Solar Mythology in the New testament Part 3

Pisces & the Christian Symbol of the Fish

Sometimes the fish symbol has the Greek letters ΙΧΘΥΣ in it. This is just the Greek word for "fish" (see Strong's Greek #2486). Some people though have made use of the letters of the word as an acronym for a clever phrase.

The symbol of the fish is also found in the miter the Pope wears. (See the fish in the side view?)

As for Christ on the cross, the oldest artistic representations of the Christian cross depict a figure of a lamb (Aries). The practice of symbolising the saviour by a lamb continued until the Council of Constantinople (692 CE) under the pontificate of Agathon and during the reign of Constantine Pogonat. It was decreed that, instead of the ancient astrological symbol of Aries the lamb, all crosses depicted in art should be combined with the figure of Jesus. The retiring of the Lamb as the main Christian symbol, translated from the Latin, is as follows:
 

At first, Jesus was represented fully robed, standing calmly before the cross with outstretched arms. The lamb continued to be shown, usually at the foot of the cross. Later, the figure of Jesus was placed on the cross, undraped, bleeding and tortured by pain from wounds, as he is represented on crucifixes today. Pope Adrian I confirmed this point.¹

12. Due to earth's precession the Sun is now in Pisces the fish on the Vernal Equinox.
[A fish is now the symbol of Christianity.]

[1] Larry M. Wright Christianity, Astrology and Myth pg. 79

Spring Calms the Storm

Autumn and Winter are the seasons for stormy weather. Around Spring time the storm season ends and we start having nice weather again. So when the Sun enters the constellation of spring time the storms calm.

13. The Sun in Spring brings an end to stormy weather.
[Jesus does a lot of talking in Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7. If you have one of those Bibles that print the words Jesus speaks in red you'll see we have several pages entirely red. Scholars of Comparative Religion say all of the ideas expressed here were already extant in previous religions, so there's really nothing new. In Matthew chapter 8 Jesus gets to moving again, and in Matthew 8:23-27 we have the story of how Jesus Calms the Storm.]

Taurus

Around roughly 4000 B.C.E. to 2000 B.C.E. the Sun was in Taurus the bull on the Vernal Equinox, and we find in ancient religions of this period that a bull was worshipped as the one who saves the world from the evils of winter. Due to the earth's precession this later became Aries the lamb who saves the world, and later when the Sun was in Pisces the symbol of the lamb was abandoned and replaced with that of a fish.

There are no bulls in the Gospels, nor are there any crabs, lions, or scorpions. We do find a bull and lion in Revelations 4:7, "and the first living creature like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature having the face as of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle." This is a reference to the four seasons of the year. The lion is Leo, the calf is Taurus, the man is Aquarius, and the eagle is one of the three symbols for Scorpio (see Saint Matthew: a sermon by Robert Taylor - 1831)

Instead we need to look at what changes happen around this time of year and compare that to what happens in the Jesus story.

Aquarius Beheaded

Recall how Aquarius went below the horizon early on in our story. Aquarius is down there in the underworld, where the dead are, or is figuratively "put in prison". Some months later, if you wait a few hours after sunset, you'll see Aquarius poking its head up above the eastern horizon, rising from the underworld, and it appears as if Aquarius is being beheaded by the horizon. Aquarius figuratively "rises from the dead" and is beheaded by the night eastern horizon.

By mid-May you only need wait until 11:00 PM to see the beheading of Aquarius. By July it's too late for this story, as Aquarius is already above the eastern horizon by sunset.

14. The head of Aquarius rises from below the eastern horizon (rises from the dead)
15. and appears beheaded by the horizon.

Following the Jesus story we come to the beheading of John the Baptist. John the Baptist, who baptizes with water, is our personification of Aquarius the water bearer, who starts the harvest cycle by bringing on the rainy season. In Matthew 14:1-12 John rises from the dead: "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead!" (Matthew 14:2) and then John is beheaded by Herod, a personification of night. (See The Birth of Jesus for more on how Herod is a personification of night and the evil cold and darkness that comes with it.)

16. There is some inference that John somehow survives this beheading and "rises from the dead" intact (Mark 6:16 "When Herod heard this, he said, 'John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead.'") And sure enough as the night progresses we see all of Aquarius rising intact from below the eastern horizon.

The Bible says Joseph took Jesus as a baby and fled to Egypt where they stayed until the death of Herod (Mat. 2:13-15). However, here we have king Herod apparently still alive and ruling 30 years later during Jesus' mission. And now we have a headless John running around still alive. This Jesus story is impossible to interpret literally, but quite easy to interpret using solar mythology. (We'll talk more about Herod in a later lesson.)

The Sun Walks on Water

Right after Taurus the Bull lies the Milky Way, that starry band that lies like a lake across the night sky. The sun crosses the Milky Way around May 20 to June 4.

17. The Sun “walks on the water”.
At this point in Jesus' travels we have the story of Jesus crossing the lake by walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). “Jesus went out to them, walking on the water.”

The Summer Solstice

Since the beginning of the year when our story began the sun has been climbing higher and higher in the sky each day. Each day the sun rises farther northward in the east, and sets farther northward in the west. The days are getting longer and brighter and warmer.

On June 21 we reach the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. On this day the sun rises farthest northward, the sun climbs to its highest point in the sky, and then sets farthest northward in the west. It is the beginning of Summer, a period of bright, sunny, warm, and wonderful weather.

It is at this point in the Jesus Story that we have the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus goes up a high mountain, the highest point Jesus reaches in the story, and shines brighter than ever, the brightest he shines in the whole story. "His face shone like the sun." (Matthew 17:1-13)

18. The sun reaches the Summer Solstice.
Jesus has his transfiguration.

Jesus brings with him Peter, James, and John, and at the mountain top they meet Moses and Elijah. For an interesting aside about Elijah and Moses on the Transfiguration see commentary by Bishop John Shelby Spong.

The Summer Solstice is a turning point in our story. Up to now everything has been getting better and better. But from this day forward the sun starts slipping southward again. The sun can not escape its ultimate fate. The sun will continue slipping southward, Autumn will come, and the sun will eventually die in the cold dark of the Winter Solstice on December 22, to be resurrected again three days later, on December 25—Christmas day. This turning point is the first time we may think about the eventual death of the sun—it's ultimate fate in winter.

Jesus first predicts his death just before the Transfiguration (Matthew 16:21-28). Peter says, "Never Lord! This shall never happen to you!" That is, everything is wonderful right now, let's just have it this way always and forever. But the sun can not remain at it's highest point forever. If it did there would be no seasons of the year and no harvest cycle. We rely on the harvest for our food, without which we would die.

And just as the sun can not escape it's fate, so too Jesus, a personification of the sun, can not escape his fate, as he begins to tell us at this point in the story.

But that is all a long way off. For now all is happy and wonderful. It's summer time, and thoughts of the sun's ultimate death in winter are easily dismissed. It's just too good a time right now. Even though Jesus is now on his way to Jerusalem, where he predicts he will die, it's still a happy story up to this point. Jesus hasn't encountered any problems yet. Indeed, the happiest point in his story is about to occur.

Summer Time

"North and south of the nebula Praesepe are two stars, which Orientalists speak of by a name evidently of some antiquity. Asellus means an Ass, and one was called Asellus Borealis, the northern Ass; while the other, Asellus Australis, is the southern Ass. The sign [for Cancer] was afterwards known by the symbol , which stands for these two asses."² This glyph for Cancer is still used today.

A quick check of any star map confirms this. The star γ (gamma) is named Asellus Borealis, or 'northern donkey', and the star δ (delta) is named Asellus Australis, or 'southern donkey'.³

"Asellus borealis and Asellus australis, the Northern and the Southern Ass Colt, were the ’Όνοι, or Asses, of Ptolemy and the Greeks; the Aselli, or Asini, of the Latins, distinguished by their position as here given, even to the present day, and now popularly known as the Donkeys. ... and the Arabians similarly knew them as Al Himārain, the Two Asses."⁴

Hence as the Sun travels through the constellation of Cancer, it figuratively rides two asses, or an ass and colt, into the middle of summer. Of course everyone is happy to greet the arrival of summer. It's the best time of year, and the harvest is just around the corner.

Comparing this with our Jesus story, a high point of the Jesus story is Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, awkwardly riding both an ass and colt. "They brought the ass and the colt and put their garments upon them, and he sat on them. (Matthew 21:7) We have here Jesus riding on both an ass and a colt. Quite a trick if interpreted literally, but in astronomical allegorical terms it's simply what happens.

19. The Sun figuratively rides an ass and foal into the middle of summer.
Jesus rides an ass and colt into Jerusalem.
 

[1] Arthur Weigall The paganism in our Christianity (1928) p. 221
(Larry M. Wright Christianity, Astrology and Myth (2004) pg. 114 repeats the claim, though he may have gotten it from Weigall.)
[2] E. W. Bullinger The Witness of the Stars (1893) p. 149
[3] Ian Ridpath, Wil Tirion Stars and Planets (1984) p. 94
[4] Richard Hinckley Allen Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (1899) p. 111

Recap

And looking ahead in the Jesus story, we know Jesus eventually dies and is resurrected three days later, just as the Sun dies on the Winter Solstice and is reborn three days later on Christmas day.