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Re: Zodiacal Ages


Thanks for that, Chironman, it was very interesting and illuminating.



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Replying to:

This is taken from:

www.gaiamind.org/meaning.html




History shows that the "ages" have tremendous significance. Let us review some general evidence showing how past ages have corresponded to the precession cycle as astrologers describe it. In doing this, I refer to an idea put forward by philosopher-astrologer Dane Rudhyar.

He points out that each 2100-plus year Age can be divided in two parts; the first half will have the traits of the constellation at the vernal equinox, but the second half will have the sub-traits of the opposite constellation at the autumn equinox. These traits are at their peak about half-way through each sub-age. So here is how the cycle has shaped up throughout recorded history, using approximate dates:


2100-3200 will be the Age of Aquarius proper, meaning an age of knowledge, independent thought and demands for freedom and progress. The role of the individual and the organization will be coordinated into a humanitarian whole. Religion and spirituality will be based on knowledge and experience instead of belief. From 3200 to 4200 the Age will be under a sub-influence of Leo, the opposite sign of Aquarius; therefore the creative powers of the romantic individual will re-assert themselves.


1100-2100 was the second half of the Age of Pisces, under the sub-influence of Virgo. Therefore this now-ending age was one of science, intellectual analysis, and service to one's superiors; all traits of Virgo. Certainly the ever-increasing power of scientific and rational thought and the growing power of the secular state and bureaucracy in this period could reflect the Virgo "influence."


0 to 1100 was the Age of Pisces proper, meaning an age of faith and religion, of dissolution and breakdown of structures, of devotion and compassion, and of escape into the other world. This is a perfect fit for Christianity (whose symbol was the fish) and similar religions worldwide that dominated the period. Some philosophers say that the denial of life and spirit and the assault on nature that took hold under Virgo were based on the escapist attempt to divorce spirit from the world that happened under Pisces.


1000 B.C.- 0 was the second half of the Age of Aries, under the sub-influence of Libra. This was the classical age of ancient Greece, an era when Libran values like the "golden mean" and beauty were worshipped. Even in India the Buddha taught "the Middle Way." It was an age of intellectual accomplishments and of political inventions (also Libra fortes), demonstrated by Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic.


2100 B.C.- 1000 B.C. was the Age of Aries proper, meaning an age of aggression and enterprise. The Aryan (Arian) invaders swarmed over and conquered the old world, and most civilizations of the age (such as the first Assyrian Empire, the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Trojans, the Mycenaeans, etc.) were dominated by warriors. Not long before the Age of Aries began, Sargon I created the world's first war-based Empire in Mesopotamia. The symbol of the Ram appears in the Ram's Horn so important to the Hebrews, whose missionary, aggressive religion began in this period. Since Aries is ruled by Mars, masculine, patriarchal values replaced the feminine values that flourished under the Venus-ruled Taurean Age which preceded it. Some aggressive Aries traits also continued into the second half of this age, even though it was sub-ruled by Libra.


3100 B.C.- 2100 B.C. was the second half of the Age of Taurus, under the sub-rulership of Scorpio. The earliest civilizations rose to greatness in this period. Scorpio is the sign of death and rebirth, and the Egyptians created the world's greatest funeral monuments and history's most remarkable death cult in this period. Their greatest symbols were the Scarab and the Hawk, similar to the Scorpion and the Eagle. Scorpio is an appropriate constellation for this time of great creative transformation and occult wisdom in which astronomy and astrology were developed.


4200 B.C.- 3100 B.C. was the Age of Taurus proper. The Taurean traits seemed to display themselves most clearly in the second half of the Age during its sub-rulership of Scorpio, perhaps because written historical records do not begin until then. But certainly the pyramids, stone circles and other great monuments of this entire age reflected the Taurean talent for building and architecture, and revealed the desire for structure and security that gave rise to civilization in this period. It was also an age of fertility worship, a Taurean trait; and it is said that The Bull was held sacred everywhere during this time (though perhaps also long before and afterward).


This evidence is impressive; and other researchers have amassed even more facts. No doubt there are many things in history that don't fit the long Age in which they occurred; for example, the Lion symbols in the sculptures of Mycenae and Assyria were made during the Age of Aries, not Leo. But generally the sign of each 2100-year Age (and each 1000-year Sub-age) fits each period better than any other sign does.