INTRODUCTION

The year 2000 has great significance in prophecy. It has attracted the attention of sages and fools, the faithful and the faithless, metaphysical fortunetellers and scientific prognosticators. Myths about the upcoming millennium have been handed down for hundreds of years. Many ancient seers looked into the future and saw significant events coinciding with the arrival of the new millennium. Are they right? Maybe significant events are destined to happen, and it is our fate to be the passive recipient of these events. Another possibility is that these events depend on our taking an active role, in being the agent through which the universe fulfills the destiny predicted by many so long ago. Is the new millennium going to be any different from the old millennium? Perhaps the answer lies with us.

THE START OF A NEW AGE WITH A LINE DRAWN IN THE SKY

We are proposing to begin an age based on the redrawing of a constellational border. If we look at the sky and say we want to begin a new age based upon that sky, what signs might we look for? Can we say that a point in the sky once considered by astronomers to be inside the constellation of Pisces can now be included in the constellation of Aquarius? We say yes. After all, it is tradition not natural law that places the boundary where it is today. Is this the Age of Pisces or is this the Age of Aquarius? What do we want it to be? Do we have the power of choice? Many maps drawn up over the ages have proposed one boundary or another, so we just have to agree on a new boundary. It is the collective agreement that is important, not the actual placement of the boundary line itself.

Certainly people through out time have seen great relevance in the pattern of stars in the sky. Star maps from over the ages and from around the world show that the constellations have changed through the millennia. Earlier star maps such as Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Mayan, and Chinese suggests that every culture that has ever looked up at the starry sky has seen what they wanted to see; patterns forming a picture of something that looked familiar to them. We have to respect those previous zodiacs and star maps. They reflect the time and culture of the individuals who created them, but they also demonstrate the diversity of interpretations that are possible. Do we say one map is written in stone and another is not? We are simply proposing a modern update to the constellations that reflects the spirit of our times.

THE NEW MILLENNIUM, THE NEW AGE AND THE NEW SKY

What is the New Millennium correspondence to the New Age or the Aquarian Age? Looking at the normal backward precession of the equinox on current astronomical maps, the Aquarian Age is not scheduled to arrive for another 600 years. However, if we took a little liberty in the sky we could make an agreement that that the Age of Aquarius can begin at any time. The Aquarian Age can begin with a slight redrawing of the boundaries between the constellations Aquarius and Pisces. Certain constellations occupy more of the sky than others, so we can easily take a little slice of Pisces and call it part of Aquarius. There are normal groupings of stars that make up constellations based upon stellar magnitudes and proximity. What we are actually looking at is how stars are grouped in the sky and where the line between stars can be drawn without upsetting natural constellational groups.

How can we rationalize redrawing the maps of the night sky?

It really boils down to creating a boundary line we can all accept. These star maps are changeable. People change. Star maps are valid because the society that created them agreed upon them, and that agreement is usually good enough for those who want to use that particular methodology. The Chinese constellations were different from the Mayan constellations and different from the Hebrew, the Greek, Roman and Egyptian. The current version of the constellational boundaries was published in 1930 for the International Astronomical Union by Eugene Deleporte following the IAU General Assembly in 1922. Why accept the astronomer's version used today or one made in the 17th century or even thousands of years ago? We have the same right to draw our own star maps. It is not necessary to wait 600 years for the Aquarian Age to begin due to some arbitrary decision made in the past by people living under very different circumstances. Many maps drawn up over the ages have proposed one boundary or another, so we just have to agree on a new boundary. The boundaries of the constellations as they are currently recognized can be used as is, with only slight modifications. The constellational boundaries could be modified so that, instead of having right angles, squares and boxes, they could have a bit of freedom to follow the more natural curves of the constellational outlines themselves.

The borderline between Pisces and Aquarius is artificial, drawn by an astronomer. Why can't an astrologer, a scientist, a historian draw a new line? Why can't the sky be changed to accommodate change? This question is especially pertinent now in these times of accelerated growth in technology, human consciousness and understanding. All it takes to make the sky reflect the beginning of the Aquarian Age is a small fraction of Pisces; a small percent of the whole. Redrawing constellations may be a step than many astronomers or astrologers in the Western world may have wanted to take, but have thus far been unable to acknowledge that it is indeed possible. It is indeed not only possible, but also beneficial to draw this new line.

A NEW CALENDAR

The vernal equinox is marked by the point in the sky where the sun crosses the equator on its ecliptical journey and there is equal period of day and night. The equinox has much historical significance. Many cultures, such as the Chinese or Mayan, have used the equinoxes to establish dates for particular occurrences. Why not join these ancient and wise cultures in honoring the equinoxes and solstices by creating a calendar that respects their place in the natural yearly cycle? It would not be necessary to change all calendars to accommodate this; some calendars around the world already place the beginning of the new year at the spring equinox. We could easily modify existing western calendars by agreeing to start the new year on the first day of Spring. In modern times the vernal equinox is becoming increasingly accepted globally as the beginning of the year. Many astrologers look to the vernal equinox as the beginning of the astrological new year, and western astrologers use the tropical system of zodiacal signs, basing the signs on their distance from the vernal equinox.

If some of us can agree on starting the New Age, and make a statement that the beginning of the Age of Aquarius shall be the year 2000 on the vernal equinox, then we can do something. As far as changing the year number, we should have a congress of people around the world to vote on it. Maybe they can vote by the Internet. Maybe they can attend through video conferencing with millions of people. These kinds of gatherings no longer have to be in one place. They can occur all over the world, and people with like minds can gather anywhere at anytime and communicate effectively through types of electronic polling procedures that would allow everyone to express their wishes. One may say, "I believe in the Aquarian Age," or "I don't believe in the Aquarian Age." People can accept the New Age or not. But bringing it about will require taking a little leap of faith, a little foresight, and a willingness to acknowledge that it has arrived.

AQUARIAN AGE CALENDAR

The epoch 2000 AD star maps are professionally accepted star maps that were created for the spring equinox of the year 2000AD, when the Aquarian Age begins.

The division of the ecliptic into twelve equal segments along the zodiac starting from the vernal equinox point as indicated by star maps dated 2000 AD can be used for the determination of the length of the zodiacal ages for a number of reasons. The year 2000 AD star maps actually place the constellations in zodiacal segments as measured from the zero point Aries in 2000 AD. Although what astronomers now call the zero point Aries could be used as the boundary between zero degrees Pisces and 29 degrees 59 minutes and 60 seconds of Aquarius, which is essentially the same point. The boundary becomes a zero width line between the two ages.

The ecliptic system of measuring celestial coordinates has been used for thousands of years because the sun, moon and planets travel along the ecliptic. This 18-degree wide band that stretches around the celestial sphere is called the zodiac and is the apparent path of the sun, moon and planets from our perspective on earth. The angular distance east from the vernal equinox point along the ecliptic is called the Celestial Longitude. The angular distance north or south of the ecliptic is called the Celestial Latitude. Using the vernal equinox point of the year 2000 AD, it is possible to calculate the exact positions in the sky that mark the borders between the zodiacal constellations in a equal distance amount of 30 degrees per sign. I.e. the starting and ending points of the great ages will be determined by their Celestial Longitude as based on the spring equinox of epoch 2000 AD. By dividing the heavens into ages using the year 2000 AD star maps it will be possible to bring order to the discussion about what ages are and how long they last. These 30-degree segments of the sky will have to be called the constellations by their proper constellational names, such as Pisces or Aquarius.

Even though astronomers refer to the spring equinox as the zero point Aries, that practice is a throwback to the Babylonian times when the vernal equinox took place in the constellation of Aries. Astrologers have adopted that practice, so be careful when hearing the names of the zodiac being used. It would be a blessing if astronomers and astrologers stopped referring to the divisions of the zodiac as segmented by Celestial Longitude as signs of the zodiac and came up with something creative such as spans of Celestial Longitude. It would solve a lot of problems in regard to terminology, but it would create problems for everybody who would have to find out what their actual constellational sign is.

Since the signs of the planets aren't as important as the angles between the planets, the constellational horoscopes would look the same with the planets in the same relation to the horizon and midheaven, but the signs of the planetary bodies will differ. Using the Sidereal Zodiac won't help us start the Aquarian Age any sooner, so even though it is based on the constellations, it is based on a precessional point that occurred thousands of years ago. The Sidereal Zodiac System is valid in its own right and must be accounted for, but it doesn't correspond to the year 2000 AD star maps which we want to use for creating boundaries of the great ages. I will also refer to that equinoctial point by the constellation it is in now, namely the constellation Pisces by modern star maps or the boundary of the constellation Aquarius using the Equal Age Theory, as we propose. The irregular boundaries between the zodiacal constellations on star maps don't have to be the same as the boundaries used to compute the great zodiacal ages. We have to remember that we are measuring the great ages, and there are rules that apply to those great ages that don't apply when measuring constellational boundaries. Hipparchus didn't need a desktop computer to prove the precession of the equinoxes by measuring the wobble of the earth. We can suggest our own ideas too, no matter how much they make sense in regard to what is practical for everybody in the world. We may have to start the Aquarian Age and wait until more people in the world can join us. The Aquarian Age doesn't take away from the significance of traditional calendar systems and timekeeping methods. The Aquarian Age will strengthen the traditional calendars by paying respect for the efforts of those astronomers in many ancient cultures who paid attention to the precession and the celestial motions.

The difference of a few months is almost trivial when compared to the length of the great ages, which stretch over thousands of years. So whether someone believes that the new age is going to begin on the New Years Day of the year 2000 AD then maybe it will for them. If you believe that the Aquarian Age is going to begin on the spring equinox of the year 2000 AD, then prepare to join the celebration.

It would be worth it for the world to start counting over in the year 2000 because of the great benefits derived from synchronization of measuring time in regard to the seasonal world as indicated by the equinoxes and solstices. Calling the year 2000 AD the year zero would have additional benefits for those who don't like to write long dates. A simple '0 would do or '00 if you prefer. Or how about 0A for year zero of the Aquarian Age or 00AA if you please. However you want to write it, lets figure it out together and agree on something. Even if it takes centuries to achieve, if people start acknowledging the Aquarian Age as real, then they may get in closer synchronization with their seasonal selves and personal cycles and enjoy harmony with people and their environment.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE AGE OF AQUARIUS

We are living in an age of change. The past one hundred years have accelerated our human capabilities beyond the imagination of previous generations. The two world wars created a military-industrial complex which advanced our technology to where it is today. But what will happen in the near future is the amazing part of this story. There are going to be momentous changes associated with Aquarius, and these changes will no longer be dependent on a war mentality. Instead it is a peace mentality, a creativity born of freedom from war, that will produce even greater innovation. It is not just a change in the political system or the economical system, though it may come in those ways. Science and technologies will also have their part to play in the Age of Aquarius. Technology will be much more available to the common person within a few years. The advances in our technological products will make them more accessible. They will become smaller, more portable, cheaper and easier to distribute. We are already seeing prototypes today of things like digital tape recorders and computers that you can wear. Technology is advancing at an accelerated pace with lap-top computers and audio and video technology.

These tools are becoming accessible not just to the very rich or the very smart - they are becoming accessible to everyone. Those who wish to can use these new technologies to help advance our society, our culture, our world. The benefits become exponential. The power of creativity will spread around the world. As countries share their economic power with the common people, prosperity will flourish. Countries that restrict access to technology will lose the benefits of allowing the creativity of their people to drive economic growth. They will lose out. Their people will be less creative and they will lose the ability to keep up with the rest of the world. Those governments that think they can keep the people down by keeping them poor will short-change themselves, dooming their societies to stagnation and poverty. New kinds of technologies are soon going to allow global communication, networking, and ultimately a more universally based governing system that responds to the needs of people on a local level, yet has a presence throughout the world. The technology of the Internet and of communications systems via satellites, cellular phones and devices yet to be developed will draw us closer to each other. Xenophobia will eventually vanish as all people and countries become connected through technological means.

PREPARING FOR THE NEW AGE

Being prepared for the New Age means that we have to at least acknowledge that it is going to happen sometime. It is not enough to say, "Oh yeah, we turned the corner a few years ago." We must say now, "We’re going to be celebrating because this is the New Age, and we call it the Age of Aquarius." There are many cultures around the world that see the transition to a New Age as something special. Important information about the Aquarian Age is going to be available to everyone around the world. There is the necessity of finding a common ground with people everywhere. We know we have share the same Earth. It is the same water, the same air; we all live on the same planet.

This particular millennium has a lot of prophecies regarding it; we have to acknowledge that there is something that is coming. The main understanding that we have is that it is going to be more of the same, more advances in technology, more government shake-ups, more problems with the New World Order, as it is. That is expected. We have seen the amount of work being done to prepare people for such occurrences through the use of mass communication. It is the major efforts of communicators and agents of change throughout the ages that have made it possible for people to believe that there can be a New Age, and the idea that there is much upheaval and disaster connected with it might be another reason for us to work harder to prepare for it adequately. Considering that in times of such dire stress that not everyone will live, there will be choices that we have to make to survive. We have to prepare our environment, our food, our shelters, our personal relationships and our relationship with God. It will be up to everyone to take more responsibility for the world and what is happening.

Technology can be used for good or evil. Computerized access cards and other methods of keeping track of people from drivers’ licenses to checking accounts, credit cards, eye scans and finger prints can be used to amass a great amount of information about an individual. Databases that make data more available to whomever wants it, for whatever reason and for whatever price may also accompany us into the Aquarian Age. One cannot really blame the technology when it is abused. It is basically how the information is used that can create problems.

But let us not dwell on these negative things. Avoiding these negative outcomes is one reason we are proposing a new star map and trying to initiate Aquarian Age consciousness now. Let us bring it to light in a positive sense, let us bring association, brotherhood and sisterhood to the whole of humanity, and break down cultural problems or disagreement or national conflicts. We can put an end to war. We need to live and work together in order for the human race to survive. Each person and family contributes to our common future together. Human life is precious.

Humanity is progressing, however some of the old ways are still strong. There are still many people with prejudices that are a cancer upon the future of mankind, and we will not progress until we can find a common bond beyond our regional, cultural, and national chauvinism, beyond our cities, our colors, our language, our way of expressing our beliefs, our ethnicity, our wealth or poverty. There is a purpose for everyone on Earth - there should be a future for each and every person. The necessity of preserving life has to extend from this moment into the far future. We need every bit of genetic diversity within the human species and all the animal species as well.

The world, and our freedom of consciousness in it is a gift to humanity. We are saying "use it now," because there could be major unexpected problems at any time. What if the poles moved and the axis shifted? There may be a comet coming in 2028; the Mayans say there will be a new era coming around 2012. A new millennium is here. Our future and our success will be based on seeing how far we can go and be.

We can be happier, we can have hope, hope for our children, for our children’s children, for generations to come. We are the creators of the future and everyone has to help contribute to that. When we realize this we can really make a difference by helping to make the world more fair, by bringing more happiness to ourselves, to our families, to our neighbors and communities, and to people around the world. The future depends on what we can do together, because we can no longer tolerate governments and corporations riding herd over the general populations of the world, making them live in terror of this weapon or that, this ideology or that. Democracies have the idea right about equality, freedom and justice. People need to think about what democracy is, what it means. It involves being free and being able to extend that freedom to everybody to end their own tyrannies, being able to give them hope and reason, giving their lives meaning.

Humans definitely have a destiny. We are advancing in a way that allows our spirits to be more free, to communicate over much greater distances, to share ideals and visions. We want to usher in a New Age which allows everybody a vote, which encourages everybody to take responsibility not only for themselves, but for all beings on Earth; the animals, the plants, the environments, the oceans, the fish. It is in this spirit that we propose an official start to the Aquarian Age.

CONCLUSION

There is a type of millennial energy coming. Humanity is progressing at warp speed to fulfill a date with destiny. It will be something that is not only associated with millenniums, but is also associated with the New Age, the Aquarian Age. People attach much to this particular millennium change.

Human beings are just one of many species in this area of the galaxy. We have particular capabilities that stretch beyond our knowledge, but we do not know how we got these capabilities; they are just built in. Humans can have dexterity, intelligence, understanding, telepathy and other types of mental powers. Telepathy, telekinesis and other forms of extra sensory perception- particularly in prophecy and fortune telling are going to be commonplace. Intuition is going to be second nature. Our sixth senses are our birthright. These kinds of talents do not just come from anywhere. They come from everywhere. The New Age is going to elevate all those with consciousness. Because consciousness is universal, it needs no boundaries. It only uses time and space. Through a union of mental understanding and technology we will extend beyond the level of electronic means into spiritual realms and astral associations.

There may be a long transition period comprised of varying states of acceptance. Many people will cling to the familiar and not make it into the Age of Aquarius, while others might already be living in it. And for those of us who want to join them, all we have to do is acknowledge and agree upon it. It is simple agreement, making us ready to accept the global equality of humanity. The reason for working together becomes the common sharing of the wealth of information and resources that are available at this time.

Humanity will be opening a birthday present with the Aquarian Age . We may have guests around the cake, perhaps even be with beings we may have never seen. Best wishes for futures that extend out millions and billions of years when we are at last able to accept that we ARE going somewhere, that we are going beyond just another calendar new year and into the Age of Aquarius.