Every time I meet someone who seems to be a lot like me, I get this feeling they are a Pisces just like me. So I'll ask, "When is your birthday?" After giving me a funny look they tell me and sure enough they are a Pisces! Though some might find this utterly ridiculous, I can't help but wonder if there is some truth behind it. Pondering the possibility of there being greater significance to the astrological signs, I can't help but wonder the possibility of us being born on a specific date to give us specific strengths we need to accomplish our missions, or if we are born on our special day because of the strengths and qualities we already possess (or maybe neither). We know that the sun stars and moon have an impact on the Earth and we know that the Lord's timing is perfect and everything He does has great purpose. The Hebrew calendar is based off of astrology (which coincides with LDS conference dates) and the Lord has used astrology to mark signs of significant events and prophecy.
What I read next blew my mind and gave me chills! If the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was in fact born on April 17th, it was surely meant to be. Here is what I learned about the Aries sign:
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac
Upon learning this I immediately thought of this scripture:
Doctrine and Covenants 110:4
I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.
Aries is a Ram
A ram is a male lamb. There are countless references in the Bible and Book of Mormon to Jesus being called the Lamb of God.
Revelation 21:23
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Interestingly, in Latin the word "ram" means "before".
Doctrine and Covenants 93:7
And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was;
The key phrase for the Aries is "I am" Am is in Ram. Immediately the scripture came into my mind Exodus 3:14
And God said unto Moses, I Am that I Am and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
I learned in Sunday school at the beginning of this year that this is Jesus Christ is speaking to Moses. I always thought it was our Father in Heaven. Jesus Christ is the mediator and mouthpiece for our Father in Heaven.
The zodiac symbol for Aries is "As above"
John 3:31
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
Luke 11:2
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Isaiah 66:15
The zodiac element for Aries is "Fire"
For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
2 Nephi 20:16
Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, send among his fat ones, leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
The Key Characteristics of an Aries are:
Determined, fiery, executive skills, born leader, loyal, physical, driven, ambitious. Our Savior was very loyal to the Father and led His sheep perfectly.
The Destiny Planet for Aries is:
The Sun. He is "the Son" and his brightness is greater than the sun.
The Affirmation for Aries is:
"I am the best yet I am humble". We know the Savior didn't need this affirmation - it's already who He was (who He is).
The Third Class of Aries:
Aries are divided into three classes based upon the dates. Being born between 11 and 19 April means you are endowed with greater humanitarian characteristics which means you have gentler and added charitable motivations behind your actions.
This sounds like the Savior. You might say this is all an amazing coincidence. According to President Monson, “There are no coincidences" (Thomas S. Monson, in To the Rescue, 60).About my son, I learned that he is loyal, very charming and loves to stand out in the crowd. At three months old, I have already seen him work his charm. I have always felt a special spirit about my youngest and even had some special experiences with him before he was born.
So, do the constellations have a deeper purpose and meaning? I did some further research and found that according to an article by Jon P. Pratt in Meridian Magazine they tell the story and testify of the Savior.
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| Water Bearer (Christ) pours living water (blessings) onto head of Fish (Church). (compare D&C 110:10, 121:33) |
But the celestial testimony of the Savior does not end there. The very position of the stars in the sky tell us that Jesus is the Christ. Though some researchers have assumed that star constellation figures evolved from primitiv e imaginations, evidence now indicates that they form a pictorial scientific "star map" that originated about 2900 B.C at about 36 north latitude.[8]
That corresponds well to the Hebrew tradition that the signs of the constellations date back to Enoch.
The Book of Enoch,[9] which was once in the Bible and was accepted by the Savior's apostles as written by Enoch himself (Jude 1:14), declares, "For the signs, the seasons, the years, and the days, Uriel showed me [Enoch]" (Enoch 74:4-7). Here as elsewhere in the scriptures, the constellations are called "signs" (Gen. 1:14; Rev. 12:1,4, JST). A detailed study of the ancient symbolism of these figures, combined with scriptural references and a knowledge of their star names, implies that the Lord meant for the constellations to graphically display the entire mission of the Savior.[10]
There were apparently a total of 48 original figures, 3 accompanying each of the 12 constellations in the zodiac. While some of these have been modified over time or have unclear meanings, others are unmistakable. A ram breaks the bands of death (Mosiah 15:20,23), the lion (associated with the tribe of Judah, Christ's lineage) tramples a fleeing serpent (Revelations 5:5), and a dragon at the top of the sky enfolds one third of the stars of heaven in his coils (Isaiah 14:13; Revelations 12:4, JST). Thus, the Psalm that proclaims, "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork" (Psalms 19:1) can be taken literally. The heavens are silently bearing witness of the glorious gospel plan, and once a Christian learns this sacred meaning of the constellations, it can forever change how he looks at the sky.
This was a very fascinating topic for me look into and I would love to hear any thoughts about it. I've included a little more below.
Here is the link to the zodiac information I used to read about the Aries sign.
http://www.astrology.com.au/astrology/12-signs-of-the-zodiac/aries.html
Out of curiosity I did a search for astrology in the Bible and found this:
One of the great astrological
stories in the Bible is the story of the
star of Bethlehem.
It is written that the star was a sign from God signaling
the birth of the Messiah into the world. The three
Magi,
Persian astrologer-kings, determined the time of this birth
by the position of this star. In 1600,
Johannes Kepler
hypothesized that this star was actually a conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn. Confirmed by modern astrology, this
symbolism ties in with the prophecies of that era concerning
a Messiah amongst the Jews. The conjunctions occurred at
the end of Pisces, ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter is the planet
of kings. Saturn is the planet that rules the Jews, thereby
giving the king of the Jews. This was a very infrequent
triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn and it occurred
in the year 7 B.C.
