Who were the Magi that traveled to see the baby Jesus, and what was the star they followed? The Edgar Cayce readings support and add to the scientific and historical record and also give us personal insight into some of the people involved. 
Matthew tells us in the New Testament that the Magi asked Herod, the king of Judea, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him… and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.” (Matthew 2:2-10) This report suggests that the Magi already knew of the birth and that the star led them to their destination.
Most translations of the Bible refer to the visitors as wise men. Some use the term “magi,” which suggests priests or magicians. The Good News Bible calls them “some men who studied the stars” and Wycliffe’s Bible literally uses the word “astrologers.” Maybe some of the signs they followed were astrological.
The Christmas “star” has been seen as a comet, a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction and a supernova. Many believe it was simply a miraculous event. The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction has gotten the most support from astronomers, astrologers and historians, and a conjunction was recorded by Babylonian, Chinese and Egyptian astronomers before Herod died around 4 BCE.
The 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, who famously formulated the planetary laws of motion, knew that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions repeated every 20 years. As an astrologer, he also knew that they bring notable changes to humanity, often relating to new regimes or rulers. They complete a full circle around the zodiac every 800 years, a cycle initiating more significant turning points, often called World Ages. Projecting the cycles backwards, Kepler identified a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction from 7 to 6 BCE in the sign of Pisces (the fishes), which is associated with Jesus and Christianity.
Well before Kepler, when astronomy and astrology were intertwined, a tradition had already developed around these cycles. The ancient Persian astrologer Gjamasp al Hakim had written an important book on the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions by the 6th century BCE. The Jewish Persian astrologer Mashallah studied the conjunctions in Baghdad in the 8th century, as did the Muslim Persian astrologer Abu Mashar a century later. These prominent historic figures passed on a longstanding tradition that pre-dated the birth of Jesus.
Many today believe that the Magi were Zoroastrian priests from Persia (ancient Iran), who are known to have used astrology to understand history and cycles. In a 1937 reading, Cayce said, “The entity… was among the Persians who had been of the teaching class, and… [his son] became among the Wise Men.” (1378-1)
According to the readings, Zermada, a Syrian-Persian astrologer, had independently concluded “… that the looked for changes were coming in the Holy or Promised Land… and … there came more communications and interpretations of those records or signs that eventually brought the journeys of some of the Wise Men, of which we have records.” (2880-2) Perhaps like Herod, she knew of the prophecy recorded in Micah 5:2 stating that the child would come from Bethlehem. But since Zermada was an astrologer, the records she studied could have certainly been astrological as well.
In a reading for the reincarnation of Thesea, Herod’s third wife, Cayce stated that “There was more than one visit from the Wise Men… They came from Persia, India, Egypt and also from Chaldea, Gobi and what is NOW the Indo or Tao land.” (2067-7) So there were more learned visitors and more visits than in the Bible account. There were notable astrological traditions in India, Egypt and Chaldea. The same could be said of China, perhaps what was meant by the “Tao land.”
Some of the Magi seem to have been Persian priests who were knowledgeable about astrological traditions and cycles. It appears that the “star” was a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction that foretold significant developments for the world. Even if the star itself occurred miraculously, Cayce suggests that the Magi had studied the skies and expected a momentous event.
I wrote about the Magi and the Dalai Lama here.
My review of Courtney Roberts’ Star of the Magi
I wrote more about the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in America in my book Tecumseh’s Curse.
