# Dec. 21, 2012 is the beginning of the Age of Aquarius **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 28, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923 "2012-08-28T14:21:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/61 "2012-08-28T21:23:51Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Ok, but that raises these two questions: > > 1. The oceans own molecules should be affecting each other more than the moon does… why does my body do something the ocean cannot? What you can do that the oceans can’t is to be just a couple of meters tall. The distance between your head and your feet is totally miniscule compared to the distance between you and the moon. As a result both your head and your feet feel the same gravity and you have no tides. In the case of the oceans, they span the earth and so the oceans on one side of the earth are significantly further away than those on the other side, as a result they experience significantly different gravity resulting in the tides. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/62 "2012-08-28T21:25:42Z")
When I was growing up we had a total eclipse of the moon. A few years later, the guy who wrote the song “Aquarius” moved in up the block. Connect the dots, people. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/63 "2012-08-28T21:39:10Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The OP must be a Taurus . . . I think he was the bastard child of the Grapist myself. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/64 "2012-08-28T22:01:28Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Ok, but that raises these two questions: > > 1. The oceans own molecules should be affecting each other more than the moon does… why does my body do something the ocean cannot? Your body does a **lot** of things the ocean cannot. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/65 "2012-08-28T22:21:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’ve banned the OP for ignoring staff instructions about his annoying colors and fonts. I’ll leave this open for now if people want to discuss astrology in general. Couldn’t you have waited until he had a chance to make his 74th post? I was expecting it to explain the secrets of the universe. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/66 "2012-08-28T22:55:36Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I will always wonder why people that claim to be christian follow things like astrology. On a more secular point of view, it is also unscientific. The concept of the Age of Aquarius etc. hasn’t really to do with astrology, and it is quite scientific. The problem mostly is that there has never been a consensus on when to start counting, so to say the Age of Aquarius will start on Dec. 21 2012 is rather meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/67 "2012-08-28T23:05:14Z")
When I first learned that it was the moon’s gravity (sometimes in addition to the sun’s, and sometimes fighting against the sun’s) causing the tides, I wondered if something would weigh less at high tide than it would a low tide. After all, if the moon can pull the oceans up several feet, it must be a significant pull, right? I think that what a lot of people (including myself) miss when thinking about how much the moon affects the oceans’ height is just how much freaking water is in the ocean. From wikipedia: > [@](#): > > The total mass of the hydrosphere is about 1,400,000,000,000,000,000 metric tons (1.5×1018 short tons) or 1.4×1021 kg, which is about 0.023 percent of the Earth’s total mass. Less than 3 percent is freshwater; the rest is saltwater, mostly in the ocean. The area of the World Ocean is 361 million square kilometres (139 million square miles),[11] and its volume is approximately 1.3 billion cubic kilometres (310 million cu mi).[6] This can be thought of as a cube of water with an edge length of 1,111 kilometres (690 mi). Its average depth is 3,790 metres (12,430 ft), and its maximum depth is 10,923 metres (6.787 mi).[11] Nearly half of the world’s marine waters are over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) deep.[8] So if the ocean depth rises from 10,000 ft to 10,008 ft, it _seems_ like a big jump to someone looking so closely (ie. at the beach). But in reality, it’s insignificant. I’m not a scientist, so I hope some scientists will jump in to comment on this. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/68 "2012-08-28T23:08:54Z")
Every time I see a thread about December 21, 2012, I wonder how long it will be before people realize that nothing is going to happen on that date, and even if something does happen, it will be coincidence (e.g. people die every day and disasters happen every day somewhere around the world). I mean, you all remember [May/October) 21, 2011](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction)… wait, what happened that day? I would have asked the OP this but he is banned. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/69 "2012-08-29T03:29:18Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > The concept of the Age of Aquarius etc. hasn’t really to do with astrology, and it is quite scientific. The problem mostly is that there has never been a consensus on when to start counting, so to say the Age of Aquarius will start on Dec. 21 2012 is rather meaningless. I already did notice that indeed there is a scientific part of it, but our hapless OP was indeed referring to cosmic revelations and religion. _But I have doubts now on the scientific part._ [more below] BTW the \*\*astrological \*\*use of that term has an almost omnipotent presence when one checks for information. On the other hand people like the Bad Astronomer uses it only in the context of Astrology and to debunk it. I only noticed the Wikipedia link pointing to a few astronomers(?) referring to the age of Aquarius in scientific terms. And it is on this that also the OP fails, he is 500 years early when one looks at the few scientific cites on the matter. But what I’m curious here is that in [astronomy circles “the Age of Aquarius” is not a term of endearment](http://pseudoastro.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/astrologers-take-note-we-are-nowhere-near-the-dawning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/), and besides Wikipedia so far, I only find references to \*\*astronomical \*\*ages in Stratigraphy/Paleontology and they do not use the zodiac for them. [Searching a bit more] Dang, even the “scientific cite” in Wikipedia looks sketchy, the Considerations About the Start of the Age of Aquarius by Sepp Rothwangl is in C.U.R.A. , The International \*\*Astrology \*\*Research Center. :dubious: Oh well, in any case they are at least sincere on what happens when real science is used to check for this subject, the pseudoastronomy site does report that if we use and up to date computer astronomy tool and follow the astrological ideas on where an age begins, it is clear that the OP is late by 500 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/70 "2012-08-29T04:19:01Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Every time I see a thread about December 21, 2012, I wonder how long it will be before people realize that nothing is going to happen on that date, and even if something does happen, it will be coincidence (e.g. people die every day and disasters happen every day somewhere around the world). I mean, you all remember [May/October) 21, 2011](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction)… wait, what happened that day? I would have asked the OP this but he is banned. We’ll see who’s so clever when the stars are right and dread Cthulhu rises from the deeps as a herald of the Old Ones, mister. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/71 "2012-08-29T04:34:48Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Oh well, in any case they are at least sincere on what happens when real science is used to check for this subject, the pseudoastronomy site does report that if we use and up to date computer astronomy tool and follow the astrological ideas on where an age begins, it is clear that the OP is late by 500 years or so. Correction, the OP is \*\*early \*\*by 500 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/72 "2012-08-29T05:26:49Z")
Of course, much of the foregoing has been to reject the idea that gravity from heavenly bodies is involved in forming a person’s destiny. One variant that is, at least, not totally nonsensical right off the bat is simply that the time of year of someone’s birth might be influential. If your first month of life is in the heat of summer, might that have some effect on your personality, as opposed to the first month of your life being in the cold of winter? As an initial hypothesis, it isn’t nonsensical. It doesn’t work, of course… But take a look at the kindergarten effect, where some kids go to school at the very beginning of their age of eligibility, and other kids go to school at the very end. So, in one class, some kids are close to a year older than others. This could have a very significant effect on achievement and competition. Astrology, at least in the “open source” varieties, has the advantage of being independently testable and open to falsification. It also has the disadvantage of having been repeatedly falsified. If there is “anything to it,” it needs to be put forward in the form of a workable, meaningful, and testable hypothesis. Gravity doesn’t work…and “colored rays from Sirius” is just a load of woo. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/73 "2012-08-29T23:04:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The explanation here seems to be this: the moon pulls most strongly on the side of the Earth that is closest to it, and while the effect is not observable when you’re dealing with land masses, the effect of its gravity can be seen on water because it isn’t solid. Nitpick: Solid earth tides can effect land height by several decimeters. This needs to be taken into account in GPS “[precise point positioning](https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&q=gps+ppp+earth+tide)”. Land isn’t really solid. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/74 "2012-08-30T14:48:20Z")
The OP strongly implied that the 74th post to this thread will be made by the messiah. I AM. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/75 "2012-08-30T15:14:36Z")
Clearly he meant the 74th **reply**. So it turns out _I’m_ the Messiah and you’re a very naughty boy. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/76 "2012-09-02T05:33:55Z")
Marley wasn’t the only person in [that thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15432297#post15432297) that told him it was silly/stupid/needless. Here’s a sample response: > [@Brad\_Watson\_Miami](#): > > In _Matthew 24:3_, Jesus’(74) disciples asked him, _“What will be the sign of your return and of the closing of the age?”_ Some Bible versions wrongly use _“end of the world”_ (KJV) or _“end of time”_. It’s very important to correct some people’s wrong impression that on December 21, 2012 we will see the “end of the world” or “end of time”. **What we, in-fact, will see on 12/21/12 is the end of the _Age of Pisces_ and the beginning of the _Age of Aquarius_.** And yes, the Christ - GOD’s ‘chosen one’ - will have returned and produced the _“book/scroll”_ with the _“7 seals”_ on the cover prophesied in _The Revelation 5:1-10:10._ 🆒 > [@Czarcasm](#): > > A word, please? The different sized fonts and the various colors aren’t really helping you here. Conversing with others on the message board is not the same as standing on a street corner holding a large cardboard sign. Nobody here is attracted by or impressed by how a post looks-they are impressed by what a post _says_. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/77 "2012-09-02T06:26:13Z")
> [@Brad\_Watson\_Miami](#): > > I AM more than a Christian > [@Brad\_Watson\_Miami](#): > > I AM far-sighted > [@Brad\_Watson\_Miami](#): > > I AM a _composer_ What’s with the capital “AM”? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/78 "2012-09-02T07:07:36Z")
A reference to Exodus 3 14, perhaps. > [@](#): > > God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” ---
**Author:** ![TBreds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@TBreds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBreds)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/79 "2012-09-02T15:45:11Z")
12-21-2012 is the end of a certain part of the Mayan Calendar. They had rather innovative ways (for their time) of keeping time through the procession of the stars but…all calendars end. Especially when the cultures developing them end. The Mayans perhaps didn’t formulate a calendar beyond 12-21-2012 because they were not longer around as a people or culture to do so? But …Every time a calendar cycle ends doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world, it means the end of that calendar or time keeping cycle. If we all dropped dead on 12-21-2012 it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world, it would mean the end of humanity. Throughout history every culture has predicted the end of some calendar or another as the end of the world as if one had something to do with the other. Apparently calendars and time keeping have that much power over people. How traditional astrology got mixed in with the Mayan Calendar is beyond me. New agers may think they are being progressive in thought but most of them attach a rapture or end of world effect to 12-21-212 which is based in Christian philosophy. Everyone turns into a light body and loses physical form…or something else. 12-21-2012 heralds the solstice , acknowledgement of the suns return. Rather pagan in nature because pagans were very observant of nature. The sun was important to them. It’s important to us. I’m also puzzled why people alternately decry pagan practices and then embrace them at the same time. I suppose that is why the Age of Pisces is basically a time of confusion…lol. If you look very closely most New Age thought is based in either Buddhism or Christianity, its not really new at all. Just sort of re-labeled older philosophies, dusted off to sound light and airy, and given new labels. Like Karma …karma doesn’t seem to be anything more than the God of the Old Testament running around dispensing reward and punishment. When the God of the OT fell out of fashion in this new age, Karma was there to step in and take his place. This isn’t progressive thinking, its just re-naming something that dispenses reward and punishment. Most professional astrologers state that the Age of Aquarius is several hundred years in the future. Then there are those who jiggle their profession so that it aligns with other modalities to …? Why? Validate them? However I find the notion of astrology predicting certain genetic and dna related physical manifestations based on environmental conditions during the time of conception rather intriguing. > [@GIGObuster](#): > > Already tested and tossed out: > > [astrology - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com](http://skepdic.com/astrology.html) ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923/80 "2012-09-02T18:48:02Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > I should be feeling the same force (from the moon) as are all the water molecules in the ocean. The ocean moves by many feet a couple times a day. > > Are we (my precious bodily [del]essense[/del]fluids, and the ocean) moving the same amount in proportion to our own size/mass? The ocean is a liquid spread over a vast area, so a very small force acting on all its molecules can have an observable effect. Your body is more like a single point, which feels the same force, but has other forces like friction acting on it that prevents it from moving. Consider that the ocean tides move, but the sands and rocks at the seashore do not (relatively speaking). Same forces, different effects. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dec-21-2012-is-the-beginning-of-the-age-of-aquarius/632923.md?page=3)