Star Calendar Testifies of Christ and His Servants

by John P. Pratt
9 Jul 2016, 1 Quake (SR), 1 Birth (V), Passover (UE), Pollux (S)

©2016 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved.

Index, Home

Contents
1. The Star Calendar
1.1 Aligned with Week
1.2 Holy Days
1.3 Uniform Version
2. The Prophet Joseph Smith
2.1 Constellations and Mythology
2.2 Birth Date
2.3 Death Date
2.4 Family Dates
3. Life of Jesus Christ
3.1 Birth Date
3.2 Resurrection Date
3.3 Other Events
4. Biblical Events
4.1 Patriarchs
4.2 Jacob's Family
4.3 Exodus
5. LDS Events
5.1 First Vision
5.2 Priesthood Restoration
5.3 Public Ministy
5.4 Kirtland Temple
6. Conclusion
Notes
Evidence is presented that the Lord is using the Star Calendar described herein to testify of his faithful servants. The witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith is provided in detail.

In earlier articles many different sacred calendars have been presented, all of which are evidently being used by the Lord to determine "holy days" on which His sacred events occur. The Book of Enoch states that certain stars represent the Lord's faithful servants. The Enoch Calendar has 364 days and that book states that there are 364 servants each represented by a star (Enoch 43:1-2, Enoch 81:15). That implies that there could be a "Star Calendar" to associate every day of the year with a star and that star representing one of the Lord's servants. That possibility led to the discovery of the Star Calendar described in this article.[1] Let us now look at just how the Star Calendar works. Those who wish to avoid a technical overview can skip Section 1. All that is really needed to understand is that every day of the year is associated with a star derived from that star's actual position in the heavens. If you don't wish to read the entire article, you can get most of the ideas from the illustrations.

1. The Star Calendar

The sun appears to move through zodiac constellations
Fig. 1. The sun appears to traverse all 12 zodiac constellations annually.
As the earth revolves around the sun, to us living on the planet it is the sun which appears to revolve around the earth one time each year (See Figure 1). We don't notice that in the daytime because the stars are not visible, but at night the stars rise about 4 minutes earlier each night. That adds up to about two hours per month and a full day every year. Thus, a calendar could be created which tracks which stars are located at their closest approach to the sun, even though they cannot be seen on that day. The Star Calendar is such a calendar.

Fig. 2. Star map of the twelve zodiac constellations

As also shown in Figure 2, the circle of stars through which the sun appears to move clockwise every year is called the zodiac. It is divided into twelve constellations. Some of the zodiac constellations are much bigger than others. The constellation of the Crab (Cancer) only spans about two weeks of sky, whereas the Maiden (Virgo) requires about six weeks for the sun to appear to traverse. Let us now see how the stars are associated with days of the year. Keep in mind that this calendar is a work in progress. Some details may be subject to change and only a few star identifications are now firm enough to publish. The basic framework now seems to be in place but there is much fleshing out of details left to be finished.

1.1 Aligned with Week

Fig. 3. Celestial longitude is an arc measured in degrees along the ecliptic.
The Star Calendar tracks the actual average position of the sun against the background of stars. Each constellation is assigned a length in weeks that approximates its actual length. As the workings of the Star Calendar were being discovered, hints were taken from the Enoch Calendar. That calendar is based on the week: the year always begins on a Sunday and when it needs to be aligned with the true year of 365.24 days, an entire week is added. The same is true of the Star Calendar. Each zodiac constellation begins on a Saturday at noon. The "day" begins at noon because a star calendar is about seeing stars at night.

Constellations are allowed to overlap each other, or have gaps between them, just as do the actual figures in the heavens. Each zodiac constellation begins on a Saturday, but it might not end on a Friday if there is a gap between it and the next one. In the case of overlapping, each day is assigned either to one constellation or the other. The order is the same as in the zodiac circle shown in Figure 2: the first is the Maiden (Virgo) and the last is the Lion (Leo). The days are numbered according to the constellation: 1 Vir, 2 Vir, 3 Vir, ... 42 Vir, 1 Lib, 2 Lib, etc. Each day is also associated with a star. When the extra week is added to keep aligned with the true positions of the sun relative to the stars, it is added at the end of the Lion.[2]

Table 1. Constellation Beginning Stars
Table 1. Beginning stars with days, longitudes and durations.
Table 1 lists the twelve stars which begin each of the zodiac constellations on the Star Calendar. The usual star designation from astronomy is used: first the abbreviation for a Greek letter ("alp" for "alpha") or a number followed by the abbreviation for the constellation (Vir for Virgo, the Maiden). There are 360 degrees in a circle and 364 days in the Star Calendar, so one degree of longitude approximately equals one day. It can be seen in the table that the longitude of each beginning star is usually associated with the nearest Saturday to it. These stars and lengths associated with each constellation are very different from those used in astrology.[3]

How are stars assigned to days? The circle in the sky around the earth on which the sun appears to move is called the ecliptic. It is shown in Figure 2 as the circle going through all of the zodiac constellations. Every star in the heavens can be assigned to a day by projecting an arc down from it perpendicular to the ecliptic. Each star is assigned a "celestial longitude", which is the length of the arc in degrees measured from a starting point, much like longitude on the earth is measured (see Figure 3). In this article and for the purposes of the Star Calendar, the longitude is measured from a zero point in the head of the Maiden (Virgo) and is called "sidereal longitude". In Figure 2, the sidereal longitude of any star on the map is simply the arc in degrees clockwise to the star starting from the "12 o'clock" line (between the labels of Leo and Virgo). The day on which the sun passes that point can be associated with that star. If the day falls on the same day as another star, one of them can be moved a day or so to fit into a nearby available slot.

1.2 Holy Days

All zodiac constellations begin on a Saturday.
Similar to all of the sacred calendars, the Star Calendar has both major and minor holy days. The major holy days are associated with the brightest stars or with the days numbered 15 and 22 in each zodiac constellation. Those days correspond to the First and Last Days of the Feast of Passover (spring) or of the Feast of Tabernacles (autumn). The stars which fall on those days are usually in the zodiac constellation if bright enough, otherwise they are taken from nearby constellations. In the tables, major holy days are shown in red.

Minor holy days include the "lunar mansions" which are markers all around the zodiac roughly equally spaced to be the distance that the moon appears to move in a day. Also there is often a single star chosen to represent an entire constellation. Sometimes it is found in the head and sometimes it is the brightest star in the figure. In the tables, minor holy days are shown in blue. Normal days are shown in black.

All of the bright stars are associated with Christ in one way or another, and all such in the original 48 constellations are considered holy. Because all of the stars are to represent holy men, no stars from the 6 constellations which represent evil forces were included. Those excluded constellations are Draco, Hydra, Cetus, Eridanus, Lepus and Ara.

1.3 Uniform Version

The Enoch Calendar has two versions, as do all of the planetary calendars. One version tracts the actual average position of the object through the heavens. The second does not; it never adds any extra days to actually follow the object of interest but always has the same number of days. It is called the "Uniform" version. There is also a Uniform Star Calendar which always has exactly 364 days, the same as the Uniform Enoch Calendar. The use of this calendar is that it can provide information about an event independent of the time of year it occurs. One day in history is chosen to align this calendar with a known event. Because there are never any extra days inserted, every date in history is determined once that single date is selected.

Thus, the Uniform Enoch and Uniform Star calendars are always aligned with each other the same every year. If a certain star on the Uniform Star Calendar falls any given day on the Uniform Enoch Calendar, it will always fall on that day every year. The day chosen for the two to align is that 1 Summer (UE) always falls on 1 Leo (US). That was chosen both because that was the day of the Beginning of Mortality when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden (from which our time is reckoned) and it seems logical because both of those days begin a quarter of the year. Even though the Uniform Star Calendar adds more witnesses of many sacred events, it is not discussed much further in this article because it seemed complicated enough just to introduce one star calendar.[4]

Let us now begin seeing the witness of the Star Calendar by considering its testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. That is the most powerful for two reasons. First, much more is known about his life and that of his family. Second, the precise dates are known from history rather than from calculations about the ancient past. As explained above, stars are assigned to days of the year according to their sidereal longitudes. To avoid unnecessary detail, those longitudes are not all presented in this article. They can be found in my published star tables.[5]

2. The Prophet Joseph Smith

In my earlier articles, evidence was presented which compelled me to propose that the Prophet Joseph Smith should be included in the list of the seven chief holy angels of God, along with other spiritual giants including Adam, Enoch, Noah and Moses.[6] Additional further evidence is here added to confirm that conclusion. Before presenting it, let us review some of that evidence from the stars and the myths concerning them. It is important to understand that the Book of Enoch claims that an angel revealed the sacred figures of the constellations to the Prophet Enoch. They were considered holy by many ancient nations. It is likely that some of the accompanying myths could also date back to Enoch. Both the stories and the figures could have been corrupted, so many of my articles have attempted to restore the figures to their original form.[7] Let us now turn to some constellations and myths which clearly seem to refer to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

2.1 Constellations and Mythology

The hero Perseus represents Joseph Smith.
An earlier paper points out that each of the seven holy chief angels of God have seven constellations associated with them, for a total of forty-nine. As angel number 5 (Phanuel) Joseph Smith does also, meaning that several stars in several constellations are associated with him. That article compared many details from the myth of the constellation Perseus to the life of Joseph Smith which leave little doubt that his mission was symbolized by that detailed allegory.[8] For example, both Joseph and Perseus had their life quest begin in a sacred grove where heavenly messengers provided special gifts to them. Both were given a sword and a special breastplate which was like a mirror to see evil without being hurt by it. The quest was to destroy the abominable female monster (Medusa) who controlled people's lives. The quest involved getting more sacred gifts to fulfill this mission. A further ability to become a seer was received from three holy people. Both men were made invisible to fulfill their mission, Perseus with a helmet of invisibility and Joseph in death. In the end, the monstrous female who had prostituted herself was destroyed by them. Perseus is immortalized in the heavens as a constellation, where he is shown carrying the decapitated head of the female Medusa monster.

Afterward, while flying home with the monster's head in hand, Perseus saw the beautiful princess Andromeda chained to a cliff as an offering to the Sea Monster. After first getting assurance that he can marry her if he saves her, he destroyed that monster and marries the princess bride. Thus, there seem to be two main roles of Perseus. He is a hero and a bridegroom. The English name for Perseus in my work is "Hero" as it describes his principal role, but "Bridegroom" is a close second.

The Big Dog represents Joseph Smith. (Art by Johan Meuris)
Myths often have many levels of meaning. Perseus can refer to Christ, as do all of the champions in the stars. Christ is the Bridegroom who will marry His Church at the coming great Wedding Feast. It is possible that Perseus can also refer to a nation. In the stars and mythology it seems men can represent nations and women symbolize the religion each marries. Andromeda is the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Those parents could represent Israel and Judaism and Perseus could be the United States who married Christianity, the daughter of Judaism. In this paper, let us confine ourselves to the symbolism of Perseus representing Joseph Smith, who marries the church founded by him, represented by Andromeda.

Three other constellations were also shown in that same article to refer to that same quest. It was suggested that the Hunter (Orion), the brightest constellation in the heavens, represents Adam. He has two hunting dogs, the Big Dog (Canis Major) representing Joseph Smith and the Little Dog (Canis Minor) representing Abel. They are chasing the Hare (Lepus), who it was suggested represents the wicked adulterous female. These figures give further insight into the myth of Perseus. In particular, it shows that Joseph is working under the direction of Adam and with the help of Abel.

Another constellation shows two men who are brothers. The Twins (Gemini) are named Castor and Pollux in myths. Pollux was a champion wrestler (or boxer) just as was Joseph Smith. Also in that article Pollux was identified with Joseph Smith and Castor with Abel.

Thus, it appears that several constellations refer directly to Joseph Smith. Joseph of Egypt prophesied of his descendant who would be a great seer, who would rank with Moses (2 Nephi 3:17-18).

Now let us turn to the new confirming evidence that these interpretations are correct, because the birth and dates of these men are "written in the stars".

2.2 Birth Date

The date on the Star Calendar for the birth of the Prophet Joseph is 10 Sgr. That corresponds to a star in the bow of the Archer (Sagittarius). With so many constellations available representing him, the birth date seemed surprising at first.

The blessings given to his twelve sons by Jacob have many references to constellations in them. Reuben is called unstable as water (Waterbearer), Dan is a serpent which bites heels (Scorpion) and Judah is a Lion. In the later blessing by Moses, Joseph is referred to as a wild ox (the Bull, mistranslated "unicorn" in KJV), with his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh being the two horns (Deut. 33:17).

What was Jacob's blessing to Joseph? Here is part of it:

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (Gen. 49:24)

We know a lot of detail about the life of Joseph of Egypt. Having his bow be strong does not sound like a highlight of his life. It might refer to his descendants being mighty warriors. But it is well known that many of these blessings have obscure and/or multiple meanings. Consider the possibility that another intended meaning of this blessing could be a reference to the Prophet Joseph Smith being the "bow". If so, then the word "his" in "arms of his hands" could refer to the strength of Joseph Smith. He was known for his great strength, which allowed him to become a champion wrestler.

In any case, it seems possible that Joseph Smith could indeed be symbolized by the Bow of the Archer. If so, then Joseph was born on a day representing him. That star is called the "Bow" in my work now. The day proposed in my work for the date of the death of Isaac was also on the day of the Bow, so Joseph is in good company.

2.3 Death Date

Joseph Smith died on the day of the brightest star in the sky in the Big Dog, which represents him. (Photo by Alan Dyer)
The death date of Joseph Smith is more clearly symbolized in the constellations than that of his birth and provides a strong witness as to his identity. The Prophet was murdered on the afternoon of Thu 27 Jun 1844 about 5 p.m. On the Star Calendar that martyrdom day was the day of the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, in the Big Dog, which represents Joseph Smith! There is such a small probability that Sirius would fall exactly on the Prophet's death date by chance, that this is taken as strong evidence that his death date had been known from the beginning.

There is also a second witness. In my work the name of the day of the Hebrew Calendar (10 Tammuz) on which the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered has been called "Raven Day" because it was the same day as Noah released the raven from the ark. Moreover, it was suggested that it should be considered a holy day because it completes the set of four fast days of mourning which all occur on the tenth day of the months that begin each of the four seasons. That day ties Joseph Smith to his mother because she was born on Raven Day (10 Tammuz) on Sat 8 Jul 1775. It was mentioned in an earlier article that those dates being the same provides both a mother-son link but also emphasizes the importance of that day.[9]

Fig. 4. The Raven (Corvus) attacking the Fleeing Serpent is Joseph Smith
Now two more witnesses appear, making it much harder to ignore all of these witnesses as due to random chance. There is a constellation of a Raven in the heavens. There are three figures attacking the female Fleeing Serpent in the last days as shown in the constellations (see Figure 4). First, there is the Lion (Leo) who is running after her and pouncing on her head to crush it. That Lion has been identified with Adam (as well as Christ). Second, there is a Raven clinging to its back and pecking at it (depicted by the same star being in the serpent's back and the raven's beak). And third, there is a Cup attached to it which may represent the Cup of the Wrath of God which is to be poured out on the great and abominable church to cause its demise. Thus it appears that Adam again has two helpers in his quest to destroy his enemy. It is here proposed that the Raven represents Joseph Smith. The cup may represent Abel, but that is not yet clear.

Why a raven for Joseph Smith? In folk tale symbolism, the raven often represents someone who has died and is bringing a message as a spirit. That matches what the Perseus myth says was required from Perseus to be able to slay the Medusa (invisibility). Thus, it is consistent with the symbolism that the Prophet would be martyred on Raven Day on the Hebrew Calendar.

Fig. 5. Using Priesthood Pattern to identify Joseph Smith's star.
Now consider the Star Calendar. The constellation of the Raven (Corvus) is just below the Maiden (Virgo). The brightest star in the Raven, which represents the entire constellation, has its star slot on the day 13 Vir. It turns out that the prophet's martyrdom occurred on the very day of the Raven on the Uniform Star Calendar! Thus there are two witnesses that Joseph Smith is the Raven because that was also the day on the Hebrew Calendar.

2.4 Family Dates

Table 2. Even the birth dates of Joseph Smith's parents testify of his calling.
Several of the the birth dates of the family of Joseph Smith tie to him and testify of him. What was the day on the Star Calendar of the birth of Lucy Mack Smith? She was born on the day 22 Gem which corresponds to the star Pollux (beta Gem), which was proposed in my work to represent Joseph Smith. So now there is a double tie of Lucy to Joseph and also another witness that he is Pollux.

Another earlier article discussed the kite-shaped Priesthood Pattern of Seven and showed how each of seven leaders that are associated with a constellation can be easily identified by this pattern. It noted that there are seven constellations in this kite-shape and that the constellation that represents the highest group is the Little Bear.[10] If in fact those seven stars represent the seven chief angels, then Joseph Smith, the fifth angel, would be at position shown in Figure 5. It turns out that was the star day at the birth of Joseph Smith Sr., father of the Prophet, on both the Star Calendar and Uniform Star Calendar. For him to have been born on a star day representing his son on two calendars provide two more powerful witnesses of the Prophet Joseph.

Joseph's brothers Hyrum and Samuel were also born on holy days on the Star Calendar. And of course Hyrum was martyred on the same death date as the Prophet, on the day of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.

3. Life of Jesus Christ

Much has been said in my articles about events of the life of Jesus Christ on the sacred calendars. Indeed, the day of His Resurrection is holy on more sacred calendars than any other, for which reasons it has been called the "holiest day in history" in my articles. One article discusses how each of the 9 pairs of holy days on the Venus calendar are associated with a key event in His life. So what about the Star Calendar?

3.1 Birth Date

Let's begin with the day of the birth of Jesus Christ. On the Star Calendar the birth of Christ during the evening preceding Thu 6 Apr 1 BC occurred on the day 26 Ari, associated with the star ν Ari here named "Fleece" (short for "Golden Fleece"). It is star of average brightness up on the back of the Ram (Aries), who in mythology was the Ram with the Golden Fleece. That fleece was the object of the quest of Jason and all those on the ship Argo, which included many of the superheroes such as Hercules, Pollux and Castor. The fleece was said to be immortal and to give immortality to anyone who wore or possessed it. The fleece was hanging from an apple tree which was guarded by a dragon. It may have represented resurrection and eternal life. Religiously, the Ram apparently represents the Lamb of God grown to maturity.

The Resurrection was on the most sacred day of the Ram.
On the Sacred Round, arguably the most important sacred calendar, Jesus was born on the day representing resurrection (1 Reed) and He resurrected on a day representing birth (13 Temple). Thus, here we see a similar reversal of events, where Jesus was born on the day of star which apparently represents resurrection! And the star being only average matches the other humble circumstances of his birth in the stable. Of course, there was also a new bright star that heralded his birth as a sign to those who knew how to understand it.

3.2 Resurrection Date

The date of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not an obscure date, but was holy on nearly all of the sacred calendars known so far. It is no exception on the star calendars. It turns out that those two calendars were aligned for the three years of Christ's ministry, so every date in that interval was the same on both the Star Calendar and the Uniform Star Calendar. The star day for the Resurrection was the holy day 22 Ari, being that of the brightest star in the constellation. That day is holy both because it is on day 22 and also it is the star which represents the entire constellation and hence is called "the Ram" (Hamal, meaning "sheep"). That day was the equivalent of the Last Day of Passover on the Star Calendar, a major holy day.

3.3 Other Events

Jesus was baptized on the day of star "Redeemed".
The day on which Jesus was baptized was the day 1 Lib, associated with the star alpha Lib in the lower tray of the Balance. It is named "Redeemed" in my work because it represents the price paid to redeem those in prison. It is a major holy day on the Star Calendar. The transfiguration of Christ also occurred on that day.

The day on which Jesus began his ministry was also the star day of the Ram, the same as the Resurrection. The ministry began on the afternoon of a Saturday and the Resurrection on the morning of a Sunday, but the star day runs from noon to noon, and it turns out both were on the same day of the star year.

Table 3. Star dates for key events in the life of Jesus Christ.
The day of the Ascension was on 34 Tau, which corresponds to the star beta Tau, the North Horn of the Bull. That is a minor holy day because it is one of the mansions of the moon. That day was also the birthday of Naphtali and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon on the Uniform Star Calendar. The Day of Pentecost fell on 1 Gem which is also a minor holy day.

4. Biblical Events

In earlier articles, many proposed dates of events in the lives of Biblical patriarchs and their wives have been published. If this Star Calendar is really used by the Lord for timing events in their lives, then there should be several matches that support what has been published. More than enough supporting evidence from the Star Calendar has indeed been found to merit its publication in this article. Those presented here are limited to those with two types of witnesses: (1) either two clear examples of the same pattern, or (2) one "bull's-eye" example of the star being in a position in the constellation that relates directly to the event. Let us now look at some examples.

As seen in the lives of those in the Prophet Joseph Smith's family, the Star Calendar seems to be used heavily in the birth and dates of prophets and key religious figures. It also seems to be used somewhat for sacred events in their lives. Let us now turn to the Old Testament for its witness. For simplicity, the dates of these events on our Gregorian Calendar will not always be given because they can be found on the Religious Chronology page of my website, along with the references to where that date was discussed. In all cases only previously published dates are used so they can be treated as independently derived, and hence permissible to verify this calendar.

4.1 Patriarchs

Both Adam and Enos died on death star days.
Let's look at some dates in the proposed dates for events in the lives of the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets. Beginning with Adam, his death date is an excellent example. In the Garden of Eden after he partook of the forbidden fruit, he was promised that someday the "Seed of Woman" (the Savior Jesus Christ) would save all mankind from the permanency of death. The serpent was told that although he would be able to sting His heel, that He would crush his head (Gen. 3:15). That interaction is depicted in the constellations with the Serpent Bearer being stung in the right heel by the scorpion while he crushes the head of the Scorpion with his left foot.

The very day proposed in my work many years ago for the death of Adam falls precisely on the day of the star theta Oph, which is hereafter called "Stung" in my work. It is a star of average brightness but which has been recognized since ancient times as important because it is very near the ecliptic and hence is useful as a marker. The ancient Babylonians used it to mark one of the "mansions of moon".

That is perfect symbolism for the death of Adam to have occurred exactly on the day of the star representing the heel stung by the Scorpion.

There is a second witness of this symbolism. In my articles it has been been pointed out that Adam's grandson Enos represented "mortality" (which word means "death"). For example, the name "Enos" means "mortal man" and the day 1 Skull on the Sacred Round was both the day of his birth and also of his death. Now we see that the day of the death of Enos also occurred on the day on the Star Calendar of lambda Sco (called Shaula meaning "Stinger"). It is a bright star and was well known in the ancient world as being located in the stinger of the Scorpion. Thus his death occurred on the one star in all of the sky that most represents death. Even with only these two examples, hopefully the reader is seeing the power of the witness of this calendar.

Another example from the life of Adam is that the day of his Fall occurred on the Star Calendar day of the star Spica (alpha Vir), one of the brightest stars in the sky, on the day 29 Vir. It represents the "Seed of Woman", being the grain seed in the hand of the Maiden (Virgo). It seems very fitting to have the promised Seed be associated with the Fall of Adam because the Seed Jesus Christ was destined to redeem mankind from that Fall.

King David was born the day of the star "King".
Cainan was the son of Enos (not to be confused with Canaan, son of Ham). According to the Book of Jasher, because of his great wisdom he became the first king of the entire world (Jasher 2:11). He was born on 15 Leo, the day of the star Regulus, one of the brightest stars in the heavens. It is found at the heart of the Lion (Leo). It has a double meaning. First, it represents a king or a prince. The Lion is the king of beasts. The star being found at the position of the heart also implies a wise king, who rules from the truth found in his heart. Thus it was a perfect day for Cainan, who was chosen king because he was wise, to have been born.

A confirmation that Cainan being born on the King star day is not due to chance is that he also died on the King star on the Uniform Star Calendar. That is beyond being a random occurrence.

Is there yet another example in my published chronology to verify that the association of the King star with this star day is meaningful and actually used by the Lord? Yes, there most definitely is. King David was also most famous for being king and also ruling with wisdom, as did his son Solomon. The Lord said that David was a man "after his own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). The day proposed in my work for the birth of King David was also the day "King" (Regulus) on the Star Calendar.

Hopefully the reader sees that each of these witnesses serves to verify both the already published dates as well as the Star Calendar itself. Now let us look at a few examples from the family of Jacob, who was also called Israel.

4.2 Jacob's Family

Rather than try to look at birth and death dates all through the Old Testament, let's just look at some in the family of Jacob and his twelve sons. Even there, let's just look at examples with either two witnesses or with especially meaningful dates.

Jacob's marriage dates to Leah and Rachel were stellar.
First of all, the marriage dates of Jacob to his two wives Leah and Rachel are interesting indeed. The Bible states that the two marriages were one week apart and it had already been noted in my work that those days fell on the First and Last Day of Passover week on the Enoch Calendar. Moreover, they occurred in a year that corresponded to an entire year of Passover on that calendar and the birth of their sons all occurred during the next seven years during a grand Passover Week of years.

Now looking at the Star Calendar, it is seen that the first marriage (to Leah) occurred on the day 15 Tau, with the star being Alcyone, which represents the star cluster of the Seven Sisters (Pleiades). Then the marriage to Rachel occurred on 22 Tau, the star Aldebaran, the Seer. Of the entire year, that week corresponded to a stellar equivalent of Passover because it occurred in the spring (at that time). The reader should understand that due to the slow precession of the spinning earth (like a spinning top slowing down), the positions of the stars change relative to the seasons by about one constellation every 2,000 years. Thus, at the time of Joseph, the stellar Passover (in March-April) occurred in the Bull, at the time of Christ it was in the Ram, and currently it is the Fishes.

Joseph & Asenath both born on day "Seer".
The proposed birth dates of each of Jacob's twelve sons are each in a different zodiac constellation. That is not a surprise because that was one of the criteria used to derive those dates because other data implied that it was true. In fact, in my first attempt, the proposed date for Levi was wrong according to current beliefs because it looked as if the obviously correct date did not fall into the Fishes. Later as the Star Calendar was being being discovered it was seen that the birth date for Levi fell on the very first day of the Fishes (1 Psc), so the date was immediately corrected in my articles.

A confirmation of Levi's birth date is now found in his death date, which was also the day 1 Psc. Thus, he lived an exact number of sideral years, which is the year of 365.2564 days on which the Star Calendar is based ("sidereal" means "star").

Another confirmation of proposed birth dates of Jacob's sons is that both Joseph and his wife Asenath were born on the Star Calendar date 22 Tau, which is the bright star Aldebaran, the Seer. That is a perfect star for Joseph, who was a seer, and for his wife to be linked to him. It is also the star of Joseph Smith who would be his great descendant named after him.

Another perfect date is that of the birth of Benjamin who was born in the constellation of the Twins (Gemini). The two sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin, are a pair that fit into the Twins pattern: a greater and a lesser, like the Big Dog and Little Dog. Benjamin was like the Little Dog. There is one bright star in the Little Dog: Procyon. Benjamin was born on the day of Procyon: 25 Gem. Those are the only two of the sons of Jacob born on a bright star day.

4.3 Exodus

Several events of the Exodus occurred not only on sacred days on the Star Calendar, but also on days when the star matched the event.

The day the Ten Commandments were given occurred on 1 Cnc (first day of the Crab). The Crab represents the Deliverer. In this case it can represent both the Lord and Moses who would deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt. Thus, the day seems fitting indeed.

The day of the Raising of the Tabernacle was a day which clearly represented the Resurrection, both in the obvious event itself of raising the body (tabernacle) and also on sacred calendar days. It came on the eighth day counting from the day of the anointing of the high priest Aaron. It occurred on the sacred day of 1 Jachin on the Priest Calendar, the same as on the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Early Christians understood well the symbolism of the Christ rising on the eighth day of the week, which is Sunday, the same as the first day.

On Brazen Serpent Day some were wanting and some redeemed from death.
Something has always seemed, however, to be missing about the Raising of the Tabernacle. Although it occurred on a Sunday morning, as did the Resurrection, it was not Easter Sunday on any known sacred calendar, nor the end of a Passover week. Now that is no longer true. The anointing of Aaron occurred on 15 Ari, the day of the star gamma Ari, the Ram's Horn. The shofar trumpet, used to announce the beginning of holy days and weeks, was made from a Ram's horn. Accordingly, that star is dubbed "Shofar" in my work. One week later, the eighth day counting inclusively from that first day was 22 Ari, the day of the star Hamal, the Ram. That was the very day on the Star Calendar on which the Savior resurrected! It also marked the end of what would become a "Passover week" on that calendar at the time of Christ. Thus, the Star Calendar furnishes the rest of the symbolism that has seemed to be missing.

The day of the Brazen Serpent also fell on very meaningful sacred days on both star calendars. It occurred on the day 8 Lib on the Star Calendar, the day of beta Lib, the star in the left tray of the Balance (as seen by the Scorpion judge), which is the side which is high and wanting more weight to balance. In my work this star is called "Wanting" because it seems to refer to man who was weighed in the scales and found wanting (Dan. 5:27). Surely on that day many were found wanting and died from the snake bites.

Brazen Serpent Day was both star day Wanting and also Redeemed.
On the other hand, it was a day of being redeemed from the snake bites for those with enough faith to at least look at the brass serpent. That option is actually covered by the Uniform Star Calendar on which the star day was 1 Lib, alpha Lib, Redeemed, the star representing the lower right-hand tray of the balance where Christ had paid the price to redeem mankind who are all found wanting. Thus, it was a day both for those with the faith to be redeemed and also for those found wanting. This is an excellent illustration of how the Star Calendar and Uniform Star Calendar can work as a team to more fully explain an event.

Another example of these two stars being used to help explain an event was at the time of the Great Deluge. On the Uniform Star Calendar, the day on which Noah loaded the ark occurred on the day Redeemed. Seven days later when the Flood began, the day was Wanting. That really seems to fit the first group being saved and the other being destroyed.

The date of the revelation of the book of Deuteronomy occurred on the day 22 Aqr, Fomalhaut, the bright star in the head of the Southern Fish (Piscis Austrinus) which is one of the "four corners of the earth". Being found in the head, it is representative of teaching and intelligence. It is also found at the end of the stream of the righteous of Aquarius. That constellation symbolizes Christ as the Master (teacher), pouring out blessings on the head of his church. Thus it was a perfectly suited day on which to reveal the teachings of Deuteronomy.

Crossing Jordan on Last Day of Passover on Star Calendar.
One final example is the Crossing of the Jordan into the promised land. It occurred on the day of 22 Tau, the Seer, which at that time was the Star Calendar equivalent of the Last Day of Passover. The event also occurred on the Last Day of Passover on both the Enoch and Uniform Enoch Calendars. Thus, it was a third witness that the passing over from Egypt to the Promised Land was complete. On the Jubilee Calendar it was the Last Day of Transplanting which truly describes Israel having been replanted in their home land.

5. LDS Sacred Events

Let us now look at the timing on the Star Calendar of some key events in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). We've already seen how the stars witness of the role of the Prophet Joseph Smith, including even calendar links to his parents. Now let's focus on events of the early Church itself in his day.

5.1 First Vision

Although the exact date of the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith was apparently not recorded, it has been proposed in my work that it occurred on the morning of Sun 26 Mar 1820. That date was indicated because it marked the first day of a 364-year era on the Enoch Calendar. Later it was discovered to have also started one of the ten periods of 728 years of Enoch's prophecy of Weeks.[11] Now two more stunning witnesses from the stars strongly confirm that date.

The First Vision on a day for heavenly visitations and for seers.
The proposed First Vision date was the day 15 Psc (Fishes) on the Star Calendar, which is the holy day equivalent to Passover in our era. The star which marks that day (gamma Peg) is located in the wing of the white flying horse Pegasus. In mythology, that is the horse which is always bringing heavenly messengers. It seems to represent an angel or other heavenly messengers. It is a perfect star to represent the visit of the Father and the Son (and many angels) to Joseph Smith on that day. This star date provides yet another confirmation of that proposed date for the First Vision.

This date provides a perfect example of how the Uniform Star Calendar can provide additional information about an event. The day of the First Vision on that calendar was that of the bright star Aldebaran, alpha Tau, the Seer, on the day 22 Tau. As already herein discussed, that star represents Joseph Smith, one of the greatest seers of all time.

How appropriate for the First Vision to have taken place on a day appropriate for heavenly visitations on one star calendar and also the very day of Joseph the Seer on the other!

5.2 Priesthood Restoration

Priesthoods restored on days of Joseph Smith stars.
There are three dates of various levels of priesthood having been restored which have been discussed and pinpointed in my articles. Those are the dates of the restoration of the priesthood of Aaron, the priesthood of elders, and the priesthood of high priests. Let's look at those three dates on the Star Calendar.

The date proposed in my work for the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood in May 1829 falls on the Star Calendar date of 8 Tau, with the star being tau Per, the star at the head of the hero Perseus. That star is used to represent the entire constellation and is called "Hero" in my work. As reviewed above, the myth of Perseus seems to be describing the Prophet Joseph Smith and his receiving various gifts from divine messengers. That day was when the resurrected divine messenger John the Baptist bestowed the Aaronic priesthood on him. How appropriate for it to occur on a day representing Joseph Smith!

The proposed date of the restoration by Peter, James and John of the priesthood needed for the elders of the Church occurred just two weeks later on the day 22 Tau. As already discussed, that is the day of the star Seer (Aldebaran), which is the star best representing Joseph the Seer. Again, that event is explicitly mentioned in the myth where the Swan Women provide the eye for Perseus to use to see. The Swan (Cygnus) is a constellation representing Peter, so it appears that the three women sages represented Peter, James and John. Again, the day is a perfect fit!

The office of high priest in the Church, which requires a higher level of Melchizedek priesthood than does elder, was restored on the day 29 Tau (Sat 4 Jun 1831), which corresponds to the star beta Ori, Rigel, the brightest star in Orion. Orion symbolizes Adam and also Jesus Christ who have all the highest levels of priesthood. The day 29 Tau suggests a progression after 22 Tau, and indeed this was the day when elders were first ordained to be high priests.

Thus, all three dates of priesthood restorations fit a very simple pattern, with the first two occurring on days which represent the Prophet Joseph himself. It sure does appear to be according to precise clockwork.

5.3 Public Ministy

Public Ministry began on star day to cast the missionary net.
There is a date in LDS Church history which is not much recognized as important, but indeed marked a new beginning. It was the day that the first public sermon was preached in Fayette, New York, on Sun 11 Apr 1830 after the Church had been founded on the previous Tuesday. That Sunday morning occurred on the day 1 Ari, the first day of the constellation of the Ram (Aries). The star for that day is mu Psc. That star is somewhat obscure but is the star representing the hoof of the Ram which apparently is breaking the bands which secure the two Fishes to the Sea Monster. The reason for including it here is that it supports another interpretation of the bands. It has been suggested that the bands may have been a net in an ancient version which has been lost.[12] That net would represent the gospel net (Mat. 13:47) which the Ram is casting in order to catch the Fishes. That is a perfect fit for this event, because it was the first day that the gospel net was being cast and it was also the first day of the Ram and it was also the star which is casting the net.

5.4 Kirtland Temple

Fig. 6. The wing and navel of Pegasus encompass a "Passover" week.
(Click to see rising.)
The dedication of the Kirtland temple on Sun 27 Mar 1836 and the subsequent vision there a week later on Easter Sunday, 3 Apr 1836, have been the focus of several discussions in my articles because both events occurred on holy days on several calendars. Indeed, the latter event was the subject of my first article on sacred chronology back in 1985.[13] The reason was that it helped establish the first and most important historical anchor date of the chronology: the date of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

One feature of the pair of dates has always been a puzzle to me. Being a week apart, they seemed as though they should be the first and last days of some sort of Passover celebration. Many events took place similar to the last week of the Savior's life, such as having the sacrament and the ordinance of the washing of the feet. Yet, those seven days did not correspond to any Passover week on any calendar known to me. Passover on both the Hebrew and Enoch calendars began on Sat 2 Apr 1836, not the previous week. That has remained a mystery until now.

Elijah returned on star days for fathers and the Church head.
The date of the dedication of the temple on the Star Calendar was 15 Psc, which corresponds to Passover on that calendar. It was already discussed above as the star day of the First Vision. The associated star is hereby named "Winged" in my work because its position is in the wings of the heavenly messenger flying horse Pegasus. It would be a day for angels to appear. And indeed, many angels were reported being seen on that amazing dedication day. A pillar of fire was seen to envelop the entire temple.

A week later there was an extremely important visitation in that temple. The Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah all appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Important priesthood keys were restored. The most famous were the last restored by Elijah, who "revealed the priesthood" (JSH 1:38) to them. Elijah was commissioned to "plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers" (JSH 1:39). This mission of Elijah had everything to do with connecting fathers and children. It appears that what was restored was the power to seal the children to the fathers, especially into the covenant line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

The day on which Elijah returned was 22 Psc, the Last Day of the week of the star Passover. It is also represented by a star in Pegasus.[14] The Greeks said it was located at the navel of the horse. The name of the star is Alpheratz which is from the Arabic for "Horse's Navel". That location of the star is near the reproductive area and may have everything to do with offspring. With that understanding, that star is a perfect one to have on the day on which Elijah, who ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire, returned to restore covenant power of the fathers and the authority to seal the children to their fathers. A possible name for this star in this context is "Sire". Figure 6 shows the positions of both the star in the wing and at the navel.

Fig. 7. The star at navel of Pegasus is also the head of Andromeda.
(Click to see rising.)
There is more. The star for this day is not only the navel of Pegasus but also head of Andromeda, the Princess bride of Perseus (see Figure 7). In the case of Perseus representing Joseph Smith and Andromeda representing the church he founded, that would probably mean that this star also represents Joseph Smith himself in the role of head of the latter-day church.[15]

Combining those two positions in different constellations of that star seems to imply that this was the day that the power to seal children to the fathers was bestowed upon the head of the Lord's Church. That seems amazing that a star shared by two constellations would have the meaning of both of them be so relevant on the very day that Elijah returned with that very mission on the very day of that very star!

6. Conclusion

The Star Calendar was introduced with an explanation of how it associates every day with a star. Evidence was produced implying that the Lord is using this calendar for the timing of key events in the life of the Savior and of his servants. Detailed examples were provided for the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith strongly supporting the conclusion from earlier articles that he is one of the seven chief angels of God. In those articles it was proposed that several constellations symbolize him, such as the Big Dog and Pollux (one of the Twins). This article confirms that by showing that events of his life occurred on Star Calendar dates associated with stars from those very constellations. Similarly, many previously published dates in a chronology back to Adam were also confirmed in the same manner.

Truly the intelligence of the Creator is astounding to behold. There are so many levels of heavenly testimony of his servants and their great works. Our solar system and its placement among the stars was carefully chosen by an all knowing Creator. Truly the heavens declare the glory of God!

Notes

  1. The method of discovering this calendar was a version of the scientific method which was used to discover many of the planetary calendars also. In science, observations are used to construct a theory which is then used to predict the results of further observations (experiments). The main stipulation is that any observation used to create a theory cannot also be used to verify the theory! This calendar was discovered by proposing a theory based on how other sacred calendars work, especially the Enoch Calendar. Then the theory was tested against all of the 200+ dates in my world chronology to see if there were more occurrences of sacred events on holy days than would be expected by chance. This is the scientific method at its best because all of those dates are observational data points derived from totally independent data, such as historical facts.
  2. The current version of the Star Calendar begins at noon on Sat 1 Jul 4006 BC beginning 1 Vir. The intercalation algorithm is that one week is added after 6 years, then another after 5 years, alternating in that manner for 39 years. That 39-year pattern repeats indefinitely. This is the simplest algorithm for any sacred calendar and is amazingly accurate, yielding an average sidereal year length of 14,245 days/39 years = 365.2564 days/year, which is sufficiently accurate for all 7,000 years of history since Adam. Wikipedia gives the value as 365.25636 days (see "Sidereal Year" at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidereal_year).
  3. For those familiar with astrological signs, there could be confusion when looking at the results in this article for three reasons. First, birth dates between 21 Mar and 19 Apr are generally said in astrology to be born in the sign of Aries (the Ram). About 2,000 years ago the sun was in the 30° slot assigned to the Ram at that time. But the stars slowly rotate around the year at a rate of 1° every 72 years. That amounts to an entire constellation in about 2,000 years. So now the sun is actually in the Fishes (Pisces) for people born at that time. Second, in the Star Calendar some of the constellations have more or less than a month assigned to them. And third, some of the constellations overlap by as much as two weeks.
  4. There are two versions of the Uniform Enoch Calendar, the Major and the Minor. There are also apparently corresponding Major and Minor versions of the Uniform Star Calendar. In both Major and Minor cases of both calendars, the permanent alignment between them is the same: 1 Summer (UE) = 1 Leo (US).
  5. The sidereal longitudes are found in column Y of the spreadsheet catalog downloadable from Pratt, John P., "The Mag 5 Star Catalog" (14 Dec 2015).
  6. Pratt, John P., "The Lion and Unicorn Testify of Christ, Part II: The Four Royal Stars" Meridian Magazine (5 Dec 2001), Section 2.4 Phanuel; and "Constellations Testify of Seven Angels" Meridian Magazine (28 Sep 2006), Section 5.5 Joseph Smith.
  7. Pratt, John P., "Seeking the Original Constellations" (24 Dec 2015), "The Forgotten Left Stream of Aquarius" (9 Jan 2016), "The Scorpion Metes Out Justice With His Balance" (4 Feb 2016), and "Capricornus: A Thorn in the Side" (25 Mar 2016).
  8. Pratt, John P., "Constellations Testify of Seven Angels" Meridian Magazine (28 Sep 2006), Section 5.5 Joseph Smith.
  9. Pratt, John P., "From Martyrdom to Celebration!" Meridian Magazine (6 Jun 2002), Section 5 Lucy Mack Smith's birth: 10 Tammuz.
  10. Pratt, John P., "Super Constellation Testifies of Unified Design" (10 Oct 2015), Section 2.1 "The Little Bear (Ursa Minor)".
  11. Pratt, John P., "Enoch's Ten Week Prophecy" (24 May 2015) Section 2.9 Restoration & Wicked Destroyed.
  12. Pratt, John P., "The Forgotten Left Stream of Aquarius" (9 Jan 2016) Section 3 Suggested Interpretation, Fig. 5.
  13. Pratt, John P., "The Restoration of Priesthood Keys on Easter 1836, Part 1: Dating the First Easter," Ensign 15, No. 6 (June, 1985), pp. 59-68.
  14. The reason stars from Pegasus are used for these holy days, rather than two in the Fishes, is that there are no bright stars there.
  15. It may be important that Perseus meets and marries Andromeda after the evil Medusa had fallen.