Star of Bethlehem

Happy Yule and Christmas to my dear readers!

Father Winter

A portion of this article was originally posted in 2011. Anyone who has read this blog for more than five minutes will know that I am rather skeptical not only of Christianity but of any organized religion.  Still, I love the Christmas season, with its pagan-derived trappings of pine trees decorated with colorful balls and lights, songs of celebration, and the sharing of food and sweets with family and friends.  After all, the week of the Winter Solstice has been celebrated for thousands of years as Yule.  And even if it’s only for a week, it’s lovely to hear people of all religions talk about peace on earth and goodwill to men.

The timing of the celebration of the birth of the Christ on December 25th likely comes from the pre-Christian Roman holiday Sol Invictus celebrating the invincible Sun and the patron saint of Rome and her soldiers which was established in 274 ce.  Christianity was established  as the official religion in Rome in the mid 300s.

Around this time of year people always ask about the astrological meaning of the Star of Bethlehem, and an MSNBC article presents a compelling case for the actual birthdate of Jesus based upon the astronomical Star of Bethlehem:
Historical records and modern-day computer simulations indicate that there was a rare series of planetary groupings, also known as conjunctions, during the years 3 B.C. and 2 B.C.
The show started on the morning of June 12 in 3 B.C., when Venus could be sighted very close to Saturn in the eastern sky. Then there was a spectacular pairing of Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 12 in the constellation Leo, which ancient astrologers associated with the destiny of the Jews.
Between September of 3 B.C. […]
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By |2022-09-13T12:48:49-04:00December 25th, 2017|Holidays|1 Comment
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Musings on Yule, 2011

Yule, Winter SolsticeAnyone who has read this blog for more than five minutes will know that I am rather skeptical not only of Christianity but of any organized religion.  Religion is found in astrological symbolism in the planet Jupiter, which seeks to define a belief system which helps to give our life meaning.  When this individual theology is shared among others, religion is the result.  Neptune is the planet that bestows an actual experience of the divine – a direct connection to God that requires no intermediary.  Shared belief systems are important in order to connect with others.  My closest friends are the ones who share my belief systems and my view of the world.  But my view of the world is something that is my own, rather than something that has been indoctrinated.
Still, I love the Christmas season, with its pagan-derived trappings of pine trees decorated with colorful balls and lights, songs of celebration, and the sharing of food and sweets with family and friends.  After all, the week of the Winter Solstice has been celebrated for thousands of years as Yule.  And even if it’s only for a week, it’s lovely to hear people of all religions talk about peace on earth and goodwill to men.
Around this time people always ask about the astrological meaning of the Star of Bethlehem, and a recent MSNBC article presents a compelling case for the actual birthdate of Jesus based upon the astronomical Star of Bethlehem:
Historical records and modern-day computer simulations indicate that there was a rare series of planetary groupings, also known as conjunctions, during the years 3 B.C. and 2 B.C.
The show started on the morning of June 12 in 3 B.C., when Venus could […]
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By |2019-11-10T19:49:22-05:00December 24th, 2010|Holidays|2 Comments
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What Was The Star of Bethlehem?

Star of Bethlehem

In the 2,000 year old tale that we know as the Christmas story, three wise men came out of the east following a star to Bethlehem. The three wise men were Magi, members of the priestly class of Persia. Ancient historian Diodorus tells us that after Persia invaded Babylon, the Magi learned astrology from the Chaldeans as well as alchemy and other occult arts.There has been much debate over the centuries as to the identity of the Star that the Magi followed. In ancient astrology Jupiter, being King of the Gods, was associated with kings and Johannes Kepler in 1606 hypothesized that the Star was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces in June of 7 bce.

Astronomer Michael Molnar says:

Jupiter underwent two occultations (“eclipses”) by the Moon in Aries in 6 BC. Jupiter was the regal “star” that conferred kingships – a power that was amplified when Jupiter was in close conjunctions with the Moon. The second occultation on April 17 coincided precisely when Jupiter was “in the east,” a condition mentioned twice in the biblical account about the Star of Bethlehem. In August of that year Jupiter became stationary and then “went before” through Aries where it became stationary again on December 19, 6 BC. This is when the regal planet “stood over.” – a secondary royal portent also described in the Bible. In particular, there is confirmation from a Roman astrologer that the conditions of April 17, 6 BC were believed to herald the birth of a divine, immortal, and omnipotent person born under the sign of the Jews, which we now know was Aries the Ram.

Looking at the chart for 4/17/0006 b.c.e. with […]

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By |2022-12-01T07:30:54-05:00December 19th, 2009|Holidays, Religion|Comments Off on What Was The Star of Bethlehem?
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The Christmas Star

star-of-bethlehemEvery year at about this time we start pondering the mystery of the Star of Bethlehem.  There are lots of different explanations that I’ll be covering over the next couple of weeks.  Here is an interesting article that appeared in Universe Today:

David Reneke, news editor of Australia’s Sky and Space Magazine, believes astronomers may have found the answer – or at least something that fits all the known facts – basing his research on the highly esteemed gospel according to Matthew, the first of the four gospels in the New Testament. It would appear to be the first written and this version places key players together in the same time period. “It’s generally accepted by most researchers that Christ was born between 3 BC and 1 AD.” says Dave. With the aid of modern astronomy software programs astronomers can reproduce the night sky exactly as it was, thousands of years ago. Humans are curious and so was Dave, so he turned back the hands of time and the stars to the time of that long ago Christmas…

Two thousand years ago, astronomy and astrology were considered one and the same. The motions of the heavenly bodies were used to determine the events of history, and the fate of people’s lives. Of the various groups of priests and prophets of this period, those which commanded the most respect were the Magi – whose origins are not entirely clear. Known as ‘wise men’ , we can only assume they were actually priests who relied on their […]

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By |2022-09-13T12:49:12-04:00December 12th, 2008|Astrology|Comments Off on The Christmas Star
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Venus, Jupiter and the Birth of Jesus

Venus-Jupiter2A visitor to my blog today had a question about this configuration that I hope you can respond to, Lynn. He lives in Israel and was commenting on the fact that my Tarot Card of the Week is The Fool. He posted: “I watched the sky today in the evening and saw Venus, Jupiter and the horned moon. Venus was on top of the moon’s left horn. On the radio someone told that this star configuration is unique and happened only at the birth of Jesus. So what birth are we witnessing this week? The stars and the Fool seem to give the same message. “Venus for passion and Jupiter for healing? And the waxing of the moon.” Is this possibly true?

It’s interesting that in Israel Venus was on top of the Moon, and here Venus is below the Moon. In any event, Venus/Jupiter conjunctions are not at all rare, they occur in pairs every 2-1/2 years. The lineup with the crescent Moon is likely more rare, I don’t have any specifics on that though. It’s true that astronomers have tied the Venus/Jupiter conjunction in 2 BC to the Star of Bethlehem, but it has happened many times since then.

The Venus/Jupiter conjunction in June in the year of 2 b.c.e. was fool-tarot-cardactually in the sign of Leo, the sign of Kings, and the conjunction occurred very near to the fixed […]

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By |2020-11-03T13:27:51-05:00December 2nd, 2008|Astrology, Religion|Comments Off on Venus, Jupiter and the Birth of Jesus
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