life- transi- nom. name & description
stage tion age
----------------------------------------
I Young Child (paidion): suppleness of body, quick change
1 7 shedding milk teeth (1 X 7)
II Child (pais): development of intelligence,
learning, personality
2 14 puberty (2 X 7)
III Youth (meirakion/meirax): maturation, impulse toward love
3 21 full growth of body hair, max. height (3 X 7)
IV Young Adult (neaniskos/neanis): ambition, mastery &
direction over actions, increase of strength
4 28 maximum physical strength (4 X 7)
V Adult (aner/gune): full vigor, ready for marriage,
striving for significance, improvement of insight
& reason
5 49 perfect age (7 X 7), menopause, ripe in wisdom,
maturity of reason
VI Elder (presbutes/presbutis): perfecting reason,
judgement, foresight, moderation, honor, dignity
6 56 beginning of old age: perfection of reason & judgement
(8 X 7)
VII Old One (geron/graia): forebearance, gentleness,
passions tamed
7 70 natural and of life, the decad (10 X 7)
VIII The End (eskhate): uttermost, highest, best, last;
an extremely old one (eskhatogeros); exercise of
wisdom, honor, with no obligations.
The transition ages between lifestages shown above are 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 hebdomads (7s). From Platonic theory we might expect 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, which are all the multiples of 2 and 3 (the primal even/female and odd/male numbers) in the decad (1 is neither odd nor even, but the source of both, according to the Pythagoreans). Adopting this theory drops the V-VI transition age from 49 to 42 (which seems too low).
In any case, the transition ages should not be taken too seriously; obviously they are heavily influenced by Pythagorean theory. See Opsopaus (Lib. de Oct. Mut.) for the universal eightfold structure of cycles.
life- transi- qua- ele- celest. form sabbat season Greek
stage tion lity ment sphere of soul season
--------------------------------------------------------------------
0 wet Spr Equ
I Moon sacrum E Spr early Ear
1 air Mid Spr
II Mercury gonads L Spr late Ear
2 hot Sum Sol
III Venus belly E Sum Theros
3 fire Mid Sum
IV Sun heart L Sum Opora
4 dry Aut Equ
V Mars throat E Aut Phthinoporon
5 earth Mid Aut
VI Jupiter brain L Aut Sporetos
6 cold Win Sol
VII Saturn crown E Win Kheimon
7 water Mid Win
VIII Stars supercrown L Win Phutalia
The hot quality is maximized at the summer solstice, and the cold quality at the winter solstice. The wet and dry qualities are at the two points of equilibrium between hot and cold, and so correspond to the equinoxes (where light/dark = hot/cold are equalized). Cold promotes moisture, which fuels heat, which dries things out. Birth takes place when fluidity (0 = wet) is maximized, and the discriminating force of heat (2) maximizes structure (3 = dry); thereafter the chaotic (4 = cold) processes lead to its dissolution (0 = wet). The resulting correspondence between the elements and the four seasons is confirmed by Aristides (De Mus. III.19), Isidore Sev. (De Nat. Rer. 1472), Peyligk (Phil. Nat. Comp. 1499), Hippocrates (Nat. Man VII, Reg. I.33) and others.
Celestial sphere: Ptolemy (Tetrab. IV.10) associates the seven planetary spheres with the first seven lifestages. It seems natural, then, to associate the eighth, astral sphere with the eighth, immaterial lifestage. (This also agrees with Gnostic ideas of the ascent of the soul.)
Sabbats and seasons: Varro (De Agri. I.28-36) describes eight seasons of the agricultural year. Their boundaries are the quarters (solstices and equinoxes) and cross-quarters that are approximately midway between them. Varro's dates for the cross-quarters were determined by astronomical events (e.g. the rising and setting of Sirius and the Pleiades), which have shifted over the intervening millennia. Therefore I have normalized them to Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1, Nov. 1. Here are some modern markers with approximate dates (computed from a circular astronomy-sliderule):
transi- nom. astronomical event approx.
tion date date
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 5/1 Vega on Eastern horizon at Sunset (cosmical rising) 4/29
(Varro uses the heliacal rising of the Pleiades 5/15)
3 8/1 Sirius on Eastern horizon at Sunrise (heliacal rising) 8/4
5 11/1 Vega on Eastern horizon at Sunrise (heliacal rising) 11/5
(Varro uses the cosmical rising of the Pleiades 11/15)
7 2/1 Altair on Western horizon at Sunset (heliacal setting) 2/6
Greek seasons: The Greeks originally had three seasons, then four, and later seven. Based on dates and agricultural activities, I have decided that the Greek Ear (Spring) corresponds to the first two Roman seasons and to the first two lifestages, though this is not certain. By looking at their etymology we can understand the meaning of the Greek seasons (LSJ s.vv. hora and the names of the seasons):
I-II Ear = prime flowering (spring) III Theros = summer harvest (summer) IV Opora = youthful ripeness, fruit (late summer) V Phthinoporon = waning of Opora (autumn) VI Sporetos = seed time (corn sowing) VII Kheimon = winter cold & storms VIII Phutalia = planting time (latter part of winter)
Form of the soul: The bodily loci of the "forms of the soul" (ta eide psukhes), which correspond approximately to the chakras. The "eighth chakra," the "supercrown," is the divine force, located above the head, from which depends the embodied soul (Timaeus 90a-b); the Stoics (Aetius, Dox. Gr. 4.21.1-4) also recognized an eighth, transcendant "commanding-faculty" (hegemonikon) that united and sustained the other seven parts of the soul. For more detail and sources, see Opsopaus (Ta Eide Psuches). Ideally, the lifestages correspond to a shift of emphasis to the higher chakras (without neglecting the lower ones, of course).
lifestage season sun (dir., qual.) life (qual.) humour element god ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-II Spring rising (E, dry) young (wet) blood air Hera III-IV Summer midday (S, hot) prime (hot) cholor fire Zeus V-VI Autumn setting (W, wet) harvest (dry) bile earth Demeter VII-VIII Winter night (N, cold) dissol. (cold) melanch. water Poseidon
I-II 1-14 1-20 III-IV 15-28 21-40 V-VI 29-56 41-60 VII-VIII 57- 61-80The four stages are ideally an ascent of emphasis through the four mental faculties enumerated by Plutarch (Opin. Phil. I.3), Theon of Smyrna (Math. Plat. 38) and others:
lifestage faculty characteristics (qualities) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I-II child sensus (sensation) fluid, discriminating (wet, hot) III-IV youth opinio (opinion) discriminating, rigid (hot, dry) V-VI adult scientia (knowledge, skill) rigid, unifying (dry, cold) VII-VIII elder mens (understanding) unifying, fluid (cold, wet)This is, in effect, an alchemical rotation through the elements air, fire, earth, water (also known as Plato's Cycle).