By Blavatsky's reckoning the Piscean Age closed at the end of the nineteenth century and the new age began around 1900. Other calculations point to the 2100s. The writings of the Tibetan Master, however, contain many indications that 1945 is the definite starting point of the new cycle.
The hundred-year occult cycle
According to the Tibetan, the concentrated influence of Leo, Capricorn and Pisces, together with the rising energy of Aquarius, began in 1875, gained momentum in 1925, reached its highest expression for good or ill in 1945, and then slowly declined until 1975. These three constellations are mysteriously related to the fourth kingdom in nature, the human family.
The three full moons of 1945
- IApril, the Easter full moon. The Restoring Forces began their work for about five weeks.
- IIMay, the Wesak full moon. The Forces of Enlightenment became active and light began to pour into human minds. These are the energies that started the new world education.
- IIIJune, the Gemini full moon. The Christ consciously took up His task as Teacher and Leader for the Aquarian solar cycle and set the Forces of Reconstruction in motion.
The Christ is therefore spoken of as the first of the great World Teachers to span two zodiacal cycles, Pisces and Aquarius. The work of the Aquarian period is said to last some two and a half thousand years.
The entry of the Sun into Aquarius is an astronomical fact that anyone can verify by writing to an observatory; it is not an astrological prediction.The Reappearance of the Christ (RC), p. 80, paraphrased
Saturn and the Probationary Path
As we enter the first decanate of Aquarius Saturn is intensely active, because humanity itself now stands upon the Probationary Path. Saturn's full purpose for humanity can only now be realised, because for the first time humanity has reached a general level of intelligence that can turn choice into conscious, responsible action.
No man's land: the period of Libra
In this interlude between the passing Piscean and the coming Aquarian activity, the influence of Libra becomes steadily more pronounced. A Master of Wisdom described this sign as "the lord of no man's land". Neither fully old nor fully new, this period is a kind of antechamber to the Aquarian Age. Some commentators see 2035 as a fuller entry into Aquarian energies and a gradual departure from this intermediate zone.
Dawn or dusk?
The difference between these dates comes less from contradiction than from the nature of transition. Dawn and night overlap. Even so, it matters to know what hour it is: is it time to rise, or still time to sleep? The 1945 that Bailey points to is one of the clearest answers to that question.