Astrology and cycles

 

 

Everything around us is a subject to cyclic changes. We are aware of biological cycles, the yearly cycles of the seasons, the Moon cycle, the day-night cycle, the tide cycle, and so on. Our life is arranged in cycles and determined by a variety of cycles.

Astrological cycles are not as obvious as the biological cycles, with the exception of the cycles that affect our luminaries, the Sun and the Moon. Someone, who is more inclined to study the night sky, may also know about the cycles of the planets of the Solar System: each planet periodically disappears from the night sky, then reappears again. The same planet may be visible either in the morning sky before the Sun dawn or in the evening sky after the sunset. The rising of a planet before the Sun and setting after the sunset are also recurring and can be calculated and predicted. This is not surprising, because we know that the planets of the Solar System revolve around the Sun on circular or elliptical orbits and periodically come back to the same position relative to the Sun and to the Earth.

Astrological interpretations are based on planetary cycles, especially when it comes to the interpretation of events and predictions. When an astrologer sees noticeable current positions of the planets relative to the birth horoscope of a person, the astrologer wants to know what happened in this person’s life during the previous occurrences of the same interaction of the planetary positions in the sky with the positions of the planets in the birth horoscope. When the astrologer hears from a client about the events that occurred during the last similar planetary cycle, he or she is able to extrapolate the situation to the current moment and to get insight into the current life events. However, because the 10 planets and other celestial bodies are involved in the description of the current situation in the current horoscope, the cycles are never identical, but they do rhyme. We may go through similar phases and cycles, but we can never repeat the past exactly as it occurred before. The inability to repeat the cycle exactly as it occurred in the past seems to be a universal fact: even our Solar System is not frozen in space, but rather moves through the space with the speed 70,000 km/h. Thus, the planets orbiting the Sun are actually moving in a spiral motion around the moving Sun, and they never come back to the same exact position in space. Similarly, an astrologer may get an impression of how a planetary cycle plays out in an individual’s life and to add his/her interpretations of the current positions of other planets to the picture of the specific “transit” (a significant interaction of a current planetary position with the positions of the planets in a birth horoscope – coinciding of the positions, arranging in a major angle, etc.).

The timing of the interactions between the current positions of the planets and the positions of the planets in a birth horoscope largely depends on the configurations in the birth horoscope (the birth horoscope is a map of the sky at the moment of your birth in the place of your birth). For example, the timing of interactions between Saturn and the Moon depends on the positions of the Moon in the birth horoscope, and for different people these interactions and their consequences (which affect our mood) will occur not only at different absolute time, but also at a different age. However, knowing what happened when such contact did happen in the past allows the astrologer to predict when similar types of events and moods will happen in our future. For example, if you found a dream job the first time Saturn was crossing your Ascendant (the most important point of your chart determined by the exact time and place of your birth), next time Saturn will be in the same position relative to your birth horoscope you can expect an advancement at your job: either finding a better job, or getting promoted, or achieving another milestone in your career.

The cycles of planets taken in isolation from other planets occur at approximately same age for everyone. For example, Saturn returns to the position in the Zodiac that it occupied at the moment of a person’s birth at 28-30 year of age. Thus, everyone experiences a shift in their maturity level and a reality check around this age (Saturn is the planet of maturity, reality, time, rewards and punishments). Everyone who is older than 30 can testify that they went through a period of trial and were rewarded for the hard work or “punished” for not being prepared for the test. This is the age when people form families, have children, get career advancement or advanced degrees, in other words, become truly adults and start feeling the responsibilities of the adults. Depending on the birth horoscope and current configurations of planets in the sky, the “Saturn return” can be very difficult or more rewarding, but everyone feels the shifting energies of their lives.

Another good example of the cyclic planetary events is so-called “middle life crisis”. Again, some people may feel it very acutely, while others may barely notice the changing energies, depending on the birth horoscopes. The age of early 40th is the time when Uranus, the planet of freedom and unpredictability reaches its half-cycle on its road to return to the same position in the Zodiac where it was at the time of birth. Those who live past 80, experience the “Uranus return” at the age of 80-84, when they start feeling free of conventional rules and become truly free and even eccentric. The influence of Uranus creates the desire to break free from routines and to assert our individuality and separate our needs from the needs of other people around us. Depending on the natal position of Uranus in the horoscope, an astrologer can predict and explain what areas of life Uranus will affect at its half-cycle and to provide details on the specific influences.

Another great example of cyclic events are eclipses. Although Solar and Lunar eclipses occur frequently several times a year, they are not all alike. They differ in duration, appearance, and their position in the Zodiac. However, the geometry of the eclipse (relative positions of the Moon, Sun, and Earth) repeats every ~18 years, and very similar eclipses occur cyclically separated by ~18 years (the time unit called saros). These cycles are called Saros series (see NASA web page dedicated to the Saros series http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros.html), and several Saros series are developing at any given time: several eclipses occurring during a year belong to different Saros series. Astrologically, the cycles of eclipses from the same Saros series are significant: depending on the part of the birth horoscope where they happen, they reset the events in one of our life area and start a new period of our activities in this area. Thus, for many people there would be an ending and a new beginning in some area of their life when the eclipse of the same Saros series happens again in 18 years, but, depending on the birth horoscope and the position of the eclipse relative to the birth horoscope, the areas of life and the influences will be different for different people.

For example, the Solar eclipse on September 13th 2015 is happening in Virgo in the area of my horoscope that characterizes my career and my bosses. When the last eclipse of this Saros series (series 125, see NASA web page) happened 18 years ago at the same location in my birth horoscope, I had a sudden career change that I unexpectedly initiated. At that time, I have received a support from a person, who remained in my life for 18 years and influenced my career development all these years for better and worse. As we approach the new Solar eclipse of the same Saros series, just one day before the eclipse, this person is leaving my life and moving on to another job at a different location. Thus, this association that started 18 years ago at the time of the Solar eclipse of the same Saros series is over, and my career life is starting a new cycle. The new cycle obviously will not be repeating the previous cycle (I cannot step twice into the same river), but I am sure it will rhyme… Indeed, there is a change of the Department Chairman expected as I write, and the beginning of a new career cycle for me is very possible. It can also be a turn that I am not expecting now (as it was in the beginning of the previous cycle), but I can be absolutely sure there will be new beginnings.