During the 500 years before Jesus�?birth, many of the founders of present-day world religions were born. Buddha, Lao-tse and Confucius all appeared within a short time of each other. These Teachers united the various tribal and ethnic groups of the East into larger and more unified wholes.

      The transitory phase, or no man’s land, between the Ages of Aries and Pisces, was a time of upheavals and big changes, particularly in the ancient Middle East. This period encompasses the establishment and demise of the Essene Order, an important religious community that firmly believed, based on their detailed study of both prophetic writings and the science of astrology, they were living in the last days of the Age of Aries. The Essenes carefully studied the course of the stars, looking for the sign of the long-awaited Saviour. Also, the approach of the Age of Pisces is reflected in the story of the three Magi who watched the heavens for a sign that would signal the birth of a Saviour, and the beginning of a new historical cycle.

      The sign they awaited appeared in the year 7 BCE in an extremely rare triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, that occurs once every nine centuries in Pisces, where the event took place. David Fideler, in Jesus Christ: Sun of God, elaborates:

At one moment the two outermost planets looked as if they were nearly touching in the sky... It must have been a spectacular sight for anyone looking upward... Since the triple conjunction occurred in the constellation of Pisces, it must have been seen as inaugurating the start of the Age of the Fishes. According to gospel accounts, it was at about this time that Jesus, the avatar of the new age, was born in Bethlehem.

      The psychologist Carl Jung, in his book Aion, comments:

...the appearance of Christ coincided with the beginning of a new aeon, the age of the Fishes.  A synchronicity exists between the life of Christ and the objective astronomical event, the entrance of the spring equinox into the sign of Pisces.

      The symbolism inherent in the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus is very important, for it illustrates the relationship between the sign of the Fish and that of its polarity, Virgo. The name Jesus, as we have pointed out, can be traced to "fish." Mary, His mother, was a virgin (Virgo). The name Mary comes from the Sanskrit word maya, meaning "the sea." From the sea comes the fish; from Mary came Jesus.

      The Christian religion is replete with Piscean symbolism. The Catholic bishop’s miter is representative of a fish head. The custom of eating fish on Friday (the day of the week ruled by Venus, the planet exalted in the sign Pisces) is also a manifestation of the deeper symbolism of the age. The New Testament cites Jesus as having taken His disciples from the ranks of fishermen after saying to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." We can also see in the Scriptures the story of Jesus feeding the multitude with two fishes (Pisces) and five loaves of bread (Virgo, viz. the Virgin holding the shafts of wheat as the emblem of this sign).

      Jesus is also known as the sacrificial ‘Lamb of God�? Here, allegory plays a double role. ‘Lamb�?signifies the sign of Aries. Jesus, as sacrificial ‘Lamb�? therefore, closed the Age of Aries.

      The change from the Age of Aries to Pisces is also revealed by the fact that the seat of the Roman Empire became, in the early centuries of the age, the centre of the Catholic Church, the Vatican. Through Charlemagne in the ninth century, the basic geographical framework of present-day Europe was formed. The Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire and the power struggle between the various heads of state in Europe and the Pope in Rome was firmly established.

      The Church reached the height of its influence during the so-called Middle and Dark Ages. The desire to retreat from the world, so much a characteristic of the sign of the Fish, developed into the monastic as well as political life of the period. Huge religious orders such as the monks of Cluny, the Jesuits, the Benedictines, Dominicans, and Franciscans, controlled vast tracts of land and were the source of much of the power and wealth of the Western world. This phenomenon also demonstrates the influence of Jupiter, co-ruler of Pisces. Jupiter rules men and women of religious calling, although Neptune is specifically associated with the cloistered life. Its rays invoke thoughts of philosophy, theology, and canon law. Jupiter expands power but is also known as the preserver and is closely connected to the maintenance of dogma.

      We can understand the conflict symbolised by the polarity of Virgo and Pisces. The former represents the desire to serve as a vehicle for the expression of the personal ego structure. The essence of Pisces, however, is service for its own sake and the eventual merger of personal desire into the will of God. Pisces is a vehicle for total surrender to a greater spiritual force, whereas Virgo attempts to structure its services according to a personal concept of right and wrong.

      Constant self-examination in order to achieve purity in mind and body and the atonement of "sin" through confession, penance, and absolution are clearly projections of the energy contained within the Pisces-Virgo polarity. The priest functions as a medium, standing as he does between the Holy Spirit and man, administering his duties according to the doctrines of Mother Church. Suffering for one’s sins and repentance through established rituals and thought forms became designations for the road to salvation.

      In Luke 22:10, Jesus states He and His followers, at the last Passover, are to go into "the house of the man with the water pitcher." They are to follow him to the upper room and there prepare for feast which he will share with them.

           Esoterically speaking, the man with the water pitcher signifies the coming Age of Aquarius; the upper room refers to a higher state of consciousness and the sharing of food refers to spiritual nourishment which is received from the Christ and shared with His followers.

Cusp of the Ages (Now)

      When the Earth progresses into a new age, there is a precipitation of incoming energies, causing significant variations in terrestrial occurrences. We can expect strange weather patterns, an increase in earthquake activity, and natural disasters unseen on this planet for thousands of years. The possibility of an asteroid hitting the earth is not out of the question.

      We are on the threshold of a new era, but the birth of the Age of Aquarius will be attendant with toil and pain. All the prophets and Messengers of Light warn of cataclysmic Earth changes and an immense global catastrophe heralding the advance into Aquarius.

      Of course, the ending of one age is also the beginning of a new one, but we should not expect overnight transformations. The supposed ‘dawning of the Age of Aquarius�?in the 60s, like all false dawns, quickly fizzled out. The belief we entered Aquarius and are now in a new era of universal love, peace and brotherhood, is a delusion suffered by many adherents of the ‘New Age�? The grave mistake of believing on a certain date the Earth, along with all humanity, will be automatically transformed to a new level, is a serious misinterpretation of astrological cycles.

      However, humanity can expect a new revelation of the divine wisdom, and once the proverbial dust has settled, a new era. Like in the turbulent days of the Essenes, small groups of people are rejecting the dying old age and separating from the world to form underground networks. In touch with the divine wisdom of the ages, the task of this remnant is to survive the coming destruction and establish a New Society, with a truly Aquarian consciousness.

      As David Fideler in Jesus Christ: Sun of God explains:

During such periods of cultural renaissance and renewal, a spiritual impulse is released into the world of human affairs. Those visionaries who have long been watching the horizon detect the first rays of light; they are the first to detect the soothing breath of spring’s first breeze, announcing the promise of a new season...

Age of Aquarius (Approx. 2050 �?4210)

      Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, is to be the primary planetary influence for the next 2000 years. What do the vibrations of this planet and its sign indicate?

      Aquarius is designated as the sign of "the realm of the organisation and projection of social ambitions and ideals." Leo, its polarity, is involved with the same sphere of influence but carries out its role in a highly personalised manner. Leo is concerned with the preservation of the one, while Aquarius is preoccupied with the needs and interrelationships of the many.

      As an air sign, Aquarius pertains to the mental realms. It formulates ideas from the watery inspirations of Pisces and then proceeds to organise the concepts upon which a new civilisation is to be based. It also provides much of the technology and foresight enabling humanity to plan ahead for the future.

      While Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, it is also influenced by Saturn. Saturn is the planet of limitations and represents the grounding force, the need for form, and the channeling of energies into prescribed paths for specific purposes.

      Air is the element of the new age and this makes communication and inventiveness two of the most outstanding characteristics of the Aquarian period. The use of electricity, the car, telephone, television, Internet and space exploration �?are all related to Aquarius. The advent of psychology and proliferation of ‘New Age�?beliefs have displaced the power of the Church. Religious practices have left the aspects of Earth [Taurus], Fire [Aries], Water [Pisces], and began to turn mental or psychic in essence.

      The many UFOs sighted in the last half of this century are aerial phenomena. Carl Jung saw the UFO experience as a symptom of the end of an age. Jung contended that during these periods the psychic changes upon the population as a whole invoked a variety of occurrences like mysterious objects in the sky and apparitions. Jung predicted a transition between Pisces and Aquarius full of violent transformations and harmful effects to the collective psyche. This violence, Jung contended, made for "changes in the constellation of psychic dominants."

          Aquarius is often depicted as a youth with an urn of water placed upon his shoulders. This symbolism often confuses people into thinking Aquarius is a watery sign, but water, in this representation, is symbolic of an even deeper concept. The Water Bearer signifies man is created from the ‘waters�?of life. Water is seen as the stream of universal consciousness, inspiration, and intuition.

      The Aquarian Water Bearer, illustrated by its star configuration, pours forth its contents, and conjures up the picture of a vast flow of dynamic spiritual energy spiraling into the ‘fish�?of the closing Age of Pisces.

      The great changes being wrought by the rays of Aquarius are dramatically increasing man’s capacity for thinking, but not necessarily understanding or wisdom. Witness the last few decades and the availability of colossal amounts of information. An inability to discriminate, combined with acute naivety, mires transitional humanity in complex illusory traps. In time, the study of the relationships between teachings to find their similarities will bring wisdom and the unification of ideas.

      Aquarius as an air sign stimulates the mental bodies of humanity towards brotherhood and the integration of knowledge. We can expect the energy generated by baser worldly desires to be transmuted to a search for gnosis or Soul-Wisdom. The new age will be one of synthesis and cooperation between individuals and groups.

      We can assist the transition from the Piscean Age by cooperating with the Divine Plan or we can vainly try to impede the process. Unless our minds are receptive to the ideas of the Aquarian Age there is no avenue for these ideas to reach the Earth.

Dynamic and Destructive Energy of Uranus

      Even at this early stage in our transition to Aquarius, the dynamic energy of Uranus is greatly affecting humanity. However, mankind is not ready to tap into these more highly developed powers. In order to properly handle this "increased voltage," the proper physical, mental, and spiritual vehicles will gradually develop in the Age of Aquarius. You cannot send 500 volts through a conductor capable of handling only 100.

      There are increasing numbers of people capable of responding to the rays of Uranus. While still in the minority, they will steadily increase. The first (or grosser) vibrations of Uranus are destructive. Uranus is known as the great ‘destroyer of forms�? but this destruction is only in order that a better form may come into being.

      Uranus acts suddenly. It is unconventional, forceful, and often violent in its manner of expression. Instead of the slower processes of reason (Mercury), Uranus acts through bolts of lightning, illuminating one’s mental horizon with great power. Uranus is called the planet of invention and revolution. Invention, because it gives great flashes of light that give birth to creative innovations. Revolution, because it tends to overthrow preconceived or conventional notions with its directness, originality, and intuitive perspective. One of its primary effects is to create a feeling of independence and individuality.

The Dark Side of Aquarius

      Our examination would not be complete without a warning about the darker potentials of the Aquarian Age, which is often ignored or denied by its proponents who equate it with the re-emergence of the ‘Golden Age�? (The distinction is the subject of a separate article but, in short, the ‘Golden Age�?occurred at one time on Earth, in the very distant past.)

      On this subject, John Hogue in his book The Millennium Book of Prophecy, says the "Aquarian is a blind idealist, optimistic about the future �?at all costs. The adherents of New Age thinking glibly encourage this misplaced idealism in others: ‘Don’t give the negative any energy and it won’t happen.�?

      Aquarius rules the urge to impersonalise, which might herald a more tolerant mankind that takes and perceives aggression less personally. But used unconsciously, the same potential for impersonalisation could see people lose their souls to a dictatorship of the computer. Hogue adds the authorities of the coming age might, "fashion psycho-weapons out of the Aquarian element of atmosphere and mood... and you may not even feel the repression."

      This scenario is best envisioned by George Orwell’s 1984, in which the Big Brother state dominates and controls every aspect of citizen life. The Aquarian citizen might be seduced into believing the propaganda and even support a corporate police state in which every one is happy because of genetic engineering and virtual reality. 

      Another characteristic of Aquarius is its icy-cold, distant, critical side. The idealistic part of Aquarius has it loving humanity. But in the personal sense �?the human sense �?there is a feeling of revulsion for the soft, vulnerable and imperfect natures of actual people.

End of the Current World Order

      Reviewing recent events and those over the past century, the forces of destruction are self-evident. These destructive forces can be expected to greatly increase in the coming years. Negative forces are extremely potent at the dawning of a new age, fearing, as it were, the loss of their privileged positions. They sow seeds of confusion, disarray and havoc, attempting to trick humanity into accepting the old age in new forms. The web of social, political and economic control is tightening on a global scale. Evil forces are entrapping people in a subtle world of consumerism, fantasy, escapism, and delusion, which destroys lives.

      We are entering the initial phase of a time of ‘strong delusions�?and ‘global deception�? All the evil forces and powers of the lower astral worlds are bursting barriers that had hitherto restrained them. Consequently ‘good�?will be called ‘evil�?and ‘evil�?hailed as ‘good�? Negative entities will manifest themselves before humans as aliens, extraterrestrials and ‘angels�? To find a parallel for such a time of false spirituality one must go back to the closing periods of the great Atlantean epoch.

      Make no mistake, humanity is given a choice. By clinging to the old age consciousness and falling under the demonic delusions of false spirituality, the majority are doomed and will perish. Nothing we can do will stem this flood of evil that has already passed beyond control.

Remnant

      Nevertheless there is a mission, and that mission is to save the remnant. How is this to be done? A Message of Warning and Awakening must be declared. Those who escape the coming onslaught will accept that declaration. They shall be drawn to it by "spiritual affinity" and will find deliverance. By calling humanity to awaken and separate themselves from the delusions, traps and attachments of the world, the remnant is preparing a way of escape. A modern day ‘Noah’s Ark�? A new community of men and women who have left the old Age behind and are linking their consciousness with the impulses of the Age of Aquarius.

      This message of awakening to a new way, a new life, a new consciousness, and ultimately a new age, must be publicly declared. This Work of Awakening and separation is spiritual �?not mental and argumentative. If people do not recognise it as Truth intuitively, explanations are wasted. The genuine new age calls for the new Method �?the Aquarian Work for the Aquarian Consciousness.

      We live in a time unique in the history of the world �?a time pregnant with opportunity in proportion to its difficulty, danger and distress. Let us go forward undismayed. Let us proclaim the authentic New Age for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Our future is in our hands.