Like many religious dates, Easter is no exception in that it has been with us longer than the 2000-year-old Christian religion, pre-dating Christ into Pagan eras and beyond, right back to Babylonian times if not Sumerian.
In the Northern Hemisphere Easter coincides with the Spring Equinox, a harbinger of new life. In fact, it was a fertility festival aligned with fertility goddesses of the given culture celebrating. Nature has gone through the long cold nights of winter and now the days are equal to the nights, with the light about to exceed the dark with the Spring, on into the abundance of Summer.
In Astrology this energy is associated with Aries. Since Aries is the first sign of the zodiac it begins the solar year along with the Spring which is the beginning of our seasonal year. Aries is also the first of the fire signs, initiating the blast of energy and fearlessness it takes to get a new life started.
In the Southern Hemisphere, our western culture has brought with us the modern day version of this tradition, celebrating it at the same time as our ancestors. However, at this time nature withdraws its energies in readiness for the longer darker days of winter. For those of us in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the Autumn Equinox which is associated with the rights, rituals, and meaning of Halloween and the Pagan festival Mabon.
Our cycle of nature is exactly opposite the traditions we observe as if we were still living them. In parts of the world along the Equator, including Australia, we have only the wet and dry season, hot and dry, and hotter and wet. These cyclic observances are completely devoid of practical meaning, a relic of a past culture that we are still identified with, rather than a new one that reflects and celebrates the reality of living in those areas.
So let’s enjoy our mini holiday season and chocolate egg hunts but let’s also connect with what’s really happening with our natural cycles and bring celebration in line with that to help us tune in and appreciate our natural surroundings.
You are loved, beloved,
Vanessa | ASTRO ALL-STARZ