The Age of Aquarius is an Astrological Age derived from the Precession of the Equinoxes, when the Vernal Equinox (March) will have precessed into Aquarius. Currently we are considered to be in the Age of Pisces, which is assumed to begin around 1 AD/CE.
The vernal equinox is when the Sun appears to cross Earth's equator heading north, and marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and the start of fall in the southern hemisphere. It is also when the Sun enters the sign of Aries (in the Tropical Zodiac), also called the Aries Point.
The Aries point has travelled backwards through the sign of Pisces (the sign before Aries) and is about to move into Aquarius (the sign before Pisces). Precession creates a gap between the Tropical and Sidereal zodiacs, which is currently about 25°. It is this precession gap between Earth's seasons and the constellations that creates the so-called Ages.
The Age of Aquarius is probably the best known Age, thanks to the 1967 song Age of Aquarius from the Broadway musical Hair and made popular by the Fifth Dimension. The Age of Aquarius is assumed to begin around when the vernal equinox regresses all the way through Pisces and into Aquarius.
However, it is a matter of much debate as to when the Aries point moves into Aquarius. No one can say for sure when the Age of Aquarius begins due to a number of reasons:
- There are no distinct lines to indicate where one constellation ends and the next one begins. These modern-day boundaries are drawn by astronomers who work with the constellations for an entirely different purpose than astrology. And different cultures in different times of history
- The width of each constellation is vastly different, whereas the zodiac signs are measured in equal 30° segments.
- The astrological ages might correspond precisely with the width of the constellations or the 30° width of the zodiac signs.
- Since we're talking about such a long period of time, the change of one Age into another might be more meaningfully seen as a gradual transformation over many years, rather than a specific date.
- There is also some debate among astrologers about whether the astrological ages are valid at all.
Here's one theory: if each Age is roughly 2,000 years, and if the Age of Pisces began around the time of Jesus Christ, then we are probably now in a transition period from Pisces to Aquarius.
