I had the honor in the early 70’s to have pointed out the big Taurean Alignment of 2000 to the honorable Dane Rudhyar who enthusiastically advised me to "work with it." Later I dubbed it the "Grand Planetary Alignment," and even commissioned an artist to paint it for an article and later the cover of my 1994 book "The Grand Catharsis," an Astrolog of the Shifting Ages. Along with a procession of other astrological/astronomical components around the millennium, I considered the lineup to be one of the significators of the shift from the Piscean to the Aquarian age. Around the millennium I wrote a book called LightShift 2000, Let’s turn on the Light of the World, and embarked upon an initiative helping to gather people’s of goodwill all over the world in a series of collective attunements to shine positive inner light over this threshold.

So there is little wonder that I have been getting deluged with inquiries regarding my take on the lunar eclipse chart of November 8-9, dubbed the Harmonic Concordance. My various wavelengths on the matter follow.

My technically oriented colleagues have voiced their objections to the chart: the wide separating Mars orb, the use of Chiron (aren’t planetary alignments supposed to use "planets"), or the validity of using a natal birth chart for global interpretations. Mayan astrologer’s have been taken aback by the claims that this is the ancestor of the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, wondering where it fits on the Mayan Timewave. What is the connection to the rest of cosmic history or is it a singular event?

Geometry fan that I am, I think it’s a beautiful chart, though virtually every time I ignite my Solar Fire program lately I see similar cosmic patterns. As I write these words the morning of November 1 -- Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Moon, and Chiron -- are all sextile at the 13^th degree, with a 6^th point just out of orb. Great aspects these days! So when this "sextile cycle" culminates in a total lunar eclipse at the full Moon, we indeed have one spectacular chart. Imagine the look on the wide-eyed astrologer’s face years hence, upon gazing at the lunar eclipse child’s first chart. "Dude, who are you!" "Well, you and the other 200 babies born on Earth during that celestial minute."

Indeed I do consider this to be a celestial "flashpoint" to which we should all be aware and pay attention without expectation. We are in transformational Scorpio, it is a total eclipse of the Full Moon with lots of supporting aspects: a fabulous time to birth a change! And a connection may be drawn to other recent flashpoints as the totally eclipse Moon is at the same degree of Taurus as Saturn during the 8/11/99 TSE and Jupiter during the big May 2000 line-up. I recommend deep intuitive reflection and perhaps a personal astrological inventory at this time. And make a wish upon the lucky stars!

One reason why Harmonic Concordance becomes polarizing and controversial is in the sensationalizing, pontificating, and expectation. The HC proponents say: "we believe that it opens an energetic "stargate" to the Ascension of Mother Earth, and to each of her inhabitants. Many have called the attainment of this paradigm the Shift of Ages." Others think this is when the spaceships will take them away, while some say the chart foretells the occurrence of the Rapture.

I guess everyone will know soon enough. If astrology weren’t polarizing enough, the arcane hyperbole surrounding HC is a tad New Agey for many to have mass appeal. To others, it is a turn off: Action, reaction, synthesis. Folks, any excuse for a party is fine with me! The paradox, however is that this is not so much about the outward events of a future Moment, as it is about this moment right NOW! Astrological planets represent different aspects of our own inner being, and a chart is but a symbolic reminder of our personal psychology. EVERY moment is unique, and we are capable of transformation in ANY moment.

Reality Check: The Shift of the Ages

Let’s remember that the precession of the equinoxes takes about 26000 years, and each of the 2160-year or so ages have a "cusp" period. About 72 years span 1 degree of Pisces and 30 Aquarius (ages move "backward"). Cusps are areas of intensity! As I pointed out in The Grand Catharsis, it was my belief that a compendium of planetary events signaled the shift of the Ages from Pisces to Aquarius: Uranus moving into Aquarius in ’96, comet Hale Bopp in ’97 (and another Grand Sextile on 1/23/97), Neptune into Aquarius in ‘98, Pluto intercepting Neptune’s orbit and movement into Sagittarius in ‘99, the Total Solar Eclipse of 8/11/99, and the Grand Alignment in May ‘00. Technology -- ruled by Aquarius -- exploded after 1996; witness the internet, cell phones and everything technological before and after that time. Evolution is a gradual process, though cataclysm and jolts in the mass consciousness are certainly part of the process. We are all here during an evolutionary surge.

Reality Check: Can mass meditation save the world?

Oh how I wish it were that simple, like waving a magic wand. The Dalai Lama once said "if we wish to save the world we must have a plan, but unless we meditate no plan will work." Like Scorpio, transformation -- particularly on the mass level -- is a very complex matter. Eventhough I wrote a book on the subject and organized many events, I can’t truly say what the effect mass meditations have on the collective. The Global Consciousness Project scientifically measured LightShift 2000, and it peaked their receptors, and the world’s energy around 1/1/2000 seemed jubilant and ebullient. The aftermath, however, has been quite a reversal, and in my heart of hearts, it gives me pause. Is it possible that gathering and concentrating that much "light" actually awakens the dark force -- something akin to Gandalf and Frodo being exposed as they walk through the gates of Mordor? I don’t really know.

Perhaps the "HC" chart is a signature saying….don’t give up hope. Keep the faith that humankind will eventually live in unconditional love and universal truth. After all, this is what the rest of the universe seems to do. Keep glowing in the dark with the faith in the flow of love in the universe that all will be well.

For there are thousands of karmic cycles completing themselves during this phase of Earth history. Humankind must learn that greed is a failure formula, that violence is not a means of conflict resolution --only communication and love are. The late Jesse Owens, the black man who won 4 gold medals in front of Adolf Hilter once said, "if you walk long enough and talk long enough you can figure out just about anything with anybody." Now that’s a Harmonic Concordance formula !

Ken Kalb is an astrologer and author with over 800 published articles, 4 books, and an astrological calendar. He is the director of Lucky Star Astrological Services. He has been the vortex of the global LightShift 2000 peace initiative, helping bring peoples of goodwill together in Spirit in collective attunements. The 8/11/1999 Total Solar Eclipse, 1/1/2000-01, & May 2000 World Illumination Days, are considered among the largest spiritual convergences. Ken finds a wonderful wordless application of his philosophies in his Electric bicycle/Alternative Transportation business, Electric Star, www.electricstar.org. The LightShift 2000 website is www.lightshift.com and Lucky Star is www.luckystarz.com