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Creating the Millennium - An Astrological Vision
by Jeff Jawer
The year 2000 is approaching rapidly and its effects are likely to exceed our expectations. This is not due to natural forces, the calendar, after all, is a human creation. In fact, only our western calendar marks this turning of a 1000 year page in human history. But, this is a great event in consciousness. Our belief that we are entering a new era will make it so. Imagine what it will feel like to wake up one day and write the year 2000 in your checkbook. It will be revolutionary, an awakening shock that will bring the future to us overnight. Belief is everything. If we believe that we are in a new era, our thoughts and actions will follow.
Predicting the future has always been the task of astrology, and this ancient art still serves to guide and inform intelligent men and women today. "What will the future bring?" is the traditional question. "What will you bring to the future?" is the most reliable response. We are not going to be given a future as determined by the stars or anything else. We co-create the future with our hearts, our souls and our minds. The millennium is not something given, it is something made. Each of us will choose for ourselves the course of action that will, to a large degree, determine the future. The role of astrology, then, is not to predict, but to prescribe. It is not a disinterested source of objective information, but a means to shape the future by helping individuals and society fulfill their potentials.
The outer planets are the slowest moving and those most helpful in understanding long-term trends. Each has its meaning which will be modified by the sign it currently occupies. For example, Saturn, planet of form and structure, is now in the latter part of Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac. Aries is about the here and now. We could say that each of us has a responsibility (Saturn) to be new (Aries) at this time. While the forces of the past are still with us, this is a moment to let go and move forward.
The planet Pluto is the slowest moving of all. Its 240 plus year cycle marks significant changes on individual and collective levels. From 1983-1995 its position in Scorpio reflected the links between sex and death (AIDS, close to Pluto’s other name "Hades") and the end of a major economic system (Communism). Pluto is now in Sagittarius where it will stay until 2008. Sagittarius refers to religion, education, philosophy and long distance travel. Pluto’s transformative nature is likely to be strong in these areas. On a global level this can mean major changes in religious organizations. While the frightening specter of increased fanaticism is a possibility, let’s create a more desirable vision, one of religious reform. Powerful and charismatic (Pluto) figures may emerge to sweep away the ancient hatred and divisions among the world’s faiths. On a personal level this can be a time when we are empowered by our beliefs, when we strip away the dogma and connect to the essence of truth. The outer shell of judgment and expectation can wither, replaced by a primal understanding of individual meaning and purpose. Allowing your judgments and fears to rise to the surface where they can be released is a way to facilitate this process. Fueling your vision of the future with the burning waste of old prejudice can pay for great voyages of awareness and experience.
Neptune, the planet of dissolution and spirituality, takes over 160 years to orbit the Sun. Neptune’s making its first foray into Aquarius this year and will be there until 2012. Aquarius represents collective creativity, democracy and the group mind. Neptune’s placement here is an opportunity to see how our dreams fit together, to understand where the boundaries of our individual lives fall away and we truly belong to one human race. What are your dreams? How to they connect to the greater needs of humanity? Those that are fed by this greater understanding have a better chance of taking root and growing to maturity. When your aspirations belong to humanity as a whole you a free of the limited competitive model and have access to collective energy.
Uranus is the planet of revolution. It entered its home sign of Aquarius in 1996 and will be there until 2003. This is about the Internet, the global mind nurtured on technology and outside the control of any single government. It represents the virtually free flow of information available to us now. You needn’t be the source of any new ideas, but can be an antenna capable of receiving what you need from anywhere, at any time. Intelligence is not the property of any one of us, but an ever present organ in the body of humanity.
Freed of religious judgment, and isolation of spirit and mind, the future opens to boundless discovery. Astrology rises again to speak its poetry of possibility. We are not here to be classified by it, divided and conquered as twelve separate tribes. We are, rather, reminded of the incredible human gift of choice and the great adventure that lies ahead.