Edwin Stuart

Entropy and Alchemy: the Problem of Individuality in an Age of Society Edwin Stuart

The Age of Pisces is dying, and the figure of Jesus no longer serves as an example on how to lead our lives. We are in the early stages of Aquarius and still trying to figure out what it all means. Philosophically these are hard times, sort of like the saying, "Brother, can you spare a paradigm." The Astrological Ages always involve a polarity between opposite signs-in this case, Aquarius and Leo. "Entropy" is a metaphor for the lower side of The Age of Society (Aquarius), while alchemy is our collective progress. The past few centuries have seen the great social and technological advances that are the hallmark of Aquarius, but they have been accompanied by cultural decay and a loss of symbolic meaning and true individuality. Instead we see a near obsession with superficial forms of self-expression (the lower side of Leo), which may be a reaction to the increasing uniformity and pervasive organization of Aquarius. Other cultures react against the impersonal, secular modernity of Aquarius with a fervent religious fundamentalism or blind loyalty to an undemocratic Leo-like leader; but in either case, resolving this dichotomy between Aquarius and Leo, society and the individual, is one of the keys to civilization's future.