Bible and the Divine Science of Astrology

“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, King James Bible.

The first Biblical reference to the study of the stars is on the first page of the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament, there are many references to diviners and astrology, mostly exhortations not to use divination (Deuteronomy 18:10). However, the Bible distinguishes between divination and enchantments, which are snares of the Devil, and “divine divinations” (Ezekiel 13:23). The former is generated by man, as in the casting of lots or similar methods, while the latter are omens from God and are permissible to interpret. Man-made divination (including divination through the spirits, which is forbidden) arises from the lack of faith, while divine signs are a vision vouchsafed from God.

This unclear dichotomy between permissible and impermissible divination makes astrology somewhat difficult to classify. The lights in the firmament have clearly been given to us for signs (Genesis 1:14), and their movements are generated by the hand of the Prime Mover. This would classify astrology as a “divine divination,” and hence, permissible. After all, interpreting the Star of the East as presaging the birth of the Messiah was how the three Magi found the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:9-10).

On the other hand, the very act of asking a question of an astrologer is a demonstration of lack of faith in Divine Providence, which knows best. As John Frawley points out, every question boils down to: “Is it the will of God that X happens?” This is a point of difficulty, as one’s spiritual goal should be to do the will of God continually, so knowing His will would be desirable. This would, presumably, be a legitimate use for divination. If divination reveals that we will never get our heart’s desire, we can stop striving for it, as continuing to fight God’s will would make us guilty of the sin of pride.

From a religious perspective, divination is seen as something outside of God. By definition, however, divination is a means of asking God a question. He deigns to answer, and by doing so, reveals Himself. Making this personal dialogue available to all people is anathema to the exoteric authority of religion, however. The fear of usurpation of religious function as the mouthpiece of the Divine is present throughout the Old Testament, even as the Hebrew kings constantly divined the future and consulted astrologers. However, this focus on obedience is not present in the New Testament, which tells us to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

The Seven and the Twelve

These two numbers occur very frequently in the Bible, with their importance noticeable especially when compared against occurrences of other numbers. In one of his lectures, John Frawley noted this important fact, and correlated it to astrological symbolism; the seven are the seven planets, while the twelve are the twelve signs of the zodiac.

The Pharaoh’s dream of the seven cattle and seven corn (Genesis 41) is a key example of the importance of the number seven. The seven fat cattle represent the planets in their strong states (exaltation or domicile), while the lean cattle symbolize the planets in their weakness (detriment or fall). The lean devouring the fat indicates the upcoming famine, as symbolized by the seven planets in their weakest state.

The miracle of the seven loaves and fishes is another famous example of the use of the number seven in the Bible. The seven loaves miraculously feed four thousand people; a good analogy for the way astrology works. The seven planets do not affect people physically (such as through the law of gravitation), but rather through profound similarities between the planet and the person involved. Mars moves in concert with the Mars bits in us, and so forth. This is why the four thousand people could be fed with just seven loaves – the people believed, and the miracle happened.

The number twelve is seen in the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph and his brothers, and of course, the twelve Apostles. It correlates to the twelve signs of the zodiac, which serve as domiciles for the seven planets. We note that whenever the number twelve occurs in the Bible, it is typically in the context of the 12+1; the Apostles plus Jesus, the twelve tribes and Jehovah, and so on.

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