The Rites of Spring
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The end of March is the focus for a number of religious and traditional
celebrations. As the sun appears to cross the earth's equator on the 20th or
21st of March, entering the Zodiacal sign of Aries, day and night will be
equal in length. This astronomical phenomenon is a day anciently revered
amongst Pagan peoples. Their festivals included Alban Elfed, the Teutonic
festival in honour of Eostre, Roman Hilaria Matris Deûm, Welsh Gwyl Canol
Gwenwynol ('Day of the Gorse'), the Wiccan Eostar (Ostara) Sabbat and the
Christian Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Lady Day) as well as
Easter itself.

Origins and History of Ostara

Today, Ostara is one of the eight major holidays, sabbats or festivals of
Wicca. It is celebrated on the Spring Equinox, which in the northern
hemisphere is around the 20th or 21st of March and in the southern
hemisphere around the 23rd of September. Its modern revival is linked to
some of the oldest traditions of mankind.

The Month of the Goddess

The name is thought to be derived from a goddess of German legend, according
to Jakob Grimm in his Deutsche Mythologie. A similar goddess named Eostre
was described by the Venerable Bede. Bede indicated that this name was used
in English when the Paschal holiday was introduced. Since then this name
(not the holiday) has been converted to Easter, or in German Ostern. Some
scholars question both Bede's and Grimm's conclusions due to a lack of
supporting evidence for this goddess. Others argue that a lack of further
documentation is not surprising given that Bede is credited with writing the
first substantial history of England (in which he described Eostre as a
goddess whose worship had already passed) and Grimm was specifically
attempting to capture oral traditions before they might be lost.

Despite these reservations, the idea of Eostre has become firmly established
in many minds. Without any consideration of these problems, the folklorist
Dr Jonathan Young categorically states:

Easter has deep roots in the mythic past. Long before it was imported into
the Christian tradition, the Spring festival honored the goddess Eostre or
Eastre.

According to Bede and Einhard in his Life of Charlemagne, the month called
Eostremonat/<WBR>Ostaramanoth was equated with April. This would put the start of
'Ostara's Month' after the Equinox in March. It must be taken into account
that these 'translations' of calendar months were approximate as the old
forms were predominantly lunar months while the new were based on a solar
year. Thus start of 'Eostremonat' would actually have fallen in late March
and could thus still be associated with the Spring Equinox.

The holiday is a celebration of spring and growth, the renewal of life that
appears on the earth after the winter. In mythology it is often
characterized by the rejoining of the goddess and her lover-brother-<WBR>son, who
spent the winter months in death. This is an interesting parallel to the
biblical story in which Jesus is resurrected (the reason Christians
celebrate Easter), pointing to another appropriation of pre-Christian
religious figures, symbols and myths by early Christianity.

Word Origins

Etymologically, Eostre, or, as it is sometimes called, Ostara, may come from
the word 'east', meaning dawn. Others have also tried to link Eostre with
'estrogen' and 'estrus'. These words, however, are more widely considered to
be derived from the Greek oistros, meaning 'gadfly' or 'frenzy'.
Interestingly, the word 'spring' (from to spring, to leap or jump up, burst
out, 0ld English springan, a common Teutonic word, compare German springen),
primarily the act of springing or leaping, is applied to the season of the
year in which plant life begins to bud and shoot.

The Antiquity of Ostara

Ostara is a modern Wiccan festival and there is no evidence that Spring
Equinox festivals were called by this name in the past. However, there is no
direct 'proof' of many Christian or pagan traditions, so a lack of evidence
should not necessarily be taken as disproof.

Wiccan Interpretations

The Cycle of Birth, Death and Rebirth

Goddess of fertility and new beginnings, we take this opportunity to embrace
Eostre's passion for new life and let our own lives take the new direction
we have wanted for so long.

Many Wiccans situate Eostre (Ostara) within a symbolic cycle of birth, death
and rebirth. As the quotation from Goddess.com.<WBR>au demonstrates, the
particular role of Eostre is internalized and turned into a self-empowering
meditation. Again Dr Young re-enforces this, by no means definitive,
interpretation:

The annual event in honour of Eastre celebrated new life and renewal.

However, other views also add a darker element, according to Mike Nichols:

The god of light now wins a victory over his twin, the god of darkness.

Nichols has attempted a reconstruction of the symbolic events of this time
of year using the Welsh myth-cycle of the Mabinogion. By this interpretation
the Spring Equinox is the day on which the reborn Llew exacts his revenge on
Goronwy by piercing him with the spear of sunlight. Reborn or returned to
health at the Winter Solstice, Llew is now able to challenge and defeat his
rival twin and mate with his lover/mother. Meanwhile the 'Great Mother
Goddess', miraculously returned to virginity at Candlemas, now receives the
sun god's advances and conceives a child. This child will be born at the
next Winter Solstice, nine months from now, at once closing the cycle and
re-opening it.

Christianity and Easter

Contrary to what the Church may try and tell you, Christianity came late to
the Easter party. There is no indication of the observance of the Easter
festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers.
A comment made by St Chrysostom on I Cor. V. 7 has been supposed to refer to
an apostolic observance of Easter, but this is erroneous. The sanctity of
special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians. The
ecclesiastical historian Socrates (Hist. Eccl. V. 22) states that neither
Jesus nor his followers enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival.
He attributes the observance of Easter by the Church to the perpetuation of
an old tradition, just as many other customs have been established.

Superstitions and Traditions

The Shock of the New

Elements of old beliefs linger in current 'superstitions'<WBR>. According to
these, it is said that something new should be worn at Easter to bring good
luck. Easter Parades reflect this idea about wearing new clothes.

Eggs and Rabbits

The Easter Bunny is German in origin. He first appears in literature in 16th
century as a deliverer of eggs. All rabbits and hares were thought to lay
eggs on Easter Day, but the Easter Bunny specifically sought out and
rewarded well-behaved children with coloured eggs in a manner reminiscent of
Yule customs. The movements of the hare, leaping and zig-zagging across the
fields were thought to hold clues to the coming year.

Eggs themselves are obvious symbols of resurrection and continuing life, as
well as fertility. Early humans thought the return of the sun from winter
darkness was an annual miracle, and saw the egg as a natural wonder and
proof of the renewal of life. As Christianity spread the egg was adopted as
a symbol of Jesus�?alleged resurrection from the tomb. According to Young,
the Easter Bunny is:

a continuation of the reverence shown during the spring rites to the rabbit
as a symbol of abundance. The honouring of such emblems of fertility
extended to eggs. The egg serves as a representation of new life. It stands
for the renewing power of nature and, by extension, agriculture. The egg can
also symbolize regeneration in a spiritual or psychological sense. The
ritual of colouring Easter eggs stems from the tradition of painting eggs in
bright colours to represent the sunlight of spring.

The Inner Bunny

Young goes on to suggest that:

This might also be a good time to find the inner Easter Bunny.

Whether you feel up to the challenge or not, the Spring Equinox is an
ominous reminder of the ways in which Christianity has subverted and
perverted the old traditions of Europe - a process that many are seeking to
reverse and at what better time than now.

Brief Bibliography

* Bede, De Temp. Rat. c. xv.

* St Chrysostom, Commentary on I Cor. V. 7.

*
<http://www.witcholo<WBR>gy.com/members/<WBR>ebooks/einhard_<WBR>charlemagne.<WBR>htm> Einhard,
Life of Charlemagne, trans Samuel Epes Turner. Harper and Brothers, 1880.

* Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911.

* Goddess.com.<WBR>au, accessed 9th February, 2006.

* Grimm, Jakob, Deutsche Mythologie. 1835.

* Nichols, Mike, 'Lady Day: The Vernal Equinox', 1999.

* Socrates, Hist. Eccl. V. 22.

* Young, Jonathan, 'Symbolism of Spring', Vision Magazine, April
2003.