The “Star” IV

… continuation from my last two posts. I’ll cut short the introduction and ask you to refer to those previous posts to understand where we are.

The second characteristic of the language of astrology I’d like to focus on is time and place which this shot of the clock at Bracken House by Remko van Dokkum beautifully shows:

 

Bracken House

2# Time and Place As anyone knows who has even casually followed their horoscope in the local paper, astrology is very much about where things are and when. Your sign is the house or chamber (constellation) the sun was in at the time you were born. Other influencers are each of the other heavenly bodies (moon and planets) and if they are ascending (rising) or descending (setting). So lets look at some bible passages in this new light, starting with the passage that started this topic.

Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him” also Matthew 2:9 “And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the East, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was.” – so if the Magi, who are from the east, see a star in the east, how is it they traveled west to Judea unless that star was in a certain place at a certain time which they took to be a sign that a king was born?

Genesis 1:14 “Then God said, let there by lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” – the heavenly bodies are truly there for signs and times.

Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span…” – how else are the heavens marked off except into houses/chambers (constellations).

Job 9:9 “Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;” – clearly these chambers are not terrestrial in nature being in the same sentence as the celestial Bear, Orion and Pleiades.

Job 38:31-33 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or fix their rule over the earth?” – the constellations have laws (ordinances) that rule over the earth in their seasons. What laws do constellations have other than astrological?

Ecclesiastes 1:5 “Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; and hastening to its place it rises there again.” – This is from that story about there is nothing new under the sun. And even the sun has its routine. It needs to be in a certain place each day.

Exodus 22:1-3 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen the the ox and four sheep for the sheep. If the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be  sold for his theft. – This is an interesting one. It seems the judgment is different once the sun has risen. Why would that be?

Jeremiah 33:25 “Thus says the Lord, If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob…” – This is from the section where the Lord talks to Jeremiah about breaking the covenant. Again we have our fixed patterns for more than just beauty but also as a sacred covenant.

Of course there are even more examples but these should clearly demonstrate that to these authors it is very important to understand where the heavenly bodies are and when so you can understand the consequences.

Next time: Symbolic names.