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Epicycle

Astrology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A smaller circular motion once used to model the apparent movement of a planet.

Detailed Definition
The epicycle is valuable in poetry as an image of return that is not repetition. A body seems to wander, pause, or reverse because a smaller motion is layered upon a larger one. Likewise, a speaker may circle an event through recurring images, approaching truth by indirection. In literary context, the epicycle dignifies digression: what looks like delay may be the necessary orbit by which memory makes an unbearable center gradually speakable.
Example
Example in poetry:
An epicycle is a small circle whose center moves along a larger circle, part of older models of planetary motion; “The red planet traced an epicycle through my doubt” uses the historical model to represent repetition and return; A poet can make an epicycle symbolize a life that circles a larger purpose without reaching it directly; The term is especially useful when a poem wants an antique cosmology to contrast with modern orbital science
Additional Notes
An epicycle was a small circle whose center moved along a larger circle in ancient and medieval models of planetary motion. The device helped explain apparent retrograde motion before heliocentric and gravitational models became standard. In poetry, epicycle can suggest looping thought, a detour, or a smaller cycle nested within a larger one.
Also Known As
Orbital Loop Circular Motion Revolving Path
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