pagan and christian creeds-第7章

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ciation　of　the　Blessed　Virgin；　and　so　forthwhich　have　been　commonly　celebrated　in　the　pagan　cults　before　Christianity；　and　in　which　elements　of　Star　and　Nature　worship　can　be　traced；　but　to　dwell　on　all　these　would　take　too　long；　so　let　us　pass　at　once　to　the　period　of　Easter　itself。

＇1＇　This　festival　of　the　Purification　of　the　Virgin　corresponds　with　the　old　Roman　festival　of　Juno　Februata　（i。　e。　purified）　which　was　held　in　the　last　month　（February）　of　the　Roman　year；　and　which　included　a　candle　procession　of　Ceres；　searching　for　Proserpine。　（F。　Nork；　Der　Mystagog。）



III。　THE　SYMBOLISM　OF　THE　ZODIAC

The　Vernal　Equinox　has　all　over　the　ancient　world；　and　from　the　earliest　times；　been　a　period　of　rejoicing　and　of　festivals　in　honor　of　the　Sungod。　It　is　needless　to　labor　a　point　which　is　so　well　known。　Everyone　understands　and　appreciates　the　joy　of　finding　that　the　long　darkness　is　giving　way；　that　the　Sun　is　growing　in　strength；　and　that　the　days　are　winning　a　victory　over　the　nights。　The　birds　and　flowers　reappear；　and　the　promise　of　Spring　is　in　the　air。　But　it　may　be　worth　while　to　give　an　elementary　explanation　of　the　ASTRONOMICAL　meaning　of　this　period；　because　this　is　not　always　understood；　and　yet　it　is　very　important　in　its　bearing　on　the　rites　and　creeds　of　the　early　religions。　The　priests　who　were；　as　I　have　said；　the　early　students　and　inquirers；　had　worked　out　this　astronomical　side；　and　in　that　way　were　able　to　fix　dates　and　to　frame　for　the　benefit　of　the　populace　myths　and　legends；　which　were　in　a　certain　sense　explanations　of　the　order　of　Nature；　and　a　kind　of　〃popular　science。〃

The　Equator；　as　everyone　knows；　is　an　imaginary　line　or　circle　girdling　the　Earth　half…way　between　the　North　and　South　poles。　If　you　imagine　a　transparent　Earth　with　a　light　at　its　very　centre；　and　also　imagine　the　SHADOW　of　this　equatorial　line　to　be　thrown　on　the　vast　concave　of　the　Sky；　this　shadow　would　in　astronomical　parlance　coincide　with　the　Equator　of　the　Skyforming　an　imaginary　circle　half…way　between　the　North　and　South　celestial　poles。

The　Equator；　then；　may　be　pictured　as　cutting　across　the　sky　either　by　day　or　by　night；　and　always　at　the　same　elevationthat　is；　as　seen　from　any　one　place。　But　the　Ecliptic　（the　other　important　great　circle　of　the　heavens）　can　only　be　thought　of　as　a　line　traversing　the　constellations　as　they　are　seen　at　NIGHT。　It　is　in　fact　the　Sun's　path　among　the　fixed　stars。　For　（really　owing　to　the　Earth's　motion　in　its　orbit）　the　Sun　appears　to　move　round　the　heavens　once　a　yeartravelling；　always　to　the　left；　from　constellation　to　constellation。　The　exact　path　of　the　sun　is　called　the　Ecliptic；　and　the　band　of　sky　on　either　side　of　the　Ecliptic　which　may　be　supposed　to　include　the　said　constellations　is　called　the　Zodiac。　How　then　it　will　of　course　be　askedseeing　that　the　Sun　and　the　Stars　can　never　be　seen　togetherwere　the　Priests　ABLE　to　map　out　the　path　of　the　former　among　the　latter？　Into　that　question　we　need　not　go。　Sufficient　to　say　that　they　succeeded；　and　their　successeven　with　the　very　primitive　instruments　they　hadshows　that　their　astronomical　knowledge　and　acuteness　of　reasoning　were　of　no　mean　order。

To　return　to　our　Vernal　Equinox。　Let　us　suppose　that　the　Equator　and　Ecliptic　of　the　sky；　at　the　Spring　season；　are　represented　by　two　lines　Eq。　and　Ecl。　crossing　each　other　at　the　point　P。　The　Sun；　represented　by　the　small　circle；　is　moving　slowly　and　in　its　annual　course　along　the　Ecliptic　to　the　left。　When　it　reaches　the　point　P　（the　dotted　circle）　it　stands　on　the　Equator　of　the　sky；　and　then　for　a　day　or　two；　being　neither　North　nor　South；　it　shines　on　the　two　terrestrial　hemispheres　alike；　and　day　and　night　are　equal。　BEFORE　that　time；　when　the　sun　is　low　down　in　the　heavens；　night　has　the　advantage；　and　the　days　are　short；　AFTERWARDS；　when　the　Sun　has　travelled　more　to　the　left；　the　days　triumph　over　the　nights。　It　will　be　seen　then　that　this　point　P　where　the　Sun's　path　crosses　the　Equator　is　a　very　critical　point。　It　is　the　astronomical　location　of　the　triumph　of　the　Sungod　and　of　the　arrival　of　Spring。

How　was　this　location　defined？　Among　what　stars　was　the　Sun　moving　at　that　critical　moment？　（For　of　course　it　was　understood；　or　supposed；　that　the　Sun　was　deeply　influenced　by　the　constellation　through　which　it　was；　or　appeared　to　be；　moving。）　It　seems　then　that　at　the　period　when　these　questions　were　occupying　men's　minds　say　about　three　thousand　years　agothe　point　where　the　Ecliptic　crossed　the　Equator　was；　as　a　matter　of　fact；　in　the　region　of　the　constellation　Aries　or　the　he…　Lamb。　The　triumph　of　the　Sungod　was　therefore；　and　quite　naturally；　ascribed　to　the　influence　of　Aries。　THE　LAMB　BECAME　THE　SYMBOL　OF　THE　RISEN　SAVIOR；　AND　OF　HIS　PASSAGE　FROM　THE　UNDERWORLD　INTO　THE　HEIGHT　OF　HEAVEN。　At　first　such　an　explanation　sounds　hazardous；　but　a　thousand　texts　and　references　confirm　it；　and　it　is　only　by　the　accumulation　of　evidence　in　these　cases　that　the　student　becomes　convinced　of　a　theory's　correctness。　It　must　also　be　remembered　（what　I　have　mentioned　before）　that　these　myths　and　legends　were　commonly　adopted　not　only　for　one　strict　reason　but　because　they　represented　in　a　general　way　the　convergence　of　various　symbols　and　inferences。

Let　me　enumerate　a　few　points　with　regard　to　the　Vernal　Equinox。　In　the　Bible　the　festival　is　called　the　Passover；　and　its　supposed　institution　by　Moses　is　related　in　Exodus；　ch。　xii。　In　every　house　a　he…lamb　was　to　be　slain；　and　its　blood　to　be　sprinkled　on　the　doorposts　of　the　house。　Then　the　Lord　would　pass　over　and　not　smite　that　house。　The　Hebrew　word　is　pasach；　to　pass。＇1＇　The　lamb　slain　was　called　the　Paschal　Lamb。　But　what　was　that　lamb？　Evidently　not　an　earthly　lamb（though　certainly　the　earthly　lambs　on　the　hillsides　WERE　just　then　ready　to　be　killed　and　eaten）but　the　heavenly　Lamb；　which　was　slain　or　sacrificed　when　the　Lord　〃passed　over〃　the　equator　and　obliterated　the　constellation　Aries。　This　was　the　Lamb　of　God　which　was　slain　each　year；　and　〃Slain　since　the　foundation　of　the　world。〃　This　period　of　the　Passover　（about　the　25th　March）　was　to　be＇2＇　the　beginning　of　a　new　year。　The　sacrifice　of　the　Lamb；　and　its　blood；　were　to　be　the　promise　of　redemption。　The　door…frames　of　the　housessymbols　of　the　entrance　into　a　new　lifewere　to　be　sprinkled　with　blood。＇3＇　Later；　the　imagery　of　the　saving　power　of　the　blood　of　the　Lamb　became　more　popular；　more　highly　colored。　（See　St。　Paul's　epistles；　and　the　early　Fathers。）　And　we　have　the　expression　〃washed　in　the　blood　of　the　Lamb〃　adopted　into　the　Christian　Church。

＇1＇　It　is　said　that　pasach　sometimes　means　not　so　much　to　pass　over；　as　to　hover　over　and　so　protect。　Possibly　both　meanings　enter　in　here。　See　Isaiah　xxxi。　5。

＇2＇　See　Exodus　xii。　i。

＇3＇　It　is　even　said　（see　The　Golden　Bough；　vol。　iii；　185）　that　the　doorways　of　houses　and　temples　in　Peru　were　at　the　Spring　festival　daubed　with　blood　of　the　first…born　childrencommuted　afterwards　to　the　blood　of　the　sacred　animal；　the　Llama。　And　as　to　Mexico；　Sahagun；　the　great　Spanish　missionary；　tells　us　that　it　was　a　custom　of　the　people　there　to　〃smear　the　outside　of　their　houses　and　doors　with　blood　drawn　from　their　own　ears　and　ankles；　in　order　to　propitiate　the　god　of　Harvest〃　（Kingsborough's　Mexican　Antiquities；　vol。　vi；　p。　235）。


In　order　fully　to　understand　this　extraordinary　expression　and　its　origin　we　must　turn　for　a　moment　to　the　worship　both　of　Mithra；　the　Persian　Sungod；　and　of　Attis　the　Syrian　god；　as　throwing　great　light　on　the　Christian　cult　and　ceremonies。　It　must　be　remembered　that　in　the　early　centuries　of　our　era　the　Mithra…cult　was　spread　over　the　whole　Western　world。　It　has　left　many　monuments　of　itself　here　in　Britain。　At　Rome　the　worship　was　extremely　popular；　and　it　may　almost　be　said　to　have　been　a　matter　of　chance　whether　Mithraism　should　overwhelm　Christianity；　or　whether　the　younger　religion　by　adopting　many　of　the　rites　of　the　older　one　should　establish　itself　（as　it　did）　in　the　face　of　the　latter。

Now　we　have　already　mentioned　that　in　the　Mithra　cult　the　slaying　of　a　Bull　by　the　Sungod　occupies　the　same　sort　of　place　as　the　slaving　of　the　Lamb　in　the　Christian　cult。　It　took　place　at　the