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The New Age -- What Is It?
by Michael Maciel
Concerning the New Age, there's good news, and there's bad news. The good news is
that it's here. The bad news is that we won't know what it is for another 400-500
years. This is the way it has always been. Just as the hottest days of summer come
several weeks after the longest day of the year, the predominant aspects of an astrological
age show themselves outwardly centuries after the age has begun.
At the same time, the impulse is strongest at the outset. This is when the World
Teacher will appear to set the patterns and demonstrate the new energy. He or she
will emerge from the traditions of the preceding age, using its forms and rituals,
but adding new forms and rituals to evoke the unique energies of the dawning sign.
Jesus did this when he incorporated the animal sacrifices of the temple altar, while
replacing the animal with himself (the Lamb of God), showing that outer sacrifice
was no longer sufficient to gain the atonement. The new conditions of the Piscean
Age demanded a more powerful symbolic act, one that hit closer to home.
The Evolution of Sacrifice
One can see the logical progression from human sacrifice to animal sacrifice and
from animal sacrifice to self-sacrifice. At the dawn of the Arian Age, human sacrifice
was replaced with animal sacrifice. This is illustrated in the mythological story
of Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son, Isaac. At the last moment, God stops him,
providing a ram (the symbol for Aries) instead. After Jesus went willingly to his
own death, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the old protocol dismantled, and
animal sacrifice ceased to play a role in the Western Tradition.
The shift from animal sacrifice to personal sacrifice also de-legitimized the belief
that heaven could be bought. Animals equaled wealth, and if one was wealthy, it meant
that he had favor with God. Hinduism was more explicit in this than Judaism -- favor
with God meant "good karma" or past-life merit. Material wealth became
synonymous with holiness, and the caste system was off and rolling. Every time Jesus
scolded the rich or blasted the institutionalized moral superiority of the priestly
class, he was overturning the caste system -- the notion that one could be born into
virtue, and then do whatever he liked. Salvation did not depend upon what race (or
religion) you were born into, but by the purity of your heart and your capacity to
love.
This is the political/historical meaning of the "second birth." One must
leave the religious matrix he or she is born into and become the offspring of that
which the religion points to, and mot merely a card-carrying member who pays his
dues.
The Precession of the Equinoxes
It's interesting that we experience the astrological ages in reverse order. This
is called the "precession of the equinoxes." In the calendar year, Pisces
comes after Aquarius, but we are leaving the Piscean Age and entering the Aquarian
Age. The energies appear to weave together in opposite directions, as though to illustrate
the illusory nature of time. It's almost as though we are living from the future,
or, like Merlin, living our lives backwards.
Defining Aquarius
Our attempts to define the New Age will be thwarted, as long as we try to understand
it in terms of the old. There will surely be elements of the old that will be incorporated
into the new, but already we are seeing significant differences on all levels, things
distinctly Aquarian in nature.
-- Spiritual development is accelerated.
It has a lightning strike quality to it, bringing changes faster than before.
-- The nature of the energy itself is more electrical, corresponding to the nerve
energies of our bodies, manifesting as inner light experiences, and making it easier,
for example, to see auras and past-life records.
-- Old forms are being dissolved as the Water Bearer of Aquarius pours out his vibratory
energy upon the encrusted earth. The caste system will finally come to an end as
the old pattern of privilege by right of birth is replaced with universal social
justice, which recognizes that human rights apply to everyone, regardless of race,
gender, or bloodline.
-- The world is becoming transparent. The influx of the new energy is lighting everything
up from within. Nature's deepest secrets are being revealed with an ever-increasing
frequency, as well as the workings of our mind.
-- The trend is toward profound humanism (Aquarius is a very human sign) and individuation.
Paradoxically, the focus is on the way we interact with each other. A new social
contract is emerging, one of "team" -- the conscious participation of free
individuals as individuals, within a hierarchical structure ruled by consensus
instead of a supposed nobility in possession of an intrinsic moral superiority.
Putting the Pedal to the Metal
The best way we can contribute to the advent of the New Age is to use the new energy
it offers. The only way to set new patterns is to live them. All things electrical
are important now -- not just the kind that comes out of the wall socket, but the
idea of instantaneous communication, which is its chief characteristic. Our minds
and our spirits have been "electrified." Healing touch and mental imagery
have been turned way up. Global communications technology is dissolving international
borders. In a few short years, the countries of Europe will form their own federation,
and the world political scene will be unrecognizable. Everywhere, the world will
be different, and our perception of it will be fundamentally altered.
Will the Real Avatar Please Stand Up
At present, we do not have a single individual whom we can acknowledge as the new
World Teacher. But then, prophets are never fully recognized in their own time. Perhaps,
there will be more than one, and someday they will be combined into a mythic personage
who will embody the Aquarian aspects in their entirety. Until then, there will undoubtedly
be much confusion as the spiritual and religious traditions vacillate between the
new and the old. It is incumbent upon those who are willing to embrace the new to
continue in their explorations and experimentation. We are all metaphysical scientists
now. Expect to be challenged, however. Candle flames always flare right before they
go out.
Michael Maciel lives in Omaha, Neb., and is the author of the website INTU, located
at www.intu.org. Ordained in 1972, Mike has led seminars and classes in Omaha and
Kansas City for the past 10 years. He specializes in the interpretation of ancient
spiritual teachings in the light of contemporary scientific understanding. Contact
him at editor@intu.org
Copyright (c) 2002 Michael Maciel
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