Kali-Yuga, the present dark age of spiritual decline. It is traditionally said to have started with the “death of Krishna in 3002 B.C.E. This idea is fundamental to Tantra, which purports to be a new gospel for the dark age. The word ‘kali,’ often loosely translated as “dark,” derives from the losing throw of the dice, dice playing being a favorite activity of the ancient Indians. — Georg Feuerstein, The Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra (1997)

We have reached the apex of this era and the pendulum has just begun to shift into a new extended period of increasing “light.”  Astrologers date the aphelion and beginning of this shift, December 21, 2012.