Leo

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. And one of the ancients said to me: Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

That Lion of the Tribe of Juda, the root of David, is Christ Himself. It is He Who will open the book that was closed up with seven seals, the opening of which will bring on the tribulations the people on earth, including those of the Church, will endure before the Last Judgment we saw with the Sign of Cancer.

Our Lord's title of "the Lion of the Tribe of Juda" stems from Jacob's words to his twelve sons, each the head of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. To his son Juda, he said, in Genesis 49:8-9, "Juda is a lion' s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him? The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations." It is from the Tribe of Judah, the House of David, that Jesus comes, both through the genealogy of His Mother, but also, by inheritance, through the genealogy of His earthly father, St. Joseph.

Lions have long been a symbol of royalty, and the words of Jacob indicate Christ's Kingship when he speaks of the sceptre that shall not be taken away from Juda. With the Sign of Leo coming after the Last Judgment, everyone who's ever lived will realize what we Catholics already know: that Christ is, was, and always shall be King, a fact we celebrate with the Feast of the Kingship of Christ, on the last Sunday of October, just before Advent, a season that brings us back to the meaning of the Sign of Virgo which comes next, beginning the next repetition of the Zodiacal cycle. Regulus is the brightest star (actually, a star system of four stars that appear as one to us) in the constellation, and the fifteenth brightest star of the Northern hemisphere; it makes up the heart of the lion, and its name also means "King." The Babylonians knew it as "King," as well (Sharru), and the astronomers of India call it "Mighty" (Magha).

Just after the description of the second death in the Apocalypse, we read the words "And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God..." We then read about the Heavenly Jerusalem, about which we were told,

And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and He will dwell with them. And they shall be His people; and God himself with them shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.

The penultimate verse of Apocalypse reads, "He that giveth testimony of these things, saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus," a perfect segue back to the Sign of Virgo, the Sign that recalls the Incarnation and Birth of Jesus. At Advent, though, we anticipate more than just the Nativity of Our Lord; we anticipate the Nativity and the triumphant return of Lord Christ. Dom Gueranger puts it best, showing us how Virgo, with its signifying the first coming of Christ, so aptly follows Leo, foretelling His return:

This, then, is the mystery of Advent. Let us now listen to the explanation of this threefold visit of Christ, given to us by Peter of Blois, in his third sermon de Adventu: 'There are three comings of our Lord; the first in the flesh; the second in the soul; the third at the judgment.

The first was at midnight according to those words of the Gospel: At Midnight there was a cry made, Lo, the Bridegroom cometh! But this first coming is long since past for Christ has been seen on the earth and has conversed among men.

We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love Him, He will come unto us and take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty to us; for who, save the Spirit of God, knows them that are of God? They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes, but whence He cometh or whither He goeth they know not.

As for the third coming, it is most certain that it will be, most uncertain when it will be; for nothing is more sure than death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death. When they shall say, peace and security, says the apostle, then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape.

So that the first coming was humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full of love, the third will be majestic and terrible. In His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly; in His second, He renders us just by His grace; His third, He will judge all things with justice. In His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one between the two, the tenderest of friends.

How perfectly that last line describes Aries, Gemini, and Leo -- and in perfect order, you'll note.

Decan One: Hydra

This constellation is named for a great snake, one who lived in the water. The Greco-Roman understanding of this serpent is apt given that it was a snake with many heads -- and when one head was cut off, two or more grew in its place. How well this signifies how hard it can be sometimes to fight evil! But Hercules, the third decan of Scorpius and a symbol for Christ, defeated this monster, finishing it off once and for all (in fact, it was while fighting the Hydra that Hercules was bitten on the foot by the crab, something we read about under the Sign of Cancer).

Decan Two: Crater

Crater means cup, and this constellation fits perfectly with the 5th from very last verse of Scripture, Apocalypse 22: 17: "And the spirit and the bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come: and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely." The Evil One (Hydra) has been defeated forever, and we are now separated out, with those who will "take of the water of life, freely" in Heaven, and those who have chosen the path of darkness -- which the next decan, Corvus, indicates -- in Hell. For eternity.

We who drink from the Sacred Chalice, even if we do so only under the species of bread, drink the water of life, and "our cup runneth over," as the Psalmist says.

Decan Three: Corvus

Corvus is a raven or crow, a creature long associated with darkness and about which the Aberdeen Bestiary says,

'The raven did not return to the ark' (see Genesis, 8:7); perhaps because it was caught up and perished in the flood, or perhaps because it found corpses and settled on them. In the same way, the sinner who gratifies himself outwardly with carnal desires, like the raven that did not return to the ark, is held back by external preoccupations.

Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock.
If any man shall hear My voice, and open to Me the door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.

And don't delay. Heed the crows' warning as they tell us in a voice that the ancient Romans heard as squawking "Cras! Cras!" -- "Tomorrow! Tomorrow!" Know that the hour is late, as we're reminded of with our O Antiphons acrostic "ERO CRAS" ("Tomorrow I come"), and the penultimate verse of the Apocalpyse "He that giveth testimony of these things, saith, Surely I come quickly."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.