On July 21 the Sun enters the constellation Cancer (The Holding Place).

            Cancer is the eleventh chapter of the Star Bible, and it is a picture of our eternal home with God, commonly called Heaven. The modern name of Cancer, a Greek word meaning “Crab”, clouds the original meaning. It is a mistranslation of the Arabic name “Khan”, meaning “Inn”, and Cer, meaning “Encircling”, picturing a fortified home for travelers. Two other stars add to this understanding, Acubene (The Sheltering Place) and Tegmine (Holding). There is also a faint star cluster known as Praesope (The Multitude) reminding us of the multitudes of believers who will be gathered in Heaven.

            Two other constellations associated with Cancer also suffer from linguistic confusion, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, also popularly known as the Little and Big Dippers. (See our Blog of 4/3/13, “Bears and Sheep”). The Hebrew word for bear “Dohv”, was substituted by the Greeks for the actual name “Dohven”, meaning “Sheepfold”. Thus, the “bears” are actually the greater and lesser “sheepfolds”. Ursa Major is also called “The Assembled Together” in Hebrew, and the word “Assembled” is a linguistic cognate with the Greek word from which we got our word “Church”.

            Cancer is, of course, obscured from view now because it is hidden behind the Sun’s glare. However, the Greater and Lesser Sheepfolds dominate the northern sky and are always visible. The Lesser Sheepfold, Ursa Minor, contains the Pole Star Polaris. The Greater Sheepfold, a.k.a. the Big Dipper, will be in the Northwestern sky during the evening hours. The full Moon, representing God’s people, rises on July 22 and underscores the pictures of the home of God’s people in Cancer, Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major.

            Don’t be confused by the Crab and the Bears. Your home in Heaven is pictured in the stars.