Following
Yonder Star - Was Jesus A Capricorn?
Jesus
was a Capricorn
He ate organic food
He believed in love and peace
and never wore no shoes.
Long hair, beard and sandals
And a funky bunch of friends
Reckon we'd just nail him up
If he came down again
Kris Kristofferson
Yep...
I have to admit that I agree with many of Kris Kristofferson's
sentiments on the subject of Jesus... but was Jesus of Nazareth
really a Capricorn and born on December the 25th?
It's
not that I have anything against the sign of Capricorn or (for
that matter) Kris' wonderfully iconic lyrics, however it's not
likely that Jesus of Nazareth was born on December 25th... not
likely at all...
Setting
The Date
You see... back in the olden days when the ancient (4th century
AD) Christian Church Fathers were looking around for an official
date to celebrate the birth of historical Jesus, they were also
busily engaged in the serious endeavor of winning over, proselytizing,
and generally "christianizing" ancient Rome. Good luck
with that...
Saturnalia?
Anyway... the ancient Romans conveniently enough happened to have
a very popular pagan holiday (holy day) season called "Saturnalia."
The holy day of Saturnalia, originally celebrated by the Romans
each year on December the 17th, was a special day set apart for
honoring the Roman god Saturn who ruled over agriculture and the
harvest.
Saturnalia
was a day set aside for nostalgically remembering the "Golden
Age" of Saturn's beneficent rule. Gifts were exchanged in
remembrance of the generous harvest bounty that Saturn had once
upon a time bestowed upon the Roman people.
Yep!
For the 4th century AD Romans, the holy day of Saturnalia was
joyous celebration of "the good old days" when everything
had "once-upon-a-time" been right in the world.
Saturnalia and the Rebirth of the Sun
At some mysterious (cloudly) point in time, the very popular holy
Roman day of Saturnalia had also been tied into a celebration
of the rebirth of the Sun - and, as such, Saturnalia was held
each year at about the time of what we call the northern hemisphere
"winter solstice."
What
in the heck is the "winter solstice?" The winter solstice
marks the beginning of winter. As the beginning of winter, the
winter solstice is the day each year having the longest night
and the shortest amount of sunlight hours. After the winter solstice,
the daylight hours slowly begin lasting longer and longer with
each passing day, with this trend of increasing sunlight continuing
on until the "summer solstice" in June. The summer solstice
is marked as being the day with longest amount of daylight hours
and is the official beginning of summer.
Anyway, dear friend, the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere
nowadays (using modern calendars) takes place each year around
December the 21st to mark the rebirth of the Sun. In 4th Century
AD, the Roman emperor at the time "officially" reset
Saturnalia to be celebrated on December the 25th (there appear
to be varying and sometimes contradictory resources regarding
exactly how and why all this happened).
Not
surprisingly... shortly thereafter, the Christian Church Fathers
likewise - in a calculated move to placate Roman officials - set
the official date for celebrating the birth of Jesus as being
December the 25th.
Frankly,
I can't think of a more appropriate symbolic day that the Christian
Church Fathers could have "borrowed" for annually commemorating
the birth of the Son, than the already extremely
popular pagan holiday (Saturnalia) set apart annually for celebrating
the birth of the Sun...
It's
interesting to note that when looked at on a purely symbolic
level, it's believed the esoteric (or hidden) Church placed
John the Baptist's birth on the northern hemisphere's Summer
Solstice (decreasing sunlight) and Christ's birth on the northern
hemisphere's Winter Solstice (increasing sunlight). This was
meant to symbolize the New Testament passage where John the
Baptist told his followers that he (John) must decrease, while
Jesus must increase.
So
when was Jesus born and what did his birth symbolize?
Speculations
on Christ's Birth
Astrologers have been speculating (and arguing) about the birth
of historical Jesus for almost 2000 years now. What's truly fascinating,
though, is that at the actual event there was one small group
of Babylonian astrologers who got it right.
Remember
the traditional Christmas story and the "wise men" or
"magi" that were following a star? It's highly unlikely
that there was any sort of supernova explosion in the sky that
these "wise men" were following.
According
to the Gospel of Matthew, only the so-called "wise men"
were aware of the "star's" presence. Everyone else,
knowing something special was going on, had been clued into the
fact by the wise men, by angels, or by another source of divine
revelation.
Only
the most closed minded persons could possibly argue that these
"wise men" from the East (following a star) were anything
other than ancient Babylonian astrologers.
Truth
is that the early church admitted these wise men were "star
worshippers."
"Your
Nativity, O Christ our God,
Has shone to the world the Light of wisdom!
For by it, those who worshipped the stars,
Were taught by a Star to adore You,
The Sun of Righteousness,
And to know You, the Orient from on High.
O Lord, glory to You!"
Eastern Orthodox Troparion of the Nativity
Due to astrology's mixed and tarnished "reviews" in
both the Old and New Testaments, it's rather satisfying to know
that these ancient astrologers were given such an honored and
respectful place in Matthew's version of the nativity story.
Speculation
on the Date
Based on a combination of biblical and independent historical
sources, the birth of historical Jesus took place between the
years of 8 BC and 4 BC. Beyond that we're forced back into the
darker, murky waters of speculation…
Many
astrologers (dating back at least as far as Medieval times) have
typically placed the year of Jesus' birth at 7 BC. 7 BC was a
unique year when the two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, were "triple
conjuncting" in the sign of Pisces.
A "triple conjunction" means that Jupiter and Saturn
repeatedly met up with each other in the sky three different times
in the sign of Pisces. Such a triple conjunction of Jupiter and
Saturn in the sign of Pisces is extremely rare, and it has not
occurred again during the past 2000 years.
According
to astrophysicist and astronomer Dr. Percy Seymour (The Birth
of Christ; Exploding The Myth), both ancient Babylonian and
Jewish astrologers associated the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
with the "passing of power" from one supernatural deity
to another.
The
Astrological Age of Pisces Begins
The exceptionally unique thing about this particular triple coming
together of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces was that it took place
while simultaneously aligned with the precessional dawning of
the age of Pisces, the fishes.
Each
astrological age lasts approximately 2,148 years. Jesus was (and
is) traditionally thought to have ushered in the astrological
age of Pisces (the fishes) symbolizing "salvation through
suffering."
Furthermore, it is also thought by some that Jesus ushered in
a new Great Year cycle. The precessional phenomenon of the Platonic
"Great Year" occurs only once every approximately 26,000
years, and it signifies the beginning of a new 26,000 year cycle
for humankind.
According to this particular view, each Great Year cycle has its
beginning in the zodiacal age of Pisces (the fishes) and then
cycles its way back through the other 11 zodiacal signs. (I should
point out that others believe this Great Year cycle starts in
Capricorn or Cancer.)
Regardless... combine the association of a rare triple Jupiter/Saturn
Pisces conjunction (passing of power) with the dawning of a new
astrological age in the sign of Pisces – and any ancient
Babylonian astrologer will tell you that you're probably ripe
for the birth of a messiah.
Some
of the Main Theories
Obviously there are more theories, opinions, and speculations
than what I've mentioned just above as to exactly what sort of
astrological configuration the Christmas star might have consisted
of. Examples of a few other ideas are:
-
Jupiter
conjuncting Venus near the star Regulus in 3 BC - This is
very popular with modern astronomers and Christmas television
specials that deal with the Star of the Christ Child. While
many modern astronomers like this configuration, most astrologers
and certain astronomers, such as Dr. Seymour, feel this is
highly unlikely.
-
The "acronychal rising" of planets - Known to be
commonly used by ancient Babylonian astrologers and this possibility
appears to have strong merit. Dr. Percy Seymour has combined
this with the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn and
come up with the date of September 15, 7 BC New Style (September
19, 7 BC Old Style) at Sunset.
What's fascinating is that... according to Oriental Orthodox
Bishop K C Pillai (1900-1970) of India, in his unique, illuminating
book Light Through An Eastern Window (1963), ancient
Orthodox traditions placed the birth of Jesus in August or
September. I have unfortunately been unable to confirm this
tradition through any other Orthodox resource.
-
A helically calculated (Sun centered) "Star of David"
configuration - This is generally thought to be the wildest
astrological speculation of all.
The
True Date?
It's always great fun to endlessly speculate about the
true birth date of historical Jesus. There are several proposed
charts giving Jesus the Sun in Pisces. There are also charts placing
his Sun in Capricorn, in Leo, in Gemini, and (even one) in Scorpio.
Granted...
these days I, myself, lean heavily toward Dr. Seymour's theory
and proposed date. Among other things, it would give the chart
of Jesus of Nazareth an Ascendant in the 23rd degree of Pisces
with Jupiter and Saturn rising and would place his Sun in Virgo
- symbolic of being "born of the Virgin."
But, will we ever know the true birth date (and thus the true
birth chart) of Jesus Christ? No way, Jose!
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