The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny has its origin in the tradition of honoring of rabbits during spring as an animal sacred to the goddess Eostre. According to lore, she is the goddess of spring who presides over the birth of babies, both animal and human, and of the pollination, flowering and ripening of fruits in the plant kingdom.

The modern belief that eggs are delivered by a rabbit, comes from a popular Pagan legend about Eostre. According to the legend, Eostre was walking one fine spring day and came upon a beautiful little bird. The poor bird’s wing was badly injured and Eostre, feeling great compassion for the little creature, wanted to heal it. But the little bird’s wing was so badly damaged that Eostre knew it would never be able to fly again even after she healed it.

Eostre decided to help the bird by healing it in a way that would give it mobility and a little something more; she turned it into a rabbit. During the transformation, the rabbit retained the ability to lay eggs.

The rabbit was so grateful to Eostre for saving her life that she laid a sacred egg in Eostre’s honor. The rabbit decorated the egg and then presented it to the Goddess. She was so pleased by the rabbit’s gift that she wished all humankind to share in her joy.

In honoring her wishes, the rabbit went all over the world distributing beautifully decorated little gifts of life and continues to do so even today.

For modern Pagans, Ostara is a sabbat of light, of humor, of celebrating and growing. It’s considered to be a time for balancing the light and dark, for starting new paths. These are concepts that all people, even those with different religious beliefs, can appreciate.

Source: When God Was A Woman