Age of Aries

The Age of Aries is a fictional designation for years, used only in the Ars Magica game. ArM5 does not use the Age of Aries (and neither did ArM1). In ArM2 through ArM4, the Order of Hermes generally recorded dates in terms of the Age of Aries, abbreviated AA, rather than using the AD Christian Calendar.

Conversion from AA to AD

In Ars Magica canon, the Age of Aries began in 139 B.C. To convert a date from AA to AD, subtract 139, so 1359 AA would be 1220 AD.

Also, according to Age of Aries reckoning, the new year begins in March rather than January.

Astrological Ages

The Age of Aries is an Astrological Age of the Zodiac. However, it is not the correct astrological age corresponding to the real-world medieval period. In Real History, the Age of Aries was from about 1658 BC to 498 BC. The correct astrological age for the Middle Ages would be the Age of Pisces. None the less, Ars Magica consistently used the "Age of Aries" until astrological dates were dropped entirely with ArM5. Perhaps the world of Mythic Europe is oriented 30 degrees east relative to our world, or perhaps (more likely) Atlas Games was aware of the error but didn't consider it important enough to correct.

References

• Houses of Hermes, pages 124 and 123

Legacy Page

The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:age_of_aries