Ostara & the Vernal Equinox 2010

by with No Comment Celebrate The Season

Saturday, March 20, 2010 Ostara, The Spring Equinox
Sun enters Aries

Ostara is the of hope, joy and expectation. The seeds planted at Imbolc are showing the fist signs of new growth. The tender shoots still have so much potential for growth. It’s the time to look forward toward a bright future. The earth awakens from its slumber, not just on the astral, but on the physical. What was only a thought at Imbolc becomes tangible at Ostara.
It is the equinox, the time of balance between the light and the dark, where the cycle is about to tip into the realm of the light, more and more each day until the Summer Solstice.
this is also a time to share good fortune. The tradition of decorating eggs can be as intricate as the Ukrainian art of pysanky, with elaborate designs filled with meaning, or as simple as eggs decorated with runes. After having the eggs for decoration, immerse them in bowls of seasonal colors (blue, green, pink, yellow). Once the color has set and dried, use paint or colored markers to adorn them with runes such as Feoh (wealth, cattle), Gebo (gift), Wunjo (joy), and Sowilo (Sun). Distribute the eggs to family and friends, and, if you consume eggs and have hardboiled them before decorating them, eat them to ingest the good wishes for the coming cycle.
by Cerridwen Iris Shea

Source: Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook 2010

If you do not consume eggs and have decorated non-edible eggs, place them on the altar as an offering in appreciation for receiving the good wishes in the coming cycle.

Click Here for more information about Ostara: The Festival of Renewal

A World Of Balance

by with No Comment Celebrate The Season

It is absolutely incredible the things we see in the world when we give ourselves a moment and take in the beauty the world emits, in every way.

As I look out my window I can clearly see that the time of rebirth has arrived, in the Northern Hemisphere that is. We are getting ready for Spring and the land is already showing its change, the transformation has begun. The Sun Light is getting brighter each day and the rays are feeling warmer; the naked trees are slowly decorated by very light green dots as the new leaves begin to peek through their pods; even the melody that travels within the wind has changed. Spring is near and yellow and white butterflies flutter their wings above the Dandelions that stand tall reaching up to the Sun and clusters of tiny flowers of every color dress up the green field.

Nature is such an artist, and Mother Earth a work of art in action and constant motion, keeping the balance of the pendulum of Life.

While life is being reborn up North, in the Southern Hemisphere, sitting beneath the Equator, we prepare for the maturity of the land, the time of death, of reaching the limit and passing over to the new cycle, the ascension, the exhale.
The time of Autumn is a colorful transformation of reds and yellows bursting out of the surface of the land. The dry leaves gather to provide a playground for the wild animals to play in. If we observe the creatures of Nature, and the critters, we’ll notice that, besides playing, they too do their part in getting ready for this change of weather. Usually in pairs, the animals begin storing goods in their homes to have enough supplies during the winter. As the cold arrives with the blues and greys of the Winter season, so does the quiet time of reflection, purification, and connection to the heart.

THE EQUINOX

Celebrate the Equinox, gather with friends and loved ones, cook, eat, dance, drum, laugh .. and don’t forget to give Thanks!
Rejoice!

Ostara is a pagan celebration of the Vernal Equinox.

Mabon is a pagan celebration of the Autumn Equinox.