Ancient wisdom is hidden in plain sight. When we take a closer look at our living festivals with this knowledge resting in the back of our minds, the threads of unbroken traditions start to unravel.

Right now it is Easter. It is not even that long ago, that this time of year marked the beginning of the new year! This had much to do with the fact that from January until around now, the land here in Europe was still in the cold grip of winter. While our ancestors started to slowly pick up their work, soil was often still frozen. Moving less for humans also meant less of a need to eat, and winter stores were not always abundant.

The first full moon after the Spring Equinox marked the beginning and Easter is the first Sunday, meaning sacred day according to the Christian Church, that came after this full moon. This knowledge unravels a thread that leads us to ancient traditions that stretch back through the mists of time into the age of legend and fairy tales. We didn't even have to look very far or deep!

Together we can easily travel along another unbroken thread of tradition. Whether we decorate our homes seasonally or not, it is hard to not notice spring twigs and flowers cropping up on stands at markets and entrances of supermarkets. People in cities freely spend money on a branch with a few fluffy buds and tiny little bouquets of yellow flowers. In the countryside, it is tradition to cut the branches yourself and place them in jars and doorways, on tables, and in nooks and crannies inside the home.

The practice of decorating the places we inhabit is likely as old as humanity itself. While we have no ancient remnants of decorations that easily decompose, there are findings of ground-up mica! If you have never heard of mica before, it is a stone that is not too hard and easy to turn into powder. It glitters and shines and comes in several naturally occurring colors. As far back as 40000 BCE it was used in cave paintings and perhaps even as make-up.

Our ancestors already decorated and from what we can deduce, it was in ways that were meaningful to them and still are meaningful to us. After all, we walk upon the same strands of existence. The memory of their flesh and blood continues to live in us today.

MAGIC PRACTICE:

If you decorate your body with clothing, makeup, or other adornments...
If you decorate the space you live in...

...remember your most ancient ancestors as you do so. Feel an unbroken thread of tradition and practice connect you through the eons. Feel this act in your living memory, the living memory of your immediate forebears, back to your ancestors whose memories have faded to myth and legend. Feel an uninterrupted strand of meaningful tradition, the flame of which you carry today. Know, that beyond your own life, those who come after will keep this flame alive.

There are so many ways in which we are connected across the world and through all time. With all our differences, it is good to remember what we have in common, with those that came before us, with our contemporaries, and with those who have yet to come.

Happy Easter. Happy New Beginnings. Happy New Year.

May the seeds you plant, flourish!