New Article: Christ & Astrology
Also posted on my kimberlykeown.com website.
CHRIST
& ASTROLOGY
Many people in Christian
religions today are afraid to study esoteric arts. As a born &
raised Christian who also believes in the spirituality of esoterism,
this article seeks to reconcile these two seemingly conflicting
mantras.
Be forewarned: this is heavy reading and not for the frivolous
of heart.
***********
I am a Christian and was raised in the Catholic church, but I've
always been much more spiritual than religious. Although I
wholeheartedly embraced my church's teachings about God and faith, I
was searching for explanations and answers for my life that the
trappings of Catholicism did not address and could not answer.
Eventually, my inner desire to pursue spirituality over religion
caused me to drift away from the Catholic church.
The paradox was that I had great faith in God and the teachings
my religion instilled in me - but I did not embrace the rituals of my
religion and had no desire to follow them. And that led me TO
astrology. In the end, my decision to embrace astrology resulted in a
firm departure from the religion I was raised with... and an even
firmer embracing of the spiritual teachings it gave me.
***********
Many people raised in Christian religion today are afraid to
learn about esoteric arts such as astrology. This is because the Bible
tells people to not place their faith in astrologers, sorcerers, or
other such arts; but instead to place their faith in God alone.
If God is truly the creator of all things, then God created the
universe, and God created the planets. He put them in order, and he
gave them meanings and reasons for existence; just as he created
humans and gave them meanings and reasons for existence. God created
astronomy (the observation of the planets), and God created astrology
(the interpretation of the planets).
Planets move in a logical, orderly, predictable rhythm and they
act as a giant cosmic clock. Astrology is the interpretation of these
planet meanings and rhythms. Astrology is about cycles, rhythms, time,
and orderliness; not only in the planets and the cosmos, but in our
earthly lives.
I believe that at the time of those Biblical writings, esoteric
arts were widely accepted and used... and more widely misused. People
had forgotten that the planets are a mirror of our earthly existence,
not a dictation of it. 'As above, so below'. Everyone's heard that.
But the part left off is: 'And as it is below, so it is above'.
Planetary energies influence us, but we also influence them in equal
measure.
I believe many of the people in Biblical times placed their
faith completely in predestination: that the planets controlled life
below. And for those who were thieves, murderers, and sinners, this
was a convenient way to abdicate responsibility for their actions.
After all, it was the 'planets' (or 'gods') causing them to react and
'making them' do bad things... not their own guilty intent. If those
people could pretend they had no control over their actions, they
could pretend they were not responsible for them - and would not have
to bear the karma, or consequences, that would arise. They sought to
deny the immutable law of karma: that in harming others, you harm
yourself. 'Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.'
Those same people who blindly accepted predestination would have
necessarily given up their power over their own lives. With power
comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes power. If you
abdicate responsibility for your actions, you forfeit the power to
control your actions, and therefore your life. Thus, the dogma of
predestination meant that the 'planets (or 'gods') had absolute power
in determining the events that would happen to those people.
This also is the immutable law of karma. By refusing to live up
to your responsibilities to others, you refuse responsibility for your
own life. You then forfeit the power to be responsible for your life,
which means you forfeit your ability to control it. Have you ever
heard the phrase, 'If you don't make your own decision, someone will
make it for you and you might not like it'? This is the essence of
predestination. If you don't make a decision, a decision will be made
for you. Whether you like that decision or not is determined by
chance.
***********
The Bible itself is a book of prophets, and prophets are simply
masters of esoteric arts. The Bible makes countless references to
dreams, predictions, visions, and other psychic states. As a
manifestation of God, Jesus Christ himself was a seer and knew all
things... including his own fate and the fates of men. Jesus lived by
predestination - his express purpose in life was to die on the cross
for men's sins.
However, Jesus' entire message throughout his life, modeled by
the life he lived, made it clear that men are not slaves to
predestination, that they have a choice about how to live: to choose
good or choose evil. To choose life or choose death. In fact, Jesus
came to earth to force men to MAKE a choice and predetermine their own
fates. God wants companions; not subjugates. He said 'if you are not
for me, you are against me'. There is no ambivalence, no
fence-sitting, no hiding your choice or letting others choose for you.
Every man must choose for himself the life he will live, and stand
behind it proudly and firmly.
Although his life was predetermined, Jesus too made his choice.
As God, he could have chosen to save himself pain and not die on the
cross. He could have chosen a less painful and drawn-out death. He
could have chosen to not sacrifice himself for his creations. But he
did choose to do it. Nothing would dissuade him. He was determined to
do it. And because he refused to make any other choice, he
predetermined his own fate. He predestined his life and death.
Likewise, those who crucified Jesus could have chosen to not do
it. Some of their number probably did choose to not be part of it. But
many of them were determined to do it, and so they did. We are all
determined to make our own choices in life, and therefore we
predetermine our own fates.
***********
Astrology is not a dead art based on predetermination and planet
cycles. It is a living art that plots our challenges, joys, and issues
in real time. As such, it can be the 'road map' that gives us
direction in our lives and helps us grow in the right direction.
For those who seek deep spirituality; who want to study the
actual creations of God and how they are ordered; who do not want
lifeless, predestined predictions; astrology and the esoteric arts
have a lot to teach. Planetary alignments and meanings can explain a
person's personality and show how each person differs from one another
in temperament and in life circumstances. They can show where the
person has challenges and where things come more easily. They can
explain various circumstances going on in a person's life at that time
and give clues for how to survive and grow from those challenges; or
how to accept or release them in order to move forward.
Astrology is a limitless art. There is no end to how deep it can
go or how meaningful its interpretations can be. Like mathematics and
code, it's a complex, precise methodology that encompasses every
aspect of existence, and of life itself. It's the very essence of God
the Creator. The actual scope of astrology is limited only by its
interpreter; and the interpreter's level of spirituality determines
how completely and how well he can translate it.
People need to draw from their own personal spirituality and
create a unique, relevant, evolving relationship with their own God.
In the Bible, God states over and over that he is a Living God. This
means he wants a growing, personal, active connection with each
person. Not predestined, dead rituals based on rote, lifeless
planetary movements and external sources. This is why the Bible
teaches people to look to God for guidance; not the astrologers who
teach predestination and abdication of personal power.
***********
God created good, and God created evil. God created
predestination, and he created choice. As God, Jesus chose to die on
the cross and bear the karma, or responsibility, of creating sin. In
doing so, he relinquished his power over mankind and gave men the
power to determine their own fates and bear the responsibility of
their own lives. Remember the two thieves who died with Jesus. One
chose eternal light, and the other eternal darkness. Each one of us
must choose to either take the road to a higher calling and a more
positive life, or the road to a lower calling and a negative life.
What we are determined to do is our destiny.
Mobile versions of this article: .mobi (Kindle) .epub (Nook).
