The Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius
There is an idea going around that humanity stands on the brink of a New Age in which unfairness, injustice, greed and discrimination will be swept to one side and a new order of fairness, equity, peace and human rights will prevail.
It is hard to say precisely where this belief originated. Perhaps it is an outgrowth of the anticipated Second Coming of the Messiah? Perhaps it’s a hangover from the peace and love vibes of the 1960’s? But wherever the idea comes from it now permeates our entire society. Everyone can see that everything is changing.
From an astrological perspective the idea forms part of the coming Age of Aquarius. Now, from an astronomical perspective this idea is deeply suspect, and like all things astrological it is deeply (and needlessly) complex. But what it boils down to is that a lot of people have lost patience with transforming themselves and wish instead to transform society. But this will not bring the fruits they crave, for two reasons.
Aquarian dreams are impossible dreams.
One of the main ideas that has been projected onto the Age of Aquarius is the notion of equality, that every man and woman on the planet should be treated equally. Yet this is impossible because everyone is different. No two people look alike or sound alike, and that much is clear to see (and hear). But we too quickly skirt over this, believing that our differences are tiny and are commonality is great. Yet not only does everyone look different, they also think and feel differently. Just as there is no common appearance, so there is no common thought or feeling. Despite what some would have you believe there is no common human response, only the differing responses of differing individuals, to different situations – and different perspectives of the same situations. Against this backdrop equality will never occur naturally and can only be enforced. And the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius is quite happy to enforce it. Look at the glyph, two squiggly lines one above another - ONE ABOVE ANOTHER. There is nothing in the Aquarian nature that desires equality. Its traditional ruler, Saturn, tells us that the only way the appearance of equality can be delivered is through force. We can already see the first signs of this now in so-called Cancel Culture, censorship, enforced mask wearing and government surveillance and it is likely to get a whole lot worse. These are not the death throes of the Old Age but the first shoots of the New. Of course, it will all be for the collective good, they will say, but that’s another Aquarian Dark Side trait, great concern for the wellbeing of the abstract thing called society, yet zero concern for the fate of the very different individuals within that collective. The equality that many loudly advocate for should be examined more carefully for it is not equality they seek, it is dominance…
Aquarius denies it opposite.
The Age of Pisces was a time of leaders and followers. That was the grand paradigm which everyone had to take part in. If you could, be a leader. If not, then be a follower. But whatever you do don’t be an outcast. Outcasts were defined by Pisces opposite sign, Virgo the Virgin. Jesus fed the 5000 with loaves and fishes (the glyph of Pisces) yet his mother the Virgin Mary was relegated into obscurity. Nuns who followed her way became separated from society and the male equivalent, Hermits, were shunned as crazy old men in the woods. Virginity was seen as something to ‘lose’ or ‘have taken from you’ and the traits of Pisces opposite sign were generally demeaned and held up as weird and undesirable.
Aquarius is now making the same mistake with its own opposite sign, Leo, and we can see this in action with Donald Trump. Trump is Sun Gemini, but he is Rising Leo, and even looks and sounds like a Lion with his mane of hair and roaring voice. Trump is a visible expression of Leo, one that advocates of the Age of Aquarius cannot handle so they deny, mock, ridicule, suppress and reject him. Just as Pisces did to Virgo, so Aquarius does to Leo. To them it is not just that he is wrong, he is also bad. This demonisation of Trump is an Aquarian thing. Aquarius (community above all things) rejects its opposite, Leo (individuality above all things). Yet, just as Pisces had to go to its opposite for sustenance, so Aquarius will have to do the same. In this sense Trump wins even when he loses because the more that Aquarius denies its opposite the stronger that opposite comes back. The end of Trump, when it comes, will be seen by many as a victory of society over selfishness and of the collective over the individual. But by demonising Trump his opponents have created a monster, which will outlive him and become a shadow trait of humanity. The roaring, unfiltered, unrefined individual that Trump archetypally represents will eventually disappear from the public square, but that will only be the beginning of its influence in the world. Future generations will rue those of today who were unable to tolerate their opposite.
I appreciate that the concepts we are talking about here are maybe just too big. That isn’t a criticism of anyone’s ability to think or imagine, but pretend you are having a conversation with someone in 2019 about the 2020 Olympics. The discussion would be about who might win, who might lose and whether there would there be any upsets or scandals. Maybe someone would come up with a left field prediction about an amazing comeback or a Gold medal by an underdog. Maybe you might even talk about Tokyo’s suitability for the games. But if anyone said that the Olympics would be cancelled due to a global pandemic they would have been laughed out of the room. THAT would be too big a thing to consider. Yet here we are…
The movement from one Age to another is bound to bring enormous disruption and change, most of which is beyond the capacity of inhabitants of the Old Age to even imagine. But the eagerness with which the Old Age is being torn down ought to concern more people, because I do not see anything positive being erected in its place. No one who appreciates history or thinks seriously about people or the world can enjoy watching so many people cheer for their own demise and celebrate the prospect of their own enslavement. It is perhaps too late to push against hypocrisy and zealotry, but if you can you should investigate and question the New Age narrative. It’s easy for people to say what they are against, but those who march under the banner of the Age of Aquarius need to give a much more convincing argument about what they are for and why it is better for all, rather than just better for them? A New Age is coming, there’s no doubt about it. But all bets are off on whether it builds upon the achievements of the Old Age or simply tears them all down and starts again. The events of 2020 demonstrate that there is a very real risk that an unbridled urge to move forward will actually be the thing that propels humanity backwards.
Please note that I am talking about the AGE of Aquarius, not individual Aquarians.
More was said about this in Emergence Book Zero: Darkness.
Photo by Stefano Pollio on Unsplash
