Sacred Circles' Coven Moon Magick

The 12 Ages, of which the Aquarian is one, are 12 divisions of a 25,000-year long motion of our Earth called the Precession of the Equinoxes. This motion is only one of three basic Earth cycles; the three most important cycles in astrology. The first cycle is the year, in which the Sun appears to move through a belt of constellations called The Zodiac. Aquarius is one of these constellations. The second cycle is the day, caused by the Earth turning on its axis every 24 hours, making the Sun appear to rise and set. But the Earth also gradually wobbles backwards as its turns, as if it were a spinning top. This is the third cycle, also called the great year. This "great wobble" causes the North Pole to point to different stars at different times. By the year 2100 it will point exactly at Polaris, the star which we know today as "the north star." But about 13000 years ago it pointed toward Vega, the brightest star in today's Summer skies. It takes an average of 25,920 years for the Earth to complete one "wobble;" so about 26,000 years from today the North Pole will again point to Polaris.

The seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) happen because the Earth's axis and poles are tilted by 23 degrees. During the Summer (in the Northern hemisphere) the pole is tilted toward the Sun, so the days are longer. During the Winter it tilts away from the Sun, so the days are shorter. When the pole is exactly half way between, so that the Earth's orbit is aligned with the Equator, the days and nights are equal. This is called the Equinox. But the equinox gradually shifts backwards as the North Pole wobbles. 2100 years ago, the Sun entered the constellation Aries at the beginning of Spring, the "vernal equinox." (around March 21 of every year). But today the Zodiac has shifted one/twelfth of the way backwards (almost 30 degrees), so now the Sun is in the constellation Pisces at the beginning of Spring. Soon it will be in Aquarius. This is called the Precession of the Equinoxes.

It is a curious irony that the reason most often cited by skeptics that astrology is "false" is also the basis for the most famous prophecy ever made by astrologers. Many skeptics (though not all) claim that astrologers don't even know that the constellations have shifted, and are therefore using a Zodiac that is off by 30 degrees! After all, they say, astrologers still maintain that the Sun enters the sign "Aries" at the beginning of Spring! And yet astrologers also say that "this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius." Why? Because the constellations have shifted backwards, and the vernal equinox will soon move from Pisces into Aquarius. If astrologers didn't know about this backward shift, why would they use it to make their most famous prediction?

What many skeptics (and even some astrologers) don't understand is that astrology really has little to do with stars, and that the Zodiac is not a belt of constellations at all. For as we've seen, astrology is a study of cycles and their relationship to our lives. The 360-degree circle of the Zodiac is the path of the Earth as it travels around the Sun, and it is divided into 12 signs of 30 degrees each. The signs have the same names as the constellations, but they are not the same. The signs get their meaning from their place on the yearly cycle of the Earth, not from the shape of the stars in the sky.

The signs are the most accepted way of interpreting the meaning of the yearly cycle. But as we saw, every cycle must have a beginning point. For the Zodiac, this is the vernal equinox; the start of Spring in the northern hemisphere. It is the moment each year (around March 21) when the Sun enters Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac. Most astrologers today use the Zodiac of signs; they are called tropical astrologers (of which this author is one). Astronomers also use the zodiac of signs, not constellations, to locate stars on the "celestial sphere." But some astrologers continue to use the Zodiac of constellations, although in fact they place little or no emphasis on them; they are called sidereal astrologers. Some astrologers (including tropical ones) also see great significance in particular stars, and where they are in the sky.

Yes... but wait a minute; something doesn't quite fit here. If most astrologers don't even use stars or constellations at all, why is the "Aquarian Age dawning" if the vernal equinox will soon point to the constellation Aquarius? This can't be right. Constellations are just distant stars arbitrarily grouped together and given mythical meanings by humans. They are just a convenient way to locate stars, like street names on a map. Why should the constellation Aquarius have any "influence," just because it's lined up with the Sun at vernal equinox time?

Knowing these facts, some astrologers today debunk the Age of Aquarius as just an enchanting fiction. But I don't think it can be dismissed so easily, because the precession of the equinoxes and the polar wobble are based on an actual motion of the Earth. This cycle is just as real as the year itself is. And such a long cycle could help us a great deal in interpreting human history from the long view. So the study of cycles can and should include a study of the Aquarian Age and the whole cycle of astrological "ages." But as we've said, all cycles must have a beginning, and the trouble with the precession cycle is that nobody is sure just where it begins. If we rule out constellations as questionable reference points, what do we use?

One possibility is the close numerical link between the length of ages and the length of the Uranus-Neptune cycle, such that each age always begins during a Uranus-Neptune conjunction or opposition. This connection may explain why the "ages" are so related to religion, since Uranus-Neptune rules religious cycles. These links are too complicated to discuss here; there are some further details in my book.

In any case, 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.

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