The world's religions preserve, in symbolic form, humanity's ancient knowledge of astronomy. The gods are planets, the heroes are constellations, and the sacred narratives encode the movements of heavenly bodies. This is not to diminish these traditions but to reveal their cosmic depth: our ancestors looked up at the stars and saw the face of the divine.
The Solar Hero
Every culture tells the story of the dying and resurrecting god
The sun's annual journey through the zodiac is the original hero's journey. Born at winter solstice, growing to full strength at summer solstice, declining into autumn, and dying before resurrection, the solar cycle underlies the mythology of savior figures worldwide.
"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."
Galileo GalileiJesus Christ
Christianity
Born December 25th near the winter solstice, died and resurrected at the spring equinox, surrounded by twelve apostles like the zodiac.
Horus
Egypt
The falcon-headed god of the rising sun, born of virgin Isis, who battled Set (darkness) and ruled as the living Pharaoh.
Mithras
Persia/Rome
Born December 25th from a rock, Sol Invictus, the unconquered sun whose mysteries spread throughout the Roman Empire.
Apollo
Greece
God of light, prophecy, and the arts, who drove his chariot across the sky and slew the serpent Python at Delphi.
Krishna
India
The dark-skinned deity whose name means "all-attractive," born at midnight, who conquered the serpent Kaliya.
Baldur
Norse
The beautiful god of light who was killed and descended to Hel, destined to return after Ragnarok to rule the renewed world.
The Annual Journey
The sun's path through the year as sacred narrative
December 21-25
Winter Solstice
The sun reaches its lowest point, appears to stand still for three days, then begins its ascent. The birth of the solar child, Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule.
March 20-21
Spring Equinox
Day equals night, then light triumphs over darkness. Easter, Passover, Ostara. The sun crosses the celestial equator, resurrecting from winter's tomb.
June 20-21
Summer Solstice
The sun at maximum power, the longest day. Midsummer, St. John's Day. The solar hero at the height of his reign before the descent begins.
September 22-23
Autumn Equinox
Day equals night, then darkness begins to dominate. Mabon, harvest festivals. The sun descending toward the underworld of winter.
The Cross-Quarter Days
The fire festivals marking the midpoints between solstices and equinoxes
February 1-2
Imbolc / Candlemas
The quickening of the year, first signs of spring. Festival of Brigid, goddess of fire, poetry, and smithcraft. Purification and the return of light.
April 30 - May 1
Beltane / May Day
The height of spring, the sacred marriage. Fires lit on hilltops, cattle driven between flames. The veil between worlds grows thin.
August 1
Lughnasadh / Lammas
First harvest, the grain cut down. Festival of Lugh, god of skill and light. The sacrifice of the grain god for the people's sustenance.
October 31 - November 1
Samhain / All Hallows
The final harvest, the year's end. The veil between worlds at its thinnest. Ancestors honored, the dead walk among the living.
The Twelve Signs
The zodiac as a map of the solar journey and human experience
The twelve signs of the zodiac correspond to the twelve months, the twelve tribes, the twelve apostles, the twelve labors of Hercules. This division of the ecliptic into twelve houses represents the complete cycle of experience through which the sun, and the soul, must pass.
The Great Year
Precession of the equinoxes and the ages of humanity
Due to the Earth's wobble, the point at which the sun rises on the spring equinox slowly shifts backward through the zodiac, completing one full cycle in approximately 25,920 years. Each age lasts roughly 2,160 years, and humanity's spiritual evolution has been marked by the changing of these ages.
10,960 - 8,800 BCE
Age of Leo
The Sphinx gazes east. Solar worship, the lion as symbol of divine kingship. End of the last ice age.
8,800 - 6,640 BCE
Age of Cancer
The Great Mother, lunar worship, the rise of agriculture and settled communities. The crab and the moon.
6,640 - 4,480 BCE
Age of Gemini
The divine twins, the development of writing and communication. Duality and the birth of language.
4,480 - 2,320 BCE
Age of Taurus
Bull worship in Egypt, Crete, Mesopotamia. The golden calf, the Apis bull. Pyramid building, earth religions.
2,320 BCE - 160 CE
Age of Aries
The ram replaces the bull. Abraham's sacrifice, the Passover lamb, Moses and the golden calf. War and conquest.
160 CE - 2,320 CE
Age of Pisces
The fish symbol of Christianity, fishers of men, baptism by water. Faith, sacrifice, and spiritual devotion.
2,320 CE - 4,480 CE
Age of Aquarius
The water-bearer pours out knowledge. Technology, brotherhood, the dissolution of hierarchies. The coming age.
The Seven Planets
The wandering stars and their divine correspondences
To the ancients, seven visible celestial bodies wandered against the fixed stars: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Each governed a day of the week, a metal, a chakra, and countless other correspondences. The planetary spheres through which the soul descended into matter and would reascend to the divine.
Key Principles of Astrotheology
Understanding the astronomical basis of religious symbolism
The Sun as Savior
Solar deities who die and resurrect reflect the annual journey of the sun through winter death to spring rebirth. The light overcomes darkness.
Twelve Disciples
The twelve apostles, tribes, labors, and knights correspond to the twelve zodiacal signs through which the sun passes in its annual course.
The Cross
The solar cross marks the two equinoxes and two solstices. The sun is "crucified" at the spring equinox, crossing the celestial equator.
Virgin Birth
The sun rises in the constellation Virgo at the winter solstice, born of the celestial virgin as it begins its ascent from the lowest point.
Three Days Dead
At the winter solstice, the sun appears to stand still for three days before beginning to move northward. Death and resurrection after three days.
Age Transitions
Religious symbolism shifts as precession moves the spring equinox into new constellations. The bull gives way to the ram, the ram to the fish.