New Age and Three Concepts of Time “At the beginning there was God only and the whole of the Universe was God and there was no other movement. And God thought to himself: I will make the worlds out of myself.” (Aiterea Upanishad 1,1) “In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters. And God said: Let there be light, and there was light.” (Genesis 1,1) Once the creation has started, the question is how to maintain it. How to make sure that it is going to last? Divine mind offers the answer in a form of a fully arranged system which is being transmitted, through archetypal pictures, to each individual mind within the creation. The basis for our human model can be classified in two categories: space and time, the latter being a component of order. In human history available to us, there are three basic time concepts (picture 1). The first is the concept of cyclical time. It implies that history is experienced as an eternal repetition of the same, without a strictly determined beginning or end. Reflections of such an approach can be seen from Pythagoras, Plato, Stoic school to Nietzsche. The second concept represents the so-called linear time, with beginning and end strictly determined. It served as a basis for majority of Christian thinkers, where our existence in the material world is seen as a unique and clearly restricted adventure followed by a final judgement and final division into heaven and hell. The third one is the spiral concept of time. Principal mystical schools are based on it and it represents a logical synthesis of the two above mentioned concepts whereby the history has a clearly defined evolutional component (aim), although it keeps its cyclic pattern. Astrology takes the spiral concept as its starting point. India One of the first and certainly one of the most elaborated systems of cyclical time originates from India. Within this system, the whole creation is divided in four basic ages - Yuga, which are succeeding one another. At the end, the creation is destroyed, a long period of rest (pralaya) follows and then the whole process repeats itself. Each Yuga is an age determined by human generations or, more frequently, by conjunctions of celestial bodies. Besides Yuga, this system includes three driving principles (guna): rajas, tamas and sattva. Division in four Yugas and three gunas is almost as equivalent as the division of Zodiac signs in four elements (fire, air, water, earth) and three qualities (cardinal, fixed and mutable). Within the series of the following periods, a constant decrease in virtue (dharma) can be noticed. The initial relation between good and evil which was 4:0 is now reduced, and we are within the fourth period at 1:3. It is interesting to make a parallel with modern psychology which differs four innate emotions in every child: joy, fear, rage and sadness, therefore, the portion remains the same. At the table (picture 2), we can see three columns and duration of Yugas. The first column shows divine years, second one the so-called precession years (duration of the equinox) and the third one the human years. The reason lies in determining the duration of particular Yuga on different planes of existence. This is where the main problem resides. Transforming divine years into human years is obviously not unambiguous. Thereby, according to some authorities, we are currently in the first third of Kaliyuga, according to others we are at the very end, whereas the third seem to think that we have already entered the Golden Age. Or is the Golden Age just a subperiod of Kaliyuga? Some of us will get the answer, if not in this life, then surely in one of the next incarnations. China Division into earthly cycles according to Chinese astrology is very interesting. The Chinese see our planet as an alive being, the North pole being the key area, as if it were a chakra. A star placed directly above the North pole directs the whole planetary evolution. There are two stars exchanging in this role: Polaris and Wega. Wega has the characteristics of light and expansion (yang), whereas Polaris indicates darkness and contraction (yin). We are currently at the end of Polaris’ rule which will be replaced by Wega in 2095, as an evolution initiator. We are witnessing the forthcoming transition from darkness into light, a symbolic dawn of New Age. Precession of the Equinoxes Now we will try to explain astronomic pattern of creation of all our cycles within the Zodiac, due to precession motion of the Earth. Once in 25920 years, the Earth describes a cone whereby the celestial pole makes a circle among the stars. Precession is a motion caused by a rotating body due to impact of external force which tries to change direction of the axis of rotation of the body in space. Precession motion occurs in such a way that the axis of rotation tries to direct itself in the direction of the moment of external force. Earth’s precession is caused by the impact of the Sun and Moon on the Earth, which is not a regular circle, but geoid i.e. it is flattened at the poles and convex at the Equator. This convexedness can be viewed as a ring around the Equator which is bent under the angle of 23.5 degrees toward the plane of eclipse. Gravitational force of the Sun (i.e. Moon) causes the moment of the force which tries to rotate the ring in the plane of eclipse and thus causes the precession. Equinoctial points move along the ecliptic in the counter direction of the annual movement of the Sun causing the creation of the tropic (big) year and the succession of Zodiacal ages on the Earth within the stellate Zodiac. The annual drift is 50.3 seconds. Hence, at the onset of spring, the Sun is placed approximately at the beginning of Pisces in relation to stellar constellations. Due to backward precession motion, the Sun will soon enter Aquarius. Millennium This is a case of linear concept of time within the Persian, Jewish and Christian beliefs. The term is derived from the Latin word millennium (thousand) and it refers to a belief that the world history is divided in three periods of thousand i.e. two thousand years each. In the Christian version, the first period is the period of the Old Testament under God’s management, the second is the New Testament or the Christ’s era and the third one will be marked by the second Christ’s arrival and is related to the holy spirit. We are currently living at the threshold of the third period which plays the role of New Age. Main indicators of this impact are: - before entering the third stage, the world will experience a great crisis at the spiritual and material planes (cruelties, immorality, catastrophes, famine, diseases etc) - new period will be a complete contradiction to the previous period and will mark a great spiritual flourishing of the humanity - everything happens according to a preconceived plan - arrival of a world Saviour, Messiah or God’s son - transition to the new period is instantaneous without any gradualness. It is interesting to note that echoes of such scenario can be seen, besides in Christianity, in almost all New Age movements and even in Marxist’s theories on the future of humanity. 777 Great Incarnations Before attempting to research different possibilities given by this drift of equinox from Pisces to Aquarius, it is necessary to briefly display a wider context in which this transformation occurs. A schema used in Rosicrucian tradition will serve us as a background (picture 3), which is inclined to the spiral concept of time. We can note that the whole involution and evolution occur through seven great periods which carry symbolic names of particular planets: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth, Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan. Each period is further divided in seven smaller periods (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) and each of the seven smaller periods are divided in seven stages. Our planet Earth would thus be the fourth stage of the fourth smaller period (D) within the fourth greater period (of the Earth), or briefly: 444. The full cycle is arranged by the number 7 and it can be symbolically indicated: 777. At first sight, this seems to be contradictory to the usual divisions in four parts which we can find in various Eastern traditions (e.g. four Yugas), although it can all be easily harmonized by a series 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 which contains the harmony of these two numbers. Some zodiacal ages, and even the age of Aquarius, would be placed within developments of our fourth stage (444) and would primarily indicate the transformation between the Earth, Moon and the Sun which are, as we have already seen, the main actors in the story on the precession of equinoxes. It is all occurring under the auspices of twelve zodiacal constellations which are successively included and give a basic tone to each particular period. According to the enclosed scheme (picture 3), our earthly stage started in the age of Capricorn and should terminate by the end of the age of Aquarius, making thus a full circle of 360 degrees. When speaking of particular periods, it is important to emphasise that these periods come in pairs. Each zodiacal sign is inseparably linked to its opposite counterpart and this can also be applied to zodiacal periods. During the age of Aquarius, at the beginning of spring, the Sun will be in the constellation of Aquarius, but at the same time, the Earth, in relation to the Sun, will be in the constellation of Leo. Therefore, the forthcoming period, apart form external and obvious traits of Aquarius, will contain concealed characteristics of Leo. Hence, Aquarius can be called exoteric (external) aspect of the forthcoming period and Leo the esoteric (inner) aspect. In this respect, it would be correct to talk about the age of Aquarius-Leo, Pisces-Virgo, Aries-Libra etc. The first age we will pay attention to is the age of Cancer which is associated with the first third of duration of mythological Atlantis. It is characterised by life in the atmosphere filled with dense fog (Nibelungen - Children of Fog) and acquisition of free will at the level of reproduction (man’s exile from the paradise). Consequently, human kind becomes aware of its temporal limitation (polarity of Capricorn and Saturn). The age of Gemini represents the second third of the Atlantis period. Through development of mental capacities, people become aware of their separateness, they introduce terms such as me-you and mine-yours. The story of Cain and Abel is associated with this period. Apart from the fact that it starts with animal hunting (Sagittarius), in this period, a human being kills another human being for the first time. The age of Taurus is associated with a man’s attachment to material values and the loss of insight into higher planes. All of this is occurring at the end of the epoch of Atlantis when bull was considered to be a saint animal and was worshipped in religion practice. However, within esoteric practice, disciples of mystic schools of that period were called serpents (nagas) and in order to achieve their goal, they had to die in this material world (Scorpio) and raise the so-called serpent-like energy. The age of Taurus is followed by the age of Aries in which a dominant role is played by Aryan nation (Aries). Worshipping bulls becomes a blasphemy, whereas the basic task of each individual is to raise the consciousness of their racial and national membership. God is best served through strict observance of his law (Libra). The age of Pisces is established on the New Testament and apparition of Christianity. It is characterised by the culture of the picturesque (film, photography, comic books) and the religion of devotion. The way to God is achieved through sacrifice (Pisces) and serving (Virgo). It is a period when people lose their permanent values and clear distinctions between dreams and reality. At the same time, seemingly incompatible opposites such as drugs, pornography, materialism and selfishness in the one hand, and spirituality, art, meditation and devotion on the other hand coexist and are mutually interwoven. Finally comes the age of Aquarius. It is a fixed air sign ruled by Pluto and his second ruler is Saturn. Its key phrase is I know, key word is truth and its basic nature is humanitarian reformer. People encountering astrology for the first time often mistakenly identify it with a water sign, confused by its symbol i.e. a man pouring the water from an urn. Aquarius’ water is a celestial water of intuition, a higher knowledge descending to humanity, a symbolic act of baptism. It is very uncertain when exactly the age of Aquarius begins. In his book on mundane astrology, Nicholas Campion cites at least seventeen different forecasts whose time ranges from 1762 to 3550. In the next issue of Kiron we will talk more about the reasons for this uncertainty. The only thing certain is the fact that the age of Aquarius will last more than 2100 years, although this fact is also questionable, as it depends on the direction of human activities, as well as on developments on a wider cosmos level. New Age and Aquarius The beginning of the age of Aquarius is most frequently taken as the beginning of New Age, a great change in the evolution of humanity, symbolic descent of heaven on Earth. Therefore it is not at all surprising to see a great similarity between the description of the forthcoming period and basic presumptions of the belief in Millennium. It is necessary not to view any zodiacal age as good or bad. Their structure is simply beyond our ethic values. Each zodiacal age gives its specific evolutive impulse and it depends on the people how they will apply it. This is what will probably happen with the age of Aquarius as well. In the succeeding text, we will attempt to predict the possibilities of this next step for the human kind through thesis and antithesis which represent border values of our future reality. Model for the story: The whole world will be unique and everyone will speak one and the same language. - Creation of imposed totalitarian order. Intensive development of sciences and introduction of new technologies. - Complete domination of technocracy. Apparition of a universal world religion. - Religion in the service of totalitarianism. Symbiosis of science and religion. - Creation of religion out of science. Equality between men and women. - Disappearance of original male and female driving principles. Flights through space to other planets. - Getting into contact with the universe only at material level, without any changes in the consciousness. Practice of spirituality through group association. - Fanaticism within isolated groups. Turning to God in ourselves. - False identification of ego with God. Man creates paradise on the Earth. - Complete pollution of nature. As you can notice, there are numerous temptations. The key to overcome them successfully lies in establishing a harmony of energies of both Aquarius’ rulers (Uranus and Saturn) or briefly: in freedom and responsibility. Let’s also mention the significance of Leo, complementary zodiacal sign of Aquarius. As previously explained, Leo has more of a esoteric role and refers to the inner path. So, what happens when, by using the acquired knowledge, a man becomes a ruler of his creation? Leo indicates the importance of the heart i.e. love as a basic driving energy of creation. The inner path will be the path of love and its basic virtue is innocence. Wasn’t it said that the Kingdom of heaven would be open to those who are just like children? The End And what was That great principle, and whether it created the world or not The One which rules the highest heaven: He is the only one to know or maybe even He himself doesn’t know? (Rig-veda, 10, 129) Is there any use to wonder about one’s future if we don’t even know the basic principles on which the reality of our existence is based? What is the meaning of it all? What we do irresistibly reminds of the story on a Master whose disciple’s task was to hear clapping of one hand. The solution to the problem lies in this absurd attempt to touch the untouchable. When we experience clapping of one hand, we will get answers to all our questions, although then, there will be no more questions. Igor Ognjenovic |