Astrological Ages: The Archetypal Power of History

History is what we leave behind as we collectively live our lives in seemingly random and chaotic times. It is a roadmap for our connection to the dimension of time. It tells us how we live and where we are going. So where are we going? Historians can’t really tell us. And, things are getting crazy these days. Now, if we study our history from an astrological perspective, history becomes more than just history. What we find is that there is a definite and significant direction to the story. This is revealed in the astrological ages, and these ages can tell us where we are going, as well as something of who we are.

The earth’s axis wobbles as it rotates, completing one wobble in 25,920 years. This wobble is called the Precession of the Equinoxes. Within this wobble, the earth’s axis recedes through the twelve astrological constellations that are associated with the eras. Each age is 2,160 years in length, and they impart powerful qualities and direction to history. Also, there are twelve eras within each age, 180 years each. The existence of these eras creates a situation where history begins to shift from one era to the next over the course of the last 720 years of the era.

The Age of Cancer dates from 8640 to 6480 BC. Cancer rules agriculture and livestock, houses and home, community, domestication, and the mother. The Neolithic Revolution, from 9000 to 6000 BC. C., was a revolution in stone tools that marked the invention of agriculture and the creation of permanent settled communities throughout the world, from China and Southeast Asia to the Middle East and South America. In terms of dates, this is a perfect fit.

The Age of Gemini, 6480 to 4320 BC. C., changed address. Gemini rules hand-eye coordination, travel, intellect, language, and commerce. Around 6500 BC C., dozens of cottage industries sprang up throughout the Near East as people sought to do more with their minds and hands. Pottery was invented during this time in the Near East, Eastern Europe, and China. Abstract symbolism replaced representational art, and new languages ​​were invented to help people talk to others across local borders. The Proto-Indo-European language was created in 5000 BC. C. and the roots of the Chinese language in 4800 a. Travel took people beyond the limits of the Age of Cancer, and huge trade networks that stretched over thousands of miles linked the Near East and the Mediterranean basin with central Russia. It was created in North America.

The Age of Taurus, 4320 to 2160 BC. C., was an era of wealth. Taurus rules wealth, banking, refinement, megalithic construction, permanence, and peace. After 4500 BC C., the U’baid people moved to the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia. They invented money and banking, and became very rich. They rebuilt their villages into market towns. The only indicator of progress during this era was the gradual increase in collected wealth found at archaeological sites. As wealth increased, so did the refinements of culture that culminated in the creation of civilization. The temples were rebuilt on top of older structures, getting bigger and bigger until the time of the Sumerians and their huge artificial mountains known as ziggurats. Megalithic stone tombs were built throughout Europe from 4000 BC. C. onwards. The Egyptian pyramids were built after 2700 BC. C., like the megalithic pyramid complexes in Peru. The death energy of Scorpio opposed to Taurus is shown in the use of these megalithic pyramids as tombs for various kings and their elaborate funeral rites. Similar rites have been found in archaic culture in North America as early as 2700 BC.

The Age of Aries, from 2160 to 0 B.C. C., saw the invention of war. Aries rules war, fighting and overcoming challenges. Sargon of Akkad created the first military empire in history around 2300 BC. C. in Mesopotamia. After that, warfare increased in frequency and intensity, and a long line of military empires followed. The religious focus was on new myths of warrior heroes such as the Mesopotamian warrior god Marduk defeating the serpentine mother goddess Tiamat and establishing a new order in heaven. Warrior cultures invented new military machinery and tactics, and cut through older settled cultures, replacing old matriarchal cultures with newer patriarchal warrior cultures. The Christian Old Testament presents us with a jealous warrior God leading his chosen army of people in the conquest of the Promised Land. Samson killed the Philistines and David killed the monolithic Goliath of the Taurus era. The Shang dynasty in China established its first military dynasty around 1800 BC. The Shang dynasty was defeated by the Chou dynasty in 1122 BC. C. with the creation of an even larger military empire. In the New World, temples built during this time display scenes of warfare and fighting on their walls in honor of the sacred way of warfare.

The Age of Pisces, 0 a. C. to 2160 AD C., witnessed the emergence of great universal religions centered on transcendence and heaven. Pisces rules transcendence, religion, and spirituality. He remembers that there is a transition period of 720 years leading to the rise of a new era. The Jewish prophetic revolution began the process of changing from a local Semitic religion to a great world religion during the 7th century BC. Taoism did the same thing in China around 500 B.C. The Buddha radically changed religious thought in India at that very moment. Since the dawn of the Age of Pisces, the Christian religion and Islam have been at the center of history in the West, while Buddhism has had a powerful influence in the East. These religions have become the world’s first multinational groups, reaching out to touch the entire globe.

Today we are approaching the Age of Aquarius and we already feel this incoming energy. We can see this best by looking at the 180-year eras. The signs Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius comprised a three-era historical climax beginning with a Renaissance, continuing with a classical era, and then a scientific era. The Old Kingdom of Egypt was a period of classical achievements in construction and mathematical applications. His achievements would not be equaled until the time of classical Greece, some 2,160 years later. Classical Europe, after the Renaissance, would touch this level of cultural achievement again, another 2,160 years later.

The Renaissance initiated the birth of something new in the areas of science and humanism, both of which are Aquarian concerns. The Industrial Revolution and the Twentieth Century, the creation of a truly modern scientific culture, came with the scientific Age of Aquarius of our Age of Pisces, from 1800 to 1980. So where are we today? We are in the Piscean Age of the Piscean Age, 1980 to 2160 CE.

Since the end of the Age of Aquarius, things have gotten progressively worse. Industrial and nuclear pollution, ozone depletion, devastating climate changes, and global warming are just some of the trends that are changing the way we see our world now. Additionally, there has been a massive epidemic rise in depression and suicide in recent decades. This indicates a new historical energy with which we must learn to live. The beauty of astrological ages and eras is that we can see what kinds of historical possibilities await us and how best to use this time for positive expression. If it seems that the world is becoming more confused, more irrational and fearful, it is.

What this indicates is that history will now have a Pisces color. Religion has already experienced a resurgence in power, including in the political arena. Spirituality is seeing science again. The confusion and illusions common to Pisces will become stronger in our personal and public lives. Pisces fear will increase creating possible misunderstandings and havoc in all areas of our lives. The answer to this would be a return to a spiritual approach to life for Pisces to balance our rational reliance on science. Meditation and prayer can help the Piscean mind find balance and peace in this new historical setting.

History shows that all of these various astrological time periods have evolutionary significance. They give direction to the story. And in this process they show us who we are.