Coming Back to Life

Coming back to life has one resonance as the return of spring and the ancient fertility rituals that celebrate this fact of life. Pagans reawakened the earth with dancing singing and sexual pleasure to create sympathetic magic in the fields and gardens, imparting their energy to the reawakening of the earth and inspiring the growth of the spring planting.

The early church overlaid the story of Christ's Resurrection over the old Estara or Ostara rituals to celebrate the idea of his rising from the dead. Of course, for those who can entertain other perspectives and the quirky humor of author Tom Robbins, in Another Roadside Attraction, he spins a tale about how the early disciples snatched the body from the tomb and hid it and then told everyone he rose from the dead, in order to build up the religion around the Christ story. Robbins uses his wit to poke fun at all kinds of ideas in his books.

On another note, there is also a coming back to life that we often need to do after we face a serious setback. A death in the family, a loss of a job, end of a relationship, bankruptcy, or any number of other difficult developments that can set us back in life can sometimes send a person into a withdrawal or retreat from life. A person can get depressed over such things.

To rebound from such things, often a personal ritual is needed to signal to body, mind, spirit and emotions that you are back and ready to be back. Engaging in a symbolic act signals to your self and the universe that you are done with your period of mourning and are ready to spring back into action.

Spring Equinox is the tipping point and the Easter rituals reaffirm this message. Time to bounce back. Time to move from darkness into light. There are all kinds of ways to do this. Love, laughter, music, dance, all kinds of things can work. At this time of year, the symbols of coming back to life are all around us. We just have to activate them.