Ophiuchus and the Serpent
1 comment Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Thursday, Jun 11 2009
Hopefully, you’ll have a dark, country sky for today’s view. If so, you might catch a glimpse of the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer. Its head is marked by the star Rasalhague.
Ophiuchus is joined in legend and in the sky to the constellation of the Serpent, called Serpens. This is one constellation that looks to me like what it’s supposed to: a big guy holding a snake. The constellation is identified with Aesculapius, said to have been the first doctor, who learned his trade from a snake. It’s this same tradition that causes a staff with a serpent around it to appear in doctors’ offices and hospitals today.
It’s said that Aesculapius was such a powerful healer that he succeeded in raising the dead. This act angered Pluto, god of the underworld. To make peace among the gods, Zeus transported Aesculapius (Ophiuchus) to the night sky.
Ophiuchus is the constellation that astrologers forgot. The sun lies within its boundaries for about two weeks each year, from November 30 to December 18. Many people are born between these dates, of course, yet no one ever claims to be “an Ophiuchus.”
I wanted to post my comments under yesterday’s “Ophiucus and the Serpent” EarthSky, but it seems I’m only able to post my thoughts on today’s comments.
I am, by the way, one of those born, not under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius, but under this little known sun-sign of Ophiuchus. One of the largest of ancient constellations depicting a human being grappling with an enormous serpent. The name Ophiuchus is a composite Greek word meaning ‘serpent-handler.’
Now who is this Ophiuchus the serpent-handler? And what is the identity of the serpent? The popular interpretation of this constellation comes down to us by way of Greek mythology and corresponds to the divine healer Asclepius who was renown for his power to bring human beings back to life, and was also the son of a god and of a woman.
There are other interpretations of this constellation; and, I suspect, there are other configurations for these stars—since we as cultures and individuals tend to project our own experiences and understandings upon the cosmos.
Personally, I only recently learned the popular identity of a cluster of stars I had for many years been calling Tsade—for in my own eyes the constellation of Cassiopeia resembled the Hebrew letter Tsade. Now I know differently, and can point to it and exclaim: “O Yes, Beautiful Cassiopeia!” [I should say, www.earthsky has helped me greatly in my education of the heavens.]
My own interpretation of Ophiuchus, shared by others, is that the serpent-handler is none other than our divine healer and hero Jesus Christ. I’m entirely convinced that when our Creator set the stars in place He arranged them in such a way as to declare the wonderful mystery of Himself. I’m convinced that the gospel of a divine and human savior is gloriously laid out in the stars, strewn out across the heavens.
There’s an interesting phrase in the New Testament book of Colossians that some commentators explain away as hyperbole [i.e., an extravagant exaggeration not meant to be taken literally]. It states how ‘the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven’ (1:23). Elsewhere, in the book of Romans, Scripture relates how God has clearly made His reality known to us all through the things of His creation (1:19-20).
In the Old Testament the Psalms sing of how the heavens declare the glory and righteousness of God; How night after night the knowledge of God is revealed; How the heavens are a tabernacle for the sun who is as a Bridegroom coming out of His chamber (19:1-5; 50:6; 97:6). I’m reminded, also, of the wonderful prophecy in Malachi of ‘the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings’ (4:2).
As we observe Ophiuchus in relation to two specific constellations above and beneath him we see an interesting story. Ophiuchus is pictured holding back a serpent from reaching the Corona Borealis, the northern crown suspended overhead. We see, also, the foot of Ophiuchus crushing the head of the scorpion beneath him. This grouping of constellations depict a deadly contest for dominion, where Ophiuchus (according to my projection) represents Jesus, and the serpent and scorpion represent the adversaries of God and man.
The most infamous of all serpents is the one we read about in Genesis chapter three who is identified later in Scripture as Satan. The name Satan is a direct transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning ‘adversary.’ Satan, in the form of a serpent, induced Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to rebel against God, to eat of the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3:13-15 reads:
‘And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And you will eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He will crush your head, And you will strike His heel.”Here at the outset of human history we have what is known to be the first pronouncement of the gospel, the promise of a redeemer who will come from the seed of the woman to defeat the adversarial serpent.
‘In the fullness of time’ a redeemer did come. He came into this world born both of a woman and of God. The dual nature of Jesus is a wonderful mystery; for He is both fully God, and, at the same time, fully Man. Like the mythological Asclepius, Jesus is the God-Man.
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I remember a few years ago encountering snakes in my dreams—deadly snakes of all types and sizes. I would kill them; they were like demons to me.
So now let me cast another projection upon the stars of Ophiuchus—the identity of whom is me; for I, too, am a hero who wrestles with serpents; I, too, am warring for a crown. And most certainly, you, also, are an Ophiuchus, a hero who battles against the adversary, striving after a crown.
In the New Testament Gospels we read how Jesus defeated the demonic powers and sent his followers out into the world giving them ‘authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, so that nothing will by any means hurt you’ (Luke 10:19).
Please consider Ophiuchus as Jesus; yet, also, consider Ophiuchus as you and me. This constellation now visible in the southeast evening sky gives us a glimpse as to the meaning and mystery of the gospel of salvation and healing in Jesus Christ.
Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the heavens, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Romans 16:20