I’m not entirely sure what I think about what I’m about to share. Which possibly means I’m not ready to write about it yet. But I suspect I may never feel completely comfortable with the ‘scientific’ sort of approach I’m about to discuss. Moreover, perhaps the sharing might help my thinking. So to help this I’m going to introduce the idea in this article and then further discuss it and its implications at a later stage.
I first became aware of this index - as attempt at charting a conflation of the major inter-planetary cycles to explore global political, social and economic trends - when reading Mundane Astrology (by Baignent, Campion and Harvey), one of the most comprehensive books on astrological ideas applied to world affairs. In it, Charles Harvey refers to similar authors’ research, including that of the great and recently-late French mundane astrologer André Barbault. The index shows when the major inter-planetary cycles are predominatingly waxing (above the horizontal ‘0’ line in the graph) and when they are predominantly waning (below the horizon). Take a peek at it below so you know what we’re heading for.
But first let’s unpick what I mean by an inter-planetary cycle.
Take any two planets. Let’s use Jupiter and Saturn. Given one will be closer in towards the Earth (Jupiter) it will journey faster in its journey through the zodiac; the other, Saturn, will move slower. Every so often, according to the period of the cycle (or ‘synod’), the two planets will come to occupy the same part of the zodiac. For the Jupiter-Saturn synod this happens once every 20 years - at the end of this year, in fact. This is the conjunction phase, and is thought of as the very beginning (as well as the ultimate end) of the synod.
A certain time later, the faster moving planet will have moved to occupy a position directly opposite the slower moving planet, in opposing signs of the Zodiac; for our chosen cycle, in roughly 10 years Jupiter (then in Scorpio) will come to be directly opposite Saturn (in Taurus). This will be in 2029/30 for the coming cycle.
Thus, in the cycles of every pair of planets one find conjunctions followed by oppositions, in a (mostly!) regular rhythm.
What must be considered the archetype of all synods is the Sun-Moon cycle. The dance of these two creates the visual spectacle of the phases of the Moon - the interplay of New (the conjunction between Sun and Moon) and Full Moons (the opposition), along with every phase in between. The Moon grows from a dark, fertilising secrecy at the Conjunction to her bright fullness at the Opposition. This is the waxing half of the cycle. In the second half of the 30-day cycle, the waning phase, she slowly shrinks until she disappears again at the New Moon (Conjunction), and another cycle begins.
Thus we have two opposing gestures, as fundamental and archetypal as breathing in and breathing out. The waxing phase (from conjunction to opposition) carries themes of new initiative, growth, expansion, outwardness, purpose, gathering focus or intention. From a seasonal analogy this is a time of increasing light. The waning phase (from opposition to conjunction) of fulfilment and fruiting, then dissemination, relaxation, contraction, withdrawal, emptying, and death. From a seasonal analogy this is a time of decreasing light. The endless and basic rhythm found in all life, including these cosmic cycles. Thus all synods can be understood in this way.
Take a look at the above diagram. The cycle is considered to begin at the right hand side (The Conjunction: the large black dot), the ‘New Moon’ stage when both planets occupy the same Zodiac position. Moving anti-clockwise into the waxing hemicycle (green) of expansion, as the faster moving planet moves out and away from its bed-companion, we come around to ‘Full Moon’ position at the Opposition (the small gold dot on the left), and thus begins the waning hemicycle (pink) of contraction. Note, for simplicity the diagram holds the slower-moving planet at the origin, the larger black dot on the right-hand side, even though, of course, it too moves.
Thus the graph of the Index (below) can be seen as an attempt to chart the overall global breath - a combining of the ten most fundamental synods to create an generalise picture of the cosmos as waxing or waning. Are we seeing predominantly an in-breath of purpose, expansion, rising, outward aspiration, increase (the graph is above zero)? Or are we seeing predominantly an out-breath of contraction, emptying, completing, decrease (below zero)? Or something in between?
For example, just before 1940 almost all cycles were in their waning phase, followed by a sharp rise (several cycles moving through their conjunctions into the waxing phases); by contrast, in 2000 all cycles were waxing*, immediately followed by a rapid decline (several cycles moving through their oppositions into the waning phases). Note also the periods of zig-zags - these are when a cycle goes through several oppositions (particularly) or sometimes conjunctions in a short space of time, due to one or both of the planets turning retrograde. It is argued that this graph will show itself in the world trends of economics, politics, conflicts and international relations, and social relations, with collective life on earth mirroring this generalised cosmic breath.
The table below lists some of the most salient characteristics of the graph, the underlying astronomical situation behind that feature, and a suggestion of its possible interpretative meaning at the most general sense based on first principles.
Before we attribute too much specific meaning to the graph - which I recommend we do only in the lightest possible sense to avoid causal thinking - and before we explore it a bit in relation to a few specific world events, take another look at it and see whether you can make any of your own connections. Your sense of history, global economics, world social trends etc. may well be way better than mine.
Now, below is the same graph with a few world-relevant events or trends that occurred to me on a brief examination. The graph does not explain them as such, but provides an interesting cosmic context and correlation given our understanding of the nature of waxing and waning synods as described above. In view of where we find ourselves now, in February 2020, at the foot of a long and steep slope upwards towards a peak of a very high incidence of waxing synods in 2025, it is natural we might ask ourselves what might this suggest about the coming five years. One doesn’t need a graph such as this to know we are in ‘interesting’ times. However perhaps we might draw qualitative speculations from what we know this upward slope to symbolise as well as connecting it with previous similar periods.
In a future article I plan to continue such speculations, as well as explore it a little more from a historic perspective. I also would like to tackle the potentially problematic tendency such a graph as this has in encouraging the unwitting drawing of causally driven conclusions, with their implications of a mechanistic universe.
Useful References:
Mundane Astrology: an introduction to the astrology of nations and groups (1984), by Michael Baigent, Charles Harvey and Nicholas Campion. Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, UK.
The Lunation Cycle: a key to understanding personality (1967), by Dane Rudhyar, Aurora, Santa Fe, USA.
Footnotes:
* Because of the way the data behind this graph has been put together, the graph looks more ‘pointy’ than it might. I will look into a more accurate way of portraying it all.