Exploring Virgo and Coma Berenices

Virgo is right next to a constellation called Coma Berenices, or Berenice's

Hair. If you look at illustrations, it looks like a head of hair, which

was said to

honor a queen of ancient Egypt. But before it represented hair, it

was simply called Coma and was a depiction of a mother and her

child. According to the Witness of the Stars,

Coma is one of

three constellations directly related to Virgo and was once known

as the Desired Son. This child was even referred to by Shakespeare as

the good boy on Virgo's lap. A mother holding her child is a powerful

motif that has routinely emerged throughout history.

In actuality, the image of mother and child speaks to a cosmic

narrative regarding the universe itself and the life that

develops within it. For this reason, Isis was known as the Queen of

Heaven and was revered with statues of her holding a young

Horus, who's a solar deity. This goddess has been called by countless

names and developed many expressions over the ages, which includes

Virgo, the Maiden of the Zodiac. The Virgin Mary would be another

example. The classic image of Mary holding Christ

has deep

roots and is encoded in the stars and their lore.

Virgo isn't just an expression of the Queen of Heaven, but also the

Queen of Earth. She is both the mother above and the

mother below. With this in mind, I think it's fascinating that she

doesn't hold a child, but instead holds a branch and wheat.

The word branch is interesting. In some languages, the word for Virgo

or virgin is also the word for branch.

Couple this with the fact that the Christian Messiah

is sometimes called the

branch, and things start to make more sense.

"Behold the man whose name is the Branch" is a reference to Jesus,

the son of a virgin. And in several ways, wheat is also related to

Christ. In the Holy Communion, you consume wheat in the form of a

wafer as the symbolic body of Jesus, who's also been called

the Bread of Life. I'm also coming to appreciate the solar

symbolism that's directly connected to many of our most popular

grains. Fields of wheat are golden, and corn is usually yellow,

just like the almighty sun. This also makes sense because Jesus in

many

ways is a solar deity, which is why he's called the Son.

The relationship Coma used to show directly is veiled with Virgo,

which appropriately enough is in her nature.

I also think it's really interesting that in some illustrated star maps,

Coma is

missing entirely. But when this is the case,

you'll often see Virgo pointing in

its direction, implying this hidden relationship

that we've been

exploring. Thanks for watching. As always, I'd love to know what you think