A Case for Christian Astrology
Using Biblical history and theology to sort out how we should and should not ponder the heavens
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years”
- Genesis 1:14
Introduction
In the Orthodox Church (and Christianity in general), “astrology” is often an extremely contentious topic. At least in America where I live, there is an extremely black-and-white attitude towards studying celestial phenomena. I believe this is a symptom of the Western Protestant paradigm many of us Orthodox converts come from. It feels like there is no nuanced understanding of the topic; it’s either all bad or all good, no in-between. In reality, astrology was a fact of everyday life that was taken for granted by ancient people. Everyone believed that the planets and stars were spiritual beings, angels and demons, that were somehow interacting with life down here on earth. There were certainly many sorcerers who used astrology in their magical practices for evil (even today there are still many), but much of astrology was not used for such purposes. In fact, there is evidence that astrological study was an integral part of how ancient Jews and Christians understood creation.
I have done a decent amount of research into what the Church Fathers had to say about astrology. While I have by no means exhausted all the sources available out there, I have come to the conclusion that the Church Fathers do not condemn studying the heavens entirely, but rather, specific kinds of astrology. In the Greek language there are several different words to articulate the many kinds of “love” we feel (agape, eros, philia), yet in English we only have one word for the entire concept. The same thing can be said about the English word “astrology”. In the ancient world, there were many different words to differentiate between the many disciplines of astrological study. Unfortunately, all of these words get lumped together and broadly translated to “astrology”, causing the entirety of the practice to be viewed as evil sorcery by many modern Christians in the West.
In The Etymologies by St. Isidore of Seville (a scholar and bishop from 6th century Spain), there are several Latin words he uses to describe the different kinds of astrological study. For example, he uses the word ‘astrologia’ to describe astrology in general, and then uses the word ‘mathematicus’ to describe astrologers who practice natal astrology specifically. The Church namely condemns any type of astrology that involves divination and/or idolatry. If you look at the original Hebrew in the Old Testament, what is translated to English as “astrology” actually directly translates as “to divinize the heavens” or “make the heavens divine”. The condemnations of astrology in the Old Testament refer more specifically to serving and worshipping the celestial bodies as gods who provide favors in return. It was NOT a condemnation of studying the spiritual meaning of the sky in general.
To clarify, divination in this context means fortune-telling and soothsaying; any attempt to predict the future and/or gain hidden information through interpreting natural phenomena. Likewise, idolatry entails making sacrifices to the celestial bodies, performing liturgies in service to them, submitting to their authority as spiritual powers, etc. I am in total agreement with the fathers of the Church and do NOT condone such activities; I have seen firsthand the spiritual damage done to people who go down those paths. Ultimately, the will of God is to be discerned in “inner” space, not outer space. We can NOT enter the Mind of God through observation of the natural world alone. Through prayer, fasting, almsgiving and humility we discern God’s will.
That being said, what CAN we gain from studying the heavens? Is there any history of astrology being used in the Bible? Turns out, there is a lot of symbolic correlation between the zodiac signs and the scriptures.
The Four Living Creatures and the Zodiac
First, let’s take a look at zodiacal symbolism of the four living creatures described in the vision of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation:
As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. - Ezekiel 1:10
Anyone who is familiar with the symbols of the zodiac wheel will recognize that these represent the four ‘fixed’ signs, the signs which the sun passes through during the middle of each season. The man is Aquarius, the lion is Leo, the ox is Taurus, and the eagle is Scorpio (Scorpio is traditionally represented with a scorpion, eagle and/or a serpent). In Orthodox iconography, they are each holding the Gospel because they are associated with the four evangelists: Mark (lion), Luke (ox), Matthew (man), and John (eagle). Mark is the lion because the theme of his gospel is Jesus coming to fulfill the office of kingship. Luke is the ox because his gospel depicts Christ as a servant, like how an ox is a beast of burden. Matthew is represented as a man because his gospel depicts Christ as the sinless heavenly man who embodies all the virtues. John is the eagle because his gospel views Christ’s story with a deeper bird’s-eye-view, depicting Christ as the pre-eternal Logos that was with the Father in the beginning.
The Twelve Tribes of Israel
The symbolic connections with the four living creatures run even deeper throughout the worship of the Old Testament Israelites. The 12 tribes of Israel which started with the 12 sons of Jacob all had a constellation associated with them; four of them are associated with the four living creatures and their corresponding zodiac signs. Judah’s symbol is the Lion (Leo), Ephraim’s is the Bull (Taurus), Reuben’s is a man OR flowing waters (Aquarius) and Dan’s is a serpent (Scorpio).
In the book of Numbers, Moses describes the layout of the Israelite’s encampment and where the 12 tribes of Israel were to camp in relation to the tabernacle in the center. The four cardinal directions were explicitly given to those same 4 tribes: Judah to the East, Reuben to the South, Ephraim to the West, Dan is to the North. The text even explicitly states that the tribe of Judah should be to the East where the sun rises. Lions were often associated with the sun in the ancient world, which is why Leo is the fixed sign of summer when the sun is strongest.
This symbolism is parlayed into the temple worship of ancient Israel. In Exodus, Aaron, the brother of Moses, is told to wear a breastplate with 12 gemstones. Each stone had an engraving of one of the 12 tribes. This tradition was continued by the high priest during the 1st and 2nd temple period. Each gem stone would be of a different color, representing the 12 tribes and the constellations that they are associated with. In fact, according to Josephus, the entirety of the liturgical worship setting that was established by Moses is meant to be a miniature version of the entire universe: a microcosm.
In his recounting of the Exodus narrative of the wilderness tent in Ant. 3.108-187, Josephus presents a distinctive description of the cult site as an archetype of the cosmos.2 Thus, when Josephus describes the physical structure of the tent, its appurtenances, and the priests’ apparel, he also explains that everything within is in “imitation and representation of the universe” (Ant. 3.180). Josephus writes, for instance, that the types of material used to weave the tent’s textile portion indicate the basic elements of nature from which God made the universe (3.183). The tripartite division of the tent reflects the cosmological geography: the land, the sea, and the sky (3.123, 181). The lampstand and the twelve loaves of bread within the tent signify heavenly bodies (3.144-146, 182), and the priestly vestments reflect the nature of the universe (3.151-180, 184-187). The characterization of the sacred clothing is by far the longest, occupying two-fifths of the narrative, and most colorful account in Antiquities in which cosmological connotations appear prominently.
- Joabson Xavier Pena, Wearing the Cosmos: The High Priestly Attire in Josephus’ Judean Antiquities
The same exact gemstones that are listed in the priestly breastplate are later described in the book of Revelation as being the 12 walls of New Jerusalem:
19The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst
- Revelation 21:19-20
I don’t point out these connections for the purpose of reductionism. I am absolutely NOT trying to imply that all of this symbolism present in the Bible is merely an extrapolation of astrological motifs. I also am not implying that the Old Testament Israelites worshipped the stars and the planets. I am simply trying to point out that the entirety of creation is an interconnected web of symbolic patterns. The Jews of the Old Testament were well-aware of these astrological patterns and knew how they all fit together in relation to worshipping the God that created all of them.
Abraham: the First True Astrologer
In my research for this article, I stumbled upon an incredible piece of ancient Jewish tradition that was passed down through the 1st century historian Josephus:
“The Egyptians were the first to discover astronomy. However, the Chaldeans were the first to teach astrology (astrologia) and observations concerning nativities. But the author Josephus asserts that Abraham instructed the Egyptians in astrology. The Greeks say that this art was earlier conceived by Atlas, and that is why he was said to have held up the sky.”
- St. Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies (pg. 99)
“He was thus the first boldly to declare that God, the creator of the universe, is one, and that, if any other being contributed aught to man’s welfare, each did so by His command and not in virtue of its own inherent power. This he inferred from the changes to which land and sea are subject, from the course of sun and moon, and from all the celestial phenomena; for, he argued, were these bodies endowed with power, they would have provided for their own regularity.”
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
If you have ever done any digging into Christian or Jewish history, you have probably heard of Josephus. He contributes a massive portion of our understanding of second temple Judaism as well as the cultural understanding of Old Testament tradition. His writings give us a great look inside the minds of Jews at the time and what they believed about these biblical stories. Josephus is not the only major Jewish historian in antiquity to report this tradition. Philo of Alexandria is another 1st century Jewish scholar who also elaborates that Abraham left the Chaldeans because he saw God in the order of the cosmos:
“We have a very clear proof of the mind’s migration from astronomy (astronomia) and the Chaldean notion in the words which follow at once the story of the departure of the sage. It says that ‘God was seen by Abraham’ [Genesis 12:7]. This shows that God was not manifested to him before, when in his Chaldean way he was fixing his thoughts on the circular movement of the stars with no apprehension at all of an harmonious and intelligible order of things outside the cosmos and the sphere of sense. But when Abraham had departed and changed his place of settlement he could not help but know that the cosmos is not sovereign but dependent, not governing but governed by its maker and first cause. His mind saw this for the first time with its recovered sight.
For before a great mist had been shed upon it by the things of sense, and only with difficulty could it dispel this mist under the warmth and fervor of higher truths and so be able as in clear open sky to receive the vision of one who so long lay hidden and invisible. In God’s love for humankind, when the soul came into his presence, did not turn away his face, but came forward to meet him and revealed his nature, so far as the beholder’s power of sight allowed. That is why we are told not that the sage saw God, but that God was seen by him. For it was impossible for anyone by himself to apprehend the truly existent unless he revealed and manifested himself.”
- Philo of Alexandria, On Abraham 77-88
I believe this piece of information is the absolutely essential key to understanding how to incorporate the reality of astrology into the Christian worldview. The incredible orderliness and spiritual meaning that can be examined in the celestial realm does NOT arise from the individual agencies of the planets and stars themselves. In the angelic hierarchy, the heavenly spheres in the celestial realm are very high-ranking, yet they are NOT at the top of the pyramid. The mathematical perfection and the beautiful consistency of the planetary cycles are not self-referential; the order of the cosmos is reliant on the Creator of ALL orderliness, which is the divine Logos. All intelligible patterns that make up the underlying blueprints of creation are grounded in the eternal Word of God. Abraham was able to look beyond the realm of the physical senses and intuit that there MUST be a conductor above the firmament orchestrating this heavenly symphony. Philo of Alexandria also further details how Moses was believed to view the significance of the cosmos:
“On the other hand, while Moses seems to confirm the sympathetic affinity of its parts displayed throughout the cosmos, Moses is at variance with the Chaldeans’ opinion concerning God. Moses endorses the earlier teaching by declaring the cosmos to be one and to have been created, because if it came into being and is one, it stands to reason that all its completed several parts have the same elementary substances for their substratum, on the principle that interdependence of the parts is a characteristic of bodies which constitute a unity. Moses differs from their opinion about God, holding that neither the cosmos, nor its soul, is the primal God, and that the constellations or their revolutions are not the primary causes of the things that happen to human beings. No, Moses teaches that the complete whole around us is held together by invisible powers, which the Creator has made to reach from the ends of the earth to heaven’s furthest bounds, taking forethought that what was well bound should not be loosened, because the powers of the cosmos are chains that cannot be broken.”
Philo of Alexandria, Migration of Abraham
God Sits Above the Heavens and We Can Join Him
Examine the first two images at the very beginning of this article, as well as the painting directly above; in these images are depictions of the exact principle that Abraham and Moses knew in their hearts. The zodiac and the planets are ancient and primordial patterns that have been dancing in the heavens since time immemorial. They have been consistently going through the course of their cycles without deviation for as long as humans have been examining them. They have incredibly strong spiritual significance; these cosmic cycles have always been known by humanity to have some sort of correlation to events here on Earth. However, these heavenly processions are not the primary cause of these events, they are secondary agents which are subject to an even higher cause. Just like spokes on a wheel revolving around the center axis, the planets and stars revolve around a central fixed point: the eternal and unchanging God that sits above the heavens.
But there is even more joyous news than this! God does not wish to be alone above the stars, He has brought humanity up to the eternal throne room to be with Him. Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and therefore human nature itself is seated above the stars. If you examine the painting above, you will notice that there are saints and angels praising the Lord in the center above the zodiac signs. This highlights another crucial point in understanding the proper place of astrology in the Christian worldview: we are not subject to the authority of the zodiac or the planets. There is no such thing as being a prisoner to the Fates, the Most High God has given us freedom to decide our own fate.
In Orthodox theology, “theosis” is a concept that is absolutely crucial in understanding humanity’s role in the cosmos:
“Yea, I say, the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god.”
- Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 - 215 AD)
It is important to note that we don’t become God by nature, but by participation. Our goal as human beings is to become unified with God by following the commandments the Word of God spoke to us. And through this, we may also ascend to heights of heaven and become gods. This is the reason why we were created by God in the first place: to rule over creation like our forefather Adam. That includes the cosmos as well.
The Apostle Paul and Astrology
Abraham’s intuition about God through gazing at the stars is the perfect transition into our next point: St. Paul states in Romans 10 that EVERY culture before the coming of Christ should’ve done the same exact thing.
One of the most common criticisms of Christianity I have heard goes something like, “how can people follow God/Christ if they have never heard of Him?” There are many different responses to this question, but St. Paul certainly has one of the most unique answers. To understand what St. Paul says in Roman 10 about this matter, we must first look at Psalm 19:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
- Psalm 19:1-6
In Romans 10, St. Paul quotes a line from this psalm when answering the question:
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their line went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
- Romans 10:13-18
“Their line went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” What does this verse mean? What is this “line” that the psalmist mentions and why does Paul reference it? In many translations of the Bible, the word “line” in both of these verses is often translated as “voice”. Why is that?
Turns out, this “line” is referring to the sun’s ecliptic.
Ecliptic, in astronomy, the great circle that is the apparent path of the Sun among the constellations in the course of a year; from another viewpoint, the projection on the celestial sphere of the orbit of Earth around the Sun. The constellations of the zodiac are arranged along the ecliptic.
- Encyclopedia Britannica
What the psalmist is describing in Psalm 19 is the cycle of the sun throughout the course of the year. That is why he also says “His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof”. The psalmist is drawing a very clear connection here between the sun’s path through the stars and what the sun is trying to say to us. That is why in many translations, the word “line” is translated as “voice”; the ecliptic of the sun IS the sun’s voice. And it is not just the sun’s voice that speaks to us throughout its cycle, it is ALL of the planets. That is why the psalmist says “their” line and “there is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard”. The psalmist clearly states that everyone across the entire globe has access to the information that the stars and planets provide for us, and yes, they DO provide information to us. Why else would the psalmist say “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge”? And why else would St. Paul use this psalm in his argument that all pagan cultures should have known about the Most High God?
It is very clearly implied by both the psalmist and St. Paul that humanity has ALWAYS been practicing astrology and gaining knowledge from the study. The kicker here, however, is that if the astrologer is honest with themselves, they will come to the conclusion that there is an infinitely wise God above it all who is the bedrock for all of this knowledge. The sun, moon, stars and planets all speak to us with the voice of their ecliptic and proclaim their Creator. Why would the sun blot itself out for three hours during the crucifixion of our Lord? It could not bear to watch the pain and suffering of its precious and all-loving Creator.
Conclusion
I have been studying astrology for about a year now and it has yielded extremely fascinating findings. It has shown me the cycles of creation and how to discern the spirit of the times. It has helped me hear the underlying music of reality that the Logos orchestrates for us in this cosmic symphony He has finely tuned. It has shown me that although our universe is massive beyond our comprehension, there IS intrinsic meaning and order in all of it. Outer space is not a large void full of rocks flying around arbitrarily, it is an immaculate clock with innumerable moving parts containing significant meaning.
I do not try and predict the future or gain some sort of hidden knowledge through studying the stars. I do not believe that the planets or stars orchestrate my fate. I do not base any of my life decisions on the patterns I observe through studying the planetary cycles. All I am trying to do is live the way all of humanity did before the industrial revolution; I am merely trying to study the patterns of nature and see what mundane connections can be gathered from it.
Many times when I bring up the topic of astrology with fellow Christians, I am often met with fierce opposition as if I had proclaimed that I am a sorcerer. I hope the facts that I have laid out in this article make it clear that it is entirely within the Christian paradigm to study the heavens as long as it is oriented properly towards God. There are many more pieces of information out there that I could have cited, but hopefully this is enough to prove my case that there is no sorcery required in order to study astrology.
Can I discuss more with you about what might constitute the difference between "appropriate" and "inappropriate/sinful" applications of astrology in a Christian paradigm?
Because while I see what you're getting at, I'm interested for my own sake as someone who has studied and practiced astrology in the past. Of late I have saught to repent and turn to the Lord God, for many things but for astrology and divination as just one thing. I know of course that you aren't a priest, so I shouldn't treat your word as gospel; however, it seems to me that what you're saying is "astrology is not appropriate for trying to predict the future, discerning the mind of God, or revealing hidden information (i.e. horary astrology, in which you are consulting a star chart for where you lost your keys)." I'm curious, then, what exactly does this leave you with? You speak about observing "mundane connections," and by this do you mean "mundane" as a technical term ("mundane astrology" meaning the looking to the stars symbolically to as a reflection of ongoing events on earth, usually on a larger scale than individual people's lives) or do you mean "mundane" as in "just not trying to know something I shouldn't know?" Or some other thing? Because it seems to me that your argument for freedom of the will might disincline you to seeing natal charts as appropriate for Christian astrology, in which case house systems are also out the window, at which point your actual working framework has been stripped down and made quite vague. Perhaps that's the idea, that people not be able to get much out of an appropriately-oriented astrology, but this begs the question: why look to the stars it at all? They're beautiful, yes, and indicative of a divinely ordered cosmos, but astrology at its bare-bones also presumes that they're SAYING something. There's no such thing as knowledge without consequence. If observing the stars and making a connection between your life and the stars tells you nothing which would cause you to live your life any differently, is there any good reason to do so if getting too far into it might make you a sinner?
Sorry for all the questions, but this does matter to me. Finally, I'd like to make clear that I'm not here trying to call you a sinner, I opened this message by admitting to what are flattly my own sins of practicing divination, so if anything I'm really looking to you for your thoughts on what might be salvageable from my studies. Thank you for your thoughts and reflections.
This article put together a lot of different things I’ve been pondering about for quite awhile, thank you