Star of Bethlehem Dear Editor, Ft Bragg ADVOCATE, Ft Bragg, CA

Imagine yourself standing under a starry night sky, away from all city lights, perhaps on a high mountain top or rise, a.k.a. a tell; in a field of grass or out in the open desert. Your view to the south, east, and west, unobscured by mountains, trees, clouds etc. it’s December of the previous year, 8 BCE. The sun is in Capricornus and it’s about an hour after sunset… twilight’s taking place and there in the southwest sky hangs Saturn in Pisces and to the right, seen as a very bright white star is Jupiter in Aquarius.

The Wise Men (astrologers/sages) could not follow Jupiter or Saturn during Feb because it would have been blocked-out by the Sun's glare. But if they began their trek in Dec/Jan, when the Sun was in Capricornus/Aquarius then yes, Jupiter would appear in the West after sunset; a very bright white star.

But how did the Wise Men know to search out the fulfillment of the prophecies in the village of Bethlehem?? Imagine how many other kids were born that night or around that time, the Magi would have been wandering all over the place. What or why did the Magi know in order to go to Bethlehem???

Well, Jesus' birth came at a very advantagous moment/time. According to Bible accounts it was census time, Emperor Augustus decreed everyone to go to the city of their tribe, or house and be registered. Joseph was of the house of David ..and yes, that was part of the prediction, this great king/messiah/leader would be of David's house, born in the city of David (Bethlehem). See Micah chap 5:2

Your article is correct in that the so-called Jupiter/Saturn conjuction was 10 deg from each other, about the width of ten Moon diameters. But there's more to this, what also took place on this date was a New Moon, a Sun/Moon conjunction in early Pisces.

The Magi knew that in late Feb, early March the Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, & Venus would line up across the sky in a very tight bunch in the sign of Pisces. They reported to Herod that they had seen 'his star' rising in the East for approx 2 yrs. That would imply Saturn. Herod deliberated with his temple priests, who informed him of the prophecy. He in turn told the Magi and off they went... But that's the reason Herod killed those males 2yo and under..just to make sure. And wasn't HE lucky 'cause sadly all those of the house of David were right there in Bethlehem awaiting slaughter.

Saturn is the planet -and CAPRICORN the sign- generally associated with the Hebrews...this is how the Magi knew where to search... In addition, as there are 12 tribes of Israel, there too are 12 signs of the Zodiac... PISCES is the sign associated w/ the house of David!

See: David Womack's 12 Signs, 12 Sons: Astrology in the Bible, Harper & Row, San Francisco 1978.

Supplemental info....I did some chart tweaking, 'cause according to BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS, don't you love that phrase? sounds so authoritative, the Wise Men came to pay their respects some months AFTER Jesus' birth...and it's said the Wise Men followed HIS star to Bethlehem where it stood over his location. Well, as some have suggested, maybe that's the day/time that some certain planet went Stationary Direct or Stationary Retrograde. So I decided to use Saturn going SR.

Results are interesting...Saturn goes Stationary on July 5th at 446am and that's nearly the exact same moment -at 442a- it conjuncts Bethlehem's MC (Mid-heaven). And Jupiter conjuncts the MC at 450a. So on this date, there's twooo VERY bright star/planets shining down on Bethlehem, nearly overhead, due south on the road from Jerusalem. Also, the Sun is about to rise in the East/conj the ASC. Uranus opposes Pluto & quincunx Mars (do I hear a clashing of swords??). Jup & Sat quincunx Venus: No love lost there; Jup/Sat in Pisces -the spiritual Avatar, quincunxing Venus in Leo -the ruling, pompous king/governor. Amazing.

In conclu...Halley's Comet's appearance in 11 B.C. was believed to portend a disruption of the established dogma. Yes, comets do bring the downfall of institutions/foundations, "the death & birth of kings". It possibly would have first appeared in Pisces, heading as it always does, Westward....Lo, a sign!