The Pagan Heart
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September-October 2005 Issue
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The Babylonian Festival of Willows in honour of Astarte
By Anne S.
For this issue I decided to look into the Mesopotamian Festival of the Willows - a feast day held in honour of Astarte. At least, that's what I think it is. At this point all I know is that various Pagan sites list 22 October as being the day of Astarte's Festival of Willows. I immediately went seeking a Jewish calendar to work out the Mesopotamian dating - since I doubt the Babylonian's were partying in "October". The ancient Mesopotamians used a lunar system that's almost identical to the modern Jewish one - not suprising since one evolved from the other! So, looking at my Jewish calendar I discover the Jewish month of Tishri falls during September and October on the Gregorian calendar. And 22 October falls on 19 Tishri this year. Nothing on the Jewish calendar about Astarte, obviously, but the festival of Sukkot is listed. Now, using my Mesopotamian date correspondences, I know that Tishri is the modern name for Tasritu, and so I have a starting point for my Mesopotamian research. Looking up Festival of Willows will only turn up further Pagan sites listing the 22nd of October as Astarte's Feast and nothing much beyond that. To find out about the Mesopotamian observance I need the month and the deity - and using that I should be able to track down the original name of the festival if it existed. But before I start digging, I want to take a better look at Sukkot. There are many similarities between Jewish, Iranian, Iraqi, and other Middle Eastern groups and Mesopotamian ritual and observance - due no doubt to the common heritage. I have always found it worthwhile to look into what I can find on the modern level before heading back in time. If nothing else, it can provide a framework to hang what I discover upon. Sukkot itself has always interested me - a lovely celebration of family and thanksgiving held over seven days (with two extras tacked onto the end). Now, in light of my task, it interests me even more. On Hoshanah Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, they beat the ground with willow branches as a symbolic casting out of sin. Also, an integral part of the festival is the ritual waving of willow (along with 3 other types of plant) aloft in celebration of YHWH each day. What, I ask myself, is the relationship between this Jewish festival and the feast of Astarte - also known as the Festival of Willows and apparently held at the same time? Clearly there is some relationship - aside from the same month, and same festival title, Astarte is an old Canaanite goddess. She comes from the past of the Jewish people and is closely allied to Babylon and sinful lustful behaviour. So what was her festival and how was it celebrated? Is Sukkot a carry over memory of this festival of hers? Further delving dug up this tidbit about Hoshanah Rabbah: Hoshanah Rabbah - "The Day of the Willow Branch" This is the name of the seventh day of the festival, so-called because of the special Hoshana prayers which are recited. During the traditional religious ceremonies attached to the day, seven circuits of the congregation around the central platform in the synagogue are followed by striking of willow leaves. This custom follows similar ceremonies of ancient times: the hoshanah prayers that accompany the circuits recall the praises of Jerusalem and the redemption of Israel. The custom of beating the willow leaves, a later instigation, symbolised faith in the continuing nature-cycle of rebirth after the year's produce was brought in. For some, the striking of the leaves echoes the solemn nature that has also been invested in Hoshanah Rabbah: the broken willow leaves are symbolic of man's sins that are cast off on what was considered to be the last and final day of judgment when the decision on high, sealed on the Day of Atonement, was confirmed. The willow twigs, the hoshanot, are bound up with an important chapter of the Jewish past. Thanks to them one of the most beautiful pages in our history has been written. In the Babylonian captivity, after the destruction of the First Temple, when we had been driven out of our land and were forced to a life of homeless wanderers in Galut (Exile), along the riverbanks of our oppressors, the Babylonians, we hung our harps upon the willows while our hearts mutely wept for the loss of our homeland, Zion. Not upon flower plants did we hang our instruments of joy; not upon tall trees did we place our hopes, but upon these poor, humble willows: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down;
These plain willows that grow on the river's edge at the foot of the hills; these willows that are so mercilessly trampled upon, bring to the aching soul of the Jew more comfort than do the tall oaks that rear their haughty heads....And so, when our fathers had to raise money, they would take an armful of willow twigs and make their house-to-house rounds. Nothing about Astarte, but a clear tie back through history between the Jew, the willow, and Babylonia...and what became clear the further I researched this was that there is very little evidence of a specific feast of willows held for Astarte in October - only various "mirror-image" Pagan calendar sites record it. None of the reputable Mesopotamian history or Pagan path sites list any real details. Nothing anywhere beyond "In ancient Mesopotamia, this (22 October) was the festival of the Willows". That can easily be taken as a reference to Sukkot...or to the harps hung on the willows. Where is the relationship to Astarte? Now, what I do know regarding festivals of Mesopotamia in October is that the Akitu of Seeding - the sowing festival held honour of Inanna (a version of Astarte) - was at one time held in Tasritu (October) as well as Nissanu (April). The Akitu were New Year festivals - a fact still evident in the modern Jewish calendar. The 1st day of Tishri is also the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It was once the Mesopotamian one too. I wrote about the Akitu back in April and my understanding is that the festivities in both months followed the same order over the days 1 through to 15. Looking at the Jewish calendar, there is a clear crossover between the Akitu and Sukkot, timewise. But no willow feasting so far. My curiosity was itching. I even discovered that the Akitu celebrations of Babylon and Uruk were still in existence during the Hellenistic Period. I began to wonder if the modern idea of Astarte's Festival of Willows is actually a conglomeration of other celebrations.... Then I began to see a correlation. Astarte/Inanna is venerated in the Akitu from 1 to 15 Tasritu/Tishri. The Jewish Sukkot is held from 15 to 21 Tishri (plus the 22nd and 23rd bonus festival days). A part of the ritual component of Sukkot is the use of willows - which are inescapably linked to the idea of Babylon, the loss of Zion, and the casting out of sin. The modern Festival of Willows is placed squarely on 19 Tishri...it's an obvious correlation. I don't think the Festival of Willows is a real historical festival - I think it's a modern creation that isn't even celebrated. I found many identical descriptions of it in modern Pagan calendars. None said anything beyond "the Festival of Willows held in honour of Astarte". Unless it was to list a selection of other goddesses the author/plagarist deemed identical to Astarte. (Yes, I said plagarist - I loathe "calendar" sites that are simply copies of someone else's copy of some long-lost site. Especially since they never list sources, or ways to observe, or anything other than a deity's name and a festival title). Off my soapbox and back to this festival. I think somewhere along the line someone mixed up the Sukkot's ritual beating out of sin using willows, the Hoshanah Rabbah's worship of YHWH through the waving aloft of a willow branch, and the Akitu and Astarte, and came up with a Festival of Willows in honour of Astarte. However, even though it's apparently a faux-festival, I still think it's worth observing on some level. If you do honour Astarte - whether as a Mesopotamian deity of great power, or as one of the archetypal divine feminine gods, this day is one you can set aside to honour her as a protector of kith and kin, the source of lust and love, and the earth goddess who ruled alongside the harvest king. Or you might prefer to honour one of the corresponding goddesses from another pantheon. Quite a few have festivals at this time:
Why not gather some willows, weave a wreath for your goddess, and sing her praises?
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Primary Article - Samhaine
Secondary Article - The Meditrinalia
Secondary Article - Holy Day: Samhaine
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