Maybe you don't know this yet, maybe you do - I am (frankly) outraged at what the Conservatives are doing to our history. For the past 10 years, the conservatives have been buying up textbook companies in order to rewrite history to align with their political agenda. Last summer, conservatives were "caught" handing out copies of "Origin of the Species" by Charles Darwin - a book which is the de facto book on evolution - to college freshmen on campuses around the US. The only catch is, the books were written with the first half being a monolog about how evolution was wrong, and how people should probably ignore Darwin's work, and just read the bible.
And it doesn't stop there; recently, conservatives have undertaken a new effort - rewrite the bible itself to eradicate "liberal" context from it. Now... I don't believe much of the bible, nor recount it's accuracy by any means, but this editing of such a work comes down to partisanship, and is a slippery slope. To translate the bible itself to forward a political agenda is nothing new, but neither is murder, rape, or war.
And this is a form of murder, rape and war on reason. You know, just two years ago, these same people were arguing in favor of banning the book Farenheit 451 - effectively banning a book about book banners.
This insanity is in place for one reason: salting the earth.
When, in the old days, an army was forced to retreat from previously conquered grounds, they would spead out pounds of salt onto the very ground (salt prevents the earth from retaining it's nutrients) in order to make the land they had to leave un-usable. And that's what the conservatives are doing. And have been doing, even before they were forced to retreat. Ranging from these radical rewrites of history, to shredding our Bill of Rights, it behoves them to slash and burn so much, because then we are forced into a recovery mode; instead of being able to move forward with government policies, progressive reforms, or the environment - we are instead forced to step back and work hard to conserve the state of things which should remain unmutable as they are sacred unto themselves.
Stay on target - pass along history, don't be afraid to tell people they are wrong.
So many times, people will argue with me on the facts about (for example) the war in Iraq. They are so sure of their stance: We are at war because of 9/11. Why? Because they read it in a book. Who cares if the author was right or wrong - "I read it" so it must be true.
Think for yourselves. Question authority.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Origins of Easter
The date of Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar, varies from year to year, according to a complex formula. This is the central focus of Christianity, but there is more to Easter than meets the eye! Many ancient religions also celebrated the death and resurrection of their god. Much of the symbolism associated with these earlier stories has been incorporated into the Christian Festivity.
The Easter Season marks the most important ritual celebration in the Christian Church. It celebrates the passion, crucifixion, death and entombment of the Lord Jesus Christ, followed by his resurrection and return to a new life. Jesus Christ, who flourished in Palestine some two thousand years ago and whose birth (defined as year "1") marks the beginning of the current Western Gregorian Calendar, was the founder of the Christian faith and is revered by Christians as the true saviour and Son of God. The Easter season begins on Easter Day (Easter Sunday) and the preliminary festivities are known as Holy Week, which is itself the last week of the 40 day purificatory period called Lent (Sundays are not counted in the 40, as these commemorate the resurrection). Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (March 1, 2006), the day after Mardi Gras, but that is another story!
Holy Week is the main introduction to Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), celebrating the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on an ass. This is part of the prophesied fulfilment of his mission, since the ass has symbolic significance and is seen as a sign of his being the messiah, or redeemer. This process is followed by Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) when Jesus instituted the sacrament of communion, or the Lord's Supper. It also marks his betrayal by his renegade disciple, Judas.
The following day is called Good Friday ("God's Friday"), when Jesus was condemned to death, crucified, died and was buried in the tomb. This is the holiest day of the year for Christians, because it marks the symbolic sacrifice of the pure and perfect Son of God, who is believed to have died on a cross so that the rest of us could be freed from our burden of sin and be forgiven by God so that we might find everlasting life and bliss.
The next day, Holy Saturday, is when Jesus lay in the grave, but the following day, Easter Sunday, is when Jesus miraculously rose from the dead and vacated the tomb. In other words, his old life had ended and his new and glorious life had begun. This is emblematic of the Christian ideal of redemption through repentance (the death of the old life), baptism (washing out the past) and being born again (as a freshly redeemed soul).
Easter, a Moveable Feast
There is no accepted fixed date for the death of Jesus, but the Gospels (the part of the New Testament that deals with the life and ministry of Jesus) state that this all happened at the time of the Passover, a major Jewish festival that was (and still is) celebrated by the Jewish people in honour of their release from captivity in ancient Egypt. In keeping with this, the resurrection of Jesus is believed to have taken place after the Full Moon following the spring equinox.
In olden times, the Jewish people used a lunar calendar, so the dates of events vary when compared to the solar calendar. According to scripture, Jesus rose from the dead on the first Sunday following Passover. See Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 23:56-24:3, and John 20:1. For this reason, ancient Christians celebrated Easter (which they called Passover) on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, which is 14 Nisan on the Jewish calendar. The only exceptions were in Syria and Mesopotamia, where ancient Christians celebrated Easter on 14 Nisan, no matter which day of the week it happened to be. According to scripture, the month of Nisanand therefore the date of Passoveris linked to the spring harvest in Palestine. (See Exodus 12:1-6, Leviticus 23:9-14, and Numbers 28:16.) However, the Romans banished all Jews from Judea (which they renamed Palestine) after the rebellion of Simon Bar Kochba in AD 135, making it difficult for the rabbis to determine the proper date for Passover, even though they have revised their calendar more than once.
There is now a complex system of calculating the correct date for Easter, which goes beyond the scope of this article. [Note that the dates given in this article apply only in the Western Christian Churches, as the Eastern Orthodox Churches still use the Julian Calendar for the calculation of Easter and their Lenten Period counts Sundays.] In any case, we are more concerned here with the symbolic and astrological correspondences that make this festival so meaningful, even in the 21st Century, some two thousand years after Jesus suffered on the Cross.
Ancient Rome and the Equinox
At the time of Jesus, the Mediterranean world was ruled by Rome. The Romans were pagans, who had their own gods: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and so on. The names of these gods have survived to this day in the names of the planets, the days of the week, names of months and general linguistic usage. The other cultures in the area also had their own gods and goddesses, who corresponded more or less to the Roman pantheon. Greek was the language of culture in the Middle East; the main centre was Alexandria in Egypt and the Roman world was one in which trade and religion passed rapidly between the cities and towns along the marvellous Roman roads.
At around the time of the spring equinox in March, marking the rebirth of the year, the death and resurrection of a number of divine or quasi-divine figures was celebrated. The beautiful god Adonis (cognate with Adonai, which means "Lord" in the Hebrew scriptures) was worshipped throughout the Middle East with his partner Aphrodite (Venus). Adonis was slain and resurrected and this was celebrated at this time, as was the death and resurrection of Tammuz, the lover of Ishtar, at the beginning of the new year as marked by the equinox. J. G. Frazer, author of The Golden Bough, is of the view that the church has skilfully grafted the festival of the dead god Adonis onto the Easter festival of Christianity. The dead and risen Adonis thus became the dead and risen Christ.
Greek depictions of the sorrowful goddess with her dying lover Adonis in her arms resemble and seem to have been the model for the Pieta of the Virgin with the dead body of her son in her lap. The most celebrated example is Michelangelo's Pieta in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. These and other dying and resurrected god figures are symbols of new life after the sleeping death of winter. The metaphysical aspect of awakening to a new life in the Spirit is a key element of initiation into the Mysteries.
Other Cults of Dying Gods
Other cults of dying gods flourished at the time, notably Baal (Palestine), Dionysus (Thrace, Greece), Iesus or Iasius (Greece) and Osiris (Egypt). In particular, the death and resurrection of the god Attis was officially celebrated at Rome on 24 and 25 March, officially marking the spring equinox. The ancients considered this to be the most appropriate day for the revival of a god of vegetation who had been dead or sleeping throughout the winter. According to an ancient and widespread tradition, 25 March was celebrated as the death of Christ without regard to the state of the Moon. Tertullian in Adversus Iudaeus states that this tradition was followed in Phrygia, Cappadocia, Gaul and in Rome itselfthroughout the "known world" really.
The earliest Christian traditions evidently had some connection with the cult of Attis. Attis was believed to be the son of Cybele, the Divine Mother, and was conceived, like Jesus, of a virgin by divine intervention rather than regular sexual intercourse. Similarly the pine was sacred to Attis and it is no accident that all relics of the cross are composed of pine. According to several respected authorities, the date of the death and resurrection of Christ was deliberately linked to the 25th of March to harmonise with the festival of the spring equinox. This is connected with an older belief that this was on the very day that the world was created.
The phenomenon of substitution, where a pagan festival is replaced by one with a Christian identity, is seen in a number of pre-Christian festivals. In line with the Mother Goddess and Heavenly Virgin theology, the Festival of Diana was ousted by the Festival of the Assumption of the Virgin in August. The pagan Parilia in April was replaced by the Feast of St George. The midsummer Water Festival in June was replaced by the Festival of St John the Baptist. Each has a deep connection with the symbolic imagery it replaces. The Feast of All Souls in November is the ancient heathen Feast of the Dead. The Nativity of Christ replaced the birth of the Sun at the winter solstice.
The Festival of Easter replaces the feast of the Phrygian god Attis at the vernal equinox. The Phrygians were the source of the Mithraic system and the Mystery cults generally. Mithras was introduced to Rome circa 63 BCE. It should be remembered that the Romans traced their ancestry to Aeneas, the hero of Troy, a Phrygian city in Asia Minor.
The very places which celebrated the death of Christ at the equinox were the actual places that the worship of the god Attis originated or had taken deepest root, namely Phrygia, Gaul and apparently Rome itself. Frazer says it is difficult to regard the coincidence as accidental. In fact the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of saviour gods was widespread throughout the ancient world, and not just in Europe, as may be seen in this excellent article, Sun Gods as Atoning Saviours, by Dr M. D. Magee.
Origins of the name "Easter"
The name Easter is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon form astre. Eastre was the goddess of fertility, whose rites were celebrated at the vernal (spring) equinox. The vernal equinox is the time that the days begin to lengthen beyond the duration of the night (hence, equinox) and the growth is beginning to quicken. This springtime emphasis accounts for the orientation of the rituals towards the boosting of fertility, hence the rabbits, eggs and so on that are always associated with Easter [click here for more on this: Eoster: Mysteries of the Resurrected Child, by John Opsopaus].
Ishtar or Astarte
The word Easter is also a form of Ishtar, the ancient Babylonian goddess of fertility. As Ashtoreth, which is the Hebrew plural form denoting various local manifestations of Astarte, she was the Canaanite fertility goddess Athtarath, or Ashtoreth. From this, the Greeks derived Astarte. Athtarath or Ishtar became Easter in Anglo-Saxon prior to their arrival in Britain.
The goddess Astarte was depicted as the horned goddess and represented in the same way as Hathor, the cow goddess of Egypt. This is the representation of Ishtar with the Moon god Sin whose upturned horns are identified in the crescent moon on the horizon with Venus, the love goddess, as the evening star. This ancient symbolism was central to the religious systems of Egypt and Asia Minor generally, but centred on the Assyro-Babylonian system. The cult of Ashtoreth was also patronised by King Solomon (1 Kings 11:5), prior to the reorganisation of the Hebrew religion by King Josiah, which featured the present insistence on monotheism.
Astarte, or Easter in her various forms, is the Mother goddess and was associated with her son-lover as Lord which is the meaning of Baal, Adonis etc. As the Heavenly Virgin or Mother Goddess figure, she featured in the symbolism of the golden calf that led Israel astray at Sinai under Moses. In this Trinity of the Star, the Sun and the Moon we see her as goddess of sensual love as evening star (hence, also Venus) and goddess of war as morning star. This war role was attributed to Aphrodite. She is related to the Moon god Sin and is linked in association with the Sun as the third member of the Trinity. The festivals are tied to this symbolism.
The Egyptians under the Ptolemies at Edfu depicted Ashtoreth as a lion-headed goddess. This is an association with the lion-headed Aeon and the Mysteries. As Quodshu or holiness, holding a papyrus plant and a serpent, she stands, on a lion, between the Egyptian fertility god Min and Resheph the Semitic god of destruction and death. Her hair is worn in the stylised fashion of the horns of the cow goddess Hathor.
Bronze figurines from Gezer depict a nude figure with horns which are considered to be that of Ashtoreth. Her cultic systems flourished at Beth-shan from the fifteenth to the thirteenth centuries BCE and, in the second century BCE, there was a cult centre at Delos to Astarte of Palestine. The fertility symbols found show the goddess with the horned headdress and the breasts pronounced, often holding a lotus flower and a serpent. Where the Mother Goddess is depicted, it is as Ashera, with a dove clutched to her breast. She is also associated with the Phoenician god of healing Eshmun from an undated inscription from Carthage. This role is endemic to the cult throughout and is found among the Celts and Druids who were exposed to the Sea Lords very anciently. A name associated with her in the Assyrian form Ishtar is Ishtar-miti-uballit or Ishtar make the dead to live. Thus, the resurrection theme is associated with her at Easter as Ishtar.
Indeed scholars have now pretty clearly established that the ancient religion of the Hebrews was polytheistic (as is easily seen even in Genesis) and actually featured two main divinities, Baal and Ashtoreth.
The Queen of Heaven
The prophet Ezekiel condemns the women in Israel for weeping for Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14). This Syrian deity was mourned as the dying god in ancient Israel. Tammuz was associated with the Queen of Heaven who was also the Heavenly Virgin as we have seen. Cakes were baked to her and the prophet Jeremiah condemns this practice outright (Jer. 7:18; 44:15-19). The Queen of Heaven was an ancient Oriental goddess. She was associated with the harvest also and the last sheaf and corn of the harvest were often dedicated to her and was called the Queen.
The Queen at Athens was married to the god Dionysus. It appears that the consummation of the divine union as well as the espousals were enacted at the ceremony. She was assisted by fourteen sacred women, one for each of the altars of Dionysus. The fourteen were sworn to purity and chastity by the Queen at the ancient shrine of Dionysus on the Marshes which was opened on that day of the year only. The Queen became consort of the gods, but remained the fertility goddess and Mother goddess.
The Queen of Egypt was also the wife of Amon and personified the goddess. The divine consort was a young and beautiful girl of good family. She had complete sexual freedom and endowed her favours on whoever she pleased until she reached puberty when a rite of mourning was celebrated for her (perhaps marking the loss of her divine role as Queen) and then given in marriage. The Greeks called these Pallades after their virgin goddess Pallas (Strabo, xvii, I, 46, p. 816).
Temple prostitution was also associated with the worship of Ishtar and indeed, most of the devotees of Easter or Ishtar spent some time at least enrolled as a temple prostitute as a young girl in the cult centres of Asia Minor. At Corinth, this prostitution was general and virtually everyone in the city was at one time or another involved with it. The prophetess of Apollo also had this role of consort. So long as the god tarried at Patara, his winter oracle and home, his prophetess was shut up with him every night.
As Artemis, the many breasted goddess of fertility at Ephesus, the goddess had consorts who were termed Essenes or King Bees and seemed to have been entirely celibate for a fixed period of time being dedicated to the goddess. She had a grove of fruit trees around her temple (Frazer, i, p. 7). She was thus associated with Demeter, who was termed the fruit bearer (vii, p. 63). In this way she was also identified with Diana, who was patroness of fruit trees, as was she herself. This Mother goddess is identified by Frazer with the King of the Wood and his woodland goddess Diana at Nemi. This appears to make perfect sense and would explain why the crowd at Ephesus, in Acts, referred to the goddess as Diana of Ephesus. This aspect has been transferred to the cult of the Virgin and fruit trees are blessed on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin. The cult of the Virgin in Christianity is a reformulation of the ancient pagan cult of Ishtar, Astarte, Diana or Artemis in new guiseand sometimes in the same clothes.
The relationship with the mysteries in Egypt carries on to the cult of Osiris, whose worshippers were forbidden to injure fruit trees. Dionysus was also a god of fruit trees. We see an intertwined relationship here which shows that these are not really different gods, but different aspects of the same system of worship with variations on a theme.
As Queen of May, the goddess was representative of the spirit of vegetation both in France and in England. It seems to be a common view that the Mother was also goddess of the Corn and the last of the harvest is often dedicated to her in symbolism, a special cake being made of this last of the harvest and dedicated to her. The symbolism runs throughout Europe in varying formssymbolism identified with the Queen of the harvest.
Hot Cross Buns
Barley has always been associated with the worship of the Goddess and the barley harvest is at Easter, or Passover. Among the Hindus, sacrifice is made at the beginning of the harvest either at the new or full moon. The barley is reaped in spring and the rice in autumn. A sacrificial cake is still baked from the new barley or rice, set forth on twelve potsherds sacred to the gods Indra and Agni. A pap of gruel or boiled grain is offered to the pantheon of deities, the Visve Devah, and a cake on one potsherd is presented to heaven and earth.
This is similar to the record of presenting the cakes to the Queen of Heaven mentioned by the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah and appears to have been common to all the ancient Aryans. In earlier times, the sacrifices in the Hindu system were of the firstfruits and the fee of the priests was the firstborn of the cattle and, thus, we are seeing the ancient firstfruits system among the Aryans entering Hinduism. The harvest goddess is Gauri, wife of Siva. Rice cakes or pancakes are offered to a plant-formed effigy of Gauri. On the third day, it is thrown into a river or a tank. A handful of dirt or pebbles is brought home from the spot and thrown about the house and gardens and trees to ensure fertility. This is the same effect as the custom of sweeping churches in Italy on the third day of the Easter festival and shows an ancient common tradition much older than Christianity. The cakes have become hot cross buns in Christianity.
This Mother goddess figure entered Buddhism and the east as the goddess Kuan-yin, who became the Avalokitesvara of the Mahayana system. She entered Christianity as the Heavenly Virgin called Mary. She was made the mother of Jesus Christ and termed Mother of God.
The Black Madonna
We can see now that the Mother Goddess entered Christianity as the Virgin Mary. She is termed the Madonna. Her aspect as goddess of the spirit of vegetation was emphasised in the application of a black face to the goddess in her role as Demeter, or the spring goddess of fertility in her aspects of Artemis or Diana. In Christianity, this aspect has become known as the Black Madonna.
Cakes were made to the Queen of Heaven at her festival, the festival of Ishtar or Easter or Astarte, since long before the Babylonian captivity of the Jews (700 BCE). The Virgin Mary was clearly none other than Artemis or Diana of Ephesus that Saint Paul so boldly opposed (Acts 19:24-35).
The Mother goddess was given a black face as Demeter, goddess of fertility, in the December rites and as the Black Madonna she was thus related to the fertility and Mystery cults. Her worship was originally pagan and has been brought into Christianity due to a need for the support of the Mother. This arose in a celebration of femininity that to some extent counterbalances the ascetic, even misogynistic tendencies in the early Christian religion.
The Festival of Easter has universal application, arising in the death and resurrection of the divine being, marked by the seasonal celebration of the Equinox. The symbols associated with Easter are also found in other religions and the hope for a fertile new life in the spirit is linked with the new life of Spring and the season of growth.
The world constantly moves through the seasonal cycles, marked by the cardinal points of the tropical zodiac, the solstices and equinoxes. Easter, through this cardinal cross, signals the dimensional transition provided by the Vernal Equinox, as the Sun enters the sign of the Ram. The question as to whether Jesus was really the Sacrificial Lamb, the Christ and Son of God, who actually died, was buried and then rose again in a literal sense is one of faith and forms the basis of the Christian religion.
The Easter Season marks the most important ritual celebration in the Christian Church. It celebrates the passion, crucifixion, death and entombment of the Lord Jesus Christ, followed by his resurrection and return to a new life. Jesus Christ, who flourished in Palestine some two thousand years ago and whose birth (defined as year "1") marks the beginning of the current Western Gregorian Calendar, was the founder of the Christian faith and is revered by Christians as the true saviour and Son of God. The Easter season begins on Easter Day (Easter Sunday) and the preliminary festivities are known as Holy Week, which is itself the last week of the 40 day purificatory period called Lent (Sundays are not counted in the 40, as these commemorate the resurrection). Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (March 1, 2006), the day after Mardi Gras, but that is another story!
Holy Week is the main introduction to Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), celebrating the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on an ass. This is part of the prophesied fulfilment of his mission, since the ass has symbolic significance and is seen as a sign of his being the messiah, or redeemer. This process is followed by Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) when Jesus instituted the sacrament of communion, or the Lord's Supper. It also marks his betrayal by his renegade disciple, Judas.
The following day is called Good Friday ("God's Friday"), when Jesus was condemned to death, crucified, died and was buried in the tomb. This is the holiest day of the year for Christians, because it marks the symbolic sacrifice of the pure and perfect Son of God, who is believed to have died on a cross so that the rest of us could be freed from our burden of sin and be forgiven by God so that we might find everlasting life and bliss.
The next day, Holy Saturday, is when Jesus lay in the grave, but the following day, Easter Sunday, is when Jesus miraculously rose from the dead and vacated the tomb. In other words, his old life had ended and his new and glorious life had begun. This is emblematic of the Christian ideal of redemption through repentance (the death of the old life), baptism (washing out the past) and being born again (as a freshly redeemed soul).
Easter, a Moveable Feast
There is no accepted fixed date for the death of Jesus, but the Gospels (the part of the New Testament that deals with the life and ministry of Jesus) state that this all happened at the time of the Passover, a major Jewish festival that was (and still is) celebrated by the Jewish people in honour of their release from captivity in ancient Egypt. In keeping with this, the resurrection of Jesus is believed to have taken place after the Full Moon following the spring equinox.
In olden times, the Jewish people used a lunar calendar, so the dates of events vary when compared to the solar calendar. According to scripture, Jesus rose from the dead on the first Sunday following Passover. See Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 23:56-24:3, and John 20:1. For this reason, ancient Christians celebrated Easter (which they called Passover) on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, which is 14 Nisan on the Jewish calendar. The only exceptions were in Syria and Mesopotamia, where ancient Christians celebrated Easter on 14 Nisan, no matter which day of the week it happened to be. According to scripture, the month of Nisanand therefore the date of Passoveris linked to the spring harvest in Palestine. (See Exodus 12:1-6, Leviticus 23:9-14, and Numbers 28:16.) However, the Romans banished all Jews from Judea (which they renamed Palestine) after the rebellion of Simon Bar Kochba in AD 135, making it difficult for the rabbis to determine the proper date for Passover, even though they have revised their calendar more than once.
There is now a complex system of calculating the correct date for Easter, which goes beyond the scope of this article. [Note that the dates given in this article apply only in the Western Christian Churches, as the Eastern Orthodox Churches still use the Julian Calendar for the calculation of Easter and their Lenten Period counts Sundays.] In any case, we are more concerned here with the symbolic and astrological correspondences that make this festival so meaningful, even in the 21st Century, some two thousand years after Jesus suffered on the Cross.
Ancient Rome and the Equinox
At the time of Jesus, the Mediterranean world was ruled by Rome. The Romans were pagans, who had their own gods: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and so on. The names of these gods have survived to this day in the names of the planets, the days of the week, names of months and general linguistic usage. The other cultures in the area also had their own gods and goddesses, who corresponded more or less to the Roman pantheon. Greek was the language of culture in the Middle East; the main centre was Alexandria in Egypt and the Roman world was one in which trade and religion passed rapidly between the cities and towns along the marvellous Roman roads.
At around the time of the spring equinox in March, marking the rebirth of the year, the death and resurrection of a number of divine or quasi-divine figures was celebrated. The beautiful god Adonis (cognate with Adonai, which means "Lord" in the Hebrew scriptures) was worshipped throughout the Middle East with his partner Aphrodite (Venus). Adonis was slain and resurrected and this was celebrated at this time, as was the death and resurrection of Tammuz, the lover of Ishtar, at the beginning of the new year as marked by the equinox. J. G. Frazer, author of The Golden Bough, is of the view that the church has skilfully grafted the festival of the dead god Adonis onto the Easter festival of Christianity. The dead and risen Adonis thus became the dead and risen Christ.
Greek depictions of the sorrowful goddess with her dying lover Adonis in her arms resemble and seem to have been the model for the Pieta of the Virgin with the dead body of her son in her lap. The most celebrated example is Michelangelo's Pieta in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. These and other dying and resurrected god figures are symbols of new life after the sleeping death of winter. The metaphysical aspect of awakening to a new life in the Spirit is a key element of initiation into the Mysteries.
Other Cults of Dying Gods
Other cults of dying gods flourished at the time, notably Baal (Palestine), Dionysus (Thrace, Greece), Iesus or Iasius (Greece) and Osiris (Egypt). In particular, the death and resurrection of the god Attis was officially celebrated at Rome on 24 and 25 March, officially marking the spring equinox. The ancients considered this to be the most appropriate day for the revival of a god of vegetation who had been dead or sleeping throughout the winter. According to an ancient and widespread tradition, 25 March was celebrated as the death of Christ without regard to the state of the Moon. Tertullian in Adversus Iudaeus states that this tradition was followed in Phrygia, Cappadocia, Gaul and in Rome itselfthroughout the "known world" really.
The earliest Christian traditions evidently had some connection with the cult of Attis. Attis was believed to be the son of Cybele, the Divine Mother, and was conceived, like Jesus, of a virgin by divine intervention rather than regular sexual intercourse. Similarly the pine was sacred to Attis and it is no accident that all relics of the cross are composed of pine. According to several respected authorities, the date of the death and resurrection of Christ was deliberately linked to the 25th of March to harmonise with the festival of the spring equinox. This is connected with an older belief that this was on the very day that the world was created.
The phenomenon of substitution, where a pagan festival is replaced by one with a Christian identity, is seen in a number of pre-Christian festivals. In line with the Mother Goddess and Heavenly Virgin theology, the Festival of Diana was ousted by the Festival of the Assumption of the Virgin in August. The pagan Parilia in April was replaced by the Feast of St George. The midsummer Water Festival in June was replaced by the Festival of St John the Baptist. Each has a deep connection with the symbolic imagery it replaces. The Feast of All Souls in November is the ancient heathen Feast of the Dead. The Nativity of Christ replaced the birth of the Sun at the winter solstice.
The Festival of Easter replaces the feast of the Phrygian god Attis at the vernal equinox. The Phrygians were the source of the Mithraic system and the Mystery cults generally. Mithras was introduced to Rome circa 63 BCE. It should be remembered that the Romans traced their ancestry to Aeneas, the hero of Troy, a Phrygian city in Asia Minor.
The very places which celebrated the death of Christ at the equinox were the actual places that the worship of the god Attis originated or had taken deepest root, namely Phrygia, Gaul and apparently Rome itself. Frazer says it is difficult to regard the coincidence as accidental. In fact the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of saviour gods was widespread throughout the ancient world, and not just in Europe, as may be seen in this excellent article, Sun Gods as Atoning Saviours, by Dr M. D. Magee.
Origins of the name "Easter"
The name Easter is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon form astre. Eastre was the goddess of fertility, whose rites were celebrated at the vernal (spring) equinox. The vernal equinox is the time that the days begin to lengthen beyond the duration of the night (hence, equinox) and the growth is beginning to quicken. This springtime emphasis accounts for the orientation of the rituals towards the boosting of fertility, hence the rabbits, eggs and so on that are always associated with Easter [click here for more on this: Eoster: Mysteries of the Resurrected Child, by John Opsopaus].
Ishtar or Astarte
The word Easter is also a form of Ishtar, the ancient Babylonian goddess of fertility. As Ashtoreth, which is the Hebrew plural form denoting various local manifestations of Astarte, she was the Canaanite fertility goddess Athtarath, or Ashtoreth. From this, the Greeks derived Astarte. Athtarath or Ishtar became Easter in Anglo-Saxon prior to their arrival in Britain.
The goddess Astarte was depicted as the horned goddess and represented in the same way as Hathor, the cow goddess of Egypt. This is the representation of Ishtar with the Moon god Sin whose upturned horns are identified in the crescent moon on the horizon with Venus, the love goddess, as the evening star. This ancient symbolism was central to the religious systems of Egypt and Asia Minor generally, but centred on the Assyro-Babylonian system. The cult of Ashtoreth was also patronised by King Solomon (1 Kings 11:5), prior to the reorganisation of the Hebrew religion by King Josiah, which featured the present insistence on monotheism.
Astarte, or Easter in her various forms, is the Mother goddess and was associated with her son-lover as Lord which is the meaning of Baal, Adonis etc. As the Heavenly Virgin or Mother Goddess figure, she featured in the symbolism of the golden calf that led Israel astray at Sinai under Moses. In this Trinity of the Star, the Sun and the Moon we see her as goddess of sensual love as evening star (hence, also Venus) and goddess of war as morning star. This war role was attributed to Aphrodite. She is related to the Moon god Sin and is linked in association with the Sun as the third member of the Trinity. The festivals are tied to this symbolism.
The Egyptians under the Ptolemies at Edfu depicted Ashtoreth as a lion-headed goddess. This is an association with the lion-headed Aeon and the Mysteries. As Quodshu or holiness, holding a papyrus plant and a serpent, she stands, on a lion, between the Egyptian fertility god Min and Resheph the Semitic god of destruction and death. Her hair is worn in the stylised fashion of the horns of the cow goddess Hathor.
Bronze figurines from Gezer depict a nude figure with horns which are considered to be that of Ashtoreth. Her cultic systems flourished at Beth-shan from the fifteenth to the thirteenth centuries BCE and, in the second century BCE, there was a cult centre at Delos to Astarte of Palestine. The fertility symbols found show the goddess with the horned headdress and the breasts pronounced, often holding a lotus flower and a serpent. Where the Mother Goddess is depicted, it is as Ashera, with a dove clutched to her breast. She is also associated with the Phoenician god of healing Eshmun from an undated inscription from Carthage. This role is endemic to the cult throughout and is found among the Celts and Druids who were exposed to the Sea Lords very anciently. A name associated with her in the Assyrian form Ishtar is Ishtar-miti-uballit or Ishtar make the dead to live. Thus, the resurrection theme is associated with her at Easter as Ishtar.
Indeed scholars have now pretty clearly established that the ancient religion of the Hebrews was polytheistic (as is easily seen even in Genesis) and actually featured two main divinities, Baal and Ashtoreth.
The Queen of Heaven
The prophet Ezekiel condemns the women in Israel for weeping for Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14). This Syrian deity was mourned as the dying god in ancient Israel. Tammuz was associated with the Queen of Heaven who was also the Heavenly Virgin as we have seen. Cakes were baked to her and the prophet Jeremiah condemns this practice outright (Jer. 7:18; 44:15-19). The Queen of Heaven was an ancient Oriental goddess. She was associated with the harvest also and the last sheaf and corn of the harvest were often dedicated to her and was called the Queen.
The Queen at Athens was married to the god Dionysus. It appears that the consummation of the divine union as well as the espousals were enacted at the ceremony. She was assisted by fourteen sacred women, one for each of the altars of Dionysus. The fourteen were sworn to purity and chastity by the Queen at the ancient shrine of Dionysus on the Marshes which was opened on that day of the year only. The Queen became consort of the gods, but remained the fertility goddess and Mother goddess.
The Queen of Egypt was also the wife of Amon and personified the goddess. The divine consort was a young and beautiful girl of good family. She had complete sexual freedom and endowed her favours on whoever she pleased until she reached puberty when a rite of mourning was celebrated for her (perhaps marking the loss of her divine role as Queen) and then given in marriage. The Greeks called these Pallades after their virgin goddess Pallas (Strabo, xvii, I, 46, p. 816).
Temple prostitution was also associated with the worship of Ishtar and indeed, most of the devotees of Easter or Ishtar spent some time at least enrolled as a temple prostitute as a young girl in the cult centres of Asia Minor. At Corinth, this prostitution was general and virtually everyone in the city was at one time or another involved with it. The prophetess of Apollo also had this role of consort. So long as the god tarried at Patara, his winter oracle and home, his prophetess was shut up with him every night.
As Artemis, the many breasted goddess of fertility at Ephesus, the goddess had consorts who were termed Essenes or King Bees and seemed to have been entirely celibate for a fixed period of time being dedicated to the goddess. She had a grove of fruit trees around her temple (Frazer, i, p. 7). She was thus associated with Demeter, who was termed the fruit bearer (vii, p. 63). In this way she was also identified with Diana, who was patroness of fruit trees, as was she herself. This Mother goddess is identified by Frazer with the King of the Wood and his woodland goddess Diana at Nemi. This appears to make perfect sense and would explain why the crowd at Ephesus, in Acts, referred to the goddess as Diana of Ephesus. This aspect has been transferred to the cult of the Virgin and fruit trees are blessed on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin. The cult of the Virgin in Christianity is a reformulation of the ancient pagan cult of Ishtar, Astarte, Diana or Artemis in new guiseand sometimes in the same clothes.
The relationship with the mysteries in Egypt carries on to the cult of Osiris, whose worshippers were forbidden to injure fruit trees. Dionysus was also a god of fruit trees. We see an intertwined relationship here which shows that these are not really different gods, but different aspects of the same system of worship with variations on a theme.
As Queen of May, the goddess was representative of the spirit of vegetation both in France and in England. It seems to be a common view that the Mother was also goddess of the Corn and the last of the harvest is often dedicated to her in symbolism, a special cake being made of this last of the harvest and dedicated to her. The symbolism runs throughout Europe in varying formssymbolism identified with the Queen of the harvest.
Hot Cross Buns
Barley has always been associated with the worship of the Goddess and the barley harvest is at Easter, or Passover. Among the Hindus, sacrifice is made at the beginning of the harvest either at the new or full moon. The barley is reaped in spring and the rice in autumn. A sacrificial cake is still baked from the new barley or rice, set forth on twelve potsherds sacred to the gods Indra and Agni. A pap of gruel or boiled grain is offered to the pantheon of deities, the Visve Devah, and a cake on one potsherd is presented to heaven and earth.
This is similar to the record of presenting the cakes to the Queen of Heaven mentioned by the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah and appears to have been common to all the ancient Aryans. In earlier times, the sacrifices in the Hindu system were of the firstfruits and the fee of the priests was the firstborn of the cattle and, thus, we are seeing the ancient firstfruits system among the Aryans entering Hinduism. The harvest goddess is Gauri, wife of Siva. Rice cakes or pancakes are offered to a plant-formed effigy of Gauri. On the third day, it is thrown into a river or a tank. A handful of dirt or pebbles is brought home from the spot and thrown about the house and gardens and trees to ensure fertility. This is the same effect as the custom of sweeping churches in Italy on the third day of the Easter festival and shows an ancient common tradition much older than Christianity. The cakes have become hot cross buns in Christianity.
This Mother goddess figure entered Buddhism and the east as the goddess Kuan-yin, who became the Avalokitesvara of the Mahayana system. She entered Christianity as the Heavenly Virgin called Mary. She was made the mother of Jesus Christ and termed Mother of God.
The Black Madonna
We can see now that the Mother Goddess entered Christianity as the Virgin Mary. She is termed the Madonna. Her aspect as goddess of the spirit of vegetation was emphasised in the application of a black face to the goddess in her role as Demeter, or the spring goddess of fertility in her aspects of Artemis or Diana. In Christianity, this aspect has become known as the Black Madonna.
Cakes were made to the Queen of Heaven at her festival, the festival of Ishtar or Easter or Astarte, since long before the Babylonian captivity of the Jews (700 BCE). The Virgin Mary was clearly none other than Artemis or Diana of Ephesus that Saint Paul so boldly opposed (Acts 19:24-35).
The Mother goddess was given a black face as Demeter, goddess of fertility, in the December rites and as the Black Madonna she was thus related to the fertility and Mystery cults. Her worship was originally pagan and has been brought into Christianity due to a need for the support of the Mother. This arose in a celebration of femininity that to some extent counterbalances the ascetic, even misogynistic tendencies in the early Christian religion.
The Festival of Easter has universal application, arising in the death and resurrection of the divine being, marked by the seasonal celebration of the Equinox. The symbols associated with Easter are also found in other religions and the hope for a fertile new life in the spirit is linked with the new life of Spring and the season of growth.
The world constantly moves through the seasonal cycles, marked by the cardinal points of the tropical zodiac, the solstices and equinoxes. Easter, through this cardinal cross, signals the dimensional transition provided by the Vernal Equinox, as the Sun enters the sign of the Ram. The question as to whether Jesus was really the Sacrificial Lamb, the Christ and Son of God, who actually died, was buried and then rose again in a literal sense is one of faith and forms the basis of the Christian religion.
Origins of Christmas
Saturnalia
In Roman times, the best-known winter festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout Italy. Saturnalia was a time of general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation of formal rules. It included the making and giving of small presents (Saturnalia et Sigillaricia), including small dolls for children and candles for adults. During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and even public nudity.
It was the "best of days," according to the poet Catullus. Saturnalia honored the god Saturn and began on December 17. The festival gradually lengthened until the late Republican period, when it was seven days (December 17-24). In imperial times, Saturnalia was shortened to five days.
Yule
Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god of thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Feasting would continue until the log burned out, which could take as many as twelve days. In Germany, the equivalent holiday was called Mitwinternacht (mid-winter night), and there were twelve Rauhnächte (harsh or wild nights). As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas, a usage first recorded in 900.
Solis Invicti
The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Natalis Solis Invicti. It marked the birthday of a solar deity called Sol Invictus (or Mithras). Sol Invictus ("The Unconquered Sun") was originally a god of Syrian origin, while Mithras, the "Sun of Righteousness" worshipped by many Roman soldiers, was originally of Persian origin.
Early Christian writers often connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. Many scholars believe that the date of Christmas was chosen to appropriate the Sol Invictus festival for Christianity. The Romans considered December 25 to be the date of the winter solstice, which they called bruma. It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.
Jesus and Christ Mass
The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus. According to biblical accounts, Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. The birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals, and the infant Jesus was laid in a manger. Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth.
Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Christians written in 221. This date is nine months after the traditional date of the Birth of Christ (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation. March 25 was also considered to be the date of the vernal equinox and therefore the creation of Adam.Early Christians believed it was also the date Jesus was crucified. The idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number of years
Odin
Prior to the Germanic peoples' conversion to Christianity, Germanic folklore contained stories about the god Odin (Wodan), who would each year, at Yule, have a great hunting party accompanied by his fellow gods and the fallen warriors residing in his realm. Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy.
This practice survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas. Children still place their straw filled shoes at the chimney every winter night, and Saint Nicholas (who, unlike Santa, is still riding a horse) rewards them with candy and gifts. Odin's appearance was often similar to that of Saint Nicholas, being depicted as an old, mysterious man with a beard.
Saint Nicholas
Santa Claus is a variation of a Dutch folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas, a bishop from Myra in Asia Minor (the greater part of modern-day Turkey), who used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.
Conventionally, Santa Claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled white man in a red coat trimmed with white fur (derived from the episcopal vestments of the original Bishop Nicholas), with a long white beard and green or white gloves.
On Christmas Eve, he rides in his sleigh pulled by flying reindeer from house to house to give presents to children. To enter the house, Santa Claus comes down the chimney and exits through the fireplace. During the rest of the year he lives together with his wife Mrs. Claus and his elves manufacturing toys.
The Krampus
Another early folk tale, originating among the Germanic tribes, tells of Saint Nicholas and a demon (aka the Krampus). The story states that the land was terrorized by the Krampus who at night would slither down the chimneys and disembowell bad children or stuff them up the flue, or keep them in a sack to eat later.
Saint Nicholas sought out the demon, and tricked it with blessed or magical shackles (in some versions the same shackles that imprisoned Christ prior to the crucifixion, in other versions the shackles were those used to hold St. Peter or Paul of Tarsus); the demon was trapped and forced to obey the saint's orders. The saint ordered him to go to each house and make amends, by delivering gifts to the children. Depending on the version, the saint either made the demon fulfill this task every year, or the demon was so disgusted by the act of good will that it chose to be sent back to Hell.
Yet other versions have the demon reform under the saint's orders, and go on to recruit other elves and imps into helping him, thus becoming Santa Claus. Another form of the above tale in Germany is of the Pelznickel or Belsnickle ("Furry Nicholas") who visited naughty children in their sleep. The name originated from the fact that the person appeared to be a huge beast since he was covered from head to toe in furs.
Sinterklaas
In the Netherlands Saint Nicolas was known as Sinterklaas and was originally aided by slaves, commonly known as Zwarte Piet ("Black Peter"). Some tales depict Zwarte Piet beating bad children with a rod or even taking them to Moorish Spain in a sack. Some consider the legend of Zwarte Piet to be racist because it refers to Sinterklaas having African slaves work for him in the days before pakjesavond (the 5th of December — the day on which presents are opened), even though the Zwarte Pieten are not depicted as slaves nowadays.
Some say that Zwarte Piet's job was listing children's wishes for Boxing Day, others say that his was keeping track of all the bad children in order to capture them in a sack and take them back to Spain. In recent decades this story has been altered and the former slaves have become modern servants who have black faces because they climb through chimneys and get blackened by the soot from the fire.
Amanitas and the xmas gnomes
James Arthur, an American Psychedelist and Enthomycologist, was a friend of mine when I lived in Fresno. He told me about his theory (which evolved into a series of published novels) which revolved around psychedelia and Christmas.
James' theory suggested that many of the modern features attributed to Santa Claus may somehow be derived from those of the Kamchatkan or Siberian shaman. During the midwinter festival (holiday season) in Siberia (near the North Pole), the shaman would enter a yurt (home) through the shangrak (chimney), bringing with him a sack of fly agaric mushrooms (presents) to give to the inhabitants.
This type of mushroom is brightly colored red and white, like Santa Claus. The mushrooms were often hung (to dry) in front of the fireplace, much like the stockings of modern-day Christmas. Furthermore, the mushrooms were associated with reindeer who were known to eat them and become intoxicated. Reindeer are also associated with the shaman, and like Santa Claus, many people believed that the shaman could fly.
Father Christmas
Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore merged with the British character Father Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
Santa in America
Modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the publication of the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (better known today as "The Night Before Christmas") wriitten on December 23, 1823. In this poem Santa is established as a heavyset individual with eight reindeer (who are named for the first time).
Santa Claus later appeared in various colored costumes as he gradually became amalgamated with the figure of Father Christmas, but red soon became popular after he appeared wearing such on an 1885 Christmas card. Still, one of the first artists to capture Santa Claus's image as we know him today was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century. Later, the mythology of Santa would be further refined to it's current incarnation by the works of the Rankin/Bass animation studios - makers of the stop motion Santa Clause musicals, which outlined and redefined the Santa Claus mythos into how it's known today.
In Roman times, the best-known winter festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout Italy. Saturnalia was a time of general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation of formal rules. It included the making and giving of small presents (Saturnalia et Sigillaricia), including small dolls for children and candles for adults. During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and even public nudity.
It was the "best of days," according to the poet Catullus. Saturnalia honored the god Saturn and began on December 17. The festival gradually lengthened until the late Republican period, when it was seven days (December 17-24). In imperial times, Saturnalia was shortened to five days.
Yule
Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god of thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Feasting would continue until the log burned out, which could take as many as twelve days. In Germany, the equivalent holiday was called Mitwinternacht (mid-winter night), and there were twelve Rauhnächte (harsh or wild nights). As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas, a usage first recorded in 900.
Solis Invicti
The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Natalis Solis Invicti. It marked the birthday of a solar deity called Sol Invictus (or Mithras). Sol Invictus ("The Unconquered Sun") was originally a god of Syrian origin, while Mithras, the "Sun of Righteousness" worshipped by many Roman soldiers, was originally of Persian origin.
Early Christian writers often connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. Many scholars believe that the date of Christmas was chosen to appropriate the Sol Invictus festival for Christianity. The Romans considered December 25 to be the date of the winter solstice, which they called bruma. It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.
Jesus and Christ Mass
The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus. According to biblical accounts, Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. The birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals, and the infant Jesus was laid in a manger. Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth.
Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Christians written in 221. This date is nine months after the traditional date of the Birth of Christ (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation. March 25 was also considered to be the date of the vernal equinox and therefore the creation of Adam.Early Christians believed it was also the date Jesus was crucified. The idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number of years
Odin
Prior to the Germanic peoples' conversion to Christianity, Germanic folklore contained stories about the god Odin (Wodan), who would each year, at Yule, have a great hunting party accompanied by his fellow gods and the fallen warriors residing in his realm. Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy.
This practice survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas. Children still place their straw filled shoes at the chimney every winter night, and Saint Nicholas (who, unlike Santa, is still riding a horse) rewards them with candy and gifts. Odin's appearance was often similar to that of Saint Nicholas, being depicted as an old, mysterious man with a beard.
Saint Nicholas
Santa Claus is a variation of a Dutch folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas, a bishop from Myra in Asia Minor (the greater part of modern-day Turkey), who used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.
Conventionally, Santa Claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled white man in a red coat trimmed with white fur (derived from the episcopal vestments of the original Bishop Nicholas), with a long white beard and green or white gloves.
On Christmas Eve, he rides in his sleigh pulled by flying reindeer from house to house to give presents to children. To enter the house, Santa Claus comes down the chimney and exits through the fireplace. During the rest of the year he lives together with his wife Mrs. Claus and his elves manufacturing toys.
The Krampus
Another early folk tale, originating among the Germanic tribes, tells of Saint Nicholas and a demon (aka the Krampus). The story states that the land was terrorized by the Krampus who at night would slither down the chimneys and disembowell bad children or stuff them up the flue, or keep them in a sack to eat later.
Saint Nicholas sought out the demon, and tricked it with blessed or magical shackles (in some versions the same shackles that imprisoned Christ prior to the crucifixion, in other versions the shackles were those used to hold St. Peter or Paul of Tarsus); the demon was trapped and forced to obey the saint's orders. The saint ordered him to go to each house and make amends, by delivering gifts to the children. Depending on the version, the saint either made the demon fulfill this task every year, or the demon was so disgusted by the act of good will that it chose to be sent back to Hell.
Yet other versions have the demon reform under the saint's orders, and go on to recruit other elves and imps into helping him, thus becoming Santa Claus. Another form of the above tale in Germany is of the Pelznickel or Belsnickle ("Furry Nicholas") who visited naughty children in their sleep. The name originated from the fact that the person appeared to be a huge beast since he was covered from head to toe in furs.
Sinterklaas
In the Netherlands Saint Nicolas was known as Sinterklaas and was originally aided by slaves, commonly known as Zwarte Piet ("Black Peter"). Some tales depict Zwarte Piet beating bad children with a rod or even taking them to Moorish Spain in a sack. Some consider the legend of Zwarte Piet to be racist because it refers to Sinterklaas having African slaves work for him in the days before pakjesavond (the 5th of December — the day on which presents are opened), even though the Zwarte Pieten are not depicted as slaves nowadays.
Some say that Zwarte Piet's job was listing children's wishes for Boxing Day, others say that his was keeping track of all the bad children in order to capture them in a sack and take them back to Spain. In recent decades this story has been altered and the former slaves have become modern servants who have black faces because they climb through chimneys and get blackened by the soot from the fire.
Amanitas and the xmas gnomes
James Arthur, an American Psychedelist and Enthomycologist, was a friend of mine when I lived in Fresno. He told me about his theory (which evolved into a series of published novels) which revolved around psychedelia and Christmas.
James' theory suggested that many of the modern features attributed to Santa Claus may somehow be derived from those of the Kamchatkan or Siberian shaman. During the midwinter festival (holiday season) in Siberia (near the North Pole), the shaman would enter a yurt (home) through the shangrak (chimney), bringing with him a sack of fly agaric mushrooms (presents) to give to the inhabitants.
This type of mushroom is brightly colored red and white, like Santa Claus. The mushrooms were often hung (to dry) in front of the fireplace, much like the stockings of modern-day Christmas. Furthermore, the mushrooms were associated with reindeer who were known to eat them and become intoxicated. Reindeer are also associated with the shaman, and like Santa Claus, many people believed that the shaman could fly.
Father Christmas
Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore merged with the British character Father Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
Santa in America
Modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the publication of the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (better known today as "The Night Before Christmas") wriitten on December 23, 1823. In this poem Santa is established as a heavyset individual with eight reindeer (who are named for the first time).
Santa Claus later appeared in various colored costumes as he gradually became amalgamated with the figure of Father Christmas, but red soon became popular after he appeared wearing such on an 1885 Christmas card. Still, one of the first artists to capture Santa Claus's image as we know him today was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century. Later, the mythology of Santa would be further refined to it's current incarnation by the works of the Rankin/Bass animation studios - makers of the stop motion Santa Clause musicals, which outlined and redefined the Santa Claus mythos into how it's known today.
Catholic Dogma
The Virgin Mary
The Virgin Mary is a mainstay in the catholic dogma. According the them, she is the beautiful and immaculate heart of the birth of Christ. She represents the virgin birth, she represents the sadness of the death of christ. Her image is the feminine quality of christ's compassion. It is reminiscent of the best qualities of motherhood and womanhood. Compassion is her keyword, and healing her trade. Mary is said to have birthed christ without having laid with Joseph. This is to illustrate that Christ is from God - the King of Kings. There is considerable amount of chatter over time about the nature of the virgin birth, and to what it's true essence is. But for the most part, it's viewed as if God itself came down and planted a seed in her womb. Guess it's good to be God.
Her virginity is the core part of her image, and may be the reason catholic girls cling to her image so desperately - after horses or the virgin mary little girls usually turn to women - with horses, it's pretty obvious as to why girls love their ponytails. There's an innocence to it, that you can somehow be an adult woman, be everything an adult woman is, yet, not have to spread your legs open to get what you want. They killed Joan of Arc for that, but for Mary, we still make statues, so realistic, she can actually manifest through them. The reason that girls love the Virgin Mary so much is the love is really of their own virginity. Before girls really come to terms with a nasty someting or other sliding up like the biblical snake into their soft-moist-tight little gardena, the idea of having babies but being "untouched" seems to help allieviate the tension surrounding the secrets their own bodies contain.
Actually, Mary (or Mirram) conceived Jesus with Joseph. This is what gives him the divine blood. Joseph is the heir of David - the true king of Judea. This is the secret that was trying to be surpressed. If Jesus was truely the blood son of Joseph, his line could be traced to King David, making Jesus the real king of Judea. Also, David's line goes back to Abraham, and eventually to Cain and further to Adam. Adam being the first man, and first son of god. So Jesus was part of the bloodline of Adam and so, a direct descendant from God.
Her virginity is in place to enforce the lies about Christ's life. The whole idea of divine sexuality is too heavy for the vatican. The rhetoriticians and dogmaticians want you to ignore Christ's sexuality.
The Children of Jesus
The descendants of Jesus eventually were lost (the so-called Scion of Christ). But a group of people emerged in Europe called the Merovingians - or the Franks - the race of french nobility that pushed back the Visigoths and the Moslem/Arabs. Their bloodline is closest related to the Illumintati, Alchemists, and other secret societies. They trace their line back to the original kings of the world - which were considered Gods among men. They are the basis for our culture and should be credited with the invention of commerce (mercantile - the word mer meaning ocean or sea), society, and racial and genetic engineering to create the races and languages of the world.
Atlantis was a place where super powerful beings - posing as gods and dressing as half men/half animals - created all the rules of society, invented cities and agriculture, and developed language and government. Of these, the Quintotaur lead and proclivated the atlantean society - both within the realms of Atlantis and with the rest of the world. When Atlantis fell, the survivors of the fallen super contintent fled to France. There, they set up shop, bred with the french, and formed a subdued but secret society of kings and leaders - today's Illuminati.
Yes, it's true the Merovigians are the very people that created the famed treasure described at La Tour De Magda. You really must read for yourself - if you have any advance knowledge of the Antideluvian world, the Tower of Babel or the Illuminati - you will certainly appreciate the irony. It's really curious to me that so many powerful entities are basically training us with this information, and the message is so powerful it keeps coming up.
The Gospel of Mary Magdelene
"...will, then, matter be saved or not?"
The Savior said, "All natures, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with one another and will again be resolved into their own roots, because the nature of matter is dissolved into the roots of its nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." [cf. Matt. 11:15, etc.].
Peter said to him, "Since you have now explained all things to us, tell us this: what is the sin of the world?" [cf. John 1:29]. The Savior said, "Sin as such does not exist, but you make sin when you do what is of the nature of fornication, which is called 'sin.' For this reason the Good came into your midst, to the essence of each nature, to restore it to its root." He went on to say, "For this reason you come into existence and die [...] whoever knows may know [...] a suffering which has nothing like itself, which has arisen out of what is contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in the whole body. For this reason I said to you, Be of good courage [cf. Matt. 28:9], and if you are discouraged, still take courage over against the various forms of nature. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." When the Blessed One said this, he greeted all of them, saying "Peace be with you [cf. John 14:27]. Receive my peace for yourselves. Take heed lest anyone lead you astray with the words, 'Lo, here!' or 'Lo, there!' [cf. Matt. 24:5, 23; Luke 17:21] for the Son of Man is within you [cf. Luke 17:21]. Follow him; those who seek him will find him [cf. Matt. 7:7]. Go, therefore, and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom [cf. Matt. 4:23; 9:15; Mark 16:15]. I have left no commandment but what I have commanded you, and I have given you no law, as the lawgiver did, lest you be bound by it."
They grieved and mourned greatly, saying, "How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If even he was not spared, how shall we be spared?"
Then Mary stood up and greeted all of them and said to her brethren, "Do not mourn or grieve or be irresolute, for his grace will be with you all and will defend you. Let us rather praise his greatness, for he prepared us and made us into men." When Mary said this, their hearts changed for the better, and they began to discuss the words of the [Savior].
Peter said to Mary, "Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than other women [cf. John 11:5, Luke 10:38-42]. Tell us the words of the Savior which you have in mind since you know them; and we do not, nor have we heard of them."
Mary answered and said, "What is hidden from you I will impart to you." And she began to say the following words to them. "I," she said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, 'Lord, I saw you today in a vision.' He answered and said to me, 'Blessed are you, since you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is your countenance' [cf. Matt. 6:21]. I said to him, 'Lord, the mind which sees the vision, does it see it through the soul or through the spirit?' The Savior answered and said, 'It sees neither through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind, which is between the two, which sees the vision, and it is...'"
"...and Desire said, 'I did not see you descend; but now I see you rising. Why do you speak falsely, when you belong to me?' The soul answered and said, 'I saw you, but you did not see me or recognize me; I served you as a garment and you did not recognize me.' After it had said this, it went joyfully and gladly away. Again it came to the third power, Ignorance. This power questioned the soul: 'Whither are you going? You were bound in wickedness, you were bound indeed. Judge not' [cf. Matt. 7:1]. And the soul said, 'Why do you judge me, when I judged not? I was bound, though I did not bind. I was not recognized, but I recognized that all will go free, things both earthly and heavenly.' After the soul had left the third power behind, it rose upward, and saw the fourth power, which had seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth the arousing of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the wisdom of the folly of the flesh, the seventh is wrathful wisdom. These are the seven participants in wrath. They ask the soul, 'Whence do you come, killer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?' The soul answered and said, 'What seizes me is killed; what turns me about is overcome; my desire has come to an end and ignorance is dead. In a world I was saved from a world, and in a "type," from a higher "type" and from the fetter of the impotence of knowledge, the existence of which is temporal. From this time I will reach rest in the time of the moment of the Aeon in silence.'"
When Mary had said this, she was silent, since the Savior had spoken thus far with her. But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, 'Say what you think concerning what she said. For I do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are of other ideas."
Peter also opposed her in regard to these matters and asked them about the Savior. "Did he then speak secretly with a woman [cf. John 4:27], in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?" Then Mary grieved and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart or that I am lying concerning the Savior?"
Levi answered and said to Peter, "Peter, you are always irate. Now I see that you are contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knew her very well [cf. Luke 10:38- 42]. For this reason he loved her more than us [cf. John 11:5]. And we should rather be ashamed and put on the Perfect Man, to form us [?] as he commanded us, and proclaim the gospel, without publishing a further commandment or a further law than the one which the Savior spoke." When Levi had said this, they began to go out in order to proclaim him and preach him.
The Virgin Mary is a mainstay in the catholic dogma. According the them, she is the beautiful and immaculate heart of the birth of Christ. She represents the virgin birth, she represents the sadness of the death of christ. Her image is the feminine quality of christ's compassion. It is reminiscent of the best qualities of motherhood and womanhood. Compassion is her keyword, and healing her trade. Mary is said to have birthed christ without having laid with Joseph. This is to illustrate that Christ is from God - the King of Kings. There is considerable amount of chatter over time about the nature of the virgin birth, and to what it's true essence is. But for the most part, it's viewed as if God itself came down and planted a seed in her womb. Guess it's good to be God.
Her virginity is the core part of her image, and may be the reason catholic girls cling to her image so desperately - after horses or the virgin mary little girls usually turn to women - with horses, it's pretty obvious as to why girls love their ponytails. There's an innocence to it, that you can somehow be an adult woman, be everything an adult woman is, yet, not have to spread your legs open to get what you want. They killed Joan of Arc for that, but for Mary, we still make statues, so realistic, she can actually manifest through them. The reason that girls love the Virgin Mary so much is the love is really of their own virginity. Before girls really come to terms with a nasty someting or other sliding up like the biblical snake into their soft-moist-tight little gardena, the idea of having babies but being "untouched" seems to help allieviate the tension surrounding the secrets their own bodies contain.
Actually, Mary (or Mirram) conceived Jesus with Joseph. This is what gives him the divine blood. Joseph is the heir of David - the true king of Judea. This is the secret that was trying to be surpressed. If Jesus was truely the blood son of Joseph, his line could be traced to King David, making Jesus the real king of Judea. Also, David's line goes back to Abraham, and eventually to Cain and further to Adam. Adam being the first man, and first son of god. So Jesus was part of the bloodline of Adam and so, a direct descendant from God.
Her virginity is in place to enforce the lies about Christ's life. The whole idea of divine sexuality is too heavy for the vatican. The rhetoriticians and dogmaticians want you to ignore Christ's sexuality.
The Children of Jesus
The descendants of Jesus eventually were lost (the so-called Scion of Christ). But a group of people emerged in Europe called the Merovingians - or the Franks - the race of french nobility that pushed back the Visigoths and the Moslem/Arabs. Their bloodline is closest related to the Illumintati, Alchemists, and other secret societies. They trace their line back to the original kings of the world - which were considered Gods among men. They are the basis for our culture and should be credited with the invention of commerce (mercantile - the word mer meaning ocean or sea), society, and racial and genetic engineering to create the races and languages of the world.
Atlantis was a place where super powerful beings - posing as gods and dressing as half men/half animals - created all the rules of society, invented cities and agriculture, and developed language and government. Of these, the Quintotaur lead and proclivated the atlantean society - both within the realms of Atlantis and with the rest of the world. When Atlantis fell, the survivors of the fallen super contintent fled to France. There, they set up shop, bred with the french, and formed a subdued but secret society of kings and leaders - today's Illuminati.
Yes, it's true the Merovigians are the very people that created the famed treasure described at La Tour De Magda. You really must read for yourself - if you have any advance knowledge of the Antideluvian world, the Tower of Babel or the Illuminati - you will certainly appreciate the irony. It's really curious to me that so many powerful entities are basically training us with this information, and the message is so powerful it keeps coming up.
The Gospel of Mary Magdelene
"...will, then, matter be saved or not?"
The Savior said, "All natures, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with one another and will again be resolved into their own roots, because the nature of matter is dissolved into the roots of its nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." [cf. Matt. 11:15, etc.].
Peter said to him, "Since you have now explained all things to us, tell us this: what is the sin of the world?" [cf. John 1:29]. The Savior said, "Sin as such does not exist, but you make sin when you do what is of the nature of fornication, which is called 'sin.' For this reason the Good came into your midst, to the essence of each nature, to restore it to its root." He went on to say, "For this reason you come into existence and die [...] whoever knows may know [...] a suffering which has nothing like itself, which has arisen out of what is contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in the whole body. For this reason I said to you, Be of good courage [cf. Matt. 28:9], and if you are discouraged, still take courage over against the various forms of nature. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." When the Blessed One said this, he greeted all of them, saying "Peace be with you [cf. John 14:27]. Receive my peace for yourselves. Take heed lest anyone lead you astray with the words, 'Lo, here!' or 'Lo, there!' [cf. Matt. 24:5, 23; Luke 17:21] for the Son of Man is within you [cf. Luke 17:21]. Follow him; those who seek him will find him [cf. Matt. 7:7]. Go, therefore, and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom [cf. Matt. 4:23; 9:15; Mark 16:15]. I have left no commandment but what I have commanded you, and I have given you no law, as the lawgiver did, lest you be bound by it."
They grieved and mourned greatly, saying, "How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If even he was not spared, how shall we be spared?"
Then Mary stood up and greeted all of them and said to her brethren, "Do not mourn or grieve or be irresolute, for his grace will be with you all and will defend you. Let us rather praise his greatness, for he prepared us and made us into men." When Mary said this, their hearts changed for the better, and they began to discuss the words of the [Savior].
Peter said to Mary, "Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than other women [cf. John 11:5, Luke 10:38-42]. Tell us the words of the Savior which you have in mind since you know them; and we do not, nor have we heard of them."
Mary answered and said, "What is hidden from you I will impart to you." And she began to say the following words to them. "I," she said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, 'Lord, I saw you today in a vision.' He answered and said to me, 'Blessed are you, since you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is your countenance' [cf. Matt. 6:21]. I said to him, 'Lord, the mind which sees the vision, does it see it through the soul or through the spirit?' The Savior answered and said, 'It sees neither through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind, which is between the two, which sees the vision, and it is...'"
"...and Desire said, 'I did not see you descend; but now I see you rising. Why do you speak falsely, when you belong to me?' The soul answered and said, 'I saw you, but you did not see me or recognize me; I served you as a garment and you did not recognize me.' After it had said this, it went joyfully and gladly away. Again it came to the third power, Ignorance. This power questioned the soul: 'Whither are you going? You were bound in wickedness, you were bound indeed. Judge not' [cf. Matt. 7:1]. And the soul said, 'Why do you judge me, when I judged not? I was bound, though I did not bind. I was not recognized, but I recognized that all will go free, things both earthly and heavenly.' After the soul had left the third power behind, it rose upward, and saw the fourth power, which had seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth the arousing of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the wisdom of the folly of the flesh, the seventh is wrathful wisdom. These are the seven participants in wrath. They ask the soul, 'Whence do you come, killer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?' The soul answered and said, 'What seizes me is killed; what turns me about is overcome; my desire has come to an end and ignorance is dead. In a world I was saved from a world, and in a "type," from a higher "type" and from the fetter of the impotence of knowledge, the existence of which is temporal. From this time I will reach rest in the time of the moment of the Aeon in silence.'"
When Mary had said this, she was silent, since the Savior had spoken thus far with her. But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, 'Say what you think concerning what she said. For I do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are of other ideas."
Peter also opposed her in regard to these matters and asked them about the Savior. "Did he then speak secretly with a woman [cf. John 4:27], in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?" Then Mary grieved and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart or that I am lying concerning the Savior?"
Levi answered and said to Peter, "Peter, you are always irate. Now I see that you are contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knew her very well [cf. Luke 10:38- 42]. For this reason he loved her more than us [cf. John 11:5]. And we should rather be ashamed and put on the Perfect Man, to form us [?] as he commanded us, and proclaim the gospel, without publishing a further commandment or a further law than the one which the Savior spoke." When Levi had said this, they began to go out in order to proclaim him and preach him.
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