LightShift 1997

'The author of The Grand Catharsis shines light on the shift of the ages,
the 1997 awakening flashpoints, and the consciousness of Aquarius.'

By Ken Kalb


Cosmic lightning and heavenly fire welcome 1997, potentially the most significant transformation year of our lives! The ethers are powerfully charged with amplified amperage as we pass through several key astrological flashpoints during the first quarter of the year. We are all purifying and preparing for a series of powerful leaps this new year.

The year commences with a conjunction of giants Jupiter and Neptune in late Capricorn, promising a positive expansion of imagination and spiritual consciousness. On January 21st, benevolent Jupiter enters the radiant air of Aquarius for a year of growth and breakthroughs in all realms Aquarian and Uranian. A synchronized global meditation and prayer on the archetypal energy of white light, called Gaiamind is scheduled for January 23rd at 9:35 am (pst), on the full Leo Moon. The astrology chart for that day forms a grand hexagram or Merkaba of energy, representing an activation of the light/spirit/body within the collective consciousness of all humanity.

These flashpoints are a prelude to one of the most significant planetary alignments of the century. On Valentine's weekend, February 14, 15, and 16, Jupiter and Uranus make a rare conjunction in Aquarius, with the Sun, Mercury, and Venus also in this sign of the new age we have just enteredæsextiling Pluto in Sagittarius. This is a launching pad for positive change, brilliant innovation, and wild optimism and upliftment. For those searching for the miraculous, you will find it percolating through the effervescent moments of your life.

In my book, The Grand Catharsis, I designated the Spring Equinox of 1996 as the shifting point from the Piscean to the Aquarian age. The two principal demarcators of this shift were the movements of Pluto into Sagittarius for the first time in 247 years, and Uranus into the sign of its rulership Aquarius, for the first time in 84 years. The transit of these two unconscious planets of transformation and awakening from water and earth signs, to fire and air signs represents a lightening, brightening and spiritualization of human consciousness. There was only one other time in this millennium when they occupied these positionsæa time history records as The Enlightenment. A surprise blue-green comet called Hyukatake flashed across the Spring skies to signifiy this shift of the ages, and fullfill an ancient Hopi prophecy.

This upcoming Valentine Alignment is the flashpoint when the age starts feeling truly new, and genuinely Aquarian; expanding and amplifying the magnificent potential of the human spirit to its greatest heights and finest glory. In the spirit of Saint Valentine's angel, there will be a powerful opening of kundalini love and light energy. Breakthroughs, inventions, surprises, shifts, and changes for the betterment of our lives and humanity promise to be born. Mergers and alliances on many levels will occur like molten lava, as the world transforms. Quantum technological advances, inventions, long awaited health developments, a cultural renaissance in music, the arts, architecture, communications, information exchange, and space exploration and disccovery will soar into new dimensions. Expansion of alternative lifestyles, community living, as well as new modalities of social and political organization and monetary exchange will take form. Health breakthroughs like wave form and light medicine, magnetic technologies and other cutting edge therapies will help diminish human sufffering. Electric cars and bikes will start running down the roads, and alternative and free energy will flourish. A humanitarian consciousness of we instead of me will permeate the spirit of human endeavor. A yearning for a brighter vision that all living beings can share will be dared by more and more who care.

Of course, there will also be negative manifestions of contrasting Aquarian polarities. The dark side of this amplified Aquarian energy could take the form of terrorism and accidents, uprisings and rebellions, lawlessness and anarchy, insanity, instability, weirdness and confusion. Global hotspots like the Middle East, China, Korea, and Eastern Europe could explode. Expect an amplification of some wild scenarios of sensationalized millennium madness by those cashing in on people's fears and vulnerabilities. Earth changes, ruled by Uranus are ripe at this time, though I don't expect the massive shifts until the window between the total solar eclipse of August, 1999 and the May 2000 grand planetary alignmen (See The Grand Catharsis) There will be an increasing polarization between those on a path of renewal and light, and one of fear and control. Bright light casts cold dark shadows.

This Spring will be greeted by the arrival of perhaps the largest comet of the century, Hale-Bopp, which will infuse the heavens with a fiery new element of extraterrestrial energy. The comet train which rained into Jupiter in the Summer of 1994 rang the final bell lap of the Piscean age. Hyukatake, perhaps the blue star kachina of Hopi prophecy, heralded the shift into Aquarius in the Spring of 1996. Now, huge Hale-Bopp will signify the ignition and amplification of this light shift in consciousness and the manifestation into tangibility of creative new modalities which are engendered in our rapidly changing lives.

Let's focus on Uranus and Aquarius to better understand the alchemy of this force field of emerging new consciousness.

Aquarius has specific rule over the ethers, so as we pass through this flashpoint portal, the closer we merge with this etheric dimension, a heirarchy above mundane material existence. This is the domain where angels reside, and the Aquarian period is one where the angel within will be self realized, and where many will merge with this etheric light of higher consciousness, along with its enhanced wisdom, knowledge, sensitivity, and vision. This higher vibrational field is also where the etheric bodies of many master souls like Saint Germaine, the Buddha or Jesus reside, so rising into unity with this consciousness is how the so-called Second Coming is truly realized, or whatever name one wishes to call the awakened state; be it oneness, bliss, nirvana, heaven, samadhi, christ consciousness, universal love, or simply, happiness. Access to higher consciousness will now be available to anyone who devotes their lives to a spiritual quest.

In Aquarius we see the symphonic union of art, music, science, and spirituality, as well as humanitarian statesmanship and revolutionary reform. Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt, futurist Jules Verne, inventor Thomas Edison, scientist Charles Darwin, reformer Thomas Paine, actress Oprah Winfrey, musicians Mozart and Schubert, and rastaman Bob Marley were all solar Aquarians. Futurologist Buckminster Fuller, inventor Nikola Tesla, and rebel actor James Dean, all have Aquarius prominent in their charts. Aquarius is the resplendent sign where we take things to the limit, then move a step beyond.

You may notice a gender inconsistency in references to Aquarius. This is because this sign is the divine hermaphrodite, combining male and female, yin and yang, god and goddess, Sun and Moon, water and spirit; portrayed in the interplay of these polarities in effervescent movement by the two wavy lines of its electric glyph. Aquarius is Diana the water bearer, clothed in the Sun, standing on the Moon, crowned with the jewels of the twelve star signs, and infused with the wisdom of the keywords, I know. In the Tarot, Aquarius is card 17 of the major arcana, a luminous angel being called The Star. It follows card 16, The Tower, symbolizing the destruction of the ego by cosmic lightning, and the rebirth of spiritual consciousness. In mythology, Aquarius was Ganymede the cup bearer of the gods, Zeus' lover who became transformed into the constellation Aquarius. This divine marriage of masculine and feminine natures will help nurture and shepherd the future away from our masculine dominated history into a more balanced direction. Friendliness, cooperation, and good vibrations should rise in vogue. Joyously overflowing in its true love for others, Aquarius embraces all humanity through its love and divine compassion for human beings and cosmic kinship with all mankind. For as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 'A friend may well be reckoned to be the masterpiece of nature.'

Uranian powered Aquarian energy in its highest evolution is transformative and magical. This sign which synthesizes all of the signs of the zodiac in its etheric incandescence, has the power to transmute the old separative influences of the past to create the future while the present still lives. In this union of past, present, and future radiates the positive, creative, renewing magic of love and inspiration in the eternal now. This is the most potent force and veritable source of the universe.

This planet is now moving into a powerful and magical new force field in this sign and age where all converge into the unity of the christ impulse from our vast diversity, where the divinity in every human being glows.

1997 is a year of light shift A time when the radiance of Aquarius will ignite within all of our lives. A time when we join together with others of like mind and heart in new consciousness to cocreate a brighter vision for a better world. Happy new year!

Ken Kalb is an astrologer, success strategist, and futurist with 25 years experience, author of the highly regarded book, The Grand Catharsis (on special for just $12 postpaid!!), and director of Lucky Star, a brilliant interpretive astrological service operating since 1980. Call for a free brochure (1-800-969-4401). Ken also leads workshops on the national Whole Life Expo tour.
Copyright 1997 Ken Kalb