The Gospel and the Zodiac On 26th October, Bill Darlison’s book, The Gospel and the Zodiac, was published by Duckworth, London. Below we print part of an interview with Bill Darlison about the book’s genesis and importance. Where did the idea for the book come from? The idea for the book came to me quite by accident. I was teaching Religious Studies for many years, and had always been puzzled by the figure of the man carrying the jar of water who appears in Mark’s Gospel (chapter 14, verse 13). No commentary could explain what role he was playing the story. I knew that it was a representation of the zodiac sign Aquarius, but I didn’t see the relevance of this. One day, while idly flicking through the text of Mark I realised - with a start - that the basic themes associated with each of the signs of the zodiac were present in perfect zodiacal order, from new beginnings in the springtime sign of Aries, to death and resurrection in Pisces. I realised, too, that this had to transform our understanding of the nature of the text. It wasn’t history; it was a narrative account of very important esoteric teachings about the nature of the self and the journey of the human soul towards enlightenment. How long did it take you to write it? I have worked on it, on and off, for about fifteen years. Where did the book’s title come from? I originally intended to call it ‘Jesus and the Zodiac’, but Rev. Art Lester thought that this sounded like the name of a rock ‘n’ roll group! I took his advice. My original sub title was ‘The Astrological Dimension of the Gospel of Mark’, but this was changed to ‘The Secret Truth about Jesus’ by the publisher. Apparently, the word ‘secret’ in a title helps to sell books! What is the main theme of the book? The book is an attempt to demonstrate that the Gospel of Mark – considered to be the primary document of Christianity – is deliberately structured on the signs of the zodiac, and is an esoteric text, not a historical one. The implausible stories it recounts – walking on water, feeding the multitudes, raising the dead etc. - are not meant to be taken in any literal sense: they are dramatic representations of internal spiritual processes, processes which, in the words of Aldous Huxley, ‘are forever unfolded in the heart of man’. Chapter one gives an outline of the theory, showing how the consecutive sections of the Gospel reflect the zodiacal signs, and it deals especially with the question of the existence of Jesus as a historical character. Chapter two shows how astrology had influenced the cultural milieu in which the Gospels were produced, and how the Jewish scriptures – the Old Testament – contain much that can be considered astrological. The bulk of the book consists of an analysis of the spiritual meaning of each of the zodiacal signs in turn, and shows how these are related to incidents in Mark. An appendix gives the full text of Mark, newly translated, and divided into its zodiacal sections. Why do you think the book is important? This book completely transforms our understanding of the Gospels; from being historical, or quasi-historical documents to be ‘believed’ in, they are shown to be repositories of arcane wisdom; the miracle stories, which have been considered troublesome by scholars and believers alike are rehabilitated as dramatic accounts of spiritual principles; the book shows how Christianity is related to other world faiths and so is deeply ecumenical; it is not meant to be a ‘debunking’ of Christianity so much as a rediscovery of its dynamic character; it interprets the Gospels in the light of the culture in which they were produced, rather than viewing them through the distorting lens of contemporary prejudices. How does your book differ from other books on the subject? As far as I am aware, it is the only book to deal with the Gospel of Mark in this way. Other books have attempted to show that Christianity is a solar religion (e.g the books of Acharya S. Suns of God and The Christ Conspiracy) but these have tried to discredit Christianity. My book simply wants to reinterpret it, to get back to what it was originally – a ‘mystery’ religion, dedicated to personal transformation. What need will this book satisfy? It satisfies the needs of those who want to follow a spiritual path using Christian vocabulary, but who are uncomfortable with the sacrifice of intellectual integrity which traditional Christianity often requires. The Gospel and the Zodiac is available from all good booksellers, price £16.99. (Amazon has it for £11.04.) Mary Mackinnon Cover