The stars and us
Astrological Ramblings
One of my favourite constellations is the Cygnus ~ A northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan. The swan is one of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross (in contrast to the Southern Cross). Cygnus was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.
Cygnus contains Deneb, one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one corner of the Summer Triangle, as well as some notable X-ray sources and the giant stellar association of Cygnus OB2. One of the stars of this association, NML Cygni, is one of the largest stars currently known. The constellation is also home to Cygnus X-1, a distant X-ray binary containing a supergiant and unseen massive companion that was the first object widely held to be a black hole. Many star systems in Cygnus have known planets as a result of the Kepler Mission observing one patch of the sky, the patch is the area around Cygnus. In addition, most of the eastern part of Cygnus is dominated by the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, a giant galaxy filament that is the largest known structure in the observable universe; covering most of the northern sky.
Cygnus is one of the constellations that the Kepler satellite surveyed in its search for extrasolar planets, and as a result, there are about a hundred stars in Cygnus with known planets, the most of any constellation.
The Kepler-22 system is also notable, in that its extrasolar planet is believed to be the first "Earth-twin" planet ever discovered.
In Greek mythology, Cygnus has been identified with several different legendary swans. Zeus disguised himself as a swan to seduce Leda, Spartan king Tyndareus's wife, who gave birth to the Gemini, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra; Orpheus was transformed into a swan after his murder, and was said to have been placed in the sky next to his lyre (Lyra); and the King Cygnus was transformed into a swan.
My favourite myth ~ The Greeks also associated this constellation with the tragic story of Phaethon, the son of Helios the sun god, who demanded to ride his father's sun chariot for a day. Phaethon, however, was unable to control the reins, forcing Zeus to destroy the chariot (and Phaethon) with a thunderbolt, causing it to plummet to the earth into the river Eridanus. According to the myth, Phaethon's brother, Cycnus, grieved bitterly and spent many days diving into the river to collect Phaethon's bones to give him a proper burial. The gods were so touched by Cycnus's devotion to his brother that they turned him into a swan and placed him among the stars.
The Fall Of Phaethon Painting by Gustave Moreau
Sodoma. Fall of Phaethon. Oil on canvas (Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA)
In Ovid's Metamorphoses, there are three people named Cygnus, all of whom are transformed into swans. Alongside Cycnus, noted above, he mentions a boy from Tempe who commits suicide when Phyllius refuses to give him a tamed bull that he demands, but is transformed into a swan and flies away. He also mentions a son of Neptune who is an invulnerable warrior in the Trojan War who is eventually defeated by Achilles, but Neptune saves him by transforming him into a swan.
Together with other avian constellations near the summer solstice, Vultur cadens and Aquila, Cygnus may be a significant part of the origin of the myth of the Stymphalian Birds, one of The Twelve Labours of Hercules.
The astrological age.
There are two myths about the effects upon the world due to the astrological ages. Some astrologers believe the changes upon Earth are caused and marked by the influences of the given astrological sign associated with its Age, while other astrologers think that the ages simply happen in that sequence.
There are three broad perspectives on the astrological ages:
- Archeoastronomers are interested in the ages because some researchers believe that ancient civilizations often depicted cultural references to the ages. Archeoastronomers in general do not 'believe' in astrology, but they study the cultural traditions of societies that did refer extensively to astrology.
- Astrologers have been interested in relating world history to the astrological ages since the late 19th century; however, most astrologers study horoscopes, not astrological ages.
- The general public has become aware of the Age of Aquarius since it was publicized in the musical Hair.
Contentious aspects of the astrological ages:
Definitive details on the astrological ages are lacking, and consequently most details available about the astrological ages are disputed. The 20th century British astrologer Charles Carter stated that
"It is probable that there is no branch of Astrology upon which more nonsense has been poured forth than the doctrine of the precession of the equinoxes." (precession of the equinoxes as the root cause of the astrological ages).
In 2000 Neil Spencer in his book True as the Stars Above expressed a similar opinion about the astrological ages. Spencer singles out the astrological ages as being "fuzzy", "speculative", and the least-defined area of astrological lore. Derek and Julia Parker claim that it is impossible to state the exact date for the start of any astrological age and acknowledge that many astrologers believe the Age of Aquarius has arrived while many claim the world is at the end of the Age of Pisces.
Consensus approach to the astrological ages:
Though so many issues are contentious or disputed, there are two aspects of the astrological ages that have virtually unanimous consensus—firstly, the claimed link of the astrological ages to the axial precession of the Earth and commonly referred to as precession of the equinoxes; secondly, that, due to the nature of the precession of the equinoxes, the progression of the ages proceeds in reverse direction through the zodiacal signs.
Other opinions on the astrological ages:
Many astrologers find ages too erratic based on either the vernal point moving through the randomly sized zodiacal constellations or sidereal zodiac and, instead, round all astrological ages to exactly 2000 years each. In this approach the ages are usually neatly aligned so that the Aries age is found from 2000 BC to AD 1, Pisces age AD 1 to AD 2000, the Aquarian Age AD 2000 - AD 4000, and so on.[24] This approach is inconsistent with the precession of the equinoxes. Based on precession of the equinoxes, there is a one degree shift approximately every 72 years, so a 30-degree movement requires 2160 years to complete.
Ages involving the opposite sign ~ An established school of thought that an age is also influenced by the sign opposite to the one of the astrological age. Referring back to the precession of the Equinoxes, as the Sun crosses one constellation in the Northern Hemisphere's spring Equinox (March 21), it will cross the opposite sign in the spring Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere (September 21). For instance, the Age of Pisces is complemented by its opposite astrological sign of Virgo (the Virgin); so a few refer to the Piscean age as the 'Age of Pisces-Virgo'. Adopting this approach, the Age of Aquarius would become the Age of Aquarius-Leo. Ray Grasse also claims that each sign of the zodiac is involving with the opposite sign.
History of the Astrological Ages
Hipparchus
The great demarcation point in the history of the astrological ages is around 127 BC when the Greek astronomer-astrologer Hipparchus from observation discovered that the great immovable sphere of fixed stars was not fixed but slowly moving eastwards due to what is now known as precession of the equinoxes. It is possible that some other astronomers before Hipparchus had also noticed the phenomenon, but it is Hipparchus who is credited with this discovery. This discovery by Hipparchus is not entirely unexpected as Hipparchus is considered to have been the greatest observational astronomer in his time and up until Tycho Brahe in the 16th century AD. What is highly contentious in modern times is the claim by many that observation of the effects of precession of the equinoxes was known well before the time of Hipparchus and his contemporaries in Greece or even Mesopotamia. The academic answer is no – precession of the equinoxes was unknown in earlier times.
Did the Ancients Recognise Precession Before Hipparchus?
Giorgio de Santillana (1902 – 1974) became professor of the History of Science in the School of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954 and along with Hertha von Dechend they published a book entitled "Hamlet's Mill, An Essay on Myth and the Frame of Time" in 1969.
Santillana and von Dechend state that ancient myths have no historical basis but a cosmological one based on a primitive form of astrology. They recognized the importance of the heliacally rising constellation as markers for the astrological ages and claimed that knowledge of this phenomenon had been known for thousands of years previously. They claim that to understand ancient thinking it is necessary to understand astrology, not the modern sun-sign or horoscopic astrology, but the astrology of ancient times which was the lingua franca of ancient times. They go further and state that our knowledge of the dawn of astrology and its relationship to ancient myths and star names is limited to about 2100 BC during the Renaissance of Sumerian Culture instead of being able to examine the real old material on the subject. In "Hamlet's Mill" it is claimed that the ancient Greeks knew of three successive destructions that correlate to three ages and that since the beginning of history the vernal point has moved through Taurus, Aries, and Pisces. Hesiod in "Works and Days" refers to five successive ages.
As early as 1811, modern researchers were examining evidence for knowledge of precession of the equinoxes and astrological ages before Hipparchus. Sir William Drummond published "Oedipus Judaicus - Allegory in the Old Testament" in 1811. Drummund expounds on his hypothesis that a greater part of the Hebrew Scriptures are merely allegorical writings that hide the true content. Furthermore, the Orientalists were mainly concerned with astronomy and most of their ancient myths are really disguised astronomical records.
Drummond believed that the 49th chapter of Genesis contains prophecies allied to astronomy and that the twelve tribes of Israel represented the 12 zodiacal signs. Drummund makes his case that at the time of Abraham, the Amorites first recorded the shift from the Age of Taurus to the Age of Aries as represented by the year commencing with the Ram (Aries) rather than the bull (Taurus).
The Book of Joshua indicates that by the time of Moses the equinoxes had already shifted from Taurus to Aries as Moses had ordained that the civil year should commence with the month of Nisan (Aries) rather than the month of Taurus.
The feast of the Passover is probably a celebration of the Age of Aries with the Paschal Lamb representative of Aries, traditionally associated with the symbol of the ram or sheep.
Drummond also hypothesizes that most number references in ancient texts were coded to hide their real value by their multiplication by 1000 or multiples of 1,000. For example, in the Old Testament Joshua commanded 30,000 men and he slew 12,000 inhabitants of the city of Ai. The historian Berosus stated the Babylonians commenced astronomical observations 49,000 years (7 x 7 x 1000) before Alexander the Great.
Most early references were related to 7 (Sun, Moon, and five visible planets), 12 (number of zodiacal signs and months per year), 30 (degrees per sign of the zodiac), and higher combinations of these numbers and other numbers associated with astronomical observations and astrology.
The problem of understanding the exact nature of ancient astrology is that it was only partly documented, leaving the question of the extent of their undocumented astrological knowledge. Michael Baigent in "From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia" suggests that there is evidence that there was probably an older or parallel oral tradition of astrology at the time of publication of Enuma Anu Enlil believed published over the period (1595–1157 BC). The ancient Mesopotamians believed that history repeated itself after a massive cycle of many years.
Anno Domini
There exists evidence that the modern calendar developed by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century AD commencing with the birth of Jesus Christ at AD 1 was influenced by precession of the equinoxes and astrological ages. Dionysius' desire to replace Diocletian years (Diocletian persecuted Christians) with a calendar based on the incarnation of Christ was to prevent people from believing the imminent end of the world. At the time it was believed that the Resurrection and end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of Jesus.
The current Anno Mundi calendar theoretically commenced with the creation of the world based on information in the Old Testament. It was believed that based on the Anno Mundi calendar Jesus was born in the year 5500 (or 5500 years after the world was created) with the year 6000 of the Anno Mundi calendar marking the end of the world. Anno Mundi 6000 (approximately AD 500) was thus equated with the resurrection of Christ and the end of the world. Since this date had already passed in the time of Dionysius, he therefore searched for a new end of the world at a later date. He was heavily influenced by ancient cosmology, in particular the doctrine of the Great Year that places a strong emphasis on planetary conjunctions. This doctrine says that when all the planets were in conjunction that this cosmic event would mark the end of the world. Dionysius accurately calculated that this conjunction would occur in May AD 2000. Dionysius then applied another astronomical timing mechanism based on precession of the equinoxes. Though incorrect, some oriental astronomers at the time believed that the precessional cycle was 24,000 years which included twelve astrological ages of 2,000 years each. Dionysius believed that if the planetary alignment marked the end of an age (i.e. the Pisces age), then the birth of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of the Age of Pisces 2,000 years earlier. He therefore deducted 2,000 years from the May 2000 conjunction to produce AD 1 for the incarnation of Christ.
Today the stars no longer guide our navigation, orchestrate our time-keeping, or pace our planting and harvesting but nearly all ancient civilizations shared this wisdom of time as a cyclical higher power and thus organized themselves to best survive by keeping the uncertainty and chaos away through acts seeking harmony with this cosmos. Western culture's linear march- of-time model, moved beyond the wisdom of these past civilizations.
Past ages
The Age of Leo (The Leonian Age)
Symbol for Leo: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Leo.
NGc 3190 is a spiral galaxy with tightly wound arms and lying in the constellation Leo.
Zodiacal 30 degrees:
Patrick Burlingame interpretation: began ca. 10,006 BC and ended ca. 8006 BC
Common interpretation: ca. 10,500 BC to 8000 BC
Overview
"The Golden Age". The major event in this age was deglaciation of what now constitutes much of the modern habitable world. The deglaciation ultimately caused a 300-foot (90 m) rise in the sea level. The sign Leo is a Fire sign and is mythically ruled by the Sun in astrology.
The Age of Cancer (The Cancerian Age)
Symbol for Cancer: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Cancer;
Timeframes:
Zodiacal 30 degrees:
Neil Mann interpretation: began ca. 8600 BC and ended ca. 6450 BC
Patrick Burlingame interpretation: began ca. 8006 BC and ended ca. 6006 BC
Overview
"The Age of the Great Mother." Cancer is ruled by the Moon, and is associated with the process of bearing, birthing, nurturing, and protecting. In astrologic mythology this age marks the beginning of civilization, with domestication of farm animals and nomadic people settling down to living in permanent dwellings.
Religious similarities:
Widespread evidence of the mother goddess in the Near East (the 'mother' archetype in all shapes and forms is always related to the sign Cancer).
The Age of Gemini (The Geminian Age)
Symbol for Gemini: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Gemini;
Timeframes
- Zodiacal 30 degrees:
- Neil Mann interpretation: began ca. 6450 BC and ended ca. 4300 BC
- Patrick Burlingame interpretation: began ca. 6006 BC and ended ca. 4006 BC
Overview
"The Age of Communication, Trade and the Twins"
Historical similarities
During this mythological age writing developed, and trade started to accelerate. The constellation can be seen as two people holding hands (thought to be twins), believed by some to be symbolic for trade and communication of peoples. In myths associated with the constellation of Gemini, both writing (including literature, newspapers, journals, magazines, and works of fiction) and trade (including merchants) are traditional archetypes belonging to the sign of Gemini.
Most forms of local transportation are archetypes mythologically linked with the sign of Gemini.
Religious similarities:
Multiple gods, such as the pantheon of gods in Ancient Greek literature, are believed to have appeared in this Gemini age probably in Sumer (Mesopotamia). (Gemini is not only associated with the archetype of 'twins' and 'duality' but also 'multiplicity').
The Age of Taurus (The Taurean Age)
Main article: Sacred bull
Symbol for Taurus: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Taurus;
Timeframes
- Zodiacal 30 degrees:
- Neil Mann interpretation: began ca. 4300 BC and ended ca. 2150 BC
- Patrick Burlingame interpretation: began ca. 4006 BC and ended ca. 2006 BC
- Constellation boundary year:
- Shephard Simpson interpretation: began ca. 4525 BC and ended ca. 1875 BC
Overview
"The Age of Earth, Agriculture, and the Bull" This age is claimed to have occurred approximately around the time of the building of the Pyramids in Egypt.
Religious similarities:
Bull worshiping cults began to form in Assyria, Egypt, and Crete during this mythological age.
- Ankh: thoracic vertebra of a bull - Egyptian symbol of life
- Worship of Apis, the bull-deity (see also Bull (mythology)), the most important of all the sacred animals in Egypt, said to be instituted during the Second Dynasty of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt and worshipped in the Memphis region until the New Kingdom (16th century BC).
- When Moses was said to have descended from the mountain with the ten commandments (c. 17th – 13th century BC, the end of the Age of Taurus), some of his people or followers were found by him to be worshipping a golden bull calf. He instructed these worshippers to be killed. This represents Moses "killing" the bull and ending the Age of Taurus, and ushering in the Age of Aries, which he represents.
- Marduk
- Tauroctony
The Age of Aries (The Arian Age)
Symbol for Aries: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Aries;
Zodiacal 30 degrees:
Neil Mann interpretation: began ca. 2150 BC and ended ca. 1 AD
Patrick Burlingame interpretation: began ca. 2006 BC and ended ca. 6 BC
Constellation boundary year:
Shephard Simpson interpretation: began ca. 1875 BC to ca. 100 AD
Overview
"The Age of War, Fire, and the Ram"
Historical similarities:
Aries represents a Fire symbol as well as bold actions, a lot of these behaviors can be seen during any age. However, the themes emphasised during this age relate to courage, initiative, war, and adventure. Nations during this age such as the expanding empires of China, Persia, Greece, and Rome, are often cited as examples of the archetypes of Aries in action. Also the Aries constellation shows a ram running. This could correspond with the sacrifice of Abraham's Ram. While the number of names containing the sound of the ram during this period is noted: Ra (Sun God), Ram, Rama, Brahman, Brahma, Abram/Abraham, Amon Ra, and Ramesses I. The battering ram was employed by the Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans with great success during this time.[dubious – discuss] (The symbol of Mars, the planetary ruler of Aries, evokes this interpretation.) According to the Roman state religion, the Roman people were the "Sons of Mars".
Aries is associated with the metal iron, and iron ore was for the first time smelted and worked into iron swords in Anatolia during the early phase of this era, replacing the heavier, softer-metaled, duller-edged bronze swords of the previous Taurus Age.
Traits of Aries such as 'initiative' may suggest the explosion of originality in the development of social aspects, sciences and arts in regions such as Ancient Greece but at the same time traits such as 'Impulsivity' may be attributed to the various Wars of the time.
Religious similarities:
The Age of Aries ushered in efforts to replace polytheism with monotheism. The earliest known attempt was by the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, who, in about 1350 BC, decreed the Sun God Aten to be the supreme deity, apparently in reaction to his earlier lack of inclusion in religious rites by his family. After his death, however, power reverted to the original polytheistic priests, who re-established the old religion. Speculation (including that of Freud) has it that later, during the reign of Ramesses II, Moses was influenced by rumour of Akhenaten's revolutionary idea, and grasped the idea of a single supreme God, who especially favoured his people, as an inspirational mechanism that best suited his people held in bondage. The symbol of Aries can be seen as representing the power of multiple gods streaming down into a single god-head.
Moses (born c. 16th–13th century BC; 7 Adar 2368 – 7 Adar 2488 in the Hebrew calendar), an early Biblical Hebrew religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, and military leader, condemns his own people upon finding them worshiping a 'golden calf' (a symbol of the previous Age of Taurus and of the worship of the bull deity) after coming down Mount Sinai. These events may have occurred during the Age of Aries (see also dating the Exodus).
See also:
- Mithraism
- The Mithraic Question and Precession
"The Mysteries of Mithra, which came to flower in the near east during the Hellenistic age as a kind of Zoroastrian heresy, and in the Roman period was the most formidable rival of Christianity...
Celebrants wore masks representing animals of the Zodiac: for astronomy was undergoing a new development in this period through an application of Greek thought to the data of the centuries of Sumero-Chaldean observation. In all religions of the age,Download the Zodiac had come to represent the bounding, ever revolving sphere of time - space - causality, within which the unbounded Spirit operates unmoved yet moving in all." Joseph Campbell
More HERE
Mithraism was a mystery religion with devotees sworn to secrecy. Nothing could be spoken or written down. What little is known of Mithra, the god of justice and social contract, has been deduced from reliefs and icons found in temples. Most of these portray Mithra clad in a Persian-style cap and tunic sacrificing a white bull in front of Sol, the sun god. Sol's wife Soma, the moon, begins her cycle and time is born. The letters 'VSLM' that are inscribed on many Mithraic stones are part of a secret code thanking Mithra for his good deeds and are recognizable only to the faithful. Mithraism and Christianity competed strongly because of the striking similarity in many of their rituals.
Both involve shepherds, an ark built to escape a flood and a form of baptism. Devotees knelt when they worshipped and a common meal - a communion- was a regular feature of the liturgy.
HERE ~ THE MYSTERIES OF MITHRA
by Franz Cumont
Present and future ages
The Age of Pisces (The Piscean Age)
Symbol for Pisces: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Pisces;
Some astrologers claim the Age of Pisces is the current age and they believe it will remain so for approximately another 600 years.[citation needed] At that time, the vernal equinox point will have moved into the constellation of Aquarius, thus beginning the Age of Aquarius. Other astrologers claim the Age of Pisces ended with the great cosmic alignment of 12/21/12, thus beginning the Age of Aquarius.
Zodiacal 30 degrees:
Neil Mann interpretation: began ca. AD 1 and ends ca. AD 2150.
Heindel-Rosicrucian interpretation: began ca. AD 498 and ends ca. AD 2654
Patrick Burlingame interpretation: began ca. 6 BC and ended ca. AD 1994
Mayan: ended 21 December 2012
Newland: began 25 January 1989
Constellation boundary year:
Shephard Simpson interpretation: began ca. 100/90 BC and ends ca. AD 2680.
12/21/12 Great Cosmic Alignment interpretation: began ca. 138 BC and ended 21 December 2012
Overview
"The Age of Monotheism, Spirituality, and the Fish"
The age of Pisces began c. 1 AD and will end c. 2150 AD. With the story of the birth of Christ coinciding with this date many Christian symbols for Christ use the astrological symbol for Pisces, the fishes. Jesus bears many of the temperaments and personality traits of a Pisces, and is thus considered an archetype of the Piscean. Moreover, the twelve apostles were called the "fishers of men," early Christians called themselves "little fishes," and a code word for Jesus was the Greek word for fish, "Ikhthus." With this, the start of the age, or the "Great Month of Pisces" is regarded as the beginning of the Christian religion. Saint Peter is recognized as the apostle of the Piscean sign.
Historical Similarities
The Age of Pisces is characterized by the Christian age. The fish is thought[by whom?] to have been chosen as a symbol for Christianity by the early Christians primarily because Jesus' ministry is associated with fish; he chose several fishermen to be his disciples and declared he would make them "fishers of men." The Age of Pisces corresponds with the Christian Era. Pisces is associated with the continuous research of humanity about the truth hidden behind what is perceived by five senses, which corresponds with the mysteries associated with Christ's life.[citation needed] Also, like with the previous transition into the Age of Aries, the people were reluctant to evolve into the new thinking of the transitioning age symbolized by the Passion of Christ narrative.[citation needed]
Religious Similarities
Jesus Christ is said to be the "Alpha and Omega," the first and last, Aries and Pisces. In Christian religion he is seen as the sacrificial Lamb of God (end of Age of Aries) and the "Fisher of Men" (dawn of the age of Pisces). His symbol is the ichthys or ichthus, from the Greek ikhthýs (ἰχθύς, "fish"), and he calls to him "fishers of men" as his disciples. His communion food is designated as fish, when he asks for as much after his resurrection. His early Christian followers were called the "little fishes" and represented by two fishes – a symbol for Pisces.
The fish was also the symbol of the early Church (Catholicism). Its shape was used in the catacombs in order to identify the first Christians. In this respect, "Ichtus", a Greek word, represented a fish. The first Christians made an ideogram out of it: that is, they took each letter of the word "I-ch-th-u-s" to form other words related to Christ, "Iesus Christus Theou Uios Sôter". This expression can be translated into "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior".
The sign of Pisces is a sign of sacrifice, charity, mercy, compassion, and pardon. The entire Christian religion therefore strives in this way. The annual religious period that corresponds to the sign of Pisces is Lent, a period of sacrifice.
Christ named his disciples "Fishers of Men", alluding to fish, to fishing. The sign of Pisces is the symbol of forgiveness, of secrecy, of reclusion. This is why, for centuries, Christians have confessed their sins, in secret, in a reclusive place (a confessional). It was the Sacrament of pardon or penance. The sign of Pisces is also associated with mercy: this is why Christians often asked God to have mercy on them. The "Kyrie Eleison" is in fact sung ("Lord, have mercy upon us") at mass on Sundays.
The Pope still wears a mitre, which is in the shape of a fish.
The Twelfth House
The sign of Pisces also corresponds to the twelfth house of the zodiac (a cadent house), house of prayer, of the recluse. During the Age of Pisces, we witnessed the creation of monasteries: for a greater part, the lives of monks and members of numerous religious communities consisted of meditation and praying to God. There were even cloistered religious communities whose members refused any contact with the outside world, preferring to devote themselves to spiritual activities.
The Age of Aquarius (The Aquarian Age)
Main article: Age of Aquarius
Symbol for Aquarius: 
Zodiacal sign: the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere) is occurring in Aquarius;
More HERE
Popular culture:
In popular culture, the expression "Age of Aquarius" usually refers to the heyday of the hippie and New Age movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1967 successful musical Hair, with its opening song "Aquarius" and the memorable line "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius", brought the Aquarian Age concept to the attention of a huge worldwide audience. This New Age phenomenon is seen by some astrologers to be marked by the conjunction of the planet Uranus, ruler of the sign Aquarius, and the coming age, with Pluto, ruler of the masses, bringing radical change, in the 1960s. However, as the song relates, it is only considered by astrologers as the "dawning" or "cusp" of the Age, with the full strength of the Age not occurring until some time in the future.
A little extra ~ Brief Overview
The oldest structures on earth are fertility goddess temples on the island of Malta honoring the annual cycle of life. Their beginning and end between 4400 -2200 BCE holds a remarkable coincidence or synchronicity with the Movement of the Age of Taurus. This esoteric knowledge of a 26,000-year cycle of earth moving through the heavens was known in ancient Egypt and Babylonia where written records have survived. There will never be irrefutable proof that the knowledge has its source in India but the Vedic texts written in the 2nd millennium BCE after a longer period as an oral legacy do reference prior ages before Taurus. The Chinese are said to have adopted around the same time Egypt was first rising as the dominant culture of the Mediteranean. Taurus is city-states] The greatest reference to prior ages is considered the Great Sphinx and the age of Leo [10,715 - 8,572 bce] in Egypt.
Pre-history beginning with The Age of Cancer =8,572 - 6,429 BCE
Age of Cancer Beetle or Sacred Scarab of Egypt, later the Crab, Isis (Eve)
The Sign Cancer is also the sign associated with the Great Mother, the creator of the Universe.
This same mother can be seen manifesting in various ancient cultures: the Isis of Egyptians, Nana of Chaldeans, Rhea of the Romans, Spiderwoman of the Hopi, and Shakti of the Vedic scriptures, but they all arose from the early Mother goddess cults of the Age of Cancer.
Astrology signs, associated with body parts.
Sun worship of Leo gave way to Moon The age of moving from caves to fixed dwellings.
The Sword Of Orion.
The largest known structure in the universe ~ below
Earth and moon interconnected with starfield (by Johan Swanepoel)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has recently spotted a galaxy estimated to be over 60 million light years away from the Earth.
Possibly the Youngest Galaxy Ever Seen, an irregular dwarf galaxy about 45 million light-years away is seen in this image from NASA. NASA/ESA/A. Schaller.
love and light
Trace
xoxo
