Easter, the real history

Easter is the story of the stars, into which the story of Jesus was fitted, not the other way around. The Star of Jacob, also known as Spica (Alpha Virginis), is the luminary of the constellation Virgo. In the Syrian, Arabian and Persian systems of astronomy it was known as Messaeil (Messiah El—Son of God). 

The Son of God is actually the Sun of god. The concept of a Messiah was borrowed from paganism, along with other concepts of modern Christianity that today we take for granted. The inspiration for an almost monolithic mythology was the solar system. Doings and undoings of the Suns of god were representations of the Earth’s annual trek around the sun as seen by earthbound eyes. 

Equinox is the astrological cusp March 20 and celebrated in the northern hemisphere as the official beginning of Spring. Various ancient rock markers were used to re-align the calendar to match the day the Sun rose due east and set due West, which signified the Sun starting in the new quadrant. Stone circles were set up to indicate this. Across the city of Auckland, NZ, there are still ancient equinox calendar-alignment markers in a west-east line from the Waitakere Ranges to Stockade Hill in Howick, but apart from a few researchers, most of  Auckland's 1 million inhabitants are unaware of them. Old council records once showed the stones, now removed.

The Auckland markers indicate links to a possible ancient European/Greek presence in NZ, long before present peoples. The same style of viewing platforms of the start of spring can still be seen today in parts of Britain and Europe. Knowing when the sun was entering the home hemisphere again was the prime date of the agricultural year. Having been down under, the sun now passes over the line dividing the hemispheres, emerging from the depression, deprival and the dark of winter into a renewal of light, warmth and abundance. Because the sun passed over, the Jewish people called the time the Passover, which in Hebrew is 'Pesach'.

And yet the Jews were nothing if not pragmatic. The tradition in ancient Israel was that the first day of spring would not start until the barley was ripe, so it was considered more logical for the idea of spring to arrive a little later. The Jewish Passover also celebrates God freeing the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, led by Moses, as described in the Book of Exodus. The festival lasts 8 days, 7 if you live in Israel. Passover starts on the day of the full moon, two weeks after New moon. Passover usually begins around 22 April, almost a month past the equinox. The start of Passover now falls on the same day of the Jewish calendar every year — the eve of the 14th of Nissan — but because Jews use a lunar calendar, they must insert a so-called "leap month" every two or three years to keep their holiday cycles in tune with the seasons. This year, there are two months of Adar, the month that precedes Nissan.

In 325AD Passover was still a festival in popular continuance because early Christians, all Jewish, had been carrying on Jewish traditions. Jesus lived his life believing only that he was a Jewish rabbi. As Christianity gathered momentum, Pope Constantine hosted a conference, the Council of Nicaea of cardinals and bishops, to discuss how, four hundred years after the event,  they could better spread the false doctrine that Jewish people rather than the Romans were responsible for the death of Jesus. The crucifixion was one outcome and became widely circulated. To further distance Christians from Jewish traditions, the Romans moved the date of Passover back to being more associated with equinox than the Jewish moon, and revived a range Roman merchandise in the form of rabbits and eggs and candy, none of them Jewish but all of them old Roman and astrologically pagan symbols of equinox celebration. Ask yourself, what have rabbits got to with Jesus? Nothing.

Easter became the adopted name which came from 'O/Eastre' the old Roman/astrological goddess of spring, which begins on the equinox. It was also decided that the focus would become the Sunday of Easter, calculated as yet another annoyance to the Jewish people, because their most spiritual day in any week is Saturday. The irony remains that this heavily Christianised festival, for all its efforts to break from Judaistic tradition is still reliant on the old Jewish calendar..

It is impossible to escape and attempt to suppress these cultural roots. The Greeks recognized seven planets: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These give us the names of the days of the week. Monday is governed by the moon, (moon-day); Tuesday by Mars (Mar-tes in Spanish); Wednesday by Mercury (Miércoles) and Wodins Day; Thursday by Jupiter (Jueves, Jovian for Jupiter) and Roman god Thor; Friday by Venus, (Viernes), and Saturday, is governed by Saturn. It means when we say a day of the week we all invoke planets with their astrological figureheads. It is amusing to hear westerners calling their week with these names, and at the same time trying to deny that astrology played a significant part in their religious, social and science history.

The moon is female in aspect and when it is full it is in direct opposition to the sun. This invoked a gender war, and it is associated with the cross. As the fertility goddess, O/Eastre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, which marks the beginning of spring. The vernal equinox also ushers in the sign of Aries. The crucifixion of Jesus was said to be when the sun is in the house of Aries. The cross, derived from the Norse word 'kros' represents the sun. The solstices and equinoxes in astrological terms describe a cross. In northern Europe, the cross represents the sun god Odin and is called Odin’s Cross. The Celtic Christians borrowed the Taranis Cross. 

There are many others because the 'cross pattern' of the sun is recognized all over the world. The cross can also be linked to the Egyptian ankh. The ankh is the symbol of life and consists of three parts: the circle, which represents the feminine aspect and eternity; the cross, which represents the male aspect and time; and the union, which represents life. But the early fiercely patriarchal Church adopted the cross minus its feminine aspect. This gender conflict continues to this day in the abortion, contraception and denial of female bishopry in the annals of Roman Catholicism. In Christianity salvation comes through death, not life as represented in other religions, where life was considered a feminine function because the male aspect alone cannot produce life.. 

The list of sun gods (=son-of-gods) throughout history is very long. All were born on December 25 after an immaculate conception. Why?. December 25 is the winter solstice, the Birthday of the Sun). During the winter solstice, the sun remains at 23 degrees/27 minutes from the South Pole. Because the North Pole is facing away from the sun, it takes six months for full day light to reach it. Yet, it takes three days and three nights for the southern tip of the Earth to pass the sun and move toward the vernal equinox. To Earthbound eyes peering at the sky from the northern hemisphere, it seems as if the sun is dead because even at its zenith, it is very low and the days are very short and dark. 

This is what the women were weeping over in the Bible (Ezekiel 8:14-15). It was ritualistic grief as it recognised, after winter, the death of Tammuz, a Babylonian/Sumerian/Mesopotamian Sun God. After three days the sun begins to rise higher in the sky each day. At that time, the constellation Virgo is at its brightest so the sun appears to be born from a virgin, illustrating similarities between the Egyptian nativity scene and the constellation. This constellation was seen all over the world and is the reason why so many sun gods are born of a virgin. 

In short, the true history of Easter is studded with the very ancient history of many cultures, and relatively recent religious jealousy, church power, suppression of women and antisemitism. There are suggestions from leading Christians that Easter dates be standardized all over the world. With no inclusion of Israel it sounds like more political maneuvering to spirit by further decree the original festival away from the Jewish people. But it is not Christian, never was, and not even Jewish exclusively, and church leaders should come clean! In the spirit of tolerance, I wonder if instead Easter could be a time for all to celebrate whenever and whatever one wished, each according to their history. It would be a good way forward. 

The festival is the symbol of the sun beginning a new season of growth. It can remind us of the connection between all religions and the importance of renewal and forgiveness, which whatever your faith is within us all. Peace and good will.