Chronological Timelines: Introduction
The Historical Ephemeris
Historical Timelines
with summary astrological data
Historical Timelines
with summary astrological data
Introduction
These tables are dense with information. They require gradual study and contemplation. You don't have to be an advanced astrologer to quickly start seeing patterns and correlations in the relationship between events and astrological phenomena.
Please note how the timeline was compiled. The historical timelines were compiled separately, without reference to astrological motions, in order to avoid creating biased information (by fitting the data around the theory). They were compiled using the author's own judgement as a historian, drawing references from reliable historical event lists, atlases and history books.
I selected events and trends according to my assessment of the historical importance of different events and their symbolism or their pattern-setting decisiveness or defining qualities. Major criteria I used were that they affected large swathes of people or represented tendencies which, though they might involve but small numbers of people, nevertheless embodied large-scale collective issues, subsequently affecting larger numbers of people or influencing the evolution of cultures. An example was the invention of the tin can - a small event with big consequences in food delivery worldwide.
Astrological data was then added after the compilation of the historical timeline. The astrological data provided is in summary form only, to avoid excessive information-overload.
A star * alongside an entry indicates a general period or trend in operation around that time.
As the tables progress toward modern times, a larger number of events are recorded for each year. This is partially because surviving records for recent times are more comprehensive, and also an increase in global population leads to an objective increase in human activity and events.
Each entry is sorted into a rough geo-cultural category, indicating the world region it affects. As the tables progress, these regions shift – one example is the use of the word ISLAM, referring to the Islamic world as a whole, from India to Southern Europe, though this category does not appear until the dawn of Islam in the 700s CE. Similarly, GERMANY and HRE (the Holy Roman Empire) replace one another in different periods.
Astrological data
The core data involve aspects between Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and ingresses of these planets into new signs. An ingress is the crossing of a planet from one zodiac sign to the next.
The tropical zodiac (not the sidereal zodiac of constellations) is used, in line with majority astrological opinion in the modern West.
Aspects used here include all aspects which are a multiple of 30° or 45°, and the major aspects of conjunction, opposition and square are shown emphasised in capitals.
The + and - symbols denote whether the aspect is a waxing or waning aspect. With a waxing [+] aspect, the faster planet is moving away from the slower, from conjunction toward opposition, and with a waning [-] aspect, the faster planet moves back toward the slower planet, from opposition toward conjunction.
Chiron aspects and ingresses are shown from 1745 onwards only. The eccentric motions of the planetoid Chiron (discovered in 1977, and exerting a noticeable astrological influence) are insufficiently known and reliable to provide accurate data before this time.
The longterm motions of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are accurately calculated, using algorithms that account for the mutual gravitational effects of planets on each other, which many astrological computer programs do not include.
Chiron aspects and ingresses are shown from 1745 onwards only. The eccentric motions of the planetoid Chiron (discovered in 1977, and exerting a noticeable astrological influence) are insufficiently known and reliable to provide accurate data before this time.
The longterm motions of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are accurately calculated, using algorithms that account for the mutual gravitational effects of planets on each other, which many astrological computer programs do not include.
Saturn oppositions and conjunctions (only) to the outer planets are shown, since Saturn can at times tip balances and cause underlying astrological dynamics to surface in real-life, definitive events.
The accurate computations mean that the data for planetary motions remain accurate, the further back in history we go. Without this, the mutual conjunction of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto around 576 BCE would not have been visible since Pluto's movements would have been very inaccurate.
Key | |||||
UR |
| Uranus | NE |
| Neptune |
PL |
| Pluto | CH |
| Chiron |
Sa |
| Saturn | Ju |
| Jupiter |
Aspects | |||||
CONJ | 0° |
| Conjunction | ||
ssx | 30° |
| Semisextile | ||
ssq | 45° |
| Semisquare | ||
sxt | 60° |
| Sextile | ||
SQR | 90° |
| Square | ||
tri | 120° |
| Trine | ||
sqt | 135° |
| Sesquiquadrate | ||
qcx | 150° |
| Quincunx | ||
OPP | 180° |
| Opposition | ||
Zodiac Signs | |||||
Cp |
| Capricorn | Aq |
| Aquarius |
Pi |
| Pisces | Ar |
| Aries |
Ta |
| Taurus | Ge |
| Gemini |
Ca |
| Cancer | Le |
| Leo |
Vi |
| Virgo | Li |
| Libra |
Sc |
| Scorpio | Sg |
| Sagittarius |
These data are guaranteed accurate on the fair assumption that current observable motions of the outer planets have remained consistent throughout the historical period we are examining – from 600 BCE to the present day.
Events and emergent trends often show themselves before or after the precise time of an astrological aspect between two planets. So look at the noted event entries in the tables before and after an aspect as well as those entries for the same year – this applies particularly to major 'hard' aspects such as conjunctions, squares and oppositions.
Historical dates of events can vary from source to source – particularly in more ancient times. Also, a tangible event can express the tone and theme of an astrological phenomenon before or after such a phenomenon, since astrological energies affect the psychology lying behind events rather than the events themselves. Thus, a battle can represent the outcome of decisions made or tendencies begun some time before.
Events and emergent trends often show themselves before or after the precise time of an astrological aspect between two planets. So look at the noted event entries in the tables before and after an aspect as well as those entries for the same year – this applies particularly to major 'hard' aspects such as conjunctions, squares and oppositions.
Historical dates of events can vary from source to source – particularly in more ancient times. Also, a tangible event can express the tone and theme of an astrological phenomenon before or after such a phenomenon, since astrological energies affect the psychology lying behind events rather than the events themselves. Thus, a battle can represent the outcome of decisions made or tendencies begun some time before.
In some cases events can anticipate astrological phenomena, as if clearing the way for new possibilities to emerge.
Yet there also are events which occur exactly at the time of an astrological phenomenon. One example was the fall of the Berlin Wall on a Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn in 1989.
This is where lateral thinking and interpolation are necessary, since history and human affairs are not mechanical, and astrological influences are not directly deterministic. In between astrological influences and identifiable events lie human free-will, which tends to determine whether an energy-tendency gets expressed or blocked. Radical-progressive and resistant-conservative influences in society determine this.
Part Two
Chronological timelines
with astrological data
600 BCE to CE 2000
with astrological data
600 BCE to CE 2000
Complete Timeline | PDF
Ancient Period | 577–83 BCE
Empire Period | 83 BCE-412 CE
Light/Dark Ages | 412-905
Medieval Period | 905-1398
Early Modern Period |1398-1892
Global Period | 1892 to today
NEXT: Timeline: Ancient Period 1
BACK: Configurations
The Historical Ephemeris © Copyright Palden Jenkins 1993-99
The Historical Ephemeris
Astro-historical tables for 2,500 years
Astro-historical tables for 2,500 years
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