Climacteric

Climacteric is a word used often in ancient Greek philosophy and astrology. It refers to a time in a person's life when things change unexpectedly. Climacterics are said to occur in the years in a person's life which are a multiple of seven, i.e. 7, 14, 21, 35 etc.

The concept of climacterics was prominent in ancient medicine and astrology. It is also said that the belief and theory of Climacteric has been borrowed from Pythagoras. Many philosophers and astrologers believed that man is ruled by many planets in a lifetime and Saturn is the strongest of all. Saturn governs the number seven and thus this cycle.

During a climacteric, a number of changes occur in the human body and the subject is prone to accidents. They are even said to be at higher risk of death.

Climacterics have influenced modern life, for example, a child is believed to be old enough to reason at the age of seven, and people celebrate the 21st birthday as a passage into adulthood. Sixty three is also believed by many to be an important milestone.

Some philosophers consider Climacteric years to be inauspicious or unfortunate for organizations, political parties and governments.