Tag Archives: Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions

Edgar Cayce and the Magi

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.

Morin’s Book

Jean Baptiste Morin de Villefranche (1583-1656) was a leading astrologer in 17th century France, with patrons like Cardinal Richelieu, Pope Urban VIII, France’s Queen Marie de Medici and Queen Kristina of Sweden, but he never received quite the acclaim he felt entitled to. He fumed over contemporaries who used what he considered deficient methods but who nevertheless enjoyed greater success. For 30 years he toiled over his masterwork, The Astrologia Gallica, yet he was never able to publish it. Finally, five years after his death, his patron Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga of Poland brought it into print.

With Jupiter ruling the 9th of higher learning and publishing placed in its own sign of Pisces, Morin retained a college professorship for over 25 years. Jupiter trined his Mars and conjoined 3rd house ruler Mercury in Aquarius, and he could certainly write – Astrologia Gallica runs over 26 books and 800 pages! So what was the problem? Saturn.

By the time Morin practiced in the mid-17th century, his Latin was going out of style and the work of Copernicus and Newton attracted more attention as the west drew closer to the scientific reductionism of the “Enlightenment.” Morin was a man who suffered for an expertise that no longer seemed relevant to many.

Jupiter conjoined his Sun at about a half a degree, with both in orb of conjoining Saturn in Pisces in the 12th house. Morin’s Moon, also in Pisces, conjoins Saturn more closely. If Jupiter lacked dignity, we might describe the situation as “too little, too late.” Instead, we have a seminal work that is still being read and translated over 400 years after publication, but only in parts and with a limited audience.

All of the 12th house planets increased Morin’s sense of isolation and seclusion, but gave him the opportunity and motivation to capture his thoughts. With Aries rising, Mars in cranky Cancer conjoined the low-point 4th house, quintiled the Ascendant and trined the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn in the 12th. His attacks on Descartes, Galileo, Cardan and others didn’t help his popularity. Today we can also see that Mars squares Pluto in the 12th, heightening his anger and frustration. But the 4th house placement goaded him toward a solid foundation, and with Mars’ trine to Saturn, ruler of the 10th, he succeeded in transmitting an astrological tradition over several centuries. Unfortunately, though, in keeping with Jupiter, the Astrologia Gallica is also just a little too big, complex and comprehensive.

With Jupiter conjunct Saturn ruling Morin’s 8th through 12 houses, this notable combination also activated events after his life. Jupiter and Saturn at 1 Taurus 36, conjoined his Ascendant on April 18, 1881, and 20 years later, on November 28, 1901, the conjunction in Capricorn closely conjoined his Midheaven.

At the turn of the century, French astrologer Henri Selva translated an abridged version of Morin’s 21st book on determinations, and included a commentary. The next Jupiter conjunct Saturn in 1921 fell at 26 Virgo 36 in Morin’s 6th house of helpmates and squared his 3rd-9th house Nodes. Austrian astrologers Captain Frederich “Sinbad” Schwickert (1837-1930) and Adolf Weiss, M.D. (1888-1956) together wrote their own explanation of Morin’s methods, a 5-volume work based on Astrologia Gallica’s Books 21 and 22 (synthesis and directions) called Bausteine der Astrologie (Liepzig 1925-27). Weiss fled the Nazis in the 1930s, moving to Brazil and finally Argentina, where he published a Spanish version of their work in 1938.

The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of 1961 at 25 Capricorn fell in Morin’s 10th house and squared his Ascendant, again setting the stage for what would follow. Hungarian immigrant Zoltan Mason (1906-2002) opened his astrology bookshop in New York City in 1950. As he was fluent in both French and German, he may have initially encountered Morin in Europe through the earlier 20th century works.

Mason’s Ascendant was opposite Morin’s, and his Moon at 28 Libra closely conjoined Morin’s 7th house cusp, making him a partner. In 1974, Mason published an English translation of Morin’s Book 21, Astrosynthesis, by his student Lucy Little (a pseudonym as the woman’s family disapproved of astrology). The same year, a translation by Richard S. Baldwin was released by the AFA.

Another teacher of Morin’s technique was Gerhard Angel Houwing (1923-2009). According to Dave Roell, he was from Argentina though he may have been Dutch. Houwing began studying astrology before he turned 20, and was introduced to Morin in the 1950s through the German Bausteine. He resettled in Dallas in 1963, and his students included James Herschel Holden and Patti Tobin Brittain. Brittain wrote the Morin primer, Planetary Powers (1980). (See my review of Planetary Powers.)

Cornerstones of Astrology is an English version of the Spanish translation of Schwickert and Weiss’ Bausteine, published by the Sangreal Foundation, Inc. from Dallas in 1972. There is no indication of who translated the book, but Brittain tells us that Houwing was “instrumental” to the work. The short preface is attributed to Jan Meursing, which Roell believed was a pseudonym for Houwing.

In the early 21st century, after the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at about 23 Taurus on 5/28/00 in Morin’s first house, Holden translated several parts of the book into English. Morin’s Moon and Saturn closely straddled Holden’s Ascendant, so he was able to connect with and express the long-obscured work. The AFA published a number of English translations of Astrologia Gallica’s books, many by Holden.

I will write more about Cornerstones of Astrology in a later post.

Morin’s chart is based on his own statements, with research by Tony Louis and Zoltan Mason.

Robert Corre has much on Morin on his Forum on Astrology.

More on Morin from the late Dave Roell at Astroamerica.com.

Philip Graves appears to have a rather complete list of works by or about Morin at Astrolearn.com (scroll down).