The Age of Aquarius, PART 3, SEPTEMBER 2008

[This is the third in a 6-part series by noted astrologer Boots Hart on the transition into the Age of Aquarius and what it will mean for each generation undergoing these vast changes.—Ed.]

In the age we are now leaving—that of Pisces—the sense was that security was all about the self: I feel secure. Or, I don’t feel secure. Possessions, talents, abilities, money—it boiled down (in vast part) to what you had—which makes sense historically, since this was the era of societal growth. At the beginning of this series we discussed how the astrological ages differ in the ‘worldly’ sense for being ‘nicknamed’ for the sign on the age’s 12th house cusp. During the Age of Pisces, Aquarius was on that 12th house cusp, telling us that despite the uncounted ways in which the energetic manifested, the connective of the Piscean Age was society. The world thus thinks of this past several thousand years in terms of great religions which arose during its passage (making it the Age of Faith). And astrology would look at the same overview and by virtue of the chart call it the Societal Age? Well, that’s not only valid, but almost ironic, since the 12th house of the chart is the house of spirituality, leading us to sub-define the Societal (Piscean) Age as, yes, the Age of Faith.

Under the Age of Pisces, power was felt in terms of how good you were at something. Through that, you were able to make things happen. From what happened, individual gains were made, leading to feelings of effectiveness, of ability, of acceptance….and maybe most importantly, personal security.

The possessing of valuable things is an issue we’re going to meet up with several times in looking at the incoming age, with this part of it being perhaps the most obvious. As exhibited in the slogan ‘if you've got it, flaunt it,’ the idea that having ‘the goods,’ be that beauty or money or jewels or a big house...that was supposed to lead to security and that—to satisfaction.

Did it? No. We all know the expressions: ‘money can’t buy you love’ and‘money can’t buy happiness.’ In the Age of Pisces, the reality has been that it’s the owning and development of the Self, the doing and being all you are which has created success in relationships and worldly activity which has led to feelings of appreciation and personal fulfillment.

Now as the Age of Aquarius takes over, the scene shifts, slowly and subtly. Now you need to know yourself (and others) well enough to grasp commonalties. It’s those common factors (generally emotional in nature) which become the vehicle for understanding others and making things work. The trick here is that you need to understand many facets of the problem at once—all while dealing with your reticence, reluctance, shyness, ennui or out-and-out fears.

This certainly fits very well with Age of Aquarius as an era all about Commerce, since success in the marketplace depends on finding common need. What may be less apparent however is the very quality which underlies that—and which will be at the root of whether each of us ends up feeling satisfied or alienated: the idea and sense of connection. As society gets busier and we spend more time using more forms of technology, as life becomes broken up into bytes and we relate more through impersonal means (text, email, etc), we become separated not just from each other, but from ourselves. And therein lies the challenge, for in the Age of Aquarius, all self worth, all satisfaction, all the outer acceptance and internal security we can dream of stems from connections. You have to be connected inside yourself and willing to work to connect to others, finding out who they are as people and those qualities which compliment yours and are the same as your beliefs. The business of connection involves understanding how people work, how to motivate them, how to be useful and the fears and feelings behind all motivations and forms of reluctance—yours or anyone else’s. Many who have had a hard time particularly during the latter part of 2008 and on through 2009 (as Pluto has moved into Capricorn) are ignoring some form of these issues, and such needs are only going to get more pronounced as time goes along.

The Age of Aquarius, in other words, operates to a great extent impersonally. But, because it values who we are as people, it is, paradoxically, entirely emotional. One must have faith in the family of mankind, not the individualistic units we’ve come into this time thinking of. What we have in common becomes the basis for excelling as individuals, providing us with a foundation for success which begins with understanding ourselves, matriculates through the development of our understanding and working with others to find the common gains which can be made, and results in a life which is richer for us all. From that will come our emotional release and the freedom which allows us to fear not, but love life, one another and ourselves.

This shift challenges the Pluto in Cancer generation (1914-1938) to think less in terms of nationalistic outlooks and personal family units, which many will resent, seeing as they’ve devoted a lot of their life to just these issues. But the change is upon you: your choice is to think in an unbiased, humanistic manner or to manifest your disappointment as personal limitations.

Not that the Pluto in Leo Baby Boomers (1938–1958) will take things much more kindly, as they’re required to let go of long-held limitations they’ve grown quite at home with. Productivity now requires new efforts, new experiences, and enduring your own fear. The good news is that the biggest barrier to all is your ego. The bad news: that yes, ego is your biggest barrier of all!

Feeling displaced from easy street to the salt mines is what Pluto in Virgo (1958-1972) folks are feeling now and will feel until they realize success is all about embracing what others need, crave and will reward them for, instead of clinging to the old ideas, old ways and old parameters. You do have to change your method and size/framework of your goals, but not the goal itself.

Hesitations in undertaking their tasks haunt Gen X (Pluto in Libra - 1972-1983) until they realize their fears will be resolved through letting go and having faith, not through ‘discovery’ of a magical solution. Utility of method and finding means which work for that you understand as the common needs or desires of mankind (not a chosen audience) opens the door to true security.

Pluto in Scorpio (1983—1995) people are likely to feel emotionally naked until they accept that life is partly a performance (yes), but more vitally a course in investing, with the goal being not the top of the heap, but being one with other people and the nature of your world. Successful leadership in other words, comes from understanding, not the power of command.

Being the children of a generation which believed in assertive strength is likely to challenge Pluto in Sagittarius (1995-2008) kids who either need to learn the ‘Gandhi lesson’ of non-resistance or who will need to get past parental conditioning to recognize strengths which in converting vulnerability and longing into convictions, frees everyone from emotional limitations.

Born in a time of flux, Pluto in Capricorn (2008—2023) must harness its belief in self before it can achieve security. Molded either by Pluto in Virgo parents who see life as a process which supports one’s personal goals (and/or) by Pluto in Libra parents who carry with them an intense focus on the ‘other’ in spite of their own ‘life lesson’ to honor and develop the Self, this generation eventually becomes one which embraces the world, believes in true equality and which holds not to wealth or status, but the humanity found in altruism.

[Ed. note: if you're interested in learning more about the Plutonic generations and their different issues, struggles and points of view, check out Boots Hart's 12-part series on Pluto in Capricorn.)

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