CHAPTERVTHE STAR OF BETHLEHEM

There is one star above all others which periodically sheds its light upon the world, but about which very little is known, and on the occult significance of which little or no light has been hitherto shed. I refer to what is popularly, and as I shall show, correctly known as the Star of Bethlehem.

I propose to bring the facts into review with the intention of finally establishing the place of this star in cosmical symbology, and also of showing its connection with the central fact of the Christian religion—the Nativity.

The Star is due to make its appearance during the present century, but at what precise date cannot be determined, owing to lack of data. It was seen in the year 945, again in 1264, and by Tycho in 1572, and after becoming visible in the daytime, so great was its lustre, it gradually faded away and disappeared. SirJ.Herschel thought from these facts, that it would reappear in 1872, but such was not the case. The appearance of a large luminous star in Perseus at the beginning of this century led to the belief that it was the long-expected visitant. The body, which was named Nova Persei, was eventually considered by astronomersto be a centre of disruption, on account of its sudden flaring up and disappearance. It may have been this or a collision of two telescopic stars. Tycho tells us that the Star gradually grew in luminosity until it outshone Sirius and even Venus, and as gradually disappeared. This seems to suggest a star of great eccentricity and vast orbit, whose major axis is at right angles to the sphere of visibility, so that it appears to us “end on.” It would thus grow and gradually disappear, without any sensible alteration of its position in the heavens, as here depicted—

Figure 1.Figure 1.

Figure 1.

It is of interest to note that mythology connects the Star with Cassiopeia, Andromeda her daughter, and Perseus the husband of Andromeda. These three constellations are in close proximity to oneanother in the heavens; together with Cepheus, the husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda.

The Star appeared above “the head of Andromeda,” according to Tycho, which would give it about 32° of N. declination, and thus make its appearance vertical to the latitude of Bethlehem in Judea. The sign of the zodiac coinciding with its longitude would thus be Aries, which according to Ptolemy rules over Judea. It is the Oriental sign and stands in relation to the cardinal points thus—

Figure 2.Figure 2.

Figure 2.

This observation satisfies the requirements of that passage where the Magi are reported to have said: “We have seen his Star inthe East, and have come to worship Him.” Then if a geographical quarter was referred to by “the East,” why should they travel westward from Persia to Judea? Obviously they referred to the quarter of the Heavens, and, being Astrologers, would well know that Judea was signified by Aries, in which sign the Star made its appearance. Its “standing over the house wherethe child lay,” indicates its position in the zenith of Bethlehem at the time of its southing, the latitude of Bethlehem being 31° 43´ N. in agreement with the observed position of the Star in Tycho’s day.

Now regarding the year of the Nativity, we know that it was in the same year as the death of Herod. This event can be fixed. Josephus, in hisAntiquities,lib.xvii, mentions an eclipse that took place on the night preceding one of the fasts, and which was immediately followed by the last illness of Herod. We know from the same source that Herod reigned thirty-four years after the death of Antipater, and thirty-seven from the beginning of his reign. The date is further fixed by the statement that this latter event took place in the 184th Olympiad, and we hence get the year of Rome 714 or 39B.C., and the year of the eclipse would therefore be 3B.C.The same author says that after mourning Herod for seven days, the feast of the Passover was approaching, and as this was always held on the14thof Abib or Nisan, which is the first full Moon after the Equinox, we are able to confirm the date as the13thMarch. At this date it is found that there is a considerable eclipse of the Moon as shown by the following calculation (seep.48).

The Sun being 7° 34´ from the Node, the extent of the eclipse would be nearly five digits, and the Moon would be about two-thirds down the western sky and in the south-west quarter of the heavens. It is of interest also to note that the Moon waseclipsed in the sign Virgo, which the ancients say rules Jerusalem, where Herod the Tetrarch died.

In the R.C. Festes we are told that the death of Herod took place before the Passover and after the eclipse of13thMarch, so that the date appears to be very well established.

Eclipse of the Moon, March 13, 3B.C.(astron.)

From Epoch New Moon March 1797

i.e., March 13, at 4.46a.m.G.M.T.E.long.2.22 Jerusalem.————4. 8a.m.

i.e., March 13, at 4.46a.m.G.M.T.

E.long.2.22 Jerusalem.

————

4. 8a.m.

Luke also gives confirmatory evidence, and the account is very circumstantial. The Evangelist mentions Tiberius Cæsar by name, and also the Governors of the Provinces, as well as many dates. From him we learn that the Mother had good reason to be in or near Bethlehem at that time, because there was a registration or census underAugustus which was fixed for the First of Tishri, when the Jewish civil year commenced. In the same month was the feast of Tabernacles, an additional reason for the journey. Bethlehem was their objective, “because they were of the house and lineage of David,” who was born at Bethlehem. Now the1stTishri would fall in that year on19thSeptember. At this time there would be “shepherds abiding in the fields by night,” that being the hot season. The25thDecember is, of course, an impossible date.

I now take my cue from the Apocalypse: “A woman clothed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet. And she brought forth the Man-child who should rule the nations with a rod of iron.”

The Sun in the middle of the sign Virgo is the woman clothed with the Sun. To be “clothed” with the solar rays the luminary must be in the middle of the sign and neither just entering it nor just leaving it. The “Moon under its feet” signifies a full Moon, when the lunar orb was in the opposite point of the zodiac, namely, the middle of Pisces. “A rod of iron” indicates that the Man-child was born under the planet Mars,i. e.under the rising of the sign ascribed to the government of that planet. We have to construct a horoscope which, while in actual accord with astronomical facts, exhibits these features.

We have already seen that the full Moon of March fell on the13th, and if to this we add the values for six lunations, we shall have the full Moon of September in the year 4B.C., thus—

orSept.5, at 5.37p.m.G.M.T.

This is equal to 7.58p.m.at Jerusalem, and the position of the Sun informs us that there was an eclipse of the Moon of about 4½ digits. The Sun would be in the middle of Virgo, and hence the woman would be literally “clothed with the Sun.”

Virgo, being the birth-sign, or that which the Sun occupied, it comes to be associated symbolically with Bethlehem, orBeit-lachm,i. e.the House of Bread, for Virgo is none other than Ceres, the goddess of the harvest of cereals, and is associated with Isis by the Egyptians, as Leo with Osiris and Aries with Horus.

This Horus is the Man-child, ruled by Mars or Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and iron, the husband of Venus or Aphrodite.

Astrologically Mars is associated with the sign Aries, and under the rising of this sign the Nativity would take place, and with Aries rising the Sun would be below the western horizon and in opposition to the eclipsed Moon, the latter being conjoined with Uranus in Pisces, and the sign Aries with the constellation Andromeda, and the Star of Bethlehem in the orient. Saturn and Jupiter were then inclose conjunction in the beginning of the sign Taurus, Mars just entered, into Leo, Mercury towards the end of that sign, Venus setting as an “evening star” in Libra 22°, and Neptune in the sign Scorpio.

Here we find Mars, the ruling planet in the sign Leo, ruling Judah, hence Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The prophecy of Jacob was that Judah should be as a lion crouching down. “A sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a law-giver (Cepheus) from between his feet, until Shuleh come.” This Shuleh is the name of the star Cor Scorpio on whose rising Leo declines from the position of meridian power. It is in accord with the universal symbology that here in the sign Scorpio we find the planet Neptune in the8thdivision of the heavens, signifying “betrayal unto death.” The Moon, ruler of the4thHouse, conjoined with Uranus in the12thHouse, in opposition to the Sun is an additional indication of an untimely end, and that on account of secret enmity. The sign Scorpio is associated with the principle of evil and is called the accursed sign. The tribe of Dan, to whose lot this division fell, substituted the symbol of its antiscion, Aquila, the eagle, on that account. Among the disciples it was connected with Judas Iscariot.

The Pascal full Moon ofA.D.33 fell on3rdApril at 2° 55´G.M.T., the Sun being about 6½° from the Node. The time at Jerusalem was 5.16p.m.—“about the sixth hour.” The Sun was then close to the Star in Aries, known as Alnatha,i.e.“the slain lamb.”

The universality of this incarnation has been frequently commented upon. The cosmical Man has employed the symbolism of the whole of the solar system as known to the ancients. Thus we have him referred to as—

Saturn—“A man of sorrows.”

Jupiter—“The Sun of Righteousness,” and a “priest after the order of Melchizedek,”i. e.the King of Righteousness.

Mars—The sword bearer, “I came not to bring peace but a sword.”

Sun—“The Day-star from on high.”

Venus—“The Prince of Peace.”

Mercury—“The Word,” “The Messenger.”

Earth—“Son of Man,”i. e.Adam—Earth.

Jesus the Prophet and Master of Wisdom is of the order of those “whose goings forth are from of old.” Some have seen in Him the reincarnation of the Buddha, whose ethical doctrine is strongly akin to the teachings of the holy Nazarene.

But there are strong reasons in the astrological scheme here presented, to warrant all Occultists in accepting the Incarnation in a sense other than symbolical or mythological. The prophecies and the record agree with the astronomical facts. Jesus is called especially “the Lamb of God,” and is born under the rising of the sign Aries. He is called also the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” and Mars, the ruler of the horoscope, is found in Leo. He is called “the Virgin-born,” and we find the Sun at the Nativity in the sign of the Virgin. These positions are not accidental, but are in agreement withthe particular state of the visible heavens at the epoch to which we are impelled by reference to the facts of the case in conformity with the historical record.

We have, I think, specific evidence of the Incarnation—of what? Of the Christ, the Logos, the Word. Jesus the man, whose horoscope we have been tracing, is not to be confounded with the Christ principle investing that Personality, nor yet with the Spirit of God animating the Christ. The relationship of these are apparently as Spirit, Soul and Body to one another, that is—

Spirit = God.Soul = Christ.Body = Jesus.

Spirit = God.

Soul = Christ.

Body = Jesus.

This order seems to be supported by the earliest statements of the Christian faith. The Master-Soul speaking through the person of Jesus said: “These things I do not of myself but of the Spirit of God which dwelleth in me,” and again, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwelleth inyou?” Further, the Master in bidding farewell to His disciples said, “I go unto my Father and your Father, unto my God and your God.” It is clear, therefore, in what relations the incarnate Christ stood to humanity and to God. Other masters have appeared at various times as manifestations of the Spirit of Truth, Bodhisattvas as they are called in India, and are seen to be the founders of schools of religious thought in all parts of theworld. They all answer to the universal paradigm, and consequently we find the same myths and legends centring in them. Occasionally we get specific record of the birth of these Great Souls. Thus we know that Confucius (Kong-fu-tze) was born 550B.C.on the27thday of the10thmonth, and died on the18thday of the2ndmonth in the year 477B.C., at the age of seventy-three years. The birth of Gautama Sakyamuni is vaguely indicated as having taken place at the full Moon of Jyestha. So far no records have been discovered to throw light upon the year of birth, so that we cannot determine the cosmic relations of this great luminary. The birth of Sri S’ankarāchārya, however, is specifically indicated in a stanza of Yidyāranya, where it is said that the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars were all in their exaltation signs, that is to say, in Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn respectively; and inKendra,i. e.in signs that were upon the angles of the horoscope. This is the ideal horoscope of the successful reformer, and this Confucius of India, who began his crusade at twenty years of age, has left his mark for all time upon Indian thought and literature.

Wherever we can obtain the time of the incarnation of these Great Souls, it is seen that either there are some special celestial portents attending them or the planetary positions are such as to stamp the horoscope at once as that of an epoch-making birth. The portents attending the birth of Romulus, as recited by Dionysius, are no less striking than those which signalized his death. Something of this sortwas obviously the belief in Shakespeare’s time concerning the death of great men—

When beggars die there are no comets seen,The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Princes.

When beggars die there are no comets seen,

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Princes.

From this we may conclude that the gods are not democratic, but favour individualism of the most pronounced type; and if, as would seem to be the case, the whole trend of evolution is the specialization of faculty, the elaboration of the unit from the mass, we can readily understand why specially selected cosmical conditions attend the incarnation of highly-evolved souls.

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