From http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PT/BA/JO-Eo.html
Easter gets its name from Eoster, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn. Her name comes from an Indo-European root "aus-," meaning "to shine," from which also come Eos and Aurora, the Greek and Roman names of the dawn goddess; also in Greek, Aurios was Aurora as the Goddess of the Morrow (Her name may derive from an earlier "Ausrion," meaning morning). Her holiday is celebrated near the Spring Equinox (Gk. he Ismemeria Earine), as Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the full moon that follows or falls on the Spring Equinox; naturally She is especially honored by Dawn Rites (as is still part of the Easter tradition). The same root "aus-" gives us "East," the direction of the dawn, and on the Spring Equinox the Sun rises due East. (See De Aurora Liberfor more on Eos.)
Eoster Rites celebrate the vigor of the solar vegetation Gods and Goddesses. They are reborn at the Winter Solstice, when the Night begins Her retreat, but the Light does not conquer the Dark until the Spring Equinox, when the Sun triumphs. Love brings about the resurrection of the Sun, but also its death, since it is an act of love to clear the way for new life.
The story of the Mother and her Child, who dies and is resurrected, is told in many ways. First are the stories of the Mother and of the death and resurrection of the Maiden, Her Divine Child. In the earliest stories Zeus mated with Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods and His mother, who bore Persephone, the Maiden (Korê). In later stories, Rhea gave birth to Demeter, to whom Zeus came in the form of a serpent, and it was She who bore Persephone. Thus the Great Triad - Persephone, Demeter and Rhea - Maiden, Mother and Crone - came into being. Thereafter, some say, Demeter told Zeus that He should come as a serpent to Persephone, and after He did so She bore Dionysos (on whom, see below).
Next are the stories about the Mother and the death and resurrection of the Youth, Her Divine Child or Lover.
Some say that Dionysos had one mother existing under two aspects ; others that He was born two, three or more times. Perhaps both are correct, for the myth of Dionysos is a Mystery, and so we must expect paradox.
see below
), who pursues wild beasts through the forest; afterwards He was Bakkhos, the Shoot, who is cut back and reborn each year.cf. Attis below.) After Semele ascended to Heaven She was called Thyone (the Ecstatic). Thereafter the ecstatic priestesses of Dionysos on Mt. Parnassus, who were charged with awakening the God in the Winnowing Fan, were likewise called Thyiades.
see "Circle" below.) The three sisters were the original nurses of Dionysos and the first Bacchantic Choir; They correspond to the Nereides, who first taught mortals the Mysteries of Persephone and Dionysos.
see "Circle" below), who had given it to Him; hence she was called Aphrodite Ariadne. She loaned the Wreath to Theseus to illuminate his way through the Labyrinth (the Underworld), for which infidelity she was punished: she died in childbirth, an event thereafter reenacted in ritual by a man (cf. Zeus as mother). Thereafter, Dionysos was reunited with her (on Dia, the Divine Isle), and He raised her into the Heavens as His bride. Dionysos set Her Wreath in the Heavens, where it is now known as the Crown of Ariadne (Corona).
At the Eleusinian Mysteries, the birth of the Divine Child was celebrated with
cries of "Iakkhe!" Iakkhos, who was identified with Bakkhos, was said to be the
laughing child in Baubo's womb, who lifted Demeter from Her dark depression; He
was also said to be the lover of Demeter and yet the son of Persephone, so we
can see that He is indeed Dionysos. That is all we may say about the Mysteries.
It was said that Ashtaroth (Ishtar), whom the Greeks call Aphrodite, was born
from an Egg
(see "Egg" below)
floating in the Water; She was said to be a
daughter of Okeanos. Others say She is the daughter of Zeus and the Dione (a
feminine form of "Zeus"), a water goddess whose name refers to the bright sky
and is related to Diana. She fell in love with Adonis (Thammuz), who was
conceived when Myrrha (or Smyrna) became filled with desire for her own father
(because she had angered Aphrodite or the Sun) and tricked him into sleeping
with her twelve times.
So also, Eoster corresponds to Eos, which is the Maiden aspect of the three
Goddesses Eos (Dawn), Hemera (Day) and Nyx (Night). Eos is the sister of
Helios (Sun) and Selene (Moon), so we again have the triad of Dawn, Day and
Night.
(See De Aurora Liber for more on Eos.)
Another young husband of Eos was Orion, the Great Hunter, also known as Zagreus.
His name is connected with Insemination (ourein), and according to one story he
was born of the semen of Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes, incubated in an oxhide. He
coupled with his mother Merope (an Underworld Goddess), for which he was blinded
(the usual punishment for this crime, cf. Oedipus). A soothsayer told him that
he could be cured only by exposing his eye sockets to the Sun, so he walked
across the sea to where Helios rises at dawn, and so he was cured. With these
strong solar connections, it is hardly surprising that he was loved by lunar
Artemis. She killed him, either intentionally by sending a scorpion to sting
him because he had tried to rape Her, or accidentally, because She was tricked
into shooting him by Her brother Apollo (a rival solar God). This took place on
Ortygia, the Isle of the Rising Sun. In grief She resurrected him, and They
ascended to the Heavens together.
Finally, we mention that the festival of Cybele and Attis (Mother and
Resurrected Lover) was celebrated at the time of the Spring Equinox, and His
resurrection represented the revival of the crops.
People abstain from food before the Spring Equinox so that more energy will be
available for the seeds (a kind of sympathetic magic). It is comparable to the
fast that precedes initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries, which mimics
Demeter's fast during Her search for Persephone when She was hidden in the
Underworld, and the starvation that afflicted the people while the world was
barren. In the Greek tradition, eggs are especially avoided
(see below).
At the spring Equinox, the balance of the day shifts from dark to light; the hen
senses this and begin to lay her eggs. In the forest, wild birds lay their
colorful eggs, and in ancient times our ancestors went out to hunt for them, and
perhaps brought them back in their nests, or in baskets imitating them.
Therefore nestlike baskets of decorated eggs and the Eoster Egg Hunt remind us
of the revitalization of nature. Colored eggs were also offered to Eoster.
The circle represents Ishtar's belt of birthstones, representing the wheel of
the year and thus the cycle of birth (summer/day), death (winter/night) and
rebirth (spring/dawn). It is also Aphrodite's magic Zone (belt) or golden
Wreath (later the Crown of Ariadne). Ishtar/Ashtoreth/Aphrodite had to abandon
this instrument of power to descend to Her dark sister, who is Queen of the
Underworld, but She regained it when She left the Land of the Dead. (We must
recall that Aphrodite had Underworld connections as A. Epitumbidia (On the
Graves) and A. Tumborukhos (Gravedigger); She is even invoked as the Queen of
the Underworld under the name Passiphaessa (Far-shining, a lunar epithet). So
also in the Mysteries, the Stephanos (Crown) means also the Wheel of Purgation;
the initiate must, perhaps, both enter and leave it.
Cakes, or "Eoster bread," are offered to Her on Her day; these are "hot cross
buns," for the equal-armed cross is a solar cross. Their surrounding circular
shape represents the eternal cycle of Birth, Death and Rebirth. At this time
of year, cakes were also offered to Liber (= Bacchus, March 17) and Ceres (=
Demeter, April 19).
Bonfires are also a common part of Eoster celebrations; they represent the
rekindling of the Sun and Nature.
It is common for initiates into the Mysteries to wear new clothes, which
reflected the fresh, new beginning of their life; it is the origin of the
tradition of wearing new clothes for the Eoster festivities.
Young folk decorate the "Easter Stones" (altars to Eoster) with flowers. In
the final stage of the Mysteries, the Initiate dons Stemmata (Garlands).
The rabbit is, of course, a fertility symbol. They are sacred to Eoster, and
it is said that She takes on the form of a rabbit.
The lamb is a symbol of rebirth and initiation, because it is so stupid and
follows blindly; more charitably, it represents the surrender of individual will
required of the neophyte. The sacrificed lamb is reborn as the Kid Goat.
(The notes are not currently linked into the text; they will be at a
future date.)
All Content © HiddenMysteries - TGS (1998-2005) Please send bug reports to the Information . 2. Demeter & Iakkhos
3. Aphrodite & Adonis
4. Eos
5. Cybele & Attis
III. Symbols
A. The Fast
B. The Egg
C. The Circle
D. The Cake
E. The Bonfire
F. The New Clothes
G. The Flowers
H. The Rabbit
I. The Lamb
IV. Sources & Notes
Notes
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