This reading layers four strands on top of one another: the move from Pisces to Aquarius, the rise of Libra in the planetary horoscope, the ray cycles, and the long transits of the outer planets. Each is powerful alone; together they help explain why humanity is passing through such an intense period.
The cusp of the ages
The transition between Pisces and Aquarius is an overlap of about five hundred years that began in the eighteenth century; the discovery of Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, in 1781 is one of its signs. The watery nature of Pisces brought emotional sensitivity, compassion and forgiveness; combined with the sixth ray it also produced fanaticism and wars in the name of religion. Its opposite sign Virgo develops discrimination and science, a polarity that came strongly to the fore in the measures taken during the pandemic.
Libra: the bridge between the ages
The Tibetan says that in this interlude between two ages Libra will increasingly come into power in the planetary horoscope, and that there is therefore no need for real anxiety. Libra's main themes are law, relationship and money. Its esoteric ruler Uranus transiting Taurus in the same years stimulated both of these Venus-ruled signs, which is linked to the upheavals around money, value and law.
Ray cycles
- 6The outgoing sixth ray. Idealism and devotion. Its influence is waning, yet many sixth ray souls are still in incarnation; this is why humanity is "at sixes and sevens" with itself.
- 7The incoming seventh ray. Order and organisation. It brings mental detachment in place of emotion, but combined with the sixth ray it can also produce organised fanaticism.
- 3The long third ray cycle. The intense power of materialisation behind the industrial and technological ages. The Tibetan says this ray began to "curve upon itself" in 1875, which tends to produce crystallised forms.
- 4The fourth ray from 2025. The ray that, together with Saturn's influence, will lead many onto the path of discipleship and that teaches the art of living.
The long planetary transits
Pluto in Capricorn (2008–2023) broke down and transformed crystallised power structures in government, business and personal life, bringing what was hidden to the surface. The Saturn–Pluto conjunction of 12 January 2020, a once-in-five-centuries event not seen since the Reformation of 1517, coincided with the pandemic and the economic crisis: Pluto destroys, Saturn rebuilds.
Neptune in Pisces (2011–2025) made humanity's emotional body acutely sensitive. In its lower octave: addiction, deception and confusion; in its higher octave: inspiration, intuition and creativity. Neptune rules the solar plexus and is linked with the heart; for humanity this is an opportunity for a collective move from emotion to the heart.
Uranus in Taurus (2018–2025) shook money and value systems. The same transit in 1934–1941 coincided with the Great Depression and the rise of totalitarian regimes. The square between Uranus and Saturn in Aquarius expressed the tension between the old order and revolutionary reform.
The Saturn–Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius (21 December 2020) joins Saturn's mind with Jupiter's heart. It last occurred in Aquarius in the thirteenth century, during Europe's early Renaissance; it is read as the herald of a new renaissance and is the first of a series in the air signs over the next forty years.
The significance of 2025
- The once-a-century Conclave of the Hierarchy and Shamballa.
- The beginning of the fourth ray's return into incarnation.
- Pluto's entry into Aquarius (2023–2024).
- Neptune and Saturn entering Aries and Uranus entering Gemini (2025–2026); Jupiter entering Cancer, its sign of exaltation (2025).
- Aries inaugurates a new cycle: Neptune's entry into Aries marks a period in which the old dissolves and the new is seeded.
These dates should be read not as a prophetic calendar but as windows of opportunity. As Bailey reminds us, the spiritual climax in the West was expected between 1965 and 2025; for many aspirants and disciples the real question today is whether they will take the next step at this threshold.