astrotheology Archives - Astrology readings and writings by Lynn Hayes

Friday repost: Christmas and the Sun of God

Every Friday I dig into the archives to repost something of meaning in today’s world. Today I offer this alternative history of the religion of Christmas – please note that I mean no disrespect to any individual religion and apologize in advance for any of my readers who are offended.

The fact that our Judeo-Christian mythos is a derivation of earlier religions and legends has moved into the mainstream, and the idea that the divinity of Jesus has parallels with other gods is no longer a shocking idea. Most of us realize now that Jesus wasn’t born on Christmas day – shepherds don’t watch their flocks in December, even in ancient Judea – and that the Christmas holiday was adopted because it was already being celebrated as the Winter Solstice in the pagan world.

The Winter Solstice is celebrated as the time when the dying god (the Sun) is resurrected again – the Sun is reborn and the days begin to lengthen. From the book The Christ Conspiracy:

# The sun “dies” for three days at the winter solstice, to be born again on December 25th.

# The Sun of God is “born of a virgin,” which refers to both the new or “virgin” moon and the constellation of Virgo.

# The Sun’s “birth” is attended by the “bright star,” either Sirius/Sothis or the planet Venus, and by the “Three Kings,” representing the three stars in the belt of Orion.

# The sun at its’ zenith, or 12 noon, is in the house or heavenly temple of the “Most High;” thus, “he” begins “his father’s work” at “age” 12. Jordan Maxwell relates, “At that point, all Egypt offered prayers to the “Most High God.”

# The Sun enters into each zodiac sign […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2020-11-03T13:27:09-05:00December 27th, 2019|Holidays|7 Comments

Astrotheology: The Sun of God

The fact that our Judeo-Christian mythos is a derivation of earlier religions and legends has moved into the mainstream, and the idea that the divinity of Jesus has parallels with other gods is no longer a shocking idea. Most of us realize now that Jesus wasn’t born on Christmas day – shepherds don’t watch their flocks in December, even in ancient Judea – and that the Christmas holiday was adopted because it was already being celebrated as the Winter Solstice in the pagan world.

The Winter Solstice is celebrated as the time when the dying god (the Sun) is resurrected again – the Sun is reborn and the days begin to lengthen. From the book The Christ Conspiracy:

# The sun “dies” for three days at the winter solstice, to be born again on December 25th.

# The Sun of God is “born of a virgin,” which refers to both the new or “virgin” moon and the constellation of Virgo.

# The Sun’s “birth” is attended by the “bright star,” either Sirius/Sothis or the planet Venus, and by the “Three Kings,” representing the three stars in the belt of Orion.

# The sun at its’ zenith, or 12 noon, is in the house or heavenly temple of the “Most High;” thus, “he” begins “his father’s work” at “age” 12. Jordan Maxwell relates, “At that point, all Egypt offered prayers to the “Most High God.”

# The Sun enters into each zodiac sign at 30 degrees; hence, the “Sun of God” begins his ministry at “age” 30. The Sun of the visible heavens has moved northward 30 degrees and stands at the gate of Aquarius, the water-bearer, or John the Baptist of the mystic planisphere, and here begins his work of ministry in […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2020-11-03T13:27:09-05:00December 24th, 2013|Holidays, Religion|7 Comments

Easter Week at Astrological Musings

Most of the so-called Christian holidays have deep roots in astrotheology, and Easter is no different. The very dating of Easter, the great holiday of resurrection, is based on the timing of the first Full Moon after the vernal equinox.

This week I’ll be posting articles correlating astrology, or astrotheology, and Easter. Today’s post comes from Beth Turnage and focuses on one of my favorite stories: the descent of Inanna. Often I tell this story to clients who are undergoing transits of Pluto that require them to venture into the Underworld and like Inanna, be stripped of all veneer and fakery that prevents them from experiencing The Big Truth.

[Inanna’s] story is a journey of development and evolution. The young Inanna rescues the huluppu-tree, the sacred tree, (whose four main branches pointed to each of he cardinal points) when a flood has carried it into the river; she plants this tree in her garden so that eventually its wood can be used to make her “shining throne” and “her shining bed”. From the beginning, her desire for rulership is paramount, and she is angry and frustrated because the older deities have all the me, the manifestations of authority, wisdom and ability. …

But Inanna’s twin sister, Ereshkigal, had a dominion all her own before Inanna secured her earthly authority, the Underworld. There she judged the souls of the dead. Barren though it was, it was a place of ultimate power, as even the other gods feared to entered and face the Voice of Ereshkigal, the ultimate judge, who could seal even the gods away into the depths of the Underworld.

Inanna is not satisfied with being just the Queen of Heaven, so she decides to face her sister in the Underworld. […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2019-11-10T19:04:59-05:00April 19th, 2011|Holidays|2 Comments

The Origins of Christmas

Rob Tillett at Astrology.com has a wonderful article about the origins of the Christmas holiday. Here is a portion of the article:

In the New Testament, the holy book of the Christians, there is no actual mention of the date of the birth of Jesus and the primitive church did not celebrate it. The shepherds of Luke’s gospel (Luke 2:8) were said to have been minding their sheep in a field when they received the angelic proclamation of his birth. It is therefore unlikely that the birth of Jesus could have happened on December 25, for at that time all would have been wrapped up in a warm barn, the wintry weather being too cold for them to be out in the elements. Why then was December 25 chosen as the day for Christmas? Here we have to look more deeply at the customs, religious practices and celebrations of the time.

The Solstice and the Saturnalia

At the beginning of the Christian Era, the Roman Empire was the dominant force in Europe, the Middle East and the world of the Mediterranean. Rome followed a pagan religion of many gods and goddesses, including Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, the Moon and the Sun. There are many myths and legends that tell the stories of these gods and heroes, really a coded set of narratives that reveal much about the ancient cultures and their approach to life, the universe and everything.

Life in ancient times was far more dependent upon the seasons and the natural cycles than we are in the West today, cocooned as we are in our electronic villages, turning night into an interminable electric day. During times when people could actually see the stars in the night sky, astrology developed as a mode […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2022-12-01T07:25:29-05:00December 23rd, 2008|Religion|Comments Off

Happy Sol Invictus!!

sol-invictus During the later Roman Empire, the Emperor Aurelian introduced the official cult of Sol Invictus which honored the sun-god as the primary divinity of the entire empire. Although the solar deity had been worshiped throughout time and in many ancient cultures, it was the cult of Mithraism that was the final solar cult before the spread of Christianity wiped out virtually all pagan religions.

From mystica.com:

Before the time of Constantine the ancient world was a virtual cornucopia of different religions and cults that existed all over the Roman Empire and eastward into China and India. As a result of these competing doctrines “when Christianity was only one of several dozen foreign Eastern cults struggling for recognition in Rome, the religious dualism and dogmatic moral teaching of Mithraism set it apart from other sects, creating a stability previously unknown in Roman paganism” (Mithras in the Roman Empire). The striking parallels to Christianity in Mithraism have long been pointed out, for Mithras was said to have been: born of a virgin birth, had twelve followers or disciples, was killed and resurrected, performed miracles, and was known as mankind’s savior who was called the light of the world and his virgin birth occurred on December 25. Indeed, the resemblances are so striking in that all of the Christian mysteries were known nearly five hundred years before the birth of Christ that later church fathers claimed that Satan had created all of this prior to Christ’s birth so as to confuse the laity.

Deus Sol Invictus meant the Undefeated Sun God. The Festival of the Sol Invictus was first celebrated on December 25 under the reign of Emperor Elagabalus (218-222) but popularized under Aurelian (270-274). December 25 was also celebrated as […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2019-11-10T19:27:49-05:00December 23rd, 2006|Holidays|Comments Off