“Photo: Clinton numerologist Kay Lagerquist is part of the New Age Collective, which authored The Complete Idiot’s Guide to New Millennium Predictions.Joan Soltys/staff photoThis is, finally, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.Astrologer Sheila Belanger of Freeland describes it in the detail of planets, stars and the zodiac, the “precession of the equinoxes,” which occurs at about the same time as the new millennium. But at the more earthly level she lists its dominant traits: “humanitarianism, experimentation with social and community forms, and the urge for individual freedom.” Its challenges, she writes, will be “intellectual dogmatism, disassociation from the physical, and destructive anarchy.”Kay Lagerquist, a numerologist who lives in Clinton, talks about moving from the energy of the “1” in the 1000 millennium to that of the “2” of Millennium 2000.“‘The ‘1’ emphasizes start-up, self-sufficiency, pioneering, becoming independent. It’s a driving, going-for-it aggressiveness,” Lagerquist said. “The ‘2’ is more feminine and gentle. It’s about receiving, letting things evolve. Its energy is focused more on relationships and making teams, about finding the harmony.”Belanger and Lagerquist are two of the five members of the “New Age Collective,” a consortium of experts drawn from the intuitive arts who have collaborated with writer Lisa Lenard in the newly published book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to New Millennium Predictions.”The other New Age experts who contribute to the volume are tarot reader Arlene Tognetti; Lynn A. Robinson, M.Ed., a psychic intuitive; and palmist Robin Gile.Together they address the questions that are being asked about the human future, drawing on their specific areas of expertise in their predictions. And what do they calculate as the potentials and possibilities of the 21st century?Astrologer Belanger names the planets that are symbolic change agents for the 21st century to show the new trends: Pluto represents deep and lasting change, transformation of power and intimacy issues, and conscious dying; Neptune is sympolic of imagination, transcendence, the dissolving of illusions, addictions, and fear; and Uranus is innovation, unexpected changes, and liberation from the status quo.Belanger shows an astrological “event chart” in which a lineup of symbols forms what is called a “grand square.” She explains: “The need for intimacy with emotional components of our lives (moon in Scorpio) wants to balance with the need for responsibility to our physical and financial security issues (Saturn in Taurus). The South Node-Neptune combination invites us to remember our spiritual and compassionate sides as we become more creative and respectful of everyone’s worthiness.”She adds, “The corporate and consumer culture pattern of controlling through grabbing up all the resources will be deeply challenged.” In non-astrological terms, “It will be time to move from the independent “1” vibration of the heroic explorer and conqueror to the conscious, mutually supportive partnership of the “2” vibration.”Lagerquist, as a numerologist, speaks also of the “influence and vibration of the energy of the 2” in talking of the new millennium. During the time span of 1000 to 1999, using the symbolic meaning of the number 1, we’ve been living in a “thousand-year period of beginnings,” she says, “a time of establishing independence, of innovation, self-starting, determination and leadership. The number 1 is very much about the energy of birthing, beginning and starting anew.” During the years 2000-2999, the predominant number is 2, representing a heightened sensitivity and awareness, joining together to solve problems, developing a slower rhythm for the way we execute business and live our lives. “We might say we’ll live in a time that’s about harmony, balance and relating,” Lagerquist writes. The number 2 has, however, its negative qualities of course — including loss of time, fear and aloneness.“At its most negative,” she writes, “the 2 governs easily hurt feelings, emotionalism and hypersensitivity in all forms, including allergens to the body (we’ve all been sneezing a little more lately…).”During the 2 vibration, we can expect energy medicine to become more popular with its medical intuitives becoming more involved with diagnostic medicine, Lagerquist predicts. Also, it follows that with the gentle influence of the 2, non-invasive procedures will become the norm rather than the exception. Doctors and patients alike will become more sensitive about how we deal with the human body.In the New Age arts of tarot, psychic intuition and palmistry, the pattern continues: Tarot cards show a “more heart-centered attitude toward money and finance,” possibly more compassion when it comes to money and sharing.Psychic intuitives predict a changing concept of healing and medicine, with physicians of the future “asking questions that cover the gamut of our mind, body, and spirit,” and prayer as a healing force. And palm readers note that the hands of “Today’s Children” — those who were born between 1981 and 2000 — show they will be willing to accept differences, will be less litigious and more inclined to “forgive and forget.” The intuitive arts do allow more specific predictions, including ones about money, technology, and space travel.On the question of Social Security, there may some changes, but in general the system will still be around when we need it. The stock market will be down through early 2000, then up and back down again by fall of 2001. But a dramatic crash is not indicated.In the fields of science and medicine, the Human Genome Project (gene mapping) will have discovered the genetic codes for as many as 5,000 diseases by 2010, and by 2030, “we may all wear our personal DNA codes on our sleeves!”By 2020, we’ll be routinely harvesting human organs grown in animals, to replace worn-out ones in humans.The development of fusion– a way of using hydrogen atoms to create energy which does not leave radioactive waste — will be used to power not only the energy plants of Earth but the space ships to lift people off the planet. And beyond 2100, those space ships may be powered by the antimatter engines of “Star Trek” and the warp drive, all of which are consistent with the laws of physics. The writers of the New Age Collective are earthbound, however, grounded in practicality.“Looking to the future means exploring both our past and our present,” writes Lisa Lenard. “We’re looking to the stars — and our own planet.”“And we predict…The New Age Collective offers not just generalized abstractions or broad hypotheses about the 21st century. There are substantive predictions in the book. Here are some of them:*A life span of 120-150 years*Mushrooms as the meat of tomorrow*Circuses a thing of the past*Pocket-protector spirituality: “software manuals that make sense”*Six-million-dollar bodies: embedded chips that will allow people to alter themselves at will *A computer that you wear*Artificial intelligence — reasoning machines that take care of the mundane tasks of life*An ever-increasing acceptance of others and lack of judgmental behavior*Molecular medicine: the decoding of genetic information to find cures for disease*A cashless society, with online “wealth accounts” instead*Smart clothing: Lapel pins programmed to call 911 if the wearer has a heart attack; pants that would adapt to daily weight fluctuations*Smart houses: Like Bill Gates’s house on Lake Washington, a microchip-controlled stream of data services, maybe even electricity*Cloning of plants and animals*The antimatter engines and warp drive of “Star Trek”Old paradigm attitudes — Millennium 1000 Get it done nowMake it happenImpatienceMistrustHurried lifePenetrating, pushingDisregard for timing (“pushing the envelope”)Overt Loss of meaningLoss of self in relationshipInsensitivity and lack of awarenessNew paradigm attitudes — Millennium 2000Allowing it to emergeIt will happen at the right timePatience TrustSlower rhythmReceiving, emergingTimely action, living in the flowSubtleReturn of the meaningfulValuing the individual in relationshipAttuned to inner sensitivitiesFrom “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to New Millennium Predictions”In bookstores:The Complete Idiot’s Guide to New Millennium Predictions, by The New Age Collective and Lisa Lenard, is available on South Whidbey at Llynya’s and The Book Bay in Freeland; the Whidbey CyberC@fe in Clinton; and Moonraker Books in Langley. Or order from the publisher, Alpha Books, a division of Macmillan General Reference, 1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019-6785.”