Cosmic Cycles and the Great Years
Even if the Great Year, typically described as a roughly 25,920-year cycle caused by the precession of the equinoxes, is best known today from Plato’s writings and later Hellenistic astrology— the concept of long cosmic cycles was shared across ancient cultures and their astrological systems: it is part of a shared ancient understanding of time as cyclical rather than linear.
Astrology is part of only a handful of cultural traditions. Each astrological system reflects the distinct worldview and philosophical foundations of its culture. These systems can generally be categorized as either solar-based or lunar-based, which reflects the broader cosmological emphasis of their respective traditions.
The connection between planetary positions and personality traits for instance, is mostly emphasized in Western astrology, which is a very recent system compared to all others. It is rooted in Greco-Roman thought, later influenced by Renaissance humanism, and the modern field of psychology. In this system, individual personality traits are believed to be influenced by the positions of the planets at the time of birth, and the zodiac signs are associated with specific psychological characteristics.
In contrast, other traditions interpret planetary influences differently. For example, in Vedic (or Jyotish) lunar astrology, which originates from ancient India, the emphasis is less on psychological traits and more on life events, karmic patterns, and social identity and interactions. While personality does play a role, it’s often considered within the broader context of dharma (life purpose) and fate.
Chinese astrology, which is also mostly lunar-based, links personality more with animal signs in a twelve-year cycle, combined with elements like wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Here, personality traits are interpreted through a symbolic system deeply tied to traditional Chinese philosophy, such as the concepts of yin and yang and the five elements.
Tibetan astrology is a highly integrative system, drawing from Indian, Chinese, and indigenous Bon traditions. It combines astrological influences with Buddhist cosmology, focusing not only on personality and fate, but also on spiritual health and karmic patterns. Tibetan astrology is used to determine auspicious dates, diagnose imbalances, and guide personal and collective decisions. Natal charts in this system are deeply symbolic and are often interpreted through a spiritual lens, aligned with reincarnation and the path to liberation. Personality is seen not as a fixed psychological construct but as a fluid, karmically influenced expression of consciousness.
Egyptian astrology also contributed to the diversity of astrological thought. Rooted in the spiritual and mythological traditions of ancient Egypt, this system often linked individuals to specific gods or deities based on their birth dates, each embodying particular attributes and cosmic functions. While it shared structural similarities with other early systems, Egyptian astrology was deeply tied to the Nile’s cycles, temple sciences, and the symbolic roles of deities like Thoth, Ra, and Isis.
Lunar Arabic astrology, which developed in the medieval Islamic world, is relatively more recent and largely based on several other traditions. It uses the 28 lunar mansions (Manāzil al-Qamar), a system inherited from earlier Babylonian and Indian sources, and takes into account the positions of the fixed positions of the Stars. This tradition emphasizes timing and divination, often used for answering specific questions (horary astrology) or planning events. While personality isn’t the central focus, aspects of character can be inferred based on the moon’s position within these mansions at birth.
Galactic Mayan astrology, a system tied to the Mayan calendar (especially the Tzolk’in), emphasizes galactic and cosmic cycles over planetary positions. These larger cycles span entire civilizations and transcend a human life period or even our recorded memory. Individuals are identified by their day signs, tones, and kin numbers, believed to correspond with spiritual roles, archetypal energies, and cosmic missions. Rather than fixed personality traits, Mayan astrology highlights one’s energetic signature and essential purpose within the unfolding of divine time and creation.
Persian Solar Astrology offers yet another unique perspective. This solar-based astrology cannot be separated from its original context of Light and Central Sun rituals, which were integral to Persian culture and spiritual life. You won’t find much on this topic in European texts, except in the channeled readings of Edgar Cayce, who referred to an ancient Persian system that predates other classical astrological frameworks.
According to Cayce’s readings, the Persian tradition emphasized the spiritual development of the soul through planetary sojourns—experiences the soul undergoes on other planets before incarnating on Earth. Each planetary influence reflected specific soul qualities, such as discipline (Saturn), idealism (Neptune), or harmony (Venus), shaping both individuality and spiritual potential.
Rather than viewing astrology as fate-based, the Persians saw it as a vehicle for expressing the soul’s journey, where free will and soul evolution remained central.
A core element of the Persian system was the understanding of cosmic cycles, particularly the notion of the Great Year and the precession of the equinoxes. The Great Year fits naturally within the Persian worldview, especially in its Zoroastrian and metaphysical expressions. Persian mystics and astronomers—especially during the Islamic Golden Age—were well aware of the precession of the equinoxes and often integrated it into esoteric interpretations of history, spiritual transformation, and cosmic time.
In Zoroastrian cosmology, time is divided into vast epochs, most notably a 12,000-year cycle that includes creation, conflict, and final renewal. This structure strongly parallels the concept of the Great Year and likely influenced the development of later astrological systems.
Within this large framework, history, consciousness, and civilization were seen as evolving in rhythmic phases, each shaped by different planetary and stellar alignments. Astrology, in this context, was not about prediction or personality alone, but about navigating the soul’s evolutionary arc across vast cosmic cycles.
In this sense, Persian astrology—especially as conveyed through Cayce’s readings—was deeply concerned with the soul’s journey through planetary spheres and its alignment with great cycles of time. Even if Cayce did not use the term “Great Year” directly, his readings pointed to a metaphysical approach that blended ancient Persian cosmology with a cyclical, spiritual view of time, light, destiny, and an evolutionary view of astrology.
In conclusion, the planetary positions and their interpretations vary greatly across cultures, reflecting different understandings of the self, fate, and the cosmos—from psychological profiling to spiritual archetypes, from soul evolution to cosmic harmony.
While modern Western astrology tends to emphasize personality and psychological insight, older and often more spiritually oriented systems—such as Vedic, Tibetan, Mayan, or Persian—frame astrology within the context of karma, cosmic order, and the evolution of consciousness over vast cycles of time.
The inclusion of the Great Year and similar long cosmological cycles across certain traditions, reveals a shared ancient understanding of ‘time’ as inherently cyclical, sacred, and interconnected with human, planetary, and cosmic destiny. Astrology, then, is not merely a tool for self-knowledge, but a reflection of the soul’s participation in an expanded cosmic rhythm—an ancient science of time, spirit, and light.
From the East, House of Light
May wisdom dawn in us
So we may see all things in clarity
From the North, House of Night
May wisdom ripen in us
So we may know all from within
From the West, House of Transformation
May wisdom be transformed into right action
So we may do what must be done
From the South, House of the Eternal Sun
May right action reap the harvest
So we may enjoy the fruits of planetary being
From Above, House of Heaven
Where star people and ancestors gather
May their blessings come to us now
From Below, House of Earth
May the heartbeat of her crystal core
Bless us with harmonies to end all war
Which is everywhere at once
May everything be known
as the light of mutual Love
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to be updated - and continued
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