• < Previous Event
• Next Event >

Comment

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 18, 2012 at 11:08am

Modern Celebrations

This is a good time of year to start your seedlings. If you grow an herb garden, start getting the soil ready for late spring plantings. Celebrate the balance of light and dark as the sun begins to tip the scales, and the return of new growth is near.

Many modern Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Ostara as a time of renewal and rebirth. Take some time to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature -- walk in park, lay in the grass, hike through a forest. As you do so, observe all the new things beginning around you -- plants, flowers, insects, birds. Meditate upon the ever-moving Wheel of the Year, and celebrate the change of seasons.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 18, 2012 at 11:06am

The word Ostara is just one of the names applied to the celebration of the spring equinox on March 21. The Venerable Bede said the origin of the word is actually from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring. Of course, it's also the same time as the Christian Easter celebration, and in the Jewish faith, Passover takes place as well. For early Pagans in the Germanic countries, this was a time to celebrate planting and the new crop season. Typically, the Celtic peoples did not celebrate Ostara as a holiday, although they were in tune with the changing of the seasons.

A New Day Begins:

A dynasty of Persian kings known as the Achaemenians celebrated the spring equinox with the festival of No Ruz -- which means "new day." It is a celebration of hope and renewal still observed today in many Persian countries, and has its roots in Zoroastrianism. In Iran, a festival called Chahar-Shanbeh Suri takes place right before No Ruz begins, and people purify their homes and leap over fires to welcome the 13-day celebration of No Ruz.

Mad as a March Hare:

Spring equinox is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature's fertility goes a little crazy. In medieval societies in Europe, the March hare was viewed as a major fertility symbol -- this is a species of rabbit that is nocturnal most of the year, but in March when mating season begins, there are bunnies everywhere all day long. The female of the species is superfecund and can conceive a second litter while still pregnant with a first. As if that wasn't enough, the males tend to get frustrated when rebuffed by their mates, and bounce around erratically when discouraged.

The Legends of Mithras:

The story of the Roman god, Mithras, is similar to the tale of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Born at the winter solstice and resurrected in the spring, Mithras helped his followers ascend to the realm of light after death. In one legend, Mithras, who was popular amongst members of the Roman military, was ordered by the Sun to sacrifice a white bull. He reluctantly obeyed, but at the moment when his knife entered the creature's body, a miracle took place. The bull turned into the moon, and Mithras' cloak became the night sky. Where the bull's blood fell flowers grew, and stalks of grain sprouted from its tail.

Spring Celebrations Around the World:

In ancient Rome, the followers of Cybele believed that their goddess had a consort who was born via a virgin birth. His name was Attis, and he died and was resurrected each year during the time of the vernal equinox on the Julian Calendar (between March 22 and March 25). Around the same time, the Germanic tribes honored a lunar goddess known as Ostara, who mated with a fertility god around this time of year, and then gave birth nine months later – at Yule.

The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. As the sun sets on the day of the equinox on the great ceremonial pyramid, El Castillo, Mexico, its "western face...is bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. The lengthening shadows appear to run from the top of the pyramid's northern staircase to the bottom, giving the illusion of a diamond-backed snake in descent." This has been called "The Return of the Sun Serpent" since ancient times.

According to the Venerable Bede, Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic goddess Ostara. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox -- almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west. There is very little documented evidence to prove this, but one popular legend is that Eostre found a bird, wounded, on the ground late in winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But "the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs...the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre."

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 18, 2012 at 11:06am

Ostara is a time of balance. It is a time of equal parts light and dark. At Mabon, we have this same balance, but the light is leaving us. Today, six months later, it is returning. Spring has arrived, and with it comes hope and warmth. Deep within the cold earth, seeds are beginning to sprout. In the damp fields, the livestock are preparing to give birth. In the forest, under a canopy of newly sprouted leaves, the animals of the wild ready their dens for the arrival of their young. Spring is here.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied
Here's How:

For this ritual, you'll want to decorate your altar with symbols of the season. Think about all the colors you see in nature at this time of year -- bright daffodils, crocuses, plump tulips, green shoots -- and incorporate them into your altar. This is also a time of fertility in the natural world -- the egg is the perfect representation of this aspect of the season. Symbols of young animals such as lambs, chicks, and calves are also great altar adornments for Ostara.

In addition, you'll need the following:

Three candles -- one yellow, one green, and one purple
A bowl of milk
A small bowl of honey or sugar
Perform this ritual outside if at all possible, in the early morning as the sun rises. It's spring, so it may be a bit chilly, but it's a good time to reconnect with the earth. If your tradition normally requires you to cast a circle, do so now.

Begin by taking a moment to focus on the air around you. Inhale deeply, and see if you can smell the change in the seasons. Depending on where you live, the air may have an earthy aroma, or a rainy one, or even smell like green grass. Sense the shift in energy as the Wheel of the Year has turned. Light the green candle, to symbolize the blossoming earth. As you light it, say:

The Wheel of the Year turns once more,
and the vernal equinox arrives.
Light and dark are equal,
and the soil begins to change.
The earth awakes from its slumber,
and new life springs forth once more.

Next, light the yellow candle, representing the sun. As you do so, say:

The sun draws ever closer to us,
greeting the earth with its welcoming rays.
Light and dark are equal,
and the sky fills with light and warmth.
The sun warms the land beneath our feet,
and gives life to all in its path.

Finally, light the purple candle. This one represents the Divine in our lives -- whether you call it a god or a goddess, whether you identify it by name or simply as a universal life force, this is the candle which stands for all the things we do not know, all those things we cannot understand, but that are the sacred in our daily lives. As you light this candle, focus on the Divine around and within you. Say:

Spring has come! For this, we are thankful!
The Divine is present all around,
in the cool fall of a rain storm,
in the tiny buds of a flower,
in the down of a newborn chick,
in the fertile fields waiting to be planted,
in the sky above us,
and in the earth below us.
We thank the universe* for all it has to offer us,
and are so blessed to be alive on this day.
Welcome, life! Welcome, light! Welcome, spring!

Take a moment and meditate on the three flames before you and what they symbolize. Consider your own place within these three things -- the earth, the sun, and the Divine. How do you fit into the grand scheme of things? How do you find balance between light and dark in your own life?

Finally, blend the milk and honey together, mixing gently. Pour it onto the ground around your altar space as an offering to the earth**. As you do, you may wish to say something like:

I make this offering to the earth,
As thanks for the many blessings I have received,
And those I shall some day receive.

Once you have made your offering, stand for a minute facing your altar. Feel the cool earth beneath your feet, and the sun on your face. Take in every sensation of this moment, and know that you are in a perfect place of balance between light and dark, winter and summer, warmth and cold -- a time of polarity and harmony.

When you are ready, end the ritual.

Tips:

• Instead of "the Universe", feel free to insert the name of your patron deity or the gods of your tradition here.

** If you're doing this rite indoors, take your bowl of milk and honey and pour it in your garden, or around your yard.
What You Need

Three candles - yellow, green and purple
A bowl of milk
A small bowl of honey or sugar
Seasonal decorations for your altar

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 17, 2012 at 9:48am

OSTARA

First day of Spring

Light & Dark are equal (in Balance)
Second Fertility Festival
Fire Festival
Minor-Lesser Sabbat
Quarter Sabbat

Opposite Sabbat: Mabon
Element: Fire-South
Zodiac: Aries (Sun at 15 degrees)
Moon: Waxing
Time: Dawn

Symbols: Eggs, Hare, New Moon, Rabbits, Butterflies/Cocoons

Christian Name: Easter

Other Names: Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox, Lady Day, Old Lady Day, Alban
Eiler, Eostre's Day, Bacchanalia

Colors: Grass Green, Yellow, Pink, Robins's Egg Blue, All Pastels

Animals: Rabbits, Snakes, Hares (Patron Animal)

Stones: Jasper, Aquamarine, Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Moonstone

Plants/Herbs: Daffodil, Violet, Olive, Woodruff, Iris, Jasmine, Peony,
Crocus, Irish Moss, Snowdrop, Ginger, Spring Flowers

Incense: Jasmine, Rose, Violet

Foods: Eggs, Leafy green veggies, Dairy, Nuts, Fruits, Sprouts, Sunflower
Seeds

Deities: Youthful & Virile Gods & Goddessess; Eostre, Ostara, Artemis,
Venus, Pan, Kore, Aphrodite

Meanings:

Celebration of Spring.
Balance.
New Life/Rebirth.
Goddess & God in Youth.
End of Winter.
Light overtaking Darkness.
Honor Eostre.
Resurrection.
Childbirth.

Activities:

Color & decorate eggs.
Decorate with Rabbits.
Lighting of Fires at sunrise.
Ringing Bells.
Looking for Spring Growth.
Blessing of seeds for spring planting.
A great time to buy a besom.
A time for beginnings of planting for the future & ritual gardens.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 12, 2012 at 3:26pm

Food - All food in tune with the season, including: eggs of all types, hard-boiled or in a salad, honey cakes, first fruits of the season, fish, cakes, biscuits, cheeses, honey and ham, and whatever game you can hunt.

In conclusion, metaphysically, Ostara - the Spring Equinox is a time of renewal and new beginnings, a time to plant your seeds and plan for future. Change is in the air and if you don’t do it now, the year will creep in and you never will. This is the ideal time to clean your home, to Spring clean, get rid of the old and welcome in the new. It may not be easy, but some simple physical work and mental effort can be focused to rid your life and home of negativity, clear the problems of the past and provide for a brighter future.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 12, 2012 at 3:26pm

Fertility

The main focus at Ostara was to honour the Gods and Goddesses whose blessings were invoked to promote fertility during the planting season. One of the fertility animals associated with the Goddess at Ostara is the Snake, which emerges from its winter hibernation to bask in the spring sunshine. Due to the constant shedding of its skin, the snake was seen as a symbol of new life. In many of the world’s creation myths, the Goddess in the form of a snake laid the “Egg of Original Beings”, better known as the “World Egg” or the “Cosmic Egg of Creation”, which was split open by the heat of the Sun God. The inside yolk of the egg represents the Sun God, while the outside shell is seen as the womb of the Goddess. The whole, therefore, is uniquely symbolic of creation, birth and new beginnings.

It was an old custom at Ostara to collect eggs, paint them to match those of the local wild birds and place them in baskets woven from straw, imitable of their nests. Birds were commonly believed to be the messengers of the Gods, so these baskets were given away to friends and neighbours as talismans for good luck and prosperity. Eggs were also ritually eaten at Ostara and the shells buried in the fields to promote fertility.

Another fertility animal associated with the Goddess at Ostara was the Hare, this due to its constant mating activity in spring. Hares mate while they are still very young, and the female can produce several litters each year, from which activity the expression “mad as a March hare” was derived. The hare has often been regarded as a sacred animal of the lunar Goddess, because an image of a hare can often be seen in the full moon. It was from this illusion that Witches were once believed to shape-shift into hares. Today the rabbit is more prolific and active at this time and is now one of the common symbols of Easter.

Food

As with all Sabbat celebrations, food plays an important part in the festivities. If we turn back the clock and look at the conditions our ancestors survived in, by the time of Spring many of their food stocks saved from the previous years harvest, and meat saved from the last cull and slaughter of their animals, would now be running out. With the arrival of a new Spring and the renewed regeneration of life and nature, many of their fears for survival were over. Ostara to them marked an end to eating cured and salted meat with dried vegetables. As animals came out of hibernation, fresh game became available, and as the Sun climbed higher, herbs and new young plants replaced the old. As such, the Ostara feast was always one to remember.

Ostara correspondences

Animals - Hares, Rabbits and Snakes.

Plants and Herbs - Crocus flowers, Daffodils, Jasmine, Irish Moss, Snowdrops and Ginger.

Incense - Jasmine, Frankincense, Myrrh, Dragon's Blood, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Aloes wood, Benzoin, Musk, African Violet, Sage, Strawberry, Lotus, Violet flowers, Orange peel or Rose petals.

Stones - Aquamarine, Rose Quartz and Moonstone.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 12, 2012 at 3:25pm

                        "Ostara" (1901) by Johannes Gehrts.

(The goddess Ēostre/Ostara flies through the heavens surrounded by Roman-inspired putti, beams of light and animals. Germanic peoples look up at the goddess from the realm below).

Ostara is a time to celebrate the arrival of Spring and the renewal and rebirth of nature after the cold dark days of Winter. Since the early buds of nature appeared at Imbolc, the Sun has continued to climb and gain in strength until now, at Ostara, daylight and darkness are in equal balance. As days lengthen and overtake night, so too does the earth begin to thaw from the last freezing grip of winter. Now is the time our farmers make ready their ploughs and prepare their oxen to pull them, and seed corn saved from the last harvest is checked to ensure its quality and suitability for planting.

To our ancestors, the success of the planting season and the harvest to follow was of life and death importance, for the bounty to be gained from the new plantings would be needed to sustain them through the hardships of the next winter. Today, while agriculture is still a major contributor to our national economy, many of our winter food needs are subsidized by foreign imports, and given modern farming techniques and the mechanisation of the industry, the hardships of the old days are but a distant memory. Despite this, in some of the more remote parts of the country, the customs and practises of our ancestors are still being used.

Fire

Ostara is one of the Fire Festivals observed by our ancestors, who lit bonfires and torches as a focal point of the celebrations. Fire is especially symbolic of the rising Sun, and of old, it was customary to light bonfires on top of nearby hills in his honour. In Germany, Scandinavia and in the Norse traditions of England, wheels made from wood, straw and branches were assembled at the top of nearby hills. There at the appointed time, normally at sunrise, the wheels would be set aflame and rolled down the hill through the fields below; a ritual performed symbolic of the Sun warming and thawing the earth which would later be ploughed and planted. Charred sticks from the Sun-wheels would then be saved and taken home to protect the home against fire and lightning. Likewise, the ashes from the fires would be spread in the fields to protect them against future thunder storms.

Today, more out of health and safety reasons, modern pagans might use a Catherine Wheel attached to the top of a pole to symbolise the old Sun-wheel fires. Likewise, the custom of rolling a flaming wheel down a hill was replaced. Now instead, brightly coloured eggs painted to represent the sunlight of spring are rolled down hillsides at Easter. The egg is a potent symbol of fertility and is one of the sacred symbols associated with the Goddess Ostara.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 12, 2012 at 3:24pm

                        A Young Hare by Albrecht Durer (1502)

Ostara, the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox, is one of the Lesser Sabbats of the Witch’s annual calendar and today, in the northern hemisphere, is celebrated on the 21st March, although this date may vary by a day or two depending upon the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. In the southern hemisphere the equivalent Sabbat is Mabon, the Autumn Equinox. Ostara is the Anglo-Saxon term for Eostre, the Teutonic Goddess of Spring and fertility whose festival of old was celebrated on the day of the Vernal Equinox (the equinoxes are the points in Spring and Autumn at which the Sun’s path crosses the celestial equator, at which time the periods of day and night become equal in length).

And the Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the spirit of Love felt everywhere
And each wild flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
The snowdrop and then the violet
Arose from the ground with the warm rain wet
And their breath was mixed with sweet odour sent
From the turf, like the voice and the instrument.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ostara is also known by various other names, such as: the Rites of Spring, Lady’s Day, Alban Eilir, Festival of the Trees, Eostre’s Day. As was to happen with many popular pagan festivals, when Christianity arrived, Ostara was renamed and many of its customs and symbolism incorporated into the Christian holiday of Easter. Easter takes its name from Eostre, the same Goddess of Spring associated with Ostara, and like Ostara, its date is variable, being calculated as the first Sunday after the first Full Moon, after the Vernal Equinox.

In the mythology of the Witch’s Sabbats, Ostara celebrates the return of the Goddess from the Underworld. Warmed by the strengthening light of the Sun, she awakes bursting forth from her sleep and blankets the earth with fertility. As the Sun God stretches and grows to maturity, he and the Goddess walk the fields and forests and, delighted with the abundance of life and nature, inspire all living things to grow and reproduce.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 10, 2012 at 12:35pm

Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:
Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:
Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:
Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:
Jasper

Special Activities:
Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next ›
• Page