by
JOHN HAYES
Christmas only became popular in the 19th Century and for many people who celebrate Christmas it does not matter when Jesus was born, they just enjoy the modern-day festive season. And yet the familiar image of the Magi, Three Wise Men following a star has profound astrological significance.
The
Birth of Jesus
The birth of Jesus was never recorded, although early Christians believed Jesus was born under the Star because the prophecy of Balaam said the Messiah would be revealed by a regal Star. In the Old Testament, Micah tells of the coming King who would be born in the little town of Bethlehem: "But thou, Bethlehem…though thou be little among the thousands (clans) of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting".
The
Bible
The only biblical account of the Christmas Star is found in the Book of Matthew.
Mathew describes how, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the
time of King Herod, Wise men came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, "Where
is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and
have come to worship him."
When Herod, who was ruthless and paranoid, heard of the arrival of these illustrious visitors he was greatly troubled. He gathered his chief priests and scribes around to find out where this Messiah was to be born. Of course, as written by the prophet Micah they found it to be Bethlehem. The Wise men expected all of Jerusalem to be aware of the birth, but Herod and the people of Jerusalem did not see the significance of the Star, they did not practice astrology because it was tied to pagan Greek philosophy. However, they knew the time of the Messiah was at hand, for at the time of the birth of Jesus there was throughout the Roman Empire a general unrest and expectation of a Golden Age and a great deliverer.
Herod asked the Magi to come to see him; at this meeting he found out from them the exact time when they first saw the star. Herod was worried when he heard from the Magi, for they were really asking, "Where is the real king?"
Herod
told the Magi to go and search for the child and when they find him, to come
back and tell him so that he could go and worship him too. Herod’s priests
showed the Magi the way to Bethlehem but would not go there themselves.
When it was time for the Magi to return home, they did not go through Jerusalem to report to Herod for they were warned in a dream to go another way. No sooner were the Magi departed than an angel told Joseph, Mary’s husband, to take her and the child into Egypt.
Herod, furious at the failure of the Magi to return, attempted to kill the infant Jesus. From the information he had gained about the date of the appearance of the star, Herod concluded that the Jesus was about 2 years old, and in his bloodthirsty lust for power, ordered the killing of all male children of two years old and under in Bethlehem and its borders.
Johannes
Kepler
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) discovered the laws of planetary motion and is widely acknowledged as the "Father of Modern Physics". Kepler was also a brilliant astrologer. In 1603, Kepler made an interesting discovery. Personally moved by his observation of a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn just before Christmas, Kepler pondered on the meaning of the Christmas star. After doing some calculations he discovered that Jupiter/Saturn came together in Pisces in the years 7 and 6 BC.
Kepler also learned of the extreme importance of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in the sign of Pisces for the Jewish people. In ancient astrology, the giant planet Jupiter was styled as the King's Planet. The ringed planet Saturn was deemed the shield of Palestine, while the constellation of Pisces, represented epochal events. Jupiter encountering Saturn in Pisces would have meant that a divine and cosmic ruler was to appear in Palestine. Kepler discovered that the Star of Bethlehem was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, based on the Old Testament prophecy of the coming of the King of Kings. The Prophets said that the arrival of this messiah would be associated with a celestial event as a sign from God.
The
Magi
The Wise men, the Magi, came from an area between India and the Holy Land, which in ancient times was called Chaldea. They were probably members of the Zoroastrian priestly caste; the ancient Greeks and Hebrews knew them as astrologers, interpreters of dreams, and givers of omens.
Ancient prophecy was often astrological and astrology’s spiritual purpose is to reveal the will of the divine. The story of the Star of Bethlehem indicates that celestial alignments herald earthly events: “As above, so below”.
Winter 2005