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The following is the introductory section of the chapter entitled "The Easter Cycle, part two," from Star Myths of the World, Volume Three (Star Myths of the Bible). The preceding chapter, entitled "The Easter Cycle, part one," examined the celestial foundations for many of the events of Holy Week described in the gospel accounts, such as the triumphal entry, the encounter with Zacchaeus, the cleansing or scourging of the Temple, the encounter with the fig tree, the upper room and the Last Supper, and the discussion of the betrayal by Judas which takes place over the table. The following chapter, from which the passage below is the introduction, deals with the events beginning with the Garden of Gethsemane and afterwards:
We arrive at last at the climactic events of the New Testament -- the arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
For centuries, these events have been regarded with the highest reverence and imbued with the deepest sense of awe and wonder by those who belong to the many families of Christian faith -- and I agree these stories (as with all sacred myths of all cultures) should be regarded with deep reverence. These sacred passages describe events having to do with some of the most profound spiritual concepts conceivable, and they do so in a way which is filled with both power and pathos.
However, I believe that these same profound and sacred concepts should be acknowledged to be present at the heart of all of the myths and ancient stories around the world, all of which employ the same celestial system to convey deep truths about ourselves, our cosmos, and the spiritual-divine realm which touches them both at every single point -- and about the unlimited God with whom we have to do.
It is today difficult to appreciate the awe and the reverence that the very similar events in the cycle describing the neteru Isis and Osiris generated within the hearts of those living in a culture steeped in the sacred myths and rituals of ancient Egypt, and who had grown up from their earliest days knowing and imbibing them both consciously and unconsciously. Or, try to understand the awe and the reverence that the cycle of annual movement and ritual and sacred tradition centered around Inyan Kaga in the sacred Paha Sapa / kHe Sapa, and the Sacred Hoop formed by the surrounding terrain features and mirroring the stars and constellations of the heavens, generates within the hearts of those still connected to the way of the Lakota and Dakota and described in the words of Black Elk and others who have expressed these things.
But it can, I believe, be conclusively demonstrated that the cycle of the casting down of Osiris and the Djed, and the raising back up of the same Djed, creates the same Sacred Hoop symbol, the same Great Cross (with the cast-down Djed forming the horizontal bar, and the raised-up Djed forming the vertical column) which is revered by the cultures of the Native Americans and which also forms the central features of the climactic gospel stories of the crucifixion and the humiliation and subsequent resurrection of the Christ -- gospel stories which are also built upon the silent motions of the stars, and which thus point to our connection to our planet and our universe, and our connection to all other people, and animals, and even inanimate things.
The world's myths employ externally different, apparently different, sacred metaphors and stories and symbols, but at their heart they can all be shown to be using the same ancient and profound worldwide celestial system, handed down to our ancestors at some now-forgotten and very ancient point in time (or taught to them by powers from another realm -- perhaps brought back to this realm by those who had learned how to go to and return from the Other World).
All those who have felt the power and awe which are generated by any of these sacred stories of humanity -- including the stories of the Easter cycle -- should acknowledge and respect the world's other sacred traditions which contain and convey the same sacred truths, even if they do so in different ways or from slightly different angles or perspectives.And it is unfortunately yet undeniably true that the message can be misinterpreted or twisted, either intentionally or unintentionally, to say something almost completely the opposite of what was perhaps intended by the myths -- and I believe that this possibility is greatly increased if we do not listen to them in the "language" in which they are speaking, which is a spiritual language, an esoteric language, and a celestial language.
The discussion of the Easter cycle events in this book is offered in that spirit and with hope of furthering our understanding of that language, so that the truth of our connection will be seen, and so we can be more able and willing to stand against actions and policies that divide or harm or oppress (using lies as their cover). [pages 680 - 682]
