As long as I remember, our family had a Fifth Dimension album with the Grammy-winning recording "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," originally written for the 1967 musical Hair.

I wasn't all that curious about what the song meant. I was raised a devout Christian and thought it had to do with the New Age. I loved the music and the "peace and love" message, but not the cosmology or theology. I was told astrology was superstition. I didn't know what the "Age of Aquarius" was.

In recent years, however, I've grown to appreciate the role of stargazing and star-mapping as the foundational technologies of civilization. It is through the patterns and positions of the moon and stars that humankind can tell time, alert us to upcoming changes in the seasons, and therefore plan, plant, and build.

And I learned what the "Age of Aquarius" is. Robert Fitzgerald explains:

The astrological ages are based on the precession of the equinoxes and the backwards wobble of the earth's axis through the constellations, which lie in a circle around the earth along the ecliptic, the belt of the equator. Ages are measured by the wobble of the earth's axis as the North Pole points down towards and marks each age or constellation in succession. This wobble takes 25,920 years to complete, and in one complete cycle, there are twelve ages of 2,160 years each. Currently, that marker points to the constellation Pisces, and we are said to be in the 'Age of Pisces'. These ages flow backward through the astrological signs as the earth's axis wobbles in a precessional or backward direction through the zodiac.

Aquarius is, therefore, the next age.

One problem is that the exact year of the change from the Age of Pisces to Aquarius is guesswork. It's a centuries-long transition before the marker is clearly pointed at Aquarius instead of Pisces. The song "Aquarius," from the vantage point of the 1960s, assumed it was near. I was recently told that 2012 was the start date of the Age of Aquarius.

Fitzgerald has an interesting theory about that. He puts the beginning of the Age of Pisces at 1 CE and its ending at 2160 CE when the Age of Aquarius begins. In the grand view of history, the Age of Aquarius is close; for those reading this in 2024, it's not.

Previous to the Age of Pisces was the Age of Aries. Aries is symbolized as a ram, Pisces by a fish. Its beginning overlaps with estimates of when Jesus lived. "Worthy is the lamb that was slain" so that we become "fishers of men."

Fitzgerald's argument goes back to the origins and evidence of history. The Age of Cancer, associated with maternalism and domesticity (8640-6480 BCE), saw the invention of agriculture. The Age of Gemini (6480–4320 BCE) symbolizing a merging of spirit and matter, saw the rise of industries such as ceramics. The Age of Taurus (4320–2160), associated with comfort and luxury, saw the use of money and cities. Aries, associated with war, saw the rise of nation-states and empires.

Pisces is associated with spirituality and religion. Its seeds were planted around 500 BCE in the Age of Aries, as Greek philosophy emerged, the Torah was compiled, and Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism rose in the East.

Christianity ushered in the age of Pisces. Islam sprang forth one-third of the way through. As Fitzgerald points out, they created the first multi-national organizations. The Renaissance, Reformation, and colonization of the Americas brought forth new ideas, ideologies, and spiritual movements in the last 600 or so years of Pisces. Similar to spiritual changes in the last part of the Age of Aries, the revolutions in ideas and ways of life late in the Age of Pisces are in preparation for the still-coming Age of Aquarius.

Fitzgerald also divides the Ages into 12 Eras corresponding to the Zodiac: the Era of Aries within the Age of Pisces is 1-180 CE. Proceeding forward in the Zodiac by 180-year increments, the Era of Aquarius was 1800–1980. The last Era, Pisces, within the Age of Pisces began in 1980 and continues to 2160, when the Age of Aquarius begins.

The Era of Capricorn in the Age of Aries (540-360 BCE), associated with societal contributions, saw the Golden Age of Athens and Plato. The Era of Capricorn in the Age of Pisces (1620-1800) saw Isaac Newton, the Enlightenment, the growth of Parliamentary power in Great Britain, Immanuel Kant, and America's "Founding Fathers."

The Era of Aquarius (1800-1980 CE), associated with ingenuity and inventiveness, brought forth most of the inventions of the modern world.

But Fitzgerald goes even further than that. He breaks up the eras into Phases, again in the zodiacal order. So, 1800–1815 was the Aries (War) Phase in the Era of Aquarius (in the Age of Pisces). What stands out during that time? The Napoleonic Wars. The last phase of the Aquarius era was Pisces, 1965–1980.

Pisces, as stated before, is related to religion and spirituality. What did we see in this phase? The rise of New Age and Eastern mysticism in the West. Cults frequently made the news: Jim Jones, Moonies, Hare Krishna, Scientology, etc. Communism took on a religious fervor with Zedong's Cultural Revolution and Pol Pot's genocide.

The Era of Aquarius came to an end in 1980, followed by the Era of Pisces (the last era in the Age of Pisces).

What happened shortly before 1980?

  • Iran's Shite Islamic Revolution.
  • The installation of Pope John Paul II, who re-asserted papal authority over several political issues.
  • S. aiding and abetting Sunni groups in Afghanistan that later became the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
  • The rise of the Moral Majority and subsequent "Religious Right" movements in the United States.

That is, a resurgence of conservativism and fundamentalism in the two largest branches of the two largest faiths.

Of course, we can use any model of history that we prefer, impose it on a period of history, and highlight all the events and movements to confirm our model. There's something unique about Fitzgerald's system, however. His article is from 2016, but it was originally "published by The Astrological Journal / The Astrological Association of Great Britain in 2009."

And here is what he said about the upcoming Gemini Phase, 2010-2025, of the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces:

  • Cultural as well as ideological differences will be thrust against each other, creating potential arguments and divisions within groups and communities.

  • Local and national politics will become more partisan and divisive as people choose ideological sides and passionately fight for them, while being unwilling to compromise. The present separation of church and state may become more politically charged, with fundamental ideals aligning themselves against secular liberal ideals.

Much of this has played out in the United States and other countries. On the one hand, it's the natural development of trends beginning in the late 1970s, regardless of what an astrological model says. On the other hand, the model did predict things would get worse, and it was correct. People stopped listening to reason, let alone the voice of love. Social media outlets are censoring information. The other side is always wrong on everything, and if you say they might have a valid point on one or two issues, you're one of them and a fascist.

That's what it's come down to these days, certainly in America. Democrats call Republicans fascists, and fascists call Democrats fascists.

I don't know if the astrological phase of Cancer (2025–2040) will be as stormy. The good news is that the stars don't determine how we individually choose to live. And I'm ready to skip all the remaining phases of the Age of Pisces, assume that Fitzgerald is wrong, and aspire to live the values of Aquarius:

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation.