The Star of Bethlehem – a Jupiter-Venus Conjunction?
There is speculation that the Star of Bethlehem was a planetary conjunction. But possibly no exotic planetary grouping can match that of the two most glistening planets Venus and Jupiter for the account that we seek. And if we acquire the only better-known accounting of the Star literally, as recognized in St. Matthew, then what we genuinely call for is the appearance of not hardly one, but two “stars.” The original appearance would have been verified well in advance of the Magis reaching in Bethlehem, and the other at the closing of their long journey.
In Hellenistic star divination, Jupiter was the male monarch planet and Regulus (in the constellation Leo) was the Rex star. As they went from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the star “went before” the magi and then “stood over” the space where Jesus subsisted. In astrological interpretations, these words are said to refer to reversed motion and to placing, i.e., Jupiter looked to reverse course for a time, then terminated, and finally resumed its normal forward motion. In 3 or 2 BC, there was a series of seven junctions, including three between Jupiter and Regulus and a strikingly tight conjunction between Jupiter and Venus near Regulus on June 17, 2 BC. “The fusion of two planets would have been a uncommon and awe-inspiring event” – according to many astronomers.
Others have purported a tie-in between a double eclipse of Jupiter by the moon in 6 BC in Aries and the Star of Bethlehem, especially the second occultation on April 17. This event was quite adjacent to the sun and would have been trying to discover, even with a small telescope, which had not yet been contrived. Occultations of planets by the moon are rather frequent, but an astrologer to Roman Emperor Constantine wrote that an occultation of Jupiter in Aries was a signaling of the birth of a divine king.
“When the kingly star of Zeus, the planet Jupiter, was in the east this was the most potent time to confer kingships. Furthermore, the Sun was in Aries where it is inspired. And the Moon was in very close co-occurrence with Jupiter in Aries.”
Tags:astronomy, Christmas, Christmas Star, Jesus, Star of Bethlehem