What’s the origin of the skull and crossbones pirate flag? It’s hard to describe how “Hair,” which seems daring even today, affected people when it opened on Broadway in 1968. And thus there is no consensus as to when the Age of Aquarius begins. It seems as if there should be a clearcut answer to these questions. And what is the Age of Aquarius?The Age of Aquarius is not part of astronomy. Now it is time for people to have the tools they need to transition from the Piscean Age that we had been in for 2000 years, into this new Aquarian Age. Some scholars say that the Age of Aquarius has begun, while others believe that it will only begin in about 150 years: Some astrologers say the Age of Aquarius actually began in 2012. It’s sometimes called the First Point in Aries, because the sun used to be located in front of the constellation Aries at the time of the vernal equinox. Not an auspicious start for an era of peace and love, but like I say, these things start off slow. Terry MacKinnell responded to our above request, claiming that in ancient Babylon a new zodiacal constellation rising over the eastern horizon before sunrise on the morning of the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox indicated the arrival of a new age. read more. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. He's a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. But nobody has ever delineated exactly where each "sign" (and thus each "age") begins and ends. I’ve been surprised to still find writings that fix the beginning of the Age of Pisces at year zero, roughly coinciding with the birth of Jesus, with the Age of Aquarius beginning in the year 2000. According to the Belgian astronomer and mathematical wizard Jean Meeus (bio here), who does adhere to the IAU’s definitions, the sun at the March equinox passed from being in front of the constellation Aries to being in front of the constellation Pisces in 68 B.C. 2020 brought us great advances in technology as so many people … So, we have lived in this era for a little more than 2,000 years, and the next era, the Age of Aquarius, will begin approximately in the year 2160. Having properly entered the Age of Aquarius the intermingling between the Ages of Pisces and Aquarius began at the time of the revolutions back in the 1700's. So it could be jumping jacks and the company song in the morning and 12 hours on the job per day. 5th Dimension sang about it. The Age of Aquarius, in Jones’s view, was thus ushered in by the Depression and World War II. Definition of terms: March (or spring or vernal) equinox point. The Age of Aquarius will begin and end in those years. Aquarius is a sign strongly linked to new inventions, flight, and large groups of people or nationalities. Some astrologers say the Age of Aquarius actually began in 2012. Our New Challenges We are currently being influenced by the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius. How did “nuts” and “bananas” come to mean “crazy”? in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at the University of Wales, Lampeter. The song opened with the lines: When the moon is in the Seventh House Precession is what causes the identity of the Pole Star to change over time. Constellation Aquarius, as drawn by Hevelius in “Firmamentarium,” 1690. So you know we don’t just click off Pisces & click on Aquarius. And the tsunami of change continues. There are three broad perspectives on the astrological ages: And what is the Age of Aquarius? There’s some debate about when the Age of Pisces ends and the true Age of Aquarius begins, but considering the massive transits that happened in 2020, a common hypothesis it … You’ll still be able to whistle while you work. Technology is the Way. A gent named Marc Edward Jones, who wrote a book called Fundamentals of Number Significance in 1978, claims the Age of Aquarius commenced with the discovery of Pluto in 1930. The 24th century is in second place (12 claims). Looking ahead, again according to Jean Meeus, the March equinox will cross over into the constellation Aquarius in 2597. Here's what this planetary shift, dubbed the Age of Aquarius, has to say about the upcoming year. Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com. What is the origin of the song “There’s a place in France/Where the naked ladies dance?” Are bay leaves poisonous. Ages last approximately 2,100 years … The Great Year is about 25,800 years long and is divided between the 12 zodiac signs. In the last 240 years Jupiter and Saturn, the planets which determine who rules the world and what political and financial times we live in, have been joining together in Earth signs, which brought in the age of Materialism, consumerism, the power is in the hands of those that create tangible things. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) – which in the 20th century assumed the duty of officially naming and defining all things astronomical – created official constellation boundaries in 1930. When does the Age of Aquarius begin? Presuming equal-sized constellations in antiquity, that places the border of the constellations Pisces and Aquarius at 150 degrees west of Regulus, or at the March equinox point. For example, the constellation Pisces – as defined by the IAU – spans more than 30 degrees along the ecliptic, or sun’s annual path in front of constellations of the zodiac. It’s a song performed in the musical Hair. And thus there is no consensus as to when the Age of Aquarius begins. He says that most writers claim the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 20th century (29 claims). How did the Age of Aquarius enter popular culture? How did some crime fiction come to be described as “hard-boiled”? Your definition of the Age of Pisces as lasting from 1 A.D. to 2150 is good enough, but you could shift it a century or two either way and nobody could argue. Bruce McClure has served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages since 2004. Most claim that the Age of Aquarius arrived during the 20th century, while others claim it will arrive in the 24th century. The Age of Aquarius in the U.S. is associated with the hippies of the 1960s and ’70s, and now with the New Age movement. An Age Old Mistake That Still Haunts Astrologers. That’s the significance of the so-called Piscean Age. There’s no firm consensus among astrologers as to when the Age of Aquarius will begin (or has already begun!). The Age of Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the planet of shocking and revolutionary change and is associated with freedom, social justice and new technology. Then peace will guide the planets That’s right, we’re … If we use these to measure our "ages," we can say definitively that the vernal equinox will enter Aquarius in 2660 and leave in 4360. What does the Chicago lyric “25 or 6 to 4” mean? Wikipedia lists what various writers have claimed. Various interpretations give different answers to this often-asked question. The first powerful lunation will take place on December 14, when there will be a new moon eclipse in Sagittarius. I was unable to find the source for this image – if you are the artist please contact me. The Age of Sagittarius was approximately 22,500 – 20,000 BCE. Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man, a drawing created circa 1487, with chakras, or energy centers, added. Its starting point is not likely to be at a certain day, not even a specific year – at least not how it’s perceived when it comes. Trying to get a straight story on this stuff isn’t easy.). It’s an astrological age, which occurs because of a real motion of Earth known as the precession of the equinoxes, which, for example, causes the identity of the pole star to change over time. The Age of Aquarius begins at the point when the sun is no longer in front of the constellation Pisces at the time of the March equinox. When does the Age of Aquarius begin? Some interpret it to mean we’re going to have a highly regimented society in which you cooperate or die, the prototype being modern Japan. and End? Source: earthsky.org. Peace will guide the planets. Saturn and Jupiter are about to move into futuristic air sign Aquarius for the majority of 2021, which means big things for our collective future. And love will steer the stars Image via Wikimedia Commons. Other interpretations for the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. By this reckoning, the Age of Aquarius started in 2012. That’s when the Age of Aquarius begins. And that brings us to the 1967 smash-hit musical “Hair,” with its opening song Aquarius, by a musical group called the 5th Dimension. And Jupiter aligns with Mars A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD, Sign up for the Astronomers and astrologers may agree that the Age of Aquarius starts when the vernal equinox point moves out of constellation Pisces and into Aquarius. A quick question from a bunch of us born in '67: When did the "Age of Aquarius" officially dawn, and is it still going on now? Astrologers, though, might disregard the span of the constellation Pisces on the sky’s dome, and instead regard an astrological age as a precise 30 degree shift of the March equinox in front of the backdrop stars. Image via Constellations of Words. Learn more about Mercury retrograde and get a recipe for an essential oil roller here. So, roughly every 2,150 years, the sun’s location in front of the background stars – at the time of the March, or vernal, equinox – moves in front of a new zodiacal constellation. At that point – sometimes called the March equinox point, or vernal equinox point – the equinox sun will be in front of the constellation Aquarius. This is a planet ruled by the sign Aquarius and the coming New Age. The video below isn’t the original, but you’ll get the idea. Read more at An Age Old Mistake That Still Haunts Astrologers. (The previous age–the Age of Pisces–began with the birth of Christ.) But don’t dust off those love beads yet. Astrologers often like to divide the zodiac into twelve equal sections. We are therefore in a position midway between these two astrological ages. It subsequently ran for 1,750 performances on Broadway and 1,997 performances in London, with simultaneous productions in cities across the United States and Europe, and with accompanying recordings (the original Broadway cast recording sold three million copies). In a previous article What Is The Age of Aquarius?, we covered that an ‘Age’ is an approximately 2,150 year cycle within the Great Year. 0 0. During the Age of Aquarius, Man will really be the King of Creation, in the image of his Creator. In The Book of World Horoscopes, Nicholas Campion suggests that approximated dates … Some astrologers say the Age of Aquarius actually began in 2012. That's because they believe the star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion marked the ancient border between the constellations Leo and Cancer. Best Answers. When will the Age of Aquarius begin? Campion, by the way, is director of the Sophia Centre and Course Director of the M.A. There’s no definitive answer. To reiterate, we at EarthSky look at the subject from an astronomical perspective. Come February, there will be six planets in Aquarius. The Age of Aquarius, in Jones’s view, was thus ushered in by the Depression and World War II. The second will happen on December 16 and 19: a double planetary transition into Aquarius known as the Great Conjunction. Astrologers, however, have little use for modern astronomy (or anything else that requires rational thought). The idea of an astrological "age" arises from the precession of the vernal equinox through the twelve astrological signs (or the thirteen modern astronomical constellations) of the zodiac. From Wikipedia: They’re sort of like dimmer lights instead. We are almost out of this Pisces age, since 100 years we have entered the dawn of the age of Aquarius. Thanks to The Fifth Dimension, the age became synonymous with the hippy movement in the 1960s. Wikipedia lists what various writers have claimed. (Jones also thinks each age lasts 2,500 years, and I’ve got another book of the occult here that says they last 2,000 years. These will begin on January 20 (Aquarius), May 29 (Gemini), and September 27 (Libra). At some point, the sun at the equinox will be in front of Aquarius. The Age of Aquarius is not part of astronomy. Campion, by the way, is … What is the Age of Aquarius, and when does it begin? The Dawn of the Age of Aquarius is really coming! From the perspective of astronomy, then, the beginning of the Age of Aquarius is based upon IAU constellation boundaries, which astrologers or New Age practitioners might or might not choose to use in their computations. Order this year’s EarthSky lunar calendar here. Obama certainly brought shocking change! Many astronomers put the beginning of the age of Pisces at 498 b.c.e., indicating entry into Aquarius in approximately 2658 c.e. In fact, we are progressively leaving the Age of Pisces and progressively entering the Age of Aquarius. But when will that be? The cycle of precession lasts 25,800 years, and there are 12 constellations of the zodiac. Since the vernal equinox makes a complete circuit of the zodiac in 25,785 years, the corresponding "age" of each zodiac sign lasts 2,148 years. In fact, a good case could be made for its dawning a little earlier. At the beginning of February, we’re going to have a new moon in Aquarius, which is when the sun and the moon conjunct in Aquarius. What are these ages? In The Book of World Horoscopes, Nicholas Campion suggests that approximated dates for entering the Age of Aquarius range from 1447 A.D. to 3597 A.D. Campion also reviewed published material on the subject from astrological sources. This star moved to within 30 degrees of the September equinox point in 2012, meaning that Regulus left the sign Leo to enter the sign Virgo in that year. That is called service. We will end the present cycle by looking forward, and back simultaneously. –Jim Klann, Glendale Heights, Illinois. The 24th century is in second place (12 claims). He also writes and hosts public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York. In general, as age increased, the tweens were more likely to have used major social media apps and games.) But even if you equalize the size of the signs of the zodiac, you need to consider when the Age of Pisces started to be able to know when the Age of Aquarius begins. These times will pose an impact on communication and provide an opportunity to learn how to understand one another better. But there are no clearcut answers. Get a good book and some crossword puzzles and I’m sure the time will fly. The constellations as defined by the IAU are different sizes. We also covered why it seems so difficult to pinpoint exactly when the Age of Aquarius did or will begin. Instead, we’re all on the cusp of these two ages at the moment. newsletter. The equinox point moves westward in front of the backdrop stars. To astrologers it carries a bit more significance for human society and world events, but this definition is, of course, heavily mired in pseudoscience. In The Book of World Horoscopes, Nicholas Campion suggests that approximated dates for entering the Age of Aquarius range from 1447 AD to 3597 AD. Venus will be in Aquarius, and Jupiter and Saturn will be in Aquarius. But don’t worry. It’s an astrological age, which occurs because of a real motion of Earth known as precession. The dawning of Age of Aquarius is more than just a lyric from a 1970s musical. The new moon will begin on February 11th. The modern astronomical constellations have precisely mapped boundaries. Then again, everybody has different ideas about these things. Well, for the age of Aquarius – It’s difficult to give a precise date for when it starts because the zodiac eras aren’t like an on-off switch. I first heard of the Age of Aquarius from a song in the musical “Hair.” I was a teenager in the 60’s and it sounded really cool. But you have to realize that astrological ages last quite a spell–2,150 years, to be precise. The Age of Aquarius is an astrological age, not an astronomical one. He says that most writers claim the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 20th century (29 claims). What age are we in now? When the Moon is in the 7th House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. A gent named Marc Edward Jones, who wrote a book called Fundamentals of Number Significance in 1978, claims the Age of Aquarius commenced with the discovery of Pluto in 1930.