Tomorrow is the Vernal Equinox, a time for renewal and resurrection. Astronomically and astrologically it is when the Sun is at zero degrees in the constellation Aries. Astrologers call Aries, the baby of the zodiac, the first sign of the twelve...the beginning of things anew.
I remember being shocked at the first Passover Seder I attended when I saw hard boiled eggs on the table. Eggs? Isn't that for Easter? How little I knew. We all have the same concept- eggs, fertility, rebirth and resurrection - they are all celebrated at the Equinox.
It is all about eggs - The Druids dyed eggs red - the color of the "returning" Sun. The Celts dyed their eggs blue in spring and the Ukrainians started dying eggs thousands of years ago. Spring is the time when the Earth comes back to life. It is symbolized by the goddess at her youngest - sowing seeds that will bloom in a few months.
In fact the word Easter comes from the Anglo Saxon goddess Eostre. Now there are two stories about Eostre. In some parts of the ancient Saxon world she was a goddess in the maiden stage who wandered the country side with her hare sowing seeds. This is also the beginning of the Easter bunny legend. In other parts she was a goddess who transformed herself from maiden to hare as she brought the return of spring and promoted the growth of crops. However, you get the general drift - spring is the time for renewal and growth.
The concept of resurrection was not new to the Christians - check out Osiris and Isis for the Greeks and Oden for the ancient Norse. Sorry, but there just is nothing new under the Sun - in any season.
But be a part of the ancient tradition, dye some eggs, plant some seeds - it is SPRING!
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