The Zodiac and the 12 Astrological Ages

[Guest guest]

At 01:15 AM 1/10/03 EST, the somewhat befuddled writing of Starman noted:

>

>> Re: 12 Zones of the Year and the Stars

 

It's straight astronomy, the astronomy that

>underlies the 'tropical vs. sidereal zodiac' debate, so I thought it would

be

>familiar to most. Right now the day is increasing in light here in the

Northern Hemisphere.

>It always is right after the Winter Solsticie regardless of whether the

solar

>disk is apparently in front of the stars of Sagittarius, Capricornus, or

what

>have you. The solar year with its 12 zones is what the stars pass thru in a

>25,000 year cycle. That's what we call the zodiac ages, 12 of approximately

>2,000 years. So there's the 12 zones (the months) and then there's the

groups

>of stars of unequal sizes passing thru these.

-------------------------END OF QUOTE----------------------

 

I have rarely seen the simple precession of the equinoxes and zodiacs

described in a more confusing way! The stars don't pass through anything!

The Stars and the Sidereal Zodiac stay in one place. It's the Tropical

signs that move against the backdrop of the stars, but they move too slowly

to be noticed in one lifetime...only one degree every 72 years.

 

If you want to know if you have a planet conjunct the star Aldeberan, for

example, in the Tropical zodiac you'll have to re-compute its position

depending on the year you were born. All the stars are constantly moving

through the Tropical signs. The degree of Aldebaran and all stars remain

exactly the same in the sidereal zodiac. Only one computation is necessary.

 

THE TROPICAL ZODIAC

The EQUINOX points are those two moments during the year when the Sun (in

its apparent path along the elciptic--that is, the 12 starry constellations

in the sky) crosses the equator. At that time day and night are equal all

over the earth. The SPRING equinox defines the beginning point (Aries zero

degrees) of the Tropical zodiac. This moment is the beginning of Spring in

the northern hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the southern

hemisphere. So remember: If you use the Tropical zodiac and live in

Australia, your zodiac begins in the FALL of the year.

 

THE SIDEREAL ZODIAC

O.K., that's the Tropical zodiac. The sidereal zodiac has no relation at

all to the seasons or the equinoxes. It's measured from one of the fixed

stars close to the ecliptic. Which fixed star depends on your favorite

theory, but the two most commonly used stars are Spica (used in India as

the junction between Virgo and Libra) and Aldebaran, which Cyril Fagan

places at the mathematical center of the sidereal sign of Taurus.

 

There is only about a one degree difference between the zodiacs produced by

these two reference stars. They are essentially the same zodiac unless you

are using the sub (harmonic) charts whose planetary positions depend on

precise degrees and minutes in the zodiac. Historically, the sidereal

zodiac was used before the tropical astrological zodiac was invented.

 

THE GREAT PRECESSIONAL YEAR AND THE ASTROLOGICAL AGES

O.K. back to the EQUINOX: The eqinoxes shift backwards through the 12

constellations over a period of about 25,800 years. I'm not going to get

into the astronomy of this shift because it's clearly explained in

astronomy books. An easy-to-understand child's book is H.A. Rey's THE

STARS. This is a good book for adults too. Why plow through adult

terminology if there's an easier way to say it?

 

The time it takes for the vernal equinox to pass backwards through one

constellation is called an ASTROLOGICAL AGE. As the spring equinox is

currently passing through the stars of Pisces, we are said to be in the AGE

OF PISCES. One complete revolution of the vernal equinox through the enire

zodiac of 12 constellations (25,800 years) is called the PRECESSIONAL YEAR

or GREAT ASTROLOGICAL YEAR.

 

Bottom line in regard to the zodiacs is:

 

The Tropical zodiac is measured from the Spring Equinox and constantly

MOVES backwards against the background of the stars and constellations.

 

The Sidereal zodiac remains in the same place against the background of

stars. Each sidereal sign stays in the vacinity of the constellation of the

same name, but the correlation isn't exact. Some constellations are shorter

than others. The sidereal zodiac of 30 degrees for each sign is measured

from one or more fixed stars.

 

The precession of the equinoxes defines the 12 astrological ages of 2,150

years each, backwards from the stars of Aries through Pisces, then

Aquarius, etc. The great Sidereal Year including all 12 steps of 2,150

years each (25,800 years in all) is called a GREAT ASTROLOGICAL YEAR or

GREAT PRECESSIONAL YEAR.

 

These astrological agaes have nothing to do with the actual use of either

astrological zodiac by astrologers UNLESS the astrological ages are

measured on the basis of the 30 degree sidereal signs rather than the

actual constellations themselves. This is an important reseach area which

would involve a methodical study of key historical events. What do the

sidereal signs mean? Is sidereal Pisces reflected in the historical events

of the current age of Pisces, for example?

 

Terese