Astrological age

"Age of Aquarius" redirects here. For the song, see Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. For the album, see The Age of Aquarius (album).

File:VernalEquinox150AD.png

Position of vernal equinox occurring in Pisces after leaving Aries constellation (through the precession of the equinoxes backward motion). In astrology (not astronomy), this is the moment where the tropical and sidereal "first point in Aries" (Aries 0º) came into close alignment. Since, in astrology, the 12 Astrological Ages are equal-sized (30 degrees each) and do not correspond to the exact constellations configuration in the sky, current astrologers need to establish when this alignment occurred, in order to determine the previous and future Ages.

Precessional movement as seen from 'outside' the celestial sphere. The rotation axis of the Earth describes over a period of about 25800 years a small circle (blue) among the stars, centred around the ecliptic northpole (blue E) and with an angular radius of about 23.4°: the angle known as the obliquity of the ecliptic. The orange axis was the Earth's rotation axis 5000 years ago when it pointed to the star Thuban. The yellow axis, pointing to Polaris is the situation now. Note that when the celestial sphere is seen from outside constellations appear in mirror image. Also note that the daily rotation of the Earth around its axis is opposite to the precessional rotation. When the polar axis precesses from one direction to another, then the equatorial plane of the Earth (indicated with the circular grid around the equator) and the associated celestial equator will move too. Where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic (red line) there are the equinoxes. As seen from the drawing, the orange grid, 5000 years ago one intersection of equator and ecliptic, the vernal equinox was close to the star Aldebaran of Taurus. By now (the yellow grid) it has shifted (red arrow) to somewhere in the constellation of Pisces. Note that this is an astronomical description of the precessional movement and the vernal equinox position in a given constellation may not imply the astrological meaning of an Age carrying the same name, as they (ages and constellations) only have an exact alignment in the "first point of Aries", meaning once in each ca. 25800 (Great Sidereal Year).

An astrological age is a time period in astrology which is believed by some to parallel major changes in the Earth's inhabitants' development. It roughly corresponds to the time taken for the vernal equinox to move through one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. The Ages in astrology, however, do not correspond to the actual constellation boundaries where the vernal equinox may be occurring in a given time.

Introduction

Astrological ages occur because of a phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes. One complete period of this precession is called a Great Sidereal Year of about 25,800 to 25,920 years and it is divided in twelve astrological ages of 30 degrees each (ca. 2150 to 2160 years). Each of those twelve sections can be called either a Great Month or an Astrological Age.

The entrance into a new Great Month is not considered to be a single moment of time but a process by which one age initiates its influences, in a slowly increasing way, before the end of the previous age. Due to this reason, some astrologers consider the last ca. 10 degrees of a given age (ca. 720 years) as the time period during which the new age starts to make visible its influences, also called "Orb of influence".

The Orb of Influence should not be confused with the "decanate", although they often describe the same section of Zodiac. The Orb is the distance from any point or planetary aspect in the Zodiac through which the influence operates, similar to a margin of error or uncertainty. A decanate is a band of any Sign of the Zodiac, which is overlaid by the influence of the next sequential Sign of the same element. For example, the 1st decanate of Libra (0 to 10 degrees) is Libra overlaying Libra, the 2nd decanate of Libra is Aquarius overlaying Libra, and the 3rd decanate of Libra is Gemini overlaying Libra. The decanate process shows how each Sign grows gradually towards a more progressed expression along its 30 degree length, whereas the orb involves, in this case, the gradual fading from one Sign into the next Sign.

In astrology, each age is led by the Zodiacal sign of the constellation in which the Sun actually appears at the vernal equinox in northern hemisphere. Nevertheless, as it is described above, this may not correspond to the actual constellation in the sky, since each age has a fixed 30-degree length and the constellations have variable lengths. The changes upon Earth are caused and marked by the influences of the given astrological sign, related to the northern hemisphere. However, the Age's influences are also complemented by the sign in which the autumnal equinox occurs (the autumnal equinox occurs in the southern hemisphere at the same time that the vernal equinox is occurring in the northern hemisphere). For example, the Age of Pisces (the Fish), vernal equinox, is complemented by the astrological sign of Virgo (the Virgin), autumnal equinox; for this reason the current Piscean age is called in astrology the "Age of Pisces-Virgo."

Calculation aspects

The Earth, in addition to its diurnal rotation upon its axis, incurs a precessional motion involving a slow periodic shift of the axis itself: approximately one degree every 70 years. This motion, which is caused mostly by the Moon's gravity, gives rise to the precession of the equinoxes in which the Sun's position on the ecliptic at the time of the vernal equinox, measured against the background of fixed stars, gradually changes with time.

In astrology, an astrological age has usually been defined by the constellation in which the Sun actually appears at the vernal equinox. This is the method that Hipparchus appears to have applied around 127 BCE when he calculated precession. Like nearly everything else related to the astrological ages, Hipparchus' approach remains contentious. Since each sign of the zodiac subtends (on average) 30 degrees, each astrological age might be thought to last about 72 × 30 = about 2150, 2156 or 2160 years (the most common ones). This means the Sun crosses the equator at the vernal equinox moving backwards against the fixed stars from one year to the next at the rate of one degree in seventy-two years, one constellation in about 2156 years, and the whole twelve signs in about 25 800, 25 868 or 25 920 years (the most commonly-adopted periods), sometimes called a Great Sidereal Year. The length of the ages are decreasing with time as the rate of precession is increasing. Therefore no two ages are of equal length.

Many current-day astrologers advance timeframes for the Ages based solely in the astronomical division of the constellations; however, as esoteric astrologers refer, basing astrology in direct connection to constellation configuration in the sky (i.e. its borders) is not astrology but only astronomy assumptions. This perspective is also confirmed by the conclusions of the Austrian astronomer Professor Hermann Haupt who examined the question of when the Age of Aquarius begins in an article published in 1992 by the Austrian Academy of Science: with the German title Der Beginn des Wassermannzeitalters, eine astronomische Frage? (The Start of the Aquarian Age, an Astronomical Question?, see below The Age of Aquarius).

First point of Aries alignment

This is the moment where the tropical and sidereal "first point in Aries" (Aries 0°) came into close alignment. Since, in astrology, the 12 Astrological Ages are equal-sized (30 degrees each) and do not correspond to the exact constellations configuration in the sky, current astrologers need to establish when this alignment occurred, in order to determine the previous and future Ages. This may vary from astrologer to astrologer, depending mainly on the constellation boundaries used between Aries and Pisces.

In Max Heindel's astrology writings, it is described that last time the starting-point of the sidereal zodiac agreed with the tropical zodiac occurred in 498. A year after these points were in exact agreement, the Sun crossed the equator about fifty seconds of space into the constellation Pisces. The year following it was one minute and forty seconds into Pisces, and so it has been creeping backwards ever since, until at the present time the Sun crosses the equator in about nine degrees in the constellation Pisces. It will thus be about 600 years before it actually crosses the celestial equator in the constellation Aquarius.

In other words, this means that according to the Rosicrucians the current astrological Age of Pisces began around the 5th century, since that was the last time that, astronomically, the vernal equinox occurred in the first point of the constellation Aries (but the Piscean age influences were already slowly increasing since about the previous 720 years, late 3rd century BCE/2nd century BCE). Nowadays, the vernal equinox occurs astronomically in about nine degrees of the constellation Pisces and it will be about 2600 when it actually finishes moving backwards through all the 30 degrees of Pisces and enters the constellation Aquarius. Which means however that the first and still growing influences of the Age of Aquarius are to have started in the first half of the 20th century.

This conception is accepted by Western esoteric astrologers and by Eastern ones, although some eastern astrologers mention that each astrological age may be led by the constellation sign in which the autumnal equinox occurs (the autumnal equinox occurs in the southern hemisphere at the same time that the vernal equinox, as used in the western astrology, is occurring in the northern hemisphere). Also, astrologically there have been five major "Epochs" in the evolution of mankind, with the "Fourth Epoch" being Atlantean and the present "Fifth Epoch" being Aryan. Because these concepts relate to Astrology, they are not recognized by modern science nor by the average astrologer.

Past Great Years

A timeline of the past Great Years, each having ca. 25 800 years, containing a summary of their parallels with the timeline of human development.

Great Year -8, 205900 BC to 180100 BC

Great Year -8 began at a time concurrent with the earliest-known homo sapiens (modern humans) remains, Omo Kibish 1 and 2 (Ethiopia, Omo river).

Great Year -7, 180100 BC to 154300 BC

Great Year -6, 154300 BC to 128500 BC

Great Year -6 began with the birth of the mitochondrial Eve in Africa. She is the most recent female ancestor common to all mitochondrial lineages in humans alive today.

Great Year -5, 128500 BC to 102700 BC

Great Year -5 began at a time when FOXP2 (the gene associated with the development of speech) appeared. Similar FOXP2 proteins can be found in songbirds, fish, and reptiles such as alligators.

Great Year -4, 102700 BC to 76900 BC

Great Year -4 began at a time when modern humans entered Asia via two routes: one north through the Middle East, and another route further south from Ethiopia, via the Red Sea and southern Arabia.

Great Year -3, 76900 BC to 51100 BC

Great Year -3 began at the time when a supervolcanoic eruption in Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia is believed to have caused homo sapiens' population to crash to an estimated 2,000 during a 6-year pseudo-nuclear winter, then a 1000-year ice-age.

Great Year -2, 51100 BC to 25300 BC

Great Year -2 began at the time when homo sapiens (modern humans) expanded from Asia to Australia (to become today's Australian aborigines) and Europe.

Previous Great Year (-1): 25300 BC to AD 500

Great Year -1 began roughly at the time when Neanderthal Man became extinct, with Homo Sapiens (modern humans) becoming the sole remaining species of the Homo genus.

This particular Great Year might be interpreted as the period during which humans developed their technical skills sufficient to escape the bonds of Earth (the "cradle of humanity"), and to establish themselves further afield in the universe, in the following Great Year: AD 500 to AD 26300.

The Great Month of Pisces (Pisces-Virgo)

Symbol for Pisces:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Pisces;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Virgo.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 25300 BC and ended in ca. 23150 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 26020 BC)

Overview

The age of religion and fantasy.

The Great Month of Aquarius (Aquarius-Leo)

Symbol for Aquarius:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Aquarius;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Leo.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 23150 BC and ended in ca. 21000 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 23870 BC)

The Great Month of Capricorn (Capricorn-Cancer)

Symbol for Capricorn:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Capricorn;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Cancer.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 21000 BC and ended in ca. 18850 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 21720 BC)

The Great Month of Sagittarius (Sagittarius-Gemini)

Symbol for Sagittarius:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Sagittarius;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Gemini.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 18500 BC and ended in ca. 16700 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 19570 BC)

Overview

Historical similarities

The first arrows were employed around this era. (See the obvious similarity of the Sagittarian symbol with the arrow). The arrow provided an important step forward in capability in endowing a weapon with fine accuracy, enormous point force and enormous speed from the stored energy in the bow.

The appearance of the grass mutation wild emmer, a low-yield wheat form. (Compare the symbol of Sagittarius with the shape of the emmer grain).

The Great Month of Scorpio (Scorpio-Taurus)

Symbol for Scorpio: The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Scorpio;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Taurus.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 16700 BC and ended in ca. 14550 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 17420 BC)

The Great Month of Libra (Libra-Aries)

Symbol for Libra:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Libra;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Aries.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 14550 BC and ended in ca. 12400 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 15270 BC)

Overview

Historical similarities

• Domestication of the dog, considered by many to be the most social animal, and the first animal to provide humans with companionship.

The Great Month of Virgo (Virgo-Pisces)

Symbol for Virgo:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Virgo;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Pisces.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• began in ca. 12400 BC and ended in ca. 10250 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 13120 BC)

The Great Month of Leo (Leo-Aquarius)

Symbol for Leo:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Leo;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Aquarius.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Common interpretation: ca. 10,500 BC to 8000 BC.
• Sacred Sites' interpretation: ca. 10,970 BC to 8810 BC:

Overview

Historical similarities

The carved stone oil lamp was invented during this time. (Oil lamps existed previously, but this type was the first proper continuously-burning lamp. The Leo symbol invokes the idea of a container with a wick hanging over its side, and a burning plume rising from the wick). Leo is the "fixed fire sign", corresponding to a continuously-burning lamp.

Leo and the Great Sphynx

The Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx is a statue with the face of a man and the body of a lion. Carved out of the surrounding limestone bedrock, it is 57 metres (185 feet) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and has a height of 20 m (65 ft), making it the largest single-stone statue in the world. The Great Sphinx is one of the world’s largest and oldest statues, yet basic facts about it such as the real-life model for the face, when it was built, and by whom, are debated. These questions have collectively earned the title “Riddle of the Sphinx,” a nod to its Greek namesake, although this phrase should not be confused with the original Greek legend.

The Great Sphinx is commonly accepted by Egyptologists to represent the likeness of King Khafra (also known by the Hellenised version of his name, Chephren) who is often credited as the builder as well. This would place the time of construction somewhere between 2520 BC and 2494 BC. Because the limited evidence giving provenance to Khafra is ambiguous and circumstantial, the idea of who built the Sphinx, and when, continues to be the subject of debate. One well-publicised debate was generated by the works of two writers, Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, in a series of separate and collaborative publications from the late 1980s onwards. Their claims include that the construction of the Great Sphinx and the monument at Tiwanaku in modern Bolivia was begun in 10,500 BC; that the Sphinx's lion-shape is a definitive reference to the constellation of Leo; and that the layout and orientation of the Sphinx, the Giza pyramid complex and the Nile River is an accurate reflection or “map” of the constellations of Leo, Orion (specifically, Orion’s Belt) and the Milky Way, respectively.

Their initial claims regarding the alignment of the Giza pyramids with Orion (“…the three pyramids were an unbelievably precise terrestrial map of the three stars of Orion’s belt”— Hancock’s Fingerprints of the Gods, 1995, p.375) are later joined with speculation about the age of the Sphinx (Hancock and Bauval, Keeper of Genesis, published 1997 in the U.S. as The Message of the Sphinx). By 1998’s The Mars Mystery, they contend:

…we have demonstrated with a substantial body of evidence that the pattern of stars that is “frozen” on the ground at Giza in the form of the three pyramids and the Sphinx represents the disposition of the constellations of Orion and Leo as they looked at the moment of sunrise on the spring equinox during the astronomical “Age of Leo” (i.e., the epoch in which the Sun was “housed” by Leo on the spring equinox.) Like all precessional ages this was a 2,160-year period. It is generally calculated to have fallen between the Gregorian calendar dates of 10,970 and 8810 BC. (op. cit., p.189)

A date of 10,500 BC is chosen because they maintain this is the only time in the precession of the equinoxes when the astrological age was Leo and when that constellation rose directly east of the Sphinx at the vernal equinox. They also suggest that in this epoch the angles between the three stars of Orion’s Belt and the horizon was an “exact match” to the angles between the three main Giza pyramids. This time period coincidentally also coincides with the American psychic Edgar Cayce’s “dating” of Atlantis. These and other theories are used to support the overall belief in an advanced and ancient, but now vanished, global progenitor civilization.

Aquarius and the Great Floods

Map of eastern Mediterranean and Greece during 10.000 BC.

Greek mythology knows three floods. Among them, the Ogygian ("primeval", "primal", "earliest dawn") flood covered the whole world and was so devastating that the country remained without kings until the reign of Cecrops. Plato in his Laws, Book III, estimates that this flood occurred 10,000 years before his time. Also in Timaeus (22) and in Critias (111-112) he describes the "great deluge of all" during the 10th millennium BC. In addition, the texts report that "many great deluges have taken place during the nine thousand years" since Athens and Atlantis were preeminent. The theory of the flood in the Aegean Basin, proposed that a great flood occurred towards the end of the Pleistocene. This flood coincides with the end of the last ice age, estimated approximately 10,000 years ago, when the sea level has risen as much as 130 metres. The map on the right shows how the region would look 12,000 years ago, when the sea level would be 100 meters lower than today. The geological findings support the hypothesis that the Ogygian Deluge may well be based on a real event.

Further information: [[:Deluge (mythology) and Deluge (prehistoric)]]

Religious similarities

The Great Sphinx was believed to stand as a guardian of the Giza Plateau, where it faces the rising sun. It was the focus of solar worship in the Old Kingdom, centered in the adjoining temples built around the time of its probable construction. Its animal form, the lion, has long been a symbol associated with the sun in ancient Near Eastern civilizations. Images depicting the Egyptian king in the form of a lion smiting his enemies appear as far back as the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. During the New Kingdom, the Sphinx became more specifically associated with the god Hor-em-akhet (Greek Harmachis) or Horus at the Horizon, which represented the Pharaoh in his role as the Shesep ankh of Atum (living image of Atum). A temple was built to the northeast of the Sphinx by King Amenhotep II, nearly a thousand years after its construction, dedicated to the cult of Horemakhet.

The Great Flood is a common feature of the world's cultural heritage and may indicate an association with the Aquarius (the Water Bearer) counterpart of this Age.

Further information: [[:Deluge (mythology) and Noah's Ark]]

Esoteric interpretation

The Age of Leo-Aquarius marks the end of the Atlantean Epoch, according to the Esoteric Christian and Gnostic esoteric teachings. The Atlanteans are said to have inhabited the basins covered by a dense, drenching fog (i.e. what is currently know as the Atlantic oceanic basin) which condensed into rain and flooded the basis of the Earth (recorded in all major cultures as the myth of the Great Flood).

The Great Month of Cancer (Cancer-Capricorn)

Symbol for Cancer:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Cancer;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Capricorn.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Heindel-Rosicrucian based interpretation: began in ca. 8126 BC and ended in ca. 5970 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 8846 BC)
• Neil Mann interpretation: began in ca. 8600 BC and ended in ca. 6450 BC.

Constellation

• Shephard Simpson interpretation:

Overview

"The Age of the Great Mother." Cancer is ruled by the Moon, & is associated with the process of bearing, birthing, nurturing, & protecting.

Historical similarities

• Invention of boats.
• Domestication of the cat in Egypt. (The cat became a necessary ally to humans for exterminating rats and mice that would otherwise pollute the precious grain harvests. The Cancer symbol above suggests the appearance of the cat and rat pursuit).
• The city Jericho is protected by a wall 12-17 ft high & 5 ft thick. (The Cancer symbol can represent the simplified view of a city from above, with its protective walls, living quarters, a grain silo, and strategically-placed entrances from the surrounding fields.)
• Glaciers withdraw & the sea level rises.
• Domestication of crops & increases in global farming.
• Neolithic Revolution, beginning of civilisation, with domestication of farm animals including pigs, goats & even bees.
• Most nomadic cultures are replaced by permanent settlements world-wide.
• Rise of pottery.
• Counting tokens used in Japan.

Esoteric interpretation

The Age of Cancer-Capricorn marks the beginning of the Aryan Epoch, according to the Esoteric Christian and Gnostic esoteric teachings. The Aryans are said to have been driven by the flood from the mists, which had enveloped Atlantis and condensed into rain, to the hilltops [the goat climbs the mountains] where they are now living. For the first time having a clear atmosphere in which the Rainbow, at the beginning of a new Epoch, marks a New Covenant made with the pioneers.
This Age also relates to mankind's recapitulation of the early third of the Atlantean period (a period which was intensely watery as the whole earth was covered by a dense, drenching fog. The Niebelung, or "Children of the Mist," lived then in the basins of the Earth).

The Great Month of Gemini (Gemini-Sagittarius)

Symbol for Gemini:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Gemini;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Sagittarius.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Heindel-Rosicrucian based interpretation: began in ca. 5970 BC and ended in ca. 3814 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 6690 BC)
• Neil Mann interpretation: began in ca. 6450 BC and ended in ca. 4300 BC.

Constellation

• Shephard Simpson interpretation:

Overview

"The Age of Communication, Trade and the Twins"

Historical similarities

During this age writing of languages developed, and trade started to accelerate. This corresponds to the symbols the Gemini constellation represents. The constellation can be seen as two people holding hands (thought to be twins), widely symbolic for trade and communication of peoples.

The earliest known form of writing, known as "proto-writing", was developed during this time. The symbol shown above for Gemini suggests the shape of tablets that served as a base for that communication, as well as the preponderance of straight lines, or slightly curved lines of the characters, favoured because of their ease of execution when using an engraving stylus.

Esoteric interpretation

The Age of Gemini-Sagittarius relates to the infant humanity recapitulation of the middle third of the Atlantean period (at that time the atmosphere had already cleared to a considerable extent, and the faculties of the spirit had become more focused in its physical instrument), according to the Christian esoteric teachings.

The Great Month of Taurus (Taurus-Scorpio)

Symbol for Taurus:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Taurus;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Scorpio.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Heindel-Rosicrucian based interpretation: began in ca. 3814 BC and ended in ca. 1658 BC (the Orb of influence started in ca. 4534 BC)
• Neil Mann interpretation: began in ca. 4300 BC and ended in ca. 2150 BC.

Constellation

• Shephard Simpson interpretation: began ca. 4525 BC to ca. 1875 BC

Overview

"The Age of Earth, Agriculture and the Bull"

Historical similarities

Bull worshiping cults began to form in Assyria, Egypt, and Crete which relates to Taurus symbolizing the bull. Taurus also symbolizes the earth, and during this age agriculture was further developed, as it had been originally developed c. 10,000 BC.

This age is notable for the building of the pyramids, during the Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. They personify structure, solidity, stability and attempts at eternity, keywords of Taurus. The completed Great Pyramid of Khufu, clothed in smooth pure white limestone, must have been a sight of dazzling beauty in the sunlight. Beauty is another keyword of Taurus.

The wheel, although having been used earlier as potter's wheels, was used for the first time in this age for transport. The symbol shown above for Taurus evokes the image of a wheel with a container to carry load.

Taurus is associated with the metal copper, and bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) was for the first time smelted and worked into bronze swords during the early phase of this era.

Papyrus was invented during this time, enabling improved writing techniques. It could be manufactured into very long strips that could be rolled (but not yet folded) into scrolls or rolls for efficient storage and handling. (The Taurus glyph invokes the image of the partially-unrolled scroll).

Religious similarities

• Mithraism
• The Mithraic Question and Precession
• Ankh: thoracic vertebra of a bull - Egyptian symbol of life
• Worship of Apis, the bull-deity (see also Bull (mythology)), the most important of all the sacred animals in Egypt, said to be instituted during the Second Dynasty of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt and worshipped in the Memphis region until the New Kingdom (16th century BC).

Esoteric interpretation

The Age of Taurus-Scorpio relates to mankind's recapitulation of the late third of the Atlantean period, according to the Christian esoteric teachings.

The Great Month of Aries (Aries-Libra)

Symbol for Aries:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Aries;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Libra.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Heindel-Rosicrucian based interpretation: began in ca. 1658 BC and ended in ca. AD 498 (the Orb of influence started in ca. 2378 BC)
• Neil Mann interpretation: began in ca. 2150 BCE and ended in ca. AD 1.

Constellation

• Shephard Simpson interpretation: began ca. 1875 BC to ca. 100 BC

Overview

"The Age of War, Fire and the Ram"

Historical similarities

Aries represents a Fire symbol as well as bold actions, a lot of these behaviors can be seen during any age. However the themes emphasised during this age relate to courage, initiative, war & adventure. Emphasising the themes of 'Ego'(Aries) & 'Justice'(Libra). Such as the expanding empires seen in the Orient, Persia, Greece and Rome. Also the Aries constellation shows a ram running. This could correspond with the sacrifice of Abraham's Ram. While the number of names containing the sound of the ram during this period is noted: Ra (Sun God), Ram, Rama, Brahman, Abram, Abraham, Amon Ra, and Ramesses I.

The first world empires were organised during this time. (The Aries symbol can represent the emergence of mighty armies out of the power centre to claim the surrounding territories, with captured riches and slaves returning.)

The battering ram was employed by the Assyrians, Greeks and Romans with great success during this time. (The symbol of Mars, the planetary ruler of Aries, evokes this interpretation.)

Aries is associated with the metal iron, and iron ore was for the first time smelted and worked into iron swords in Anatolia during the early phase of this era, replacing the heavier, softer-metalled, duller-edged bronze swords of the previous Taurus Age.

Parchment was invented during this time. It was much longer-lasting, and of more plentiful supply than was papyrus, and importantly, it could be folded into book-form, without cracking. (The glyph of Aries invokes the image of the folded page).

Religious similarities

The Arian Age ushered in efforts to replace polytheism with monotheism. The earliest known attempt was by the Egyptian Pharoah Akhenaten, who, in about 1350 BC, decreed the Sun God Aten to be the supreme deity, apparently in reaction to his earlier lack of inclusion in religious rites by his family. After his death, however, power reverted to the original polytheistic priests, who re-established the old religion. Speculation (including that of Freud) has it that later, during the reign of Ramesses II, Moses was influenced by rumour of Akhenaten's revolutionary idea, and grasped the idea of a single supreme God, Who especially favoured His people, as an inspirational mechanism that best suited his people held in bondage.

The symbol of Aries can be seen as representing the power of multiple gods streaming down into a single god-head.

Moses (born circa 16th–13th Century BC; 7 Adar 2368 - 7 Adar 2488 in the Hebrew calendar), an early Biblical Hebrew religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, and military leader, condemns his own people upon finding them worshiping a 'golden calf' (a symbol of the previous age of Taurus and of the worship of the bull deity) after coming down Mount Sinai. These events occurred during the period of the new astrological age that had started around the middle 17th century BC, the Age of Aries (see also Dating the Exodus overview).

Current Great Year: AD 500 to AD 26300 (c. 25800 years duration)

This particular Great Year might be interpreted as the period during which humans escape the bonds of Earth (the "cradle of humanity"), and establish themselves in the wider universe.

The Great Month of Pisces (Pisces-Virgo)

Symbol of Pisces:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Pisces;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Virgo.

The Age of Pisces is the current Great Month, and will remain so for approximately another 600 years. At that time, the vernal equinox point will no longer be facing Pisces, but both the Zodical sign of Aquarius and the constellation of Aquarius, thus beginning the Age of Aquarius.

Timeframes

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Heindel-Rosicrucian based interpretation: began in AD 498 (year understood as marking the "first point of Aries" alignment, Aries 0º, and the subsequent entrance in Pisces) and ends in ca. AD 2654 (the Orb of influence started in ca. 222/220s BC)

Note: in this case, Aries 0°Coincides with the Fall of Rome and subsequent "chaos" which gave origin to the Middle Ages (late 5th century); the Orb of influence (10th degree of Aries) coincides with the pre-Second Punic War times (218-202 BC) and the earliest period that some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written (200s; within the 72 years of the 10th degree).

• Neil Mann interpretation: began in ca. AD 1 and ends in ca. AD 2150

Constellation

• Shephard Simpson interpretation: began ca. 100/90 BC and ends ca. AD 2680

Overview

"The Age of Monotheism, Spirituality, and the Fish"

Popular culture references

"Age of Pisces" is also a song by 26 from his album "The Messiah," but is more a critique of the New Age Movement and the song "Aquarius" than a discussion of the Age of Pisces in general.

The famous commercials starring Jimmy Savile declared the age of Pisces as "the age of the train", however many now wonder if Trains (and automobiles) may also no longer be a form of transport after this age.

Historical similarities

The steam engine and the internal combustion engine were invented during this period. The Pisces symbol (two fishes opposed, but connected by a line) can best be seen in the 180-degree twin-cylinder variants of the reciprocating engine, (typical of, for instance, the Honda 450 twin motorcycle engine) using a process of intermittent combustion of vapourised liquid (Pisces : mutable water).

The Space Age began during this time, and can be seen depicted in the Piscean dual fish symbol as a rocket ship ascending in its characteristically-curved trajectory into space, the line depicting its orbit, with the descending fish depicting its curved re-entry to Earth.

Paper was invented during this time. The glyph of Pisces (two fishes connected by a line) invokes the image of paper being formed within a thick soup of fibers in water, followed by its surface being hardened and smoothed between rollers. As was Dynamite, proving that the two fishes experienced a forced separation, which could be attributed to the hand of God separating the species through evolution. Nuclear weapons were also a result of this time frame, as well as the Internet both of which could be attributed to the pinnacle and the down-fall of the human species.

Religious similarities

At the dawn of the Piscean age, Jesus was born from the womb of his mother Mary, which Christians believe was a Virgin Birth: the Saviour born from a Virgin (Virgo).

The Sermon on the Mount, which contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship.

Pisces has, as its symbol, two fishes swimming in opposite directions, connected by a line joining each of their mouths. (The symbol shown above is the stylized short-hand version of that image). This can be interpreted as each member of the Christian community being both fisher and fish within Christian responsibility, while attending to diverse activities - a complete reversal of the previous self-centred "me-first" approach of the previous Arian Age.

Jesus Christ is said to have been born around the time of the beginning of the Age of Pisces (within the Orb of influence). The Age of Pisces is very close to the time Christianity emerged up to the present. Assuming a time period of 2160 years per Great Month, our current year (2008) would correspond to the year 154 BC, one Great Month previous to our time (although the corresponding events across that time parallel might be fine-tuned by differing planetary aspects in transit). The time 154 BC corresponds more closely with the time the Book of Enoch was written. It makes more references to the End Time and the reappearance and life of the messiah than any other prophetic source. (Also, coincidentally, roughly the time Hipparchus was said to have discovered precession.)

Jesus was reported, in Matthew 4:19, as saying to two fishermen brothers, (Simon called Peter, and Andrew) on the shore of Lake Galilee, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" - a tradition that the Christian Church has continued even to today. These two fishermen parallel the two fish in the symbol of Pisces.

In the Book of Luke when Jesus is asked by Peter and John "where wilt thou that we prepare?" concerning the place of dining for the last supper , Jesus says to follow a man "bearing a pitcher of water" into the house he enters. A man bearing a pitcher of water symbolizes the coming of the Age of Aquarius and is known as "the water bearer". In Astrology, the Age of Aquarius comes directly after the Age of Pisces. (KJV - Luk 22:8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. Luk 22:9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? Luk 22:10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.)

There are several biblical references between Jesus and fish. Also, the acronym for Jesus Christ, God, Son, Saviour in Greek is the Greek word for fish, Ichthys.

The monastic tradition introduced during the Piscean age led to University education and the process of peer review, a vital component of the impending scientific-accented Aquarian Age.

The form of the mitre ('headband' or 'turban') in Western Christianity, which is the traditional ceremonial head-dress of bishops, can be compared to the head of a fish, as seen on carvings depicting Sargon of Akkad the Great of Sumeria who reigned for 56 years, c. 2333 – 2279 BC.

Orthodox Christianity does not recognize the ages defined by astrology, nor the significance attributed to them by believers in astrology. The Jewish Kabbalah does, however, contain ancient references to astrological tradition.

It would also be prudent to note that it was in 500 CE, the start of the true Age of Pisces, where Clovis, King of the Franks, converted all of France to Christianity, which would be the first among many of the tribal Western European nations of the time, and lead to the whole of Europe adopting it.

The Great Month of Aquarius (Aquarius-Leo)

Symbol for Aquarius:

The Zodiacal signs:

• the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Aquarius;
• the autumnal equinox (southern hemisphere) is occurring in Leo.

Timeframes

In 1928, at the Conference of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Leiden, the Netherlands, the edges of the 88 official constellations became defined in astronomical terms. The edge established between Pisces and Aquarius locates the beginning of the Aquarian Age around the year 2600.

The Austrian astronomer, Professor Herman Haupt (astronomer), examined the question of when the Age of Aquarius begins in an article published in 1992 by the Austrian Academy of Science: with the German title Der Beginn des Wassermannzeitalters, eine astronomische Frage? (The Start of the Aquarian Age, an Astronomical Question?). Based on the boundaries accepted by IAU in 1928, Haupt's article investigates the start of the Age of Aquarius by calculating the entry of the spring equinox point over the parallel cycle (d = - 4°) between the constellations Pisces and Aquarius and reaches, using the usual formula of precession (Gliese, 1982), the year 2595. However Haupt concludes:

"Though it cannot be expected that astrologers will follow the official boundaries of the constellations, there will be an attempt to calculate the entry of the spring equinox point into the constellation of Aquarius." ...

"As briefly has been shown, the results and methods of astrology in many areas, such as concerning the Aquarian age, are controversial on their own and cannot be called scientific because of the many esoteric elements."

Zodiacal 30 degrees

• Heindel-Rosicrucian based interpretation: begins in ca. CE 2654 (the Orb of influence started in ca. 1934/1930s)
• Elsa M. Glover interpretation: ca. AD 2638
• Neil Mann interpretation: begins AD 2150
• Dane Rudhyar was one of the most important astrologers of the 20th century. His many influential books helped reconcile astrology with modern psychology and free it from the deterministic trappings of the past. According to his interpretation, the Age of Aquarius will begin in AD 2062.

Constellation

• Shephard Simpson interpretation: begins in ca. AD 2680
• Hermann Haupt interpretation begins in ca. AD 2595

Overview

"The Age of Freedom, Peace, and the Water Bearer"

Orb of Influence

Ages are believed by some to affect mankind. For Aquarius (also called "the Water bearer"), it is reported we have already been feeling influences - titled Orb of influence (the last ten degrees backwards of the Age of Pisces) - in the accelerated individual, social, cultural, scientific and technological development and globalization through the 20th century. This view is consistent with the popular notion of the New Age movement that regards current times as the "dawning of the Aquarian Age".

On the other hand, the Aquarian Age is thought to bring with it an era of universal brotherhood rooted in reason where it will be possible to solve social problems in a manner equitable to all and with greater opportunity for intellectual and spiritual improvement, since Aquarius is an airy, scientific, and intellectual sign and its ruler planet, Uranus, is associated with intuition (insight above reason) and direct perceptions of the heart; and on the mundane level it rules electricity and technology. It is generally described by astrologers that in the Age of Aquarius there will be a blending of religion and science to such a degree that a religious science and a scientific religion will be formed.

Eastern astrology associates the Age of Pisces with the yin; i.e., spirituality and intuition. Aquarius, on the other hand represents the yang, with its emphasis on rationality and high technology.

Popular culture

In popular culture, the expression "Age of Aquarius" usually refers to the heyday of the hippie and New Age "movement" of the 1960s and 1970s. The New Age Movement is more accurately a phenomenon, not a movement, and yet seen by many as the harbinger of this future change-over of values.

This "New Age" phenomenon is seen by some astrologers to be marked by the conjunction of the planet Uranus, ruler of the sign Aquarius, and the coming age, with Pluto, ruler of the masses, bringing radical change, in the 1960s. However, as the song relates, it is only considered by astrologers as the "dawning" or "cusp" of the Age, with the full strength of the Age not occurring until some time in the future.

Although more rock than new age in genre, the 1967 successful musical Hair, with its opening song "Aquarius" and the memorable line "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius," brought the Aquarian Age concept to the attention of a huge worldwide audience.

As a common fountain, perhaps to clarify these concepts, there is a shared belief in the NWO (New World Order) movement, by some Gnostics, Rosicrucians and Ancient Mysteries hierarchies that the "New Age of Aquarius" is marked in the beginning by that time in the future before the Final Judgment when the "Great Work", declared in Freemasonry philosophy, will finally be completed, and the NWO comes to fruition (One World Government, Religion and Society ruled by the Elite, or "Illuminati"). Those adherents believe that the False Christ of "Orthodox", or mainstream, Christianity (in reality AntiChrist) will be defeated in the Battle Of Armageddon (and hence supplanted in human collective unconsciousness) by their "Inner Christ" saviour, which Christians call the Christ consciousness. This "Christ Consciousness", they believe, comes into play when Mankind realizes that the Lord Jesus Christ came as a literal example of Godhood, and that all men could become what He became. The Age of Aquarius, or water-bearer, in their opinion, marks the time when the collective consciousness of Mankind will be elevated and the esoteric knowledge of God will be made available to all humankind. Then and only then, according to that belief, the new "Golden Age of Aquarius" will begin anew, and the "New Heaven and New Earth" will begin. Such believers consider themselves to be Christian, asserting that Jesus Christ's teachings were Essene and/or Gnostic, but were distorted in transmission by unscrupulous or misguided priests during the following centuries. Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, maintain that Jesus' words and meaning have been diligently transmitted to us by the orthodox Christian churches, and consider such Gnostic views as Antichristian, promoted by Satan in his battle for control of humankind.

Historical Similarities: Current and Projected

The Orb of influence (10 to 0 degrees of Pisces) coincides with the discovery of Pluto, technological advancements including nuclear fission, the invention of radar, the invention of SSB and FM in radio transmission, the first television broadcasts with a modern level of definition (1936), computers and other digital equipment (binary high and low levels) and the Internet.

As the orb of influence increases, a parallel can be seen between the Aquarian symbol and the increasingly-large space stations that are being built in Earth's orbit, and eventually planned on the Moon and Mars - (technology being developed above, as below). Professor Stephen Hawking recently told a journalist, "I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet."

Aquarius proper (30 to 0 degrees Aquarius) suggests inventions superseding the rocket flight of Pisces with some kind of futuristic anti-gravity force field (refer to the separate upper and lower fluctuating energy levels of the symbol).

Esoteric Christian and Gnostic tradition

According to the Esoteric Christian-Gnostic tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian, the proximity and entrance in the Age of Aquarius - occurring after the present Age of Pisces (or age ruled by the "Sword") - will bring to the majority of human beings the discovery, true living and real knowledge of the inner and deeper Christian teachings which the Christ spoke of in Matthew 13:11 and Luke 8:10. This age is regarded as an intermediary preparation toward the Christ in the etheric plane, the New Galilee: the "new heavens and a new earth" to come in a future not identified time. For Rosicrucians, in the Aquarian age at hand, it is expected a great spiritual Teacher will come ("is coming"), through the school (working as herald of this age), in order "to give the Christian Religion impetus in a new direction".

Mark 14:13 (also Luke 22:10) states "And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.". The disciples do so and follow him to the place where Jesus was to hold the Last Supper. Therefore, this could be interpreted as meaning that Jesus (who represents the age of Pisces) will "die" when the "man bearing a pitcher of water" appears, an apparent allusion to the coming age of Aquarius.

The two disciples themselves could be accepted by some as the representation of "Elijah and Moses" the two Messengers to the Jews who will teach Christ to the Jews (Revelation 11:4, Zacheriah 4:11 the two olive trees). This can be supported by the fact that in Other gospels (Mathew and John) do not have the two disciples following the man with the pitcher but going to untie the colt with which Christ made the triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Mathew 21:5) . The colt represents the Jewish nation who will be untied from slavery of the law and talmud by the two Prophets. The Messiah or Son of David will return according to bible prophecy riding on a white horse (which represents the delivered Jewish nation) to rule from Jerusalem in the second triumphant entry. The Jews will serve in the Holy temple. The son of David will return as the Lion of Judah which actually symbolizes the aquarius-Leo constellation. There are some (astrologers included) who believe that the water carrier was represented by the ministry of William Marrion Branham, who was said to have been born under an astrological sign in 1906 April the 6th. In what he preached as the beginning of the end starting from 1963 (with the opening of the seven seals) Branham said it was the "blending of time and eternity" or the dawning of the millennium (1000 years of peace in which Christ will rule the Earth). Branham himself believed that the Zodiac had very spiritual and Biblical connotation. Beginning with the Virgo (Virgin Birth) to Leo (The return of King, Son of David, Lion of Judah).

Some see coming climactic changes, i.e. rising sea levels as a result of global warming as well as changes in predominant weather patterns, as being indicative of the age of the "water bearer." This changes are said to include to the rise of the earth's vibrations, with the correspondent rise of the temperature (heat), to levels currently unbearable by human beings. Similar to the occurrence in the Age of Leo-Aquarius of the previous Great Year (see above), the coming Age of Aquarius-Leo will also mark the end of the current Aryan Epoch, according to the Christian esoteric teachings; it is said that the citizens of the future Epoch will leave the current hilltops to inhabit the air: the Earth at that time will be so etherealized that actually there will be "no more sea."

Similar views

Hopi women's dance, Oraibi, Arizona (1879)

The Lakota, a Native American people, also describe that a great spiritual Teacher, called White Buffalo Calf Pipe Woman, is coming with the purpose to unite the material and spiritual worlds. Their legend mentions that in a far past, possibly in the beginning of the Age of Aries, a Teacher had come to initiate them into the "Pipe Ceremony"; the same story mentions that this Teacher is returning again due to specific signs related to their tradition, among them the fact that white buffalo calves are born again.

The Hopi, a Native American people, also describe that a great spiritual Teacher, known as the 'Elder Brother' or 'True White Brother', is coming as the "Rising Sun" to reunite the world's two streams separated in a far past (to rejoin the "stone tablets"). The Hopi have a complex and comprehensive view of the history and evolution of mankind, derived from oral tradition, and tend also to see history and evolution as cyclical (although this process is also conceived as a spiral process into higher stages of unfoldment). The True White Brother is expected to come after the two great wars, in order to inaugurate the future age: the "Day of Purification". The symbology described to be related to this event is as following: "this third event will depend upon the Red Symbol, which will take command, setting the four forces of nature (Meha) in motion for the benefit of the Sun."

See also

• Alice A. Bailey--Originator of the term New Age
• Astrological sign
• Astrology
• Astrology and alchemy
• Christian Rosenkreuz, "But the work itself shall be attributed to the blessedness of our age.", in C.F., 1615
• Great year
• New Age

External links

Astrological ages

• The Grand Ages
• The Astrological Great Year
• Astrological Age
• Precession of the Equinoxes
• Precession of the Earth's Axis
• Platonic Month
• Alternative Assessment of Ages

Age of Aquarius

• Rosicrucian Age of Aquarius
• New Age of Aquarius by Jamis Lopez
• The Aquarian Age by Elsa M Glover
• Shepherd Simpson: The Age of Aquarius
• Shepherd Simpson: Searching for a New Age..
• Sepp Rothwangl: Considerations About the Start of the Age of Aquarius
• TheAQUARIANproject.Net
• The Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius
• CESNUR 2006 International Conference - Globalisation or Aquarius: Are 'we' talking from the same thing?

Jesus' birth timeline

• 5 BC: Star of Bethlehem, Magi, Astronomy, astrology, pi, archeology, christmas
• 3 to 2 BC: Star of Bethlehem, a Christian model integrating astronomical and historical data