| ~Ostara~ |
| Ostara is the Spring/Vernal Eqinox. One of the two days of the year when the hours of night and day are equal. It always falls between March 20th and 23rd. Spelling variations for this holiday are: Osestara, Eostre and Eostra. It is named for the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the spring. Other names from other parts of the world are: Astarte, Aset and Istar. As the earth begins to awake from her long deep sleep, we see lengthing days and life returning to the land. The trees and plants begin to color our world and lift our spirits from the depths of dreary, colorless winter. This phase represents the Goddess in her, well...maiden state...but about to venture forward to the wonderful world of procreation. We should use this time to reflect on our "inner child", but look ahead to see what new growth (like the budding plants) we must tend and cultivate. Poking around on the web the other day I saw an interesting story. It was about a bunny and colored eggs. I actually saw two stories that were identical except one said the origin was Anglo-Saxon and the other said it was from China. Anyway...the story goes that a little girl found a bird on the ground thats wings were too frozen to fly. The little girl prayed to the Goddess and she turned the bird into a bunny...now, I'm not too sure why, but for some reason the bunny laid rainbow colored eggs....maybe it was the bird gene that remained in the bunny, lol. Anyway, the Goddess said that when the little girl saw the bunny each year she would know spring was on the way and warm days lay ahead. Interesting huh? As most of us know, eggs are a symbol of fertility and re-birth, what better symbol to use for Ostara (or whatever you want to call it)? The animals are having babies, plants struggle out of the warming earth! Ritual: My rituals are very simple as I am so busy I barely have time to shave my legs.... ~Cast a circle in the daytime ~Light a candle or fire in the center or on an outside altar ~While holding a hard-boiled egg, meditate about what needs improvement in your life. Send these thoughts into the egg. When you are finished, bury the egg in your circle ~Close the cirlce |
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