SPRING EQUINOX: A TIME OF BALANCE AND REBIRTH

The Vernal or Spring Equinox, which occurred, March 20, 2019, is easily the most important astronomical event of the year. It was a time of almost equal hours of sunlight and darkness in a day. It signaled a new beginning: a time of balance, change, rebirth, resurrection and fertility. It was a time to clean up the fields and sow new seeds after the cold barren winter. Indeed, it was used to mark the beginning of the astronomical year. (January 1 became the new year in 46 BC as decreed by Julius Caesar).  

The spring equinox’s lures were so profound that it has been celebrated, incarnated, reincarnated  and deified with myths and legends abounding in almost all major civilizations, since antiquity. Indeed, it is the common thread in many major religions and cultures since Mesopotamia and was based on the position of the sun in the sky. 

On a philosophical note, the spring equinox is a time of balance as there is an equal amount of sunlight (good) and darkness (bad). It is the beginning of a time when the light (good) conquers darkness (bad) for 6 months as the hours of daylight per day begin to lengthen until it reaches its longest on June 22, beginning of summer. It is a time to clear out the negatives and to start new projects and relationships. It’s a time to resurrect the positive energy that flows within but has been dormant.

Undoubtedly, the magic of spring has had such a cocaine hallucinating addictive type effect on mankind since creation that its deification and worship is almost surreptitious.

WHAT’S MAGICAL ABOUT THE VERNAL (SPRING) EQUINOX

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Spring Equinox can take place on March 19, 20 or 21. The Vernal or Spring equinox is also called “the first day of spring“, with vernal meaning spring or “fresh” and equinox meaning equal nights. On March 20, the sun moves from south of the celestial equator to north of the equator. The hours of day lights, which have been getting longer since the winter solstice, Dec. 20 – 23, now equals the nights in length. 

From March 20, until the summer solstice on June 20 – 21, the sunlight will gradually get longer because the sun will be higher in the sky, giving more hours of sunlight. (If you were noticing, night fall comes much earlier in December than say in June).

Also, if you live in North America you will understand and feel the magic that early man was experiencing when spring came.  It was life anew: the birds that flew south were returning; the trees were putting out leaves as if resurrected; the snow was gone and long lonely days of winter were gone. More hours of sun means warmer, I mean hotter, days. Warmer days mean more farming, more food supplies  and more fun and frolic. It was magic happening.

It begs the question, who are what was causing this magic and rebirth of life. Naturally, it would not only be important to know but also prudent to help encourage these entities to act favourable to man through worship and praise. Since the creator, to whom all praise is due,  is a spirit and cannot be seen, man created god (s) in his own image and likeness based on astrological designs. The spring equinox was one of the first deity created to give recognition to nature.

EASTER (ISHTAR): MAGIC MEETS MYSTICISM

According to popular myths and legends , Inanna, was the first name for the Spring Equinox deity as coined by the ancient Sumerian who called her goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, justice, and political power. She was also known as the Queen of Heaven. Later on, Inanna was worshiped by the Babylonians and Assyrians under the name Ishtar or Ashtoreth or (goddess of fertility).In Greek Mythology she was called Aphrodite and her husband was Adonis or Dumuzid the Shepherd (later known as Tammuz). Ancient Egypt had her as Isis and her husband Osiris. German (Eostre) and Anglo Saxons (Easter) were similar. She was associated with the planet Venus, the morning star, the brightest object in the sky. 

EASTER AND SEMIRAMIS, WIFE OF NIMROD

Some Easter legends and myths also include Nimrod of the tower of babel fame, and his wife, Semiramis. After his death, Nimrod became the sun god  and used his rays of light to impregnate his wife, now a widow. 

The child  was called Tammuz , son of the sun god and was responsible for bringing light into the world and to fight darkness.

After, Semiramis’s death, Nimrod sent her back to earth as the Spring fertility goddess, Ashtoreth or Easter. She emerged from a giant egg that landed in the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia on the Spring Equinox. To prove her divine authority, Semiramis, changed a bird into an egg laying rabbit. (Easter eggs and rabbits?)

The tragedy continued with Tammuz being killed by a boar (hog) at age 40. In order to bring him back to life, the idea of 40 days of abstinence from wantonness and red meat was instituted. One day for each year of his life.  His death celebrations (now Lent) are tied to Easter, with the beginning (called Ash Wednesday) being 40 days counting backward, from Easter, without the Sundays. Sundays are “Holy days”. Ham or pig was eaten at Easter in remembrance of Tammuz’s death. 

KEEPING TRACK OF THE SPRING EQUINOX AND EASTER

To keep track of the beginning of spring in order to worship Easter was no easy feat despite the use of calendars. Today, we are used to a solar calendar with New Years Day falling on January 1; a “year” of 12 months (365 1/4 days) which was based on the earth’s rotation around the sun. 

However, the early Romans, had a lunar calendar with 10 months of 304 days, much less than the solar 365 1/4 days. The year begun in March. Romulus, the legendary first ruler of Rome, is accredited with this calendar in 753 B.C.E. 

The Roman ruler Numa Pompilius , 713 BCE, was credited in adding January at the beginning and February at the end of the calendar to create the 12-month year  This made the Roman year 355 days long but still shorter than the solar 365 1/4 as it was still lunar. 

Julius Caesar, corrected this in  46 B.C. by making that year  445 days long by imperial decree, bringing the calendar back in step with the seasons. He made the solar year (with the value of 365 days and 6 hours) the new basis for the calendar. The months were 30 or 31 days in length, and to take care of the 6 hours, every fourth year was made a 366-day year. Moreover, Caesar decreed the year began with the first of January, not with the traditional vernal equinox in late March.

However, despite this correction, the Julian calendar was still 11¹/2 minutes longer than the actual solar year, and after a number of centuries, even 11¹/2 minutes adds up.

The Church became concerned with this problem, as it was affecting the actual date of the spring equinox, and in the 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar. The Gregorian calendar omitted 10 days for that year and established the new rule that only one of every four centennial years should be a leap year. In short, the new formula for calculating leap years required the year to be evenly divisible by 4; that the year cannot be evenly divided by 100, unless it is also evenly divisible by 400. 

FACTS, FICTION AND FALLACY OF EASTER AND THE SPRING EQUINOX 

Let’s recall that a fact is a thing done or known to be true or existent; in reality. On the other hand a fiction is ” invented statement or narrative;  conventionally accepted false hood. Fallacy is ” mistaken belief; faulty reasoning or misleading argument. Some prevailing facts, fiction and fallacy surrounding the Spring Equinox and Easter are outlined below. 

Spring equinox is an astronomical event that was once used to note the beginning of the year. This is a fact and it still does. It occurs between March 19 – 21, when the sun moves from south of the celestial equator to north of the equator and the day light equaled the dark night in length, or  “equinox” — Latin for “equal nights.”

The spring equinox was deified and worshiped. Fact. Since the spring equinox promised balance, the beginning of fertility and rebirth, it was made into  “goddess of fertility” and the “queen of heaven” since antiquity. Fact. She went under different names such as Inanna, Ishtar, Easter and Ashtoreth,  before Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah or even Jesus Christ was born..  

Easter, as the deification of the spring equinox was calculated using the full moon after the spring equinox. Fact,  It is now held on the Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox as decreed by Constantine at the Nicea council in AD 326. Since, it is dependent on the full moon after the spring equinox, it can be as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. Recall last year 2018, Easter was fittingly on April 1 or All’ Fools’ Day. This year it is April 21. It will be on April 12, 2020.

Easter was not originally in recognition of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is a fact that Easter is now being taught as the “death and resurrection of Christ, but in reality it is fiction with fallacy. It was not an original intention. The evidence is that Easter was before Christ and was only attached to Christ, 326 years after his death by Emperor Constantine at Council of Nicea. This convenient marriage of old Roman paganism, Easter, with Christ’s name was a political and civil decision to appease the followers of Christ and continue the old mystery religion of Rome.  

Christ died on Friday and not Wednesday? Fiction and fallacy.  It is is myth and mistaken belief or faulty reasoning. Friday to Sunday is not three days and three nights.

The logic of Jonas:“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:38-40). 

Most people tend to agree that by early Sunday morning Christ had risen from the dead. They tend to disagree about when he was killed. Counting backward, from his resurrection, Sunday,  logically, three days and three nights would be Wednesday. 

What, wasn’t Christ crucified on a Friday? Let us check. The fact is the bible said he was killed the day before the Sabbath. We normally assume that the day before the sabbath is Friday. Most times this is true but did you notice that there were two Sabbaths mentioned in the week when Christ was crucified. A High Sabbath and the Saturday Sabbath. Well, it is the key to unlocking the day of death of Christ.

According to John 19:31, “the Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” 

According to Leviticus 23, there are seven (7) High Sabbaths, and one is celebrated annually on Nisan 14 which is roughly March/April. These High Sabbaths and the regular Saturday Sabbath are different. The High Sabbath in March/April can fall on any day of the week. it is always Nisan 14. It is celebrated after the Passover in remembrance of the Israelite’s  exodus from Egypt, not the killing of Christ. 

You may recall, Christ rode into town on an ass on “palm” Sunday for the upcoming Passover, spent Monday in Jerusalem, the next day Tuesday; after he had the Passover dinner with his disciples, he was arrested  in the garden of Gethsemane in the night. He was tried and killed the next day Wednesday by 3 pm, which was the preparation day for the High Sabbath, the following day, Thursday. The High Sabbath, Thursday came and went. 

On Friday, the day after the High Sabbath, the women bought and prepared spices for Christ’s body but could not get it done on time as they had to prepare for the upcoming Saturday Sabbath, which began Friday evening. They decided that they would wait until Sunday, after the Saturday Sabbath, to put the spice on Christ, but when they had reached his tomb early Sunday morning he was already risen as they were told by an angel.

So in practice, every year, the week with Nisan 14 has two Sabbaths unless Nisan 14 also falls on the Saturday. So in actuality, Christ was killed the day before the High Sabbath, not the day before the Saturday Sabbath.

Still a bit fuzzy? Get your Bible and remember that in Christ’s time, a day begun at sun set or in the evening. Not at midnight as we now do. So Saturday actually begun Friday evening and ended Saturday evening with Sunday beginning Saturday evening and finishing Sunday evening. 

http://www.eaec.org/bibleanswers/passover-week-two-sabbaths.htm

DAY/TIME	EVENTS	Days/night of death
“Palm”  Sunday	Christ rode into Jerusalem town on an ass) Matthew 21:1-16	0
Monday	Spent his time preaching in the temple Spoke parables such as the wicked tenants, Discussed his views on the right to pay taxes Declared that the greatest commandment is that we should love the Lord thy god with all our heart, soul and mind. Cursed the Pharisees. Upon leaving the temple he told the parable of the 10 virgins. Judas went to the authorities. Matthew 21:23-27	0
Tuesday	Back to Jerusalem Matthew 26:17-19 Passover meal in the evening, Exposed Judas. After the meal they went to the garden of Gethsemane arrested and brought before the Jews later in the night. Matthew 26:47-56	0
Wednesday	Tried and whipped early morning, 9 am Matthew 27:2-50 Crucified at midday Christ dead at 3 pm removed from the cross, wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb before 6 pm. No time to prepare his body for burial as they had to prepare for the High Annual Sabbath  on Thursday, in a few hours. John 19 vs 31 Annual High Sabbath (Feast of unleavened bread) begun at 6 pm.	First night (6 pm – 6 am)
Thursday	Christ is already dead. Luke 23:43-46 Annual High Sabbath (Feast of unleavened bread) continued. High Sabbath ends Thursday evening Thursday evening at sunset. Christ still dead.	First day (6 am to 6 pm) Second night (6 pm – 6 am)
“Good” Friday	Friday sunrise Christ is already dead After the end of the High sabbath Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint the dead. Mark 16:1-2 Spices which were bought were prepared in the day on Friday but they had to stop as the evening, Saturday Sabbath, was approaching. They planned to come back first thing Sunday morning, after the Saturday Sabbath to anoint the body. The women rested on the Saturday Sabbath day (starting from Friday evening). Luke 23:55 – 24:1	Second day (6 am to 6 pm) Third night (6 pm – 6 am)
Saturday	Christ is still dead in the morning Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James continue resting during the Saturday Sabbath until it ended on  Saturday evening. Christ risen Saturday evening before sunset or Sunday.	Third day (6 am to 6 pm)
Sunday	Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James visit Jesus tomb on the Sunday, at dawn first day of the week. Matthew 28:1-10 Christ already risen from Saturday evening	Fourth day

Hence, we can count three days and nights backwards from Sunday to Wednesday, and we can count forward, three days and three nights if we go forward from being killed the day after Passover dinner to his resurrection before end of day Saturday or beginning of Sunday.

Evidence of Easter in the Bible

The spring equinox (Easter) is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament indicating its existence before and during the time of Christ. 

2 Kings 23:13 which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for  Ashtoreth   the abomination of the Zidonians,

1 Kings 11:5-6. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.

1 Kings 11:33. I will do this (split the nation) because they have forsaken me and

worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians…., ,

So the people of Israel removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only Yahuwah.  (1 Samuel 7:3,4)

The women were engaged in kneading dough and baking cakes of bread for the “Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18). Ezek 8:14 behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. (Lent) 

Acts 12: 4 state that ⁴ And when he (Herod) had apprehended him (Peter), he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. 

SPRING EQUINOX, EASTER AND CHRIST

The deification of the spring equinox as the goddess of fertility has been a natural development due to astronomical events.  The spring equinox is simply nature doing its work of rebirth, balance and fertility. However, man’s attempt to control his destiny, has led to the deification of the beginning of spring as Ishatr, goddess of fertility or queen of heaven. Today, Christianity has embraced Easter as the death and resurrection of Christ. Although this might seem naive if not dubious, it has accomplished what Constantine, Emperor of Rome intended and decreed at the council of Nicea AD 326: the marrying of Christ’s name with pagan Easter will allow for Christianity to be legalized, the gods continuing being happy and the republic of Rome flourish.