Astrology and the Bible. Part 3
Signs of Pisces and Aquarius in the New Testament
Just as the symbols of astrology abound in the Old Testament, even so do they fecundate the New.
Perhaps the most obvious astrological symbol is on display by the born-again anti astrology Christians driving about in their cars. Who has not seen the symbol of the fish on the bumpers of devotees?
Many of these Christians would be surprised if they discovered that this symbol originated as a sign among early Christians that represented Jesus as the Messiah who was ushering in the age of Pisces.
The fish (or fishes) was indeed the secret sign for the early Christians. A commonly-used icon in the early Christian churches is the “Vesica Piscis” (Latin for “mouth of the fish”) – that shape which also resembles a human eye or a fish without a tail. You can see it in the shape of stained glass windows in many churches and cathedrals.
Fred Gettings who did an exhaustive study of Christianity and astrology wrote in his book, The Secret Zodicac “The true books of the esoteric astrology of the mediaeval era are not to be found in manuscripts, but in stone and marble of the mediaeval cathedrals and churches.”
Many of these ancient Christian monuments have astrological symbols in them with emphasis on Pisces represented by the sign of the fish.
It is also of great interest that Jesus himself was associated with the fish. The phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour” in the Greek reads Iesous CHristos THeou Uios Soter. The capital letters from this phrase spells ICHTHUS which is the Greek word for “fish.” Because of persecution a Christian would secretly communicate his belief in Christ with another Christian by merely drawing or making the sign of the fish.
The constellation Pisces is formed by a set of dim and scattered stars that trace the images of two widely separated fish joined by a knotted cord. One fish, swimming upward, faces east toward Aries, while the other fish swims westward toward Aquarius along the plane of the ecliptic. The directions of motion of the two fish form a cross, the symbol of the Christian religion-the upright line of the cross representing spirit and the horizontal line signifying matter.
Thus the evolution Christian tradition from making the sign of the fish to the sign of the cross was merely a simplification of the sign of the fish in Pisces.
Around 800 AD the Church of Rome began to distance itself from astrology and to drop the connection of the Christian church, or Jesus, with Pisces, or even the fish, and only kept the sign of the cross. Even though this sign still had a connection with Pisces, and there were short revivals of interest, few realized the connection after this time period. It is only of recent date that Christians have revived the sign of Pisces and proudly (but unknowingly) wear it on their bumpers.
Notice that almost all of the fish symbols used by Christians today face to the left, a symbol of the past on to which they are holding instead of advancing on to the consciousness of Aquarius.
Just as Moses said the stars were given for signs, even so did Jesus acknowledge that the stars would indeed bear signs:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring” Luke 21:25
“Stars” is usually translated from the Greek ASTER, but in this case it comes from ASTRON which is more correctly translated as “constellations.” This could imply the standard constellations as we know them, in particular the twelve constellations making the twelve signs of the zodiac, or it could refer to certain alignments of planets and stars which have been seen as signs from ancient times. For instance a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn with another planet in the constellation of Pisces was seen as an important sign in the days of Jesus.
What constellation do we look to today for signs of the coming of the son of Man? As we leave Pisces and enter the age of Aquarius then it is only logical that this sign of the zodiac has many portends for us.
This is verified again by Jesus:
“And then (as the coming of Christ draws near) shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt 24:30
In past writings I have given one interpretation of this scripture, but, as I have said, scripture has at least three levels of meaning which are correct. Let us now look at the astrological level.
Before Christ comes there will “appear the sign of the Son of man (literally mankind) in heaven.”
The word “heaven comes from the Greek OURANOS. What is significant about this? This is the word that the planet Uranus is derived from. What is significant about Uranus? It is very significant because it rules the sign of Aquarius which we are now entering.
Note that the scripture reads literally in the Greek as the Sign of the Son of Mankind. Aquarius is the sign most representative of mankind as a whole.
The importance of the coming sign of Aquarius was indicated at the last supper:
“And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
“And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. Luke 22:9-13
This mysterious man “bearing a pitcher of water” led the disciples to the “last supper.” It is not a coincidence that the main symbol of Aquarius is a man bearing a pitcher of water. This symbol indicates the servant of God who pours forth the waters of life to humankind, thirsty for the words of life.
The fact that the Aquarian symbol shows up at the last supper of the Christ in Pisces is a symbol of the work of Christ in the coming age – that in the Age of Aquarius the service of Christ and his servants will have its true fulfillment.
Now, let us examine the meaning of the scripture in Matthew 24.
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man (the servant giving the waters of life) in heaven (Aquarius): and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn…”
Did the peoples of the earth mourn as Aquarius began to rise on the horizon?
Indeed they did. As Pisces was passing into Aquarius we had the manifestation of World Wars I and II. We are not yet fully into Aquarius for the transition period between the ages lasts from 100-200 years so we still have a point of tension or two to come. If the Lights of the earth do their part, however, the worst will be over.
The fact is that the time between the ages is always highlighted by a point of tension. For instance, the transition from Taurus (the worship of the bull) to Aries (the sacrifice of the ram) was highlighted by the conflict between Moses and Pharaoh as the Israelites escaped Egypt.
The greatest point of tension in this age was the conflict between Nazi Germany (strong authority – Pisces) and the Allied nations (freedom of the human spirit – Aquarius). It is of interest that World War II was very close to the midway point between Pisces and Aquarius. This battle just resurfaced on a lesser scale with the conflict between terrorists who seek rule by the strong authority of the Piscean energy and the free world following after Aquarian energy. In coming conflicts with peoples seeking the establishment of strong authority the changing energies are mounting against them and the old ways are doomed to failure. Only those movements which increase the freedom of the human spirit are in alignment with the coming age.
The founders of the United States Constitution realized this when on June 20, 1782 they approved the Great Seal of the United States bearing the Latin words: NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM which means “a new order of the ages.”
These men inwardly realized that a new age was on the horizon, but little did they understand that they were manifesting one of the signs of the Son of Man in Aquarius.
The last part of the verse reads:
“…and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
What does this have to do with the age of Aquarius?
Very much. Aquarius is an air sign and all astrologers attribute the development of air and space travel as a sign the this age is coming into manifestation.
One of the messages Jesus was giving out here was this: As we enter into the sign of Aquarius, before his return to us, we would see sons of men traveling in the air with the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Those who pioneered such Aquarian achievements did indeed achieve power and glory. Such people were the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon – the greatest Aquarian achievement in and above the air so far.
“And I will shew wonders in heaven above (air and space flight), and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. (World Wars I & II and conflicts yet to come) “ Acts 2:19
Indeed, there have been many signs in the heavens and earth, and all the while Christians have been looking for signs yet future.
The words of Jesus are yet true today:
“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matt 16:3
Copyright By J J Dewey
Feb 12, 2002
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