Ostara and Easter and Hot cross buns
As a child we celebrated Easter as the rise of Jesus after he had been sacrificed on the cross. The Friday before we ate hot cross buns being told at school that the cross was significant to his sacrifice. It never made any sense to me that Easter would fall on a different day each year if that was meant to be his rising day? After all Christmas his supposed birth date never changed?
My dad was an atheist and my mum more open to what I know now as spiritualism, but I wasn’t massively bought up with any strict religion, I just followed the crowd from school. I always wanted to be part of the church though and longed to go to Sunday school but it never happened.
The idea of Easter changing the dates just never sat comfortable with me, and I couldn’t explain why.
As I started to explore the pagan traditions, I felt I had come home. It was the same as when I stepped into my first spiritual church, of which, 10 years later, I found out that my current partner used to be president of it! But thats another story!
The pagan traditions felt much more natural and real. It now made sense why Easter was on different days and that perhaps the Christian believes that I had struggled with, didn’t suit me
Those that know me, know I am a huge fan of Astrology, and so it also makes even more sense with the links from one to another in Astrology an with the moon phases
As the sun moves into Aries, the first house of the zodiac, it starts the astrological new year, to which I am familiar with. Around the same time march 21st-march 22nd day and night become equal, masculine and feminine energy are in balance, and we have our spring equinox. The Natural world of nature starts to come alive again, We see the mating season come in to action with the animals, and the buds of spring flowers start to pop up.
Associated with the moon is the story of the nocturnal hare, both the hare and the moon were believed to die each night and are reborn each morning , making the hare a symbol for mortality and both resurrection and fertility because the hare can conceive while pregnant.
This welcomes the celebration of new beginnings and eggs! The hares would look for a mate and then produced eggs, with this and the other nature beginnings the Anglo Saxon Goddess of spring Ostara, became linked. Traditionally honoured in the month of April, where festivities take place to celebrate renewal, abundance, and new beginnings.
Once Christianity took over the Easter bunny was born and the festival was linked to the rise of Jesus – born again & new hope. Christian Easter is a feast that moves according to the full moon each year, it falls on the first Sunday after passover and yet the Spring equinox is almost always the same.
The hot cross bun to me represents the sun and the wheel of the year turning. The cross on the top of the bun, to me represents the 4 season & the four elements. Again once religions took over, they used the symbol for the cross of Jesus. The spices used were said to have been what Jesus was embalmed in and so is a perfect choice after lent
As a Pagan Spiritualist, who loves chocolate, I do buy and accept Easter eggs, but I talk about and honour the pagan traditions I believe in. My eldest has said he doesn’t want an egg this year but he wanted the money instead, er no sorry mate thats not how it works, an egg for new beginnings! He clearly isn’t going to follow my path, but thats ok. I love some of the other traditions such as this taken from another source. “The egg (and all seeds) contains ‘all potential’, full of promise and new life. It symbolises the rebirth of nature, the fertility of the Earth and all creation. In many traditions the egg is a symbol for the whole universe. The ‘cosmic’ egg contains a balance of male and female, light and dark, in the egg yolk and egg white. The golden orb of the yolk represents the Sun God enfolded by the White Goddess, perfect balance”
I do have a lovely alter with items on it to celebrate new beginnings, balance and a few other personnel bits I won’t share! I have had this in full flow since the spring equinox in March, adding and taking off bits in line with moon phases and my moods! And thats the thing, whatever way we choose to celebrate or not over this holiday weekend, its perfectly ok to do it your way, however you feel drawn or what ever mood takes you. For me, especially as I have the time at the mo, I am just loving any excuse to reflect on the old ways, mix them up with my own and eat even more chocolate than usual!
Mystic Blessing
Kate May
