[Author's Note: This is reprinted and updated from the 1998 printed version of Welcome to Planet Earth magazine. We welcome your feedback, ideas and opinions.] Near the end of 1961, some astrologers in India began predicting "the end of the world." Why? They pointed to a rare conjunction of 7 solar systemic bodies in Aquarius that would occur from Feb. 3-5, 1962 in the sign of Aquarius. At that time--utilizing the Western, tropical zodiac--there would be a Total Solar Eclipse in mid-Aquarius (a power point in the zodiac), plus the five traditional astrological planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) would also be in Aquarius and clustered around the Total Solar Eclipse.

Well, the world did not end (although eight months later the Cuban Missile Crisis almost brought us to the brink of global catastrophe!). Instead, there began a stirring up of political, social, religious, economic, scientific, artistic, musical, cultural and educational changes, revolts and revolutions that staggered our planet. That early February 1962 rare alignment of celestial bodies did trigger something within humanity--and even the song "Age of Aquarius" became a kind of anthem for the possibility of a renaissance in human society world-wide.

[Note: President John F. Kennedy, in power during this Total Solar Eclipse, was a youthful, visionary and electrifying figure for America and much of the world. Therefore, you will not be surprised to learn that he was born on May 29, 1917 -- the day of a Uranus station (stoppage) at 23+ Aquarius! He was definitely a revolutionary ambassador from the planet Uranus who stirred up so much change within our country and all of Planet Earth. In addition, Mercury was motionless on his date of birth, the ruling planet of his Sun-sign Gemini. His solar degree (7+ Gemini) catalyzed the triple Neptune-Pluto unions of 1891-1892 (at 8-9 Gemini) -- which ushered in a 492-year cycle of human history and global evolution. Most remarkably, his Sun was conjunct America's natal Uranus (8+ Gemini) from July 4, 1776. One of his greatest achievements was negotiating a limited nuclear test-ban treaty in July 1963 to eliminate atmospheric (equates with Mercury, Uranus, Gemini and Aquarius -- air signs) testing of atomic weapons by America, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. He also presided over Americans entering outer space (Uranus rules aviation and space travel) with the initial "Mercury" astronauts and he sounded the call in Congress for us to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s -- accomplished on July 20, 1969 at the exact time of a Jupiter-Uranus union! At JFK's assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, Aquarius was rising with both the Moon and Saturn in that sign of the zodiac. That rising sign at his death was a celestial pointer to his mission on Earth as a supreme Uranian figure.]

Oddly enough, just as we experienced a waxing square of Saturn and Neptune in the zodiac (1998-1999), the last time this occurred was in 1962-1963--just following the "seeding" of the Aquarian Age back in February 1962! [Saturn and Neptune in square formation help to create a lot of chaos in society, but later on there can be a clearing of the air.]

I’ve been feeling for a long time the need to help answer one of the key questions astrologers are asked: When does the Aquarian Age begin? Esteemed astrologers have given their opinions for decades and some of the times range from the late 1900s all the way toward the year 2500 and beyond.

However, most astrologers have focused on the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century as likely "springboards" for the full-fledged start of a new age lasting some 2,160 years. The great astrologer Dane Rudhyar gave an estimate of the year 2060 as the launching of the Age of Aquarius and he explained in depth why that time seemed significant.

Now I’d like you to study and meditate on the list of 7 major planetary cycles and/or conjunctions that will energize the 11th sign of the zodiac--Aquarius--from now until 2087. Uranus in Aquarius -- 1996-2003 and 2079-2087. Neptune in Aquarius -- 1998-2012. Chiron in Aquarius -- 2006-2011 and 2056-2061. Jupiter conjunct Neptune -- 2009. Jupiter conjunct Saturn -- 2020 and 2080. Pluto in Aquarius -- 2024-2044. Jupiter conjunct Pluto -- 2033.

We have to realize that an age lasting 2,160 years doesn’t start on one day, in one year or even one decade! The Tibetan Master D.K.--discussing this concept through his channel Alice A. Bailey in Esoteric Astrology (Lucis Publishing Company)--even suggested that the "shift time" between ages might be estimated at 500 years (a generous time-period, accounting for the moving in and out of vast, cosmic vibrations and energies).

With the rise of computer technology, satellites, fiber optics, instant communications and the World Wide Web, we may be under the false impression that the Aquarian Age is definitely here at long last. However, the world situation is still dire. Nuclear bombs can destroy our civilization in a flash. The so-called Middle East Crisis -- which could lead to an Armageddon in the ancient "Holy Land" -- has been going on since the turbulent founding of Israel in May 1948. Even Uranus -- the revolutionary, ruling planet of Aquarius -- is creating havoc in America as it crisscrosses our natal Moon-Pallas conjunction throughout 2002. This same Uranus in late Aquarius by transit is short-circuiting potential peace overtures between the Israelis and the Palestinians while it directly opposes Israel's natal Mars (traditional planet of war) at 28+ Leo. This is going on at white-hot levels during 2002 and will still be happening in the Fall of 2003. The global financial picture is completely out of whack and also completely unfair to billions of human beings. We may also be destroying the Earth with fossil fuels and creating a runaway "Greenhouse effect" that will be felt intensely in the decades to come.

[Note about Israel and Uranus: Did you know that when Uranus was discovered on March 13, 1781 by Sir William Herschel in Bath, England, it was located at 24 degrees and 27 minutes of Gemini? That degree will resonate forever as a placement in the zodiac of extraordinary revolution, change, shock waves, uncertainty, revelations, instability and lightning-like explosions. When Israel was founded as a state on May 14, 1948, Uranus had exactly returned to its discovery placement (24+ Gemini!) after making two complete 83 3/4 year rounds through the zodiac! Thus, Israel is a powder keg of Uranian energy and this fact reveals why it is such a "lightning-rod" for planetary conflagration. Because America won its revolutionary war against English in 1781 (the year of the discovery of Uranus), America and Israel are directly linked via Uranus. And in a bizarre twist of fate, it turns out that the discoverer of Uranus (Sir William Herschel) lived an archetypal Uranus life of 83 3/4 years. When he died, Uranus was exactly back where it was when we was born.]

Humanity has a long way to go before it truly enters a "New Age." That’s why I selected the idea of a "90+" year time-cycle--starting with the present 7-year Uranus transit of Aquarius (1996-2003) and ending with the next 7-year Uranus transit in Aquarius (2079-2087) as "bookend" markers for the total dawning of the Aquarian Age. Within this period of TWO Uranus-in-Aquarius cycles, we will experience Neptune and Pluto in Aquarius for extended periods, Chiron in Aquarius twice, Jupiter-Neptune and Jupiter-Pluto unions in Aquarius, and two, very profound Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in Aquarius.

And it feels to me that the first Jupiter-Saturn union in Aquarius--since 1405 A.D.!--the one on Dec. 21, 2020 GO TO JUPITER-SATURN2020 CHART --may truly reflect a major birthing of Aquarian Age energies. Why? Because it is when all of this Aquarian impulse reaches Jupiter and Saturn (the two largest planets of the solar system) that human society really starts changing!

We often forget this in our study of astrology and particularly with our attunement to the outer planets, Chiron and the asteroids. In ancient and medieval astrology, the weightiness and significance of Jupiter and Saturn within human culture were never doubted. That was partly because they were the outermost planets--before the discovery of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron. But literally, our whole solar system holds together--astronomically, physically and scientifically--because of the ordering principles and powers exerted by Jupiter and Saturn on the entire system of planets.

The great Jupiter-Saturn union of Dec. 21, 2020 not only occurs at 0+ Aquarius (the doorway into Aquarius), but it also begins a period of 180-200+ years of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in the "air" element. This chart is therefore a "Great Mutation" chart in the air element (thinking; intuition; higher mind; education; communication; air travel; inventions; revolution).

Then in 2080 (March 14 of that year), Jupiter and Saturn will meet again--at 11+ Aquarius--with Uranus at 4+ Aquarius! To have Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus all in Aquarius--during a precise Jupiter-Saturn union--is extremely significant and this is something that did not occur in early February 1962 when we had the rare alignment of 7 planetary bodies in Aquarius. [Uranus then was at the end of Leo.]

Before concluding this time, note as well that during the Jupiter-Saturn union of 2020, Venus at 7+ Sagittarius will be exactly sitting atop the USA Ascendant! A great opportunity for our nation to seize the imagination of the world and help ignite a 60+ year cycle of Aquarian Age adventures for all of humanity.

In a future article, we will look more deeply at the Aquarian Age cycles to come--especially Pluto’s movement in this sign from 2024-2044. For the moment, realize that all our dreams, ideals and visions don’t have to occur in the next couple of years. We are just beginning to taste the Aquarian Age potential. Think literally of a near future of mental telepathy, time travel (perhaps via the intuition and "higher planes"), contacts with ETs, clairvoyance, clairaudience, past-life and even future-life "recall," great advances in medicine, science, technology and environmental protection. There is some TIME--perhaps as much as 9 decades (akin to a pregnancy cycle of 9 months)--to birth a real, solid Aquarian Age--an age where humanity and the Earth as a whole actually go through a bonafide spiritual initiation.