THE LAW OF CYCLES
It has already been shown that from most ancient times the Law of
Periodicity was known and expounded. We find reference to it in the
Vishnu Puràna which deals with the great periods of cosmic manifestation
and activity, called Manvantaras, and the corresponding periods of
obscuration and quiescence known as Pralayas. These are shown to have an
astronomical basis and to have been directly related (_a_) to the period
of Precession known as the Great Year of Plato, and (_b_) to the
inclination of the Earth’s axis to the plane of the Ecliptic. For
whereas the Precession, from whatever source arising, is found to be
approximately 50´´ per year, the diminution of the Earth’s axial
inclination is found to be 50´´ per century. Thus the Precessional Year
is 25,920 years, and the other 2,592,000 years in extent.
Now if we multiply this latter period by ten and divide the product by
six, we shall have the dividend 4,320,000, which we have already
identified as the value in years of the Maha-yuga or Great Age. This
means that the entire revolution of the Earth’s axis occupies a period
which is ten-sixths of the whole period of cosmic activity known as the
Manvantara. Hence we have the series 1, 2, 3, 4 equals 10, and the
series 6, 12, 18, 24 equals 60, which we have already shown to be the
basis of the Yugas composing the Maha-yuga. This value of 60 has
therefore a cosmical significance.[1] It is geometrically derived from
the interlacing of two equilateral triangles, commonly known as the Seal
of Solomon, and esoterically invested with the symbolical value of the
universe in manifestation of Spirit (male, positive) and Matter (female,
negative), and also the Out-breathing and In-breathing of the Great
Breath of Life. Water crystallizes at an angle of 60°, and the ancient
teaching of Pythagoras, Plato, Thales and other Initiates, was that
Water was the basic element of Nature. By the elements they did not
understand the chemical elements known to modern Chemistry, but the Four
states of Matter, the Igneous, Gaseous, Fluidic and Mineral, which have
their correspondences in the Four Principles of the human constitution,
Spirit, Mind, Soul and Body, of which the first two are formless or
immaterial, and the last two formative or material. Thus we have the
higher trial of Intelligence, Life and Substance, with their multiplex
manifestations in the lower triad of Consciousness, Force and Matter.
For there is only One Intelligence, One Life and One Substance, and it
is with the manifestations of these in the lower world that Science is
concerned. Wisdom has no other concern than to discern the Unity in
Diversity and to cognize all in terms of the One Being.
[Illustration: Figure 7.]
Another very interesting cosmical cycle is that of the Eclipse Period.
The initial value of this is 18 years 11 days 7 hours 42 mins. 35 secs.,
being the mean interval between an eclipse and its recurrence. In three
cycles the eclipse will have moved through one sign of the zodiac, and
in twelve times three or thirty-six cycles it will have moved through
the entire zodiac and come again to the place of the first occurrence.
Then 18 × 3 × 12 or 648 years, to which add one for the precessional
increment and obtain 649 years as the Eclipse Cycle, after which the
phenomena recur in the same part of the zodiac.
Thus I find an eclipse of the Sun in June, A.D. 1277, and the same
eclipse in June, A.D. 1926, another in June 1295, which recurs in June
1944.
We can hardly escape the inevitable harmony of celestial motions when we
note that the eclipse which recurs every eighteen years, makes
seventy-two appearances during the entire period that it takes to work
across the Earth’s disc from its first appearance in the Arctic Circle
to its disappearance in the Antarctic. Here we have four times 18 equals
72, and 72 times 18 are 1296 years. Thus, again, we have the cyclic
period of 1296 years, which we have already noted in connection with
cosmical symbolism. It is twice the eclipse cycle of 648 years, after
which the eclipses return to the same part of the zodiac. It has not yet
been shown that there is any necessary connection between these two
periods, and it is therefore the more remarkable. The average of
Precession being 1° in seventy-two years, it is, of course, quite easy
to link the eclipse period with the Great Year.
Here, then, we have a veritable Phœnix which renews itself after
incineration in Heliopolis (the City of the Sun), and although Eclipses
may have no cosmical significance, they may very well have a terrestrial
one, both causative and symbolical. Take, for instance, the abscission
of the Sun’s rays which takes place at the time of a solar eclipse. This
affects only a small area of the Earth’s surface, but quite sufficient
to produce very remarkable results when, to the known tidal influence of
the luminaries we add the violent and sudden change in the electrostatic
condition of the atmosphere. Thus at the solar eclipse of 17th April,
1912, I registered a fall of 27° of temperature in the space of one hour
in London. Here the eclipse was not at its maximum, and in no place was
it total but merely annular. If the effects are due to the combined
action of the Sun and Moon, the ratio of influence being in regard to
the Sun 30 per cent., and to the Moon 70 per cent. roughly, then it may
reasonably be supposed that when the Moon is simultaneously in perigee,
that is, nearest to the Earth in its orbit, at the time of an eclipse,
the effects should be proportionately greater, and also that they should
be experienced in that locality which coincides with the zenith position
of the luminaries at conjunction.
Such effects can be traced in the occurrence of great earthquake
disturbances, due, no doubt, to an effort of nature to restore the
balance of magnetic action, the local fall of temperature being met by
an uprush of electrical energy from the interior of the globe. Similar
effects are registered in the human body by the local application of
ice, the blood being finally determined to the affected part. And if the
whole Earth can thus be disturbed by eclipse influence, so also must men
be, since they are compounded of elements which are drawn from the
Earth. Not only the waters, but also all plant- and animal-life, as well
as the solid mass of the Earth itself, respond to this influence of the
luminaries acting in combination, and there is little doubt that there
is a tidal effect in the atmosphere which proceeds from the same cause,
and which affects the course of the weather.
The fact that volcanic eruptions and earthquakes do not follow all
eclipses, merely informs us that they do not always coincide with a
volcanic area, but whenever they do so there are marked disturbances
directly attributable to the action of the luminaries, and similarly the
effects upon the weather will vary in accordance with local conditions,
such as latitude, elevation, mean saturation point of the air, etc.
Those who have failed to trace the connection between lunations and the
weather, have left out of consideration the effects due to (_a_) the
time of the conjunction, and (_b_) the Moon’s position in its orbit at
the time. The Metonic Cycle of 6940 days or nineteen years, is another
cycle of considerable value, which informs us what effects are due to
the combined influence of the Sun and Moon irrespective of their
ecliptic conjunction. The lunations occur in the same degree of the
zodiac every nineteen years. Any effects that may be due to their
influence can best be traced by observing how they fall in regard to the
positions of the planets at an epoch such as the moment of a person’s
birth. For if it is found that the New Moon falling on the place of
Saturn in a horoscope of birth is followed by certain privations in
agreement with the nature of the planet Saturn, and that similar effects
are found to occur nineteen years afterwards, then the influence of the
lunation as a factor in human life is presumably established. And if to
Saturn we add the other planets, and also if we add the other aspects,
such as the opposition, trine, quadrature and sextile, we shall be able
to institute a series of observations which depend for their
significance on the assumed value (causative or symbolic) of the
luminaries. Such effects are easily traceable, and serve to establish
the significance of this cycle.
The cycle of Jupiter which is taken at sixty years, assumes a
significance only when we have proved the fact of interplanetary action.
This fact has been established both astronomically and astrologically.
The planet Jupiter takes twelve years to perform a revolution in the
zodiac, and five times twelve is sixty years. But Saturn has a period of
thirty years, and twice this is also sixty years. Consequently, if the
planets Saturn and Jupiter are acting together from the same part of the
heavens at a given date, they will be together again in the same part of
the heavens at the end of sixty years, with a small variation due to the
actual difference of their periods. This fact has proved of astronomical
value, inasmuch as it has enabled us to estimate the disturbance due to
their mutual action in the orbits of both planets. The period at which
these perturbations would recur has been estimated at 920 years by
Laplace, who discovered it. These perturbations form what are called the
Great Equations of the planets Saturn and Jupiter, when calculation is
made of their longitudes in orbit. It may be useful to note that at the
maximum the disturbance of Saturn due to Jupiter’s action is 49´, and
that of Jupiter due to Saturn’s action is 21´. As the discovery was not
made until 1786, it will naturally follow that all calculations made
from Saturn’s position prior to the eighteenth century, when it was
incorporated as a factor in the _Nautical Almanac_, must be to some
extent at fault. As cosmic symbols these planets, Saturn and Jupiter,
have great significance, and they were highly esteemed in the
astrological thought of the ancients.
Jupiter, as the most bulky of all the planets in the system, early
claimed attention and took a foremost place in the pantheon. We find him
as Jupiter-Ammon, as the Deva-pitar, Deo-pitar, and Jupiter of the
Indian and Roman theogonies. He is found in the Sanskrit writings as
Guru, the spiritual father or God-father, as the name Deo-pitar
signifies, and also as Brihaspati, _i. e._ the Lord of Increase or
Expansion. Similarly, Saturn was S’iva, the Destroyer, whose reputation
for devouring his own offspring is referred to in the classical
mythology of the Greeks. Thus Jupiter is Brahma, the Creator, and Saturn
is S’iva, the Destroyer. Such a significance they are found to hold in
the concept of modern astrologers. When, therefore, Jupiter is found in
that part of the heavens which is empirically determined to have rule
over the destinies of a country or people, there is found to be a period
of expansion and prosperity; but when Saturn is thus placed the country
suffers privations and losses. Let us look at some of these instances,
as they have a direct bearing on the practical side of our occult
studies, and give to the Law of Cycles an economic value.
I have before me an Investment Handbook, giving the dates of the highest
and lowest records of the various prices of Stocks during the last
fifteen years. The figures that I shall quote are taken directly from
this book, and I need hardly assure the reader that the editors have no
associations with Astrology.
From any astrological book dealing with the influence of the zodiac
published prior to the year at which our observations commence, the
reader may extract the following information: Scorpio rules Brazil,
Sagittarius rules Spain, Capricornus rules India, Aquarius rules Russia,
Pisces rules Portugal, Aries rules England, Taurus rules Ireland, etc.
In 1895-6-7 the planet Saturn was in the sign Scorpio, and in 1898
Brazilian Stocks were at the lowest price between 1895 and 1910. In 1898
Saturn was in Sagittarius, and Spanish Fours were then at the lowest
between 1895 and 1910, a period of fifteen years. In 1901 Saturn was in
the sign Capricornus, but Jupiter also was there, and in effect, we do
not find any depreciation of Stocks, but the reverse so far as India was
concerned. In 1903-4-5 Saturn was in Aquarius, and in 1906 Russian 4%
and 5% Stocks were at their lowest during the period under
consideration. During 1906-7-8 Saturn was in Pisces, and in the
following year Portuguese Stocks touched the lowest during a period of
fifteen years.
During 1909-10 Saturn was in the sign Aries, and in 1910 Consols as well
as Annuities were at their lowest for a period of fifteen years. During
1911-12 Saturn was in the sign Taurus, and Irish Land Stock is now
(1912) lower than it has been for the past seventeen years.
These facts speak for themselves, and they show that Saturn is the cause
of depression, destruction of credit and national prosperity, and loss.
The cyclic law and that of periodicity are practically identical. For
what we trace as the periodicity of phenomena, can be shown to bear a
direct relation to planetary cycles. Take, for instance, the periodicity
of Sun-spots. The years of maximum frequency noted have led to the
discovery of a period of 11 years and 40 days. Many years ago I
published a statement to the effect that the rents in the luminous
envelope or photosphere of the Sun would be found to coincide with the
occursions of the planets Mars and Jupiter. Since then I have made
further research, and I find that the mean of the two periods of these
planets is 11 years and 203 days, which is in excess of the observed
period of maximum solar activity by 163 days; but by taking the periods
of Mars, Venus and the Earth into account, we have a period of 11 years
40½ days, which is exactly what we want. The Sun-spot period of 11·11
years is, therefore, attributable to the combined action of the planets
Venus, the Earth and Mars, the mean of whose cycles yields a period so
exactly in conformity with it. Probably the introduction of Jupiter and
Saturn to the equation would yield a climacteric every fifth period. It
is, however, of extreme interest to note that the years of the maximum
Sun-spot appearance, 1871, 1882, 1904, 1916, 1927, are found to be
associated with important configurations of the major planets: 1871,
Saturn opposition Jupiter; 1882, Saturn conjunct Neptune; 1904, Jupiter
opposition Uranus; 1916, Saturn conjunct Neptune; 1927, Jupiter conjunct
Uranus. From this we might conclude that the luminous envelope of the
Sun is acted upon by the planetary bodies when they are on the same
solar meridian. An ingenious student of planetary influence, Prof.
Corrigan, has suggested that by regarding the solar disc as a plane, and
setting off the orbits of the planets from the centre, the parallels of
solar latitude tangent to the orbits of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, are
those along which the greatest Sun-spot activity is shown. Thus he shows
that at the latitude of 5° North and South of the Sun’s equator, spots
are produced by the action of the planet Mercury on the Sun: at latitude
6° those produced by Venus’s action are seen; at 7° those due to the
action of the Earth and its satellite; at 13° those frequent spots due
to Mars; and at 48° those due to Saturn; while the band corresponding to
the orbit of Jupiter is attended by the largest and most frequent
display of Sunspots. Hence the Professor is quite in agreement with my
original statement that Sun-spots are principally caused by Mars and
Jupiter. This certainly upholds the original observation that Sunspots
are connected with the occursions of the planets Jupiter and Mars, but
it would extend the period to 11 years and 203 days. The whole subject
is, however, in its infancy.
The cycle of 265 years arising out of the periodic conjunctions of
Saturn and Mars, and marking epochs of great political disturbance in
those areas of the world associated with the signs of the zodiac wherein
the conjunctions occur, has already received treatment in my former
works, so that nothing need be added in this place. For the benefit of
those who have not hitherto touched the subject, however, I may give a
single instance. Saturn and Mars form their conjunction every two years,
during which period they move forward one sign, the whole circle
embracing about 29½ years, so that they complete nine cycles and come to
a conjunction in the same part of the zodiac about the same time of the
year after a period of 265 years. The last conjunction of Saturn in
Aries was in 1910, and 265 years before this date takes us back to the
year 1645, when the insurrection under Cromwell took place, and 265
years earlier, in 1380, we have the insurrection under Wat Tyler.
Similar effects can be traced in the history of other countries from the
same cause.
The old astrologers gave certain periods as the Least Years of the
planets, the Sun and Moon. In the scheme of Ptolemy, which differs in
some respects from this enumeration, most of these periods are
represented and evidently have reference to the orbital periods of the
bodies referred to. Thus the Moon has a period of 4 years, Mercury 10
years, Venus 8 years, Mars 15 years, Sun 19 years, Jupiter 12 years,
Saturn 30 years, following upon which modern astrologers have added
Uranus 84 years, and Neptune 164 years. But by taking the periods of the
ancient planets only it is found that they are all contained in a period
of 120 years, and that the periods of those planets which rule opposite
signs, as Moon and Saturn, Mars and Venus, Jupiter and Mercury, when
multiplied together produce 120, which is one-third of the degrees in a
circle, and is the basis of the Vims’ottaradasa periods of the Hindu
system, about which something may be said in a subsequent section of
this work.
Footnote 1:
The value 10 × 60 as here derived = 600, which is the Messianic or
Naronic cycle, called Naros.