a : ‘2 — THE COSPEL ¥- THE ZODIAGPires pear istinioescd tty ete ey Duckworth Ove he LONDON 90-93 Cowcross Street, London ECIM 65F Tel: 020 7490 7300 Fax: 020 7490 0080 info@duckworth-publishers.co.uk www.ducknet.co.uk NEW YORK 141 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012 WOODSTOCK One Overlook Drive, Woodstock, NY 12498. www.overlookpress.com [for individual orders and bulk sales in the United States, please contact our Woodstock office] © 2007 by Bill Darlison All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. The right of Bill Darlison to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by Him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Seripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® ‘© 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® and NIV® are registered trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of the International Bible Society. Original Illustrations of the Zodiac symbols © 2007 by Dan Hodgkin Original map (p.107) © 2007 by Stuart Morton. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-7156-3691-6 (UK) ISBN 978-1-59020-037-7 (US) Printed and bound in Great Britain by ‘Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, WiltshireContents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction Who is the Man with a Jar of Water? ‘The Forgotten Language of the Stars A Note on Sources Aries: ‘Take up Your Bed and Walk!’ Taurus: Sowing, Reaping, and Shining Gemini: ‘My Name is Legion.’ ‘Cancer: ‘Be Thou Open!’ leo: Who Am I? Virgo: Beginner's Mind Libra: Maintaining the Balance Scorpio: Paths of Glory Sagittarius: Zeal for thy House Capricom: Call No Man Father Aquarius: The Man Carrying a Jar of Water Pisces: The End and the Beginning Appendix 1: The Gospel of Mark Appendix 2: The Signs of the Zodiac Bibliography General Index Index to Appendix 1 vi vii 28 49 53 85 100 115 130 144 157 167 178 189 204 221 253 258: 263 277colt 10. » ludaea Province in the First Century . Hydra, ‘the fleeing serpent’ . "The Transfiguration’, by Raphael . Isis and Horus . The Assumption of Mary, by Titian . Jesus and the Children’, by Heinrich Hofmann . Bootes, “The Coming One, the Shepherd’ . Justice carrying the Libran Scales above the Old Bailey List of Lllustrations Zodiacal ‘sections’ in Mark’s Gospel . Detail of the rose window at Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland (c.1230), depicting the Imago Mundi (Image of the World) ‘Christ in Majesty’ (c.1220). Design from a psalter and prayer book carrying the astrological symbols of the four Evangelists. ‘Moses’ by Michelangelo (San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome) Christ within the Vesica Piscis, from The Benedictional of St Ethelwold (c. 908-984) The Adoration of the Lamb (Ghent Altarpiece), Jan van Eyck Zodiacal Man Cassiopeia The Nebra Disc (dating from c.1600 sce). Argo, ‘the ship which conquered the waters’ in London . The Cross The Crown . Decans of the three central sections of Mark’s Gospel and their correspondence with later themes Ophiuchus Roman Coin showing Augustus and Capricorn “Saturn Devouring His Son’, by Goya The ‘Wailing Wall’, Jerusalem . Cepheus, the King . Andromeda . "The Washing of the Feet’, by Giotto vi 21-23 30 37 43 66 68 108 111 121 125 131 133 137 142 146 153. 154 156 165 184 194 197 213 215 219Acknowleagements Numerous people over many years have helped me develop my ideas on the zodiacal structure of Mark’s Gospel, but I am indebted especially to the tollowing. To Dan Hodgkin, whose splendid drawings of the constellation patterns have added immeasurably to the book's appeal and intelligibility. To Paddy and Kate Symons, Michael Edwards, Eileen Harrington, Michael Barker-Caven, Rev. Cathal Courtney, Rev. Art Lester, and the late Michael Young, with all of whom, over cups of coffee, pints of Guinness, or plasses of wine, I have been encouraged to clarify and defend my theories. Marlena Thompson, who has been cajoling me for years to put these ideas into book form, deserves special mention. To members of the Dublin Unitarian congregation who have listened to me express my maverick opinions over the past eleven years, with special thanks to Beta, (Rev.) Bridget, Chris, David, Dennis, Dorene, Patrick, Pamela, Kevin, Leila, Michael, Ruth, and Titania, on whom I tested the zodi- acal theory in detail during the winter of 2006-7, and from whom came many useful suggestions about style and content. To Nick Webb and Caroline McArthur of Duckworth who have made their own significant and valued contribution to the book’s final shape. To my wife, Morag, whose unfailing support, patience, and understand- ing have enabled me to see this project through to a conclusion. Appearance in the above list in no way implies responsibility for the opin- ions expressed in this book, or even endorsement of them. Any solecisms, anachronisms, or weird flights of fancy found in these pages are entirely my responsibility. Finally, I must stress that, although I am a minister in the Unitarian Church, I am not expressing specifically Unitarian opinions: this theory of the origin and structure of one of Christianity’s primary documents will probably be as unsettling to Unitarians as it will certainly be to members of more orthodox churches. Rev. Bill Darlison Dublin, 13th July, 2007 viiFor Morag Uxor anicaque viiiIntroduction ‘God against man. Man against God. Man against nature. Nature against man, Nature against God. God against nature - very funny religion.’ Such, savcording to Joseph Campbell, was the verdict of the Buddhist sage, Dr. D. ¥. Suzuki, on the religions of the West, Christianity in particular. The same point has been made more recently by the American comedian Emo Phillips, in what has been voted the best religious joke of all time. (ce | saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. | said, ‘Don’t do it!’ He said, “Nobody loves me.” saul, ‘God loves you. Do you believe in God?" ‘Yes. ' said, ‘Are you a Christian or a Jew?’ ‘A Christian,” ! said, ‘Me too! Protestant or Catholic?’ “Protestant.” I said, ‘Me too! What franchise?‘ “Buptist” ! said, ‘Me too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?’ Northern Baptist.’ I said, ‘Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?’ ‘Northern Conservative Baptist." 1 said, ‘Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?’ ‘Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.’ 1 suid, ‘Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" ‘Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.’ | said, ‘Die heretic!” and I pushed him over. Emo's joke brilliantly captures the unfortunate irony which must strike everyone who casts even a cursory glance at the religious world: from the bloody Middle Eastern conflict between Muslim and Jew to the internecine squabbles which set one Christian group against another, religion, which is meant, etymologically at least, to bind us together, seems to be a perpetual source of division,he Gosper and the Loaiac It would be a mistake to suggest that the origin of all this conflict is purely theological. There are sociological, historical, geographical, political, and even ethnic factors to consider, but there can be no doubt that theology plays its part by providing some intellectual weapons by means of which the bat- tles can be conducted. Theology is about words, and words are notoriously slippery. Written documents which attempt to eliminate ambiguity - insur- ance policies, for example - are virtually unreadable, while narrative, which strives to engage the imagination, and which is perennially appealing, is never free from it. Unfortunately for those who crave clarity, much of the religious literature of the world, upon which most theology is based, is presented in narrative form, and since there are no hard-and-fast rules for the interpretation of stories, disagreement goes with the territory. What is one to make of those Bible stories which contain accounts of talking snakes, the parting of sea water, the sun standing still, a talking ass, and countless other incidents which, in another context, would be considered fanciful in the extreme? The rational Tesponse would be to say that such stories must have a symbolic meaning - if they have any meaning at all - and try to investigate what the symbolism might be, but it would seem that some religious people tend to find narra- tive and metaphor very difficult to approach in this way. For some reason, history is deemed superior to myth, and the factual is preferred to the fig- urative, and as a result much of the intellectual activity of religious groups - particularly Christian groups - has been concerned with translating the oblique language of spiritual metaphor into the univocal languages of history and science. The results have been disastrous because, as Joseph Campbell says, when a religion ‘gets stuck in its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble’ (Campbell, 1988, page 67). Evidence of such ‘trouble’ is not difficult to find. Galileo found himself embroiled in it in the sixteenth century, when it was believed that Joshua’s command to the sun to stand still was sufficient to refute the heliocentric theory; and since the middle of the nineteenth century, Darwin’s theory of evolution has been attacked by those who hold a literal interpretation of the narratives in the early part of the Book of Genesis. So troublesome have these religious metaphors been throughout the cen- turies, that many people of a more ‘rationalist’ disposition have suggested that it might be best to discard them altogether or, at the very least, to relegate them to the category of historical and literary curios where they can do little damage.