Fish Eaters: The Whys and Hows of Traditional Catholicism


"Praise ye Him, O sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars and light''



Virgo



 

 

Per the night sky, Virgo -- the Virgin -- rises in the East in March, the month of the Annunciation, as if to remind us of the words of Isaias and St. Luke:

Isaias 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and His Name shall be called Emmanuel.

Luke 1:26-35
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Virgo's brightest jewel is the star that makes up the branch the Virgin holds in her left hand, a large, bluish-white star 262 light years away and known as Spica, which means "branch of wheat." In Hebrew, this star -- the tenth brightest of the Northern hemisphere -- is known as "Tsemech" -- "Branch" or "bud" -- the exact same Hebrew word used to prophesy of the Messias in the verses below. How perfectly Spica recalls the words of Jeremias and Isaias:

Jeremias 23:5-6
Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise: and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently: and this is the name that they shall call him: The Lord our just One.


Isaias 4:2
In that day the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high, and a great joy to them that shall have escaped of Israel.

Isaias foretold that the Christ would spring from the "root of Jesse," David's father, and this He did physically through the virginal body of Our Lady, who was of the House of David, and, legally, through St. Joseph, also of the House of David. We recall the fulfillment of this prophecy each Advent with our Jesse Trees and in our O Antiphons, in which Christ is referred to as "Radix Jesse":

Isaias 11:1-2
And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.



Decan One: Coma Berenices

Next, there is the L-shaped constellation now known since ca. 250 B.C. as "Coma Berenices" -- a stellar symbol of the hair of Berenice, consort of Ptolemy III, ruler of Egypt. This constellation was not listed in the Greek astronomer Ptolemy's catalogue of forty-eight constellations, but was depicted in some ancient Zodiacs -- such as at the Temple at Denderah in Egypt -- as a young woman, sitting on a throne, holding an infant boy, a most perfect symbol of Our Lady. This constellation's second brightest star is known as "Diadem" -- "crown of royalty" -- and it will be directly overhead in the night sky for much of the month of May, the month dedicated to Our Lady and which begins with her crowning and ends with the celebration of her Queenship.



Decan Two: Centaurus

If you look on the Southern horizon while Virgo is visible, you will see a constellation of 35 stars named Centaurus -- a centaur being a creature with two natures. To the Greeks, this constellation was known as "Cheiron" after the most wise, gentle, and learned of all Centaurs. Cheiron, immortal because he was a son of a god, was pierced by an arrow and gave his immortality to Prometheus, allowing himself to die. Centaurus sits right over the Crux, or Southern Cross, the constellation of the first decan of the next Zodiac sign, Libra. A two-natured being that dies so another might live, who else can this constellation signify than Jesus, especially given that the Cross is nearby?



Decan Three: Bootes

Finally, on the Eastern horizon, we have the kite-shaped constellation Bootes (pronounced "Boh-oh-teez") -- a constellation pictured and known as "The Herdsman" -- or shepherd.
Throughout the New Testament, Christ is referred as the Shepherd, and His followers as sheep. Christ Himself says outright, as recorded in John 10:14, "I am the good shepherd; and I know Mine, and Mine know Me."

Even just before His death, at the Last Supper, He warned, in the Gospel according to St. Matthew 26:31-32, "Then Jesus said to them: All you shall be scandalized in Me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee."

What else can Bootes refer to other than Lord Christ?

This constellation's brightest star -- indeed, the second brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere -- is called "Arcturus," the "Bear-Watcher," and it can be found on Bootes's Western knee (the lowest point of the "kite" shape)." You can find Arcturus by locating the Big Dipper ("Plough") -- an asterism in Ursa Major, a decan of Cancer -- and following along the arc of its handle until you come to the brightest star you can see. This beautiful star is mentioned in the Books of Job (9:9 and 38:31) and Amos (5:8); hence, it is sometimes referred to as "Job's Star."
 
 
 



Virgo will have just become fully visible in the East in March, the month of the Annunciation when the Branch of Jesse was conceived of the Virgin Mary, by the Holy Ghost. It can be seen in the Spring and Summer in the Northern Hemisphere.



  Virgo relative to other stars in the Spring sky:


Table of Contents

The Zodiac

Introduction

A Tour of the Heavens

Envisioning the Celestial Sphere

The Constellations of the Zodiac
Virgo

Libra

Scorpius

Sagittarius

Capricornus

Aquarius

Pisces

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Summary and a Few Odds and Ends

The Traditional Catholic View of Astrology


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