CYCLES WITHIN CYCLES—THE CELESTIAL SPIRAL OF EVOLUTION

If the Earth is about to make a dimensional shift, the questions that naturally arise are, "What is causing this to happen?" and "Why now?" The answers to these questions may be contained within the very structure and function of the universe itself.

Creation is based on the unfoldment of cycles within cycles of differing lengths. The Earth’s seasons, for example, result from the cyclical movement of the Earth around the sun. As the amount of solar energy ebbs and flows, so do the processes of life. The moon’s cycles affect the tides, plant growth, and other biological processes, and have also been shown to affect people psycho-emotionally.

If we were to observe several cycles of the moon orbiting the Earth, while simultaneously watching the Earth, in turn, orbiting the sun, we would see an ever-unfurling spiral—the geometry of unfolding creation. The spiral is present throughout all of creation as a causal structure. Nowhere is this more apparent than within the spiraling double helix of DNA, the foundation for the unfoldment of all life.

Beyond our yearly solar cycles, we are also affected by larger cycles involving our dance with the other planets in our solar system, especially the "long wave" cycles of the outer planets. The various positions within the cycle of Saturn’s orbit around the Sun, for example, seem related to fundamental stages of human maturation. Astrologically, the first Saturn cycle completes at approximately twenty nine years of age, as the youthful twenties end and we begin to develop the maturity necessary to actualize our life purpose. At age 58, when the second Saturn cycle ends, many of us are in the full flowering of our outer expression. At this point, we may begin to face our mortality, and our awareness may turn to the spiritual realms as we prepare for the great transition beyond this life. In the Hindu tradition, many men left their homes and worldly responsibilities at this time and set off to "seek God." Just as various points in the Saturn cycle mark important milestones in our development, the Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto cycles also profoundly impact our individual and collective unfoldment.

Still larger cycles affect planetary evolution even more profoundly. The Earth passes through a 25,826 year cycle called the Great Year, which is related to the precession of the equinoxes. During this cycle, the Earth’s polar axis rotates through all 360 degrees of the zodiacal background of fixed stars. Some sources claim that in this cycle, our solar system revolves around another star system within our galaxy.

The Great Year cycle is fundamental to the Earth’s and humanity’s evolution, as it orchestrates the influx of galactic and universal energies. The North Pole of the Earth is akin to the crown chakra in the subtle energetic system, while the Earth’s axis is analogous to the shushumna, or central channel, which governs the flow of energy and consciousness up through the octaves of the chakra system.

Throughout the precession of the equinoxes, the North Pole, or crown chakra of the planet, directly receives the galactic and universal energies with which it is aligned. These energies pour down through the planetary axis, or shushumna, and are transduced into the planetary subtle anatomy. Thus, the precessional cycle has a profound effect on soul unfoldment on Earth.

At this time, the North Pole’s orientation is shifting out of the constellation of Pisces and entering that of Aquarius. We are completing one cycle of approximately 2,152 years and initiating another (there are twelve astrological "ages" in the 25,826 year cycle). The Piscean Age was marked by the coming of the Christ and the birth of Christianity, probably the most fundamental underlying influence on the evolution of planetary culture during this cycle.

An even larger cycle is completing within the precession, and it may be even more fundamental to human evolution. The cusp, or beginning point, of Aquarius is the spring equinox point in this 25,826 year cycle—a time of renewal and rebirth for human culture. The spring equinoctial point signals the transition into the light of galactic spring, just as at the opposite point in the precession, we enter into the increasing darkness of galactic autumn. The autumnal equinox in the cycle occurred in early Leo approximately 12,913 years ago, which coincides with the destruction of Atlantis, the great civilization of that cycle, and the great flood recorded in the Bible and the oral histories of many traditional cultures.

As we cross the cusp of Aquarius, we also begin a new Great Year in the precessional cycle—an entirely new 25,826-year cycle is commencing. We are, in a way, approaching something like a galactic New Year.

While the various cycles within cycles of the precessional movement may seem enormous, still larger cycles—three of which are also ending at this time—connect us in to very long wave universal cycles. Though at this point I am unable to tie them in to any particular cycle of movement within our galaxy or universe, I have long intuited such connections. To understand these larger cycles, we need to go to the Vedas, the oldest spiritual texts on the planet, written by the ancient Hindu sages called Rishis. The Vedas contain a very complex cosmology, which includes a detailed description of macro-evolutionary cycles. One of these cycles, called a Yuga, varies in length from 438,000 years (for the Kali Yuga) to 1,752,000 years (for the Satya Yuga).

Most Hindu sources say we are currently at the end of the Kali Yuga, which is also the last Yuga in the entire cycle of Yugas. This enormous cycle, called a Mahayuga, or an Age of the Gods, is approximately 4,380,000 of our years. Such a cycle encompasses the evolution of planets and the rise and fall of entire species. The completion of this Mahayuga coincides with recent archeological discoveries indicating that human evolution began nearly four and one half million years ago.

At that time, early hominids were first bestowed with an individuated soul, emerging from the amorphous group souls found throughout the animal kingdom (with the possible exception of cetaceans). A being with an individual soul is potentially capable of realizing and demonstrating all the capacities of God/One/All That Is in human form. Because homo sapiens is endowed with an individual soul, we are blessed with the capacity for full God-realization. Interestingly, the Rishis referred to the end of a Mahayuga as the end of an Age of the Gods.

Finally, we are approaching the completion of a major cycle for the planet Earth herself. This 4.4 billion-year cycle is called a Kalpa, or Day of Brahma (Brahma being the prime creative aspect of God). A Kalpa equals a thousand Mahayugas or divine ages, a major universal cycle. The Earth’s age has been estimated at approximately 4.5 billion years. There are indications that the Day of Brahma for the solar system and galaxy are on different cycles, yet our planet has her own set of sub-cycles, within which a very important "birthday" is occurring. The Earth is now entering a Day of Brahma, which is when the cycle of human soul evolution makes a major leap out of the darkness and into the light. For the past 4.4 million years we have been gestating in the dark womb of Mother Earth.