A Cosmic Clock
The Hermetic maxim, As Above, So Below, guards the first of the revelatory keys to Reality. That the Above, as represented by the stars in heaven, is inherently cyclic in nature is self-evident, and a corollary to this first maxim.
The history of humanity provides us the opportunity to observe how this maxim and its corollary are expressed on Earth. As suggested by Dane Rudhyar, the three remote planets of our solar system, Pluto (PL), Neptune (NE) and Uranus (UR), are probably associated with esoteric influences beyond the scope of the individual and, as a consequence, are most closely related with Humanity as a whole.
The last time PL-NE-UR aligned in conjunction was around 600 B.C. The slowest moving planet (PL) can be considered as the referent point against which the movements of the other two planets can be measured. It so happens that a PL-NE conjunction occurs approximately every 500 years. Moreover, it takes 8 PL-NE conjunctions (~2000 years) to produce a triple PL-NE-UR conjunction. Therefore, a Hermetic chronometer, called "Hermetic" in honor to the Thrice Greatest (2^3=8) Hermes Trismegistus, can be devised to correlate milestones in the history of humanity.
A first and preliminary attempt to study the correlations between this cosmic clock and the history of humanity has been recently published. We recommend its reading without necessarily endorsing all of its conclusions. In fact, important milestones, such as the publication of the Secret Doctrine (1888) and the Great Invocation (1945) are conspicuously absent. Still, this important research provides a very useful framework, and a VISION, that should help us orient ourselves as we approach the New Millennium.
Among the most enlightened constructs provided in this work is the division of human history into 8 epochs corresponding to PL-NE conjunctions, namely:
| I. Classical Age (Greece, 577- 83 B.C.) | V. Renaissance (Western Europe, until 1892) |
| II. Imperial Age (Rome, until A.D. 411) | VI. Age of Revolution (Imperial USA, until 2385) |
| III. Dark Ages (Byzantium, until 905) | VII. Light Age (?, until 2878) |
| IV. Age of Chivalry (Feudal, until 1399) | VIII.Mythic Age (?, until 3372) |
The symmetrical relationship between epochs I and V, as well as between epochs II and VI, are astounding, supporting the belief in the reappearance of the Christ, the Lord Maitreya, around the comparable time in which Jesus walked on Earth, but 180 degrees apart (2025), as prophesied in the Alice Bailey books in 1945.
Two major ticks of this grand cosmic clock have occurred during this century, the first time ever that humanity is simultaneously aware of the existence of UR (1781), NE (1846) and PL (1930). First, the 1966 PL-UR conjunction which triggered the cultural revival of the 1960s. Second, the 1993 NE-UR conjunction which triggered the political renewal of the 1990s. Both of these events merit to be considered within the framework proposed in this work.