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The date of Easter is not fixed, but instead is governed by the phases of the moon – how pagan is that? Or is Easter even more ancient?
All the fun things about Easter are actually pagan. Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of Eostre , a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare and are symbols for fertility and sexuality. It truly emphasizes creation Exchange of eggs is an ancient custom, celebrated by many cultures. Eating boiled eggs was also a custom in the medieval times to honor the time after the dark winter months. Hot cross buns are very ancient too. In the Old Testament the Israelites baking sweet buns for an idol, and religious leaders trying to put a stop to it. The early church clergy also tried to put a stop to sacred cakes being baked at Easter. In the end, in the face of defiant cake-baking pagan women, they gave up and blessed the cake instead.
The general symbolic story of the death of the son (sun) on a cross The Southern Cross or Crux. The Crux is also known as the “Southern Cross.” Crux, or the Southern Cross is a constellation in one of the 12 signs, and these signs all have meaning and influence on collective consciousness. The constellation of the southern cross and his rebirth, overcoming the powers of darkness, was an ancient story from an ancient world. There were plenty of parallel, rival resurrected saviors too.
The Sumerian goddess Inanna , or Ishtar, was hung naked on a stake, and was subsequently resurrected and ascended from the underworld.
To the ancient Egyptians, Crux was the place where the Sun God Horus was crucified, and marked the passage of the winter season. In the ancient mountaintop village of Machu Picchu, a stone engraving exists which depicts the constellation Crux. In addition, in Quechua (the language of the Incas) Crux is known as “Chakana”, which literally means “stair”, and holds deep symbolic value. In Incan mysticism (the cross represented the three tiers of the world: the underworld, world of the living, and the heavens). To the Aborigines and the Maori, Crux is representative of animist spirits who play a central role in their ancestral beliefs.
The 15th Century Italian Explorer, Amerigo Vespucci was the first of the Europeans to see the Four Stars "Crux", but did not use the title of the Cross, and called them Mandorla which means Almond in Italian. And is the word used in Italian art for the Vesica Pisces , the oblong glory, surrounding the bodies of saints ascending to heaven.
The word almond from Latin amygdala, from Greek amugdale, 'almond', is borrowed from Hebrew meghedh El, 'divine fruit'. The amygdala is an almond-shaped mass of gray matter in the anterior portion of the temporal lobe of the brain. The Vesica Pisces is also the shape of the pineal gland, the female vulva and the sacred flower of life. Look at the pattern behind this newsletter ;)
Vesica Pisces , symbolizing the interactions and interdependence of opposing worlds and forces. The Mandorla depicts the union of apparent opposites, the same union of which the mystics speak. Our ego-consciousness divides reality into subject and object, whereas out true self experiences unity and harmony. Although the symbol has its origins before the Christian era, the early Christians used the symbol as a method to describe the coming together of heaven and earth, between the divine and human.
Whatever you honor during this powerful time when the stars align in the springtime sky, remember that we don't have to suffer to learn.
But beyond suffering if used as a path to awaken, can be great renewal, a rebirth and a bridge to beyond.
As one of my favorite Sufi mystic poets Rumi writes "The wound is where the light enters"