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Our roots to the Earth and our connection to her seasons go deep. Our ancient ancestors knew this honouring and revering the cycles of nature. When you celebrate the equinoxes, you timelessly connect with your ancestors who have participated in ritual and ceremony for millennia. What's not to like about that?
Scholars debate the origins of the word Easter. Some suggest it takes its name from the goddess Ēostre or Ostara as mentioned by the English monk Bede in his seminal work ‘The Reckoning of Time’ written in 725AD.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Another possibility is the Norse eostur, eastur, or ostara, which meant “the season of the growing sun” or “the season of new birth.” The word east comes from the same roots. In this case, easter would be linked to the changing of the season.
Ēostre is the goddess of the dawn, hope and an awakening earth. She embodies growing light and fertility and is celebrated across every single culture around the world.

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The festival of Easter falls on the Spring or 'Vernal' Equinox. This is the time when both the Sun and the Moon share the skies on equal - the equinox. If you go out at a certain time of the afternoon around this time you might just catch the rising Moon in the sky at exactly the same time the Sun is about to set.&nbsp;
Early in the morning you can also see the Moon setting just as the Sun is rising. In between these two events is a period of complete balance between day and night, Sun and Moon, male and female, God and Goddess.
Ancient and indigenous cultures hold rituals, feasts, and celebrations at the vernal equinox.&nbsp;

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Ancient Romans, Mayans, Persians honored many sacred days associated with celestial events, especially the equinox to cleanse, heal, balance your spirit, and regenerate your vital energy.&nbsp;
This is seen as a time to activate spring’s energy of light, hope, fertility, growth, and new beginnings with the return of the Sun.
In Irish folklore the hare is also often associated with the Otherworld (Aos Si) community whose world was reached through mists, hills, lakes, ponds, wetland areas, caves, ancient burial sites, cairns and mounds.&nbsp;

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Those places were seen as very powerful and the hare's link to them sent a warning that those who harm them could suffer dreadful consequences.&nbsp;
Celtic peoples looked on the hare as a creature with supernatural powers. This lovely creature was admired for strength, speed, agility and was noted for being active at night and associated with the moon.&nbsp;
They were seen as mysterious and magical, so thought of as an animal to be treated with caution and respect.&nbsp;
The hare has also featured in the mythology of other cultures for thousands of years including being associated with the Northern European Goddess Ēostre.

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When the Romans invaded the British Isles, Julius Caesar made the observation that the Celtic people did not regard it lawful to eat the hare. In Ireland the animals association with women from the Otherworld who could shapeshift into the form of a hare also made eating them taboo.&nbsp;
Its significance in Ireland was shown when for many years the Irish hare was depicted on the pre-decimal coin the threepenny piece.&nbsp;
The hare is a remarkable and beautiful animal who comes with her totem spirit to bring renewal to the land.
Our time for rest and retreat at Easter gives us an opportunity to give thanks for the solitude, self-reflection and the wisdom that time has brought to us, as we now prepare to give life to the ideas we’ve been cultivating inside.&nbsp;

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Easter is a very significant date within Christianity and is the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus, the Son of God, fulfilled prophecy and through his death, has given the gift of eternal life in heaven to those who believe in his death and resurrection.

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There are many traditions that surround Easter and generally observed traditions across the globe include the Easter bunny, colored eggs, gift baskets, and flowers.&nbsp;
Many Ancient cultures viewed eggs as a symbol of life. Hindus, Egyptians, Persians, and Phoenicians believed the world begun with an enormous egg. The Persians, Greeks, and Chinese gave gifts of eggs during spring festivals in celebration of new life all around them.&nbsp;
Other sources say people ate dyed eggs at spring festivals in Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. In ancient Druid lore, the eggs of serpents were sacred and stood for life.

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And of course, there are some rituals in some countries such In Greece, the morning of Holy Saturday is known as the annual "pot throwing" where residents throw pots out of windows. It is a tradition used to mark the beginning of spring and new crops being gathered in new pots.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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In Poland on Easter Monday, boys try to soak people with buckets of water. This tradition has is rooted in the baptism of Polich Prince Mieszko on Easter Monday in 996.&nbsp;

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In Europe, there are large bonfires called Easter Fires that are lit on Easter Sunday into Monday the origin is that the fires will chase away winter and Easter will bring spring.
This is another chance for our communities to re-emerge with new vision, new commitment, and newfound wings.&nbsp;
Simply being able to look beyond our front doors to 'flush out' the modern synthetic world, for a while, we need nothing more than our senses to get started.&nbsp;

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Just look into the skies observing the Sun's effect on the lush greenery around us.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Light a candle to symbolise the return of the light, set your intentions for new beginnings, take a deep breath, breathing in the spirits of our ancient ancestors lingering in the air and carry on with renewed hope.&nbsp;
Happy Easter! Stay Safe! Stay Hopeful!

Ēostre the goddess of the dawn, hope and awakening of mother earth

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