asia.

Gemini Phase, Pisces Era, Age of Pisces (2010 to 2025)

As we approach the Gemini Phase, there are several things that we might expect to happen. The fallout from the current financial crisis could lead to mass movements of people seeking stability or prosperity in their lives. Gemini periods in the past have traditionally supported mass movements of people, and this period should be no different, even without the crisis worsening. We can compare the potential for this Gemini period with the two Gemini Eras of the Ages of Pisces and Aries. During these times, the Germanic invasions, between 360 and 540, eventually brought down the mighty Roman Empire, and before that the Indo-European invasions, between 1800 BC and 1620 BC, brought havoc to the Mediterranean nations and the Indus civilisation in India. The Gemini Phase of the Aquarius Era, 1830 to 1845, was also a period of intense westward movement in the US that actually began in Eastern Europe.

Because this Gemini time will take place within the dissolving energy of the Pisces Era within the Age of Pisces, these movements will have the potential for creating social and political disruption that can overwhelm the cohesiveness of local and national communities. Cultural as well as ideological differences will be thrust against each other, creating potential arguments and divisions within groups and communities.

Local and national politics will become more partisan and divisive as people choose ideological sides and passionately fight for them, while being unwilling to compromise. The present separation of Church and state may become more politically charged, with fundamental ideals aligning themselves against secular liberal ideals. The war on terror could escalate to become a more ideologically charged battle, polarising various predominant camps of thought such as fundamentalist Islam against fundamentalist Judeo-Christian religions and modern Western secular liberal thinking.

This tendency for division and argument could include our economic situation. There could be a greater tendency for an internal social division as the gap between rich and poor widens. The present economic crisis could speed up the already growing rift between rich and poor, creating further division within our culture. It will also potentially change our present focus on consumerism, altering the ways that we look at our economy.

The positive side of this phase, if we can access that potential, is the possibility of collecting and integrating all the various ideologies that divide our world into a new and more inclusive paradigm that can help lead us into the Age of Aquarius. There will be an increase of new ideas that may create arguments and divisiveness when set against traditional ideas. Science will be confronted with an ideological need to include some sense of intelligent design into its purely secular ideas based on the current concept of chance and accidental evolution. These ideas can also advance our knowledge if we choose to keep an open mind. New ideas can bring new life to old dogmatic ways of thinking.

Summary

In summary, this model of history adequately shows that astrological ages actually do work very accurately, and on a complex scale. Since 9000 BC, the five ages from Cancer to Pisces reveal a highly accurate and in-depth connection between astrological cycles and history. Within each age there exists a powerful cycle of astrological eras, which allow for the growth and evolution of humanity and history on a smaller scale. These eras reveal amazing parallels, with the recurring renaissance classical high point being the most astounding of them. On an even smaller scale, the phases reveal an astrological evolution for each era. The beauty of these cycles, especially the smaller eras and phases, is that they give us a deeper understanding of history and therefore of human interaction. They embrace and give insight into the complex times that we currently live in, and they allow us the potential actually to prophesy, to a certain degree, historical trends and possible approaches to what lies ahead.

Image sources:
Precession: AA Journal
Neolithic: By CristianChirita (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Sargon of Akkad: By Photograph: Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities (Encyclopedia Britannica Online.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Black Death (extract): By painter from Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Watt's steam engine: By Ulrich.fuchs [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons
F.D. Roosevelt 1941: By Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Invasions: By User:MapMaster (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

First published in: The Astrological Journal, Sep/Oct 2009

Author:

Robert Fitzgerald is an artist, photographer, and astrologer. For more than thirty years he has been working with astrological ages as a new and potentially revolutionary model of history. The Signs of the Times: the End of the World and the Coming Golden Age reveals a profoundly accurate vision of history based on the ancient cycles of astrology. His discovery promises to change the way humanity looks at history and at the world around us. He grew up in California, and now lives and works in Fairfield, IA.

© Robert Fitzgerald - published by The Astrological Journal / The Astrological Association of Great Britain 2009

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