Oh reason, reason, abstract phantom
of the waking state, I had already
expelled you from my dreams,
now I have reached a point where those
dreams are about to become fused with
apparent realities: now there is only
room here for myself.
— Louis Aragon
Welcome to the Age of Aquarius…!
Congratulations ! Actually that may be premature, some say it doesn’t officially begin for another 300 years. But we are certainly in the dawning phase, at least. By being present here at this moment, we have elected to become…the first human beings?? Yes, we are the missing link, ‘the ones we’ve been waiting for.’ Are we honoured ? Will we be able to live up to the responsibility we undertook ? Or even remember undertaking it…did you drink from Mnemosyne or Lethe while you were out ?
“Where did we come from ? Who Are We ? Where are we going ?”
— Paul Gauguin, D’ou venons nous (painting)
We don’t know where or when life began on this planet, but our earthly life cycles always seem to begin with an emergence from water, which is why water ritual plays an important role in so many world religions. Out of the sea and onto land, out of the womb and into the world, out of the sea of dreams and into consciousness… each birth renews the sense of infinite possibility.
In Chinese mythology, the carp (Pisces) must swim against the current (Aquarius) and try to leap over the waterfall to the Dragon’s Gate. If successful, it is transformed into a powerful dragon. 2012 is, of course, the Year of the Dragon.
The Pisces Age began roughly 2160 years ago. Under it’s influence organized religion spread like a tsunami (often just as destructively) within and beyond the so-called ‘civilized’ world. Like the magi who came bearing gifts for the new ‘king’, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed came out of the east, bearing teachings for the infant us, but instead, cults formed around the teachers themselves and, well, you know the rest. The same old, tribal wars continued raging, but in the name of “God.”
To understand myth and ritual, we must look first to the natural world, where our memories and stories began. The salt water that makes up 70% of our bodies, originated in the sea. Fire may reclaim the spirit, but the soul seeks refuge in and returns to the great pool of tears, presided over by the Moon, where age-old memories remain. And water’s memories go back further still, brought here by asteroids from who-knows-where. Nothing reminds us of how old, sacred and interconnected life is like water, wherein dreams and reality are one, shapes shift, appear, disappear, reflect, eat each other… but life doesn’t end, it just morphs into something else.
Virtually every great civilization arose near a sea or a river, where nutrients were deposited on the land as the water rose and fell and fish were plentiful. Hence, the majority of creation myths were based on floods, fish, whales, or sea monsters, all synonymous with the great Mother’s womb.
In ancient Babylon and Egypt, annual flooding of the rivers was predicted by royal priests, using mathematics and astrology, which must have seemed like magic to the uninitiated masses. So, the heavens were interconnected with the waters, as was science with religion and art. ‘Myth’ (our term for ancient religion) was a metaphor for natural occurrences and the priests were – and still are, to some extent – keepers of the stories, rituals and rites linking heaven and earth.
The image of the Sun sinking into and rising again from the water provided a natural metaphor for the concept of eternal life and was likely the visual inspiration for the ankh symbol (the word ‘ankh’ or ‘nkh’ itself being the active, magic component). The son/Sun fish is well-acquainted with the maternal mysteries and is therefor willing to sacrifice himself repeatedly. He will instruct the people in rituals by which to restore his life, and theirs. To the Celts, he was Tuan, to the Haida, Salmon Boy, to Christians, Jesus, but the myths are essentially the same.
“The truth that I have brought forth is the Sun” — Isis
During Pisces’ reign, the fish cults of Mesopotamia/Babylon and Egypt were imported to Europe and the ‘Holy See’ of Rome, via conquests, migrations and later, the crusades. The desert – a vast, dried up sea, or ‘wasteland’ – was seen as a warning sign of what would happen in the west, if Goddess worship was also eradicated there. Thus, the peoples’ beloved Lady was not removed from the temples, but instead cleaned of her fish scent and made into the Virgin Mother or ‘Holy Spirit’ (Venus’ dove).
The Catholic practice of eating fish on Friday goes back to when Romans honoured the water-born, love Goddess Venus-Aphrodite on her day (Vendredi, or Freya’s Day) by eating fish, considered an aphrodisiac. It has simply been edited of any sexual content. Pisces was under Venus’ rulership in ancient times and is still considered the her sign of exaltation.
As the Piscean age began showing signs of waning and Pluto entered Capricorn (early 2009), it seemed as if each day, another long-standing institution was having it’s dirty laundry exposed. Questioned about child abuse scandals, Pope Benedict explained that pedophilia was ‘normal’ in his day…hmm, must be all that fish eating. It is true that in ancient Rome, man/boy relationships were acceptable. Guess he’s pretty old.
Victimization, martyrdom and slavery are Pisces trends that must now be phased out – this includes slaving at anything all day just to pay the bank (if you love and chose your own work, that’s different). Then there’s slavery to one’s beliefs…are you tired of being hooked on the same, old, fish story ? Are you ready to inherit the secret of your own creation and make some new mythology ?
“For a moment my soul was elevated from its debasing and miserable fears to which these sights were the monuments and the remembrances. For an instant I dared to shake off my chains, and look around me with a free and lofty spirit; but the iron had eaten into my flesh, and I sank again, trembling and hopeless, into my miserable self.” — Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Apparently, according to Maritime Law, people are legal merchandise, a commodity, i.e. slaves. Birth and death certificates are nothing but receipts. The recent Occupy movement is just a start; during Aquarius, the time will come to rip up this contract, nullify the imposed time grid, the fake money and (re)claim our inherent status as human beings. It won’t be a smooth transition.
In the coming millennia, wars may no longer be fought in the name of religion, but it’s unlikely that all wars will end (although… you never know). What will happen is that there will be more and more opportune moments for individuals to experience Uranian quantum leaps and begin thinking for themselves, but not before the entire fabric of collective reality is shredded. Polar opposite Leo will see to that. (Perhaps we’ll get some help, too, since extra-terrestrials and angels come under Aquarius’ rulership). Have you ever had a lucid moment in a dream, where you suddenly realized you could make a conscious choice to direct the outcome ? In a sacred manner, we are now beginning to wake within our collective dream.
The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream.
The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in an egg, and
in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs.
Dreams are the seedlings of realities. — James Allen
Meanwhile, natural disasters will continue to remind us of the fact that we were all created equal (Aquarius) and open our hearts to full capacity (Leo).
Since Uranus (rebellion, explosion, sudden events, social movements, uranium) moved into Aries (Mars, fire, youth, hero, warrior) in March 2011, we’ve seen it’s energies channeled as anarchy by many, but also constructively – and indeed bravely – by consciously awake individuals. Uranus, the Trickster and modern ruler of Aquarius, is equated with Prometheus, the sacrificial hero who stole Zeus’ fire and gave it to mankind. It’s exactly why governments are so afraid of the people right now. It seems like they are becoming more powerful, with all their policing and cracking down, but in fact, it is exactly the opposite. The people have been given the fire. Uranus into Aries, the individual, was the first marker of the transition.
The death of Fisher King, Steve Jobs was another sign of a torch being passed. A double Pisces, he changed the world forever, initiating us into the Aquarian age via the personal computer. Interestingly, on the day he died, Martin Scorsese’s documentary, ‘George Harrison – Living in a Material World’ made its TV/internet debut. George shared a birthday with Jobs and had also worked his magic under an Apple logo. There was also the 11-11-11 portal last November. Aquarius is the 11th house of the zodiac. We have made our first attempt to leap over the waterfall, again accompanied by firey Mars (as Scorpio this time), Venus’ lover. Note the triple number here. As the hypnotist said, “as I count to three you will begin to awaken from your trance.”
Pisces and Aquarius, though separate constellations, are not really separate entities. Actually the constellation of the Southern Fish (singular) makes up part of Aquarius (fixed star Fomalhaut is the fish’s mouth). If fishes represent copulation and the co-mingling of fluids – just like the male Tigris and female Euphrates of the Fertile Crescent – the ‘water-bearer’ is like the water breaking before birth. Aquarius, a fixed air sign, is mind-oriented and it’s polar opposite, Leo, rules the heart. If you’ve ever made love with another and felt complete cosmic, dissolving, timeless union, then you’ll understand how and why we have evolved to our present form – so that body, heart and consciousness can be unified in experience.
On another, related note, get ready for some (more) of the weirdest science yet. I am sure that by the time we get to Capricorn and Sagittarius ages, mergoats, centaurs and other fabulous beasts will be no longer be confined to ancient mythology.
The Aquarius/Leo polarity, at it’s best, embodies this entity of divine unification, that extreme left-brainers seek in the form of ‘The God particle’. Love is the one, true religion – it’s eternal, and you don’t need to go to a church or be descended from a particular bloodline to practice it. The driving force behind our evolution in the Aquarian age will be the freedom to love – to love oneself without shame, another being without fear and the world without discrimination. This may sound overly idealistic, but I do feel that circumstances will continue to make it increasingly difficult for people to deny the truth – that we are already free. Low self-esteem is at the root of all our troubles.
To Mnemosyne (Memory), Fumigation from Frankincense.
The consort I invoke of Zeus divine;
source of the holy, sweetly speaking Mousai nine;
free from the oblivion of the fallen mind,
by whom the soul with intellect is joined.
Reason’s increase and thought to thee belong,
all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong. ‘
‘Tis thine to waken from lethargic rest
all thoughts deposited within the breast;
and nought neglecting, vigorous to excite
the mental eye from dark oblivion’s night.
Come, blessed power, thy mystics’ memory wake
to holy rites, and Lethe’s (Forgetfulness) fetters break.”
— Orphic Hymn 77 to Mnemosyne (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.)
Remember:
– I am a natural Human Being
– Karma is the Law
– Love is my Religion
“I looked at your blog and some posts and comments you made in the past and was amazed that you answered my deepest Question. You posted the article “Roxanna’s AstroTarology: Fish Have Left the Building, Woman Bearing Jugs at the Gate” talking about the Pisces age and organized religion. It was a breakthrough for me. Thanks so much!” [comment saved from old blogspot]
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