When women were birds
Spring symbols, archetypes and the alchemical prima materia
"Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated."
~ Terry Tempest Williams
Spring , Eostre, Easter & more
From Osirus, to Horus, Cybele, Ishtar, Persephone, Eostre and the Christ, legendary tales of demise and rebirth, abound and cross pollinate, bringing us a sense of hope and renewal. Spring has sprung and the cycle of life is once more reborn.
Spring is a trickster having many different days where she officially begins, whether we refer to it as a period of time or a specific day like the Spring Equinox, Eostre, Easter, Veneralia or by many other names. Perhaps you don't put this yearly occurrence into a linear, left brain box and instead observe a shift in the weather, plants or behaviors of animals, such as the ground hog.
Whether we use names or not, we welcome her with open arms as we transition from a cold dreary winter to a landscape anticipating the vitality of bright new color hues, scents, and the songs of both the birds and the bees.
“It was much pleasanter at home," thought poor Alice, "when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down the rabbit-hole--and yet--and yet--...”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
If you are a long time follower of my words, you are aware that I enjoy the adventure of delving into deep rabbit holes, very appropo for today. I explore both words and associated mythologies that humans have chosen to attribute to different days, festivals, etc. I have an exploratory nature in those realms, an affinity with the roots of things and more ancestral & pagan traditions when humans lived in harmony with nature.
A re-occurring theme that author Leonard Schlain writes about in his book The Alphabet Vs The Goddess is the patriarchal trend of usurping a female deity with a masculine one. For example the attributes of the ancient Goddess Eostra point to influencing more recent traditions, such as Christianity who appear to have adopted the Springtime symbols to denote the Easter Resurrection of Christ. Or was the influence Osirus, from the period of the descending yuga cycle in Egypt, or is it just a re-occuring theme in the human experience?
Goddesses of Fertility
The word Easter derives from Eostre, (or Ostara), a pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom Eosturmonath (April), was dedicated. Her sacred symbols are rabbits, birds and eggs, and she is the archetype of renewal and rebirth.
Modern writers attribute Eostre to be a "goddess of Dawn", sometimes depicted with a hares head, however there is no Celtic depiction of an Eostre whatsoever. It is likely the name of the Spring Goddess was lost and the name "Eastre" was substituted in the transcriptions of the 8th century. We also have a reference of the word Eatre and Easter refering to the East, and the word Ostara, a derivative of the word Eostre representing spring and new beginnings.
Veneralia, the feast of Venus, is celebrated on April 1st. April by the Romans was considered the month of Venus, just after March, attributed to the war God Mars. In Greece the name for Venus, the Goddess of Love and Fertility, was Aphrodite (Aphro meaning seafoam, and dite, bright.)
Journeying further back we have Astarte from Phoenicia, a deity that may have been worshipped as far back as 1000BC and Hathor, an ancient Egyptian goddess depicted as a celestial cow-deity said to have arrived from the Milky Way. Hathor is viewed as the divine mother and the goddess of art & pleasure and potential source material for Venus, Aphrodite and Mary.
We already know that a Goddess oriented cultures existed long before the patriarchal Gods took over sacred sites where names were changed. It's possible that with the melting polar caps, particularly in Antartica, more clues into ancient time will be revealed.
All these rabbit holes begin feeling like a maze and can get quote confusing, bringing us back where we started with our contemporary heroine and Goddess of Spring, Alice of the Wonder Land. What is clear, and ultimately uniting all of us, is that the celebration of spring is present in many ancient customs, across all cultures.
CORRESPONDENCE
One of the key tenants in Alchemy is that of Correspondence, which relates to being aware of the relationship of patterns. When the simple language of correspondence is understood alchemical theory begins to reveal its secrets.
Consider one of the most famous doctrines of alchemy that has become a popular paraphrase of the second verse of the Emerald Tablet “As above, so below; as within, so without” a reference to how the Above corresponds to the Below, the Inside to the Outside, and ultimately Consciousness to Matter.
“Tis true without lying, certain and most true. That which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracle of one only thing. And as all things have been and arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.”
— English translation of the Emerald Tablet by Isaac Newton[4]
Spring is a time of transformation, taking place on both an exterior and interior level as we defrost and emerge from a dark cocoon. Renewed by a period of deep reflection, we birth ourselves anew to the brightness and warmth of the extended sunlight. Throughout the various traditions that celebrate Spring and Easter we find similar symbols and themes, such as: eggs, bunnies, snake, resurrection and rebirth.
Below is a list of archetypes and attributes associated with this season.
The SNAKE 🐍
Snake: symbol of letting go, shedding to birth anew and awakening. In alchemy we refer to matter as our "prima materia", the first matter, the ouroboros, where everything begins and ends. Ancient texts mention the symbol of the ouroboros appearing in Egypt circa1690 BC. The serpentine image later appears in Greece where we get the origins of the word “oura” meaning “tail” and “bόros” meaning “eating”. In many alchemical texts the image depicts a serpent or dragon, or both, eating its own tail. The circular image reminds us of how nature is cyclical, the "eternal return” and primordial unity.
The EGG 🥚
“In alchemy the egg stands for the chaos apprehended by the artifex, the prima materia containing the captive world-soul. Out of the egg — symbolized by the round cooking vessel — will rise the eagle or phoenix, the liberated soul, which is ultimately identical with the Anthropos who was imprisoned in the embrace of Physis.”
~ Carl Jung
Collectively this seasonal marker is a time for the human mind to ingest, incubate and hatch the symbolism of the "egg" as an archetype for liberation.
In contemplating the symbol of the “egg” as a popular thematic image and archetype, we have a theory of the Cosmic Egg as the source of all creation. For example the world egg in Vedic mythology refers to an egg shaped Universe. Most interesting to me is the Upanishads where the universe divides into two halves, alluding to the duality principal in Alchemy as well as the Ouroboros, symbolizing the unity of all things through the eternal process of change.
In August of 2003, when Greg and I attended the Visionary Art workshop titled Old Masters, New Visions in Austria, I learned a deeper meaning to the symbolism of the egg. We were there to learn the Mishe technique of painting, where a whole egg was utilized. This elaborate, time consuming painting procedure has its roots with the Flemish brother painters Jan and Hubert van Eyck.
By utilizing a whole egg in combination with a specific layering of different colored glazes light is able to pass through the painting to produce a glass like appearance, resulting in fantastical depth to a two dimensional painted image.
The egg is referred to as the Hermetic Vase, a vessel of transformation. As we used the whole egg to create the under painting in the workshop, we experienced a deeper meaning of the symbolism of the egg as it became a conductor of light and transformation. In turn, I was transformed and had the insight to create "Illuminated Perfume", weaving all my talents into one inspired vision.
“The shell must break before the bird can fly.”
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
The “flowering” of the landscape is another way to perceive the symbol of transformation. The image above, by artist Laurie Lipton bears similarities to the Rebis image below of the hermaphrodite contained in the alchemical egg.
These alchemical images along with a recent series of synchronisities have me to cycling back to drawing and painting, which I am now seeing part of a new cycle of creativity and rebirth.
The Hare / Rabbit 🐰
Symbol of Good fortune, abundance, bringer of life, fertility, spontaneity and intuition.
Let us re-member the March Hare 🐇 which has sacred, pagan and mystical associations. In medieval times this was a major fertility symbol. March is the start of the rabbit and hare mating season and these creatures tend to behave erratically at this time of year, bouncing around wildly with lots of extra energy.
I'm also rather keen on Frank in a rabbit costume from Donnie Darko. Frank represents how rabbits weave in and out of tunnels, in the way that Donnie weaves in and out of alternate universes and travels through time.
Goats 🐐
Back in a not so distant past, on a Spring day when I lived along the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains we took a walk up the street to the trail. I was curious to see what plants were currently flowering in the Chaparral. The Oaks had just finished their pollinating phase and were green and robust at the time with many little baby oaks sprouting in the queerest of places.
On a whim, we decided to take a different trail from the norm. To our great surprise we came to a fenced clearing that had about ten goats! As we approached they all rushed over, greeting us with their merry bleats. It felt appropriate to come across the lovely family of goats at the Vernal Equinox when we bow to the splendor of nature.
Pan is the Greek God of the woods and fields, as well as flocks. He is depicted as half man half goat and considered the personification of nature. I am especially found of the portrayal of Mr. Tumnus, by James McEvoy, in the film version of The Chronicles of Narnia.
SPRING "Illuminated" Perfumes
Floral perfumes are the most aligned with the energetics of Eostre, Spring, and Easter but fragrances in the green family also work nicely. From our illuminated line I suggest either Vera (fresh, herbal, fougere), Hedera helix (Deep, rich forest green) or one of the many fresher florals such as Lyra, Fleurish and Aurora, find them all in their varied formats as well as sample sets here.
Although a floral perfume is probably the right mode for Easter, I've chosen Chaparral solid for myself today. The herbal woodiness in this natural botanical perfume is exactly what I was craving for my day and the next topic I’m writing about, stay tuned.