There are the nine prominent and permanent stars in Leo which is above the head of Virgo. On the 23rd you have the planets Mars, Venus, and Mercury that have joined in Leo. This happens once every eighty years. However, John described the “heavenly sign” further by saying that the moon was near her feet and it had the sun. The speculation of “being clothed with the sun” is that the constellation occurs during the daylight hours when the sun is brightest. John also mentioned that the “heavenly sign” was with child and was in anguish to be delivered. This is another thing which is interesting. In what would be considered the womb or abdomen of Virgo the planet Jupiter stays in retrograde motion for the length of a long gestation period, 52 weeks.
The 9 stars + 3 planets do make an interesting 12. Thanks for this info.
Jupiter moves out of Virgo on September 12 not the 23rd this year(I checked)...and Jupiter moves into Virgo once every 12 years and stays there a full year.(Jupiter has an orbit of 12 years) For 6 months of the year the Sun “always clothes Virgo”(for 3 months fully, for 3 months partially(that is 1.5 months partially, 3 months fully and 1.5 months partially again)...at least in the Northern Hemisphere. She is seen during the Fall and winter months setting again in the spring or at least becoming invisible behind the sun and because of its apparent motion in relation to the Earth’s position in Sol’s orbit. The Egyptians celebrated her rising in the evenings as the time to start their wheat harvest.
I think John saw something so unusual that it could not be discounted by persons such as me as simply planetary bodies in motion. The description of the Dragon and what he does with his tail is intriguing especially the description of the “flood he spews out of his mouth” with which to try to drown the woman but instead the “Earth helps the woman by opening up its mouth to swallow up the flood” while the woman dwells in safe place for 1260 days to prepare. The Dragon goes on to make war with the rest of the woman’s seed.
I think the “signs” described in the Revelation 12 need to be understood in relation to the rest of the chapter. The chapter describes the War of Michael the arkangel and the angels of heaven who war against Satan and the third of the angels that took up with him are literally thrown down upon the Earth as there was no more place in heaven for them any more. Another words, the poor humans stuck on the Earth at that time are stuck with a bunch of angry demonic angels and a very angry Devil who are all trapped together as God begins his final mop up action...started from the death and resurrection of Jesus. The planet is under quarantine, nothing evil gets off the Earth and nothing evil leaves our dimensional plane. Even a loud voice from Heaven is said to warn the Earth...”How horrible it is for the earth and the sea
because the Devil has come down to them with fierce anger,
knowing that he has little time left”.
I think the story of the signs is allegorical, a retelling of the history of the birth of Jesus(as he has been already caught up), the story of the Church’s struggles with the adversary through the years, the story of the final battles and the purging of Israel, the efforts of an aroused common people(”the earth”) who begin to oppose the efforts of Satan to destroy anything that is Godly(”who swallow up the flood that threatens the woman by opening its mouth”) Leading to the final 1260 days of the horrible judgments falling upon the Earth, from which the “woman” is protected and is in preparation. In chapter 13 we see multitudes saved out of the Tribulation....
Just my 2 cents....
No there are not in Leo...most of those main stars in Leo are Binaries! And Jupiter is not in the womb for 52 weeks but only a few days as the Earth comes to a place in its orbit where Jupiter appears to “loop dee loop” and “anguish to be delivered’ doesn’t necessarily mean a prolonged birth sequence...but is does mean that “IT HURTS”! Now Jupiter is in Virgo for an entire year but that is it for another 80 years. We don’t even know that Jupiter is supposed to be the allegorical Christ child since we are stating that John is mixing paganism with Christ.(ie Jupiter being the head God of the Romans).
There are lots of other reasons to believe God’s coming is close...but this allegorical reading into the astronomical doings of Jupiter in virgo is not necessarily one of them.