הקשר בין חג המולד לחג סאטורנליה / The Christmas Connection to Saturnalia

ה׳ לחודש העשירי תשע״ט

English follows the Hebrew.

סאטורנליה (ויקיפדיה)

סאטורנליה (בלטינית: Saturnalia) הייתה הפסטיבל שצוין בלוחות השנה הרומאיים ב-17 בדצמבר, חגו של האל הרומאי סאטורנוס. הסאטורנליה הייתה מחגי רומא הידועים ביותר – ואולי אף הפופולרי שבהם: המשורר הרומאי קטולוס קרא לו "סאטורנליה, הטוב שבימים!"‏ (Catulus 14.15). החג צוין במרחב הפומבי וכן במרחב הפרטי, ואופיין באווירה חגיגית ושמחה: בתי המשפט ובתי הספר היו סגורים, נהגו לצאת לקניות ומותר היה להמר בפרהסיה. חופש הביטוי הותר לכל אדם, ובעיקר לעבדים. בנוסף, בחג נהוג היה להעניק מתנות אחד לשני, ואחד ממנהגי החג הידועים ביותר היה היחס השווה בו נהגו בעבדים באותו יום. החג צוין גם בתקופת האימפריה, ונראה כי שמר על פופולריות עד המאה החמישית לספירה – כאשר נטמע בחגיגות הנוצריות לציון השנה החדשה וחג המולד....

...בעבור האזרח הפשוט, הסיבה השנייה בגינה פתיחת המקדש הייתה משמעותית הייתה העובדה שהוא הכיל את אוצר המדינה. מעבר לכך, נערכו מספר פרקטיקות דתיות ביום החג, בהן הקרבת קרבן במקדש ובפורום, ולאחריו סעודה שאליה, באופן חריג, כלל הציבור יכל להצטרף, ולא דרשה את הבגדים הרשמיים אשר נדרשו להעלאת הקורבן עצמו. הטקס הדתי הסתיים בקריאה "Io Saturnalia" ("הידד סאטורנליה").

החג התבטא גם במרחב הפרטי. כאמור, אדוני הבתים סיפקו לעבדים ארוחה שווה לארוחה שלהם, אכלו יחד איתם ואולי אף חיכו להם להתחלת הסעודה, וחלק זה של החג היה המרכזי ביותר בציונו; בנוסף, כל משפחה בחרה "מלך מדומה" (Saturnalicius princeps), כמנהיג החגיגות הביתיות. מעבר לאלה, אחת המסורות הידועות יותר של החג הייתה חלוקת מתנות, ככל הנראה מיד לאחר הסעודה. כך, המנהג נע בין הענקת מתנות לחברים (נרות שעווה, cereti) ולילדים (בובות חימר, sigillaria), ועד למתן מתנות לנשים ואף לעבדים.

עשר אגורות (2¢):
התאריכים של חג סאטורנליה נמצאת באמצע עד סוף חודש דצמבר. מבחינת אסטרולוגיה זה הגיוני. מזל גדי (22 דצמבר - 19 ינואר) הוא "נשלט" על ידי כוכב הלכת סטורן (שבתאי), שלא לדבר על צירוף מקרים של היפוך החורף ואת ראש השנה הלועזי. סאטורן (קרונוס ביוונית) היה האל של הזמן, כלומר הביטויים "אבא זמן״ ו-״בייבי השנה החדשה" [הלועזי] 31 דצמבר / 1 ינואר.

אבל, יצרו השיגו את מנהגי חג המולד מדתות ותרבויות שונות הקיימות לפני קיום חג המולד, ולא רק מן הרומאים. בעצם מקורות של כל מיתולוגית הנצרות נמצאים בדתות ותרבויות שונות הקיימות לפני הנצורת (ללחוץ לצפות את הסרטון הזה באנגלית).

...חופש הביטוי הותר לכל אדם, ובעיקר לעבדים. בנוסף, בחג נהוג היה להעניק מתנות אחד לשני, ואחד ממנהגי החג הידועים ביותר היה היחס השווה בו נהגו בעבדים באותו יום (ממש כמו "יום הקופסאות" ב-26 בדצמבר באנגליה של היום) .

למרות תנועה מתמשכת של נוצרים כדי להסיר את ההיבטים הפגאניים מחג המולד, כמו עץ ​​חג המולד עצמו, עבודת אלים מזויפים היא עבודה זרה. יש דתיים לאומים מתיחסים את הנוצרים כאלה, למשל האבנג׳ליקלים, כשונים מהנוצרים של פעם. כמובן, זהו מגוחך, מפני שהנוצרים האלה לומגדים ומאמינים באותם ספרי המיתולוגיה ופוליטיקה סוציאלית כדי להצדיק את אמונתם באל מזויף, ובמשיח שקר.

Saturnalia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves....

...Although probably the best-known Roman holiday, Saturnalia as a whole is not described from beginning to end in any single ancient source. Modern understanding of the festival is pieced together from several accounts dealing with various aspects. The Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for information about the holiday. In one of the interpretations in Macrobius's work, Saturnalia is a festival of light leading to the winter solstice, with the abundant presence of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth. The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun", on 23 December. Although we are now led to believe that Saturnalia is the holiday, in which people, during the winter, conserved the kindling of mother nature by bringing evergreens into their home.

The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The placement of Saturnalia in mid to late December makes sense astrologically, as the sign of Capricorn (December 22 - January 19) is "ruled" by the planet Saturn, not to mention the coincidence of the Winter Solstice and the secular New Year. Saturn (Gr.: Chronos) was the god of time, ie. "Father Time/Baby New Year" December 31/January 1.

But, Christmas customs have actually been borrowed stolen from many different religions and cultures, coming before it, and not just from the Romans, just like Christianity mythology itself was borrowed.

...public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves (ie. England's Boxing Day on Dec. 26)

Although there has been an ongoing movement of Christians to remove the pagan aspects from Christmas, such as the Christmas tree itself -- as if worshiping a false deity wasn't pagan -- prompting "religious" Jews to view them as fundamentally different than the Christians of old. This is, of course, is ridiculous, as these Christians use the same mythological and sociopolitical texts to justify their belief and worship of, a false deity.

Egyptian Astrologers Strike Again!

ט' לחודש האחד עשר תשע"ד

Arutz 7: Egyptian Astrologer: Jews Will Be Stronger in 2014
Egyptian astrologer claims: When Saturn enters Sagittarius in December, the Jews will be stronger.

Elad Benari, January 2, 2014

It’s written in the stars: The Jewish people will become stronger in 2014, at least according to an Egyptian astrologer who appeared on local television on Tuesday.

In an end-of-year interview on Al-Nahar TV, Egyptian astrologer Sayyed Al-Shimi warned that whenever Saturn enters a fire sign, the Jews become stronger. This, he claimed, is supposed to happen in December of 2014.

Al-Shimi based his claims on various events in Jewish and Israeli history, including the first World Zionist Congress, the Balfour Declaration, and the wars fought by Israel against the Arabs throughout its history.

The interview was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).



“Saturn will enter the fire sign of Sagittarius. My late father and I have had a long history with Saturn entering fire signs. As Sheik Daud Al-Antaki wrote, when Saturn enters any of the fire signs, the Jews grow stronger. Don't believe in this merely because I say so. It's been tested. We tested it, and it turned out that...” claimed Al-Shimi.

“We discovered that Saturn entered the fire sign of Sagittarius when the first World Zionist Congress convened,” he continued.

“The Balfour Declaration was released when Saturn was in the fire sign of Leo. The Haganah Brigades began organizing and helping the English in 1928, when Saturn was in the fire sign of Sagittarius. The 1948 [War of Independence] took place when Saturn was in the fire sign of Leo. The 1956 [Sinai War] took place when Saturn was in the fire sign of Sagittarius. The 1967 [Six Day War] took place when Saturn was in the fire sign of Aries.”

Al-Shimi also said, “The last time Saturn was in the fire sign of Leo occurred in 2006. I started warning them in 2004: ‘Beware, when Saturn enters the sign of Leo, the Jews in Palestine will get stronger. Something leading to this will inevitably occur.’ What happened? The Palestinian Authority split into Fatah and Hamas.”

He concluded by advising Arab leaders to “do whatever they can to resolve the Palestinian problem” before the month of December, when Saturn enters the fire sign of Sagittarius, making the Jews stronger once again.

(Tip: Life In Israel)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
We have a famous, or rather an infamous, tradition regarding the astrologers during the time of Pharoah's enslavement of Israel. His astrologers determined that the savior of Israel would be born soon, and that water would be his downfall. And so, Pharoah decided to implement the death of all of Israel's boys by drowning (לא עלינו).

The astrologers were right about the savior's birth. Moshe's parents hid his existence for a few months, and then sent him on a journey down the river, but not unsupervised. The astrologers were also right about his downfall, which was, indeed, through water (20:7-12). They were just off on the details,...very off.

The point is that our tradition is that Egyptian astrologers and diviners do not have a very good track record, when it comes to Israel.

Nevertheless, let's take a look at what this one has to say.

Astrology has an extensive tradition in Judaism. But, now, for the most part, as a guideline for middoth work (self-improvement), by examining ones natal (birth) chart to see what cards an individual has been dealt. Astrology has also been used to look at the strength of a match between a particular couple, and what a given couple might expect to have to work on in their marriage. We stay away from future forecasts, relying on The Almighty himself, to show us the way directly.

And so, since this forecast has already been published, I believe that it is important to refute it.

We were delivered out of Pharoah's hands on the full moon of [the Hebrew month of] Nissan, the mazal (sign) of Aries. This is when we became the people "who were taken out of Egypt by The Almighty" (Ex. 20:2). The Aries lamb, often associated with Egypt, was now associated with Israel, through the miracles surrounding the Qorban Pesah, the Passover sacrifice of a lamb or kid, an Egyptian deity. The age of Aries was approximately 4,000 to 2,000 BCE when it "took over" from Taurus, the Bull, and the predominant form of avodah zarah (foreign/forbidden worship), at the time.

The point here, as the astrologer already mentions above, is that Aries is a fire sign. Even though, he does not mention Israel's association with Aries.

What is interesting here is that שבתאי/Saturn is often associated with challenges, obstacles, and perhaps forcing one to re-examine things, and to be practical. This is why Al-Shimi's theory puzzles me, especially when שבתאי/Saturn is in טלה/Aries itself, forcing its hand, so to speak. On the other hand, when שבתאי/Saturn is in one of the other fire signs, אריה/Leo or קשת/Sagittarius, its position is at a highly favorable 120^o angle, and thus less challenging to an Aries-Sun/Aries-Ascendant (we left Egypt at dawn) such as Israel.

What Al-Shimi has also not taken under consideration is that The Almighty lifts us up above the mazaloth, when we follow His path. When Avraham Avinu was informed that his seed will be like the stars of the sky (Gen. 22:17), one tradition teaches us that The Almighty lifted him above the mazaloth, to demonstrate that Avraham Avinu were/could be above their fateful determinations.

Although, I look forward to seeing שבתאי/Saturn enter קשת/Sagittarius, I recommend that we focus on what The Almighty wants from us, instead of what the mazaloth suggest to us might happen.

*********

Much of my knowledge in astrology comes from my teacher Yermiyah Moshe, a long-time professional, Torah-based astrologer. I must also give credit to the book The Sign of the Times: The Zodiac In Jewish Tradition by Rabbi Gad Erlinger (translated into English by Yakov Kooper).

In further examples of the astrological ages, the Age of Pisces began around 2,000 years ago, and is represented by the fish, not coincidentally, the symbol used by Christians as they secret identifier. Of course, the fish had already been associated with such savior figures. However, no one can deny the power that the Christians have accumulated over the pat 2,000 years.

The Age of Aquarius which has begun, or is beginning, around now suggests a shift toward a human centered the human face in Yehezqel's vision, the "fixed" signs of Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio corresponding to the four faces in his vision (Eze. 1:10).

I was pointed to the potential correspondence between the "fixed" signs and the four faces of the Holy Creatures and Wheel in Yehezqel's vision from a video by Astrologer Diana Garland, while doing research for this piece.

Impending Conjunction Of Venus And Jupiter

30 of the Eleventh Month 5772

If you are in Jerusalem, make sure to look up in the Western evening sky toward the south.

You will see the first two heavenly bodies coming into view. They are not stars, but planets. Many of you will recognize the one in the lower right as Venus. The one to its left and up is Jupiter.

They will come within four degrees of each other on March 9. On March 13, they will with a degree of each other. On March 14, Venus will have passed Jupiter, but still within a degree of it.

I mention the event for those star enthusiasts to be aware of the coming show which is set to occur shortly.

How close to one another will these two planetary bodies appear in the evening sky?

Stay tuned! We will find out together.

Coming Out Of The Closet (It's not what you think...)

18 of the Twelfth Month 5771

Well, now that I have your attention, I will tell you that this post is much an experiment in the use of "shock value" to increase the hits on this blog, than anything else.

But, don't call me a publicity whore just yet.

We'll shall see....

Now, I have gathered all of you here today to "come out" as one with a fascination with Astrology.

What's the big deal? Well, let's just say that I am concerned that a few in my circle of friends might not remain so. I suppose that if that were the case, perhaps they were never really my friends to begin with.

That includes least at least one or two bloggers. On the other hand, a few other bloggers will be pleased that I finally wrote this post.

There are conflicting Jewish views on Astrology, which can essentially be summed up by two, diametrically opposed midrashim on B'reishith (Genesis).

בראשית טו ד וְהִנֵּה דְבַר-יְהוָה אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר, לֹא יִירָשְׁךָ זֶה: כִּי-אִם אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִמֵּעֶיךָ, הוּא יִירָשֶׁךָ. ה וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה, וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט-נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים--אִם-תּוּכַל, לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם; וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ.

Genesis 15

4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying: 'This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.' 5 And He brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'So shall thy seed be.'

One midrash states that this was where HaQadosh Barukh Hu (The Holy One, Blessed Be He) lifted Avraham Avinu above the stars, demonstrating that his fate, and the fate of his descendants, will not be tied to the stars (as long as we follow His way). Another suggests that this is where HaQadosh Barukh Hu is showing astrology to Avraham Avinu.

Most Jewish opinions I have heard concerning Astrology assert that both of the above midrashim apply. If we follow His path, his Torah, we are not bound by Astrology, and can rise above it, like Avraham Avinu. Those who do not, are [fated to be] bound by it.

I believe there is a balance here, yet one which may always be usurped by His Will.

But, like I said, I am interested in looking character and personality A Virgo who is judgmental and a perfectionist, does not have to remain so, if he works on these middoth (attributes). A Taurus can learn to use his stubbornness when called for, yet does not have to be imprisoned by it.

Here is a very good introductory video, a lecture by Rabbi Eliyahu Kin in Los Angeles. Lectures on each of the mazaloth (signs) can also be found, and downloaded, easily on Google Video, both in English and in Hebrew.

There is more than one approach to Astrology, including that of Rabbi Yitzhaq ben Shlomo (Luria), the Ariza"l. The focus of this video is on the adaption of the modern, Greek approach.

Any sort of divination, magic, summoning of spirits is forbidden by the Torah. The approach to Astrology here is the examination of the ofi (character) Jews are born with, and how Astrology can help one determine his tiqunim (what he needs to work on), personality wise.

Finding ones ideal mate can also be assisting here. Certain personality traits complement each other well, while others do not. Some combinations can even spell disaster for a marriage. Looking at ones astrological chart can provide some insight into a prospective couple's strengths and challenges.

Of course, everyone is more that just his mazal. There are several other factors in one's "chart" to be taken under consideration.

Take a look at Rabbi Eliyahu Kin has to say, for starters.

Additional Note:

Here is a point of interest I would like to make. Just for the heck of it, I made a table of good friends, listing each of them under their mazal. The number of friends with Earth and Fire signs more than doubled those with Water and Air. All of my friends from when I lived in the Shomron were either Earth or Fire signs. All five of those of us in the same roll at work are Earth signs. There are several more patterns I have found in my relationships over the years, which cannot be explain by simple matter of coincidence.