I am trying
to confirm or refute whether any medieval writers ever considered the idea of
astrological or zodiacal ages (i.e. as in Age of Pisces or Age of Aquarius) as
a tool for orderly tracking or designation of historical periods. The timing of
such Ages is driven by the phenomenon of precession well known to philosophers, astronomers
and astrologers in classical and medieval times. Origen for instance uses the
idea of precession to argue against the predictive or divinatory use of
astrology (Philocalia, XXIII).
I am finding that the idea of Zodiacal Ages is an
anachronistic projection by modern writers into the past. Nicholas Campion, for
instance, writes: “Simply, there are no extant classical
or medieval astrological texts which attribute any astrological or historical
significance to precession.” While this
may be so for astrological texts, on
which Campion is an expert, I am curious to know if anyone on the list knows of
any theological, historical or philosophical texts of the late classical or medieval periods that might show otherwise.
Richard J Legault