Heralds of the Dawn Hares Greetings Card by Karen Cater

£2.25

Two hares spring up as dawn breaks and the sun rises.

The text printed on the back of this card reads:

The Hare's habit of leaping up from a hidden resting place and racing away when disturbed, may have been the inspiration for the Egyptian hieroglyphic "Un", symbolised by a Hare, representing ideas of becoming, opening and springing up. Could this sudden appearance have been interpreted as an instantaneous creation - from not being to being, as if by magic?

So it is understandable that Hares would also be associated with Dawn, the up - springing light at the opening of the new day. Together with the song-birds of the dawn chorus, Hares greet the appearance of the newly risen Sun.

Karen Cater is fascinated by the esoteric or mystical qualities of her subject matter, incorporating layers and levels of meaning into her compositions by her use of correspondences of imagery or colour, breathing life and identity into old song titles or figures from mythology or history.

This card comes cellophane wrapped and is 170mm x 120mm (6 and 3/4 inches x 4 and 3/4 inches). It has a kraft paper envelope.

It's blank inside for you to write your own message

Categories: All Cards by Karen Cater, All Cards with Hares, All Cards, All Hare Items.

People have for many centuries been fascinated by the hare because of its perceived attributes of solitude and remoteness. Active at night, symbolic of the intuitive, and the fickleness of the Moon, the hare was an emblem of unpredictability. Like the Moon, which always changes places in the sky, hares were full of mystery and contradictions. The moon was perhaps the most powerful symbol of birth, growth, reproduction, death and rebirth.

The Celts believed that the goddess Eostre's favourite animal and attendant spirit was the hare. It represented love, fertility and growth and was associated with the Moon, dawn and Easter - death, redemption and resurrection. Eostre changed into a hare at the full Moon. The hare was sacred to the White Goddess - the Earth Mother - and as such was considered to be a magical animal.