Festivals

This is another installment of a series of posts on how modern Neopaganism is truly the ‘Old Religion’ because it contains similar tropes and beliefs as the oldest recorded Indo-European religion, in this case, Mesopotamian, which far predates Abrahamic monotheism.

 

Last Thursday, Neopagans celebrated the Spring Equinox. For those who follow the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, this festival is called Ostara. The festival’s name is derived from the European pagan goddess Eostre, which includes planting seeds, creating seasonal altars, spring cleaning, and feasting.

The Mesopotamians also celebrated Spring with a festival they called Akitu. Because they considered the new moon auspicious, the Akitu festival began on the first new moon after the spring equinox. Also, they considered the number 12 to be sacred. Therefore, the Akitu festival lasted for 12 days. Akitu was considered the most important festival for Mesopotamians. 

Akitu marked the beginning of the New Year for the Mesopotamians. It marked the rebirth of nature and the re-establishment of the kingship by divine authority. Akitu focused on the triumph of Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon, over the forces of Chaos, symbolized by Tiamat. 

It bears repeating: Neopaganism is the Old Religion.