Cycle

The rotation rycles of Earth, Moon and Sun

A complete sequence of recurring events or processes.

Etymology: The term comes from the Greek word κύκλος (kýklos - circle, ring).

Astrology is based on a cyclical understanding of time. Rather than being linear and moving towards a particular goal, time is thought to occur in cycles. Celestial bodies have individual cycles which vary in length.

Cycles

A basic cycle in human experience is the Earth's rotation around its own axis which repeats itself every 24 hours (the exact length is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds). The lunar cycle is 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes (Sidereal Month), although the time it takes from one new Moon to the next is 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes (Synodic Month). The solar cycle (the Earth's orbit around the Sun) lasts for 365 days, 5 hours and 49 minutes.

The Platonic year is one of the largest known astronomical cycles with an almost unimaginable time scale of 25 729 solar years (25 771 solar years according to some estimates).

Astrology considers the relationship between the cycles of different planets to be significant, with the most obvious one being the relationship between the Sun and the Moon: the new Moon is a Sun-Moon conjunction, the waxing square is the first quarter, the opposition is the full Moon and the waning square is the Moon's last quarter.

Various different planetary pairs have significant cycles. The most important point in a cycle is marked by the conjunction, followed by the opposition. One of the most significant cycles is the Jupiter-Saturn cycle: these planets form a so-called great conjunction every twenty years. The cycles of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, the spiritual planets, are considered to be the most significant ones for the astrological interpretation of history.

See also

• Astrological Age
• Calendar
• Cycle of Development
• Ingress
• Saros Cycle

PDF-Files of the Swiss Ephemeris by Astrodienst:

• Mercury cycle data 2000-2099
• Venus cycle data 2000-2099
• Mars cycle data 2000-2099
• Jupiter cycle data 1600-2099
• Saturn cycle data 1600-2099
• Uranus cycle data 1600-2099
• Neptun cycle data 1600-2099
• Pluto cycle data 1600-2099
• Chiron cycle data 1600-2099
• Further ephemeris

Weblinks

• Wikipedia: Eclipse cycle
• Astrological Cycles in History (Palden Jenkins, 2002; cura.free.fr)
• The Eight-Year Cycle of Venus and the Global Economy (Arielle Guttman, The Mountain Astrologer, August 2015)
• Steve Jobs' Cycles of Creativity (Felipe Avila Reyes, The Astrological Journal 2022; astro.com)