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Dr.
Carl G. Jung and the Age of Aquarius
Is
the Age of Aquarius finally here? And if not yet here… do we really
have a clue as to what it'll look like when it gets here?
Astrological
Ages
For
the past 2,000 years or so, we've been living in the astrological
Age of Pisces. Each astrological age, based on the "precession
(movement) of the equinoxes," is thought to last a little over
2,148
years.
Using this rule of thumb, a "Platonic year" takes over
25,770
years to complete the full 12 Zodiac Ages cycle. So, among those
astrologers that believe in the concept of the astrological ages,
there's been plenty of endless speculation as to precisely when
the next age (or "Platonic Month"), the "Age of Aquarius,"
will begin.
Carl
G Jung and Aion, Researches into the Phenomenology of the
Self
As
the renowned Swiss depth psychologist Dr.
Carl G. Jung, MD pointed out in the footnotes of his fascinating
and landmark book, Aion, Researches into the Phenomenology of the
Self , when referring to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius:
“Starting
from the star ‘O’ and assuming a Platonic month of 2,143 years,
one would arrive at A.D. 2154 for the beginning of the Aquarian
Age, and at A.D. 1997 if you start from star ‘a 113.’ The later
date agrees with the longitude of the stars in Ptolemy’s Almagest...
Since the delimitation of the constellations is known to be somewhat
arbitrary, this date is very indefinite.”
I
should note that here Dr. Jung was using 2,143 years for a "Platonic
Month" rather than a now (somewhat) more commonly accepted
length of
2,148
years based on the mean precession of the constellations.
Of
course... in the end... we can all, as Dr. Jung himself did, figure
out for ourselves that any and all theoretical measurements used
are obviously going to be more than a wee bit arbitrary.
Premonitory
Earthquake of the New Age
Interestingly
enough... in a letter dated August 12 1940, that Dr. Jung had,
many years previous to Aion, written: "1940 is the
year when we approach the meridian of the first star in Aquarius.
It is the premonitory earthquake of the New Age." C G
Jung Letters, Volume I, 1906-1950, p 285.
For those
familiar with Dr. Jung’s fuller body of writings there is little
doubt that later in life he appeared to believe that either the
New Age of Aquarius (or at least its premonitory earthquake) would
begin around the turning of the centuries from the 20th
to the 21st.
Furthermore, Jung was greatly concerned about this transition
from age to age and what it might potentially mean for humankind.
Although possibly having rethought his original dates, he never
appeared to waver from the idea of a “premonitory earthquake”
prior to the coming of the New Age of Aquarius.
Having now passed through the initial years of the 21st
century, I think we could all agree that Jung was right to
be concerned regarding this period of time.
And
you thought that the Age of Aquarius was supposed to immediately
usher in a magical age of peace, humanitarianism, and tranquility?
Nice try, but no cigar...
"If
my reading of the symbolism of [Jung's] Aion is correct,
the aeon of Aquarius will generate individual water carriers.
This will mean that the psyche will no longer be carried by
religious communities but instead it will be carried by conscious
individuals.
This
is the idea Jung puts forward in his notion of a continuing
incarnation, the idea that individuals are to become the incarnating
vessels of the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis." taken
from the Commentary of Aion Lectures written by Jungian
author Edward Edinger
Other
Opinions On the Beginning
Again... among those astrologers, believing in the concept of
the astrological ages, there's been plenty of endless speculation
as to precisely when the next age (or "Platonic Month"),
the "Age of Aquarius," will begin.
For
instance, the esteemed 20th century astrologer Dane Rudhyar
placed the beginning of the Age of Aquarius at 2059 AD. Then
again, it's
interesting to note that Gret Baumann-Jung (Carl G. Jung's
daughter and well-known in her own right Swiss astrologer) suggested
in 1969 that the Aquarian Age had already begun with Russia’s
first space probes in the late 1950s.
Conclusions
About the Age of Aquarius
When the spiritual teacher J. Krishnamurti was asked in 1974
to define his own teachings he wrote the following:
"The
core of Krishnamurti's teaching is contained in the statement
he made in 1929 when he said 'Truth is a pathless land'. Man
cannot come to it through any organisation, through any creed,
through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophical
knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through
the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the
contents of his own mind, through observation and not through
intellectual analysis or introspective dissection." excerpt
- London,
October 21, 1980; Copyright © 1980 Krishnamurti Foundation
Trust
In
a 2008 interview with David Ian Miller of the San Franciso Chronicle,
the Astrologer/Philosopher/Humorist Rob Brezny quite aptly summed
up Krishnamurti's statement:
"I
subscribe to Krishnamurti's principle... he said that 'we need
four billion religions.' Now that number is up to 6.5 billion
- a religious tradition for everyone on the planet, 6.5 billion
paths to God." San
Francisco Chronicle Rob Brezny 2008 interview
This,
in part, would appear to be what the esteemed Swiss psychiatrist,
Carl G Jung, was expecting of the coming age (or aion) of Aquarius
- the psyche no longer being carried and/or contained by religious
communities, and instead it will be carried by conscious individuals.
Heavy
to think about, ain't it? Give us another 100 years or so...
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