Other than the impulse to create some order and keep count, our ancestors used Astrology not only as a way to measure time but also as a metaphysical science, myth, and poetic reflection of life. Life comes in cycles and they also reflect our solar system’s journey around the zodiacal belt.
Our solar system, including planet Earth, (I have to specify for some) completes its journey through the zodiacal belt in approximately 26,000 years, from Aries to Pisces. As the Earth moves in its 365-day orbit around the Sun, the Sun appears to move through the zodiac, passing through one constellation each month.
We have prehistoric records of 40,000 years or more depicting the cyclical nature of stars. Scientists believe that over time, in thousands of years, the stars move but really slowly, so the constellation will shift over time, but we’re talking hundreds if not millions of years to be visible. Also, keep in mind that some stars in the constellations we observe are 6.6 Billion years old or older. Earth alone is known to be 4.5 Billion years old.
Astrology & Astronomy
Modern science is more grounded in evidence-based observation, mathematical modeling, and physics, while myth and metaphysical science are symbolic, intuitive, and archetypal and differ from the empirical and structured science we know today. Our ancestors looked at astrology as having another purpose.
Astrology was more than observing the constellations and their cyclical movements because more importantly, it held the keys to our own mystery. Astronomy evolved from astrology, adopting a scientific approach with the Greeks and Indians.
Astronomy is the foundation of modern science because it was the first field to use mathematics, physics, and precise instruments like telescopes, principles that shaped all sciences, including microbiology. Both are essentially two sides of the same coin. Alchemists believed that the planets and stars influenced earthly substances and human destiny.
Sacred geography was important in Ancient Egypt, especially considering the alignment between the Pyramids of Giza and the Orion Belt. Ancient civilizations did not separate astronomy from geography, alchemy, or astrology. Stonehenge was designed to track the solstices and lunar cycles. In medieval times, different regions of the Earth were believed to be ruled by different zodiac signs, like Aries associated with England, Leo with Italy, etc.
Observing the sky
When it comes to the nuances of the observer, there are many adjacent and creative ways we can attempt some structure in all that we are in a position to observe and reflect upon. All of these different nuances pertain to a certain realm, proclivity of the mind, or dimension, so to speak.
Anytime we strive to illuminate ourselves and others, we are trying to measure something from two points of view. Our curious ancestors interpreted the cosmos through a structured order, cosmogony, and used it to understand and measure all that was observable and in motion, including time.
In fact, historically speaking, astrology originated in Mesopotamia, in the 3rd millennium B.C. Mayans were also great at observing the sky and created their own calendar. They were also known to have obtained complex scientific methods, such as time travel.
Time travel was an important topic for the Mayans and the Palenque site is one of the most important because of its Archeological records of time travel. I visited the Palenque archeological site in Mexico in 2021. On the same day, my grandfather, who was an ambassador in South America for over 12 years, passed away and appeared in my dream speaking his last words.
Mayan astrology, besides being the most important due to its historical, and architectural influence, is also considered one of the most forward-thinking kinds of its time. A little fun fact about Mayan astrology is that recently I happened to discover I’m the Vulture. My friend is earth and my foe is death. Pretty reasonable I’d say, no? My strengths are knowledge and wisdom, and my weaknesses are being jaded and cynical, which have finally helped me make some sense of myself lately and have been a great relief, honestly.
Chinese Zodiac
Let’s look at Chinese Astrology, for instance, which in my opinion, is maybe one of the best to use in the context of our topic and the different nuances or views of the observer. The Chinese zodiac, originating from the 5th century BCE, does not have any important ties to the stars and it does not count years in a linear fashion as most of us are used to. When they think of years, they think of repetitive cycles; Oh, this is the year of the Rat, next year will be the year of the Ox, etc. Years have names and repeat every 60 years and correspond to the five repeats of each of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
For instance, if you are Tiger (Fire), your last 60-year cycle was from Feb 9, 1986, to Jan 28, 1987. The previous before that was from Feb 13, 1926, to Feb 1, 1927. Each zodiac animal repeats five times corresponding to each of the five elements. The five elements in the Chinese zodiac are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Only two Chinese zodiac animals are associated with each element, one of which is yin (feminine) and the other is yang, its complimentary (masculine).
For my Astrology geeks, my birth year in the Chinese zodiac is Rabbit and the element fire. The original element associated with Rabbit is Wood and its corresponding yin/yang force is Yin (feminine). Tiger is also wood, and it is its counterpart, yin/yang force, yang (masculine). So if you are a Tiger, specifically a Water, Fire, or Earth Tiger, come find me. I’m your little Fire Rabbit. Rawr. Just kidding. (Wink)
The illuminated and ideals
In more occult studies, each of us has a certain molding of human thought, or disposition of the soul, because of its various conditioning of factors, like genetics, and more, that makes us open to becoming illuminated by a certain order and variety of ideals, whether scientific, philosophical, or mental in any way.
These mental constellations or unique lenses from which we observe will naturally include opposing world outlooks or views. All of the different nuances can be linked with each of the planets, and their movements around the 12 constellations or as seen in the Chinese zodiac, with each of the 12 zodiacal animals and their distinctive attributes.
Every philosopher, new age thinker, great poet, writer, artist, or anyone with any influence in human history and thought will observe and interpret the order of the illuminated soul with its corresponding ideals. Some for instance will like Schopenhauer and his metaphysics of human will but others won’t. Others will operate through the realm of spiritism, psychism, etc. Each of us is so attuned to our own disposition that we cannot become aware of what arises from within and appears as the real inner solution of the riddle of the Universe.
Nuances of the illuminated
A mystic, including female mystics, is someone who when the soul quiets down will seek inwardly for the divine light. They are so attuned and have such a natural disposition and fine perception of how one feels through this or that experience, that something behind it or around it flows into their soul.
Others are illuminated by the world views of Realism. Their whole mode of perceiving and experiencing the world easily enables them to talk to others about the world. They are neither Mystics, Occultists, Spiritists, Sensationalists, nor Idealists, etc., but equipped with very fine perceptions of the external reality around them and of the intrinsic qualities of things, including the sublimity of nature because, with their whole personality, they are in touch with the reality of things they see.
Also, there are those who are illuminated by the realm of materialism. They are people who have feelings and perceptions only for the material. There are also occultists of materialism, who are our modern-day scientists but wouldn’t like being called occultists. They don’t understand that there are other ways and methods you can use to arrive to the atom. The atom remains in the occult until through illumination, meditation, concentration, etc., the powers rise up and illuminate them.
So, as the observer, our ancestors inherited the lens of astrology not merely to predict, but to perceive the rhythms of existence. Whether astrology is the first lost science or one of many, its presence reminds us that knowledge was never only about measurement but also about connection. Perhaps, as we discover celestial imprints, we are not just looking outward but also inward, toward something we once knew.
