| Ostara(March 22nd) |
| I. Definitions A. Pagan - Comes from the Latin "paganus". which means People of the Earth. According to Webster's II Revised dictionary, a pagan is "one who is not a Christian, Moslem, or Jew. The World Book Dictionary lists it as meaning a person who worships many gods or no god; heathen. (This is just one example of how Christianity has influenced the changing of definitions of words) B. Wicca - An Anglo-Saxon word which means Wise One. C. Sabbat - Comes from the Greek word "sabatu", which means To Rest. PAGAN --------> THE CRAFT ----------> WICCA ---------> WITCH II. The Sabbats A. Wiccans observe eight Sabbats throughout the year. Each Sabbat represents the turning of the Wheel of the Year, and each honors a stage in the eternal life cycle of the Goddess and God. The God is born, dies, and is reborn The eternal Goddess goes from childhood to motherhood to cronehood and back again. III. Ostara (O-star-ah) A. This ritual or celebration is observed at the Vernal Equinox (around March 22nd) or the Spring Equinox. This marks the first day of true spring. A time of the awakening of the earth (the Goddess) in her terrestrial aspect. At one point, Ostara celebrated the sexual union of the Goddess and God in Norse tradition, before the Celts influenced this event to Beltaine (Bell-tayn). B. Ostara was the name of the Virgin Goddess of spring in Germany. It was a Sabbat of great importance in Greece, rome, Nordic, and Germanic lands. C. Ostara is symbolized by the egg. The egg was and still is considered to be a symbol representing new life. IV. Ostara, as celebrated by different cultures... A. Tuetons honored their Goddess of Spring, Eostre, for whom the Christian holiday Easter is named. It is celebrated with feasting and ritual. B. Greco-Roman cultures would celebrate Ceres, the Grain Goddess from the time of Ostara until the time of the first harvest. These traditions sought to urge her special blessings on their freshly tilled lands. C. In Celtic lands, Ostara was renamed "Lady Day" and was the time of the official return of the young Goddess after her winter hibernation. On this day of balance, Celts believed the Goddess was able to meet her youthful God on even terms, become impregnated by him with not only the God who will be reborn at Yule, but with the autumn harvest as well. D. In England the youthful deities are honored as the Lord of the Greenwood (a version of the Horned God) and the Green Goddess (fertile virgin/mother). V. Conclusion A. Ostara is not only a time of balance, but one where light becomes triumphant over darkness (life over death)(winter turns to spring) as the Wheel of the Year carries us forward to the lusty month of May and to Beltaine |
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| OTHER NAMES Eostre's Day Spring Equinox Vernal Equinox Alban Eiber Bacchanalia Lady Day |
| COLORS Pink Yellow Grass Green All Pastels Robin's Egg Blue |
| DEITIES Youthful and Virile God and Goddess |
| ACTIVITIES Dying Eggs Looking for Spring Growth |
| TABOOS None Known |
| ACTIVITIES Dying Eggs Looking for Spring Growth |
| SYMBOLS Eggs New Moon Butterflies/Cocoons |
| ANIMALS Rabbits Snakes |
| STONES Aquamarine Rose Quartz Moonstone |
| PLANTS Crocus Daffodil Jasmine Irish Moss Snowdrop Ginger |
| FOODS Eggs Honey |
| MEANING Balance New Life/Rebirth Goddess and God in Youth End of Winter Light Overtaking Darkness |
| ATTUNEMENT TEAS Dandelion Egg Drinks Hyssop Linden |
| RITUAL OILS Lotus Magnolia Ginger |
| MYTHICAL CREATURES Unicorn Merpeople Pegasus |
| KEY ACTIONS Open Begin |
| DEITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SABBAT (Ostara) |
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| GODDESSES All Virgin Goddesses All Moon Goddesses Some Fertility Goddesses Aphrodite (Greek) Athena (Greek) Cybele (Roman) Eostre (Tuetonic) Eriu (Irish) Gaia (Greek) Hera/Juno (Greco-Roman) Iris (Greek) Lady of the Lake (Welsh-Cornish) Madhusri (Hindu) Melusine (Franco-Scottish) Moon Mother (Native American) Ova (Greek-Etruscan) Renpet (Egyptian) Salamaona (Middle East) Vesta (Greco-Roman) All Goddesses of Love All Androgynous Deities Anna Fearina (Roman) Astarte (Canaanite) Coatlicue (Aztec) Doda (Serbian) Erce (Slavic) Flidais (Irish) Garbhog (Irish) Ishtar (Babylonian) Isis (Egyptian) Libera (Roman) Ma-Ku (Chinese) Minerva (Roman) The Muses (Greek) Persephore (Greco-Roman) Rheda (Anglo-Saxon) Vesna (Slavic) Venus (Roman) |
| GODS All Gods of Love Some Fertility Gods Adonis (Greek) Cernunnos (Greco-Celtic) Danh (West African) Gwali (Central African) Lord of the Greenwood (English) Odin (Norse) Ovis (Roman-Estruscan) All Moon Gods All Gods of Song and Dance Attis (Persian) Dagda (Irish) Dylan (Welsh) The Great Horned God (European) Mithras (Greco-Roman) Osiris (Egyptian) Pan (Greek) |