<p>{maketoc}</p>
<h1>The Axial Age</h1>
<p>&nbsp;Between world of gods and God came a transition known to some as the ((Axial Age)), a term first coined by ((Karl Jaspers)) and covered&nbsp; much by ((Karen Armstrong)). This period stands out as the time when some humans began to decide that a montheistic system of worship served better than a polytheistic one.&nbsp; <a target="_blank" href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/tomek26.htm">The Axial Age, previous eras and consequences of the Axial Age</a> on the site <a target="_blank" href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/">Religious Tolerance</a> excellently summarizes the period:</p>
<p><i><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">In the years centering around 500 BCE, great advances in religion, philosophy,  science, democracy, and many forms of art - occurred independently and almost  simultaneously in China, India, the Middle East, and Greece. Spiritual  foundations were laid which humanity still use today. <sub> <font face="Trebuchet MS"><b>3</b></font></sub> In these times of social  upheaval and political turmoil, a new elite became the carrier of a new cultural  and social order. Great religious leaders rose to prominence attracting a mass  following, and many sociological, cultural, economic and spiritual changes were  made:</font> <!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist--></i></p>
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            <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">In China, many individual thinkers, such as </font></i><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica"><a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/confuciu.htm"><i> Confucius</i></a><i>, </i><a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm"><i>Lao-Tse</i></a></font><i><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">, and Mo Tzu, began to reflect on the ethical and metaphysical  implications of human existence. From their teachings arose Confucianism,  Daoism and Jainism.<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></i></td>
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            <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">In India, the authors of the Upanishads expanded the scope of their  explorations to include metaphysical thinking in the search for the ultimate  truth and the meaning of life and death. India experienced a dramatic  socio-political and intellectual transformation, and produced the teachings  of the </font></i><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica"><a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm"><i>Buddha</i></a><i> and </i><a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/jainism.htm"><i>Mahavira</i></a></font><i><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">.  Like China, new teachings ran the whole gamut of philosophical schools of  thought, including even skepticism, materialism, sophism, and nihilism.<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></i></td>
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            <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">In Palestine, the prophets Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Deutero-Isaiah  made their appearance. The law and moral code of the Israelites dates back  to before this age. <!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></i></td>
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            <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">In ancient Mesopotamia, cultural developments were relatively  close to those in ancient Israel. However, concepts including  the belief in a transcendent creator God, and full subservience of the  political rulers to a God did not materialize. <sub> <font face="Trebuchet MS"><b>4</b></font></sub><!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></i></td>
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            <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">In Greece, developments were more philosophical than spiritual. Greece  witnessed the appearance of:<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist-->             </i>
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                        <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">Thales, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus who regarded all existence to be  in a state of flux -&ndash; one cannot step in the same river twice,<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></i></td>
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                        <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">Parmenides, who discoursed on the nature of permanent &lsquo;being&rsquo; as  opposed to &lsquo;becoming&rsquo;, and <!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></i></td>
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                        <td valign="top" width="100%"><i><!--mstheme--><font face="trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica">Democritus, who devised the first atomic theory of nature.</font></i></td>
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<p>Here we begin to see a distinct change from humans feeling that forces beyond their control determining how their lives proceeded to understanding the forces in the world. The leap from from comprehending the forces to trying to control them is miniscule. Well, almost. Using the forces of nature for human benefit really did not fully take hold until the Industrial Revolution of the XVIIIth century.</p>
<h1>A Triple Conjunction</h1>
<p>During the years 577bce to 575bce the three outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto aligned around 9&deg; Taurus for the only time from the Neolithic Period forward.</p>
<h1>The Combination</h1>
<p>&nbsp;Some may naturally see the connection between the Axial Age and the Triple Conjunction as coincident, but</p>
<h1>Stepping Forward</h1>
<p>&nbsp;The most revealing step forward comes at the dawn of the Age of Reason. This grand steep toward secularism cannot help but remind that secular thought also arose as a need during the Axial Age.&nbsp;</p>
<h1>Stepping Back</h1>
<h1>Saturn's Connections</h1>
<p>As happens at historical crossroads Saturn</p>
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<h1>Conclusions</h1>
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<p>The history and the out</p>