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A Capricorn
Following
Yonder Star - Was Jesus A Capricorn
So
was Jesus of Nazareth a Capricorn and born on December the 25th?
Not
likely... not likely at all...
Setting
The Date
You see... back in the 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 simultaneously busily engaged
in the serious endeavor of winning over, proselytizing and "christianizing"
ancient Rome.
Saturnalia?
The ancient Romans conveniently enough happened to have a very popular
pagan holiday (holy day) season called "Saturnalia." Saturnalia,
originally celebrated by the Romans each year on December the 17th,
was a special day set apart for honoring the Roman god Saturn. This
was a day for nostalgically remembering the "Golden Age"
of Saturn's beneficent rule. Gifts were exchanged in remembrance
of the generous bounty that Saturn had once upon a time bestowed
upon the Roman people.
Yep!
For the ancient 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.
Rebirth
of the Sun
At some mysterious point in time, the holy Roman day of Saturnalia
had also been tied into being 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 "winter solstice."
What
is the "winter solstice?" Each year, the winter solstice
marks 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,
the winter solstice 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 appeal to Roman pagans - set
the official date for celebrating the birth of Jesus as being December
the 25th.
Frankly,
I can't think of a more appropriate 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,
the esoteric Church placed John the Baptist's birth on the Summer
Solstice (decreasing sunlight) and Christ's birth on the Winter
Solstice (increasing sunlight). This was meant to symbolize the
New Testament scriptural 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. However, there was
at least one small group of extremely ancient 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
angels (or by another source of divine revelation). Only the most
closed minded person could possibly argue that these "wise
men" from the East (following a star) were anything other than
ancient Babylonian astrologers.
Speculation
on the Date
Based on a combination of biblical and independent historical sources,
the birth of historical Jesus most likely 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 landmark
year when the planets, Jupiter and Saturn, were "triple conjuncting"
in the sign of Pisces.
This
triple conjunction meant 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), 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 2155 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 - 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. This very common configuration occurs
frequently, and is no big "whoopee" astrologically and/or
astronomically speaking.
-
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 at Sunset.)
-
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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