Man as Microcosm: a Christian Explanation of Astrology

Explaining the mechanisms of natal and mundane astrology using theology from the ancient Church

(Left) An image depicting a vision by Hildegard of Bingen, a recently canonized Roman Catholic saint who lived very shortly after the Great Schism of the Church (most of her work is from 1163 to 1173). Note the resemblance between this image and the format of an astrological birth chart (right). Image Source: Liber Divinorum Operum I.2: The Cosmic Spheres and Human Being.

“Some of the Fathers of the Church have said that man is a microcosm, a world which sums up in itself the larger world. Saint Maximus the Confessor remarked that the more correct way would be to consider man as a macrocosm because he is called to comprehend the whole world within himself, as one capable of comprehending it without losing himself, for he is distinct from the world.”

- Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology

In my last article (A Case for Christian Astrology), I laid out the Biblical references to the zodiac signs and how ancient Christian/Jewish tradition incorporated these symbols into their understanding of God’s creation. So where do we go from there? What kind of astrology is safe to practice? How does this all work? The key that unlocks all of these answers is the concept of “microcosm vs macrocosm”.

A microcosm is defined as “a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger”. Basically, something small which is able to completely capture the “big picture” in its entirety.

As I cited in my last article, the Old Testament tabernacle and temple were designed to be microcosms of creation:

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. 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.”

- Joabson Xavier Pena, Wearing the Cosmos: The High Priestly Attire in Josephus’ Judean Antiquities

Creating a sacred space that serves as a microcosm is not an exclusive action to Christianity or Judaism, it is a religious activity that has been a human universal since pre-historic times. In The Sacred and The Profane by Mircea Eliade, there are a myriad of examples of this sacred practice, which is referred to as creating an imago mundi (world image). Even the habitations of ancient tent-dwelling tribal civilizations participated in the creation of microcosm within their own homes:

The house is the imago mundi. The sky is conceived as a vast tent supported by a central pillar; the tent pole or the central post of the house is assimilated to the Pillars of the World and is so named. This central pole or post has an important ritual role; the sacrifices in honor of the celestial Supreme Being are performed at the foot of it.

- Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and The Profane p. 53

This microcosmic design is still present to this day within the architecture of Orthodox churches:

The four parts of the interior of the church symbolize the four cardinal directions. The interior of the church is the universe. The alter is paradise, which lay to the East. The imperial door to the alter was also called the Door of Paradise. During Easter week, the great door to the alter remains open during the entire service; the meaning of this custom is clearly expressed in the Easter Canon: ‘Christ rose from the grave and opened the doors of Paradise unto us.’ The West on the contrary is the realm of darkness, of grief, of death, the realm of the eternal mansions of the dead, who await the resurrection of the flesh and the Last Judgement. The middle of the building is the earth.

- Eliade, p. 61 - 62

As Above, So Below

So what does the concept of microcosm have to do with astrology? There is a famous principle that is well-known by most esotericists and occultists that can summarize it briefly:

“That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.”

- Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus (c. 12th century)

The tree is an often used symbol to represent this Hermetic motif. The roots of the tree below mirror the branches of the tree above. The higher the branches, the deeper the roots. As above, so below.

The things of heaven reflect the things of earth, and the things of earth reflect the things of heaven. Pretty straight forward principle. In many occult traditions, the role of the magician is to unite that is which above and that which is below. This can be seen in the symbolism of The Magician Tarot card (note: I am not condoning the usage of cartomancy here, merely pointing out the symbolism).

One of the most infamous Tarot cards, the Magician. It symbolizes the beginning of the occultist’s journey in the magical arts, hence why it is the first card in the deck numerically. Note how the Magician is pointing upward and downward, attempting to unite the spiritual and physical realms. The instruments on his table represent the four suits of the Tarot which correspond to the four classical elements. The Magician takes the orderly principles from heaven and unites them to the material elements of earth.

While this might seem like a strange magical doctrine reserved only for sorcerers, you can find this same concept in the theology of the ancient Church. Saint Maximus the Confessor talks about man as being a “laboratory” that unites heaven and earth within himself:

[…] the human person, which is the laboratory in which everything is concentrated and in itself naturally mediates between the extremities of each division, having been drawn into everything in a good and fitting way through becoming, is divided into male and female. For humanity clearly has the power of naturally uniting at the mean point of each division since it is related to the extremities of each division in its own parts. Through that capacity it can come to be the way of fulfillment of what is divided and be openly instituted in itself as the great mystery of the divine purpose. It proceeds harmoniously to each of the extremities in the things that are, from what is close at hand to what is remote, from what is worse to what is better, lifting up to God and fully accomplishing union. For this reason the human person was introduced last among beings, as a kind of natural bond mediating between the universal poles through their proper parts, and leading into unity in itself those things that are naturally set apart from one another by a great interval.

- St. Maximus the Confessor, Difficulties 41

It is a beautifully written passage that captures the entirety of mankind’s purpose for being. We were created by God to pull the entirety of the visible and invisible universe into ourselves. Then by unifying ourselves with Christ through the process of theosis, we unify the entirety of the creation with God.

So if we pull the entirety of the cosmos into ourselves, does that make us the macrocosm of the universe? Aren’t we microscopic in scale compared to the universe? Aren’t we comprised of all the same basic elements that make up the rest of the objects in the universe? Wouldn’t that make us the microcosm?

It is a mirror reflection. The events in the external realm are reflected in the soul of the individual, and the events within the soul of the individual are reflected in the external realm. Human consciousness and the universe become representations of each other.

So the answer is actually both. We are both the microcosm AND the macrocosm of the universe. “As above, so below. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul.”

Resonating with the Music of Creation

When I wrote my last article, I referenced The Etymologies by St. Isidore of Seville. As I skimmed through it, I found that the excerpt he wrote about astronomy was in the same category as his writings on music. It’s no coincidence that these two practices were under the same domain, much of the ancient world thought this way. Here is a beautiful quote by him on music:

“So it is that without music, no other discipline can be perfected, for nothing is without music. Indeed, it is said that the universe itself is composed from a certain harmony of sounds, and that the very heavens turn to the modulations of harmony … But further, however we speak, or however we are moved by the internal pulsing of our veins – these things are demonstrably linked, through their musical rhythms, to the power of harmony.”

- St. Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies p. 95

Admittedly, St. Isidore dismissed most of astrology as superstition at best. I personally find this quite perplexing, given that he himself stated that the heavens themselves turn to the principle of music. If we take this profound connection one step further, it answers our initial question, “why does astrology actually work?” The answer:

The ‘music’ that the planets turn to is the same ‘music’ our souls dance to.

“As above, so below. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul.”

The connection between the nature of our soul and the position of the planets is not a causal relationship. The position of the planets do not cause the events on earth to transpire, just as much as events here on earth do not affect the cycles of the planets. The reality is that they mirror each other. If the universe is music, then there is a single ‘song’ playing in the background of creation; a song that God is actively performing every single instant. It has a rhythm, a melody, and harmonies.

Imagine the positions of the planets represent notes on a piano being struck, creating a chord. This same transcendent ‘chord’ that is being represented by the planets is the same ‘chord’ reverberating within your soul the moment you are born. The same can be said about the correlation between world events and the planets (this practice is called mundane astrology). The planets themselves are not causing anything on earth to happen, but rather, they serve as a cosmic mirror that can symbolically reflect the spiritual meaning of events on earth. As St. Maximus describes us, human beings were created by God to unite the extremities of the universe together within ourselves; the celestial bodies are no exception.

Conclusion

So to answer our initial question: “what kind of astrology is safe to practice?”

Again, no fortune-telling or soothsaying. The way we can best understand how to incorporate the symbolism of astrology into a Christian paradigm is by viewing it as a symbolic mirror that can give us insight into ourselves. I have personally made massive realizations about myself and others by learning about how the astrological archetypes are reflected in our personalities.

For example, the past few days while writing this article, I was in a very irritable mood. Everything seemed to be getting under my skin and it felt like I was about to fly off the handle at any minute. After two days of this irritable feeling, I looked at my astrological transits. Turns out that Mars, the planet of aggression, was in conjunction with my natal Sun. For those who don’t know what that means, the position that Mars is currently in within the zodiac wheel is in the same position that the Sun was in the moment I was born. This can be correlated with increased feelings of aggression. I had no idea that correlation was happening in the background while I was feeling mad. However, once I became conscious of that fact, I also became hyper conscientious of my temper and prayed more throughout the day.

My point is, don’t let these things dictate your life or what direction you should go in. I like to use the analogy of a sailboat: once you know the directions the wind is blowing, you will have an easier time piloting the ship. But don’t let the winds dictate which direction you go in.