If you’re reading this blog and are a celebrator of the holiday called Christmas, you’d better get moving. You have only seven shopping days left.

Step away from the computer, find that pile of coupons you’ve been hoarding and get moving to your nearest shopping mall.

While many holidays are honored around this time, the original intent of this time is to celebrate Christmas – a commemoration of the birth of Jesus.

Winter Solstice Gods

The commemoration of Jesus, December 25, occurs near the winter solstice. In the history of our planet, there have been other deities celebrated at the time of the winter solstice. This site contains interesting information on those deities:

Deities of the Winter Solstice

As this site states, “Because of the theme of endless birth, life, death, and rebirth, the time of the solstice is often associated with deity and other legendary figures.”

In the northern latitudes, the winter solstice is the time of death. Flowers are gone, the pool is closed and sand volleyball is a distant memory.

And if you happen to have a birthday in the northern latitude winter, forget having it at the pool or park. That is for summer babies like Gemini, Cancer and Leo. Taurus (May) and Virgo (September) have a fifty-fifty chance of a sunny birthday.

They have the fun parties. But I’m not envious, I swear.

But to compensate, winter birthdays, like that of Jesus, celebrate with lights, gifts and spiked fatty egg drinks.

Not bad.

Saturnalia

December 25 is right after the winter solstice which is when the sun moves into the sign of Capricorn. Capricorn, as you know, is ruled by Saturn.

Saturn was also celebrated at this time in a festival called Saturnalia which the About.com site states:

Saturn (Roman): Every December, the Romans threw a week-long celebration of debauchery and fun, called Saturnalia in honor of their agricultural god, Saturn. Roles were reversed, and slaves became the masters, at least temporarily. This is where the tradition of the Lord of Misrule originated.

Saturn is the planet that rules structure itself. Structure is supported by rules which are guided by caution, monitored by time and define worldly ambition.

Breaking the all the rules as the sun enters Capricorn is a bit like Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) where you live it up before Lent, the time when you do Saturnian things like fast and stop what are considered indulgent behaviors.

It’s interesting the play between abundant Jupiter (which rules Sagittarius) and the contracting Saturn (which rules Capricorn) in our cultural traditions. Expansion and contraction are an endlessly repeating cycle.

Kind of like dieting.

The Capricorn and Pisces Jesus

While the true date of Jesus’ birth may not be December 25, the image of dying on a cross does evoke Saturn (which rules Capricorn).

Jacqueline Brook in The Astrologer and the Tradition writes of the glyph that represents Saturn:

. . . the glyph of Saturn is that of the cross of matter placed on top of the crescent: the spirit must go down into the bottom of matter to charge it or give it life or it can be viewed as matter oppressing the spirit. Saturn is the furthest planet which can be seen with the naked eye and is thus symbolically the planet closest to God; it is God who gives us life and thus sends the spirit into matter. Saturn is also the ruler of death which can be seen explicitly in the glyph as matter oppressing the spirit through its incarnation.

Sacrifice, on the other hand, is in the realm of Pisces (ruled by Neptune). The fish, also a symbol of Christ, is pure Pisces.

Capricorn rules the knees, which lower in prayer and Pisces rules the feet, which are washed “to imitate the humility and selfless love of Jesus.”

Jesus Actors

Do the actors portraying Jesus have this Capricorn and Pisces energy?

Since astrological research continues to be unfunded, I will use this IMDB list of actors portraying Jesus. Thank you to the person who created it.

The top sun sign for actors portraying Jesus is: SCORPIO.

Scorpio is the charismatic and intense fixed water sign. Fixed signs, you may have noticed, tend to rule the world due to their abundant fortitude and strength of purpose and personality.

While Scorpio is the top sun sign, by element AIR is the most for actors portraying Jesus with one Gemini, two Libras and two Aquarians.

What about Capricorn and Pisces?

There are zero Capricorns and zero Pisces.

If we include moon sign, Capricorn and Pisces still remain unrepresented. James Caviezel, who played in The Passion of the Christ, could possibly have a Capricorn moon; however, Astrotheme shows him to have a Sagittarius moon.

If we continue into the planet Mars, which is like a mini sun, we still find no Capricorn but one actor with Mars in Pisces.

With moon signs, AIR and FIRE signs prevail. The most frequent sign is LIBRA.

Libra and Scorpio rule the 7th and 8th houses respectively. The 7th house is “the other” and represents partnership. The 8th house also others but represents more intimate encounters such as emotional connection, sex and shared resources.

Libra and Scorpio together are where we unite with others from sharing a ride to sharing a bed.

Where are the Capricorn and Pisces?

That actors portraying Jesus are air and fire signs is really no surprise. Air and fire are more naturally extroverted and would be drawn to acting.

To see if the actors portraying Jesus had more or less air and fire than actors of a similar ability/stature who didn’t portray Jesus would involve a lot more data than this unfunded blogger has at her disposal. But that would be a better indication of an actor’s likelihood to play Jesus.

The question then becomes – how do we portray feelings and emotions that might not be part of our own psychological makeup?

I’m sure there are loads of acting classes out there addressing that topic. In astrological terms, can fire and air signs feel the Pisces pain of a being nailed to Saturnian matter?

Which actor would be able to truly channel this type of experience?

Heading back to the IMDB for Capricorn sun actors, I searched for a Pisces moon. That, I couldn’t find. And, by the way, if you are a Capricorn sun and want to be a famous actor, moon in an air sign will help you (and Scorpio is not bad either).

I did, however, find one Capricorn sun that also had Saturn and the moon in Capricorn. That’s enough Capricorn to understand what it’s like to have thorns thrown on your life path. Capricorn’s path is never easy. And if there is any easy way out, Capricorn still often chooses the path of most resistance but that offers the most gratification when fully traversed.

This actor has sun, Saturn and moon in Capricorn which creates a serious and stately individual, an individual others easily and naturally view as the authority in the room.

That actor is JAMES EARL JONES.

Looking at Jones’ CV, he has played some strong and authoritative figures such as King Lear, Alex Haley, Balthazar, Malcolm X and Darth Vader. He’s also done his share of narration due to his strong, resounding voice.

If you want to play Jesus in the movies, what sign should you be?

To be an actor, you clearly need air and fire with which to speak and express emotions. Feeling the gravity of material existence or the pain of suffering in samsara isn’t enough to play the role of a savior. The ability to project outward is clearly a prerequisite for acting.

However, charismatic Scorpios may apply.

It’s no surprise that Capricorns aren’t found playing Jesus because Capricorn is generally not an expressive sign and there’s a lot to express when portraying such a culturally important figure.

It’s surprising, too, that Capricorn sun MEL GIBSON hasn’t signed up for the role himself. I suppose directing a movie about Jesus (The Passion of the Christ) is enough for this Capricorn.