The Bible and Astrology
Way.
If there is one thing I want you to understand, it is that Astrology is not magic, or cosmic intelligence, or some mysterious force. It is something we have systemized over tens of thousands of years. We made a huge swimming pool of astrological symbolism, and it became the water we swim in. When civilization did begin, it didn’t begin with a blank slate of a worldview. Based on countless archaeological and anthropological evidence, we know that our ancestors created all kinds of mythology, legends, ritual, spiritual realms, and connections between what we were seeing all around us and how we were experiencing it. In virtually all of these ancient discoveries, Astrology underpinned our ideas. We have created all kinds of gods, goddesses, and other ethereal beings representing the various areas, trades, nations, regions and personality traits, most of them tied to the Sun, the Moon, a planet, or clusters of stars in the night sky. It totally makes sense, of course they did. We can’t imagine their world or their experience so it is hard for us to connect with their viewpoint. Think of this, when you have very little objective understanding of the world around you, and this giant hot ball is going through its cycle in the sky, its counterpart the Moon taking over and ruling the night, constantly shifting and changing its appearance against a backdrop that included an infinite amount of objects and events unfolding every night, what else would you use to try and quantify and deal with the world?
The point is, the very foundations of the way we thought about and communicated our experience in the world are astrological at their very core. Everything we have built has been influenced by it. I don’t mean it caused everything. I’m saying that it was our first philosophical system and everything that happened from the get go was informed by it as it shifted, changed, spread, and developed. Do you really think the people living in ancient Canaan somehow escaped this? That, somehow they made some kind of magical decision to omit all of that from their particular take on their world and their experience in it when writing the Bible? Seems impossible to me.
Now, a lot of people who grew up around, or were influenced by, particularly strict and/or evangelical flavors of the Bible cult will immediately come up with something to the effect of, “There is no Astrology in the Bible. Doesn’t it actually forbid astrology? Why would it then also make use of it?” Good question. There are many reasons why that could be the case, most having to do with making sure to represent their national deity as the most powerful I suppose. If your enemy’s god has astrologers in the mix, better defame their character and cast dispersion, claiming you don’t need that stuff with your god because he is real and in charge. Who knows?
What I do know, is that the Bible contains a whole lot of imagery and symbolism that is ripped right from Astrology. Again, of course it does, but for the doubters, here is a little taste.
There are so many details and stories to call out, so I will focus mainly on the overall framework of the flow of the Old and New Testaments.
Here we see Cain beating Abel’s stuck up little ass while they both lose their clothing apparently
First, a quick note on astrological ages because these will factor into this discussion prominently. Because of the orbital characteristics of our planet, the Sun appears to slowly move backwards against the backdrop of the Zodiac. The ancient Egyptians measured its movement at 1 degree every 72 years. This means the Sun rises on the Spring Equinox (March 21) in a different sign every 2160 years (you can read more about their discovery here). Astrology wasn’t just pictures and fun ideas to them, it was their way of understanding the world, and with that came an expectation that the world would reflect the sign defining the age they were living in.
According to the timeline proposed by the Bible, it all begins in the age of Taurus, sometime around 4000 BCE.
The Hebrew Bible opens in the Garden of Eden, a natural, material paradise. The first humans living in perfect harmony and synergy with their physical environment. This is very Earthy energy. Things are continually perfect in this scene. It’s also very fixed energy. They aren’t going through change or any chaos. No labor is needed, they don't seem to be worried about anything. No pain, no death, no confusion. Lots of eating, naps, sex, and nature walks. This is exactly what you would imagine the Age of Taurus to be. Living in a state of fixed, sensual pleasure. In Astrology, these ideas are what the bull is all about.
Toward the end of the paradise narrative, a story occurs that has always confused me. Even as a professional minister I had a hard time figuring out what the hell was going on, not buying the rationalizations and explanations my colleagues had for this story.
It is the tale of Cain and Abel, the very first murder (well, according to the Bible).
The short version is, Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, bring their offerings to God. Cain is a farmer. Abel is a shepherd. All Cain can bring is stuff he grew in the fields - very Taurean - and he brings his prized crops as a sacrifice. Abel herded animals and brought a firstborn male of the flock (probably a sheep based on the region and culture that these writings came from). God never told them what he wanted, just to bring something. When they present it, God accepts Abel’s sheep sacrifice, but rejects Cain’s produce. Blah, blah, blah, Cain kills Abel and all kinds of racist hatred is the result of people coming up with their own ideas about the curse God placed on Cain.
Why did God reject Cain’s offering though? There was nothing wrong with it. He didn’t bring rotten vegetables or something else shitty. God never really explains it all that much.
The time periods and astrological ages spanning the timeline and narratives of the Bible
However, if you put it into an astrological framework, the imagery around the Ram of Aries replacing Taurus as the Sun moves us into a new age, it makes more sense. It is obviously not a literal story for so many reasons, it has to be taken allegorically, and the symbolism that the world was steeped in when the Hebrew Scriptures were written was astrological.
As events unfold through Genesis, we see even more references to the reality that the age of Aries was upon them. Aries is cardinal fire energy. Ruled by Mars, it is aggressive, warlike, and competitive. Not sure there are better words to describe the Old Testament and the god it tells the tales of. We see Moses, a herder of sheep by the way, speaking to a burning bush (fire), later leading the people of Israel through the wilderness guided by a pillar of fire and smoke. God descends on Mount Sinai as fire. When Moses hikes down with the first copy of the ten commandments, he find his people worshipping an idol. What was that idol? A golden bull calf. Moses’ brother Aaron tells him that the people gave them all their gold jewelry and he had thrown it into the fire and, bam, out came this golden calf. So great. God, however, is shown to be pissed off and he literally sends a plague to kill people over it. The whole narrative of their exploits reads like a god vs god novel. Very Aries. Lots of war, military campaigns (we literally get our word martial from Mars), and tons and tons of firstborn male rams being sacrificed. To signal the camps of the tribe and celebrate holy days, they blew on what is called a shofar. Guess what a shofar is. It’s a ram horn.
The point is, the Bible moves on from the constant, natural age of Taurus to the fiery, competitive, battle of empires that was the age of Aries. The Biblical imagery and narratives fall right in line with what would be expected from that energy.
The Shofar was used to signal the camps of the Tribes of Israel in the Old Testament - it is still used in special rituals and on special holy days by Judaism
The people who actually wrote the Hebrew Scriptures - at least in the form we have now - did so from the 4th century BCE to about the 1st century AD. This puts them at the end of the age of Aries, looking toward the coming of the age of Pisces. Very, very different energy from Aries. Prophets begin speaking of a coming age with references calling out water and more spiritual concepts rather than conquest. The transition to the New Testament happens right when this age begins.
Two fish and an anchor - these symbols were carved in the 1st century CE by early Christians who were secretly communicating with each other and marking meeting places.
The Anchor, Fish and Chi Rho (first two letters in the Greek word khristos, meaning Christ) found carved in the catacombs under Rome where Christians would meet in secret.
Throughout the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) the imagery used is all about fish, fishermen, water, karmic cleansing, the sea, and other ideas related to the deeply mystical water sign Pisces. The plot changes significantly in the New Testament as imagery of war, conquering, national identity and judgment gives way to compassion, loving your enemies, being one with a community, dying to resurrect, and a kingdom that is now spiritual and includes all, rather than a material kingdom for the select few. These are all tied to the energy and characteristics of Pisces, the fishes, deep in the sea of the collective unconscious. Jesus is walking on water, calming the stormy sea, healing, accepting everyone, elevating compassion and emotional connection. This is Pisces. People typically wonder why the Old and New Testaments present such a different view of this common deity. It makes sense when you consider this was a recounting of their experience using the astrological symbols and ideas that dominated all of the cultures throughout the Middle East at the time. A view of the world dominated by the sign of Aries is a very different one from a world ruled by Pisces, and this is reflected in the New Testament which opens at the very beginning of this age. It throws people for a loop as Jesus walks around acting so different than what they have come to expect from the age of Aries. This is because the character Jesus, at least in part, symbolizes the ushering in of this new age of Pisces which completely flips the script from Aries.
This is potentially the oldest known Christian church. It was likely built (or converted) in the late 3rd or early 4th century CE. Notice the two fish swimming in opposite directions. This alludes to the account of Jesus feeding the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes. But why did this story - clearly not literal - include two fish in its symbolism? Pisces.
In the early church, the chosen symbol to represent their affiliation and aid in communicating secretly is called the “Ichtys” - an acrostic made of the first letters of the words Jesus, Christ, God(’s), Son, and Savior in Greek. However, this was not a picture of Jesus - there were no such representations until much, much later in the church. Rather, it was a fish, often represented by two fishes. And while, yes, this is in reference to mythology around Jesus feeding the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes, why would they specify two fishes? Because they were using astrological ideas in framing the narrative, loading it with familiarity and common understanding, people who lived in a world defined by astrological symbolism clearly understood what was being communicated. Preachers on TV in modern day America, most certainly do not.
The New Testament points to a, yet future, age when there will be unity. It speaks of progress and humans coming together as one in peace, embodying new ways of society and collaboration, to break outside of restrictions and bonds that have limited our path forward as a whole. Jesus himself spoke of having “living water” which he will pour out for the benefit of all. There just so happens to be a Water Bearer in the Zodiac, and it just so happens to symbolize the age which will follow Pisces - the famous, hippie fever dream that is the Age of Aquarius.
Add to that how many twelves and sevens show up in the Bible. They aren’t magical numbers being given to man by some god. These numbers show up all over our religions, philosophies, pantheons, and mythologies. It’s not a Hebrew thing. It’s not a Middle Eastern thing. It’s not a Christian thing. It is an Astrological thing. Twelve signs of the Zodiac. Seven planets (visible to our ancient ancestors) moving around them. Twelve months, twelve tribes, twelve disciples, twelve foundations of the coming New Jerusalem. That mythical city is described as having three gates on each side (East, South, West, North) representing the three signs (cardinal, fixed, and mutable) of each element - Fire, Water, Air, Earth - for a total of, you guessed it, twelve.
I’ll leave you with one more, one of my favorites.
The four fixed signs of the Zodiac that make up the four faces of the “living creatures” in Ezekiel’s vision
In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, the prophet has a strange vision which includes these beings he calls “living creatures”. He describes them as having four faces - a human face, a lion’s face, an ox’s face and an eagle’s face. Wild! Were these just his favorite animals or something? No way. These figures symbolized ideas long before Ezekiel was around (if he was even a historical figure). The human face represents Aquarius, typically and traditionally symbolized by a man. The lion is pretty easy, right? Leo. The ox is also not too difficult to get - the bull of Taurus. Now, the eagle might throw you. Where does that show up in Astrology? Well, in actuality, there is a sign that is unique in that it has concurrently been represented by multiple symbols - Scorpio. The scorpion is the most known, but also represents the lowest, least evolved form of the sign. The serpent also represents Scorpio, used to depict the middle form of the energy where vindictive natures and secrets give way to wisdom and healing. All you have to do is check out the healthcare industry for all kinds of medical insignia that include snakes representing the healing sciences. The higher form of Scorpio has long been represented by none other than the eagle, representing keen sight (intuition) and rising above crisis and chaos (unlike the scorpion and serpent who crawl amongst it). So here we have a description of this fantastic creature which bears the energy of Aquarius (air), Leo (fire), Taurus (earth), and Scorpio (water). Not only is each element represented here - speaking to the all encompassing nature of god, ruler of the four elements and thus all of reality - but each one falls into a common category they share with each other. These are the fixed signs of the Zodiac (read more about that here) - speaking to the unchanging, perfection of god. His fixed nature.
Sometimes the Bible manages to be metal as fuck!
I’m sorry, but this would kick ass as an album cover 🤘🏼
Weird, right?
This is why Astrology is so fascinating to me. It defined the very basis of the world around us, the world we inherited from our ancient forebears and continued building upon. Those foundations were defined by astrological concepts and symbolism and have colored our entire perception of the world, and, especially, ourselves within it. That influence, and the fundamental building blocks supplied by developments in our astrological thinking, even provides the framework for the symbology and flow of the Bible.
Heretic!
Exactly.
Heretically Yours 😈
