Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches

!: The Age of Aquarius

The popular American musical "Hair" in the 1960's had a song, called "The Age Of Aquarius". Because both the song and the musical were so popular, the interest in astrology at the time was greatly increased and it has been constantly on the rise ever since. It was not just the musical that opened up many people's minds and hearts to astrology. Many people knew and could feel that there is something in the air - they could not describe exactly what - but they were certain that they were on the brink of great, global, far-reaching changes. The world around them was changing rapidly. Old social models did not work, new "weird" trends were appearing and although these trends looked shocking at first many people knew intuitively that these were the forerunners of the future.

Even without studying astrology it is apparent that the 20th century as a whole was very different to the 19th century. During the last 100 years the conditions of living on Earth changed dramatically. On the other side if we compare the total changes during the 19th century with those during the 18th century or the 18th century with the 17th century we will not find between them such radical differences. It is true that even then, every new generation brought about slightly new ideas than the previous one - which is completely normal - but the changes as a whole seem to happen very slowly and almost unnoticeable. This seemed to be the case throughout many centuries during medieval times.

And then the 20th century came along. From this point onwards it seemed like the clocks started running ten times faster. First of all we can observe that people made a huge step forward in all the fields of science and technologies. What was considered science fiction by Jules Vern not such a long time ago is a reality today.

100 years ago it took a week to deliver a letter from Paris to London. Today it takes 10 seconds to dial a number and talk with anyone anywhere in the world. Alternatively, we can log on the Internet in any chat room and communicate with millions of people around the world. Yet, in our days people have become very private and communicate much less with each other than in old times. Most young people today do not have the basic skills to communicate in person and feel comfortable communicating with others only when they are in front of their computers.

100 years ago the meaning of the term "divorce" was generally not known to the majority of people. A woman could re-marry only if her husband deceased. Today young girls, sipping their beers in the pubs are flirting with the young guys who are having a glass of wine. It is absolutely obvious that we have undergone dramatic changes in our society and it is quite likely that more are on the way.

The question arises: why did these changes begin occurring exactly on the brink of the 20th century and not, let's say, 200 or 300 years ago? Is this happening by chance or are there profound reasons for this? To answer this question we have to bear in mind that first of all nothing happens by chance; and I mean absolutely nothing. Even the most trivial event - for example the way you brush your teeth in the morning - is full of reason, and can lead to significant insights about your psychological functioning, if you know how to interpret it. However, the vast majority of people are largely unaware of the real reasons for their actions and for this reason they prefer to say that things are happening by chance.

If even the most insignificant events do not happen by chance, then it becomes quite obvious that the global, large-scale, universal changes are a product of a very careful and thorough planning by the spirits, responsible for the future of our planet. It is virtually impossible, however, for the mere mortal human to communicate directly with those spirits. This task is unachievable even for our guardian angels - for the spirits that control the global changes of the Earth reside too high in the spiritual hierarchy. In direct contact with them could simply turn us into ashes. But there are other ways to communicate with them. The most powerful and the most accurate tool, given to man, which can be used in this regard is Astrology. This ancient science-if studied properly-can give us the answers to some of the most intimate plans for the future of our planet and allows us to glimpse the direction in which those spirits are leading us. I will try to briefly outline here how we can do this.

As we know from my previous publications in "Universal Mind" there are two important circles in astrology-the celestial equator and the ecliptic. The first one is the projection of the earth equator on an imaginarycelestial sphere and the latter is the trajectory which is marked by the Sun, the Moon and the other planets as they travel around the earth. These two circles intersect in two points - the March Equinox (which is in 0° in Aries) and September Equinox (0° in Libra). The axis that is determined by these two points has its two ends anchored in two opposite signs of the Zodiac. This axis can be represented symbolically as an arrow. Since Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, the March Equinox represents the tip of the arrow, while the September Equinox corresponds to its bottom.

In its movement around the Sun the Earth does not make one full revolution per year, but it lags behind a bit. For this reason, each four years we add one extra day to compensate for it - 29 of February. Even this is not enough, though, and each year the summer arrives a few hours earlier. Thus for 72 years the point of the equinox is moving backwards by 1°. The whole celestial circle (360°) is divided by 12 signs of the Zodiac and each one of them occupies 30° of the entire circle. Since the equinox is moving backwards by 1° for 72 years it means that the time it will take for it to travel through each sign of the Zodiac is 30 times 72 years, i.e. 2.160 years. The time it takes for the equinox to move backwards through one of the signs of the Zodiac completely (about 2.000 years) determines the Great Years (or Ages). This fact is extremely important in the human evolution for several reasons. It means that similar to how people can be born under the sign ofLeo, Libra or whatever the case may be, so the Earth also can be "born" at different times under different signs. These periods, however, last for much longer than the transient human life - in average they last for about 2,160 years. These Great Years do not start and end overnight; sometimes they can overlap each other for 100 years and more. In other words, as a man can be born as Leo and then in his next life he can be born as Scorpio, for example, so the Earth undergoes similar transformations every 2,000 years or so, but without really dying and being reborn.

Coming back to the point where we started this article from, we can observe that the reason why the 20th century was so eventful and action-packed is exactly this - our Earth will not be Pisces any more, but will resemble more and more the qualities of Aquarius. Similar to how two people born under these two signs are very different from each other, so our Earth had to undergo dramatic changes in order to reflect the characteristics of its new sign. The last time when the Earth had to go through similar fundamental transformation was about 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ were born, thus marking the end of the Age of Taurus and the beginning of the Age of Pisces.

Let's briefly outline here some of the Great Ages in sequence in order to gain a better understanding how this process works:

The Age of Leo (10,000 - 8,000 B.C.) This is the earlier age that the modern science can speculate about on the premises of any remaining evidence. Leo is the sign of creativity and it is interesting that the almost only evidence that survived from that era are some prehistoric, cave paintings. Even the heraldic is very Leonean and lions were frequently depicted in those paintings. Leo is a fire sign and this is exactly the period, when man conquered the fire and started using it for domestic purposes. The opposite, polar sign always plays great role in astrology and some very original stone tools also survived from that age, echoing precisely the originality trait of the polar sign to Leo - Aquarius.The Age of Cancer (8,000 -6,000 B.C.) It was during this period of time, when man left the caves and started building dwellings, reflecting in this way the typical home-loving trait of Cancer. Cancer is ruled by the Moon, and the Moon is associated with motherhood. Interestingly, most of the survived carvings from this epoch depict fertility and protection (another prominent Cancerian quality). The influence of the opposite sign of Capricorn (earth sign) is evident in the beginning of the agriculture and fishing.The Age of Gemini (6,000 - 4,000 B.C.) Gemini rules communication and intellect. It is evident that during this epoch man became ready for the first time in history to develop intellectually and to move away from his local environment. The first forms of writings appeared - initially as rough symbols carved on stones and later in the form of cuneiform writing tablets. Not surprisingly, trading and commerce started to develop for the first time in history, since both of these activities are governed by Mercury - the planet which rules Gemini. The first sea voyages took place as it should be expected with the influence of the polar sign - Sagittarius.The Age of Taurus (4,000 - 2,000 B.C.) The keywords for the sign of Taurus - stability and permanence are very evident in the Egyptian pyramids, built during this epoch. The symbolism of the Age is also very Taurean - Ra is the celestial bull, Asari is the Earthly Bull, the first letter of the ancient Hebrew alphabet is "aleph", i.e. the bull. The polar influence of Scorpio is powerfully marked by the increased interest in death and life after death, which is so prominent for this sign. The ancient Egyptians developed embalming and mummification techniques that are unsurpassed even in our times.The Age of Aries (2,000 B.C. - A.D.0) During this period of time the ancient Greek civilization and later the Roman Empire came into play. The aggressive, assertive qualities of the Aries are very evident in every sphere of life, and this is to be expected, when Mars, the God of War is running the show. Romans became the unsurpassed warriors of all times, establishing an empire of an unprecedented size for many centuries - something that was never achieved before. The concern with fitness and sport, characteristic for ancient Greeks transmuted later in grandiose spectacles of gladiator battles for Romans. The influence of the opposite sign - Libra - is very interesting here, since the desire for physical supremacy was complemented with a passion for democracy and a desire to see the justice done. The Greeks are the founders of the first democratic government. The Parthenon and the other classical Greek and Roman buildings of this era are stunningly beautiful. This is not a surprise, bearing in mind that Libra is ruled by Venus - the planet of beauty and harmony. It is interesting to make the parallel in the architecture of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. Both types of buildings are beautiful, since Venus rules both Libra and Taurus. However, the Egyptian buildings reflect the more earthly qualities of Taurus - permanency, stability and practicality, while the Greek buildings echo the traits of Libra - beauty, harmony and perfection. It is interesting to notice that the Old Testament, which was written during this era, reflects precisely the code of ethics and morals of the time - war, fight, "eye for an eye" attitude - which are very different from the ideas of humbleness, sacrifice and humility included 2,000 years later in the New Testament, written already in the Age of Pisces.The Age of Pisces (A.D. 0 - 2,000) The birth of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of the new Age of Pisces. The old patterns of combat and war (Mars) were replaced by the kind, charitable, forgiving qualities of Christians. Interestingly enough, the early secret Christian symbol, which was scrolled on catacomb walls to indicate to believers where the next meetings were to be held was the fish. Neptune is the planet that rules Pisces. Neptune is associated with very high, spiritual aspirations, religion and belief. So, it does not come as surprise that the church became the domineering institution in the life of people for the next 20 centuries. At the same time Neptune brings certain confusion, vagueness and deception, ultimately leading to sacrifice and suffering, which was also an important part of life during this period of time. The cloistered lives of monks and nuns show, too, the reclusive qualities of Pisces, and those groups of people who over the centuries made, and today still make, considerable sacrifices for their faith and for the benefit of less fortunate people in the community, are quintessentially Piscean qualities. But then again, we have to consider the influence of the opposite, polar sign of Virgo, as represented by the cult of the Virgin Mary and the very restrictive and extremely modest attitude of Christians to sex. This is one sphere of life, where we have already witnessed some dramatic changes in the past decades and no doubt we are going to see much more action happening in the future. More details about how our attitudes toward sex, masculinity and femininity are going to be completely re-evaluated on the brink of the new age of Aquarius you can read in my next article in "Universal Mind". The Age of Aquarius (A.D. 2,000 - 4,000) As I mentioned in the beginning of this article the interest of people towards the new "Age of Aquarius" was aroused after the great success of the American musical "Hair" in the 1960's. Astrologers were often asked when the new age was going to start, as if one day you go to bed in the age of Pisces and you wake up the other day already in the Age of Aquarius. Such dramatic changes as the fundamental transformation of the conditions on Earth in order to reflect totally different planetary influences take a lot of time to complete. In average such changes normally take about 100-150 years in which time the previous influences are gradually waning and the new ones are gaining momentum. It is more or less accepted in the astrological circles that the Age of Aquarius "officially" started with the first World War and it is about to complete in the next 20-30 years. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus and some Uranus keywords that come to mind are humanity, independence, inventiveness, new technologies, unpredictability, eccentricity, perversity. So, what does that mean in simple terms for us, the mere mortals? How are our lives going to change in the Age of Aquarius?
First of all the new Age becomes very evident in the sphere of new technologies, computing, space travel and science which are all quintessential Aquarian characteristics. And indeed if we think for a moment about all the technical gadgets that surround us and make our life much easier we will find out that most of those things were practically not existent 100 years ago - running hot and cold water in our kitchens, electricity, fridges, microwaves, television, telephone, computers, Internet, cars, highways, airplanes and so on just to mention a few. And if you think that this is the limit, then you must have a really limited imagination. Living in a virtual reality, for example, is just around the corner, where everybody will be able to invent and live in his or her own reality simulated by mega-powerful computers. This means that people will be able to change virtually their looks, create whatever virtual reality they like around them, pick up partners that exactly simulate the best characteristics that they are looking for and do with them whatever they please. The sensations of such encounters will be as authentic (if not better) as the real encounter. For the dangers hidden in the mass computerisation of society we will talk on another occasion.

The humanitarian side of Aquarius is also noticeable in organizations like the United Nations and many conservation organizations. But, we don't have to forget the influence of the polar sign - Leo. While Leo is benevolent, generous and obliging, at the same time he wants to remain the King of the Zodiac and to run the show himself. Thus, it is very likely that during the Age of Aquarius we will see the establishment of a benevolent World Government, but it is also possible that we will be exposed to the danger of being totally controlled from one single World centre.

The unpredictability of Uranus is already revealing itself in the changes of the global climate. It is an undeniable fact that the weather is not any more what it used to be years ago. At present, we may suffer in extreme heat on one day and then be swamped by floods on the other. Again, the reasons for this unpredictable behaviour of the weather have to be sought in the rapid expansion of industries and associated with them damage to the environment. Aquarius, though, loves the nature and we will see the young (already Aquarian) generation putting a lot of effort to save the planet Earth. The young generation is going to right the wrongs, done by the older much more careless generations.

The eccentricity and perversity of Uranus is going to be felt even stronger in the sphere of love relationships between people. Uranus does not dim the sexual powers of attraction; quite the opposite he actually increases them. At the same time, however, Aquarius (being ruled by Uranus) is the most independent and individualistic sign of all. This sign generally has the greatest difficulties of all other signs of the Zodiac to fit into the traditional family model. The yoke of the family life requires too many personal sacrifices and this goes against the Aquarian nature. The qualities of the previous Great Year of Pisces - sacrifice, suffering and abstinence from sex do not appeal to Aquarius at all! Instead he yearns for liberty, freedom and enjoyment.

And indeed, we can see how the morale of people is changing in front of our own eyes year after year - what was considered a taboo several decades ago is now a norm. The number of people remaining in stable marriages is now definitely a minority. In the future it is likely that Uranus is going to wreck this social structure altogether in order to build something different - a union between two people based on spiritual affinity, where both partners have a lot of room for themselves and where the relationship exists only for a duration of time suitable for both of them. The number of unusual, odd and strange forms of sexual relations is also going to rise. Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or whatever the case might be is going to be considered completely normal; quite the contrary-being in a marriage for 30 years is going to be considered weird. The exact impact on all these changes to our sex life is going to be discussed in my next article.

As an astrologer and clairvoyant, I feel obliged to tell the people about the coming changes in their lives. Most of them will inevitably occur, even if we like them or not. My intention is not to scare people, but to prepare them for what is coming around the corner. As we gain more and more understanding about the hidden forces that control our lives, our fears come to an end, because we understand that the spirits in charge of the global changes on our planet love us immensely and are leading us towards ever higher and higher spiritual dimensions, according to theeternal law of evolution.