Mars & Venus In The "Beehive Cluster" (Rare Upcoming Celestial Events)

June 1, 2 - Mars in the Beehive. The planet Mars will pass through the beehive cluster, an open cluster of stars located in the constellation Cancer. Mars can be seen in or very near the cluster on the nights of June 1st and 2nd. A good pair of binoculars should be enough to see this rare event, although a telescope will provide a much better view.

June 12, 13 - Venus in the Beehive. The planet Venus will pass through the beehive cluster, an open cluster of stars located in the constellation Cancer. Venus can be seen in or very near the cluster on the nights of June 12 and 13. A good pair of binoculars should be enough to see this rare event, although a telescope will provide a much better view.

The Beehive Constellation (pictured above)

The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger" or "crib"), is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than other nearby bright open clusters holding around 1,000 stars. Under dark skies, the Beehive Cluster looks like a small nebulous object to the naked eye, and has been known since ancient times. Classical astronomer Ptolemy described it as a "nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer". It was among the first objects that Galileo studied with his telescope.

A mere 600 light-years away, M44 is one of the closest star clusters to our solar system. The Beehive cluster's stars are young, only about 600 million years old compared to our Sun's 4.5 billion years. Based on similar ages and motion through space, the beehive, and the even closer Hyades star cluster in Taurus are thought to have been born together in the same large molecular cloud. Its age and proper motion coincide with those of the Hyades. Both clusters also contain red giants and white dwarfs, which represent later stages of stellar evolution, along with many main sequence stars.

An open cluster spanning some 15 light-years, M44 holds 1,000 stars or so and covers about 3 full moons (1.5 degrees) on the sky in the constellation Cancer. Visible to the unaided eye, M44 has been recognized since antiquity. Described as a faint cloud or celestial mist long before being included as the 44th entry in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog, the cluster was not resolved into its individual stars until telescopes were available.

History

In 1609, Galileo first telescopically observed the Beehive and was able to resolve it into 40 stars. Charles Messier added it to his famous catalog in 1769 after precisely measuring its position in the sky. Along with the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades cluster, Messier's inclusion of the Beehive has been noted as curious, as most of Messier's objects were much fainter and more easily confused with comets.

Ancient Greeks and Romans saw this object as a manger from which two donkeys, the adjacent stars Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, are eating; these are the donkeys that Dionysos and Silenus rode into battle against the Titans.

Hipparchus refers to the cluster as Nephelion ("Little Cloud") in his star catalog. Claudius Ptolemy's Almagest includes the Beehive Cluster as one of seven "nebulae" (four of which are real), describing it as "The Nebulous Mass in the Breast (of Cancer)". Aratus (c.260–270 BC) calls the cluster Achlus or "Little Mist" in his poem Phainomena.

This perceived nebulous object is in the Ghost (Gui Xiu), the 23rd lunar mansion of ancient Chinese astrology. Ancient Chinese skywatchers saw this as a ghost or demon riding in a carriage and likened its appearance to a "cloud of pollen blown from willow catkins". It was also known by the somewhat less romantic name of Jishi qi (積屍氣, also transliterated Tseih She Ke), the "Exhalation of Piled-up Corpses". It is also known simply as Jishi (積屍), "cumulative corpses".

In September 2012, two planets which orbit separate stars were discovered in the Beehive Cluster. The finding was significant for being the first planets detected orbiting stars like Earth's Sun that were situated in stellar clusters. Planets had previously been detected in such clusters, but not orbiting stars like the Sun.

The planets have been designated Pr0201 b and Pr0211 b. The 'b' at the end of their names indicates that the bodies are planets. The discoveries are what have been termed Hot Jupiters, massive gas giants that, unlike the planet Jupiter, orbit very close to their parent stars. In 2016 additional observations concluded that in the Pr0211 system there are actually two planets, the second one being Pr0211 c.

A popular target for modern, binocular-equipped sky gazers, the cluster's few yellowish tinted, cool, red giants are scattered through the field of its brighter hot blue main sequence stars in this telescopic group snapshot below.

This image of the Beehive star cluster points out the location of its first known planets, Pr0201b and Pr0211b, or, as astronomers call them, the first 'b's' in the Beehive. The "open cluster," is also called Praesepe. The stars were born out of the same cloud and have remained together for the past 600 million years. Eventually, they will disperse and head out on their own.

Astronomers found the planets Pr0201b & Pr0211b orbiting different sun-like stars in the cluster. The planets are both "hot Jupiters," which are gas giants like Jupiter but whip closely around their stars in just days. They are the first planets ever found around sun-like stars in a cluster, offering further proof that planets can sprout up in dense stellar environments. The Beehive cluster can be seen in dark Northern skies in late winter or early spring with the naked eye. The stars themselves can be seen individually with the help of a telescope.

What Does It Mean For The Zodiac Signs Involved?

Mars (jun1-2) will be in the beehive first and then Venus (jun 12-13). Venus governs the signs of Libra & Taurus and Mars governs the signs of Aries and Scorpio. Aries and Libra are directly across from one another on the zodiac wheel and so is Taurus and Scorpio. The element of Aries is fire, Scorpio is water, Taurus is earth and Libra is air, therefore all elements will be represented in these events. These four zodiac signs will be directly affected by these celestial events. In an above section, it says that "the Beehive Cluster is also known as Praesepe, Latin for "manger" or "crib". Therefore we can say that Mars will be in the manger and then so will Venus. It also said the cluster is called the little cloud. So, Mars and Venus will be in the little cloud.

June 1-2 the moon will be in Scorpio and June 12-13 the moon will be in Aries. The house that the sun will be in at that time is Gemini.

June 1-2 Mars In Beehive (Scorpio & Aries)

This event will directly effect those who are born under the sign of Aries and Scorpio. Aries is the first of the zodiac. Aries is a fire element and Scorpio is a water element. Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius.

Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", its traditional name Antares derives from the Ancient GreekἈντάρης, meaning "rival to-Ares" ("opponent to-Mars"), due to the similarity of its reddish hue to the appearance of the planet Mars. The comparison of Antares with Mars may have originated with early Mesopotamian astronomers Antares. May 31st is when this star is at opposition with the sun. The following two days (June 1-2) are when Mars will be in the beehive cluster.

Biblical Symbolic References

In the above history section, it tells us that "Hipparchus refers to the cluster as Nephelion ("Little Cloud") in his star catalog." 1King 18:44 states the following: "And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." What are the coincidences that "1King 18:44" is the bible verse where it talks about a "little cloud", and This beehive cluster is described as "a faint cloud or celestial" is included as the 44th entry in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog.

In this bible story, Elijah is waiting for an abundance of rain to come after he has slain all the prophets of Baal when he performed the miracle of calling down fire from heaven. The symbol of the little cloud was a sign to him from God that although small, he knew it as a symbol of the abundance of rain that was about to come!

1King 18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

It is said that Delta Cancri also marks the famous open star cluster Praesepe (or the Beehive Cluster, also known as Messier 44). In ancient times M44 was used as a weather gauge as the following Greek rhyme from Aratos' Prognostica reveals:

A murky manger with both stars

Shining unaltered is a sign of rain.

While if the northern Ass is dimmed

By vaporous shroud, he of the south gleam radiant,

Expect a south wind: the vaporous shroud and radiance

Exchanging stars harbinger Boreas.

— Allen, 1898

So it says that Praesepe, or the beehive cluster was a "harbinger" to predict the weather. This corresponds with the bible story of Elijah and the little cloud. He saw it as a sign that rain was coming.

There is also a concept amongst followers of Christ, both those who follow the physical and spiritual/pneumatic concept of Christ, of the "former and latter rain". The “latter rain” referred to in Joel 2:23:

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, & the latter rain in the first month.

I also find it very interesting that we have this rare celestial event taking place this year in "2023" in a star cluster that people have been observing since ancient times, and that this latter rain, or time of plentiful abundance, is in Joel "2:23". What are the odds of that? 😉.

Conclusion

We have two events. Can we see dare picture them as a type of former and latter rain? Remember, it says that there are two planets in this beehive cluster, and two stars that are referenced as well. So that is two sets of two. Same way we have 4 zodiac signs affected, which is two sets of two! Two donkeys both feeding from the same manger can symbolically refer to the former and the latter rain since these two stars, whose names (Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis) mean the northern donkey and the southern donkey, and were looked at in ancient times as signs of rain!

It states above in the history section that "Ancient Greeks and Romans saw this object as a manger from which two donkeys, the adjacent stars Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, are eating; these are the donkeys that Dionysos and Silenus rode into battle against the Titans."

The Bible passage states that the former (fall) rain and latter (spring) rain were poured down from God. These rains marked the beginning and end of the Jewish harvest. According to Pentecostal interpretation, the “former rain” referred to when the Holy Spirit was poured down on the followers of Christ, and the “latter rain” referred to a second period, when people would again receive the Holy Spirit.

Ritual For These Celestial Events

A fast for these two days are a must for these four zodiac signs. Also, those born under the zodiac signs of Gemini and Cancer might wish to fast as well since it takes place in the sign of Cancer during the season of Gemini. I also encourage others who simply wish to capitalize off the energy of this event also arrange to fast during one or both of these events.

While fasting, and leading up to these events, I also recommend one to be studying these events on their own all cosmological information related to them that you can find. I cannot give you all the information and connections that I have seen and observed on the subject, for if I did, I there would be no need for you to seek for yourself. 💕

As these events pass, I will be back to update this blog with information, and possibly major events that happen during them.