For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and time to pluck up what is planted . . . (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
The Christian religion was thus founded upon the numerous gods, goddesses, religions, sects, cults and mystery schools that thrived around the globe prior to the Christian era, even in the Hebrew world, where the Israelites worshipped numerous gods, including “the sun, the moon, and the stars and all the host of heaven.” In order to determine the framework upon which the Christian conspirators hung their myths, in fact, we will need to turn to that ancient body of knowledge which in almost every culture has been considered sacred and which the priests have wished to keep to themselves: the science of astrology.
The Christian masses, of course, are repeatedly taught to reject all forms of
“astrology” or “star-gazing” as the “work of the Devil,” and any number of biblical texts are held up to assert that astrology is an “evil” to be avoided at all costs. This animosity towards studying the heavenly bodies and their interrelationships is in reality propaganda designed to prevent people from finding out the truth about the Bible, which is that it is loaded with astrological imagery, as evidenced by the fact that the Hebrew gods were in large part celestial bodies. The Bible is, in actuality, basically an astrotheological text, a reflection of what has been occurring in the heavens for millennia, localized and historicized on Earth. This fact is further confirmed by numerous biblical passages concerning the influences of the heavenly bodies, but it also becomes clear through exegesis of the texts from an informed perspective.
Although the Catholic Church has feverishly discouraged star-gazing by its flock—so frightened in fact were the people of the Church’s wrath in regard to astrology that sailors would not look up at the stars, a habit crucial to their occupation—the truth is that the Church has been a longtime practitioner of astrology. Many of the Church hierarchy have not only “looked to the stars” but have been regular, secret adepts of the same “magical arts” widely practiced by Pagans but publicly condemned by Christians,cccl and it would be safe to assume that this practice continues to this day behind the scenes. Numerous churches and cathedrals, such as Notre Dame in Paris, have abundant astrological symbols, full zodiacs, etc. In the 19th century the papal throne, St. Peter’s chair, was cleaned, only to reveal upon it the 12 labors of Hercules,cccli who, as we have seen, was a sun god. As Walker states:
Astrology survives in our own culture because Christianity embraced it with one hand, while condemning it as a devilish art with the other. Church fathers like Augustine, Jerome, Eusebius, Chrystostom, Lactantius, and Ambrose all anathematized astrology, and the great Council of Toledo prohibited it for all time.
Nevertheless, six centuries later the consistory and the dates of popes’ coronations were determined by the zodiac; aristocratic prelates employed their own personal astrologers; and signs of the zodiac appeared all over church furnishings, tiles, doorways, manuscripts, and baptismal fonts. The traditional Twelve Days of Christmas were celebrated by taking astrological omens each day for the corresponding months of the coming year.ccclii
Despite its outward vilification by the clergy, astrology has also been used by countless kings and heads of state privy to the astrological, as opposed to literal, nature of the Bible. Not being thus privy, biblical literalists claim that everything in the Bible occurred literally and factually upon the earth, including the talking snake, Noah’s ark, the parting of the Red Sea, the raising of the dead and numerous other
incredible miracles that apparently occurred only to the biblical people at that time in that part of the world. The miraculous and implausible exploits of other cultures, however, are to be tossed aside as being unhistorical, mythological and downright ridiculous. As we have seen and will continue to see, these other cultures had the identical stories as those found in the Bible; therefore, following the “logic” of biblical proponents, we should also toss out the Judeo-Christian versions as “merely”
mythological and allegorical at best, and diabolical at worst. As history, these various biblical tales are no more factual than the stories of the Greek gods or the Arabian knights. As allegory, however, they record an ancient wisdom that goes back well beyond the founding of the Hebrew nation, into the deepest mists of time.
In ascertaining the astrology of the Bible we should first properly define the word astrology. Although many people think astrology is meaningless mumbo- jumbo, it is not merely casting horoscopes but is in fact a science, as “astrology”
means the study of the celestial bodies (astronomy) and their influences on each other and on life on Earth. The only difference between the well-respected astronomy and the vilified astrology is that astronomy charts the movements and constitution of the celestial bodies, while astrology attempts to determine their interrelationships and meaning. The sacred science of astrology began with astronomy, when humans noticed that they could determine some regularity in life by observing the skies and heavenly bodies, both nighttime and daytime. They could thus predict the seasons, including the time of planting and harvest, as well as the annual flooding of the Nile, for example. They also noticed the sun’s effects on plants, as well as the moon’s waxing and waning and effect on the tides. The knowledge of the heavens was also essential in seafaring, as stated, and a variety of ancient peoples were extraordinary seafarers for millennia, an impossible feat without a precise and detailed knowledge of the heavens, which in turn was not possible without the understanding that the earth was round and revolved around the sun, crucial information suppressed by the conspirators, to be seemingly re- discovered late in history. Such information, however, has always been known by those behind the scenes.
Thus, in reading the stars, humans could make sense of the universe and find lessons applicable to daily life. Higgins explains:
Among all the ancient nations of the world, the opinion was universal that the planetary bodies were the disposers of the affairs of men. Christians who believe in Transubstantiation, and that their priests have an unlimited power to forgive sins, may affect to despise those who have held that opinion . . . ; but their contempt is not becoming, it is absurd. . . . It was thought that the future fortunes of every man might be known, from a proper consideration of the state of the planets at the moment of his birth. . . . This produced the utmost exertion of human ingenuity to discover the exact length of the periods of the planetary motions: that is, in other words, to perfect the science of astronomy. In the course of the proceedings it was discovered, or believed to be discovered, that the motions of the planets were liable to certain aberrations, which it was thought would bring on ruin to the whole system, at some future day.cccliii
As time went on, this science became increasingly complicated, as the infinite stars were factored in and as the heavens changed. Recognizing the interaction between the planetary bodies and their influence on Earth, the ancients began to give the heavens shape and form, persona and attitude. In order to pass along this detailed information, which was, and continues to be, so important to all aspects of life, the ancients personified the heavenly bodies and wove stories about their “exploits,” giving them unique personalities and temperaments that reflected their particular movements and other qualities, such as color and size. These stories
were passed down over the many millennia basically by a priesthood, because they were esteemed for their sacred astronomical, astrological and mathematical value. As Higgins says, “. . . astrology was so connected with religion that it was impossible to separate them.”cccliv These celestial movements and/or the revered stories about them were recorded in stone all over the world, in great monuments and in city layouts. These monuments constitute much of our proof that the ancients possessed this amazingly intricate knowledge, but we can also find enormous evidence of it in the legends and writings of the ancients, including the Judeo- Christian bible, which is rife with symbolism and allegory.
Those individuals who believe the Bible to be the “literal word of God” are not only unaware of its symbolism, they are also ignorant of the passages within the Bible itself which clearly reflect that at least certain aspects of the biblical tales are allegory. For example, at Ezekiel 23, the author(s) tells a long story about two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, and their “faithless harlotry” when “their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.” Just as we get to the good stuff, “Ezekiel”
springs it on us that he is speaking allegorically about the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem, which are accused of having “played harlot in Egypt”; in other words, they worshipped other gods. It is rather evident that Ezekiel is enjoying this sexual allegory, as he goes into gleeful detail about the transgressions of the “sisters” and their “nakedness” and “bed of love.” It is also evident that this type of allegorical speech is used more often in the Bible than its writers and proponents would wish to admit. As in the lusty Ezekiel tale, a number of other biblical places, nations and tribes are frequently referred to allegorically as “he” or “she,” which makes it difficult to figure out whether the speaker is talking about a person, group, place or thing.
The Christian cheerleader “Paul” also knew that there was allegory in the Bible, as he so stated at Galatians 4:22-5, in reference to the story of Abraham having sons by two women. As to these women, who we are led in the Old Testament to believe are real, historical characters, Paul clarifies what they actually represent:
Now this is allegory: these two women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
Thus, again, we discover that biblical characters are not actual persons but allegory for places. We also discover that certain places are allegory for other places:
. . . and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. (Rev. 11:8)
Of course, this fact is hidden by some translators, who render the word
“allegorically” as “spiritually.”
Other early Christians also knew about the allegorical nature of the Bible, but their later counterparts began in earnest the profitable push for utter historicization, obliterating millennia of human study and knowledge, and propelling the Western world into an appalling Dark Age. St. Athanasius, bishop and patriarch of Alexandria, was not only aware of the allegorical nature of biblical texts, but he
“admonishes us that ‘Should we understand sacred writ according to the letter, we should fall into the most enormous blasphemies.’”ccclv In other words, it is a sin to take the Bible literally!
Christian father Origen, called the “most accomplished biblical scholar of the early church,” admitted the allegorical and esoteric nature of the Bible: “The Scriptures were of little use to those who understood them literally, as they are written.”ccclvi St. Augustine, along with Origen, was forceful in his pronouncement of Genesis as allegory:
There is no way of preserving the literal sense of the first chapter of Genesis, without impiety, and attributing things to God unworthy of him.
Thus, it is understood that there is allegory and symbolism in the Bible. What is also understood is that, despite protestations to the contrary, the stars, sun and moon are described and utilized repeatedly within an allegorical or astrological context by biblical writers. In fact, in examining biblical texts closely, we further discover that various places and persons, portrayed as actual, historical entities, are in fact allegory for the heavens and planetary bodies. In reality, virtually all Hebrew place-names have astronomical meanings.ccclvii So prevalent is this custom of creating
“as above, so below,” it is obvious that the “chosen” were as enchanted with the heavens as their adversaries and neighbors, such as the Chaldeans, master astrologers jealously reviled by their Hebrew counterparts. Contrary to popular belief, the reverence displayed by other peoples for “God’s heavens” is also exhibited by the Israelites, whose very name, as we have seen, is astrotheological. Indeed, from the very beginning, the biblical people were encouraged to study the stars and signs in the heavens, as at Genesis 1:14, which basically describes the zodiac:
And God [Elohim] 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 . . .
Despite the negative comments and exhortations found in the Bible against astrology, star-gazing, soothsaying and divination, we discover various passages that clearly refer to these magical arts and their objects of reverence with fondness. In fact, at several points the heavens are personified and appear as wondrous characters whose praises are sung by biblical characters, in precisely the same manner as their Pagan counterparts. The author(s) of Job is one such character, and it is in this book we find unambiguous references to astrology. In Job, “the Lord” personifies the
“morning stars”—the “sons of God”—and has them “joyfully crying out.” In trying to make Job feel small and obey him, the Lord presents a list of his own godly attributes, including the ability to command the happy heavens:
Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?
(Job 38:31-33)
The “Mazzaroth” is, in fact, the Zodiac. Orion is a prominent player on the cosmic stage, as is the Bear. The Pleiades, or “Seven Sisters,” have been since very ancient times elements of many mythologies and astrotheologies, including the Egyptian, Babylonian, Indian, Greek and Mexican. The presentation of the seven sisters as “judges” is a common theme, and it was thought at times that they required sacrifice as propitiation. The Pleiades factor into Judaism more than is admitted, as some of the numerous “sevens” mentioned throughout the Bible refer to these
“sisters,” as Walker relates:
[The Pleiades] were probably represented in pre-patriarchal Jerusalem by the holy Menorah (seven-branched candlestick) symbolizing the sevenfold Men-horae or Moon-priestesses, as shown by its female-genital decorations, lilies and almonds (Exodus 25:33).ccclviii
After the patriarchy took over, it would seem, the menorah came to represent only the sun, moon and five inner planets, as will be seen.
Also in Job, a book replete with celestial imagery, the author portrays the Lord as he who “described a circle upon the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble . . . his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.” In
mythology the heavens are depicted as an “abyss of waters,” so this scripture is reference to the zodiacal circle, “described” or drawn by God. The “boundary between light and darkness” is, naturally, the horizon, and the trembling “pillars of heaven” are the same held up by Samson, the “bright sun.” In addition, “his hand piercing the fleeing serpent” could refer to the Egyptian god Set/Seth, the constellation of Serpens, or the sky itself; however, this last part could also be translated as the “crooked serpent” who does not flee but is formed by the Lord’s hand, representing Scorpio. Of this mysterious and clearly astrological work attributed to Job, Anderson says, “. . . the whole book is a complete description of the Masonic ceremonies or Egyptian Masonry, or trial of the dead by Osiris . . .”ccclix
In Psalms 19, we hear about the heavens “telling the glory of God . . . there is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” To the uninitiated, this sounds strange—how can the heavens tell the “glory of God?” And how do their “voice” and
“words” go out to the end of the world without speech or words? The word for “voice”
in the Hebrew is properly translated as “line.” This line or lines are the cosmic rays coming off the various planetary bodies, lines that were perceived by the ancients to penetrate the earth as well, a perception that caused them to be anxious about establishing the “kingdom of heaven on Earth” by emulating what was happening in the heavens. Anderson explains the importance of the lines or rays:
Among the Eastern nations it was taught that all spiritual life first came from the sun, and its magnetic descent to the earth, becoming earth-bound, or dwelling in the earth, and after passing through a series of evolutions, and different births and changes from the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, ascending or descending the scale [like Jacob’s angels], according to the good or evil magnetic rays at its births and its various probationary existences, at last purified and intellectually refined, and master of itself, the pure Ra, or astral body, at last was drawn back into the bosom of the father, sun, from whence it was first originated.ccclx
Thus, astrology, or astrologos in the Greek, has been considered the “word of God,” as is evidenced by the biblical singing stars and heavens passing along their
“voice” and “words” through the earth.
The Psalms passage continues: “In [the heavens] he has set a tent for the sun.”
This “tent” or “tabernacle” represents a holy sanctuary or house of worship; thus, the heavens are truly the temple of the sun, as well as of the other celestial bodies. This heavenly temple was, however, continuously recreated all over the planet, as continues to this day, unbeknownst to the masses.
At Job 9, it is explicit that God is the Divine Architect of the Zodiac “who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south . . .” And again at Amos 5:8: “He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night.” The Lord “builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds vaults upon the earth.” (Amos 9:6) And he is praised for his astrological creation: “Thou has made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun to know its time.” Like the Lord himself, his creations such as the sun, moon and skies are considered righteous and eternal, as is reflected at Psalms 89:37 and at Daniel 12:3; thus, the heavenly bodies served as sacred symbols and representatives of God.
From these various biblical passages, it is obvious that the Lord is not only the architect of the heavens but is pleased with both his stellar creations and his ability to command them. That being the case, it is equally obvious that astrology is not evil, unless the Lord is evil, an idea widely subscribed to by the Gnostics, who made the assessment that anyone in charge of this chaotic and crude “lower” world must be a villain. But, if “God” is good, then “his” creation must be good, and the biblical writers make it clear that astrology and the zodiac are their Lord’s creation.