Category Archives: Magic and Occult

Easter and Eostre

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Willow switches are available in the Easter Market in the Old Town Square of Prague. Boys and young men use the switches to swat young ladies in a modern, stylized version of an ancient springtime fertility rite.

Willow switches are available in the Easter Market in the Old Town Square of Prague. Boys and young men use the switches to swat young ladies in a modern, stylized version of an ancient springtime fertility rite.

In most languages, the Christian festival of Christ’s Resurrection is known as “Pascha” or some other version of the name for “Pesach” (Passover), the Jewish feast Jesus celebrated at the Last Supper and during which he was crucified and risen. Only in English is the Christian festival called “Easter,” derived from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre whose springtime feast was supplanted by that of Christ. (Estrogen and estrus and other related words are also derived from the name of the goddess as well.)

Eostre was the goddess of bounty and new life, the regeneration of nature post-winter and fertility. She was attended by rabbits (known for their prolific reproductive abilities) and decorated eggs were exchanged in her honor. (In some places, these decorated eggs were then buried in the earth as gifts to Eostre so that she could know the hopes and dreams of her children, which were depicted in the paintings on the eggs, and then fulfil them.)

A variety of practices were indulged in that were said to promote the fertility of humans and of crops, including switching young women with braided willow branches. Bonfires were a common fertility rite in the non-Christian world and St. Patrick had a major confrontation with the pagan High King of Ireland because he lit the Christian fire for Easter before the king lit the fertility bonfire nearby.

Stories of descent into the netherworld (i.e. winter) and ascent from the netherworld (i.e. spring) were told in connection with Eostre’s celebration, such as that of Persephone and Hades. The well-known “spring cleaning” of homes was part of preparing to welcome Eostre’s arrival back in the world.

Happy New Year!

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The entrance to the neolithic tomb of Newgrange in Ireland, which is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

The entrance to the neolithic tomb of Newgrange in Ireland, which is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

The triple spirals found in much Celtic art and at many Celtic monuments, such as the Newgrange tomb, are thought to represent fertility (the nine months of human pregnancy), the past-present-future, the realms of land-sea-sky, or the goddess Brigid  (celebrated at the beginning of spring).

Fetrility and the passage of time are deeply embedded in the celebration of the New Year, especially when the vernal equinox was observed as New Year’s Day. (January 1 became the New Year’s Day gradually. Regions of Denmark were the first to make the change in the 1100s and the British Empire was the last, in 1752.) We still number the months as if New Year’s Day fell during March: SEPTember is the seventh month, OCTober is eighth, NOVember is ninth, and DECember is the tenth. New Year’s also marked the beginning of “lent,” the Anglo-Saxon word for “Springtime.”

To promote fertility on the springtime New Year, the pomegranate can be put to many uses. It seeds can be eaten to increase fertility and its skin, dried, can be burned as an incense to attract wealth. A branch of pomegranate can also be used as a “dowsing rod” to locate buried or hidden treasures. Daffodil, one of the flowers most associated with March, can also be used to increase fertility. To attain immortality and overcome the passage of time, eat apples or carry charms made of apple wood. Linden leaves and sage can also be used to lengthen life or achieve immortality.

Aries the Ram

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Aries, the ram, is the first sign of the zodiac in western astrology.

Aries, the ram, is the first sign of the zodiac in western astrology.

The sign Aries, the ram, is the first sign of the zodiac in traditional western astrology. The sun enters this constellation on or about the vernal equinox, which was the New Year Day of the Middle Ages. Today, those born between March 20 and April 19 are considered to be born in Aries. The sign is ruled by Mars (which means it is associated with confidence and self-assertion, aggression, sexuality, energy, strength, ambition and impulsiveness) and considered a “fire” sign (i.e. with positive, extrovert characteristics).

Certain acts of ritual magic were considered especially effective if performed during the days of Aries. Strength, authority, and leadership could be supported and increased — or decreased and made weak — with magic while the sun or the moon passed through this sign. Divination concerning attacks of various sorts or aggression would be performed during this period. Nations and places — not only people — were considered to be under the protection of specific signs of the zodiac and England, Germany, Poland, Palestine, Syria,  Lithuania belonged to Aries.

In general terms, an Aries personality is often enthusiastic, outward looking, brave and adventure-loving. The dark side of these traits, however, might also be present, to a greater or lesser extent: selfishness, quick to be angry, impatient or foolhardy.

A complete horoscope would include not only the birthsign and ruling planet but the position of the other planets in the various other constellations and signs of the zodiac. All these impact the final reading and the skilled interpretation of the chart is what most people consider “real” astrology.