Astrotheology in the Gospel
Astrotheology is that branch of theology that provides a critical analysis of the contemporary space sciences combined with an explication of classic doctrines such as creation and Christology for the purpose of constructing a comprehensive and meaningful understanding of our human situation within an astonishingly immense cosmos. It is able to provide origins for scripture and it validates wisdom gathered over thousands of years of human history. It can bring religion out of the realm of superstition and into the realm of science without tampering the doctrines of faith, it merely provides justification for it.
Astrotheology reveals knowledge (gnosis) that decries atheism or scientism, political Zionism, political Jihad, it does not recognize Papal authority or any other religious leader of such capacity. With astrotheology gnosis becomes peer reviewed and grass rooted as it is gathered in accordance with the foundations of this world, much like Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
Astrotheology can be likened to the emerging DLT made famous by Bitcoin. The heavens above provide a vast, immutable, decentralized and transparent sequential chain of celestial events that can be compared to transactions stored on a blockchain. Accordingly the Biblical history provides an ancient distributed ledger; a record of events, hashed by observers that logged them using their algorithmic doctrine. The hashing process in DLT is known as mining, once a transaction is recorded it can be retrieved using a block explorer, astronomy or astrology software is the block explorer for astrotheology.
How to view the Bible
The Bible is an ancient bundle of books that provides a platform for religious doctrine. Its foundations have been built on observed astronomical phenomena. Genesis 1:14 states:
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
The narrative is construed by applying ordinances to the seven classical planets after which a plethora of archetypes can be attached. Celestial phenomena are then observed which then drive a certain story. The story itself is an abstract of reality which serves to preserve an idealized form of history while providing moral context.
The resulting product then becomes more than good advice, it projects the ideal life testified by our forefathers. A word of caution to those who misappropriate astrological concepts and drift from doctrine, Isaiah 47:13 reads:
13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Through careful study and increasing our astrotheological understanding we begin to understand how God’s words are made manifest here on earth (as it is in heaven), while rejecting the invitation to false doctrine.
Anchors
In order to be substantial we need to have undeniable points in time that directly translate to Biblical texts. Accepting a seemingly arbitrary starting point as an anchor is difficult but once we have obtained one finding many more becomes easier. If the technique holds true then the chain of events linked to scripture will hold. The Bible provides rich texts that guides us up and down the ages, an example of this is the genealogies where years are given, they provide locked blocks of time. One positively dated event, as an anchor, will lead to another.
The most obvious anchor is provided by the story of Jesus in the New Testament at the turning of the age. When exactly was the date of His birth? There is no real consensus, years vary between 6 BCE and 1 BCE. Luckily there are astrological signs that have been surfacing on the internet that caught my interest, I have emboldened them in the list below. The list is that of Biblical events surrounding the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that I have dug up by accepting the given astrological signs as anchor points:
1. Elizabeth conceived John on the 1st of May, 3 BCE (-2).
2. The rising star of Bethlehem appears on the 12th of August, 3 BCE (-2).
3. Elizabeth’s seclusion ends on the 9th of October, 3 BCE (-2).
4. Mary conceived Jesus on the 24th of October, 3 BCE (-2).
5. Mary visits Elizabeth on the 22nd of November, 3 BCE (-2).
6. Elizabeth delivers John on 5th of February, 2 BCE (-1).
7. The setting star of Tammuz appears on the 17th of June, 2 BCE (-2).
8. Mary delivers Jesus on the 31st of July, 2 BCE (-1).
9. The wise men visit Jesus on the 26th of August, 2 BCE (-1).
10. Herod orders the infanticide on the 10th of January, 1 BCE (0).
11. Foreshadowing of the resurrection on the 2nd of September 1 BCE (0).
12. The lunar eclipse before Herod’s death was on the 29th of December, 1 BCE (0).
Most dates are derived from lunar cycles unless there is a significant conjunction taking place that is note worthy. By the first century BCE not all phenomena like solar or lunar eclipses necessarily had to be observable, i.e. there existed models to predict if two solar eclipses occurred one month apart. This is important, because this cannot be based on observations: one is visible on the northern and the other on the southern hemisphere.
Read more | Ecliptic models and Hipparchus
Legend
The Biblical narrative is constructed by archetypes that are subscribed or supported by orbiting luminaries. The luminaries, as it includes the Sun and the Moon, have been ascribed certain characteristics that have been carried over into astrology. In classical astrology there are 7 visible luminaries: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. From these we get our 7-day weekly cycle but that is beside the point. Listed below from slow to fast moving, which is the “Chaldean order”, with my personally ascribed role next to it:
1. Saturn ♄ God, the Father
2. Jupiter ♃ the Son, or righteous king
3. Mars ♂ the usurper, or tyrannical king, also the repentant in the NT
4. The Sun ☉ clothing, or a blinding vail
5. Venus ♀ the concubine, or adulteress, also a loyal maiden in the NT
6. Mercury ☿ the prophet, or rebuker
7. Moon ☽ the mother, or wife
The luminaries wander through twelve fixed houses on the ecliptic, which is why there are also called wandering stars as opposed to fixed stars. How the houses have evolved over time is unknown but in the time of Jesus they were as they are now. Each house represents a space on the ecliptic of about 30 degrees through which the sun travels each year, therefore during a single year the Sun travels through twelve houses.
Each Hebrew month more or less coincides with a single house. The houses are represented by signs, the twelve signs of the zodiac. Just like the luminaries, the houses carry special meaning also. Be it by name, by season, tradition or the context that we find in scripture.
N.B. Some scholars identified them with the twelve sons of Jacob/Twelve Tribes of Israel or the Apostles.
Elizabeth conceives John
There is little to go on for the conception of John, we know that he is born six months before Jesus and that Elizabeth was secluded from the population for the first five months, on the sixth month Elizabeth was visited by Mary. We know that the ideal length of human gestation is 280 days. Another hint is that in astrotheology it is common to associate full moons with conceptions.
Through later dates we will infer that Elizabeth must have conceived John late April or early May, 3 BCE (-2). The April full moon was in the sign of Scorpio on the eve of May 1st in opposition to the Sun in conjunction with Saturn in Taurus.
N.B. The dates themselves provide interesting aspects for astrologers to consider, I myself am not schooled in technicalities although I did find it interesting that this full moon appears close to the star Antares in latitude.
The rising star of Bethlehem appears
Matthew 2:1–6 reads:
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
The common assumption here is that Jesus was born on the night that the wise men witnessed His star in the east. However this is not necessarily so. The wise men took this star as a sign for His birth, but in actuality this call to action was a different star, at the end of which they had found Herod in Jerusalem, not Jesus in Bethlehem, this mix-up is important!
Between the moment that they had witnessed this star and their appearance before Herod there could have been a space of time and between their departure and the second star signaling Jesus’ birth there could have been a space of time.
That said, on the morning of the 12th of August, 3 BC (-2), the planets Venus and Jupiter made a conjunction that was so close that it appeared almost as one. Venus, as the morning star, rises in the east and it was this star that was testified by the wise men.
The month of Elul corresponds to the sign of Virgo and started on the 10th of August. The name of the month, Elul, was brought from the Babylonian captivity, and originated from the Akkadian word for “harvest”. Because of this, Virgo is also referred to as the “House of Bread”, Bethlehem’s literal meaning also is the House of Bread.
Venus and Jupiter themselves were at the end of the sign of Cancer. Cancer was known as the month of Tammuz; a fertility god embodying the powers for new life in nature in the spring. It is understandable that the wise men took this star as the sign of the King’s birth.
Elizabeth’s seclusion ends
Luke 1:24–25 reads:
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
To have favor or not is a matter of judgement in this case by the people. Five months after the proposed date for the conception of John would be the end of September or the beginning of October. The month of Tishrei which corresponds to Libra, the Scales (of Justice), ends on the 9th of October, 3 BCE (-2).
Mary conceives Jesus
Jesus was conceived just before her trip to Elizabeth on the sixth month of her pregnancy. The sixth month’s full moon is on the 24th of October, 3 BCE (-2), this is exactly 280 days before Jesus’ proposed birth on the 31st of July, 2 BCE (-1).
N.B. Here we see a full moon between Aries and Taurus, more importantly we see the moon possibly between two larger asterisms namely that of the Goat and the Ram that stands before a river, the Milky Way, which is the galactic equator. Daniel 8:5–6 reads:
5 And as I was considering, behold, and he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
Read more | Göbleki Tepe ‘decoded’ — Comparing the bull relief.
Mary visits Elizabeth
The time between Jesus’ conception and Mary’s arrival at Elizabeth’s is unknown. It could possibly simply be the next full moon, then Mary would have visited Elizabeth on the 22nd of November, 3 BCE (-2) with the moon being in Gemini, the twins. The house of Gemini itself resonates with the event of the visit.
Gemini is placed at the crossing of the ecliptic and the galactic equator, in future writings I will exemplify the significance of this space. On the opposite end, the galactic equator crosses the ecliptic in the sign of Sagittarius, which houses the galactic center. On this day Mercury, Venus and the Sun are joined together near this center. It might not have been visible with the naked eye but ancient astrotheologians should have been aware.
Elizabeth delivers John
John was delivered on a new moon on the 5th of February, 2 BCE (-1), exactly 280 days after he was conceived which, again, was on the 1st of May, 3 BCE (-2).
John’s birth was the start of the Hebrew month of Adar, or Pisces. The 14th of Adar is a Jewish holiday called Purim which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an Achaemenid Persian Empire official who was planning to kill all the Jews. Destruction and the saving from destruction are major themes in the life of John.
Because lunar calendars drift towards the end of the year, the Sun and with it the New Moon tends to lag behind. The month of Adar was therefore in the space of Aquarius, the water bearer. John pleads for baptism with water and preaches repentance in order to be saved. The typology is clear and fitting.
The setting star of Tammuz
Matthew 2:9 reads:
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
Consider Ezekiel 8:16’s description of the Lord’s house:
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
Therefore the wise men who came from the east went to the west because they were wise men. How else would they have met Jesus? By worshipping the Sun? No, they were wise and so they went westward! And the star went before them.
The setting star of Venus conjunct Jupiter reappeared on the 17th of June, 2 BCE (-1), the month of Tammuz (Dumuzid). Tammuz is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shepherds, who was also the primary consort of the goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar, known in the West as Aphrodite or Venus). The cult of Tammuz was later spread to the Levant and to Greece, where he became known under the West Semitic name Adonis.
By worshipping the Sun or by weeping for Tammuz one has effectively idolized knowledge that was given in an abstract form. Christians are sensitive when it comes to Babylonian mysticism, having idolized Christ they too have rejected what is presented as an abstract.
The star of Tammuz appears in the sign of Leo which corresponds with the month Av, or “Father”, during a full moon. One could say the Son came from the Father, or is the Father’s Son. There is a minor and largely unknown holiday during the full moon of the month called Tu B’Av which was, in ancient times, one of the happiest days of the year. The month is also sometimes referred to as Menachem Av (Av of Comfort or Comforter of Father(s)).
To summarize the setting star of Tammuz came from the Father on the day of Av of Comfort in the month associated with shepherds. One and a half a month before Jesus’ birth.
Mary delivers Jesus
Matthew 2:4–5 reads:
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Exactly 280 days after conception Mary delivers Jesus on the 31st of July, 2 BCE (-1), the month of Elul, Virgo, the Virgin, House of Bread, Bethlehem during a new moon conjunct Mars, the warrior.
The wise men visit Jesus
On the 26th of August, 2 BCE (-1), which is the 28th day of Elul, still the month of Virgo, the House of Bread or Bethlehem. Jupiter, Mars and Mercury, the Sun group together next to Venus.
Venus is a consort of Adonis like Ishtar is that of Tammuz. The stars suggest the same type of relation between the Virgin Mary and Jesus but due to the immaculate conception it is said to be different.
Jupiter, Mars and Mercury represent the three gifts given by the wise men. Jupiter is associated with gold, Mercury with frankincense and Mars with myrrh. Gold is is a sign of regality and Jupiter is king among the gods. Frankincense is from Mercury, frankincense symbolizes divinity or the status as high (hermetic) priest. Mercury was known by the Greeks as Hermes. Myrrh came from Mars but in order to understand that connection we need to understand the myth of Myrrha.
The myth details the incestuous relationship between Myrrha and her father, Cinyras. Myrrha falls in love with her father and tricks him into sexual intercourse. After discovering her identity, Cinyras draws his sword and pursues Myrrha. She flees across Arabia and, after nine months, turns to the gods for help. They take pity on her and transform her into a myrrh tree. While in plant form, Myrrha gives birth to Adonis. According to legend, the aromatic exudings of the myrrh tree are Myrrha’s tears.
Adonis ended up being killed by Mars out of jealousy for Venus’ love for him. Both Mars and Venus therefore can be linked to Myrrh. Myrrh are the selfish tears wept because of the situation that resulted in the loss of self and the birth of Adonis, who again equals Tammuz and Jesus from an astrotheological perspective.
N.B. Greek soldiers carried vials of Myrrh to stop a bleeding wound.
Greek gods often come in triads, an example is the triad of Athena (Minerva) ,Aphrodite (Venus), Hera (Juno); virgin, lover and wife. Or, Artemis (Diana), Selene (Luna), Hecate (Hekate); maiden, mother, hag. There also is a triad courting Venus: Adonis (Adonis), Aries (Mars), Vulcan (Hephaestus); beautiful youth, adult warrior, hideous and limp craftsman.
Ishtar (Mary) was originally worshiped in Sumer under the name “Inanna”, and was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians under the name Ishtar. She was known as the “Queen of Heaven”.
Revelation 17:5 reads:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
Herod’s death decree
Matthew 2:13–16 reads:
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
It was 516 days since the wise men saw the rising star of Bethlehem on January 10th, 1 BCE (0). This is the month called Shevat, or Aquarius. There was a full lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon due to its red color, it was very prominently visible in the region. Lunar eclipses carry great meaning, they can signal births, deaths and or various other meanings can be attributed to them, they are great markers in time.
Aquarius, the eleventh house, is commonly understood as a benefic house, serving water to those who are thirsty. However Aquarius is also liberal and rebellious as it comes out of the more structured Capricorn and before moving into the House of Loss of the Manifested which is Pisces. In this sense the house of Aquarius epitomizes Sin City from where John the Baptist called for repentance.
Mercury conjuncts the Sun in the house of Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn. Capricorn with its organizational structures represents a mountain, or hierarchies, often symbolized by a pyramid. Because of the close proximity to the Sun, Mercury would have been cloaked by the Sun’s rays providing cover for Jesus as he hid from Herod and fled into ‘Egypt’.
N.B. For a visual aid a marker was added to Mercury
Jesus’ manger
Jesus was laid in a manger, but the manger was not for feeding livestock, it was a container for a sacrificial lamb.
Read more | Sacrificial lambs and swaddling cloths
By living a perfect life Christ isolated himself from sin. His life trajectory therefore could only have led him to one conclusion, the cross. The manger is a typology for the consequences of His own choosing by rejecting sin and being righteous and holy still.
On the 2nd of September, 1 BCE (0), a vision appeared in the sky. Unrelated to any specific verses in scripture that I could find but noteworthy.
The vision tells the tale of the wise men visiting Jesus in Bethlehem (Virgo), and Mary Magdalene visiting His cave (Pisces) which was guarded at the entrance by a Roman soldier (Mars in Aries). Saturn in Gemini signifies that God is with us, His people; Immanuel.
A high level abstract of Jesus’ birth and death at the turn of the age!
N.B. Revelations 5:11–14 reads:
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
Josephus’ Eclipse Showing Herod’s Death
There are a myriad of proposals for Josephus’ eclipse. I will simply refer to one arbitrarily that agrees that it happened on the 29th of December, 1 BCE (0).
Read more | Josephus’ Eclipse Showing Herod’s Death
Conclusion
In this post Astronomical events have been linked to Biblical scripture using astrological insights to serve as anchors. Consequently a new layer of theological concepts has emerged.
Single data points might not be very impressive, however the consistency of application is high throughout the ancient world. The New Testament is not unique in this, and although it is outside the scope of this post it can also be shown for Old Testament events noteworthily for the Hebrew flood myth and the lives of the Patriarchs. It doesn’t end here. The founding origins of Rome (an extra Biblical source), is a myth involving the twin brother Romulus and Remus this story can also be deciphered through astrotheology.
It has become clear that lines were blurred between what was proposed to have happened on earth, or in myth, but actually occurred in the heavens as astrological signs. Over millennia there have been countless of sects that have provided subjective reality as a tool for mankind. In monotheism a single deity was established, however the framework got fractured through power struggles over idols.
In the end all theological concepts and doctrines have been substantiated through accounts of orbital trajectories of the seven classical luminaries through sages in the past. Those seeking to bridge science and religion will have to accept the concept of astrotheology and expand upon it.
By Orestes_3113
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