It is well known in astrological circles: the ideas of Christ and Krishna ushering in the Piscean Age and of our next grand Age being “The Age of Aquarius.”
Times of great wars preceded the Christ Age, of course, and the Mahabharata preceded the Age of Krishna. These phenomena could reasonably be interpreted to be of the Arian (Aryan?) Age, the Age of Aries.
And so it goes, human development progressing by going backwards through the Zodiac. Why backwards? The sun travels in the galaxy in a direction that is much slower and opposite in direction from the circular motion of the planets in our solar system.
I think we can go further and analyze the epochs within the Ages as actually being exemplifications of the Vedic nakshatras. Consider the following assignment of historical time in the Piscean Age to the nakshatras of Pisces.
On the left is a super brief excerpt on the Piscean and Aquarian nakshatras from the great English reference and teacherly work Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India, pages 242 to 247. On the right is corresponding factual historical detail.
Revati: “Revati’s symbol is a drum used to mark time and its deity is Pushan, who is responsible for nurturance and safe travel.... And is the keeper of the cows of the gods, and his nurturing signifies breeding and foster care.”
Uttara Bhadrapada: “... here often indicates a benevolent, self-sacrificing person who may benefit through gifts, donations, inheritance and the like.... Serpent of primeval depths... implies solitude and retirement.... Power of kundalini Shakti.”
Purva Bhadrapada: “Skilled at earning money and are stingy. .... Traditionally associated, both physically and metaphorically, with fire and heat... The two-faced man.... Overly serious, high strung, nervous... a fascination for the ecstasy of evil and the darker side of life... Punishment and penance are under its sway... People who are cruel in deed or word. Very excitable or anger-prone people, like radicals, fanatics, and terrorists.”
Shatabhisha: “will be harsh, but their speech will be truthful, will suffer grief, but conquer their enemies, will thoughtlessly engage in works.... Its deity is Varuna, the Vedic god of the cosmic and terrestrial waters.... Commonly assumed to cloak or veil things.... Rules traps and paralysis.... The void behind all creation.... Scientific, philosophical, mystical... Illnesses whose genesis [occurs here] are very difficult to remedy. Historical events (~3500 BCE – 1000 AD): The calendrical and minute/second/hour systems, our way to mark time, were invented. Advent of Krishna, Jesus and Buddha, all of whom are considered shepherds (of cows, lamb and men). Collectivized living among people and animals was prevalent in much of the world. Extended travel (Silk Road, spice trade, Vikings go to North America) was established.
Historical events (~1000 AD – ~ 1550 AD): Civilizations for which we have records were all in “The Dark Ages” of feudalism and regal systems, where one inherits power, or if one has no native power, then it is bestowed via gifts by those of higher status. Ashrams and monasteries were the happening places. Alchemy and deep meditative practices (such as Gregorian chant) were the main successful practices.
Historical events (~1550 – Present): The Inquisition and the burning of witches. Baron Capitalists. The Steam Age. Rise of the dramatic arts (“the two faced man”). Rise of the fiery Pitta, “type A” man as hero and anti-hero (http://www.ayurastro.com/articles/the-four-houses-of-hogswarts-and-the-chart). Almost constant war. Hitler. The Age of Anxiety. The Age of Terrorism.It is ok that the time spans are not equal lengths per nakshatra. This is further support for the strength of an unequal house system. It is exciting to speculate on the logarithmically decreasing span of time for each proceeding nakshatra. Perhaps the next stage will only be 100 years in length. Who knows?
Possible Historical Implications: Internet. Reddit. Depression. High magic. The end of craftsmanship. Galactic travel with its necessary onboard paralysis. We may be going innergalactic as Varuna may be said to rule the ocean of sky, but also the oceans here on Earth may rise as the glaciers melt. The referent book emphasizes the idea of a shoreline and containers in the description of Shatabhisha. We may find ourselves cleaving to the shoreline and in containers above the water as global water levels rise. Invisible cloaks, such as have recently been produced, may be used in a widespread way. We may see a dramatically further drop in feudal religion (where it is as present as shepherding communities are in present day culture) and see even more afflictions like AIDS and other new hard-to-treat human viral and bacterial infections. The miltary may return to the setting of traps as nuclear arms become almost universal. Dark matter and black holes may hold a primary place in technology. What then lay in store for us and this future Age of Aquarius? The last entry above is my projection via the fully Aquarian nakshatra of Shatabhisha. (Purva Bhadrapada itself is mostly in Aquarius, indicating that we have been in the Age of Aquarius for a while, but as you can see with Shatabhisha, we may only be in the purely Aquarian Age starting this decade and even perhaps starting just this year.)
It would be fun to continue, and see where we would go post-Shatabhisha. For example, the Capricorn Age may be when asteroids and other solar systems are readily mined to provide almost any material and people are working steadily to process all of that.
Alas, it is late as I write and I will turn in, but thanks for taking this quick ride with me. So much more can be said!