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Mythic themes around the Great Wheel - “The wheel
goes round and round, some are up and some are on the down, and
still the wheel goes round.” - Josephine Pollard
With the sky as a perennial reference point Earth
rotates daily and orbits the sun yearly. Another of Earth’s cycles
causes an imaginary circle to be traced in the sky by the poles.
Called the Great Year, and composed of twelve cosmic months which
are the astrological ages, this cycle lasts roughly 26,000 years.
As the orientation of the north pole shifts relative to the circumpolar
stars, a different North Star moves into position.
Another effect of this motion causes a different part
of the sky to rise before the sun at spring equinox dawn. The points
of reference for this backward motion, called Precession of the
Equinoxes, are the zodiac constellations which reside on the ecliptic,
the sun’s apparent path. This shift occurs at the rate of roughly
one degree of arc every seventy-two years, a span of time which
conveniently equates with a human life.
The Mythic Earth
The mythical earth is conceived as a flat plane intersected
by the frame of the equinoxes and solstices, the cardinal points
of the year. The conceptual image might be likened to a platter
surrounded by two wire hoops, intersecting the platter at ninety
degree angles. This is why the earth is often said to be quadrangular.
In this way time can be seen as a circular motion and its frame
as a sphere where the seasons intersect the circle of the year.
This frame is one of time and is not to be confused with the physical
globe which is the planet.
The four zodiacal constellations rising before the
sun at the equinoxes and solstices form parts of the frame and determine
the archetypal theme, for that age. Every world age has its own
“mythic earth.” It is for this reason that “ends of the world” are
said to occur. A new “earth” then arises when another set of zodiacal
constellations brought in by Precession determines the year’s points.
We are moving out of the mythic earth of Pisces and into that of
Aquarius. Metaphorically the world is ending and the sky is falling.
Another metaphor, that of Hamlet’s Mill, is conceived
like a giant water wheel, slowly churning out the ages. This image
describes the polar axis, piercing the center of the Earth, and
pointing toward the northern and southern axes of the sky. The axis
of the mill also pierces the center of the frame of time, and the
persistence of this image provides a cosmic timepiece. Numerous
myths have a churning mill as their central theme. Great care was
taken, and the assistance of gods, goddesses and tremendous forces
of nature were sought, to assure that the mill of heaven ground
smoothly and without incident. The shifting of cogs in the great
mill, which heralded the beginning of a new age, was seen as fraught
with peril.
As mortals know, the ways of the gods are capricious,
and sometimes disaster struck. Disaster is literally “disorder in
the stars,” from the French for star, “aster.” Catastrophe has the
same root meaning. The ancients probed the night skies, searching
for unexpected alterations in the predictable patterns which might
portend disaster. Occasionally things in the sky changed, and the
alarm was raised.
Ages and Stages
Astrologically the duration of an age is characterized
and defined by the archetypal energies of the constellation whose
stars rise before the sun at spring equinox dawn. Each phase of
the Great Year is like a month, possessing a distinct and overarching
quality of experience. The ages are like spokes of the cosmic wheel,
presenting a phase shift of archetypal energy designed to provide
an evolutionary school room for developing humanity. Since the great
cycle of the ages is a repeating pattern, perhaps we can learn about
our present and future from a better understanding of the past.
As the zodiac presents an annual circle of archetypal
experience so too does the Great Year. The changing of ages have
longs cusps or transitional periods, and there are no precise demarcations
of the circle where one influence stops and a new one begins. We
can only look back in time to sense approximately which archetype
held sway and what experience humanity drew from to unfold our emerging
pattern.
(Note: The dates given can only be approximations,
and the decidedly arbitrary lengths of the ages are arrived at by
dividing the Great Year by twelve.)
Age of Leo - 10,600 BCE - 8440 BCE
The age of Leo may have been the mythical golden
age referred to in legends. The date generally accepted as the final
destruction of Atlantis correlates with the timeframe for the age
of Leo. According to certain occult traditions Atlantean civilization
reached its zenith during this age of kings and also failed whatever
tests were presented. Symbolically, humanity’s task during this
age was finding the light within, learning self rule rather than
being subject to external authority. All the legends of Atlantis
point to the fact that this lesson was not fully learned or integrated.
Age of Cancer - 8440 BCE - 6280 BCE
Symbolically the oceans of Cancer swallowed up the
external evidence of ancient cultures, but new discoveries in Turkey
and India, dating to 10,000 years ago, are pushing back the generally
accepted dates and ideas about the sophistication of civilizations
which existed at this time. The evolutionary lesson for the age
of Cancer related to new ideas about home and tribe. After the destruction
of Atlantis humanity’s relationship with technology was stripped
away and the simple values of the hearth and heart became the central
focus.
Age of Gemini - 6280 BCE - 4120 BCE
Scholars believe this period was characterized by
widespread migrations which is a very Gemini theme. From a post-flood
simplicity cultures expanded and spread out, perhaps in many cases
as hunter gatherers. Shadowy origins of pre-dynastic Egypt puzzle
researches as a brilliant and complex civilization seems to have
sprung full blown from the sands of the desert. Historically the
links have been missing, but ongoing discoveries are filling in
the blanks. The lessons of the age of Gemini involved making new
connections and reintroducing the rational mind into the repertoire
of skills.
Age of Taurus - 4120 BCE - 1960 BCE
During the age of Taurus, the Bull, Minotaurs, Apis
bulls and the Bull of Heaven dominated myth and iconography. Conventional
wisdom declares this to be a time of primarily agricultural societies
where the domestication of cattle and the mastery of the element
of earth is displayed through an emphasis on fertility. Farming
and centralized settlements reemerged. In what seems to be a stunning
contradiction this period saw the Dynastic period in Egypt where
monumental temples and tombs were built. The lessons of the age
of Taurus involved humanity’s relationship with the physical world
and possessions. Greed versus generosity were themes.
Age of Aries - 1960 BCE - 200 CE
Next the march of ages brought the ram-headed god
Khnum of Egypt to the stellar throne. This period might be described
as an age of heroes as the “lamb” was ritually slain and the mythic
focus turned to conquest and a glorification of war. In this period
sons became more important than daughters and inheritance through
the male line replaced matrilineal succession. By 330 BCE Alexander’s
conquests had established Greece as a major power and the force
that seemed to provide the container for “modern” civilization.
The lessons of the age of Aries included such positive characteristics
as valor and such negative qualities as brutality and mindless exploitation.
Age of Pisces - 200 CE - 2400 CE
The age of Pisces has seen the emergence of hierarchy
in organized religion and the growth of monastic orders, following
the pattern of the ill-named “Holy Roman Empire.” After the destruction
of the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE what became Christianity began
to emerge. By 200 CE this thrust was well entrenched and we have
seen increasing industrialization of parts of the world with the
centralization of wealth. The archetype of suffering has hopefully
provided a schoolroom for humanity to become more compassionate.
If Aries is the first sign in the forward motion
of the zodiac, then moving in the reverse direction of Precession
it would complete a cycle. Therefore, the age of Pisces the twelfth
sign, would have commenced a whole new cycle of precession. That
we started counting time again might be seen as confirmation of
this.
Age of Aquarius - 2400 CE - 4560 CE
From the disappearance of Atlantis nearly 13,000 years
ago we have moved half way around the precessional wheel. This opposition
of signs may well bring the ascension of sunken Atlantis. If not
literally, then our understanding of how far back our history goes
will be ascertained. As we approach the much-heralded age of Aquarius,
the stars of the Water Bearer will replace those of the Fishes.
At some point a new archetype for the Aquarian age will emerge and
the diversity of this expression can already be witnessed in young
people around the world. At the least we can expect a greater degree
of scientific detachment. The already exponential growth of technology
will continue, and early examples of this are electricity, space
travel and the internet. The lessons of this age are similar to
that of Atlantis; will the enlightened use of technology be used
in service of the collective, or will unleashed forces destroy us
again? If we learn us lessons in the new age we will travel to the
stars.
Date with destiny
Key points in the enormous cycle of Precession seem
to move in concert with the fixed signs, and key epochs from the
distant past have been transmitted to us. The fixed sign Leo was
the anchor for the time frame of 12,500 years ago. The fixed sign
Taurus was the seasonal anchor during the epoch of 6,000 years ago
as well as the pyramid age of Egypt. The fixed sign Aquarius has
moved to define the present age, and as this huge clock keeps ticking,
the fixed sign Scorpio will be the spring seasonal anchor in another
six thousand years. If a message is encoded within a giant time
keeping mechanism, anchored to seasonal signposts and ages, what
deeper lessons can we learn as we probe the relationship between
astronomy and myth?
What drives the mechanism of astrology is a mystery.
Many have speculated that astrology is a revealed body of knowledge
and partakes of the nature of Reality itself. The zodiac is a description
of sequential and repeating experience on multiple levels of simultaneous
expression, and we travel this wheel as individuals with brief spans
as souls through time. But humanity also moves around this wheel
as a collective consciousness, evolving and unfolding according
to a pattern. We are on the brink of the changing of an age, the
ending of an old world, and everywhere the evidence of the next
leap in human consciousness is evident for those who face toward
the future.
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