Present day inhabitants of Earth are inheritors of a Chinese curse, “ . . . May you live in interesting times.” 
 

Ours is a time of culmination; dire prophecies from diverse traditions contrast with the promise of a golden age on the other side of the apocalypse. Humanity has ever looked to the skies for portents in times of change, and the total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 promises to be a first magnitude event. Most who have studied this eclipse agree it is the same unsettling configuration referred to by Nostradamus in the following haunting quatrain. 
 
 

“The year 1999, in the seventh month, There will appear in the heavens The sign of the King of Terror When the great leader of the Mongols is reborn, and Mars reigns supreme once more.” X,22 

When historic calendric modifications are reconciled, the result is the modern Gregorian date of August 11, 1999. A lunar eclipse in July precedes and prepares us for the eventful solar black out in August. This awesome configuration, which will probably be viewed by more people than any other eclipse, draws the eyes of the world to the point of totality, hovering like an air raid siren over the anguished and war torn countries of Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and Albania, warning us to forsake the path of violence. 
 

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, temporarily blocking sunlight. An eclipse occurs each month at the time of the new Moon, but the perfect alignment of a total solar eclipse visible on such a broad scale is an uncommon occurrence. In addition to the stunning spectacle of the Sun going dark in midday, the potency of this eclipse is intensified by a configuration known to Astrologers as a Grand Fixed Cross. Five planets will form a four-armed cross in the fixed signs of the Zodiac: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. 
 

The totality of the eclipse occurs over eastern Europe at 11:10 AM Universal Time. The Sun and Moon will be overhead, joined in a new Moon in Leo. The planet Uranus will oppose the Sun and Moon at fourteen degrees of Aquarius. Forming the eastern arm of the cross will be none other than Mars, planet of war, at sixteen degrees of Scorpio. In the west, Saturn, the taskmaster, will be at sixteen degrees of Taurus, culminating in a Grand Fixed Cross -- a crossroads, forcing humanity to assess what has been fixed in form before choosing which direction to move ahead. 
 

The ancient Egyptians understood the phenomenon of precession of the equinoxes, and there is evidence suggesting that the ground plan of Giza was aligned with the fixed signs of the Zodiac. Many legends contend that the great Sphinx of Egypt originally embodied the four fixed zodiacal signs. Accounts describe the Sphinx as possessing the rear body and tail of a lion, the wings of an eagle, the front half of a bull, with an enigmatic human face staring from the strange hybrid creature. The four animals of Ezekiel’s vision, an ox, eagle, lion and man, also equate with the four fixed signs. Could Ezekiel's vision also have been a prophecy of such a stellar configuration? 
 

Those familiar with the work of Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock, (The Message Of The Sphinx), will recall their compelling argument that the lion bodied Sphinx gazed at its celestial counterpart, the constellation of Leo, during the epoch of 10,500 BC, the astrological age of Leo, called “the first time,” by the Egyptians. As this cosmic clocks ticks, Aquarius, the Water Bear, 180 degrees opposite from Leo, will herald the Spring Equinox Sun in our current time frame. 
 

According to the work of John Major Jenkins, (Maya Cosmogeneis), the four fixed signs are anchored as seasonal sign posts in the Great Year by rare precessional alignments to the center of our galaxy. The next such conjunction occurs at the winter solstice of 2012 as we enter the age of Aquarius. I believe the ground plan of Giza was intended to represent this passage through time, climaxing in the present era. Certain pyramids of ancient Mexico perform the same function. We are approaching a “last time,” the dawn of a new era, and the beginning of a new precessional cycle. 
 

If we conceive of one complete cycle of precession as a great year, Summer, an ancient golden age, may have occurred nearly twenty thousand years ago, during the age of Scorpio. Now lost in the dim mists of antiquity, this age survives only in myth and legend. Autumn, or nightfall, occurred at 10,500 BC during the age of Leo, when the last ice age destroyed the vestiges of prior civilization. Winter, or midnight, occurred at 2,800 BC during the so called pyramid age of the Egyptians, the astrological age of Taurus. At each of these junctures, an alpha star occupied the place in the sky pointed to by the moving projection of Earth’s axis: 
 
 

20,000 BP Alpha Cepheus, Alderamin 12,500 BP Alpha Lyra, Vega 4,800 BP Alpha Draco, Thuban 2000 AD Alpha Ursa Minor, Polaris 

Given the preexisting alignment to the fixed signs, this Grand Cross will overlay the ground plan of Giza. Functioning like a giant clock and mnemonic device, at significant astronomical alignments this star clock triggers connections with key events. The fixed cross and solar eclipse occurring on August 11, 1999 could be one such event. This cruciform mechanism can trigger a response in us if we are willing to respond. 
 

Comparing Egyptian cosmology to modern symbols and archetypes, the Sun and Moon equate to Ra and Isis; the planet Uranus to Ptah, father of the Gods; and the ancient adversaries of Horus and Set, symbolized by Mars and Saturn, are once again squared off to do battle. Clearly the cast of characters assembled for this archetypal morality play is impressive. This configuration of planets alone would be ominous, but as the fixed cross culminates, four additional constellations will be engaged in this celestial drama. 
 

The alpha star of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great She Bear, is at sixteen Leo. The star’s name is Dubhe, meaning “back of the bear.” This star, which is near the Bear’s heart, will be in conjunction with the Sun and Moon in the sign Leo. In traditional Astrology, Leo rules the heart. Such a conjunction compels us to probe the heart of the matter. Ursa Major has played a significant role in the cosmology of many cultures. The ancient Egyptians saw the seven stars of the Big Dipper, the familiar asterism of this constellation, as a thigh. Ursa Major is a circumpolar constellation; to the Egyptians, joining the circumpolars, and leaving the cycle of earthly concerns behind, was the ultimate goal of the Horus king. 
 

The alpha star of Grus, which in ancient symbolism was an Ibis headed bird, will be conjunct Uranus in Aquarius, opposing the celestial bodies gathered in Leo. The Ibis was one of the emblems of Thoth-Hermes, who presided over the weighing of the heart in ancient Egypt. The heart of the deceased was weighed against the feather of the goddess Ma’at. If the heart tipped the balance, the result was our concept of eternal damnation. 
 

The alpha star of the constellation Libra, Zubenelgenubi, Southern Claw, will be conjunct Mars in Scorpio. Libra, The Scales, intensifies the influence of the Egyptian Goddess of truth and justice, Ma’at. Perhaps the heart of humanity lies in the Goddess’s balance, being weighed against her feather of truth. Based on our behavior thus far, the outcome for business as usual does not look promising. 
 

The alpha star of the constellation Horologium, the Pendulum Clock, joins Saturn, or Father Time, at fifteen degrees of Taurus to oppose Mars and Alpha Libra. Horologium is a modern constellation, but the name is intriguing, implying a timing significance. 
 

The Hopi Indians have a prophecy concerning an equal armed cross and the four corners area of America. Across the world in Africa, Zulu shamans foretell of four leaders whose red, yellow, black and white skins, which parallel the colors of the Lakota medicine wheel, will emerge at this time. 
 

What message to humanity might be encoded in this elegant and symbolic time machine? I believe the clarion call can be translated in this fashion. “Wake up inhabitants of Earth; the time has come. Another vast cycle has made its circuit. Humanity is poised at a new crossroads, and must face the consequences of endless bloodshed and greed. The accounting time is at hand, and the piper must be paid. Everything built on a foundation of falsehood will crumble into dust. Only that which serves the principle of truth will remain. Choose this day whom you will serve.” 
 

Signs of the times can be viewed as harbingers of doom or heralds of heaven on Earth. The point of eclipse totality aligns with the city of Sofia, Bulgaria. Sophia was the Greek goddess of wisdom. Perhaps if we exercise wisdom instead of ignorance, this experience can be a doorway to a new future for Earth. The choice is ours. If we learn to live in peace, perhaps the illusive Hall of Records, buried beneath the sands of Giza and guarded by the great Sphinx can be opened, yielding the secrets of the ages. When the Great Year advances again to an age of Scorpio in 8000 AD, Alpha Cepheus, The King, will again occupy the throne of Pole Star, and perhaps another golden age will return to Earth.