This Libra period begins with the largest astrological transition following the arrival of the Age of Aquarius in 1433. 1791 experienced a change in the quasi age-decan, sub-age, sub-age decan and finally this relatively small Libra period. It therefore appropriately commenced with the French Royal Family’s flight in disguise to Varennes where they were captured with the king and queen ultimately executed. The French Revolution was already underway before this Libra period but the frenzy of beheadings was delayed until after the arrival of the deadly Scorpio sub-age in 1791 with Scorpio’s focus on death and destruction (and rebirth). The French revolutionaries in 1792 turned to the guillotine and Reign of Terror in response to the new Scorpio influence. The same year saw the establishment of the French First Republic – and this does suggest that Scorpio is an element in the French astrological signature.
The arrival of the Scorpio sub-age (1791 – 1970) supported revolutionary zeal around the world, so much so, that by the end of the Scorpio sub-age in 1970, most of the monarchical governments around the world had been overthrown or stripped of most of their former regal powers – a massive and unprecedented worldwide revolution in its own right (but not taught in school history). The French royal family merely commenced the charge to almost monarchial oblivion for Europe under Scorpio.
Another significant influencer of this Libra period was the Sagittarius sub-age overflow (1791 – 1970) which made everything bigger – including the influence of these small Libra periods. However, the most significant development associated with this Libra period is that it instigated the arrival of the seven century long Libra quasi age-decan (1791 – 2507), which, when superimposed upon the Libra age-decan and overflow (1433 – 2149 – 2865) provides a four stage structure similar to the four phases of the monthly lunar cycle.
The four stages of the Libra age-decan and overflow are:
- 1433 – 1791 (weakest)
- 1791 – 2149 (mid strength)
- 2149 -2507 (strongest)
- 2507 – 2865 (mid strength with a sting/punch at the end)
One of the unique quirks of ages is that each astrological age commences with a sub-age of the following age. The Age of Aquarius (1433 – 3581) commenced with the Capricorn sub-age (1433 – 1612) as a preview to the Capricorn age (3581 – 5728). Another unique circumstance applies to quasi age-decans. Each age-decan has a quasi-age decan – for example, the Libra age-decan and overflow (1433 – 2149 – 2865) has as its Libra quasi age-decan (1791 – 2507). Every quasi age-decan commences with a micro-age of the same sign. Therefore 1791 was the beginning of both the Libra micro-age (1791 – 1806) and Libra quasi age-decan (1791 – 2507).
The same arrangement applies to quasi sub-age decans and all smaller periods associated with quasi decans be they age-decans, sub-age decans, micro-age decans or nano-age decans. This quirk in macro-astrology fortifies the role of quasi periods meaning that each quasi period arrives with extra zeal.
Females
The revolutionary zeal of the French Revolution did not seem to extend to French women! The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen in September 1791 by French activist, feminist, and playwright Olympe de Gouges (1748 – 1793) was written in response to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Olympe de Gouges hoped to expose the failures of the French Revolution in the recognition of gender equality, but failed as she was accused, tried and convicted of treason, resulting in her execution in the Reign of Terror (and the only woman beheaded for her political writings). [1] The French Revolution did initially raise the status of women, but only temporarily, and women were soon shunted back to their ‘secondary’ place in society. With Leo strong in the French astrological signature – this was probably inevitable.
Despite France’s aversion to female equality during the Revolution, in 1793 the dechristianization of France reached a climax with the celebration of the Goddess of Reason in the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, and like the Statute of Liberty, representations of females are often associated with justice and freedom. The famous painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix is commonly associated with the French Revolution, though in reality it was painted for the following July 1830 Revolution in France.
There was a different story in England with the publication in 1792 of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, one of the earliest works of feminist literature. Wollstonecraft maintained that women are human beings deserving of the same fundamental rights as men, and that treating them otherwise undermines the moral foundation of society. Wollstonecraft was prompted to write the Rights of Woman after reading a demeaning report to the French National Assembly in 1791, which stated that women should only receive a domestic education. Her ambiguous statements regarding the equality of the sexes have made it difficult to classify Wollstonecraft as a modern feminist – the word ‘feminist’ did not even emerge until decades after her death. The Rights of Woman was generally well received when it was first published in 1792 and her biographer called it “perhaps the most original book of [Wollstonecraft’s] century”. Wollstonecraft’s work had significant impact on advocates for women’s rights in the 19th century, particularly the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention which produced the Declaration of Sentiments laying out the aims of the suffragette movement in the United States.[2]
Another woman who made a name for herself in this Libra period was Mary Robinson (1757 – 1800) who was an English actress, poet, dramatist, novelist and celebrity figure. She enjoyed poetry from the age of seven and wrote many plays, poems and novels. She was a celebrity, and gossiped about in newspapers due to her fame as an actress and writer. She was the first public mistress of King George IV while he was still Prince of Wales. Like her contemporary Mary Wollstonecraft, she championed the rights of women and was an ardent supporter of the French Revolution.[3]
Of course, no mention of this period would be complete without noting the most famous female novelist of all times – Jane Austen. Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) began writing her first draft of Pride and Prejudice in 1796 under the title First Impressions and published Sense and Sensibility (1811) followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were both published posthumously in 1818. Later in the 19th century, novelist Henry James referred on one occasion to Austen and ranked her with Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Henry Fielding as among “the fine painters of life”.[4] Her novels conform to Libra plots involving matrimony in the upper classes. Jane Austen also takes pride of place at the beginning of the Libra quasi-age decan (1791 – 2507), which strongly suggest that she wrote at the very beginning of seven centuries dedicated to women and Libra archetypes such as justice, artistic accomplishments but also major conflict.[5]
Another famous woman from this period is Zheng the “dragon lady” of the South China Sea and though she surrendered her 1,800 junks and 70,000 men to the Chinese government in 1810, all of her pirates were pardoned and many assimilated into the Chinese military. Zheng took command as pirate supremo on the death of her husband in 1807 and successfully negotiated their surrender.[6]
JURISPRUDENCE
The United States Bill of Rights were created in 1791 providing specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the U.S. Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The concepts codified in the Bill of Rights drew inspiration from the English Bill of Rights (1689) and the Magna Carta (1215). The Magna Carta was executed under a much earlier Libra micro-age decan (1214-19).
Libra’s judicial connection was again on display in 1802 when the US Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review primarily related to the constitutionality of laws, especially by the Supreme Court of the United States. This is commonly held to have been established in the case of Marbury versus Madison, which was argued before the Supreme Court in 1803[7] and remains the single most important decision in American constitutional law. The Court’s landmark decision established that the U.S. Constitution is actual law, not just a statement of political principles and ideals, and helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the federal government. The actual case was due to conflict between the outgoing president, John Adams and the incoming president Thomas Jefferson when Adams, just days before his departure, appointed several dozen supporters to new circuit judge and justice of the peace positions in an attempt to frustrate Jefferson and his supporters.[8]
Another key legal development was the Napoleonic Code which was adopted as French civil law in 1804. The Code was a major step in replacing the previous patchwork of feudal laws and is considered as one of the few documents that have influenced the whole world! It was the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope, and it strongly influenced the law of many of the countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars and influenced developing countries outside Europe, especially in Latin America and the Middle East, as part of the process to modernize and defeudalize their countries through legal reforms.[9]
English-born Thomas Paine (1737 – 1809), after significantly contributing towards the American Revolution, published The Rights of Man which tore apart monarchies and traditional social institutions in defense of the French Revolution but he was ostracized by the British government and Christians. In The Age of Reason he advocated deism, promoted reason and free thought, and argued against institutionalized religion in general and Christian doctrine in particular. In a later publication, he advocated for a guaranteed minimum income. Paine was influential upon Mary Wollstonecraft, Abraham Lincoln, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Edison.[10] One historian stated:
“In a fundamental sense, we are today all Paine’s children. It was not the British defeat at Yorktown, but Paine and the new American conception of political society he did so much to popularize in Europe that turned the world upside down.”
Jack P. Greene, “Paine, America, and the ‘Modernization’ Of Political Consciousness,” Political Science Quarterly 93#1 (1978) pp 73–92
Early evidence of a withdrawal from the horrors and tyranny of slavery also appeared in this Libra period. In 1804, New Jersey became the last of the northern United States to abolish slavery. In 1807 the UK abolished the slave trade in all of its colonies effective 1808 and synchronized with the USA at least making the small step to prohibit the importation of slaves into the USA. During this period, the USA was very focused upon maintaining a (Libra) balance between slave and free states. For example, in 1820 with the application of Maine to become a state, this would have upset the equality between slave and non-slave states, so it was agreed that Missouri would be admitted as a slave state.[11] Despite this total incongruity with modern standards, Libras was still in place attempting a balancing act!
Wars
The further back in time we travel, the more wars and conflicts are found – but this applies only after governments were formed commencing 5,000 years ago. It does seem that the world is weaning itself off wars and conflicts, even though the spectacle of so many small wars and conflicts presented to us in the media promotes a far more violent view of the world than is real. The main war in this Libra period was the Napoleonic Wars (1805 – 1815) and included the minor War of 1812 between the UK and the USA which ended in a stalemate. The wars had profound consequences on global history, including the spread of nationalism and liberalism, the rise of Britain as the world’s foremost naval and economic power for its almost century and half as the world’s superpower, the appearance of independence movements in Latin America and subsequent collapse of the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire, the fundamental reorganization of German and Italian territories into larger states, and the introduction of radically new methods of conducting warfare, as well as advances in civil law.
Napoleon, accidentally or otherwise, opened Pandora ’s Box, and with his demise, it was impossible for the conservative forces in western Europe to erase many of Napoleon’s political improvements. The map of Europe changed dramatically in the hundred years following the Napoleonic Era. Even the concept of the contemporary European Union saw its seed in the Napoleonic era – that of a unified Europe.
More French soldiers were casualties in the Napoleonic wars than in the First World War – it is estimated that 5 million people died due to the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars transformed war to ‘total war’ due to the massive escalation of the size and scope of the Napoleonic Wars which is also an acknowledgement of the role played by the Sagittarius sub-age overflow (1791 – 1970) which has produced the ‘big’ modern world of mass production and mass consumption, including the mass production of military weapons. The Napoleonic Wars were a stepping stone from pre-industrial wars to the two world wars of the 20th century.
Politics
Is a political union similar to marriage and therefore ruled by Libra? It seems to be as in 1800 the separate kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland united into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, effective on January 1, 1801.
By 1815, Europe had been almost constantly at war and the military conquests of Napoleon had resulted in the spread of liberalism throughout much of the continent. Largely as a reaction to the radicalism of the French Revolution, the victorious powers of the Napoleonic Wars resolved to suppress liberalism and nationalism, and revert largely to the status quo of Europe prior to 1789 (i.e. back to the previous sub-age). In reaction was the establishment of the Concert of Europe, also known as the “Congress System” which created a balance of power that existed in Europe from 1815 until the early 20th century.[12]
China’s affinity to Libra is again on display when in 1793, the Chinese government rebuffed an attempt by the British to sell their manufactured goods to China and install a British ambassador in the Chinese court. In 1796 the White Lotus Society, whose core belief is that a future Buddha will usher in an era of peace and plenty, commenced revolutionary activity against the oppressive Chinese government. The White Lotus Society also appropriately worshipped their Unborn Venerable Mother at the beginning of the Cancer sub-age decan and overflow (1791 – 1851 – 1910). This same movement was behind the rise of the Ming dynasty liberating China from its Mongolian rulers in 1387. Their first revolution in the 1330s was unsuccessful,[13] but this did occur before the arrival of the Age of Aquarius. However, it did occur in a Libra micro-age and overflow (1314 – 1329 – 1344) within the Pisces sub-age (1254 – 1433) in its Cancer sub-age decan (1314 – 1373). Their success in 1387 was in the Cancer sub-age overflow (1373 – 1433) which supports the notion that while Libra is associated with China, its Cancer connection is stronger.
Also very appropriate to Libra on a number of levels is the Era of Good Feelings (1816 – 1823/4) which marks a period in the political history of the USA that reflected a desire for unity among Americans in the aftermath of the War of 1812. The era saw the collapse of the Federalist Party and an end to the bitter partisan disputes between it and the dominant Democratic-Republican Party during the First Party System. President James Monroe strove to downplay partisan affiliation in making his nominations, with the ultimate goal of national unity and eliminating political parties altogether from national politics. The period is so closely associated with Monroe’s presidency (1817–1825) and his administrative goals that his name and the era are virtually synonymous.[14]
The Monroe Doctrine began in 1823 and can readily be aligned with Libra as it involved a new balancing act – Old World European powers were not to reengage in the New World past whatever involvements already existing. This was to prevent European countries from interfering in the newly independent states that were formerly colonies of Spain and Portugal. In effect, the doctrine asserted that the New World and the Old World were to remain distinctly separate spheres of influence – Libra’s balance!
The Monroe Doctrine also created a de facto agreement between the USA and UK as the USA did not have the military means to enforce the Monroe Doctrine while the UK did – and the UK enforced it tactically as part of the wider Pax Britannica as it was also in the best interest of the UK that the newly independent American countries could trade freely with the UK – something that was limited if their former colonial powers took back possession of these countries. [15]
The promotion of ‘two parts’ is again experienced in 1791 when Britain split Canada into two parts, one for the British, the other for the French, with their own provinces and representative assemblies.[16]
Music & Art
In 1791 the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, on his first visit to England, was awarded an honorary doctorate of music at the University of Oxford. This was the start of a very auspicious period for Haydn and audiences flocked to his concerts and he consequently made large profits, thus becoming financially secure. At one English concert it was reported:
“Haydn himself presided at the piano-forte; and the sight of that renowned composer so electrified the audience, as to excite an attention and a pleasure superior to any that had ever been caused by instrumental music in England.”
[17]
Haydn’s visits to England generated some of his best-known works and his biographer Griesinger wrote that Haydn “considered the days spent in England the happiest of his life. He was everywhere appreciated there; it opened a new world to him”.[18] Returning to Vienna in 1795 he composed his two great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). Both were enthusiastically received. His last major composition was in 1802,[19] and thus Venus shone her light on Joseph Haydn at the end of his career.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 premiered in 1800 in Vienna. Beethoven is one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music, whose works are ranked amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire, and he experienced his middle period during this Libra MAD&OF. His “middle” period showed an individual development from the “classical” styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (who died age 35 in the first year of this Libra period), and is sometimes characterized as “heroic”, but most of his time as a composer is associated with the larger Libra MA&OF commencing 1791. His “middle” period is characterized by many original works composed on a grand scale.[20] In 1810 Beethoven composed his famous piano piece, Für Elise – one of his most popular compositions even though it was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered 40 years after his death in 1867.
Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and it started with the publication of Lyrical Ballads in 1798 anonymously by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, which inaugurated the English Romantic movement in literature. Romanticism arrived in other parts of the English-speaking world later; in America, it arrived around 1820 – while the Libra period was still in force. The (Libra) physical landscape was prominent in the poetry of this period. The Romantics, and especially Wordsworth, are often described as “nature poets” aligned to Libra’s rulership of gardens. Its peak influence was from 1800 to 1850 in reaction to industrialization and the Age of Enlightenment and was replaced by realism in the second half of the 19th century. Romanticism placed a focus on medievalism and intense emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as apprehension, horror and terror, and awe—especially that experienced in confronting the new aesthetic categories of the sublimity and beauty of nature.[21]
The poet William Blake (1757–1827) was an early Romantic writer but was largely disconnected from the major streams of the literature of his time, and so was generally unrecognized during his lifetime, but is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, Blake was held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. Among his most important works are Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794), “and profound and difficult ‘prophecies'” such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793), The Book of Urizen (1794), Milton (1804–1810) and Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion (1804–1820).
After Blake, other early Romantics were a small group of friends, including William Wordsworth (1770–1850), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), Robert Southey (1774–1843) and journalist Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859). However, at the time, Walter Scott (1771–1832) was the most famous poet. Scott achieved immediate success with his long narrative poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel in 1805, followed by the full epic poem Marmion in 1808. The early Romantic poets brought a new form of emotionalism and introspection, and their emergence is marked by the first romantic manifesto in English literature, the Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1798). In it Wordsworth discusses what he sees as the elements of a new type of poetry, one based on the “real language of men”, and which avoids the poetic diction of much 18th-century poetry. Here, Wordsworth gives his famous definition of poetry, as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” which “takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility”. Coleridge contributed one of the greatest poems of English literature, the long Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Lord Byron is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. He wrote his most well-known work during the decade of 1810-19 within the very strong Libra micro-age overflow. The Libran nature of his works can be shown to have strong Libran connotations just from their titles: She Walks in Beauty, When We Two Parted, and So, we’ll go no more a roving. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic Movement and a close friend of his fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.[22]
The English landscape painter John Constable’s (1776 – 1837) three most famous works were painted in this Libra period: Wivenhoe Park (1816), Dedham Vale (1821) and The Hay Wain (1821) – though he did not financially benefit from his paintings in his lifetime. Constable also belonged to the Romantic tradition and revolutionized landscape painting – with landscapes strongly associated with Libra. Constable’s art inspired not only contemporaries like Géricault and Delacroix, but also the French impressionists of the late nineteenth century.[23]
Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828) was another famous Romantic artist and played a critical role in the transition to modern paintings. Despite going deaf in 1793, by 1795 he was appointed Director of the Royal Academy (Spain) and the prime courtly artist in the Spanish court. He completed La Maja Desnuda, a remarkably daring nude for the time in the late 1790s. This Libra period cover’s Goya’s middle (1793 – 1799) and Peninsular War (1808 – 1814) periods with the latter period witnessing The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808 (see below), and preparing the series of etchings later known as The Disasters of War of which he was patently opposed towards. In the early 20th century, Spanish master painters Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí drew influence from Los caprichos and the Black Paintings of Goya.[24]
It is interesting to briefly analyze the birth generations of some of these famous Romantics – not all of whom have been mentioned to date. These famous Romantics include: Charlotte (1816 – 1855) and Emily Brontë (1818 – 1848) with both these sisters born in a Virgo-Virgo generation, along with Herman Melville (1819 – 1891) and Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862). Alexandre Dumas (1802 – 1870) was born in a Libra-Libra generation, as was the case with Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882), Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885), Alexander Pushkin (1799 – 1837), George Sand (1804 – 1876) and Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851). Straddling Libra and Virgo was Nikolai Gogol (1809 – 1852) born in a Libra-Virgo generation alongside Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849). Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) and was born in a Cancer-Cancer generation, and Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) was born in an Aquarius-Aquarius generation alongside Mary Robinson (1757 – 1800) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797) explaining her revolutionary zeal for female equality. Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) was very appropriately born in a Capricorn-Capricorn generation as was Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827), Walter Scott (1771–1832), William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834) and Robert Southey (1774–1843). Washington Irving (1783 – 1859) was born in a Capricorn-Sagittarius generation. Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859) was born in a Sagittarius-Sagittarius generation alongside Lord Byron (1788 – 1824). Percy Shelley (1792 – 1822) belonged to the Sagittarius-Libra generation.
Of the above 26 famous Romantics, nine were born with Libra as part of their generation representing one-third of all these Romantics suggesting that generational signatures have an impact. [see Introduction to Generational Astrology ]
The 1816 premiere of The Barber of Seville opera by Gioachino Rossini and Cesare Sterbini has proven to be one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music, and has been described as the comic opera all comic operas. After two hundred years, it remains a popular work.[25] Shortly after in 1818 Silent Nigh” was first played in Austria. The song has been recorded by many singers across many music genres and the version sung by Bing Crosby in 1935 sold 10 million copies.[26]
Another artistic event of note in this period occurred in 1802 when Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, began the removal of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, supposedly due to the risk of destruction during the Ottoman occupation of Greece, but perhaps ungraciously retained and therefore represented as theft by some parties. Nevertheless, the Elgin Marbles are ancient works of art, and suggest that the current Libra period may see some move towards the return of the ‘borrowed’ sculptures? In 1793 the Louvre in Paris opened to the public and is currently the world’s largest art museum. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation’s masterpieces.
Venus is the ruler of Libra, so again, it was very appropriate that in 1820, the statue of the Venus de Milo (Aphrodite of Milos, c.150 BC-125 BC) was discovered on the Greek island of Milos and is considered one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. It is a marble sculpture and is currently on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The statue is named after Aphrodite’s Roman name, Venus.[27]
Miscellaneous
The scale is a symbol of Libra, and in this Libra period, a great advance in measurement was made with the introduction of the metric system standardizing weights and measure.[28] Libra’s affinity to all types of social events is demonstrated with the first Oktoberfest when the citizens of Munich were invited to join the Bavarian royalty in the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810. The source of Australia’s name was made in this period when Captain Mathew Flinders published A Voyage to Terra Australis in 1814[29] which again suggests a relationship between Libra and Australia?
There does not seem to be any consensus in the astrological community as to the rulership of cotton or textiles in general. Certainly there is a Gemini element in their earlier pre-industrial manufacture, due to looms and manual dexterity involved (looms are traditionally associated with Mercury)[30], but the softness of textiles and their association with attractiveness implies that Libra is part of the crew. In this Libra period, Eli Whitney invented the saw-gin for cleaning cotton which revolutionized what was formerly labor-intensive hand cleaning with one saw-gin believed to replace the work of 50 people.[31]
The Luddites appeared in this Libra period in England peaking from 1811 to 1816 comprised of a radical faction of textile workers who destroyed textile machinery as a form of protest against “a fraudulent and deceitful manner” to get around standard labor practices. The protest was actually against the effects that the Industrial Revolution was having upon former small workshops that produced textile by manual labor. Over time, the term has come to mean one opposed to industrialization, automation, computerization, or new technologies in general and of course ‘opposition’ is always a Libran archetype. Mill and factory owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed with legal and military force.[32]
Fashion is considered a Pisces archetype, but Libra, the sign of beauty nevertheless takes a role. Fashion in the period 1795–1820 in western countries saw the practical and informal triumphant over (Capricorn) class-conscious clothes of the earlier 18th century at the end of the Capricorn sub-age overflow (1612 -1791). In the aftermath of the French Revolution, people began using clothing more as a form of individual expression than as an indication of (Capricorn) social status. This Libra period is located at the exact beginning of the Cancer sub-age decan and overflow (1791 – 1851 – 1910) which automatically undermines Capricorn archetypes such as tradition, social status and rank. The shifts that occurred in fashion at the turn of the 19th century granted the opportunity to present new public identities that also provided insights into their private selves (ruled by Cancer). Katherine Aaslestad indicates how “fashion, embodying new social values, emerged as a key site of confrontation between tradition and change.”
Beau Brummell introduced trousers, perfect tailoring, and unadorned, immaculate linen as the ideals of men’s fashion. During the 1790s, incorporated in this new “natural” style was the importance of ease and comfort in dress and clothing became much lighter and more able to be changed and washed frequently. Even upper-class women began wearing cropped dresses as opposed to dresses with long trains or hoops that restricted them from leaving their homes. Women’s fashion was also influenced by male fashion, such as tailored waistcoats and jackets to emphasize women’s mobility. It was also during this time period that the fashion magazine and journal industry began to take off that allowed men and women to keep up with the ever-changing styles.[33]
Conclusion
Females recovered and made a splash with this Libra period and the French revolutionaries even created the Goddess of Reason. The first hints of feminism and female emancipation arrived with a flourish with Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and King George IV mistress also had similar revolutionary and feminist fervor. It’s no accident that the most famous female novelist of all times appeared in the guise of Jane Austen. And finally China had its “dragon lady” as their pirate that came in from the cold.
The United States Bill of Rights creation in this period also sees Libra keeping alive its quest for justice. The US Supreme Court flexed its nascent wings while in Europe, one silver lining to the Napoleonic Wars was the Napoleonic Code which was the first modern set of laws to apply to much of Europe and was instrumental throughout the world as a guide for legal improvement. Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man was another breakthrough in the liberal legal vendetta of recent centuries.
The Napoleonic Wars (1805 – 1815) claim to fame as the first modern war again promotes Libra as a sign of major opposing blocs including major military conflict. Combined with previous major conflicts with every Libra period examined so far, it seems to be the most reliable of Libra archetypes and strongly suggests that every Libra period will have an out-of-the-ordinary conflict – which is particularly relevant for the contemporary Libra micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 2019 – Nov 2024 – Nov 2029).
Political marriages may not be made in heaven, but they certainly favor Libra periods, and the creation of the UK by combining Great Britain and Ireland certainly fulfills Libra’s amorous side – even if a divorce took place later with the formation of the Irish Republic (1919-22). The Napoleonic Wars also propelled Europe to create a balance of power that lasted until the early 1900s. Meanwhile in the East, China rebuffed the British and their businessmen but had to contend with a resurgent While Lotus Society getting impatient for the promised era of peace and plenty under the second coming of Buddha. In the budding USA, they had their Era of Good Feelings (1816 – 1823/4) where they attempted to put aside their political divisions. The Monroe Doctrine also appeared putting European colonial powers on notice if they attempted to again infiltrate the Americas. Canada divided into two parts reflecting the British and French heritages.
This Libra period saw many potent artists and musicians and while their activities were not limited to only this Libra period, they generally excelled within it. However, the rise of Romanticism can be basically aligned to this Libra period. This period saw notable input from Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Walter Scott, Lord Byron (regarded as one of the greatest British poets), Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Constable and Francisco Goya. A significant number of Romantics were born in a generation that included Libra.
The theft or protective relocation the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens also deserves a mention as does the opening of the Louvre in Paris leading it to become the world’s largest art museum. The discovery of Venus de Milo is fitting response to this Libra period inaugurating the Libra quasi age-decan (1791 – 2507), which will be the most powerful manifestation of Libra in the world for around 7,000 years.
Other relevant events associated with Libra include the introduction of the metric system standardizing weights and measure, the first Oktoberfest and possibly the first circumnavigation of Australia. If my speculation about a Libra element applying to cotton, then the invention of the saw-gin for cleaning cotton by Eli Whitney conforms to this argument, and to balance out all the advances of the Industrial Revolution, the reactionary Luddites appeared to oppose or resist this assault upon their welfare. Fashion turned from class consciousness to the practical and informal affecting both men and women.
It cannot be overstressed that this Libra period is the threshold of the massive Libra quasi age-decan (1791 – 2507) and this small Libra period provided the concrete seeds for many of the developments that occurred after this small Libra period, with many more yet to arrive as Libra’s main period of influence will be the period 2149 to 2507. It is through the examination of each concentration of Libra since the arrival of the Age of Aquarius and Libra age-decan in 1433 that can provide us with a foretaste or expectations that will continue to develop over the course of most of the cureent millenium.
Previous Posts in this Libra Series
The Backbone of the Libra Age-Decan (1433 – 2149)
The Baptism of the Libra age-decan (1433 – 2149)
Libra micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 1527 – Dec 1532 – Nov 1537)
Libra micro-age decan and overflow (August 1582 – July 1592)
Libra micro-age and overflow (April 1627 – May 1642 – April 1657)
Libra micro-age decan & overflow (January 1692 – December 1701)
Libra micro-age decan & overflow (Sep 1746 – Sep 1751 – Aug 1756)
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Demystifying the Aquarian Age 
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