Fish Eaters: The Whys and Hows of Traditional Catholicism


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



Sagittarius



 
 
 

In June, Sagittarius, yet another centaur, a being with two natures, begins its rise in the East. This sign brings to mind the description of Christ in the Apocalypse of St. Johh 6:1-2 --

And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of thunder, saying: Come, and see. And I saw: and behold a white horse, and He that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given Him, and He went forth conquering that He might conquer.

-- and in Psalm 44:3-6:   

Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in Thy lips; therefore hath God blessed Thee for ever. Gird Thy sword upon thy Thigh, O Thou most mighty. With Thy comeliness and Thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and Thy right hand shall conduct Thee wonderfully. Thy arrows are sharp: under Thee shall people fall, into the hearts of the king' s enemies.

Can you guess at what this archer's arrow is aimed? At Antares -- the star that makes up the very heart of Scorpius, the symbol of the Evil One. And between Sagittarius and Scorpius is the very center, the very heart, of our home: the Milky Way Galaxy.

With this sign, we are reminded that the Evil One, struggling with Christ for our hearts, has already been defeated! The Evil One who's been tormenting the Virgin and the Church she symbolizes, as we see in the stars as Scorpius chases Virgo, with Libra -- the work of the Cross -- between them, has already lost!

We're reminded of something else, too, something very important: the first centaur we've seen in our skies was, to the Greeks, the sweet and gentle Cheiron, the second decan of Virgo. The centaur that rises now, though, is after Justice. Both of these centaurs can be seen as symbolizing Christ. Both are visible in the night sky in early Summer. And both reflect something important about Christ's nature, with this centaur bringing to mind something many would like to forget: His terrible Justice. Christ is both infintely merciful and infintely just. Neither of these aspects of Our God can be downplayed or denied without falling into great, tragic, error. Psalm 10:6-8 reminds us: 

The Lord trieth the just and the wicked: but he that loveth iniquity hateth his own soul. He shall rain snares upon sinners: fire and brimstone and storms of winds shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is just, and hath loved justice: His countenance hath beheld righteousness.

As a side note, just above Sagittarius -- between it, Serpens (the first decan of Scorpius), and Aquila (the second decan of Capricornus) -- is a very small constellation known as Scutum, which means "shield." This is a relatively new constellation, outlined only in 1684, and named in honor of King John III Sobieski who, with the Holy Roman Empire, defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, thereby ending their threat to the Christian West. It contains the largest known star -- a red supergiant that is 1,700 times larger than our Sun and known as UY Scuti. How nice to have a symbol of Christian victory over evil right between the constellations of Sagittarius and Serpens!



First Decan: Lyra

Lyra, or Harp, can symbolize the rejoicing of the angels and the Church at our Savior's conquering of evil. Psalm 97 comes to mind, my emphasis:

A psalm for David himself. Sing ye to the Lord anew canticle: because he hath done wonderful things. His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy. The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles. He hath remembered his mercy his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth; make melody, rejoice and sing. Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm:

With long trumpets, and sound of comet. Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king: Let the sea be moved and the fulness thereof: the world and they that dwell therein. The rivers shall clap their hands, the mountains shall rejoice together At the presence of the Lord: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with equity.

The second brightest star of the North is found in Lyra: the bluish-white Vega, known to the Babylonians as Dilgan, "the Messenger of Light," which carries on our angelic theme beautifully.


Second Decan: Ara

"Ara" means "altar," and this constellation is traditionally seen as the altar upon which Lupus, the second decan of Libra, was offered by the two-natured Centaurus, a symbol of Christ as depicted by the second decan of Virgo. It is this offering that makes up "the arrow" that the Archer Sagittarius fires at Scorpius. It is by Christ's Offering of Himself that He defeated Satan.


Third Decan: Draco

Draco means "Dragon," and Scripture is clear about who "the dragon" is (see the page on Scorpius). The foot of Hercules, the third decan of Scorpius and a symbol of Christ, rests on the head of Draco as yet another symbol of Lord Christ's victory over Evil. Psalm 90:6-13, my emphasis:

Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked. Because thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the most High thy refuge. There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling. For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.



Sagittarius, which contains an asterism that's shaped rather like a teapot, can be seen in June, July, and August.

   

Sagittarius relative to other stars in the Summer 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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