Hare Meaning & Symbolism

The hare is an emblem of many lunar goddesses such as Hecate, Freyja, and Holda. In fact, the hare is the symbol for the moon. Ever since the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., Easter has been celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after March 21st. The Hare is a symbol of Easter for two reasons: the European Spring goddess Eostre (from whom we get the name Easter) had the head of a hare, and the date of Easter is determined by the moon whose symbolism is strongly tied to that of the hare.

Teatime by Terri Windling

In Teutonic myth, the earth and sky goddess Holda, leader of the Wild Hunt, was followed by a procession of hares bearing torches. Although she descended into a witch-like figure and boogeyman of children’s tales, she was once revered as a beautiful, powerful goddess in charge of weather phenomena. Freyja, the headstrong Norse goddess of love, sensuality, and women’s mysteries, was also served by hare attendants. She traveled with a sacred hare and boar in a chariot drawn by cats. Kaltes, [Goddess of knowledge of the Ugric peoples] the shape-shifting moon goddess of western Siberia, liked to roam the hills in the form of a hare, and was sometimes pictured in human shape wearing a headdress with hare’s ears. [She takes the shape of the hare because the hare is understood as an intermediary between the moon and the humans who worship it. She was honored as the divine moon goddess by the Siberian people. The hare (akin to cat energy) is her sacred totem. Traditionally associated with the cycles of the moon, intuition, and enchantment]. Eostre, the goddess of the moon, fertility, and spring in Anglo–Saxon myth, was often depicted with a hare’s head or ears, and with a white hare standing in attendance.

Original text and graphite pencil illustration by Terri Windling

I believe there's no hint of intention to present the author's work as my own. [As a philologist, square brackets are symbols that we use to contain "extra information", or information that is not part of the main content.] I clearly credit the writer, editor and artist Terri Windling. And I didn't note the name of the article the text is quoted from (or provide a link to it) because I was interested in solely focusing on hare lore. At some point in history, probably during the Roman Empire, rabbit lore crossed paths with hare lore, and this little trickster got a melange of their folklore. But at the bottom of the jam jar lies the fact that they're a mismatch of animals, and that the hare is still the one and only who knows how to read coffee grounds.

Leaping Hares by Mandy Walden

Crooked House by Mandy Walden

Since ancient times, locals have reported seeing hares regularly leaping in circles .. And who else do it in circles? .. Witches! Does it empower the popular belief that witches shape-shift into hares? Mote it be!