The Fifth Dimension's recording of "Aquarius" reached the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart in April, 1969, and spent more than four months on the chart.
The song is back in play, now that we're truly at the dawn of the new age. Just like years ago, its lyrics and spirit can help lift us all, giving us the emotional rocket fuel we need to leap into the new Age of Aquarius.
The Fifth Dimension released "Aquarius" in spring 1969 as part of the group's fourth album, The Age Of Aquarius. They performed the song as a mash-up medley with "Let the Sunshine In." Both songs appeared originally in the groundbreaking rock musical Hair, with lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermott.
The Fifth Dimension's version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 12, 1969, where it stayed for six weeks. It stayed on the chart for 17 weeks and went on to earn three Grammy nominations in 1970, winning for both Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
The song's album, The Age Of Aquarius, peaked on the Billboard chart at the number two spot in late June, 1969, and spent 72 weeks on the chart. It garnered two Grammy nominations.
The song's famous lyrics tell of a new age and all the positive changes it will bring, from peace, harmony, and understanding to "living dreams of visions" to "the mind's true liberation."
Here are the lyrics:
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars.
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding.
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation.
Aquarius
Aquarius
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars.
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius
The lyrics talk of a time when "the Moon is in the seventh house" and" Jupiter aligns with Mars."
Keep in mind that these astrological factors occur regularly, with the Moon in the seventh house every month and Jupiter aligning with Mars several times each year.
Rather than being an exact guide to the dawn of the new age, the lyrics suggest that astrological alignments will play a role in signaling the start of the Age Of Aquarius. They also hint at deeper symbolism in mentioning the mysterious number seven, which recurs in many spiritual and mystical traditions.
Finally, remember that "Mars" rhymes with "stars," indicating the choice of astrological references likely have less to do with planetary precision and more to do with practical decisions by the songwriters to achieve a catchy rhyme and evocative lyric.
Even more interesting than the song's astrology are the planetary energies associated with the group that made it a mega hit: the Fifth Dimension.
The Fifth Dimension has roots in the early 1960s, when Marilyn McCoo and Lamonte McLemore formed a five-member group called the Hi-Fis. When the group split up, McLemore recruited Florence LaRue and two old friends, Ronald Townson and Billy Davis Jr.
Of these five, two are Aquarians: Florence La Rue (born February 4, 1944) and Ronald Townson (born January 29, 1933).
Aquarius is an air sign, giving the group an automatic 2/5 air energy.
Marilyn McCoo adds more air. Born September 30, 1943, she's a Libra - another air sign amplifying the Aquarius energies.
Although Lamonte McLemore is an earth sign Virgo (born September 17, 1939), Virgo's ruling planet is Mercury. This planet makes him a sort of honorary air sign in the sense that Mercury rules the mind, communication, and ideas. Mercury's rulership makes Virgo the lightest of all the earth signs and gives Virgos a highly analytical, practical approach to life.
From this perspective, 4/5 of the group harmonizes with the airy, mental energies of the zodiac sign Aquarius and the "new age" Age Of Aquarius.
As for Billy Davis Jr., his birth date of June 26, 1938, makes him a Cancer, a water sign. As such, he has an affinity with the receptive earth quality of Virgo.
He also shares leadership qualities with Marilyn McCoo: both Cancer and Libra are cardinal signs, which begin seasons and prefer being in charge. (Those energies have helped unite McCoo and Davis for more than half a century: they married in 1969.)
In addition, the song Aquarius underscores this zodiac sign's preoccupation with group activities, given that the performers who made it a hit were a group rather than a solo act.
That put the Fifth Dimension in line with the Aquarian spirit that was "in the air" and may have contributed to their success at the Grammys the following year.
Of the two awards the team took home was a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. So even their big award reflects an Aquarius vibration of working harmoniously in a group to achieve a larger purpose.
The Age Of Aquarius song has played a significant role in popularizing the promise and truth of the new age's dawning.
Its lyrics caught the spirit of the 1960s and describe what's possible in the new age. Also, the Fifth Dimension's existence as a group made up of performers whose personal astrology aligned so well with the times and the song's vision added power to an already potent mix of variables.
No wonder the song became a hit.
Today, more than 50 years after the Age of Aquarius song topped the charts, we truly are in the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
As explained in the Aquarian manifesto, Age Of Aquarius Is Here, humanity is completing its shift from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age. In living the highest and noblest expression of Aquarian energies, we will enjoy the great Awakening that will create a new Golden Age of peace, wisdom, and true harmony.
Let the current powerful astrology that's supporting major change help you make your personal leap into the new and beautiful age of harmony, the Age of Aquarius.
Allow yourself to make the most of whatever turning points come to you so you can turn toward the future and be ready to birth your own "heaven on earth."
Let a new day dawn and the new age begin!
Find out more about Aquarius, its planet (Uranus), and the Age Of Aquarius in these articles:
Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction - Winter Solstice 2020 (Full start of Age Of Aquarius)
Aquarius Time: Awaken To Inner Wisdom
Aquarius Time - Harness Heavenly Power
I am looking forward as t what’s going to happen in the Age of Aquarius. I was born in 1963 and the world as we knew it doesn’t exist anymore in all aspects.
Yes, me too! And you're correct: the world has changed so much from the 1960s. So it's exciting to begin imagining the new world we're going to create together here on Earth. I wish you wondrous insights in the coming days, as the planets line up for the big day on December 21: the Solstice!
The universe doesn't move at the quick pace that we do. It takes its time. So for the "dawning of the Age of Aquarius" to have taken 50 years is the blink of an eye in the universe's time. But in some ways it does feel as if the spirit of the '60s is back. Many of Biden's picks for government positions are young progressives, there are some very liberal members of Congress such as AOC, and some of the ideas of the '60s, such as universal healthcare--a given if Bobby Kennedy had lived and become President--are back. Astrologer Anne's article about the Age of Aquarius is quite insightful.
Thank you, Aries57! Great that you've weighed in here with a historical and political perspective. Yes, it's all about progress now and helping humanity evolve "onward and upward"! It's that 1960s spirit, cycling back yet on a higher level as we spiral upward. Thanks again.
What is written here is seeming very unclear, I am not at all able to understand. If you could write the things without making poetic or straight forward and clear please
Sincere Regards-
Thank you for reading this article and for taking a moment to comment. You may find it helpful to check out the other articles listed above for more perspective.
Wishing you a good day and good insights in the rest of this month.