A Thousand Ages....

At this time of year, as the lesser wheel of time moves, just a little more noticeably, I often think about another, far slower movement of time's greater wheel, known to astrologers as the precession of the equinoxes. There's an article by Deborah Houlding at Skyscript: Heavenly Imprints
from whence comes this extract about precession:

"....the Sun does not cross the equator at exactly the same place on the ecliptic each year. It crosses at a point 50 seconds of arc to the east of the previous year. During a lifetime this shifting point of intersection between the ecliptic and equator is so small as to be negligible, but over several centuries it will be noticed that the backdrop of stars that once lay behind the crossing point is moving westwards. This is the phenomenon of precession, caused by the Earth's axis slowly rotating around the celestial poles. Whilst the background of the fixed stars remain more or less constant to each other, the ecliptic's intersection with the equator slides backwards through the zodiac, completing one circuit in approximately 26,000 years - the 'Great Astrological Age'. The movement of the Vernal Equinox from one zodiacal sign to the next - by which we are presently moving from the Age of Pisces to Aquarius - is a subdivision of this cycle that takes approximately 2,160 years. "

There's information scattered around the internet relating to the Astrological Ages and how they relate to the zodiac signs, but much of it needs to be read bearing in mind the author's main interest, which can give varying perspectives. Diagram below (click on it to enlarge the image) comes from Library of Halexandria website.



The Age of Gemini brought forth more travel and movement, leading to wider communication; the Age of Taurus saw farming flourish using tools and the wheel which had come out of the previous age. The Age of Aries: the expansion of ancient empires through force. The Age of Pisces spanning a few centuries BC until the present brought the dominance of three main religions Buddhism, Christianity and Islam - for good or ill.

Ancient Egyptians looked upon the Age of Leo as the beginning of their own history; that was around 10,950 BC. They already had evolved rather well from the stereotypical primitive human being. We need to travel further back to seek the likely Age when humanity, as we know it, emerged. Age of Virgo, Age of Libra, Age of Scorpio? Age of Saggitarius, Age of Capricorn, Age of Aquarius ? And would we find our own, in reverse, counterparts at the gateway to Age of Pisces ? That's a creepy thought!

26,000 years for one go around of the greater wheel of time = one Great Age. There are probably even greater ages, measurable on a greater wheel, beyond that which we call The Great Age, and well outside of our meager comprehension. Recalling lines from a hymn we used to sing in school, the words always fascinated me then, and it's only now that I completely comprehend their significance. In the Great Scheme of Things 26,000 years is the blink of an eye - to the universe as a whole.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

What time is it? Quite possibly it's Gemini Phase of Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces.

I have wondered, from time to time, (no pun intended) whether the whole "Age of...." thing isn't just so much Taurean Excrement. Astrological Ages are calculated, not with direct reference to our tropical zodiac, but by the points at which the Sun enters each astronomical constellation at the vernal equinox, as equinoxes precess. Because the constellations are of varying size, Ages are of varying lengths. The spanner in the astrological works, to my mind has always been that delineation of constellations is a man made construct. Humans designated the shape, extent and patterns of constellations, who's to say the delineations we use are the correct way to carve up the sky? The best we can do, with any certainty, is relate events in history, throughout the world, to astrological symbolism and use that as guide. What we come up with may not be astronomically accurate, but who's to say that astronomy has the last word on this particular topic?

All that can really be said is that at some indeterminate point in the very distant past, for reasons unknown, there came the moment known to science as t = 0. We were on our way.
(Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, p.10)

Some detail from a book by Robert FitzGerald: Signs of the Times has helped me to see more sense in the whole astrological ages issue. Excerpts are available via the link.

Robert Fitzgerald divides astrological Ages into more accessible chunks: Eras and Phases.

At present we are in transit through the Age of Pisces. By this author's calculation the Aquarius Era of the Pisces Age ran from 1800 to 1980 - which could well account for insistence by some that we are already living in the Age of Aquarius.

Then, the author divides time into even smaller slices. 1950 to 1965 becomes the Aquarius Phase of the Aquarius Era of the Age of Pisces....that slice includes the psychedlic 1960s, often thought to be quite Aquarian in flavour - so with a double dose of Aquarius: Phase and Era, it actually fits....and always with a background of Pisces dreaminess.

1965 to 1980 = Pisces Phase of the Aquarius Era of Age of Pisces.

From 1980 to 2160 is the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces. We are presently in the Gemini Phase: 2010 to 2025 of the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces. How appropriate that is! What could be more Geminian than the mushrooming of communication via social media (Facebook, Twitter, old fashioned blogs like this one), and the ubiquitous cellphones and smartphones? While these are most prevalent in developed nations, there must be few parts of the globe where their influence remains unknown.

Cancer Phase of the Pisces Era of the Age of Pisces will run from 2025 to 2040. That sounds like an emotional ride and a half coming up some ten years hence, doesn't it!

For a brief rundown on all of these Eras and Phases, and comparisons with similar eras and phases throughout history, do take a look at the website, linked above.

Astrological Ages ~ Are We there Yet?

The complex subject of astrological Ages came up in an unrelated comments conversation here last week. This topic is a constant source of fascination, first and foremost is the question: has the much anticipated Age of Aquarius already begun - or will humanity wait a century or more for its arrival?

I'm copying, below, my comment conversation with Gian Paul, an astrologer who lives in Brazil, sometimes writes posts at Astrology Mundo. Since making my own "off-top-of-head" comments I've refreshed my rusty information on the topic. I've reminded myself that the Ages are calculated, not with direct reference to our tropical zodiac, but by the points at which the Sun enters each astronomical constellation at the vernal equinox, as equinoxes precess. Because the constellations are of varying size, Ages are of varying lengths.

There's good information at astrologer Robert FitzGerald's website "Signs of the Times" - but good as it is, the author still states that "this can use more research by others to verify these conclusions".


The spanner in the astrological works to my mind, though, is that delineation of constellations was a manmade construct. Humans designated the shape, extent and patterns of constellations, who's to say the delineations we use are the correct way to carve up the sky?




All becomes murky. The best we can do, with any certainty, is relate events to astrological symbolism and use that as guide. What we come up with may not be astronomically accurate - but who's to say that astronomy has the last word on this particular topic?

A copy of our recent comment conversation, very lightly edited:

Twilight:

I'd like the age of Aquarius to be coming in quickly. I'm not quite sure what to think on this though, and have tended to accept Robert Hand's view on it - that there's a long way to go yet.

But....and it's a big but...who's to say when the "start date" happened? If that's wrong, then everything is wrong. We don't have a secure "start date" (start date for life on Earth - or conscious life on Earth) as far as I can tell.

Logically I think we still seem to be in a belligerent Age - Taurus, Aries? Astrologers think not. They see Pisces as representing the Age of Christianity and organised religion, ruled by Jupiter. But religion is not all that has gone on these 2000 years. It's not even the important part of what has gone on - although it has been the cause of much mayhem.

So I really don't know - and wonder at times if the whole "Age of...." thing isn't just so much Taurean Excrement aka BS.
;-)


Gian paul:

With around 2000 years, give or take, per sign, one could imagine that some "Ages" may be shorter and others a bit longer. There also might be some overlaps.

In that sense, I wonder if the sacred cows in India and what goes with them, are not remnants of the Age of Taurus. And the (often religious) bellicose events during the Christian Era, possibly an overlap from the Age of Aries - eye for eye and tooth for tooth...

The Christian Era, Pisces, has probably the most precise starting date we know, although there is historical doubt about the actual date of birth of Jesus. Ancient Roman sources (Plinius), diverge by about 5 to 30 years.

And, in case the Era of Aquarius already started, we now assist to the probably normal retro-fighting typical at the end of any civilization (except for the Mayas).

Here now some elements I believe are "Aquarian Age stuff":

* Aviation, very rapid transports
* Communications
* Science, bent towards the atomic,
nano, cyber etc.
* Beliefs, your's Twilight, your friends, me and who participates in this and similar blogs.
* Politics: democracy is being forced open to forces beyond human "manipulation". One man one vote does not function anymore. That started with Hitler/Goebbels, a government democratically elected. "The people" today, all over the world, increasingly know that politicians & Co. manipulate, lie and worse. And The People respond, via the media, arts, even violence and protests, riots (G - 20)...

For whom watches the stars and believes (knows) that they also preside over political events, it's obvious "who governs". How much time it will take for this perception to spread, if it has to do so (?), is open to speculation. One literally would have to look into the "speculum", i.e. the cristal ball.

Living in Brazil (at the frontier of rural Brazil and Metropolis São Paulo, in what remains of the Rain Forest), I can attest that this country is quite Aquarian. One can see that a new wind (air) is blowing, here at least.

The frontiers may be still blurred, but personally I would not be surprised to discover things accelerating, even precipitously. So lets keep watching!
July 03, 2010.

Twilight:

Yes, some overlap of Ages sounds right to me.

Although we know roughly when Christ was born and count that as the dawn of the Age of Pisces, it's the question of how they knew when the whole thing started, and the point from which they started counting that keeps niggling away at my mind. The start of these cycles must have had to be an arbitarily chosen point of when life began on Earth. Which life, which stage though? And whereas the Ages are calculated by the precession of the equinoxes, nobody can be absolutely sure where it would have been correct to have begun counting.

I hope I've written that clearly enough - it's hard to explain.

Also - another point, our solar system is part of a wider universe, which may also be part of a still wider set of universes, for all we know. Using astrology's principles, there'd be alignments and aspects made to our Ages from others which could modify meaning - the macrocosm of the microcosm?

I do agree that what has gone on on Earth since the Industrial Revolution seems to be classic Aquarius/Uranus stuff....invention, discovery etc.
Then again, Saturn was Aquarius's traditional ruler, and sure enough there's been a lot of Saturnian stuff going on too.

The more I ponder on this, the more doubtful I become about the value of any astronomically calculated Age. Observation of history and of events has to be our best means of calculation. We have to keep in mind, too, that Ages do not exclusively reflect what goes on in the USA or Europe - but, in varying ways, across the entire planet.


BLOGGER IS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE COMMENT FACILITY AT PRESENT - IF A COMMENT AND/OR MY REPLY DOESN'T SHOW ON THE BLOG, THIS IS THE REASON. I'm receiving email notification of comments but they do not appear on the blog at the moment, hope they will, eventually. The fault has been reported.

Ages of Violence

This article "A History of Violence" by Steven Pinker is interesting and a little uplifiting. As a prelude it states:

"In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to exactly that conclusion."

Steven Pinker goes on to present his theory that, in spite of current world events, in his opinion man has become less violent over the millennia, centuries and decades.

He finishes with this paragraph:

"But the phenomenon does force us to rethink our understanding of violence. Man's inhumanity to man has long been a subject for moralization. With the knowledge that something has driven it dramatically down, we can also treat it as a matter of cause and effect. Instead of asking, "Why is there war?" we might ask, "Why is there peace?" From the likelihood that states will commit genocide to the way that people treat cats, we must have been doing something right. And it would be nice to know what, exactly, it is."

I wanted to shout out "Astrological Ages, sir!!"

Age of Taurus, Age of Aries - two Ages when violence and inhumanity to man flourished. The Bull and The Ram - neither signifies peace and friendship, and the history of those Ages match the symbolism. It wasn't until The Age of Pisces dawned, that there was any sign of a very, very slow movement away from violence - but SO very slowly that unless someone like Steven Pinker outlines the stages, and spells it all out, it's impossible to see. If we could have a magical video of the history of man on Earth, fast-forwarded at lightning speed, then it might become clear that we are indeed heading in the right direction, strange as it seems.

Mr Pinker does add

"It is not a license for complacency: We enjoy the peace we find today because people in past generations were appalled by the violence in their time and worked to end it, and so we should work to end the appalling violence in our time. Nor is it necessarily grounds for optimism about the immediate future, since the world has never before had national leaders who combine pre-modern sensibilities with modern weapons."

We could all name a few of those!