The Historical Ephemeris from -600 to 2200 Historical timelines with summary astrological data Introduction Palden Jenkins

The inclusion of a star alongside an entry indicates a general period or trend in operation around that time. Each entry is sorted into a rough geo-cultural category, indicating the world region it affects. As the tables progress, these regions shift – one example is the use of the word ISLAM, which refers to the Islamic world as a whole, crossing from India to Southern Europe, though this category does not appear until the dawn of Islam in the 700s CE. Similarly, GERMANY and HRE (Holy Roman Empire, German-centred) replace one another in different periods.

Astrological data. The core data involves aspects between Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and ingresses of these planets into new signs (an ingress is the crossing of a planet from one zodiac sign to the next). The tropical zodiac (not the sidereal zodiac of constellations) is used, in line with majority astrological opinion in the modern West. Aspects used here include all aspects which are a multiple of 30° or 45°, and the major aspects of conjunction, opposition and square are shown emphasised in capitals. The + and symbols denote whether the aspect is a waxing or a waning one (with a waxing [+] aspect, the faster planet is moving away from the slower, moving from conjunction toward opposition, and with a waning [-] aspect, the faster planet moves toward the slower, from opposition to conjunction). Saturn oppositions and conjunctions (only) to the outer planets are also shown, since Saturn can at times tip balances and cause underlying astrological dynamics to surface in real-life, definitive events. Chiron aspects and ingresses are shown from 1745 onwards only. The eccentric motions of the planetoid Chiron (discovered in 1977, and exerting a noticeable astrological influence) are insufficiently known and reliable to provide accurate data before this time. This underlines one major reservation concerning all planetary data: longterm motions of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are very accurately calculated (including algorithms which account for the mutual gravitational effects of planets on each other, which most astrological computer programs do not include, thus making historical data, especially of the outer planets, inaccurate as one moves further from the present epoch). The reservation is that these data are guaranteed to be accurate on the fair assumption that current observable motions of the outer planets have remained consistent throughout the historical period we are examining – from 600 BCE to the present day).

Key Outer Planets UR Uranus NE Neptune PL Pluto CH Chiron Sa Saturn Ju Jupiter Aspects CONJ 0° Conjunction ssx 30° Semisextile ssq 45° Semisquare sxt 60° Sextile SQR 90° Square tri 120° Trine sqt 135° Sesquiquadrate qcx 150° Quincunx (inconjunct) OPPN 180° Opposition Zodiac signs Cp Capricorn Aq Aquarius Pi Pisces Ar Aries Ta Taurus Ge Gemini Cn Cancer Le Leo Vi Virgo Li Libra Sc Scorpio Sg Sagittarius +  waxing hemicycle      waning hemicycle Peri   perihelion (closest to the Sun) Aph   aphelion (furthest from the Sun)

Events and emergent trends can show themselves before or after the precise time of an astrological aspect between two planets. So look at the noted events before and after an aspect as well as those in the same year – this applies particularly to major 'hard' aspects such as conjunctions, squares and oppositions.

Historical dates can vary from source to source – particularly in more ancient times. Also, a noted, tangible event can express the tone and theme of an astrological phenomenon before or after such a phenomenon, since astrological energies affect the psychology lying behind events rather than the events themselves. Thus, a battle, for example, can represent the outcome of decisions made or tendencies begun some time before. In some cases they can anticipate astrological phenomena too, as if clearing the way for new possibilities to emerge. Yet there also are events which occur exactly at the time of an astrological phenomenon too. This is where a little lateral thinking and interpolation is necessary, since history and human affairs are not mechanical, and astrological influences are not directly deterministic – in between astrological influences and identifiable events lie human free-will, which tends to determine whether an energy-tendency gets expressed or blocked. Radical-progressive and resistant-conservative influences in society determine this.

As the tables progress toward modern times, increasing space has been given in the tables for historical events. This is because, particularly since the Renaissance, events have indeed speeded up and intensified – partially as a result of population growth (that is, there are more people experiencing and creating things, and the 'psycho-social space' on our planet has increased, even though geographical space and calendrical timing remain more or less constant.


Printing out these tables is recommended if you wish to study the information fully. This can be done either by cycling through the pages which follow, and printing out each of them, or you can go to the download page where you can download a variety of PC zipfiles containing the ephemeris, for offline viewing or printing.

May you enjoy and benefit from the information in the Historical Ephemeris!

The Historical Ephemeris