Remember watching a toy top spin? It not only spins around on its point, but it makes a circular wobble. The Earth, like a top, turns on its axis, making a revolution each day. It also makes a wobble like a top; however in the case of the Earth, to make a full circular wobble takes around 26,000 years. This creates a lengthy astrological cycle called a Great Year with 12 Great Ages of around 2160 years in each Age. Named for the 12 signs of the zodiac, the Great Ages move back through the signs. Our present age, called the Age of Pisces, began roughly around the time of the birth of Jesus and we are approaching the end of this age and the beginning of the next Great Age, called the Age of Aquarius.

The many extreme events associated with the “pandemic” focused on the year 2020 can be seen as big hints as to what is approaching on the horizon in terms of the new Age of Aquarius. This is especially true because there was a huge number of planets moving over the sensitive border between Capricorn andAquarius. All these hints made it perfectly clear that we have truly entered, as the song says, “The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius.”

A large number of important planets moved between two very different signs, Capricorn and Aquarius. Capricorn is ruled by the planet Saturn, which represents stability, and Aquarius is ruled by unruly Uranus, a planet representing radical change. Hence the years around 2019 and 2020, when many major planets were involved in a grand passage over this sensitive border, suggested to astrologers transformation on a gigantic scale.

There have been many previous hints of the coming transition between the Great Ages of Pisces and Aquarius. To name a few: the 1960s New Age revolution, the technology revolution, the spiritual revolution, the gay, racial and feminist revolutions, etc., and now another image of powerful transformation is pointing towards the radical sign of awakening, Aquarius . . . slow moving, distant Pluto, dark king of Hades, is the last outer planet to complete his passage over this
charged cusp, gearing up to enter Aquarius in 2024. Since Pluto has a cycle of around 248 years, he was last at this degree of the zodiac around 1776, suggesting that we can add to the list of hints of major revolution: another American political revolution!

However, I want to add yet another vital dimension to this story. My new book, published by Inner Traditions – Bear & Company, Alchemical Tantric Astrology, presents the correlation between the signs of the zodiac and the chakras of Tantric Yoga. This correlation begins with Aquarius at the bottom of the chart wheel associated with the 1st Root Chakra, located at the base of the spine, and proceeding up through the signs and chakras to Leo and the 7th Crown Chakra
located at the top of the skull.

This chakra/planet correlation once again places special importance on the cusp between the signs Capricorn and Aquarius. It’s importance lies in the fact that in the chakra system a mighty serpent named Kundalini is shown coiled at the base of the spine, suggesting that the powerful energy of awakening known as kundalini is associated with the Root Chakra and hence its two accompanying signs of the zodiac, Capricorn and Aquarius. I like to call kundalini the energy of awakening, transformation, and evolution. Aquarius, being a springtime sign, active as the earth awakens from wintery Capricorn, is certainly related to kundalini.

This association between Aquarius and kundalini allowed me to make the observation that the time around 2020, during the transit of a large group of powerful planets over this part of the zodiac, was sure to activate extremely powerful energy for awakening and evolution! And isn’t that what happened?! It was not an easy or comfortable time, but it was certainly fundamentally transformative.

Like in 2020, the years around 2023 and 2024 are once again heavy with similar symbolism as powerful dwarf planet Pluto, the divinity of the Apocalypse, finally takes his turn transiting this charged cusp, making five passages over this same kundalini portal on his way into Aquarius for about a 20 year visit in this sign of awakening. The 20 year period while Pluto, dark king of the underworld, transits Aquarius is certain to include several themes. Perhaps most obvious will be the dialog between Humanity and Technology and the related themes of control of the masses, AI, surveillance, and transhumanism. Will we be able to continue true human values in the face of the glamor of convenience and the efficiency of machine mentality?

Although most astrologers do not view this passage of Pluto into the sign of Aquarius as indicating the actual beginning of the new great Age, it is certainly a prime pointer in that direction. It is also not clear what we will find when we do awaken and what we will do after awakening. Every sign has its front side and its back side, and Aquarius has an ample share of both, and frankly as the popular song kind of goes, “Waking up is so very hard to do.” Ha!

Perhaps we can see some indication of what is coming by looking at the period of the 1960s when Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, was conjunct Pluto, divinity of the underworld. We might simplify the time as one of Uranus’
heavenly high idealism on one hand and dark underground Pluto’s “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” on the other hand. Apparently we cannot count on astrology to promise us total smooth sailing, only change and duality.

Another important Aquarian hint occurred in 2020 at the Capricorn Solstice when the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction occurred at zero degrees of Aquarius. This might be interpreted rather positively as an upward movement from dark wintery Capricorn to bright springtime Aquarius. However . . .

Although estimates differ, in somewhere around 100 years from now we will be truly moving from the Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius. This sounds pretty good, right? However . . . that particular celestial motion of the Great Ages moves in a retrograde or backward fashion and so, after roughly 2,160 years in the Age of Aquarius, we will move back into the sign of Capricorn. It might not be a great idea to wait around for that eventuality. In any case, as we probably already know, it is best to be in the present moment as much as we can!

It is certainly clear that many significant worldwide events have occurred in the awakening sign of Aquarius lately and there are some monumental ones looming on the horizon. We can be pretty sure we will be shaken to our roots with the activation of evolutionary power as symbolized by the kundalini serpent coiled and ready to spring forth when Aquarius is involved. Activated kundalini is an energy that is often challenging and tumultuous, but likely to be for our benefit in the big picture. So stay tuned!