Fortuna
Is there any occult or esoteric meaning in the American holiday of Thanksgiving? Many holidays were originally pagan. Christianity usurped these pagan holidays and Christianized them. This makes for strange bedfellows. Easter eggs and bunnies? Those are symbols of spring fertility festivals (sex!), not really the resurrection of Christ. Christmas is associated with the Winter Solstice and deities like the god Woden and his elves. They are the origin for the Father Winter/Santa archetype. Even odd holidays like Groundhog Day were pagan (in this case the festival of Imbolc).
Thanksgiving is an American holiday started by pilgrims. It would seem to be a stretch to find any hidden occult significance in this event. Yet maybe so!
Thanksgiving is a harvest festival to give thanks for the past year. During the farming era of the past, scarcity and need were always lurking around the corner. When there was a bountiful harvest it was time for celebration.
Cornucopia
Thanksgiving is associated with the cornucopia, symbolizing food, abundance, and prosperity. The cornucopia of plenty has its origin in ancient mythology. The Roman god Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fortune, was often depicted carrying a cornucopia and it became linked with her. Lady Fortune represented how life was subject to the whim of chance, good or ill. In ancient Roman times Fortuna was sought by many seeking good fortune and to avoid bad luck. Since then this goddess has a modern name…Lady Luck.
Here is the possible occult meaning of Thanksgiving. We give thanks for our abundance, with the unspoken hope of avoiding scarcity in the year ahead. Giving thanks is not just an act of appreciation for what has past, but hope for the future as well. Unknowingly, with thanksgiving we are practicing the law of attraction.
The Law of Attraction suggests what we think will become manifest in our lives. This concept is one of the cornerstones of occult thought. Ritual, visualization, ceremony (dinner festivals) are all tools to the same end, to affect the future. By giving thanks for what we have with confidence for better days ahead, we may cause this to occur. The opposite is true, if we bemoan the present with grim expectations for the future, then that will likely be our fate as well.
I nominate Fortuna as the unspoken patron deity of Thanksgiving. Life is a roll of the dice and can be arbitrary and unfair. If we are fortunate enough to have a happy thanksgiving holiday, we should really be grateful. There are many who will not enjoy a feast this year, or who eat alone. We live in hard times now. Our state of mind can make the difference. We can change our circumstances if give thanks not only for the present, but give thanks for the future as well. Giving thanks for that which has yet to happen will make it manifest.
November 26th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Actually, the belief that the Puritans started Thanksgiving is a myth. The American Thanksgiving started in the late 1700’s and was celebrated by the 13 colonies in honor of the victory of the battle at Saratoga. In response to the British General Burgoyne’s surrender, Congress declared December 18, 1777 as a national day “for solemn Thanksgiving and praise” in recognition of the military success at Saratoga; it was the nation’s first official observance of a holiday with that name.
While it was possible the Puritans celebrated some kind of Harvest celebration, it is unlikely. The Puritans did not celebrate much, as the religion didn’t allow such celebratory practices. It was too close to sin.
Then President FDR wanted to make it a federal holiday. Originally it was going to be celebrated at the end of November, but decided to move it up earlier. His idea was to help improve the economy by increasing the number of shopping days before the Christmas holiday.
So, as you see the history of the American Thanksgiving has no spiritual value. It is to celebrate a battle against the British and then grew into a holiday which was manipulated to help promote capitalism and commercialization.
November 26th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Hi DoAn,
You are right; the puritans did not start Thanksgiving. I confused the pilgrims with the puritans. Thanks for the heads up on that; I edited my post to say pilgrim. You provide good historical background about the holiday. Thanksgiving is indeed a secular holiday, but its still possible to find a glimpse of esoteric symbolism in Thanksgiving. The idea of the dinner festival is as old as mankind, a part of human nature. In the process the dinner festival has become a part of many spiritual practices, all the way to Christ’s last supper.
Dave
November 26th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Hey you guys, Thanksgiving was being held by the Native people long before the Europeans came here. The Iroquois Nation held 4 days and nights of festivities to celebrate the harvest. It is well documented that the early founders sat in many meetings with the leaders of the Iroqouis Confederacy to learn a new way to run a country. Native people were a HUGE majority population at that time. It was the Native people who helped the Pilgrims to survive their first years on the wild shores of New England.
If you doubt what I am saying, there is book called “Forgotten Founders’ That goes into all this history. Also you are taught this stuff all your life when you are form New England.
It is still a “Pagan” holiday, — but I lived in Europe for a long time and NONE of them celebrate Thanksgiving. Though they do in South America as well. It is definitely spiritual as well, as are most celebrations of people’s who see the earth as our Mother.
Have a great one!
November 28th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Hi Arlene,
Yes, the native people might be considered pagans by Christians, but I don’t think they view themselves that way…to the original Americans, Christians are the pagans! Native American spirituality is something I don’t know much about, but from the bit I understand it has remarkable depth.
Dave