As we approach Christmas Day, despite the commercial frenzy, the anticipation of something significant grows.

As early as 221CE and definitely by 354CE the birth of Jesus was connected to December 25. The earliest written mention of December 25 as Jesus’ birthday comes from a mid 4th century Roman almanac (The Philocalian Calendar) that lists December 25 as: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae: (Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea). In fact, no one knows the true birth date of Jesus but even historians believe it to be somewhere in September through Biblical description. It is written that, at the time of his birth, shepherds were tending their flock, implying warmer weather. December 25 is in the heart of the cold Judean winter when shepherds are inside and so is the flock. And if we go back to the story of Jesus’ birth, he was said to be born of the virgin Mary. In astrology, the virgin refers to the constellation of Virgo (Latin for virgin), commonly depicted as a maiden with a sheaf of wheat, but Virgo is also known as the ‘house of bread’. Note that the Sun is in the constellation of Virgo during August/September, the time of the harvest in the northern hemisphere. Jesus’ alleged birth place Bethlehem means ‘house of bread’, therefore Bethlehem also relates to an area of the sky (Virgo), not necessarily a place on Earth.

The prominence of December 25 begins with Emperor Aurelian who made Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) the state religion of Rome on December 25 in 274. In 313 Constantine made Christianity legal and by 380 Theodosius declared Christianity the religion of Rome. Naturally December 25 became the celebration of the birth of Christ, not Sol Invictus. And similarly, some years later, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800, King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas Day in 855, and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066, the chart we use for England today.

We now associate Christmas with Christianity but what are the origins of Christmas and how is it related to astrology?

Before Christians adopted December 25 as the celebration of the birth of Christ, the northern hemisphere Winter Solstice was celebrated at this time of year. At the time of the winter solstice the days are short, the nights are long and cold and it’s a time for indoor activities and inner reflection. On the day of the solstice, and the 2 days following (22, 23, 24), the Sun ascends to the same point in the sky, which is also its lowest point south, and during this time it is closest to the constellation Crux (cross). The Sun appears to die on the cross. On the 3rd day, December 25, the Sun rises 1° higher in the sky and the day is slightly longer. Before the Solstice, the Sun is said to be “conquered” by the dark but, soon after, daylight hours begin to increase in length. The Sun is said to be reborn – the return of the Sun as King. At the March Equinox / Spring / Easter, the Sun officially overpowers the darkness, ie. is ‘resurrected, as the days become longer than the night. Hence our Sun’s yearly journey parallels the life of Christ (or is it the other way around?).

The pagan origins of Christmas stem back to ancient Babylon with the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature), which was celebrated on December 25. Wild partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast. The Romans celebrated the solstice with the Saturnalia honouring Saturn, the god of agriculture. This whole celebratory season into January was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birth of the Unconquered Sun.

And in ancient Egypt, the god Horus was born of the virgin Isis on December 25,
- his birth was accompanied by a star in the east, which 3 kings followed to adore the newborn,
- he began teaching at 12, was baptized by Anap at 30
- had 12 disciples that he travelled around with performing miracles (like healing the sick and walking on water),
- he was known by many names such as ‘the lamb of god’, ‘the light’, ‘the good shepherd’ etc,
- after being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, buried and was resurrected 3 days later…

But Horus is not alone; many other deities have a very similar story, for example:
- Attis the Phrygian
- Krishna
- Dionysus
- Mithra of Persia
- Odin
- Tammuz
to name a few. Jesus is just one in a long line of ‘solar’ messiahs.

In fact the ‘story’ of the birth of Christ as it relates to Christmas is purely astrological. The story begins with the bright star in the east that led the three wise men / kings to the baby Jesus. This bright star is Sirius. On December 24 it rises and aligns with the 3 brightest stars in Orion’s belt, commonly known as the 3 kings. They all point to the place where the Sun rises on December 25. The 3 kings follow the star in the east to mark the sunrise ie. the birth of the Sun. This brings us back to the pagan celebration of the Unconquered Sun, and let’s face it, without the Sun there’d be no light, no life and nothing to celebrate !

All hail the mighty Sun of God, and long may it reign in our skies, feed our crops, and bring bountiful harvests to all.

Hope you enjoy the season according to your own tradition and share it happily with your folk and kin.

Happy, Merry Solstice

2nd and 3rd image courtesy of Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007)

Now that Mars is in Virgo it is moving into strategic alliance with Pluto and Jupiter – a Grand Trine. This is a dynamic setup where inspiration and drive abounds. This aspect lasts from October 2011 to April 2012. If you have a project you want to get off the ground then use this time frame to get it happening. Presently, the Moon sits on the midpoint of Saturn-Neptune. This may slow you down today but it will not last for long so reflect on any negativity to create a counter strategy that will serve you over the next 6 months.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have discovered a fourth moon orbiting Pluto. Temporarily designated P4, it is a tiny satellite being around 13-34km in diameter. By comparison, Pluto’s largest moon Charon is 1,043 km across. The new moon is located between the orbits of Nix and Hydra, which Hubble discovered in 2005. Charon was discovered in 1978 at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

P4 was first seen in a photo taken with the Hubble Telescope on June 28, and confirmed in subsequent Hubble pictures taken on July 3 and July 18. It has an orbit of 31 days – our own moon has an orbit of 29 days.

NASA’s New Horizons mission is scheduled to fly through the Pluto system in 2015.

The discovery chart has the Sun at 7°Cancer. The Sabian Symbol for this degree speaks of imagination and the play of invisible and mysterious forces – so appropriate for a body under Pluto’s influence.

reference – http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/20jul_p4/

A rare and ‘beautiful’ thing occurred on Friday 1 July 2011 – the start of a new Saros series of eclipses: 13 New South (Jansky) or Saros Series 156 (van den Bergh). This new series will run for over 1200 years and end in 3237. It begins on Friday near the South Pole and winds it way North recurring every 18 years (plus a week or so), with around 72 eclipses in the series.

While an eclipse always occurs close to the Nodes of the Moon this new (and very partial) eclipse is a wide 16° away. Each eclipse moves closer to the Nodes until a total eclipse occurs on the Nodes and at the equator. Subsequent eclipses progressively move away from the Nodes until the last (partial) eclipse of the series.

The eclipse itself occurs at 10° Cancer, and the Sabian symbol is “A large diamond in the first stages of the cutting process”. It deals with the evolution of consciousness at a preliminary stage. There is potential but first the conscious mind must become solid in order to be honed by mentors and teachers. This development is slow and often painful but like the diamond, the finished product is not only beautiful but enduring and valuable. This is the stage of training towards craftsmanship and perfection.

The chart for the birth of this eclipse series features a Grand Cross involving the New Moon in Cancer, Saturn in Libra, Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries. The Moon square Saturn creates a melancholic mood where emotional responses are depressed and a general feeling of lack prevails. At least the Moon is in rulership and Saturn is exalted but the two are incompatible and struggle to interact well. Moon in Cancer is emotional, inclusive, security driven and needy – Saturn in Libra remains at a safe distance by objectifying every interaction and staying impartial. Then there is the square of the Moon and Uranus – this is a highly neurotic, erratic and abrupt aspect that inspires knee jerk reactions with little logic and plenty of fire. And to top it off, Pluto opposes the Moon causing mistrust and power struggles, manipulation and control. In all, a difficult Grand Cross, a sign of challenging times ahead, especially for countries highlighting 10° cardinal, such as Algeria (Sun), Canada (Sun-Uranus), England (Sun), Germany (NNode), Indonesia (NNode), Italy (Sun-Jupiter), Kenya (NNode), Netherlands (NNode), Spain (Moon), Turkey (Asc-Pluto), and USA (Sun-Jupiter-Venus).

The closest midpoints in the chart are Jupiter on the midpoint of Sun|Neptune, Mars on the midpoint of Sun|Jupiter and Pluto on the midpoint of Mars|Jupiter. First of all we have optimism and success with little effort, followed by the urge to succeed, with the ability to tackle large projects. Despite the Grand Cross, these midpoints change the playing field making this eclipse series highly dynamic and capable of achieving great things, both in a positive, creative way and also in an undermining and destructive way. As always it depends on how the people involved choose to express the energies unleashed. Be creative, inventive, think outside the square – draw on skills and talents while trying new methods.

References:
Predictive Astrology – the Eagle and the Lark by Bernadette Brady
www.zyntara.com/VisualAstrologyNewsletters/van_June2011/van_june2011.html
www.astrologyweekly.com/countries/

During May, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars will dance with each other, clearly visible (for some) in the morning skies. This Friday May 13 they will form a tight triangle with Mars blinking dimly to the lower left as the image shows. Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter are in Aries while Mars is in Taurus. Later this month, Venus and Mercury move into Taurus then at month’s end the Moon joins in the party. This is a rare global event and, while observatories will be open, most are probably already booked out.

Aries is a fire sign and ruled by Mars, planet of action. Aries seeks excitement through risk-taking and prefers to act alone or lead the pack. Mercury and Jupiter are able to cope with it but Venus is not. She rules docile, slow moving, cud-chewing Taurus and the aesthetically refined diplomatic Libra. There is nothing Arian about Venus. So place her in an antagonistic sign and she will misbehave. Her normal gracious and congenial manner can spill over into very unattractive and over-assertive behaviour. But note that Mars rules Aries and he is in his own sign so the Aries energy will (mostly) behave well.

The recent unrest in the World is very Arian and it all began when Jupiter ingressed into Aries in late January (Egyptian uprising). Then further eruptions occurred when Uranus moved into Aries 2 months ago (the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan). Aries is ruled by Mars and Mars was in Aries until today. We have ‘enjoyed’ a stellium (cluster) of planets in Aries since early April. And they have all been opposed by Saturn in Libra. The authorities (Saturn) in the Middle East region have put on their ‘nice’ faces (Libra) but all the while they’ve been very manipulative and aggressive (Aries) towards their own people. They think the world is unaware but modern technology has enabled the struggle to be published globally through the internet. Aries is a ‘me-first’ impetus and while it shows initiative it is also competitive and can turn aggressive when challenged. The revolutionaries and rebels have stood up to the authorities despite the bloodshed, violence and propaganda unleashed upon them.

May 16, Mercury and Venus will leave Jupiter’s side and join Mars in Taurus. So the revolutionaries and rebels will dig their heels in and become more determined than ever. The irresistible force (government) will meet the immovable object (people) and, just as there are several planets working together, there is safety in numbers for the people if they truly pull together.

Note that this is the season of comfort food, sensual pleasures, and hard work – slow and steady wins the race. Taurus might be docile, but wave a red flag at a bull and suddenly you have a solid angry entity charging towards you. Never underestimate the old adage – slow and steady wins the race.

At the end of the month on May 30 the New Moon in Taurus joins the chorus forming a congenial line-up in the early morning skies. A sight to behold, and a very rare one at that. So set the alarm and rug up – it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.