Faith and Fundamentalism

The Next Fifteen Years

By: Nicholas Campion

So much has happened over the last five years that it is almost impossible to envisage what change there is still to happen. Yet, in the astrological universe the rhythmic unfolding of events is never ending, and as soon as one status quo has been reached, it is swept away. As the new year begins we stand on the brink of three major planetary movements. Uranus (which signifies new and radical ideas) and Neptune (associated with inspiration) are both moving towards Aquarius, the sign of ideas and ideology. Uranus enters in January 1996 and Neptune follows in 1998. That might seem like a long time away, but it will be here before we've even blinked.

Meanwhile, on January 16 1995 at 7.27 pm British time Pluto entered Sagittarius, a sign of faith, hope, philosophy and optimism. It's the sign of long journeys both literal and metaphorical, or air travel, space exploration, education and enlightenment. If we look at what Sagittarius has in common with Aquarius then we get a sense of what will make the later nineties distinctive: a revolution in ideas. I am not talking here about new age ideas, but any ideas. In such an atmosphere we find, as in the 1960s, or 1840s or 1790s for that matter, that all forms of thought and belief are up for grabs. In my opinion the nature of the times will be clear by 1997, which means that right now we are in what might be called a 'cultural seed moment'.

One additional, and very important, factor to consider is that Jupiter is also currently in Sagittarius in 1995. Why should this make a difference? Well, Jupiter is the planet associated with wisdom, philosophy and growth and is also, as a matter of interest, the planet said to 'rule' Sagittarius. So, as Pluto inaugurates a fifteen year cycle during which we can expect to see a revolution in ideas, over 1995 Jupiter will set out certain ground rules, establish a framework and give some pointers as to how the world will change.

First of all we need to look at Pluto's myth. In classical mythology he was the Roman God of the Underworld (knowns as Hades to the Greeks), and his most famous escapade in classical mythology was his abduction of the beautiful young goddess Persephone (also known as Kore). Pluto took the goddess down to the underworld in one of the great classic myths of death, rebirth and renewal. Psychologically this indicates the need to face up to difficult, often hidden truths, before reality can be faced.

So, what exactly can we expect over the next fifteen years? First of all, it's a law of forecasting that we can't predict what sort of new ideas will arise in five years' time. If we could we'd be having them now and not then, so the whole exercise would be pointless. What we can do though is point to fringe ideas around at the moment which stand a chance of becoming accepted in the mainstream.

One major example of a promising new idea is Rupert Sheldrake's theory of 'morphic resonance' according to which ideas spread through special 'fields' which are not dependent on ordinary means of communication. Briefly Sheldrake is putting forward a very intriguing theory of a sort of 'collective telepathy' to explain why ideas may arise independently in different areas of the world. The educational world will also benefit and I would think that 'child centered' education of the type pioneered by Rudolf Steiner will become more prevalent in regular schools. Our universities will also face major pressures, especially on the type of degree courses they offer, and it seems likely that there will be an increasing shift towards 'meaningful' courses (such as theology or psychology) and pressure to include various areas currently lacking academic respectability. In the medicine, for example, I would expect large numbers of orthodox doctors to be taking training in homeopathy, acupuncture, psychotherapy or even faith healing. Indeed, such practices may be an accepted part of the repertoire of the average GP's practice by the end of the century. This is not to say that such practices will be shown to 'work' in an objective scientific sense, only that they will be seen as useful - and patients will demand them. It's a characteristic of Pluto though, as we have seen with the AIDS epidemic, that sometime we have to hit the underworld before we can be liberated. As in religious myths, death must precede resurrection. Or to put it in lighter terms, 'what goes up must come down'!

That is why I see the next few years as excellent for fundamentalist faiths of all shapes and sizes. This obviously includes our familiar friends the Christian and Muslim fundamentalists. Now, these people have been around for some years, and the current wave of Muslim fundamentalism dates back to the Iranian revolution in 1979. So how will the fundamentalism of the late nineties differ. I would think that it will be less based in dogma and tradition and very much more inclined towards ecstatic worship and devotion to a few simple 'truths'. I would expect to see a wave of charismatic preachers. In Islam, for example, we may see a Mahdi figure, a prophet who can stir the masses with hopes of renewal, not unlike Ayatollah Khomeini, but less hidebound by the legalistic traditions of the Koran.

Yet religious fundamentalism is not the only fundamentalism. Some people are addicted to a view of the world which says that nothing is true unless scientists have down it to be so in a laboratory. This is the religion known as 'scientism', and is the exact opposite of those who say that all modern science is bad. I also know quite a few New Age fundamentalists who follow their own particular fads with a powerful religious devotion. I have a few friends who, for example, refuse all treatment from orthodox doctors, favouring only 'natural' remedies. They remind me of those Christian fundamentalists, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, who would rather let their children die than receive blood transfusions.

What I really want to say is that we can all be fundamentalists. We all have something within us which says that we are absolutely right and everyone else is utterly and completely wrong. Pluto's entry into Sagittarius is now setting out a context for our intellectual and spiritual development over the next few years, painting the future with broad brush strokes. Over the next few years the other planets will be inserting smaller and smaller details, eventually giving us the full picture. However, the final form the future takes is up to us and the choices we make. And that is why, while we can use Pluto's movements to forecast a new wave of fundamentalism, we must make individual choices to engage in dialogue with those on the opposite side of the fence, to explain our ideas and to try to understand theirs.

By such free choice, the sum total of individual actions will change our collective future.