THE STARS ARE ALIGNING!

Yesterday I just learnt that five stars have aligned! For the first time in more than a decade, we have the rare opportunity to spot five planets in the night sky at the same time. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are the planets in our solar system that are visible with the naked eye. (Uranus and Neptune are only visible with telescopes.) The five bright planets line up across the sky before dawn from 20 Jan to 20 Feb. The last time that happened was in 2005. The next time it will happen is from 13-19 Aug this year. After that it will be in Oct 2018.

The definition of stars aligning is when an unexpected and impossible event takes place usually due to the divine intervention of God. Anyway this got me excited and I was prompted to search for the meaning of these planets. Now I am not into astrology but I believe God hides his mysteries in the stars. Well, I got even more excited when I discovered that there is a common thread in the meanings of these planet symbols! The common themes I found are: womb, narrowing or transition, final stage,  culmination, moving through the birth canal, new beginnings and death of old things, birth, manifestation in the material world, opportune moment of harvest, spring, new life etc.

The symbol of Mercury ☿ has a crescent opening upward, which is a gesture of receptivity. Mercury is a planet of open-mindedness, new ideas and intelligence. Ideas are gestated in a womb of contemplation, symbolised by the circle. The visual journey of the Mercury symbol ends at an equal-armed cross. This is the final stage of solidification of thoughts. This indicates that our thoughts have become manifest in the natural world. We could say that Mercury is a midwife to thoughts conceived in the unseen world and moving through the birth canal to physical form. (Proverbs 23:7 says 'as a man thinks, so is he.')

Venus' symbol ♀ is that of a circle and a cross. It symbolises the spiritual and the material. The circle reminds us of the inclusive nature of our universe while the cross talks about nurturing our spiritual understanding into the realm of the material. The cross rests beneath the womb, symbolised by the circle. The location of the cross under the circle indicates that all matter is birthed from a spiritually inclusive and loving womb. (Isn't this how things come to existence: first in the spiritual and unseen world, then the natural?) On the top half we feel the openness and inclusivity yet on the lower half, we experience a narrowing or 'coming to the crux'. Visually you can see opening and closings, beginnings and endings in this symbol.

The Saturn symbol♄is comprised of two design elements. The top cross is symbolic of the culmination of matter as well as the function of an intense focus. The second component is a crescent, an element that signifies receptivity. This lower 'crescent' portion of the symbol is like a sickle. It symbolises the opportune moment of harvesting current life. (Doesn't this sound like kairos and the fullness of time?) This theme of harvesting joins with the Saturn symbol meaning of recycling old to new, changing of an old regime (death) to a new one (rebirth).

Now we come to Mars symbol ♂. It is also known as the sign for 'masculine'. Mars is often known as the fiery planet because of the red hue, also known as a planet of war. (Red in the bible symbolises man.) This is due to the ability of Mars to confront life and death issues, influential in illuminating our vision as to what is no longer serving us. Mars is affiliated with spring, which is symbolic of new beginnings, birth and initiation. At the same time, Mars is also the symbol for retreat and death, relevant to cycles and natural rhythms of life and death. On one hand we have the driving force of new beginnings, on the other, a symbolic death to the things which no longer serve us. (Doesn't this sound like Isaiah 43:18 'do not remember the past for they are no more'?)

Last but not least, we come to Jupiter, the biggest planet in the solar system. The symbol of Jupiter ♂ has a crescent with a horizontal line, also known as the Greek letter Zeta. This component suggests evolutionary development like maturity, knowledge gained through a time of growth. The second component is a cross. Symbolic of the meeting of ideas, like a cross roads coming together to unite and combine two paths of philosophy. Jupiter symbol meanings are closely aligned with manifestation because of its location in the solar system. It rests in the centre of the orbital line of the solar system. This position of balance makes the energy of Jupiter ideal for justice, manifestation and order.