School of Esoteric AstrologyTR

Learning Path · The Aquarian Age

The Piscean Age and the Transition to Aquarius

We are living in a transition between the Piscean Age, with its emphasis on authority and belief, and the Aquarian Age, with its emphasis on individual understanding and direct knowledge.

The Tibetan Master takes this transition down to the atoms of the body: atoms that are predominantly Piscean begin to slow their activity and withdraw, while those sensitive to the new age tendencies are stimulated and their vibration quickens. We stand on the threshold of new knowledge, and the body is being attuned to receive it.

The age of the sixth ray

The Piscean Age is the age of the sixth ray, of devotion and idealism. For two thousand years Western civilisation lived within the thought-forms of this ray. Its gift is one-pointed loyalty to an ideal and the urge to reach beyond the seen; its shadow is fanaticism, rigidity and blind belief. Its influence is now withdrawing, yet for the masses it is still the most powerful ray.

The four ideals of Pisces

Education in the New Age lists four ideals shaped by the Piscean Age. They have done necessary work for humanity, served their purpose, and now reached the point of crystallisation.

  1. The idea of authority. Political, educational, social and religious paternalism; sometimes kindly protection, sometimes imposed power.
  2. The value of sorrow and pain. These virtues are real, but the emphasis was so overdone that humanity learned to live in fearful expectation, postponing its reward until after death. According to Bailey the keynote of the new age will be joy.
  3. Self-sacrifice. The idea has shifted from the individual to the group; yet the only true sacrifice is self-initiated. Sacrifice imposed by force is the subjection of one will to another.
  4. The satisfaction of desire. The belief that material production and possession bring happiness. It is now plain that possessions can be a burden, and the turn towards simplicity is gathering pace.

Not alone, but together

One of the most striking aspects of the transition is the form of initiation. Those who belong to the Piscean Age pass through the portal of initiation alone, as separate identities. The Tibetan Master says that in the new age people will pass through it together, in group formation. The progress of the group can then be speeded or hindered by each member; responsibility and opportunity are shared.

Changing questions in education

In the Piscean Age young people were raised with three silent questions: How much of the material world can I possess? How high can I climb the social ladder? How can I escape the penalties of my natural tendencies? The education of the new age will turn from memory training towards relationship, responsibility and finding the purpose of the soul.