The Stars Speak, Chapter 2

Angela Riley

In the first part of this series we looked at the idea that when God created the stars, he set them in the heavens so that they could tell a story for everyone on earth to see. We looked at quotations from the Bible, and we saw compelling archeological evidence showing that for a long time, the Zodiac has played a part in both Jewish and Christian history.

In the book of Job we are told that,

He [God] made all the stars - the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and constellations of the southern sky. He does great things too marvellous to understand. (Job 9:9-10 NLT)*

I believe that in the beginning, before there was any written record, God used the stars to tell mankind his plan of salvation. I cannot prove this, but I find the idea that God wrote a story in the stars both exciting, believable and compelling. These stories became, as it were, a visual aid, helping people to understand and remember the message of redemption for man — starting with the birth of Christ in Virgo, following his death and resurrection, the establishment of the Christian church, Christ’s triumphant return to save the ‘bride of Christ’, and ending with the final overthrowing of sin in Leo. I cannot believe this story can be read in the Zodiac by chance. For me, it another amazing example of God’s creative power. I ask you only to listen to the stars speaking and make up your own mind.

In Part One we saw where the twelve constellations of the zodiac were positioned in the heavens, with the names of the stars telling a story, which later became pictures on the star charts. We saw that each star sign has three associated constellations called “decans”, which help tell the story of each sign of the Zodiac. The story in the stars is divided into three chapters, with four star signs in each chapter, and each chapter giving a different view of Christ and the gospel message.

We have already looked at Chapter One where we saw the seed story in Virgo beginning with Eve, continuing in Abraham and being fulfilled in the birth of Christ. In the imagery of scales of Libra we could see that we were in the balance and found wanting and there was only one payment for our sin. In Scorpio we saw a representation of Christ sacrificing himself for our sins and over coming the cross. Finally in Sagittarius we saw symbols of Christ coming again in vengeance to reap the harvest of the earth.

Chapter Two comprises Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces and Aries. This second chapter is about the birth and development of the Church, and shows the result of the Christ’s resurrection, with the Holy Spirit being poured out on the early Christians as the church becomes established, despite the severe persecution it suffered. Once again I am using the chart from Bullinger’s book “The Witness of the Stars”, and acknowledge the influence this book has had on me and my research. As previously, I have enlarged the star signs from this chart so they are easier to see.

Capricorn

The first sign that we are going to look at is Capricorn. In this constellation we see representations of Christ’s sacrificial death and the atoning work of Christ, but then comes new life in resurrection, prior to the forming of the Christian Church.

The Hebrew name for the constellation Capricorn is Gedi, which means “a kid or a goat”. The goat was a ‘clean’ animal and a kid was often interchangeable with a lamb in the sacrifices, such as the passover. The skin of the goat also played a part in the tabernacle and was used to cover the ark and to wrap it up carefully for travel. However, I find it interesting that we often talk of “the lamb of God” and never “the goat or kid of God”. In the English language, the goat is referred to with much less respect than a lamb. A lamb connotes a sense of gentleness and meekness, whereas we think of goats as rather stubborn and much less biddable. We also refer to people “acting the goat” when they are “playing the fool”. Perhaps people’s views changed with the parable of the sheep and the goats told by Christ, when the sheep were singled out and saved.

Capricorn is called “the goat fish” because it is made up of a goat with a fish tail. This is how it was shown on older charts, and certainly on the Dendera Zodiac. These days we are more used to seeing Capricorn depicted as a mountain goat, standing tall with its two straight horns held aloft.

However, here we see that the goat is lying down, one knee bent under its body and its head lowered. It represents Christ, bruised and wounded. But, the goat is depicted with a fish tail, very much alive and almost flapping! Together, the symbol shows Christ dying to atone for our sins, but also shows his glorious resurrection.

The brightest star in this constellation is actually a double star. It is Deneb Al Giedi — “the Judge who is the sacrifice” and we think of our Lord Jesus playing both these roles.

The goat, in ancient Israel, had a double role to play. We remember the feast of Atonement where two goats were required. One of the goats was designated as a “scapegoat”. This goat was chosen to vicariously carry the sins of the people away into the wilderness. Another goat would be the sacrifice — the goat of atonement slain for the redeemed. This looked forward, and shows how Christ would die for us and his death would make us right with God.

He [Jesus Christ] is the sacrifice that atones for our sins — and not only our sins, but the sins of all the world. (1John 2:2 NLT)

The first decan is Sagitta which means “the arrow”. In Hebrew it means “destroying or desolate” The arrow goes forth, sent without a bow and we think of Isaiah,

He [Jesus Christ] was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. (Is 53:5 NLT)

The second decan is called Aquila and is shown as an eagle. We see the eagle falling, having been wounded by the arrow in the first decan, Sagitta. The star here is Al Tair, which means “the wounded”. Another star means “covered with blood”, a third means “the torn” and another, Al Okai meaning “wounded in the heel”. It is easy to see that the names of all these stars could refer to aspects of Christ’s sacrifice.

The third decan is Delphinus — the dolphin. This is Dalaph in Hebrew, and translates as “pouring out of water”. If the goat represents the amazing sacrifice of our dying Lord, the Dolphin represents His resurrection. Imagine a dolphin rising up out of the water, springing with new life.

He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. (Rom 4:25 NLT)

Stars here are Scalooin meaning “swift” and Rotaneh meaning “swiftly running.”

The symbol of a fish has long been used by Christians, and is still used today — you may have seen it on cars. This is a symbol of the resurrection — Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour. The word “ICTHYS” means fish in Greek, and forms an acrostic which translates as:

I for Iesous ( Jesus);
CH for Christos (Christ);
TH for Theou (God);
Y for YIOS (Son);
S for SOTER (Saviour)

The fish became a secret sign for Christians in the early church, at the time when they were being persecuted. Whenever two strangers met, the Christian would draw the top curve of the fish in the sand. If the other person was also a Christian, they would complete the fish picture in the sand. This assured them that they were both Christians and could speak freely. If the stranger did not complete the sign, then it was fair to assume that they were not a Christian, and their allegiance could be kept secret, hopefully avoiding reprisals for their Christian views.

To summarise Capricorn: here in the the sacrificial goat-fish, we see that the atoning work of Christ began with his death on the cross, but ends in his life in resurrection.

Aquarius

We come now to Aquarius, the water carrier. We have seen Christ crucified in Capricorn and now we see the blessings being poured out and the establishment of the Church. We see the water carrier which in Hebrew is Deli, meaning “the water urn, or bucket”. The living waters of blessing poured forth for the Redeemed. The principle star is Sa’ad al Melik meaning “Record of the outpouring”. We see that Christ’s sacrifice results in blessings being poured out and flowing toward the redeemed, as shown in the fish, representing the Church. In the Revelation, Christ says,

To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. (Rev 21:6 NLT)

The first decan is Piscis Australis [the Southern Fish] and shows Aquarius the water carrier pouring water straight into the mouth of the fish. The star here is Fomalhaut which is Arabic for the “Mouth of the Fish”. It shows that the poured water is received by the fish. The new Church had the Holy Spirit poured on them. Think of Peter saying in Acts 2,

And the Father, as he had promised, gave him [Jesus Christ] the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. (Acts 2:33 NLT)

Verse 41 of the same chapter goes on to say that 3,000 were baptised that day. This is significant because both Jews and Christians still remember Pentecost today. To Christians it is the beginning of the Christian Church, and to the Jews it is the day Moses received the Commandments at Mount Sinai. You may remember this coincided with the worship of the Golden Calf. That event ended with the wrath of God and the slaying of 3,000 people.

We also think of the time that Jesus refers to himself as living water when he read in the Temple,

Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come to drink! For the Scripture declare ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’. (John 7:37-38 NLT)

We are told that when our Lord read this passage it was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Our Lord would be watching the water ceremony, where the priest drew water from the Pool of Siloam and poured it out in the temple as prayers of thanks were made for the harvest, and for the winter rains to come. The crowds would make the connection between the ceremony and our Lord’s words. In the heavens, Aquarius was echoing this, for all the world to see.

The 2nd Decan is Pegasus — the winged horse. Here we see Pegasus flying through the air, representing our Lord returning. Stars here Markab meaning “The returning” and Scheat translated as “he who goes and returns”. Our minds go the ascension of Christ, where the angel tells the disciples,

Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go. (Acts 1:11 NLT)

The star in the nostril is Enif meaning “the water”; and Matar, the star in the leg, means “who causes to overflow”, continuing the water theme of Aquarius.

3rd Decan is Cygnus — the swan. This shows the Blesser surely returning and flying quickly back to the redeemed. The star in the centre back of the swan is Deneb which means “the judge” and another, Adige, means “flying swiftly.” Other stars are Al Genib, translated as “who carries,” and Homan meaning “the waters”. As the Lord Jesus says,

Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. (Rev 22:12 NLT)

Summary of Aquarius: After the Sacrifice of our Lord in Capricorn, we see blessings are now poured onto the redeemed as the new Church becomes established. The ‘water’ theme runs throughout the whole constellation of Aquarius, as one might expect. We see Christ working in the Church pouring out the Holy Spirit and the very certain promise of his return. We see blessing poured out freely and without limit.

Pisces

Then we come to Pisces where we see two fish held together by a band. It is suggested that these two fish represent the Jews and the Christians. In the symbols, we see the new Church struggling through persecution but pressing on in the power of the Holy Spirit. In Hebrew this constellation is called Dagim. The 'im' ending indicates a plural, and in Hebrew, dagim means “fishes".

The ancient Egyptian name used on the Dendera Zodiac is Pisces Hori, which means “fishes of him that cometh”. If we relate this to Christ, then we can see how the two fish were thought to represent two types of believers.

The first decan is The Band which binds the two fish together. The fish in turn bound to their great enemy Cetus, the sea monster. It is believed that the horizontal fish represents natural Israel and the vertical fish rising up representing spiritual Israel. The Jews and Christians, held together but both attached to Cetus, the sea monster. Each needing the other to obtain salvation.

For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. (Heb 11:40)

The two fish are pulling in different directions as they try to pull Cetus to Cepheus who can set them free — the two-fold image of the Jewish believers before Christ, and the Christian Church since Christ who will be united as one nation in Christ. As it says in Ephesians,

He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. (Eph 2:15-16 NLT)

The 2nd Decan is Andromeda — the chained woman in persecution and affliction, still held by sin and struggling to get free. The woman represents the bride of Christ, the church, the same image as the fish. The stars here are Al Phiratz meaning “the broken-down”, Mirach “the weak”, and Al March the “Struck down”. We see the first believers — the Jews — in persecution through the pages of the Old Testament, then throughout history, the gas chambers and on into the current time where anti-semitism still exists. We see the Christian church in persecution, starting with Nero and running throughout the ages. And we think today of the Iranian Christians fleeing for their lives. We also have the dual application of all believers still fighting sin in their lives, still held in the bondage of sin, and waiting for their redeemer to release them.

He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them. (Psalm 72:13 NLT)

The 3rd decan is Cepheus — this means “the Royal Branch” that is “The King” and looks to the Lord coming in power to set the redeemed free from bondage. As Zechariah says,

Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is . . .and will rule as king from his throne. (Zech 6:12 NLT)

A star here is Al Deramin, which means “the quickly returning”. In his belt you can see a star Al Phirk with means “the Redeemer”. In the left knee there is another star whose name means “The Shepherd”. In John 10, Christ says of himself,

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. (John 10:11 NLT)

Summary of Pisces: The fishes represent the Church of God. The believers before Christ’s birth (under the law), and the believers after his death (free in Christ) bound together and awaiting the return of Jesus Christ, who is watching over us, waiting to break our bondage and set us free.

Aries

The next sign is Aries — the ram. A positive and exciting constellation, as we see in the symbol of the ram the sacrifice of the holy Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the pinnacle of the story of our Lord as he gives himself up to be crucified. But the world’s darkest moment is followed by earth’s greatest triumph. The grave cannot hold our sinless Lord, and he rises from the dead.

Although we see the sacrifice of our Lord in several of the constellations, none has the power that we see when we look at Aries, showing Christ as the Passover lamb. As John the Baptist tells us,

Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 NLT)

Not only does Aries make us think of the Passover lamb, but we are also reminded of the ram caught in the thicket when Abraham was stopped from offering his only son Isaac as a sacrifice. The ram was substituted for Isaac, just as Christ has been substituted for us.

Aries means “The chief or the head”. It is Taleh in Hebrew, which means “lamb.” The brightest star is El Nath. “El” is a word we know and it means “God”. “Nath” means “broken or poured out”, as in1 Corinthians: 11:24, “this is my body which is broken for you…” Jesus is the Lamb of God; He is the authority, the judge, broken for us.

Another star Al Sharetan means “the wounded, the bruised, the slain.” The lamb that was slain for humanity, prepared for victory. As Revelation says,

Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.” (Rev 5:11-12 NLT)

As always, God’s planning is faultless, and so the Passover always takes place under the sign of Aries, the Ram. God chose 14th of the month, now known as Nisan, for the Hebrews to be free from slavery in Egypt when the angel of God “passed over” their homes that were marked with the blood of a lamb with a hyssop paintbrush. As the first day of the month was always a new moon, it would have been a full moon that night as the Jews left Egypt, no longer Jewish slaves but a nation — the Children of Israel. So much familiar imagery contained in the constellation of Aries.

The first decan is Cassiopeia, shown as the enthroned woman. In Pisces we had Andromeda as the chained woman, and now we see Cassiopeia. In the imagery we see the Church as the bride of Christ, preparing for her husband, the Redeemer. Revelation tells us,

…the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb and his bride has prepared herself. (Rev 19:7)

Stars here are Shedar, which means “Freed”, and Ruchbah “The enthroned” and Dat al Cursa meaning “The seated”. You can see above her (on the chart) that the King [symbolising Christ] is holding out the sceptre towards her, just as King Xerxes held his sceptre out to Esther, as a sign of welcome and acceptance.

The second decan is Cetus — the sea monster. This is the largest figure in the stars, and its name means “the rebel”. If you follow the path of the bands holding the two fish of pisces together, you will see that they are tied onto the neck of Cetus. You can also see that the Lamb is holding one of the bands under its foot. The great enemy is bound. You can see under the eye of Cetus a large star. This is Menkar which means “chained enemy”. The star in the tail of Cetus is Diphda which means “overthrown, thrust down”. As it says in Isaiah,

…in that day the Lord will punish with his sword - his fierce, great and powerful sword - Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent: he will slay the monster of the sea. (Is 27:1)

The third decan is Perseus which means “The Breaker.” By cutting the bands holding the fish, the church is released from from the power of sin. We have a picture of a mighty warrior, waving a sword and with a severed head in his left hand. The star in his left foot is Atik meaning “He who breaks.” In Revelation 5 we read,

…and I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice “who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” But no-one in heaven or on earth was worthy to open the scroll and read it - only the slaughtered Lamb. (Rev 5:2 NLT)

Our Lord himself is revealed as “The Breaker”, as Revelation 5 goes on to say,

You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Rev 5:9 NLT)

The middle star is Al Genib “the one who carries away.” On Purseus right side there is a star called Mirfak meaning “he who helps.”

To summarise Aries: we have the ram representing the perfect sacrifice. Perseus, symbolising Christ as “the breaker” breaking the chains holding the fish, releasing the completed Church from the power of sin and the Bride of Christ claimed. A wonderful, positive picture, full of encouragement for us.

Summary

So we end the four constellations making up the second chapter of the Zodiac. We started with Capricorn where we see that Christ’s sacrifice was necessary to redeem men. In Aquarius we see the blessing of the Holy Spirit was poured out, right into the Church to strengthen it and get it established. Pisces shows the Church held in chains of sin and persecution, awaiting the return of Christ and finally we saw in Aries the triumph of the enemy slain and the bride of Christ claimed.