The end of the world is coming… it’s a sure thing. Certainly within 100 years, you will no longer be able to read this, because you will be dead and gone. It is quite a worrisome thing of course, but humans have a wonderful ability to forget their coming demise, on the surface at least.
There are people who like to universalize dying though, so we can all go at once. This idea that the end of the world could come in our lifetime has been considerably facilitated by Christianity, and a whole chapter is devoted to it in Revelations. (Note 1)
There is nothing new about the apocalypse or apocalyptic thought. In Matthew 16:28 Jesus himself said “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Subsequently every period of history has had its Armageddon moment. There were many stories of apocalyptic paranoia at the turn of the first millennium – Y1K – but when Christ failed to return at this time, the date was pushed to the 1000th anniversary of the crucifixion. But still no go. And of course we have had our own millennium bug – Y2K – but it was after all not catching.
In the early 16th century about 20,000 people abandoned their homes as astrologers predicted floods in London heralding the end times. (Note 2) Later astrologer Richard Harvey predicted the end of the world because of a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces in 1583, and Martin Luther thought that the End would occur no later than 1600. Personally Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my door about 20 years ago, assuring me that the end of the world was coming, because the European Union was increasing in size to include 12 countries, a number of great significance. With membership now at 20+ there has been no second coming.
Performance artist Laurie Andersen tells a story about her grandmother, who was Southern Baptist Holy Ruler and had a very clear idea about the future, and of how the world would end. She recalls the day her grandmother died. She was very excited, and dressed up for the big moment when Christ was to come to get her. But at the very last minute – after a whole life of praying and predicting the end of the world – she panicked because she couldn’t decide whether or not to wear a hat. (Note 3) There is a certain cachet in being part of a select group designated for the Promised Land, whether this be Christian, Muslim or connected with an intergalactic race who will pluck you and your fortunate group off the doomed planet. But a free pass through purgatory is not so cheaply bought. A hat will not do the trick.
Anyway, now the end of the world is coming, and you need to be ready for December 21st, 2012. This is the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar, popularized by Jose Arguelles in the book “The Mayan Factor”. This is the time when the winter solstice sun aligns with the Galactic Equator, which is something that happens every 25,800 years – otherwise known as a Great Age. The Mayans were obviously pretty good at cosmology, although it is difficult to measure this alignment with precision. Astronomers today contend that it took place in 1998 but allow 18 years each side of this date, from 1980 – 2016. (Note 4)
But of course, you do not have to have studied astrology for long to get a little frisson about 2012, because June 24th 2012 is the date of the first of seven Uranus/Pluto squares (the last being in 2015), which is an event that takes place twice during the course of the rather irregular 120+ year conjunction cycle of these two planets. Bearing in mind that the last square took place in the ideological insanity of the 1930’s when Hitler and Stalin exercised a hypnotic hold on enormous population masses, a certain nervousness could be expected.
As it turns out I was reminded of the imminent demise of the world by a client who visited recently. Adam (not his real name) has been so kind as to allow me to use his horoscope to illustrate the phenomenon of apocalyptic thinking.
Horoscope data private
I was to learn that this person had a large property where he has lived with his parents. He had slowly taken over the administration of the property, but as his father had recently died, he was now confronted by urgent demands from the family to fully take over, which would be a costly affair. I always work with the consultation chart for the client’s arrival, which tends to magnify the here and now issues the client is facing, and I use the first 10 minutes to describe the situation without having any knowledge of the client’s current circumstances… to prove the credentials of astrology so to speak.
Horoscope data private
The position of the moon at the very end of Capricorn in the 8th house shows the client both traumatized and exhausted. In fact he wants his freedom – the sextile to Uranus on the 11th – and he will soon let go of the yoke he is carrying on his shoulders… the Moon will soon leave Capricorn. He turned up 7 minutes early, which placed Pluto exactly on the Descendant, which indicated a sense of being opposed by implacable and powerful forces.
Note the astonishing parallels between the birth chart and the consultation chart. Mars is sextile Saturn in both and the Sun and Mars are in Aries/Leo with almost exactly the same number of degrees between them. Clearly this is a tough guy, normally very positive, confident and full of life. What is killing him is the Moon in detriment in Capricorn, conjoining the North Node, opposing Saturn in fall in Cancer, and square Pluto.
Thirty-six years have gone by since his birth – a Saturn/Pluto cycle – which means the square has reproduced itself and once again activates the Moon! A fact highlighted by his arrival with the Descendant on his natal Moon, which Pluto is now transiting. These were at least the points I highlighted in the first ten minutes, speaking of the need to break free from a crushing family situation characterized by maternal domination. It hit the mark fairly well, and the story came out about how he felt pressured to take over the property and buy the family out, perpetuating the family heritage. Something I naturally urged him not to do… Pluto knows when to consign something harmful to the dustbin of history.
Having won his confidence, he leaned over conspiratorially and said – well you can see the other thing too, right? Which I couldn’t. “You know… 2012″ he whispers. Now I couldn’t drag my family to see the film (Note 5), not even for the sake of an article, but I know my Mayan Factor. I have had clients who know that the destruction of the Twin Towers was an inside job, and that the moon landing in 1969 never actually took place, but this was my first 2012 person. I suggested tongue in cheek – with impregnable Moon in Capricorn constellating with invincible Saturn/Pluto – that this was the time to start thinking about build a very robust bunker. But he was ahead of me… he was already examining the possibility of building a bunker in the Nevada desert. Could I see the possibility of a move? Well, with the next aspect of the moon in the consultation chart to be a trine to an exalted Saturn in the 5th, which ruled the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th houses, and of course the current transit of Pluto to the moon, later to be followed by Uranus and Jupiter activating the whole T-square, a move with partner and children did seem rather likely.
But why does Adam think the world will end, and why does he think it is crucial to survive it? It seemed a very disempowering view, and also very likely a view that would alienate those dear to him – the Pluto on the consultation Descendant. I tried out a few arguments: What if he died tomorrow, would he be worried about the end of the world? Or: He was going to die anyway within about 50 years, as would his family. But this cut no ice… this was about the survival of humanity. Obviously with his Moon in the 4th conjunction the node he was thinking of long-term survival of the family heritage. But, I interjected, didn’t he think that the US government would have their own bunker, bigger and better, and that if humanity was to survive they would ensure it? No, they could not be entrusted with the task. Well, reason will always lose the battle against irrational anxiety, but it was interesting trying.
But back to his original question… could I see 2012 in his horoscope? Well, here’s the thing. Adam has Mars in Aries in the 8th house, so he is looking for a life-threatening situation that he can survive with energy and initiative. The magic is this: Mars in Adam’s horoscope has progressed from the 8th house to the 9th house and from Aries into Taurus. Currently it is at 9.09 Taurus. In December 2012 it will be at 9.16 Taurus and it goes no further. Mars stops, and so does Adam’s world. So if you had Mars going stationary in Taurus in the 9th house, wouldn’t you think of traveling to the US to build a bunker and sit things out?
Adam explained that the world would end on December 21st 2012 at 11.11 and that the cause would be a reversal of the poles. The North Pole will become the South Pole, which means the earth will start rotating in the opposite direction. The cause of this is a dramatic change in the magnetic field of the sun, which apparently happens with regularity. (Note 6). This knowledge was available to the Mayans and also to the Egyptians. This reminds me of the Islamic prophecy that the sun will rise in the West in the latter days prior to Judgment Day. (Note 7). Adam is starting to worry me.
It is fascinating to see that in 2012 Pluto will be transiting Adam’s nodal axis as Uranus squares it. It is not exactly a solar cataclysm but definitely enough to get those poles wobbling. And considering that Adam visits me just months before his nodal return, which takes place age 37, it is understandable that he is concerned that fate has something special in store for him. Life as he knows it cannot continue as it has hitherto. As far as I am concerned, the idea of him continuing the family business is beginning to seem more and more unlikely.
I am beginning to think that Adam does not need a bunker for himself, his wife and his many children. He needs a bunker busting bomb. The bunker has always been there, and the crushing burden of his Moon/Saturn/Pluto constellation has evoked more and more defensive behavior, year after year… layer upon layer of defense until he no longer can or dare feel what is going on in the family environment. Now the bomb has arrived, and its arrival was written, not in Mayan or Egyptian glyphs millennia ago, but in the Saturn/Pluto/Node planetary cycle which marks out the age of 37 as the end time. The end of the vice-like grip of family karma. Are not the hours that Adam spends googling the year 2012, indeed whole nights at his computer researching the Apocalypse, displaced anxiety about the upheavals that lie ahead for him personally? With his mother struggling with cancer, and his father recently dead, confronted with a business proposition that may (or may not) make his mother happy, but which he personally dreads, the end of the world might not seem so bad. Especially if you have that bunker.
But it is not easy to sell the idea of psychological displacement to someone busy preparing for the Apocalypse. And, hey, I could be wrong, so just in case storm clouds start gathering towards the end of 2012, I have his cell phone number. I hope he’ll let me in.
Adrian Duncan 20.04.2010
Note 1: Personally I find Revelations quite a comforting section of the bible, because it seems to herald a new age in which knowledge of astrology plays a key role.
Revelation 22, 1-2
Then he showed me the river of the water of life bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Note 2: See “A Brief History of the Apocalypse: http://www.abhota.info/end1.htm
Note 3: Google “The End of the World” lyrics – Laurie Andersen.
Note 4: Check out the astronomical details here:
http://2012wiki.com/index.php?title=Galactic_Alignment
Note 5: The film 2012 was made in 2009 and is based on the idea of a world catastrophe and the struggle to survive it.
Note 6: Patrick Geryl: The Orion Prophecy
Note 7: Abu Hurayrah narrates that Mohammed said, “The day of the hour will not come until the sun rises from the west…”