ASTROLOGERS MADE FAMOUS

BY THEIR INCLUSION IN THE BIBLE

Alison Maciver

The most notable astrologers mentioned in the Bible are Joseph, Moses, Daniel, David, Solomon, Jesus and John the Revelator.

Joseph, already skilled in the interpretation of dreams, became a prisoner in Egypt, and then became part of Pharaoh's household because of his skill.  It may be that Joseph had already gained the rudiments of his astrological knowledge from his father before his time in Egypt, for appears that Jacob himself was skilled in this art, as evidenced by Jacob's blessing on his sons (Genesis Ch 49).  It may be that Jacob brought his specialized knowledge from Canaan, schooled his sons, particularly his favourite son, and this group of people increased the astrological knowledge of the Egyptians.  Joseph, so the Bible states, was more skilled in the arts than the 'wise men' trained in Egypt.  Seeing that he was the favourite son of Jacob, he would have been given special tuition in any knowledge that the father possessed.  It may have been that he was quicker than his brother in this learning and this would only have increased their envy of him.

In Egypt the schools of learning, selective in their rolls, increased their knowledge, and it was into this climate that Moses was born and had the honour of being educated as the adopted son of the Pharaoh's daughter.  His skill and his intuitive knowledge led him to be given much military authority and responsibility.  Moses made certain that the Hebrew people could keep their legacy of astrological knowledge by incorporating this into the ritual of their encampments and tribal standards at the same time giving severe warnings on the misuse of this and any other knowledge in order to have power over others.  He freed thousands of people from bondage and wanted to keep them free.

Joshua's time saw a continuation of the sort of disasters which had beset the world in the preceding forty years.  Joshua continued to teach the Hebrew people the same which Moses had commanded him.  The most notable event in Joshua's time is that of the Sun standing still for a day.  This cataclysm was used to his advantage by Joshua to defeat the Amorites.  There are comparative stories from other cultures which confirm that there was a day of unusual length in the Northern Hemisphere accompanied by earth upheavals, and in the Southern Hemisphere there was a night of unusual length, with a very short day, these possibly occurring in the same time period.  The legend concerning Maui and his brothers catching the Sun and forcing it to slow its path is one of the storied from the Southern Hemisphere concerning this event.  Joshua knew of the cycles of events from his astrological knowledge, which Moses had passed on to him, particularly those pertaining to the catastrophes, which were besetting the earth at the time.

Samuel is notable in that he was brought up in the priestly service from a child.  In this service he was schooled in all the arts which Moses had preserved through the Levitical household or priesthood.  The altar which had been set up at every encampment and settlement was for astrological purposes with the portal of the building or tent facing the rising Sun to the East and positioned exactly on line for the Spring Equinox.  Those who were 'cut off from the altar' were cut off from access to knowledge because they either misused this knowledge in the form of Black Magic or were at risk of doing so by their choice of behaviour.

David, being a shepherd, was conversant with the ways of the 'heavens' through much experience under the stars, and needed the knowledge, which this provided for weather forecasting.  Samuel may have used the Urim and Thumin, a part of the priestly equipment, in order to 'divine' which of Jesse's sons was to be king.

Solomon's writings are the most profound record of astrological knowledge in the Bible and few people in the western world have not heard his treatise in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, 'To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven..'  His writings in Proverbs are also a source of much wisdom.  Solomon's failures are as well recorded as his successes, as it is recorded that he slipped up by allowing his wives to set up their own altars to their particular 'gods' and this was against his wisdom  and knowledge, his own better judgement.  We know that Solomon was responsible for building the temple at Jerusalem, and that he built it upon the same angles as the ones Moses used for the encampment with the Twelve Tribes and the Tabernacle.  This was constructed in such a way that the rays of the rising Sun would strike the very heart of the Temple at the moment of the two equinoxes.

Daniel, so the first chapter of that book in the Bible tells us, was 'skilled in all the wisdom, and gifted in knowledge and understanding science, and had ability to stand in the king's place, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans', and also about him and his colleagues that 'In all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king enquired of the, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in his realm.'  We are shown here that Daniel was a very skilled astrologer, for that was one of the areas in which the king tested them.  Many of Daniel's astrological prognostications are yet to come to fruition, especially as he looked forward to a time when the tenth planet in our solar system was to be discovered.  Astronomers know that one exists but have yet to pin point its position exactly.

Jesus Christ gave so many astrological references. At the time of His life on earth, what we now call 'houses' in astrology were referred to as 'mansions'.  He told His disciples, 'In My Father's House are many mansions.  If there were not I would have told you so.'  It was early in the Age of Pisces, and when asked for a sign of the age or times, He told the people present that it was the sign of Jonah, the fish.  When He fed the five thousand with the two fishes (Pisces) and the five loaves of bread (Virgo), He was confirming the manner of His birth and showing the way of sacrifice in the future for enlightenment to come to mankind.  In His life nothing was by chance, and so it was not by chance that there were twelve baskets of leftovers, symbolizing the twelve signs of the Zodiac which are evident in the lives of those incarnate on Earth.

At least three astrologers visited the Christ Child shortly after His birth, having noted the time and place by their studies of ancient writings and of the 'stars'.

Jesus gave a most obvious astrological parallel when He was explaining to His emissaries that as soon as they set foot in the city a man would meet them carrying a jar of water.  It is important to note that at that time and in that country men did not carry water.  It was only women who carried water in pitchers.  Jesus is identifying a period of time, that of Aquarius, the Water Bearer, and the future period called the Age of Aquarius.  Read Luke Chapter 22 for yourself in order to see this in a clearer light.  Jesus was giving specific timing for His return, because He said that He was going ahead to prepare a place for the disciples and that He would come again to receive them so that where He was, they could be also.

Moses gave more than just symbolic reference to the use of astrology in his writings.  In Genesis he is reporting on Jacob's marriages, when his father-in-law states, 'Fulfill her week and we will give thee this also for the service, which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.'  Later in Numbers again he refers to0 this system when saying, 'After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise'.  The reference here is to a system still used to this day by astrologers called progressions.  With this system the planetary positions are noted for each of the days after a birth, in this case the birth being an event, the Exodus.  If one wants to see what is likely to be happening 8 years after the new event then the planetary positions are noted for 8 DAYS later and the angles made between them at that time will indicate what is likely to be happening then.

Moses also showed that because the refugees with him had done a lot of mucking around and moaning about their lot during the previous 40 days, then they would reap the rewards for that for the next 40 years.  Had they used these days well, and kept looking forward then they would have gained the benefits that the planetary influences offered.  Astrology shows the possibilities, both bad and good at certain periods of time.  We can make certain that the good things happen to us by our thoughts, actions and other behaviours.

John the Revelator's work, Revelations, can only be understood if the reader has at least a rudimentary understanding of Astrology, for it is written in a secret code based on that.  He looks forward to a period of time way ahead of his own.  He mentions planetary influences not discovered during his lifetime.  He uses the knowledge of the sages of his time of separating the Zodiacal influences into Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable, representing the three phases of birth, life and death, as well as the elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water.  In his pinpointing of future events he uses the symbols of the Fixed Signs - Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and Scorpio, when he speaks of the living creatures around the throne.

Later he talks of the 'horsemen' which refers directly to the sign of Sagittarius.  The part of Sagittarius to which he refers has been confirmed in 1988 to have a large Black Hole.  Such an event happened when Saturn and Uranus moved across that point which had been known to astrologers for centuries as the Galactic Centre.  John warned that his predictions were inevitable if mankind continued on the road traveled, and that there were certain points when it would be too late, that mankind by actions and thoughts would have set these things irrevocably in motion.

The warnings are there.  Have we heeded them, or have we preferred a fatalistic approach and failed to use our talents.  There is still one 'horseman' yet to ride, so there is still time for us to use our faith and hope to some advantage.  In love we can pray for ourselves and our fellow man, both enemy and friend.  Did John want to be right?.   He wanted us to listen to the warnings.

Are we ready to take the advice of world famous astrologer?  I hope so.

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