Easter Blessings

Whatever your belief system is, you can create your own way to tap into the energy of Easter if you would like to!

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Traditionally Easter is celebrated in the Spring, sometimes in March and sometimes in April. This year the Spring Equinox was on March 20th, so Easter is arriving a whole month after Spring sprang. What is blossoming around you, and what has yet to bloom? The energy of Easter is typically closely connected to the spirit of Aries – representing renewal, forward movement in the form of action and beginnings. This year, Easter happens to be celebrated at the start of Taurus season – so still capturing the essence of Aries with the ‘start’ of a new sun sign season – but really calling us to slow down, relish in the pleasures of life and appreciate the beauty within us and around us. Easter also happens to be extra special from a personal perspective this year, sharing the date with my daughter’s birthday.😊 How much do you know about the history of Easter, and how do you like to celebrate? The roots of Easter date back to the second century. Pascha is the first recorded name for the holiday, stemming from the Hebrew word Pesach, meaning Passover. It is said that Pagans celebrated Easter as the ‘Spring Equinox’ – while Christianity celebrated and still celebrates Easter as the gift of hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The term Easter was born from the Old English word Eostrun, and the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Bridging to the topic of the religious and spiritual connection for a moment… As somebody who happens to be religious, as well as spiritual – believe it is worth offering that you can choose to appreciate and participate in the history and traditions of something even if you do not fully associate yourself with a particular religion, spiritual or ritualistic practice. You can tap into whatever you believe in and create your own way to experience the holiday if you decide to! Diving deeper into energy healing practices over the years, it has been interesting to experience the resistance some people have to certain practices because of their belief systems. Holding that space from a place of compassion, grace, respect and non-judgement has been expansive for personal growth. For example, as a certified Usui Holy Fire® Karuna Reiki® Master, I have experienced that the word ‘holy’ either calls people closer to this style of reiki or brings up certain religious triggers causing some people to push it away. Or as a certified Trauma-Informed Kundalini Warrior Yoga Teacher, I have experienced that some people are not open to practicing this style of yoga because of their personal beliefs conflicting with certain things they have heard about its origins, while others gravitate towards it because of the change agent the kriya provides them. This is where I believe it can be powerful to appreciate and accept that you can lean into some of the more spiritual aspects of Holy Fire® Karuna Reiki® if you would like to, but you do not need to – you can set a powerful intention to be open-minded and hearted and take things with a grain of salt. The same can be said for Kundalini Yoga. The personal intention is what matters, and going with how the movement personally makes you feel, and how combining the intention with the mindful movement can create positive change for you. Believe this can be true for holidays that have religious and spiritual roots too. What have your experiences been with the connection between organized religion and spirituality? Now bridging back to Easter… Easter, Passover and other holidays or traditions that are closely aligned are known as moveable feasts, meaning they are not celebrated on fixed dates. Movable feasts follow the cycle of the sun and seasons. In fact, Emperor Constantine declared in 325 AD, that Easter be celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon, following the Spring Equinox. In Christianity, Easter represents the end of lent – a 40-day period where people are called to sacrifice, pray and fast – and culminates with the holy week including Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday – with Good Friday being the day that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and three days later he rose again on Easter Sunday. So in this way, Easter is also shining a light on the power of death and overcoming darkness. Decorating easter eggs began as a way to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ – with the baby chick hatching from the egg. The tradition of egg hunts and rolls follow similar symbolism – representing fertility and the birth of new life. The Easter bunny, or ‘Oschter Haws’ as Germans in the 17th century referred to this furry creature, also incorporates the element of eggs. It was said that the Oschter Haws would hop around and deliver colorful eggs to the baskets of children who were well-behaved. Sound familiar? Jolly Saint Nicholas and Christmas are coming to mind here. 😉 Some other unique traditions and symbolism of Easter include things like… • Flying Kites: A tradition that originated from Bermuda where a teacher gave students kites to fly as a way to symbolize Jesus’ ascension, and ultimately our own ascension someday if you believe. Are there other items that symbolize ascension for you? • Gathering: Visiting friends and family to share a meal and ‘break bread’ - specifically hot cross buns symbolize the end of Lent and are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. People often also congregate for various types of religious ceremonies to pray and pay respect or even march in and watch parades. Where do you typically gather, with who and what do you enjoy eating? • Decorating: Lilly’s are a traditional holiday flower and are often gifted or adorn people’s dwellings during this time period. Of course decorating eggs and gifting them, and also making crosses from Easter palms. How do you like to decorate for this holiday, and are there any special decorations you have made or any that have been passed down through the generations? With Easter being celebrated during Taurus season this year, what are some new pleasures you would like to experience? As a fixed sign, this may be Taurus’ way of being a bit bullish by contradicting the ‘moveable feast’ connotation of this holiday. Perhaps this year, Easter is going to ground you down into the ways you typically celebrate, rather than invite something or someone new in. There may be another contribution via MoonX covering Taurus season, so will not expand too much on that here. Believe we have covered a lot of ground with the topic of Easter. As Venus, the ruler of Taurus would say, sending lots of love, beauty and blessings your way – on Easter and every day! Grateful for you, and thank you for reading. I would love to hear from you in the comments. What are you feeling called to share?