“A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son called the Branch, the gloriously beautiful, who shall come down and have dominion. He shall be desired and longed for, but also He shall be despised and be a sin offering. He shall be pierced, but will also pierce. He is the heretofore and the hereafter. He will come suddenly to rule, subdue, govern and tread under foot” (paraphrased from a combination of passages in Isa 4:2, 7:14, 9:6-7, 11:1, 53:3,5; Hag 2:7; Zech 3:8, 6:12; Rev 1:8)

Although this quote is not taken directly from the scriptures, it can be pieced together from the above list of scriptures, and agrees in every detail with the ancient constellation and star names. The word “Zodiac” comes from the Hebrew word zodi, meaning “the way” or “path”.  The Greeks use the term ‘Zodiakos’, meaning ‘circle’ to designate the twelve signs and ecliptic circle of the path they follow through the twelve months of the year. We understand Yeshua’s statement that He is “the Way, the truth and the life”, and remember that Yeshua represents the “Strong Man” moving through the circle of the Mazzerot throughout the year (Ps 19:5-6). So based on these two concepts, we recognize that we are meant to follow Yeshua as the Way, and that He is figuratively leading us around the circle of the Zodiac, the signs that tell the Gospel story of Yeshua’s birth, ministry, death, resurrection and final judgment as King of kings.

The first sign of the Mazzerot (Zodiac) is named Virgo (Latin) or Betulah (Hebrew). The reason we know Virgo (Betulah) is the first sign of the Zodiac is because of the great sky painting found in the Temple of Esneh in Egypt, which shows the whole image of the zodiac with all of its constellations. Between Virgo and Leo, there is carved the figure of the sphinx with the head of a woman and the body of a lion. The woman’s face is looking at the Virgin and the lion’s tail is pointing at the Lion, telling us where the Zodiac Gospel story begins and ends. Although I don’t recommend the Latin Vulgate as the most accurate Bible translation source, in this case it helps us understand the meaning of this sign relating to the prophetic passages about the Messiah. Two of the names for this sign are connected – Virgo (Latin) which means a virgin (Isa 7:14); and Virga (Arabic), which means a branch (Isa 11:1).

To confirm the reference to the Branch, the brightest star in Virgo is Tzemach (Hebrew). Although there are 20 different Hebrew words that are translated as “branch”, Tzemach is the only word for branch used to represent the Messiah (example Isa 4:2 – “In that day shall the Branch of Yehovah be beautiful and glorious.”) Virgo’s left hand is shown holding ears of corn – in her left hand is a bright star named Spica, which in Latin means “an ear or seed of corn”.  The Hebrews called this star Zerah, which means “the seed” and is the same exact word used in Genesis 3:14-15. Remember how Yeshua used the figure “grain of wheat” or “seed of corn” (depending on the translation): unless the seed [of corn] falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” He was indicating here how He had to die in order to bring salvation and eternal life to His people.

The other constellations within the sign of Betulah [Virgo] confirm the prophesied roles and attributes of the Messiah. The first constellation is name Coma in Hebrew, which means the “desired” or “longed for” One, as in Haggai 2:7 – “The Desire of all nations shall come”. Ancient Zodiac depictions show a woman with a child in her arms, with the star representing the child designated by an ancient Persian name meaning the “anointed one”. In some ancient teachings thought to have originated from Daniel the prophet, a new star appeared within Coma which represented the newborn Messiah they were seeking.

The second constellation within Virgo is Centaurus (Latin), which is a well-known mythological character purported to be half-man and half-horse. The ancient Hebrew name of this constellation, though, was Bezeh, meaning “despised” as in Isa 53:3 – “He was despised and rejected of men”. Incredibly, the other name for this constellation is Asmeat, which means “a sin offering”, as in Isa 53:10 – “When You make His soul an offering for sin,..”. So, we have a creature here who is the Son of God, both man and sacrificial animal (probably a goat and not an unclean animal such as a horse), who is despised by people but still willing to sacrifice Himself for us. This is a clear picture of Yeshua our Messiah!

The final Virgo constellation is called Bootes (Hebrew), which means “The Coming One”. He is generally shown as a shepherd, with a shepherd’s crook in one hand and a sickle in his other hand. This could represent many things, but most clearly it shows a picture of the Messiah, coming the first time as our shepherd, and at the end of the age as the judge who comes to reap His harvest of souls and cut off those who will still not turn to Him and His Father after their final call to repent. Even in the stars we see Abba Father and Yeshua beckoning to us to repent – how will we respond?