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Wonder in the heavens

Venus’ transit across the face of the sun important for humanity

By Kara-Leah Grant

Nothing reminds humans of their insignificance more than a night spent stargazing. It is impossible to grasp just how infinite the universe is, and how far away the stars really are. The concepts escape our minds, but in doing so, they expand our minds. There will always be more to know, more to discover and more to explore.

For ancient peoples, stargazing was not accompanied by precise instruments and advanced technology. Yet somehow, they knew enough facts and figures about the stars to project exactly when certain astral events would take place – even thousands of years ahead of their time.

This was a time when astronomy and astrology were intricately linked. Today, with concrete proof the yardstick by which "truth" is measured, astronomy and astrology have separated, yet both still concern themselves with the study of the stars.

This week, a rare celestial event will hold the fascination of astronomers, astrologers and anybody else who finds wonder in the heavens. On June 8, visible to 75 per cent of the world, Venus crosses the face of the sun – or transits across the sun – something no living person has ever seen, yet because Venus transits occur in pairs, the world will again witness this event in June of 2012.

"There’s only a small part of the world that won’t see some of the transit, and we’re in it, which is unfortunate," explains local astronomy John Nemy with a hint of disappointment. "During the last two pairs of transits (one in the 1800s and another during the 1700s), Venus was used to figure out how far we were from the sun. It was a hugely important event in the world of astronomy."

To gather the necessary data to make the calculations, leading nations sent expeditions to remote corners of the globe to time exactly when Venus appeared to begin its transit of the Sun. The times were compared and the distance to the Sun calculated using the known distances between expedition locations on the Earth and trigonometry. These events marked the first time nations joined together to complete one scientific mission.

Nemy says the rarity of the event is one reason the transit is generating great interest across the planet, but it is not the only reason.

"Our knowledge and awareness of astronomy has ramped up in the last 30 or 40 years, plus the equipment available now from a technical point of view is so much more advanced than it used to be," says Nemy. "The pursuit of astronomy is trying to understand and relate it back to what is going on in our lives here in a factual way. Our connection with the celestial sphere was way better long ago than it is today. We have become very disconnected from that due to the type of lives we lead today. It’s a detriment to our lifestyle that we don’t consider the cosmos a part of ourselves and a part of what we do."

Astrologers do still consider the cosmos a part of human life, believing in Hermes Trismegistus’ words, "As above, so below" – that all is one, all is interconnected and all is part of the Divine.

Carolyn Hachey has studied astrology since 1987, when she read that if just 144,000 people prayed together for peace on earth, it would happen by 2012.

"Astrology to me is the movement and measure of the stars and celestial bodies, their symbolism and how they code with our thoughts and emotions," says Hachey. "The symbolism of Venus is love, unity, consciousness and the feminine spirit. Each of the planets has a nature that personifies a nature within each one of us. The ancients understood these relationships and lived their lives with an awareness of what it meant for them."

The Venus Transit of 2004 holds great importance in many difference prophecies and calendars, including the Maya. It is commonly thought that the Maya predicted the end of the world in 2012, but their prediction speaks not of the ending of the world, but the dawn of a new age of consciousness, beginning with the first transit in 2004, and completing its creation in 2012.

"The Maya predicted we would obtain peace on earth on Dec 21, 2012," explains Hachey. "On that day, the sun follows Venus over the horizon and the Maya predicted a dawning of a higher consciousness."

All over the world, many groups of people are taking these ancient prophecies to heart and arranging for large-scale prayers and meditations designed to take advantage of the energy created when Venus crosses in front of the sun.

"Venus is the feminine spirit, which was dominated and repressed and controlled when we started mining and chopping forests and polluting Mother Earth. We lost a lot at this time, including our intuition, which is a very powerful aspect of humanity," says Hachey. "This time was foretold, this experience was necessary. But now, the Venus cycle is coming back and the balance is coming back. It’s a good time to hope and give a positive reinforcement to the feminine within each of us. It’s a good time to do a prayer for peace on Earth because the sun resonates transmission of energy and consciousness awareness, plus it represents the masculine. Venus represents love and unity, plus it represents the feminine. The energies of Sun and Venus blend together, and as these blended radiations make their way into the Earth’s electromagnetic fields, it weaves the energies of love and unity into the mass consciousness of the planet."

Whether the ancient prophecies, or astrological significance of the Venus Transit speaks to you or not, for much of humanity it is an important message. In a time when degradation of the environment, weapons of mass destruction and man’s eternal quest for earthly wealth threatens to destroy the very planet we live on, anything that brings greater love, compassion, understanding and consciousness to humanity needs to be considered. No matter what your beliefs, or non-beliefs, on June 8, join the rest of the world in praying for love and compassion, and do what you can in your life to bring greater love and compassion to those around you.