Transformation and Transmutation

Within the annotated lyrics of the epic “Supper’s Ready”, it mentions Peter Gabriel’s explorations into the transformation and transmutation of things, which The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway would be his pinnacle statement with Genesis.

Along with someone turning into a flower, we also have a fox on the rocks, with a rather obscure german spelling to have it match the spelling of rocks – another transformation. I believe the spelling ‘Focks’ is a surname.

The German spelling lead me to this interesting nugget of information.

Osterfuchs – the Easter Fox

Easter was originally a pagan festival dedicated to Eostre (Ostara), the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, whose consort was a hare (Easter bunny). The only reason anyone thinks Eostre had a rabbit (or hare) companion is because of Jacob Grimm (Brothers Grimm), who in Deustsche Mythologie states ‘Probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara’. Probably? Which leads on nicely to this…

Right up until the mid-20th century Germans would have an Easter Fox responsible for the eggs. “A note of 1904 from the Schaumburg area states quite specifically that the eggs were laid not from the Easter Bunny, but the Easter fox. Traditionally, on Holy Saturday the children would prepare a cozy nest of hay and moss for the Easter Fox.” Gradually this was then displaced by the Easter Bunny. See more information here.

Happy Easter! 🙂