| The Millennium Papers |
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Celebrating the Millennium Those of us old enough to remember the sixties musical Hair, can never forget the prophetic words: This is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Those of you not old enough to remember the sixties, cannot comprehend the prevailing mind-set which received news of a forthcoming New Age with reactions which ranged from patronising amusement to derision and hostility. Well some thirty years on and the dawn light has certainly risen. The New Age beckons, the millennium is almost upon us. I am here today as a messenger. I bring you a message from the World Parliament of Religions which took place in 1993 in Chicago. This week long assembly was attended by representatives of all major religions. Pagans were represented by the Covenant of The Goddess and the F.O. I. to which I then belonged. The immanent millennium and its significance ran through proceedings as a continuous thread. I am here today to continue this thread. I will begin as we began with the four questions posed to leaders and followers of all traditions. 1. How has your faith tradition responded to the unfolding of science and technology ? 2. What wisdom does your faith tradition offer concerning the legitimate needs of increasing populations and the easing of poverty and injustice without jeopardising the Earth's capacity to support life ? 3. In the face of world-wide tension and violence, much of it religiously influenced what does your faith teach about relations among those who differ in faith, culture race and gender ? 4. What alternative visions can your faith contribute to living peacefully and sustainably with others and with the Earth ? These are practical questions which relate to the concerns of everyday life. Facing these questions reminds us of the relationship between magical-spiritual work and everyday reality. To lose sight of this relationship is a danger. There is an abiding and deep fascination in esoteric and arcane by-ways, the lure of minutiae and the glamour of magical work. Let us as practitioners of esoteric arts, keep our feet on the ground and turn to recognise the very real problems in the world around us. Let us also recognise that we are not the only tradition looking at the world with genuine concern. The impulse to take shelter in the familiarity and security of your home tradition is deep seated and understandable. But in the light of the global community perhaps it is time to emphasise the shared goals rather than the differences. Issues are now global, problems are shared. Bridge building across traditions is difficult and even painful. Isolation and separation is not the Aquarian way. It is clearly one world. The big issues of religion, science, technology, and ecology, raised during the World Parliament are clearly set against the background of the forthcoming millennium. Why should this make any difference whatsoever, I hear your unvoiced thoughts. Will an artificial date in the calendar really make any difference. Won't our divisions, misunderstanding, hatred, fears, violence and ignorance be exactly the same as before. After all isn't this marker just like any and all others. It is too easy to tell ourselves that the approaching landmark is no more than an artefact of the calendar, not even recognised by any faiths following another counting system. How shall we respond to this threshold ? some negative voices have already been raised. Pagans tell me the millennium is only an artefact of the Christian calendar, and I remind them that the precession of the equinox has nothing to do with Christianity. Aquarians tell me that the Aquarian Age does not begin in the year 2,000 and I tell them that I am quite aware of that fact. But we do not wait for the exact time of birth to hold a birthday party. Christians tell me that as the Second Coming is now immanent, nothing further is asked of us, it is all being taken care of. I say to them that should Christ return in all his Glory, I can only hope we will not be asked to account for our stewardship of the planet. This transition is more than a mere quirk of the calendar. Through the subtle movement known as the Precession of the Equinox, spaceship Earth slowly and gradually takes up a new relationship to the zodiacal constellations. The tilted axis of the earth combined with gravitational effects from sun and moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge. creates a 26,000 year cycle known as a Great Year. This cycle is so slow that our north pole gradually points to a succession of different stars and we, the planet subtly alter our position in space relative to the heavens. At intervals of about 2, 100 years the vernal equinox shift in relation to the Sidereal Zodiac. The same movement which causes a slow succession of stars to function as our pole star also creates the age of Aquarius. In each period, the vernal equinox moves seemingly backwards, against the background of the twelve constellations in turn. Thus we move from the Age of Pisces, the 12th sign of the zodiac to Aquarius, the 11th sign. In the future at the vernal equinox the constellation of Aquarius the water bearer not Pisces the fishes will rise on the horizon. Thus the age of Aquarius is not a construct of a counting device but an indication of great cosmic cycles. We stand at an in-between time. Like the wood-between-the worlds, we are neither in one place or the other. The Age of Pisces is at our backs, the Age of Aquarius beckons. the characteristics which have come to define the last cycle are fading. New qualities are coming into being at all levels. The sign of Aquarius is characterised by global communication. Who can have failed to notice the on-going revolution in global communication? We are already part of this revolution. The astrological sign of Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the higher octave of Mercury. As Mercury represents the quicksilver activity of the mind, so Uranus brings the higher aspects of mind into play. As Mercury is the traditional winged messenger so Uranus relays messages at the instant. As Mercury is the trickster, Uranus is the rebel. Where Mercury seeks freedom, Uranus establishes freedom. We can expect all Uranian qualities to find expression. Who can have failed to notice the on going revolution in consciousness, we are part of this revolution. It is this turning which will lead us towards the fulfilment of the Aquarian nature, the spirit of synthesis and inclusiveness which will lead to the realisation of the global human family. The crowning of the Aquarian ideal far away in the future, in the words of the song this is the dawning of the age of Aquarius. The millennium is but a marker of a deeper process, the Aquarian current has been flowing for some time and will continue to gather strength. It is a mistake to believe that the millennium marker really signifies the exact beginning of a new cosmic day. Counting is for our convenience. The real question is, what time is it on the 26,000 year clock. Our calendar provides a rough approximation. As some of you know I work within the Egyptian tradition. This spiritual system was intertwined with the stars and the movements of the heavens. The priesthood were sophisticated watchers of the havens and accordingly developed a dual counting system using solar, lunar and stellar markers. The Egyptians understood the phenomenon of precession and accorded such great cosmic movements a spiritual significance. Egyptian spirituality was built upon a holistic framework that we cannot even begin to emulate. Earth and heaven were united, cycles in heaven were reflected on earth. We know about precession too but outside spiritual traditions where a dualistic mind-set, it is seen as a purely astronomical feature. however we as representatives of various spiritual traditions are already aligned to the heavens. Our solstice and equinox celebrations are cosmic markers. So shall we mark the millennium, rough guide as it is to the cosmic clock? If we as representatives of spiritual traditions choose to ignore, withdraw or disdainfully dismiss this opportunity, others will without doubt enter into the millennium party with glee. Shall we sit quietly as we become swamped by the materialistic jamboree bound to follow in the wake of The New Year of New Years? Shall we pretend we have nothing to say while the Armageddon peddlers grab all the headlines? Are we to sit idly by as this momentous landmark approaches. The Millennium Institute hopes that we as representatives of varied spiritual traditions will not sit idly by. The Institute which figured largely in the preparations for the World Parliament, has outlined or intertwined social political Religious and ecological difficulties in what it calls The Global Problematique. It sees our salvation only in a massive change of course fuelled by the release of spiritual and emotional energy. This is of course a curiously 'New Age' recommendation for a think tank. The immanent millennium provides an opportunity for such a focusing of spiritual and emotional energy. The Institute places great significance on the forthcoming millennial birthday. It states that, 'Deep in the human psyche is a compulsion to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays, and entry into the 21st century will be no exception.' In keeping with the idea of celebration, the Institute has suggested the simplest of all ideas, let us as individuals, groups, communities and even nations give a gift to the earth. As an extension to this theme, it has also proposed an international millennium celebration to be hosted by the Icelandic government at the ancient site of Thingvellir. It is suggested that to mark the sense of transition, the celebrations follow the classical initatory model, a rite of passage for a grand scale. The first phase will provide the opportunity to recognise those qualities and attitudes which no longer serve. The second phase will represent our moment of crossing. The third phase will provide the opportunity to celebrate our new birth with music, song. The theme of gift giving will be central to these celebrations. Gifts will be pledged by national leaders. Such pledges will be bound into the Earth Book which is to be entrusted to the Icelandic Parliament for safe keeping. Whether the Icelandic event comes to pass remains to be seen. Of greater importance is the fact that we may share in this classic pattern and participate in this great rite of passage. In the time honoured initiatory pattern of death and rebirth, we may initiate ourselves into the consciousness of the age to come. I ask you to dwell on those qualities of being which have not served us well in the past and are now totally redundant. I ask you to dwell on those qualities which may serve us better in the future. Magic is fuelled by intent. Magic has the power to create impact far beyond the confines of the ritual circle. Let us as magicians affirm our intent. Let us as magicians move forwards into Aquarian consciousness. The ecological and environmental issues facing us are only too obvious. They are however all manifestations of an attitude to life characterised by separation at every turn. We have separated spirit from matter. This age old dualism lies behind so many current problems. The many crises which confront humanity at this time, are manifestations of the failure to comprehend a simple truth, that we are all interconnected in one vast Life: humans, plants great and small, animals, and every living creature, wind, water, and the very land itself, this is the universal brotherhood that we seek. The environmental and ecological crises, famine, war, oppression, injustice and the whole range of horrors perpetrated by humans upon other humans, and even upon themselves are manifestations of a belief in separation. Separation breeds division and false identification; race turns against race, people against people, people against nature, religion against religion. The failures of the present are rooted in the separatist beliefs of the past. Such core beliefs are deeply ingrained in all institutions whether political, educational or social. The results of affirming separation through the centuries has lie Banquo's ghost come back to haunt us. Fragmentation, disintegration, the rise of violence, the destruction of the living earth, the cult of self are all signs of the death knell of a dying philosophy. We need to shake off outdated ideas, even scientific ones. The Western scientific revolution, the Age of Reason has left its deep trace. The impetus to, dissect, analyse and reduce all to its constituent parts has passed on the notion that all is separate, that all can be understood through reason, that science is superior to religion. This dependence on science has lead us into a dangerous blind alley. Science and religion were once united. Ancient priesthood's watched stars, created calendars, wrestled with mathematics, developed healing arts, produced works of art and codified branches of knowledge. This is a time of transition. We are moving from the Age of Separation into the Age of Unity. Separation, the intellectual gift of the Greeks has run its course and done its damage. We need to affirm Unity, between humanity and nature, between all peoples everywhere and fundamentally between spirit and matter. The time for change is upon us. Old attitudes have failed. We can no longer expect material consumption to sustain us. We cannot bring our children up to expect more and more of everything. We must expand our horizons from the perspective of locality and community to global horizons. It is one world. Sexism, racism, religious intolerance, racial hatred, and bigotry have served us poorly. Let us try compassion, wisdom, sharing and equality. We should not underestimate the psychological value of this landmark in its power to grip the massed human imagination. Gerald Barney, Director of the Millennium Institute, believes that 'Earth's entry into the next millennium is a planetary transitional event and as a mega-anniversary it has potential to reinforce the identity of human beings first and foremost as citizens of earth.' He refers to the millennium marker as it 'as the single most important event in the history of the planet to this point.' This is the time to awaken to Global Consciousness. Outwardly the millennium marker will appear as an event, as a marker in time, as a specific moment. It will be certainly be treated in this way by the media and the massed mind. However, perhaps we who seek to tread the inner path, might see this in terms of a process, albeit with its culminating moment. I for one have no intention of waiting on the moment, though I will no doubt mark that too. My work with Aquarian consciousness has ongoing for a number of years. It is now quickening in pace and will continue to accelerate. The earth is in continuous orbit, it is not in the same place now as when I began this talk. The 26,000 year cycle is continuous. we should therefore see ourselves in a time of transition, moving seamlessly from one light to another as day follows night. I ask you not to wait upon the calendar. Move instead with the great dance of Precession. Ride in the Boat of Millions of Years. It will carry you into the future. The Aquarian Light has already risen. Aquarian consciousness has already dawned. Each time we affirm our understanding through ritual, we anchor the current more firmly in ourselves and our planet. To return to the words of the Global Report. 'Changing course will require an immense amount of energy, not the energy that comes from coal, gas, oil or even nuclear fuel, but rather spiritual and emotional energy.' If you have spiritual energy, if you have emotional energy. Come put your shoulder to the wheel. I will conclude with the words of a sixties song Come, mothers and fathers thoughout the land. And don't criticise what you can't understand. Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command. Your old road is rapidly aging. Please get out on a new one if you can't lend a hand. For the times they are a changing. I put it to you that you are the sons and daughters of the song and the times they are a changing. |
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