Time of equal day and equal night. It is now time to lay the seeds of new projects and new directions that you have meditated on throughout the cold months. Now is the time to start taking action. A lot of traditions use this particular sabbat for initiations, traveling new roads, taking in a new breath. This festival celebrates the start of Spring. Now we are beginning to truely see the flowers bloom, both on the ground and in our lives. We Celebrate the Goddess as a Maiden still, but we see the promises of her womanhood. At this time, the God begins courting the Goddess. This is a time for us to look at what we have accomplished thus far in the year.
Easter was one of the first Pagan holidays along with Yule to be "Christianized" by the oncoming church to try to entice the pagan community to convert to Christianity. This is why the holiday is named after the Celtic fertility Goddess, Eoster, who was known to visit her followers in the guise of a white rabbit and would leave gifts for her devout followers. The Christians kept the bunny, the name, eggs which were a symbol of rebirth of Spring and fertility. However, they changed the reason for the season making into the resurrection of Christ. Some traditional activities during Ostara (also known as the vernal equinox) include: planting seeds, potting plants, working on magickal gardens, practicing all forms of herbal work (artistic, culinary, magickal & cosmetic), leaving seeds and grain out for birds coming back home from wintering in the South, taking walks through gardens, parks, woodlands & other green places, egg hunts, and decorating & coloring hard-boiled eggs. For many pagans, spring cleaning is also associated with the festival of Ostara. The removal of old energies (dust "bunnies") to make way for the new has ties to the ideas of birth and renewal found in the season. Scrubbing in a clockwise direction brings helpful energies into our homes.
SYMBOLS:Eggs- colored eggs left at the altar or buried in the ground by trees,to continue the renewal of spring Rabbits- Think of the Goddess dancing in blossoming fields, smiling upon us. Flowers- early sign of spring, with beautiful colors breaking through the frost to signal rebirth Trees- sacred to Celtic tradition, a symbol of new life Dragons- associated with eggs, earth, and fertility Butterflies and Cocoons
HERBS:Crocus flowers, Daffodils, Easter lilies, Honeysuckle, Iris, Jasmine, Roses, Strawberry, Tansy and Violets
FOODS:Eggs (hard-boiled, egg salad), Honey cakes, Biscuits, Cheeses, Ham, Fruits, Seeds (sunflower & sesame seeds) Sprouts and green leafy vegetables Hey, this page has a chickenload of egg dish recipes!!!
COLORS:Yellow, Purple, Robin's Egg blue, grassy Green, pale Pink and all Pastels
STONES:Rose quartz, Aquamarine, Amethyst, and Moonstone
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