The Message in the Stars: Scorpio

Akrab (Heb) = scorpion, conflict, war

Isidis (Coptic) = attack of the enemy, oppression

Al Akrab (Arabic/Syriac) = wounding him that cometh

Latin Scorpio / Greek Scorpios – cleaving in conflict

The brightest star in the constellation of Scorpio is Antares (Arabic) = “the wounding”

Other stars: Lesath = “the perverse”

Al Kalb – the (cleaving in) conflict

The conflict between Christ and the devil. All through the Bible the devil is depicted as a snake, a serpent, a dragon. There is another constellation in the heavens associated with Scorpio called Draco (the Dragon). These images are all used to illustrate the conflict between Christ and the devil. Rev 9:3,5,10; 1 Cor 15:25f; Ps 91:13;

Associated Decans of Scorpio

Serpens “the serpent” (see Genesis 3)

Brightest star: Unuk = “encompassing”

Alyah (Heb) – the accursed

Al Hay (Arabic) – the reptile

Ophiuchus (Hebrew / Arabic) = “the serpent held.”

OphIuchus stands on the scorpion while holding the serpent

Affalius (Persian) – serpent holder

Serpentarius (Latin) – holder of the serpent

Brightest star: Ras al Hagus (Arabic) = “the head of him who holds”

Ras al Awa = the head of the desired one”

Sarph = “bruised (in the foot)

Ophiuchus is stung in the heel by the scorpion but crushes the serpent’s head

Afeichus (Heb & Arabic) “viper held”

Triophas “stamping”, “treading under foot”

Carnebus “the wounding”, “pierced”

“Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, grovelling in the dust as long as you live.And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:14-15

“I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.”

Luke 10:18-19

Hercules

A Christ-like figure kneeling on one knee, holding a branch, the other foot over the head of Draco, the dragon

Al Giscale (Arabic) – the strong

Marsic (Heb) the wounding

Caiam – punishing under foot

Ma’asym – the sin offering

Ras al Gethi (Arabic) – head of him who bruises

Engonasin (Greek) – who kneels

Hercules (Latin) – the strong

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.(Isa 53:5) Other verses Job 5:17, Isa 53:3,4; 53:9-10, Ps 2:8, 9

This verse in Genesis is predictive of the fact that the devil will bruise the heel of Christ (seemingly gaining the victory over Him at the cross) but Christ will ultimately defeat the devil totally by crushing or stamping on the devil’s head. The illustration of that conflict is summed up in the constellations in the heavens by Scorpio and its associated decans. Yet the conflict is so unerringly accurate according to what is written in the Bible, it has to make us stop and at least think about the significance. How appropriate that Scorpio should be illustrated stinging the heel of Ophiuchus (a type of Christ) while he (Ophiuchus) crushes the head of the serpent in accord with Genesis 3:15.

Yes, “the conflict of the ages” is laid out in the skies above us and many ancient civilizations were aware of it. At the conclusion of this series I will give you an illustration of how all of the constellations and their decans go together. There is debate as to whether Ophiuchus is a decan of Scorpio or whether it is in fact a thirteenth constellation given all the detail surrounding this patch in the heavens. The decan Hercules is depicted holding a branch (reference to Christ as the Branch as we saw in looking at the constellation of Virgo) with his foot over the head of Draco the dragon. Whichever way we look at the constellations and the associated decans surrounding Scorpio, they are all related to the conflict of the ages.

These concepts are curiously linked throughout the Bible, including the reference to God instructing Moses to lift up the serpent and put it on a pole in the wilderness. (Numbers 21:4-9) This serpent on a pole (Nehustan) is referred to in 2 King 18:4 in a derogatory way as “the brazen serpent”. God has woven this link to the serpent throughout the Bible when referring to the role of the devil. It is a complex allusion with requires much unravelling but I don’t intend to deal with the link in this series on the Mazzaroth. Maybe some other time depending on the response.