Bright Blessings of the Spring Equinox
For the unawares, here is some information courtesy of About Dot Com.
All About Ostara, the Spring Equinox
Spring has finally arrived! March has roared in like a lion, and if we're really lucky, it will roll out like a lamb. Meanwhile, on or around the 21st of the month, we have Ostara to celebrate. It's the time of the vernal equinox of you live in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's a true marker that Spring has come. There are many different ways you can celebrate this Sabbat, depending on your tradition.
History of Ostara
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. One delightful legend associated with Eostre was that She found an injured bird on the ground one 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."
The Ostara Altar
Ostara is a time of year in which many Pagans choose celebrate the balance of light and dark that heralds the beginning of spring. It's a time to celebrate new life and rebirth -- not only the physical embodiment of renewal, but the spiritual as well. Try some -- or all -- of these ideas to ready your altar for Ostara.
Colors of the Season
To get an idea of what colors are appropriate for spring, all you really have to do is look outside. Notice the yellows of the forsythia blooming behind your house, the pale purples of lilacs, the green of new leaves appearing in the melting snow. Pastels are often considered spring colors as well, so feel free to add some pinks and blues into the mix if the idea strikes you. Decorate your altar in any of these colors -- try a pale green altar cloth with some purples and blues draped across it, and add some yellow or pink candles to carry the color up.
The Balance of the Equinox
Altar decor should reflect the theme of the Sabbat. Ostara is a time of balance between light and dark, so symbols of this polarity can be used. Use a god and goddess statue, a white candle and a black one, a sun and moon, even a yin/yang symbol.
New Life
Ostara is also a time of new growth and life -- add potted plants such as new crocuses, daffodils, lilies, and other magical spring flowers. This is the time of year when animals are bringing forth new life too -- put a basket of eggs on your altar, or figures of new lambs, rabbits, calves, etc. Add a chalice of milk or honey -- milk represents the lactating animals who have just given birth, and honey is long known as a symbol of abundance.
Other Symbols of Ostara
• Seeds and bulbs
• Caterpillars, ladybugs, bumblebees
• Symbols of nature deities -- Herne, Flora, Gaia, Attis, etc.
• Gemstones and crystals such as aquamarine, rose quartz, and moonstone
• Ritual fires in a cauldron or brazier
Deities of Ostara
Spring is a time of great celebration in many cultures. It's the time of year when the planting begins, people begin to once more enjoy the fresh air, and we can reconnect with the earth again after the long, cold winter. A number of different Gods and Goddesses from different pantheons are connected with the themes of Spring and Ostara.
• Asasa Ya (Ashanti): This earth mother Goddess prepares to bring forth new life in the spring, and the Ashanti people honor Her at the festival of Durbar, alongside Nyame, the sky God who brings rain to the fields.
• Cybele (Roman): This mother Goddess of Rome was at the center of a rather bloody Phrygian cult, in which eunuch priests performed mysterious rites in Her honor. Her lover was Attis (He was also Her grandson, but that's another story), and Her jealousy caused Him to castrate and kill Himself. His blood was the source of the first violets, and divine intervention allowed Attis to be resurrected by Cybele, with some help from Zeus. In some areas, there is still an annual three-day celebration of Attis's rebirth and Cybele's power.
• Eostre (western Germanic): Little is known about the worship of this Teutonic spring Goddess, but She is mentioned by the Venerable Bede, who said that Eostre's following had died out by the time he compiled his writings in the eighth century. Jacob Grimm referred to Her by the High German equivalent, Ostara, in his 1835 manuscript, Deutsche Mythologie. Eostre's name is the root of our present day spring celebration of Ostara.
• Flora (Roman): This Goddess of spring and flowers had Her own festival, Floralia, which was celebrated every year between April 28 to May 3. Romans dressed in bright robes and floral wreaths, and attended theater performances and outdoor shows. Offerings of milk and honey were made to the Goddess.
• Freya (Norse): This fertility Goddess abandons the earth during the cold months, but returns in the spring to restore nature's beauty. She wears a magnificent necklace called Brisingamen, which represents the fire of the sun.
• Osiris (Egyptian): This lover of Isis dies and is reborn in a resurrection story. The resurrection theme is popular among spring Deities, and is also found in the stories of Adonis, Mithras and Attis as well.
• Saraswati (Hindu): This Hindu Goddess of the arts, wisdom and learning has Her own festival each spring in India, called Saraswati Puja. She is honored with prayers and music, and is usually depicted holding lotus blossoms and the sacred Vedas.
Rituals and Ceremonies
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 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.
Depending on your particular tradition, there are many different ways you can celebrate Ostara, but typically it is observed as a time to mark the coming of Spring and the fertility of the land. By watching agricultural changes -- such as the ground becoming warmer, and the emergence of plants from the ground -- you'll know exactly how you should welcome the season.
A happy and safe holiday to all who celebrate!