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In addition, in the Bible the serpent, vilified "in the beginning," then venerated, then vilified again, is once more venerated as it is later associated with Christ, as a "type of" him: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." (Jn. 3:15) Indeed, the serpent was considered the savior of mankind for its role in bringing wisdom.

The serpent is, naturally, a celestial symbol, representing both the constellation of Serpens and the entire heavens, with the sun as one eye and the moon as another. The serpent was the "Prince of Darkness," the ruler of the night sky, and its vilification is also a rejection of the stellar cult in favor of the solar.

The Original Fall/Sin

The "original fall" or "sin" has been interpreted by literalists as meaning both the transgression of Adam and Eve in disobeying God and getting kicked out of Eden, and the manner in which humans procreate, i.e., sex. It has been admitted by Christians that without the concept of the original fall/sin of man and his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, there would be no need for a savior or for the Christian religion. For example, "reformed" exFather Peter Martyr said:

Were this Article [of faith) be taken away, there would be no original sin; the promise of Christ would become void, and all the vital force of our religion would be destroyed.17

This fervent belief is why Christian proponents are so vehemently opposed to the theory of evolution, as it demonstrates the lack of an original fall or sin that requires a savior. Regarding the theory of evolution and its effect on Christianity, Walker relates:

The American Episcopal Church said: "If this hypothesis be true, then is the Bible an unbearable fiction. . . then have Christians for nearly two thousands years been duped by a monstrous lie." 18

Indeed, Jackson expresses his disgust at ". . . that damnable doctrine of original sin, which slanders nature and insults all mankind ..."19 And Higgins remarked, in the early 1800's:

Perhaps we do not find in history any doctrine which has been more pernicious than that of Original Sin. It is now demoralizing Britain. It caused all the human sacrifices in ancient times, and actually converted the Jews into a nation of Cannibals, as Lord Kingsborough ... has proved that they were.20

Like so many aspect of Christianity, the notion of original sin was unoriginal: "The Indians are not strangers to the doctrine of original sin. It is their invariable belief that man is a fallen being; admitted by them from time immemorial."21

Rather than representing the sinful nature of man, however, the "fall" never happened, as Gerald Massey affirms:

The fall is absolutely non-historical, and the first bit of standingground for an actual Christ the Redeemer is missing in the very beginning, consequently anyone who set up, or was set up for, an historical Savior, from a non-historical fall, could only be an historical impostor.22

The Garden of Eden tale is not literal but allegorical, occurring in the heavens, as the Fall actually takes place when the sun passes through the autumnal equinox, in the sign of the Virgin (Eve). As the sun crosses into Libra, "he" descends or falls into "the winter quarter or `fall' of the year-a title most consistent with the phenomenon itself," as Hazelrigg says. Hazelrigg further outlines the "deep astrology" of the celestial Garden of Eden drama:

The serpent of iniquity, who plays the part of the Tempter, must therefore be viewed in an astronomical rather than an ethical or moral character, which, for purposes of allegory, has not been made an enviable one. He is the villain of the drama, and rather an elongated one at that, for, as found described on the planisphere "his tail drew after him a third part of the stars of heaven" (Rev. xii, 4), or from Cancer to Libra, which are four constellations, a third of the twelve. Going before, he leads the woman towards the setting point in the west, therefore his office is to "seduce" (Latin seducere,