Source: SOLUNARS 05/1959
A Study of the Sidereal Zodiac: A New Slant on “Ages”
by Cyril Fagan
In a contemporary astrological journal the following passage occurs: "... The ayanamsha for this-
according to the theories of Mr. Cyril Fagan-would have been approximately 17 degrees in the 15th
century ..."
This value of the ayanamsa (the ayanamsa being the difference between 360 degrees and the sidereal
longitude of the vernal equinoctial point) is not a theory, but a well-authenticated fact, confirmed by the
leading astro-chronologists in the world.
When toward the close of the 19th century the German Jesuit Fathers Epping and Kugler succeeded in
translating many Babylonian astronomical records for varying dates in antiquity, inscired in cuneiform
characters on the numerous excavated baked clay tablets, they discovered to their surprise that the
recorded longitudes of the fixed stars and planets were not reckoned from the vernal equinoctial point as
they expected, which is a common practice today, but from different points along the ecliptic path. (F. X.
Kugler, Sternkunde U. Sterndienst in Babel, 1907, S.S.B.) In his Planeten-Tafeln für Jedermann, Karl
Schoch gives in Tafel G, page 9, the Babylonian names of the 12 zodiacal constellations according to
Kugler. Commenting on these Schoch says
"... They are to be distinguished from the 12 zodiacal signs each of which occupies 30 degrees of the
ecliptic. From the year -200 (i.e., 201 B.C.) to 0 the Babylonian signs extended along the actual true
ecliptic...that is, the sign of The Fishes (Zibbati) ran from about 325.7 degrees to 355.7 degrees whereas
we allot to this sign the longitude 330 degrees to 360 degrees ..."
This means that according to Kugler's preliminary findings, the Babylonians reckoned their longitudes,
between the years 201 B.C. and 1 B.C. from a point about 4.7 degrees to the east of the vernal equinoctial
point which constitutes Aries 0 degrees 0' of the present tropical zodiac.
Professor Otto Neugebauer of Brown University, Providence, in his examination of the only two Egyptian
manuscript ephemerides extant, the Demotic Berlin Papyrus P .8279, which covers the years 16 B.C. to 11
A.D., and the years 71 A.D. to 132 A.D., and the Stobart tablets which cover the years 9 A.D. to 17 A.D.,
found that they were each computed in terms of a sidereal zodiac. He says
"...This makes it very probable that both texts are using a fixed origin for the division of the zodiac into
twelve signs, disregarding precession. If this be true, then the list p. 230 shows the origin of this fixed
zodiac at the beginning of the Augustian time to be about four degrees in advance of the vernal point-
longitude 356 degrees ..." In a footnote he adds, "... If may be remarked that Kugler discovered that the
Babylonian planetary texts, which belong to the two last centuries B.C., use a vernal point about five
degrees in advance of the true vernal point (cf. e.g., Kugler SSB I, p. 121, p. 173 and SSB II, p. 513 ff.) but
this correspondence might be purely accidental. There is no reason whatsoever to assume that Babylonian
astronomy took into account the precession of the equinoxes. Schnabel's paper (Kidenas, Hipparch und
die Entdeckung der Prezession 1927) can be disproved in every detail ..."
(Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, XXXII, part II, January 1942.)
SCHOLARSHIP SETTLES MATTERS
Epping and Kugler examined a Babylonian tablet of the year 103 B.C. bearing the title "Lunar
Computation Table according to Kidinnu," and discovered that the longitude of the vernal point was
placed in Aries 8 degrees (Kugler: Babylonische Mondrechung). In 1913 Professor Weidner found
another astrological text which proved to be a Lunar Computation Table after the system of Naburiannu
for the New and Full Moons of B.C. 49-48. In Naburiannu's system the veranalpint was placed in Aries 10
degrees. By a study of the position of the vernal point in the systems of these two famous Babylonian
astronomers, and of the difference between the assumed lengths fo the ye r and the true length of the
tropical year. Schnabel succeeded in ascertaining the dates for which the positions of the equinox would
be correct, obtaining for Naburiannu the epoch 508 B.C. and for Kidinnu 379 B.C. To these Dr. J.K.
Fotheringham of Oxford University applied an accleration, obtained from the study of ancient eclipses, to
the motions of the Sun, and obtained the dates B.C. 500 and B.C. 373, respectively.
In May 1949 the present writer discovered that at their heliacal phenomena all the planets known to the
ancients, with the exception of Venus, fell precisely into their traditional "exaltation degrees"
(Hypsomata) for the lunar year commencing April 4, 786 B.C., while the longitudes of the Sun, Moon,
and Venus exactly tallied with their exaltation degrees on New Year's Day (1st Nisan), April 4, 786 B.C.
if the vernal point was placed in Aries 13.8 degrees. Graphing all these values against the years assigned
to them yielded a perfect straight line running diagonally across the graph, proving conclusively that the
ancient Egyptians and Babylonians used a sidereal zodiac with its fiducial star, Spica, being fixed in
longitude 179.00 degrees or Virgo 29.00 degrees.
In his History of the Zodiac Professor B.L. van der Waerden of the Mathematical Institue of Zurich has
examined many other Babylonian tables, such as those of Jupiter and some of the fixed stars, and confirms
the present writer's discovery that they were allcomputed in terms of a sidereal zodiac with Spica in Virgo
29.00 degrees.
Subsequently he examined the papyrus from the John Rylands Library and catalogued as P. Ryl 27.
Professor O. Neugebauer had previously studied the same Payrus (The Astronomical Treatise P. Ryl 27,
Copenhagen, 1949). This treatise is a lunr table which covers the second century A.D. and here again van
der Waerden discovers that all lunar positions were computed in terms of the same sidereal zodiac. In
these circumstances it is submitted that the sidereal longitudes of the vernal point, computed from Spica in
Virgo 29.00 degrees, published in our vernal-point ephemerides are not theoretical. These give the
astronomically authentic values of the vernal point as known to those who originated the zodiac and the
science of astrology itself, namely the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. As the result of rigorous
statistical investigation of solar and lunar ingress charts, Garth Allen found that the value obtained from
the ancient texts and monumental records must be increased by 0 degrees 06'05" or 0.100.7 degrees, a
correction rendered permissable by van de Waerden's value for the "probable error" of plus or minus 0.3
degrees. In other words the sidereal longitude of the vernal point must be computed from Spica in Virgo
29d.06'05" disregarding its proper motion. For the epoch 1950.0 Garth Allen gies its mean sidereal
longitude as Pisces 5d.57;28.65", making the corresponding mean ayanamsa 24d.02'31.36".
NEW SLANT ON "AGES"
Calculating from Garth Allen's Synetic Vernal Point values, it will befound that the vernal equinoctional
point, which is the "Aries 0 degrees" of the tropical zodiac, retrograded along the ecliptic path into the end
of the constellations as follows:
Taurus 30° 4147 B.C. approximately
Aries 30° 1957 B.C. approximately
Pisces 30° 220 A.D. approximately
Aquarius 30° 2377 A.D. approximately
Therefore the so-called "Aquarian Age" will not commence until 2377 A.D. or another 418 hence. The
notion that it commenced in 1844 A.D. or that the Piscean Age began with the Dionysian date for the birth
of Christ has no foundation in the records of antiquity. The retrogressionof the vernal point into the tail
end of a constellation constituted only a theoretical beginning and in antiquity was quite without
significance. In his History of the Zodiac van de Waerden points out that while the Babylonian
astronomical tables were reliable and accurate, a point also stressed by Karl Schoch, their dates for the
equinoxes and solstices were frequently in error by several days; because they deemed them of little
significance. Indeed this fact alone testifies that they could not have used the tropical zodiac, and yet we
find modern astrologers attaching so much importance to the Sun ingresses of the four cardinal signs
(tropical)!
The true beginning of an Age was sought among the dates when the crescent moon of the 1st Nisan, which
commenced the ecclesiastical "New Year's Day," was seen to fall consistently among the stars of the
constellation that indicated the "New Age." This crescent moon was observed immediately after sunset of
the first or second day following the syzygy (conjunction of the Sun and Moon) according to the hour at
which it took place, and it constituted the true New Moon.
Viewed in this light it is apparent from the following brief list of the approximate sidereal longitudes of
the crescent that we are not yet of the Arien Age and are in fact only beginning to enter the Piscian Age, it
being remembered that the era commences when the New Moon (crescent) of Nisan is consistently seen to
have entered the tail end (30 degrees) of the constellation.
1ST NISAN BEGAN AT SUNSET IN BABYLON
Gregorian Longitude of New Moon
1957 April 1 Aries 01 degrees 48'
1958 March 21 Pisces 29 degrees 35'
1959 April 8 Pisces 29 degrees 21'
1960 March 28 Pisces 29 degrees 30'
In effect this means that during the last two thousand years or so, the world has been living in the Iron Age
of Aries, ruled by Mars, the god of violence, wars and dictatorship. It is only now beginning to enter the
Piscian Age. It is customary for the modern astrologer to refer to what he believes to be the passing
"Piscian Age" as that of Christ and his fishermen disciples, of baptism by water, the great development in
water and sea power and so forth. Oh, how easy it is for the mind to beguile itself! Surely the dominant
influence of the last two millennia has been the rule of Mars with its crop of dictators, sovereign
governments and catastrophic world wars? The vernal equinoctial point left the constellation Taurus about
1957 B.C. when it entered that of Aries, yet we find the effigy and worship of the Bull dominant in all the
religious cults right down to the beginning of the Christian era. This is probably because the true Taurean
Age did not end until about then. In the horoscope for the 1st Nisan 786 B.C. when the exaltation degrees
of the planets originated, the crescent New Moon was in the 3rd degree of Taurus, and it is probable that
the true Arien age began to dawn about this period.
It must never be forgotten that the astronomy of antiquity was visual. It is impossible to observe the
constellation through which the Sun was passing (except perhaps at a total eclipse of the Sun) because of
broad daylight, but it is always possible, weather permitting, to note that in which the Moon is placed,
provided it was not under the beams of the Sun. Hence the New (crescent) and Full Moons were the chief
prophetic indices of the changing seasons and ages and the passage of time generally. Indeed the Egyptian
ideogram for a month was the representation of the crescent Moon. ... The precession of the equinoxes, or
more accurately the regression of the equinoxes, is not caused by the Sun's proper motion in space or
around a great center, but by the slow retrograde motion of the earth's axis, which describes a small circle
having a radius of 23.5 degrees (technically known as the obliquity of the ecliptic) around the poles of the
circle of the ecliptic, the period being about 25,884 years. It is therefore entirely a terrestrial effect. This
precessional motion causes the vernal equinoctial point, which constitutes the first degree of the sign
Aries, to move backwards along the ecliptic circle at the rate of one degree in approximately 72 years.
The motion can be likened to a railroad steam engine with eleven carriages, or coaches, shunting
perpetually backwards along a circular track, the engine representing the sign Aries and the eleven
carriages the other eleven tropical signs. Far outside but surrounding the circular railroad is the circle of
the twelve zodiacal constellations which, to all astrological intents and purposes, remain fixed. Therefore
in the course of a precessional cycle of 25,884 years, our imaginary train will shunt backwards past each
of the twelve zodiacal constellations.
When astrologers talk of the beginning of the Aquarian Age what they actually mean is that the bumper of
our imaginary steam engine (Aries 0 degrees of the tropical signs) is beginning to pass the 30th degrees of
the constellation Aquarius; some 72 years later it will begin to pass the 29th degree of the same
constellation, and so on. Expressed more technically it means that due to the conical movement of the
earth's axis around that of the ecliptic, the circle that constitutes the twelve tropical signs is retrograding at
the rate of one degree in about 72 years with respect to the circle of the twelve zodiacal constellations.
About the year 2377 A.D. the commencement of the tropical Aries (the vernal equinoctial point) will
come into alignment with the 30th degree of the constellation Aquarius, and this is what is generally
meant by the beginning of the Aquarian Age. But not a few astrologers write that at the commencement of
the Age "we will enter the sign Aquarius." What is intended by the word "we" is not clarified. Apparently
they mean that the tropical sign Aries will enter the tropical sign Aquarius, which is grotesque.
It is not generally understood that when a tropicalist-that is, an adherent of the new or moving "zodiac" in
popular use in the western world and invented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus about 139 B.C.-
writes about the influences of the Aquarian Age, he is interpreting what he presumes to be the effects of
the "constellation" Aquarius and thereby, all unwittingly, confesses to his belief in the sidereal zodiac, or
ancient zodiac of the constellations. Invariably he interprets the "constellation" Aquarius as if it were the
"sign" Aquarius and thereby falls foul of the homonymous fallacy. But if he pins his faith exclusively to
the new zodiac, then the Taurean, Arien, Piscian and Aquarian eras can have no meaning at all for him, for
they are all sidereal!
The beginning of the season is dependent on the Sun's altitude, which in its turn is dependent on its
declination and no on its entry into the four cardinal signs. If the latter was true then the Sun's entry into
the sign Cancer should be the Midsummer's Day all over the world, which is NOT the case for in the
southern hemisphere it marks Midwinter's Day! It is ridiculous therefore to affirm that both zodiacs have
their uses. Any virtue found in the tropical zodiac is solely due to the declination of the luminaries and not
to the tropical longitudes. To associate longitude and declination, as is the common practice, is to
associate two dissimilar co-ordinates, which is bad mathematics.
The solar system-that is, our sun with its family of planets-does not revolve around the fixed star Arcturus
(Alpha Bootis) as stated [in another current publication]. Arcturus is but another though much greater sun
than our own, and is situated 33 light years away. Our sun Arcturus and over 100 million other fixed stars
(suns) which composes the mighty galactic system (Milky Way) are all revolving at different speeds and
in eccentric orbits around a common center, which is situated about Sagittarius 0 degrees 43'; latitude 3
degrees south, and which is some 24,400 light-years away from our sun. [Neil Michelsen's The American
Sidereal Ephemeris, 1981, gave those Galactic Center coordinates as longitude 2SAG06' latitude 5S35'] ...
The galactic equator, where the majority of stars congregate, intersects the ecliptic at an inclination of 60
degrees 33' in Sagittarius 3 degrees 36', while the pole of the system lies in Virgo 3 degrees 36', latitude
29n27. [More current astronomical data may have revised these coordinates.]
In passing it may be noted that if the period of time necessary for a complete revolution of our solar
system...was only 25,884 years, which means we spend 2,157 years under the influence of each sign (?
constellation) as stated by another author, then the various constellations depicted in the ancient star
atlases of Greece and Rome would be completely unrecognizable by us today, to say nothing of ancient
horoscopes; for in a period of 2000 years our position in regards to all the constellations would have
changed completely and they would form different signs and shapes in the heavens. The average proper
motion for the fixed stars amounts to one degree in about 120,000 years, and as our Sun is a fixed star it is
obvious it has not moved in its orbit around the galactic center, since the beginning of the Christian era by
more than 0 degrees 01' of arc, or having regard to its motion around the galactic center by less than a
third of this value.
ASTROLOGY MUST HAVE INTEGRITY
It has been represented that some professional and newspaper astrologers, being impressed by the success
of the sidereal technique, have adopted the same in their practices, but, in order to save loss of face before
their clients, still retain the new or tropical zodiac. In computing solar and lunar returns and ingresses they
add to the radical planets the accrued precession-which is a form of canceling out the effects of
precession, that is always negative-and then compute the required charts in terms of the tropical
framework. Apart from the obvious fraudulency of the procedure, it is necessary to emphasize that the
'raison d'etre' of the tropical zodiac lies in its very "tropicality," that is, in the fact that it is seasonal or
precessional. If precession is eliminated it ceases forthwith to be tropical and becomes a quasi-sidereal
zodiac with epoch as of the date of birth, or date of ingress, as the case may be. Apart from being
thoroughly unscientific, such an unethical practice should, in the general interests of astrology, be strongly
discountenanced.
Source: SOLUNARS 10/1967
A STUDY OF THE SIDEREAL ZODIAC
by Cyril Fagan
The interesting TABLE [above] that was presented last month informs us that the vernal equinox, leader
of the MICROcosm (the seasonal months of the year) retrograded into the 30th degree of Taurus about
B.C. 4139 and did not vacate that constellation until about B.C. 1953. During its sojourn therein, Taurus
became the captain of the zodiacal herd and the first of the zodiacal constellations in the MACROcosm
(great universe). Long after Taurus ceased to be 'de facto' leader of the zodiac, it was still hailed as
'Princeps armenti.' We previously have discussed this in detail.
During its own era Taurus held dominion over the "head, face, eyes and ears" of the Microcosmic man.
The Greek word 'Iatromathematica' means the astrology of healing. In classical times one who could
compute a horoscope was known as a mathematician. In fact that was the original meaning of the term. An
'Iatromathematician' was one capable of computing the Hora (ascending degree) of a decumbiture and
diagnosing it. The anatomical parts listed there, and copied from an ancient Latin legend, are those of the
calendaric (MICROCOSMIC) man. These anatomical divisions must NOT be confused with those of the
Macrocosmic man nor with those achronycally assigned with the twelve loci (houses) beginning with
Libra ruling the "head."
This Table makes it abundantly clear that since A.D. 220 Aries ceased to be the first sign of the zodiac, its
leadership being supplanted by Pisces. Since that year Pisces held dominion over the 'head, face, eyes, and
ears" and Aquarius over the "feet." In some 400 years from now, as already state over and over, THE
AQUARIAN ERA will be ushered in when Aquarius will become the first zodiacal constellation.
On a summer evening by the seaside one can see the gradual going down of the Sun in the west until it
disappears below the horizon, leaving a vivid impression that, as always, the earth has stood still while the
solar orb rolled down the slopes of heaven in the sea! But the impression is only an optical illusion. The
fact is, the Sun has not moved at all but, in its daily rotation from west to east, the earth has caused the
horizon to gradually tilt up until it meets the Sun. In the same way in looking at this Table one gets a
strong impression that while the calendar and it months appear to be immovable the zodiacal
constellations are sliding backwards. THIS MOTION IS PRECESSION, BUT IT IS THE MONTHS
THAT ARE MOVING AND NOT THE FIXED STARS, WHICH COMPRISE THE
CONSTELLATIONS.
We know that March 21/22 in the modern calendar was, is, and always will be the date of the vernal
equinox. Just as the vernal equinox is fixed in Aries 0 degrees of the modern tropical zodiac, so is it fixed
as March 21/22 in solar calendar. But we know from any modern work on astronomy that the VERNAL
EQUINOX IS PERPETUALLY SLIPPING BACKWARDS ALONG THE ECLIPTIC AT THE RATE
OF ONE DEGREE IN ABOUT 71-1/2 YEARS. Therefore it follows, as night must follow day, the
tropical zodiac and our calendar are also slipping backwards against the background of the fixed zodiacal
constellations. In short the tropical zodiac and the calendar are basically identical, differing only in
numeration and nomenclature. Therefore the tropical version of the zodiac is superfluous! To say that a
baby was born on May 1, 1967 and to say that the Sun was in the 11th degree of the tropical Taurus is to
say the same thing in different words. For in the tropical zodiac (allowing for the intercalation of a leap
day) the sun will always be in the 11th degree of tropical Taurus on May 1st of any Gregorian year!
The reader may have noticed that the dates for the beginning of the four astrological ages as given in the
foregoing TABLE differ slightly from those given in the August issue. The dates given in the latter were
based on the mean value of the S.V.P. for the equinox of 1950.0 determined statistically by Garth Allen.
Being a mathematical abstraction such a point has neither substance nor proper motion. It is a point on the
ecliptic but a highly valuable one in synchronizing solunar charts for modern times. Whether it would
have the same criteria for the epoch -3,000.0 or +3,000.0 we have, at present, no means of knowing. But it
unmistakenly demonstrated that Aldebaran, the Bull's Eye, was precisely in the mathematical center of the
constellation Taurus in the Hypsomatic year B.C. 786, leaving little doubt that this star in Taurus 15
degrees 00'00" was the original fiducial or marking star of the sidereal (nirayana) zodiac. But, unlike the
SVP, Aldebaran has substance and proper motion; and the dates given in the aforementioned TABLE are
computed from Aldebaran rather than the S.V.P. But the difference is purely academic.
Putting for all centuries, Aldebaran sidereally in Taurus 15 degrees 00'00" plus Spica and Antares in the
following sidereal longitudes:
SPICA ANTARES
B.C. 4000 Virgo 29 degrees 13' Scorpio 15 degrees 07'
B.C. 3000 Virgo 29 " 11' Scorpio 15 " 05'
B.C. 2000 Virgo 29 " 10' Scorpio 15 " 04'
B.C. 1000 Virgo 29 " 08' Scorpio 15 " 02'
A.D. 0 Virgo 29 " 07' Scorpio 15 " 01'
A.D. 1000 Virgo 29 " 05' Scorpio 14 " 59'
A.D. 2000 Virgo 29 " 04' Scorpio 14 " 59'
But Garth Allen still feels that the true fiducial is to be found in our own solar system. His astonishing
discovery that the sidereal longitude of the solar APEX--not yet determined by astronomers—accords with
his S.V.P. is worth much consideration. (Details will be found in the August 1960 issue of this magazine.)
DATING THE AGES
While the dates previously given for the commencement of the astrological eras are mathematically and
theoretically correct, they need not be taken that seriously! Why? Because, as repeatedly stated on these
pages, astrology in remote antiquity was naked-eye astronomy. Because of brilliant sunlight, the ancients
could not tell what constellation the Sun was in; all they could see was blue sky unrelieved by a single
star. While the Sun's position among the fixed stars can be inferred, it could not be 'seen.' When the
ancients referred to the New Moon--the most important of all their astronomical phenomena as it
commenced the first day of their lunar months, as it did the first day of their lunar year--they referred to
the fine thin sickle of the lunar crescent that became visible every 29th or 30th day on the western horizon
about half an hour after sunset for a short time before it too disappeared below the horizon. When spotted
by acute-eyed observers from vantage positions in the turrets on top of temples or from the hilltops, it
would be seen against the background of the already darkening skies, when the principal bright stars also
could be discerned and easily identified. Hence at a glance they could see the Moon's position among the
asterisms, when the month or the year began which it always did at the first hour of 'sunset.'
Today, what is universally given in the press, in calendars, in almanacs and astrological ephemerides, to
say nothing of astrological textbooks, as the date and time of the New Moon is not the New Moon at all,
but is the date and time of the 'syzygies' of the Sun and Moon. "SYZYGY' is a Greek word meaning a
mutual conjunction or opposition of two heavenly bodies in the ecliptic; but its use is usually restricted to
the luminaries. When the Moon overtakes the Sun and conjoins it, it is normally invisible. Its silhouette
may be seen when there is an eclipse of the Sun. Eclipses of the Sun and Moon can only occur on the
dates of their syzygies, and in remote antiquity the conjunction syzygy occurred on the last day or
penultimate day of the dying lunar month.
It would appear that the Greek author or authors of the Al Magest and of the Tetrabiblos are responsible
for leading the modern world astray on this vital subject. In the Tetrabiblos the conjunction (syzygy) of
the luminaries is very explicitly termed the New Moon and the Neomenia (New Moon) of the year was
termed the syzygy that occurred nearest the vernal equinox. Ptolemy's definition of the New Moon totally
disagrees with the textual records of remote antiquity. In his astronomical and calendarial table (Venus
Table of Ammizaduga, Oxford University Press, 1928), Carl Schoch, the great astronomer and
mathematician, writes "...Particularly attention is given (here) to the most important phenomenon, the
appearance of the crescent (i.e., the HELIACAL rising of the Moon in the evening) namely the first
moment after the New Moon when the fine small lunar crescent becomes visible in the evening to sharp-
sighted man. 'This moment was the beginning of a new month to most ancient oriental peoples, especially
the Babylonians'...I can say of the Babylonians, who were persistent observers of the crescent during 3000
years, that not only their observations but their computations for ephemerides are admirable...."
Being only a mathematical abstraction, the point of the vernal equinox cannot be 'seen' retrograding along
the path of the zodiac at the rate of one degree in about 71-1/2 years. The ancients of course knew the
precise east and west points of the horizon at their observatories. In his Mathematics for the Millions,
Hogben illustrates some of the gimmicks the ancients used for determining such points. They also knew
those points on the horizon where the rising or setting Sun was at its greatest and least declination
(midsummer and midwinter points respectively), the position of such tropical and equinoctial points on the
horizon remaining seemingly constant for vast stretches of time. When a star rose due east and set due
west, it would be precisely on the celestial equator and, like the equinoctial points, be devoid of
declination. Should it have been noticed that an ecliptic fixed star (one without latitude) say, in the
constellation Pisces rose due east and set due west, then they might infer that the vernal equinox had
retrograded into the constellation Pisces and that the Piscean era had already begun. But there is no
evidence in the annals of antiquity that this was their mode of reasoning at all! Such is just pure
assumption on the part of we moderns conditioned by a tropical background. Astronomers are of the
opinion that our forebears did not even know of the regressive movement of the cardines (equinoctial and
solstitial points). From the archives of antiquity we know that their New Year Day (1st Nisan) used to
occur in the constellation Taurus and passed into that of Aries.
But how did they know this happened, and when did it happen? Being mindful that the astronomy of
remote antiquity was visual, the astronomers of yore only regarded the actual appearances and
disappearances of the gods (stars) from the night skies as being meaningful and significant. While abstract
mathematical concepts appealed to Greek intelligentsia, such had little or no meaning for the Egyptians
and Akkadians. So how did they know when the new era had commenced? The obvious and simple
answer is, when the Neomenia (New Moon of the 1st Nisan) was first seen among the fixed stars that
composed the constellation Aries. At such a transition the crescent would be seen in or about the 30th
degree of Aries (not its 1st degree), because the vernal equinox is perpetually retrograding. When the New
Moon of antiquity was first spotted it could have been from 18 to 40 degrees distant from the Sun, such
distance being termed its 'elongation.' Should the Sun be in Aquarius the New Moon might well be in
Pisces or even Aries when seen! The precise value of the elongation depends on a number of variables
such as geographical latitude, season of the year, Moon's latitude, and prevailing conditions of visibility.
For the latitudes of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Neomenia first became visible after sunset of the first or
second day following the syzygy; more rarely on the 3rd day.
To compute the elements of a Neomenia was one of the most difficult feats of positional astronomy,
because of the number of variables involved. A New Moon spotted at sunset in Babylon may not have
been seen in Alexandria until the sunset of the next day, when it would have increased its longitude by
some 13 degrees. In the appendix to the Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga, Schoch has complied
marvelously simple tables for computing the date and time of a syzygy back to 3508 B.C., the maximum
error being only plus or minus 5 minutes of time! He has also given additional tables for ascertaining the
probable date of the first appearance of the crescent Moon for Babylon. Since these tables appeared in
1928, they have been much improved upon by James Hynes of Dublin, Ireland. James Hynes has
computed tables of the appearance of the crescent for all latitudes between 0 and 60 degrees, which are
also useful in calculating the dates of the heliacal risings and settings of the fixed stars and planets. But
marvelous as they are, they are of little values unless one first know the 'arcus visionis' (arc of vision) of
the Moon, planets and fixed stars fro the place of residence or observation as the case may be. As this arc
differs from place to place (even if such are situated on the same parallel of latitude) in the first instance
they must be determined empirically for each separate locality. Moreover, owing to the
incommensurability of the lunar with the solar year, the dates of any two consecutive lunations do not
follow each other in regular sequence but, like an erratic pendulum, swing backward and forward from
date to date of the solar calendar, already knocked out of synchronicity because of too frequent,
unsystematic intercalations.
WAS B.C. 786 THE BEGINNING OF THE ARIEN AGE?
The traditional exaltation degree (Hypsoma) of the Moon is Taurus 3 degrees. Should the reader refer to
his copy of Zodiacs Old and New, p. 19, he will observe that the Moon's 'actual' sidereal longitude at the
time of its first appearance about sunset of 1st Nisan (April 3-4, 786 B.C. OS) was Aries 29.4 degrees!
THAT IS, IT HAD ENTERED THE TAIL END OF THE CONSTELLATION ARIES! If it can be
mathematically demonstrated that this was the first occasion it did so during the present precessional
cycle, some 25,900 years, then it might well be that 786 B.C. was the first year of the new Arien age!
Should such be the case, then little wonder that the heliacal longitudes of the Sun, Moon and planets for
that memorable year should be regarded as their exaltation degrees. Would it be that another epoch-
making discovery has been made? Or is this only a most unusual coincidence?
According to Carl Schoch, the mean tropical longitude of the Sun on 1st Nisan was Aries 8 degrees, the
minimum Pisces 23 degrees and the maximum Aries 23 degrees. On the 1st Nisan 786 B.C. the tropical
longitude of the Sun was Aries 5 degrees. So there is a probability that the New Moon of Nisan entered
Aries before this year. The Metonic cycle informs us that the syzygy of the luminaries recurs on the same
Julian date every 19 years with an error of minus 1.5 hours. Provided the Babylonian (now the Jewish)
calendar has not suffered any untoward intercalation of a 2nd Adar or a 2nd Ulul, and that the coordinates
of ancient Babylon be taken as the place of observation, it should not be too difficult to ascertain if such is
the case. But such research is time and labor consuming. Perhaps that astronomical wizard of Dublin,
James Hynes, can think of a short cut to achieving this! What if we are still in the Arien age, not yet
having entered that of Pisces, let alone Aquarius! This thought induced the writer to do some impetuous
figuring. For the current year (1967) the lunation (syzygy) of Nisan occurred on April 9th at 10:21 P.M.
GMT, and in Babylon (32N30, 44E36) the crescent became visible at local sunset of the next day, when
its sidereal longitude was, forsooth, Aries 3 degrees 50'. From this it would appear that we are still in the
Kali Yuga ("Iron Age") of Mars, the ruler of Aries! But this may only be a backward - albeit retrograde -
swing of the lunation pendulum. There may have been an earlier forward thrust that brought us right into
the tail end of the Piscean era. From this it looks as if we shall have to wait another two thousand years for
the Aquarian age to put in an appearance! But until we busy ourselves with copious calculations, we shall
not know.
CYRIL FAGAN (1896-1970)
Gavin Kent McClung wrote the following in his article, "A SALUTE TO OUR HERITAGE: What Makes A
True Astrologer?" Dell Horoscope, June, 2000, pp. 66-77. (Reprinted with permission of the editor.)
"CYRIL FAGAN was a giant of twentieth-century sidereal astrology, who stands out in the area of what
might well be called "forensic [argumentative discourse] astrology." A protracted debate followed upon
his placing the ayanamsa (specific arc of variance between the sidereal and tropical zodiacs) of
siderealism on the basis of the heliacal rising of all the planets in their degrees of exaltation in the year
786 BC.
"Given the current widespread interest in Eastern astrologies and the ayanamsa, the position established
by Fagan and others in his train, e.g., Donald Bradley and Brigidier Firebrace, has vastly influenced not
only today's sidereal view, but the entire field of astrology. His studies stimulated later astrologers in the
area of quantitative analysis and research--including the development of harmonics and the greater
framework of thought that allows us to consider the possible existence of several varied zodiacs in
astrology, based upon different points of departure in the sky.
"Amazingly, Fagan spent about twenty-five years doing creative work in tropical or traditional Western
astrology before turning his attention to the tenets of siderealism. His book, Primer of Sidereal Astrology,
is a core resource in that specialized field."
BIRTH AND DEATH DATA: AstroDatabank gives the following set of data, rated AA, from the birth
record. He was born on May 22, 1896, in Dublin, Ireland. A.H. Blackwell, a fellow siderealist, quoted
Fagan for a recorded birthtime of 12:00 PM Dunsink local time, which equates to 12:25 PM GMT. AFA
quotes Fagan's mother for 11:45 AM, LMT. Circle no. 518 gives 12:14 PM GMT from AA.
Joseph quotes Ebertin for 00:28 AM GMT. Sirex gives Fagan's own rectification for 11:47:17 AM
Dunsink local time, which is 12:12 PM U.T. Brigadier Firebrace, his co-author, quotes Fagan for 12:14:28
PM GMT.
WARNING: This is what happens when you are in astrology too long and know too many techniques--or
too many siderealists! The history of your birth gets to be longer than the history of your life.
Fagan died on January 5, 1970 at 5:00 AM in Tucson, AZ.
Source: http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/fagan.html
