It seems a little silly to base our earth's great ages upon a wobble , but that's how it's done. The Earth wobbles a little as it travels around the sun because of the gravitational effects of the Moon, the Sun and to a lesser extent, other planetary bodies. Even the placement of the earth's land mass, the oceans, and the air density will affect the wobble. The melting and freezing of the earth's polar ice caps also effects the wobble. We know that the wobble is affected by the weather; if a big meteor hit the earth it could have a dramatic effect on the wobble. This wobble isn't a universal phenomenon. This wobble is particular to earth and it has a bearing on how we interpret the motion of the heavens.

Although the wobble appears stable, who knows what has affected the wobble in the past? The earth's magnetic poles have changed and the earth’s land masses are migrating. These changes reshape the gravitational effects on the wobble over a very long period of time. If we accept that the earth's wobble has remained stable over the last 30 thousand years or so, then we may deduct that the sky in relation to observers on earth has also remained relatively stable, i.e. the point of the vernal equinox has not jumped wildly around.

Our ancestors around the world observed the night sky, and over time many ancient cultures came to recognize an observable movement of the equinoctial and solsticial points, approximating 1 degree every 72 years. We also know that some parts of astronomical / astrological mythology deal with the precession of the equinox. In trying to understand the changing of the ages, we should examine ancient mythologies, as well as the assertions of modern thinkers on the subject.

Those of you who join this investigation are in good company. Plato, the great philosopher, and Hipparchus looked into this matter.

As we look for correspondences between astronomical phenomena and ancient mythology we find a wealth of evidence that supports the theory that calendars, mythologies and even religions were often based on astronomical phenomena. Ancient astronomers wanted to find order in the heavens, and what they found was almost perfect order, except for the effects that precession had upon the alignment of the constellations with the seasons. In time, the seasonal myths associated with particular constellations would lose their significance because they could not be reconciled due to the effects of precession. The wobble of the earth was messing up all their calculations, so those clever ancient astronomers had to invent some form of mathematics that could cope with the precession of the equinox.

Not much has survived in form of paper books or star maps that showed what methods the ancients used to create their calendars, but there are stone engravings still extant around the world that portray the constellations as animals or figures. Those early scientists may have used their power of visual thinking to imagine grand mathematical concepts without paperwork to back it up. Someone who can visualize three-dimensional solids in their mind's eye might develop the ability to manipulate those shapes into sections and fractions of the whole. From time to time, ancient tools called astrolabes and other metallic wheels within wheels are found in shipwrecks. There is evidence that such advanced forms of thinking were possible thousands of years ago. Those astrolabes were used in order to assist navigation by the stars.

Can we begin a new age because a prophet of one order or another has proclaimed it has begun? Looking at the literature about the beginning of the Aquarian Age, various authors place the beginning of the new age at this date or that based upon a myriad of events. It is confusing to have a multitude of starting dates for the Aquarian Age. Basing the beginning of the new age on something that can't be discussed is undemocratic and unfair. Our suggestion that the Aquarian Age begin on the vernal equinox in the year 2000 may not reach everyone in the world, but it might reach enough people to make a start at a consensus. Is this a good idea to begin the new age at this time, or is it better to wait for another hundred years to 600 years to start it? Are there any brave souls willing to pioneer a new age? Is all you need is a good reason?

If the complete precessional cycle takes about 25,800 26,000 years, then it takes about 2,160 years for each age. If we accept the starting of the Aquarian Age on the vernal equinox of the year 2000 AD then we can do some calculations about the beginning of the other ages as well. The Age of Capricorn should begin in 2,160 years after the Age of Aquarius begins. The zero year of the Aquarian Age would correspond to the year 2000 AD of the Gregorian Calendar, so adding 2,160 years to zero equals 2,160 of the Age of Aquarius or 4,160 AD in the Gregorian Calendar is the year zero of the Age of Capricorn. This will allow us to make even more accurate calculations that stretch into the far future and the distant past.

Subtracting 2,160 years from the year 2000 AD gives approximately 160 BC as the beginning date for the Picean Age. Although this might not be the exact year due to the fact that there was no zero year in the Gregorian calendar and the year 1 BC begins 1 year before 1 AD. (This subject will be examined later.)

One might ask how we can arbitrarily draw boundaries between the ages without some grand agreement with 99 percent of the astronomers in the world. Well, just look at the long star map diagram with a line drawn between the zodiacal constellations. The segments are called "signs" by astrologers who practice the tropical system, but when measuring the segments in the sky denoting the great ages, those segments should actually be referred to by the name of the constellation that occupies that section of the sky. Although the actual zodiacal constellation may not be perfectly centered in the allotted section of the sky that it is designated to rule over, the constellational arrangement fits very well when using a year 2000 AD star map. It isn’t appropriate to base the division of the ages upon a particular star either unless there is an agreement by a congress defining a boundary based upon a particular star and a particular date.

 

These 12 ages of the zodiac are only based upon the wobble of the earth, and not other planetary alignments that might show up in an astrological horoscope. When people try to tie the great ages to transitory events, there will be confusion because the precession is measured in one manner and transits or conjunctions, etc. are measured differently. An observer might note that this or that planetary cycle coincided with the beginning of a new age, but that planetary cycle cannot determine the beginning of a new age.

It is also inappropriate to base the beginning of a new age on the alignment of the Great Pyramids or Stonehenge or any other pre-existing archeological remains that in the past had significance in regard to the precession. Although those sites have spiritual power and should be respected for their role in our understanding of the great ages, they cannot be used to determine the timing of the new age based upon alignments with sky patterns that are ages old. This new age is new and should be respected as that. All of those ancient astronomical sites should be revered as marking places where we made mystical connections with the sky and the universe, but do they point to the new age? A new site should be build that describes the motion of the precession along the ecliptic and other astronomical phenomena. This might be on the scale of a playing field that could be used as an educational tool.

It's presumptuous to think that astronomical systems based upon the earth's wobble will guide our calendar makers for hundreds of thousands of years to come as we move into space and onto other worlds. In space there is no natural precessional cycle and the wobbles and precessional cycles on other planets will be quite different from the earth's. Although our human bodies will change as we adapt to each new environment and habitat we create, our calendar may be carried to different worlds where the natural cycles are different than ours is on earth.

In our outward expansion into the universe we may genetically remember our prehistoric biorhythms as they were back on earth. We may, however, quickly adapt our actual biorhythms to where we happen to be. Over time the earth has slowed down slightly in its rotation and is believed to have moved farther from the sun. The moon has also put some distance between it and the earth over the eons. We can expect, however, that the earth will continue in its regular precessional wobble motion.

So before you strap an atomic clock onto your wrist, remember your roots to this earthy reality. Although atomic clocks tell time very well, they have little relation to seasonal holidays. We can look to the future in terms of digital numbers changing on an electronic device or we may try to include some of our traditional methods of telling time into the calendars of tomorrow. We cannot abandon tradition because new devices can keep time better and are more scientific because they have no connection to timekeeping as human culture has known it. More advanced isn't always better if it takes away from the quality of the experience. Our methods of keeping time have kept us punctual and made us happy over the ages, so let us not abandon the traditional months, days, hours and minutes that are so much a part of this world. The traditional Gregorian calendar will continue to be used into the new age, but let us also include the great year into our observance of time and recognize the Aquarian Age as a real astronomical phenomena that is scheduled to begin on the vernal equinox of the year 2000 AD.

The Aquarian Age may allow some of us to make a closer connection to the planet earth and get in touch with our natural biorhythms. In our quest to understand the new age, let us not forget our past or the present moment.