Christian fundamentalist propaganda, lies, and misdirection have done a fine job of creating social confusion about our ancient native spiritual heritage for numerous centuries. One example is Easter.
However, an early church missionary scored an own goal via letting the cat out of the bag, many years ago.
The Christian monk Bede, writing in 725 AD, claimed the ‘English’ name for the month when Easter occurred was ‘Eosturmonath’. This was evidently a name obtained from the pre-Christian spring festival dedicated to the localised eastern English goddess.
In fact, Bede secured source materials for another of his works, the Historia Ecclesiastica, from the church centre at Canterbury in eastern Kent. This may explain how he came to know of Eostre in the first place.
Links to the contemporary Christian festival of Easter herald from name associations with the far earlier goddess or goddesses. Names such as - 'Ostara', 'Eastre' or 'Eostre' take us back to an ancient time when Britain was sparsely populated.
Ēostre has been linked with a localised native religious tradition in Eastern England.
Early scholarship concentrated on Ēostre’s etymological links to Germanic terms for ‘east’. The Ēastorwara tribe were based in an area in eastern Kent that was said to be near the modern village of Eastry. The place name is derived from the Old English Ēast-rige, meaning "eastern province".
Moreover, a number of other English place names with Saxon origins, such as Eastrea in Cambridgeshire and Eastrington in East Yorkshire, are presumed to be derived from Eostre.
Thus, we later see ‘Eosturmonath’ (Eostre’s Month) transformed by a conversion – hungry church into the Feast of Easter. This ruse cleverly cut out the old English goddess and replaced her with a foreign deity (Jesus) from distant shores.
Incidentally. the spring goddess Ostara was revered by the tribes of northern Europe. The month of April, ‘Ostermonat’, was named after her. Her presence was confirmed in 1958, when more than 150 Romano-Germanic votive inscriptions to the matronae Austria-henea were discovered in Germany, datable to the second century AD.
Easter Bunny! Rabbits and Hares
These animals have well-known links to the spring festival, yet they are far older than many think.
The rabbit and hare are totem animals often associated with Eostre. Further back in time we may recall the Celtic goddess Andraste, who was invoked by the Iceni Queen Boudicca.
Boudicca (Latin Boadicea), leader of a rebellion against the Roman occupation, is said to have appeased Andraste in her campaigns against the Romans. Boudicca released a hare from her cloak, between her army and the Romans, as part of the rite of propitiation.
Easter: The true Resurrection belongs to Mother Nature
Christians today who observe Easter at this time of year are simply recreating the ancient Pagan festivities associated with beloved earlier gods of 'natural' springtime resurrection such as Attis, Adonis, Baldr, etc.
These beloved deities were lamented and worshipped by millions of devotees throughout numerous countries. This occurred long before the Christ myth was first developed by the expanding ecclesiastical machine, which was intent on attaining theocratic world dominion, via evangelical/missionary means.
The Christian Church authority hijacked Easter from the Pagans and constructed their new myth around it in order to first conjoin with Pagan festivities and then, when they had arrogated power from the native Pagan priests, exclude and basically exile them. Mythological parallels remain with deities such as Dionysius being nailed to a post and blooded, so that his vital fluid would soak the ground to bring forth new life for all.
The Judeo-Christian Passover became merged with heathen fertility worship to generate a new festival celebrating the resurrection of Christ. This of course was also a hammer to convert the native Pagan populace away from their aboriginal spring fertility festivities. This was observed at a different time from the Passover.
Known as the Quartodeciman controversy, the dispute over when this celebration concerning Christ should be observed reverberated across the Empire through the second, third and fourth centuries. Eventually it was established by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 and reinforced at the Synod of Antioch in A.D. 341.
With its iron-fist dogmatic grip on the masses the Synod called for the excommunication of anyone who dared to resist the new-fangled, man-made Easter observance. Those who opposed it were forced to move outside the reach of the Empire.
Emperor Constantine was a driving force behind this action. This man, amongst numerous other atrocities, murdered his son and wife; the bishops in their pious wisdom happily accepted Constantine as an authority on 'godly' Christian matters and he reputedly said:
"It seemed to everyone a most unworthy thing that we should follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this most holy solemnity, who polluted wretches! Having stained their hands with a nefarious crime, are justly blinded in their minds. It is fit, therefore, that, rejecting the practice of this people, we should perpetuate to all future ages the celebration of this rite, in a more legitimate order, which we have kept from the first day of our Lord's passion even to the present times. Let us have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews. We have received another method from the Saviour."
Accordingly, the Christian celebration of Easter that’s named after a Saxon goddess, Ostara/Eostre, obviously stems from particularly biased origins. It is nothing but a concealed gala of dogmatic lies, falseness, sedition, and oppression of other minority native faith systems.
Easter, in this chronological significance at least, stands as a burning illustration of Christian fundamentalist authoritarianism in action. The real implication of this old festival may however be discovered in isolated places such as lonely forest glens and riversides, far away from the depressing influence of pious clergy and their professed holy writ.
Our authentic Pagan spiritual tradition links us to the landscape, and the planet we call home and this extensive universe.
Regardless of what specific names our ancient forebears called the springtime goddess by, she resides with us in the pale floral colours of meadow and hillside. Her manifold blessings for the new resurrection in nature are here and now. The forces of the Lord and Lady of all nature are eternal. They are totally free to anyone who dares to open up their eyes, heart, and mind.
The fear-ridden Church propaganda machine has always had a vested interest in suppressing our indigenous spirituality. Its ancient lies are superb evidence of native cultural suppression that is still alive and well today!
More https://pat-regan.blogspot.com/2016/04/dragons-and-snakes-have-you-fallen-for.html
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