The Fish has lately been silenced into grief by the horrors visited on the good people of Ukraine. We shan’t be analysing any of it here, partly because it is all beyond polite vocabulary. But it is impossible not to wonder in open-mouthed disbelief at what Sauron and his orc army of morons are doing to their neighbours with the support of most of his people. It’s medieval.

I recall reading an article many years ago which claimed that Putin was the antichrist. At the time I sucked a thoughtful tooth, raised a sceptical eyebrow and turned the page. I don’t really have a position on antichrists as such, but he’s certainly making a case for himself.

This genocidal insanity shines a filthy light on Russia but also on the way, at a certain level, the world works: the diplomatic complicity, political duplicity, moral cowardice and short-sighted greed; the list is long. Set against a fast-moving backdrop of climate change, it serves to show us exactly where we’re at. And we’ve arrived at where we’re at quicker than we imagined.

Oh for the complacency of the 90s, that Edenic tea-break between the wall and the towers…

Meanwhile, the hour’s getting late and the time for complacency, satire and the pointless re-arranging of deck chairs is over because the tectonic plates of a larger context are grinding and shifting and we can’t ignore it any longer. That larger context, which Plato called the Great Year, is the raison d’etre behind this little blog.

To recap, the 24,000-year orbital journey undertaken by our sun and the rest of the solar system can be separated into ascending and descending halves, each of 12,000 years duration. Each half has its gold, silver, bronze and iron seasons of varying length that are roughly analogous to the seasons in a solar year – gold being summer and iron, winter.

At its zenith are back to back ascending and descending golden ages that combine to create a long summer of harmony on earth (4800 years x 2); at its base, a pair of wintry iron ages (1200 years x 2). In between are the bronze and silver ages of 2400 and 3600 years respectively.

Moving clockwise, the outer ring denotes the metallic Greek ages, the inner ring the twelve signs of the zodiac, (2,000 years each) and the central ring, the Sanskrit names for the prevailing moral and intellectual qualities inherent in each age. Just as there are physical seasons in a solar year, so they have their more subtle counterparts that exert a strong influence human behaviour. Thus, Kali Yuga is the age of ignorance, Dwapara, energy; Treta, mind, and Satya, truth. Essentially, the cycle comprises a long descent into ignorance and a long ascent to sublime truth and peace. And so it goes. 

So where are we in all this? Including transitional phases, we are 300 years + into the ascending Dwapara Yuga, the energy age. That’s the good news – the great news, in fact. The bad news, however, is that the dark ages will not let us go without a fight, seemingly to the death. But we can also see a new, higher consciousness struggling to emerge. And right there is the tension behind the underlying polarity in the world.

In among the wild confusion as the old order comes down are those, seduced by the One Ring, who will do just about anything to maintain power. Any names come to mind? Make whatever great again at absolutely any cost. It’s lunacy, it’s pernicious ignorance, it’s the last kicks of the dark ages, it’s to be expected, and it’s all doomed to fail.

But let us not kid ourselves that after Sauron tears himself to bits that all will be well. Other dangerous world leaders are quietly taking the global temperature and taking notes. But more than that, it’s the masses who, through their blind support, give legitimacy and consent. How is it that in our age of global communications so many of us have switched off our critical faculties and will swallow any toxic nonsense we are told? What does that say about us?

This is no longer about politics, childish conspiracies or personal preference, but something much bigger. And it’s for real, and it’s here. Now. A huge upward transition is announcing itself on our planet and the battle lines between lower and higher consciousness are being drawn. So put your Insta feed down for minute and ask yourself whether you are with the darkness and the past or the light and the future? There doesn’t seem much left in the way of middle ground on this issue.

In terms of the Yugas cycle, the dawn is at hand and, as anyone who gets up early enough will tell you, the darkest hour is just before it, and that’s a fabulous inevitability to keep in mind. It’s going to be alright – eventually – and much better than alright. But for now, there’s work to be done. Doing nothing is becoming less and less of an option.