New Age Gathering

Age of Aquarius


Position of vernal equinox occurring in Pisces after leaving Aries constellation (through the precession of the equinoxes backward motion). In astrology (not astronomy), this is the moment where the tropical and sidereal "first point in Aries" (Aries 0º) came into close alignment. Since, in astrology, the 12 Astrological Ages are equal-sized (30 degrees each) and do not correspond to the exact constellations configuration in the sky, current astrologers need to establish when this alignment occurred, in order to determine the previous and future Ages. Processional movement as seen from 'outside' the celestial sphere. The rotation axis of the Earth describes over a period of about 25800 years a small circle (blue) among the stars, centered around the ecliptic north pole (blue E) and with an angular radius of about 23.4°: the angle known as the obliquity of the ecliptic. The orange axis was the Earth's rotation axis 5000 years ago when it pointed to the star Thuban. The yellow axis, pointing to Polaris is the situation now. Note that when the celestial sphere is seen from outside constellations appear in mirror image. Also note that the daily rotation of the Earth around its axis is opposite to the processional rotation. When the polar axis precesses from one direction to another, then the equatorial plane of the Earth (indicated with the circular grid around the equator) and the associated celestial equator will move too. Where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic (red line) there are the equinoxes. As seen from the drawing, the orange grid, 5000 years ago one intersection of equator and ecliptic, the vernal equinox was close to the star Aldebaran of Taurus. By now (the yellow grid) it has shifted (red arrow) to somewhere in the constellation of Pisces. Note that this is an astronomical description of the processional movement and the vernal equinox position in a given constellation may not imply the astrological meaning of an Age carrying the same name, as they (ages and constellations) only have an exact alignment in the "first point of Aries", meaning once in each ca. 25800 (Great Sidereal Year).

An astrological age is a time period in astrology which is believed by some to parallel major changes in the Earth's inhabitants' development. It roughly corresponds to the time taken for the vernal equinox to move through one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. The Ages in astrology, however, do not correspond to the actual constellation boundaries where the vernal equinox may be occurring in a given time.

Posted by Cougar Friday, August 29, 2008 (18:41:22)