Remembering Eostre

Eastre (a.k.a. Eostre) was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people of Northern Europe. Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: eastre. Other variations of the name for goddesses of fertility were Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos.

The female powers in animist cultures were much more powerful to people than the male powers. This was because females had the power to create new life. But, as is described in far more detail in “The ‘Roots’ of Domination,” Section I of Cultural Vision, as tribes became more war-like and domineering, the female goddesses were discarded in favor of male deities. However, the pagans, who lived away from the cultural centers where these male gods were championed, still honored large number of goddesses within their mythologies.

As the great exoteric religions became institutionalized, it was difficult to attract ordinary folks, who lived simple agricultural lives in the countryside, to become followers of the new systems of belief. (The word “pagan” means “country dwellers.”) There thus became a concerted effort to demonize their beliefs. In fact, the word “villain” meaning wicked soul, is derived from the word “village.”

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