Spring Equinox-Ostara March 20-22nd Celebrating, Growing

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1 Spring Equinox-Ostara March 20-22nd Celebrating, Growing "Farewell to wintry spirits and friends; On morrow we greet the spirits of spring; Our blessings to thee as your way you wend; And merry we'll meet next winter again." The word equinox comes from the Latin words meaning equal night. This means that when the sun crosses the equator day and night everywhere on the planet are nearly of equal length, and from this day on the sun will steadily increase the length of time it is awake and slowly will become summer. Ostara is the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility {which is we get the word estrogen from}, and whose two main symbols were the egg and the rabbit. As usual the Christian religion adopted these symbols for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon. By this time of year one can smell the difference in the air and it wakes all of our senses up, rising to feelings of joyfulness and excitement for the season to come. Tis is also the time of year where we may head outside to access any winter damage and begin to set in motion pans for gardening and planting. The bees are also busy bringing in early pollen a beautiful example to spring time energy. ~ 1 ~

2 As we move into the new season of spring-time we first must turn to our bodies, sensing into the subtle changes we feel within ourselves, for this is the waking up time, the time of sweeping away of the old stagnant energies left over from the winter and making room within ourselves for the spring. For those who live in geographical areas where the seasons actually have in-between phases such as spring and fall, it is important to see these "In-between times as the gift that they are... for we as humans are notorious at struggling with change of any kind, and although we may feel as though we are ready to embrace the change, it is the subtle energies within the body that we may struggle with, and not even realize it. The spring asks us to begin thinking about what patterns from the previous season no longer serve us. They can be simple and subtle, or extreme, but the point is to take this in-between time to gradually make the changes and plant the seeds we need, so that when the warm summer winds blow in we may bask in the fast "growth period" that the summer time brings us. One of the best ways is to do a short spring time fast, there are lots of options out there, but always go for a gentle one to begin with and then move onto something deeper if your body calls for it. Another way that supports us in crossing the threshold of the changing season is mark it with ceremony, for it is on these threshold places that ceremony is the most called for, and I have to say that spring time in our home is one of the most fun times as we really like to do it up in the celebrating! Ostara-or Easter is a fun way to celebrate and children love this day for obvious reasons. When our children were little one of the things we did every year was to make red eggs... Red Eggs: The color Red is traditional in many Ostara traditions, as they symbolize fertility and rebirth. In our home the tradition is to dye our eggs red to symbolize the color of life, represented by the blood of the mother, woman s mysteries and bringing new life. The tradition is to bury them so the garden will get some lovely eggs to start off her growing season with!. The tradition of burying eggs came from the priests who were trying to convert those pesky pagans, by offering to pay the kids money to dig the eggs up, thus the first easter ~ 2 ~

3 egg hunt! In our home we have reclaimed this tradition by making red eggs the first spring time offering to our garden, symbols of fertility and new growth, and the garden devours them greedily! For our ancestors, eggs were scarce during the winter months as back in the times before human made artificial light hens stopped laying during the dark months and began to produce them once again in the spring with the return of the light. Particularly in Britain In the Middle Ages, eggs an important source of nutrition and were commonly begged for by children before important holidays such as Easter, which is where the tradition of giving eggs comes form, except that now we give our children sweet chocolate eggs. Of course eggs are really such a rich symbol of fertility that we can't ignore their presence in the spring time when all of the birds are laying their eggs, one only need to think of the bright blue Robin's eggs to imagine how eggs came to be such a powerful symbol this time of year. Interestingly enough Red Eggs were also common burial sites, and have been found in or on ancient graves in Hungary, Egypt, Russia, Greece and Britain; and the red ochre used to color them has been found in megalithic graves at the Çatal Hüyük site in Turkey and on the Salisbury Plain, among many others locations, as the colour red represented the rebirth through reincarnation, new birth into a life-after-death. This makes sense because if you think abut it, when we are born we are covered in our mothers blood, which is probably why the ancients believed that when we die, we must also return back into the Earth s womb wearing the same color. Spring, symbolically associated with the East (and the dawn) is as logical a time for rebirth rites as the autumn (sunsets and the West) is for death-rites. Bunnies/ Hare's The character of the "Easter bunny" first appeared in 16th-century German writings, which said that if well-behaved children built a nest out of their caps or bonnets, they would be rewarded with colored eggs. This legend became part of American folklore in the 18th century, when German immigrants settled in the eastern U.S. as seems to be the way with many if not most of the celebrations we have today. The rabbit or hare, is the other main symbol at this time, and is brought in for its high fertility rate, and has now become more than mythological! The gestation period for a doe rabbit is a mere thirty-one days, and rabbits can begin breeding at six months of age!. We all know the term "Breeding like rabbits" and "Mad as a March hare" but that sexual madness is actually the estrus of real biological sexual frenzy, and we ALL feel it come spring time! Ostara Herself was believed able to take the form of a hare, and these animals, especially white ones, were sacred to Her. In British myth, the hare also symbolizes transformation, which is what is happening in the spring time, as one season changes to ~ 3 ~

4 another... In some early cultures, the nocturnal hare was actually considered a symbol of the moon, and in addition to feeding at night, the gestation period is approximately 28 days - - the same as a full lunar cycle. In European folklore, the rabbit connection to eggs is one based on confusion. In the wild, hares birth their young in what is known as a form -- basically, a nest for bunnies. When the hares abandoned a nest, it was sometimes taken over by snakes, who would then lay their eggs in it, thus the confusion. Serpents Serpents? yes serpents my darling... If most people know anything about Saint Patrick, it s that his one claim to fame is that he drove the snakes away from Ireland. What most people don t realize is that the snake is a Pagan symbol, and that the snakes referred to in the Saint Patrick mythos are not meant in the literal sense, but refer to Pagans; i.e., Saint Patrick drove the Pagans (specifically, the Celtic people) out of Ireland... It wasn t arbitrary that the day honoring Saint Patrick was placed on the 17th of March. The festival was designed to coincide, and, it was hoped, to replace the Pagan holiday known as Ostara; the second spring festival which occurs each year, which celebrates the rebirth of nature, the balance of the universe when the day and night are equal in length, and which takes place at the Spring Equinox (March 22nd this year). In other words, Saint Patrick s Day is yet another Christian replacement for a much older, ancient Pagan holiday; although generally speaking Ostara was most prominently replaced by the Christian celebration of Easter The original, pre-christian name for Easter was Oestre, named after the goddess of the Spring Equinox, when red painted eggs would be left as offerings to her in her serpent form, at her shrines. Of course eggs are also laid by snakes, and snakes are a deep symbol for the divine feminine representing fertility and the womb, she who sheds her skin every 28 days by bleeding, so does the snake, who by shedding their old skins symbolize regeneration and transformation. Barbara Walker mentions a 13th Century French custom in which a snake was carried up to the baptismal font during Easter week. Hibernating creatures, snakes too begin reawakening in Spring. Spring is the season of new life, and as the ground warms, one of the first denizens of the animal kingdom we begin to notice emerging is the serpent. While a lot of people are afraid of snakes, it's important to remember that in many cultures, serpent mythology is strongly tied to the cycle of life, death and rebirth. In Scotland, Highlanders had a tradition of pounding the ground with a stick until the ~ 4 ~

5 serpent emerged. The snake's behaviour gave them a good idea of how much frost was left in the season What many people don't realize is that the serpent was actually a metaphor for the early Pagan faiths of Ireland. St. Patrick brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle, and did such a good job of it that he practically eliminated Paganism from the country. In cold climates like Scotland, snakes hibernate during winter. They disappear into their holes in the earth like the sleeping roots of plants and trees. This brings literal truth to the legends of great serpents sleeping beneath the roots of sacred Rowan trees associated with Brighid. On Bride s day a strange old custom documented by Alexander Carmichael included beating the earth with a piece of peat in a sock while reciting a rune like the one above. No doubt this practice was meant to awaken the sleeping serpents and therefore the land to let them know spring is coming and it is time to wake up. It is uncannily similar to the ancient Greek method of invoking Hades by slapping ones hands on the bare earth to get his attention for a petition. Bees! Wake up for we are sick of winter and the cold! Wake up for the Sun is strengthening! Wake up for it is time to grow green again! You have shed your skin in autumn and now it is time to be reborn! For me as a beekeeper the spring time is also the season of bees! This is when the beehive is literally waking up from it's long winter cluster and the hive begins to flow with activity as the bees fly in and out bringing back precious pollen and nectar to feed the queen, as this stimulates her to lay new eggs and begin the cycle of birth once again. The honey bee is a symbol of feminine mysteries for the bees in the hive are 90% female and are ruled by a queen. In a world where the masculine principle is overly dominant the bee hive functions as a powerful symbol for us as women. The sweet and humble bee gives us a powerful example of how to work together supporting each other for the greater good. As we dive deeper into the spring time lessons, I speak more about the bees and their rich symbolism to us as women, but for now I say watch out for the sweet bee as the flowers bloom, for there is no greater metaphor, then drinking from the nectar of life from the springtime blooming flowers! Baking and Celebrating: Over at our house the Spring time equinox is when we once again change our seasonal ~ 5 ~

6 altar adding more spring time offerings, such as eggs and birds nests in preparation for our big Ostara celebration in April. We separate the two mostly because the April date gives everyone a day off for good Friday and this is the "well known" day of Easter. Every year for well over to 10 years now I have hosted a large Ostara brunch sometimes with over 60 people, mostly of whom are children in attendance, I make a large quantity of food and sweets and decorate our home in the most delightful of pagan ways and everyone comes! In our home we welcome christians, buddhists, catholics, jewish friends and more, and together for one day we celebrate the spring time! My neighbours are always game for the ceremony I do where I call everyone outside where we dig a big hole and make offerings to the garden and spirits of the land wishing for a fruitful spring and summer. In the hole goes our deep red eggs and other sweet offerings, and the children are always up for the opportunity to help as seen by the sweet chubby hands in the photo below offering lavender to the garden.. Of course it usually rains on this day, but we pay no attention as the older kids hide sweet eggs for the little one's, and they all run around high on sugar enjoying the day, whatever it brings us that year! Dyeing eggs: Over at our house, as well as painting some of our eggs bright red we like to use different natural dyes to make patterns and shapes from the natural world on our eggies... Here is how to get some of the different colours from the Crunchy Goddess site. { I added a wee bit to it} RED: 3 cans of beets in cranberry juice (instead of water) produced a dark reddish hue PINK: Frozen cherries made a very light pink RED-ORANGE: 3 tablespoons of chili powder produced a nice reddish-orange color YELLOW: 3 Tablespoons of tumeric produced a great yellow plus a whole bunch of onion skins! GREEN: A mix of spinach leaves, canned blueberries and their juice and a few tablespoons of tumeric produced a gorgeous earthy green color I think it would work without the spinach leaves, but I happened to have some that were wilting so I threw them in. BLUE: 3/4 of a head of red/purple cabbage (chopped) made a beautiful blue GREY BLUE: 2 cans of blueberries and their juice made a grey-blueish color GREY: Frozen cherries mixed with blueberries yielded a grey color (not the purple I was going for). ~ 6 ~

7 Layered Pavlova Cake This is one of my favourite spring time cakes to make and it always has such a pretty look guests love it! The photo here is from a lovely priestess ceremony we had a few years ago and the pavlova a big hit. The recipe below is really great because it includes a meringue making tutorial for first timers that is really helpful! Meringue: 6 large egg whites 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar Pinch salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Whipped Cream: 3 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract -Berries of choice (I used 2 1/2 large containers of strawberries and 2 small containers of blueberries) Preheat oven to 275 F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Draw two 8'' circles on one of the sheets of parchment paper (spaced apart) and one 8'' circle on the second parchment paper. You can trace around an 8" round pan to get a perfect circle. Flip the parchment sheets over so the ink is on the other side. Place the egg whites, sugar, and salt into the clean, dry bowl of your electric stand mixer (or any metal bowl) and place over a pot of simmering water, creating a double boiler. Whisk mixture constantly over a low flame for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (110 F). Transfer bowl to machine fitted with a wire whip attachment and whip on high speed for about 6-10 minutes, or until you have a glossy meringue with stiff peaks. Spread the meringue evenly into the 3 prepared circles with a spatula. Bake for minutes, or until the meringues are dry and crisp on the outside and the edges can be lifted off the sheets. They should still be marshmallow-like on the inside. Let the layers cool completely and firm up some more before assembling. Layers may crack on top - it's okay, they will be covered. Always be gentle when lifting the meringue layers as they're very delicate. Whipped Cream: Clean out your machine bowl and whip attachment. Beat the heavy cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla extract with the wire whip for a few minutes until ~ 7 ~

8 you get soft peaks. Be careful not to over beat or mixture will turn into butter. Assembly: Place thickest meringue layer on cake board or serving platter so it can hold the weight of the other layers. Spread 1/3 of the whipped cream over the meringue. Sprinkle berries (if using strawberries, cut them up as desired) on top of the cream. Place second thickest layer on top and spread with cream and fruit again. Place last layer on top, spread with final 1/3 of the cream, and top with a generous layer of berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Spring time Herbal Vinegar: These are also a favourite of mine and I make them seasonally. In the image here I was making an autumn one with crabapples, sumac, rosemary, and Hawthorn berries. However in the recipe below I have added in spring time herbs to the same effect. Spring Time Tonic Vinegar Ingredients ¼ cup dry organic nettle leaf ½ cup organic dandelion leaf ½ cup organic rosemary Apple Cider Vinegar Quart Jar Directions **If you are using all dried, or all fresh herbs, use equal parts. Coarsely chop all herbs and combine in a big jar-whatever you have on hand. Cover all of your herbs with Apple Cider Vinegar, cap and shake vigorously if the cap is metal use a bit of saran wrap to step the vinegar form corroding the lid. Label your jar with your ingredients and the date and then place in a dark, dry place and shake daily-or weekly whatever you can remember to do. After a month or so, strain herbs through cheesecloth into a clean quart jar, making sure to squeeze out the herbs. You can either take this Spring Tonic Vinegar straight by the tsp for better digestion, or use it to make your next salad dressing, both are great for health and delicious! Ritual to create an outdoor offering shrine: As an animist/shamanist the first thing I did many years ago was to install an outdoor shrine in my back yard, on ~ 8 ~

9 this shrine I make offerings once a month to the plant deva's and earth spirits that dwell on our land as well as to any other spirit that resides there, asking them for protection and to allow us to live in our home peacefully. I can honestly say that in the 12 years of living in east Vancouver I have never one had a thing stolen, not off of our front porch or back yard, where others have had plants stolen and other things as well as their homes broken into {East Vancouver is not exactly thee most fancy place to live in our city.} Each tree in our back yard is lovingly given offerings as well as the shrine, which we change 4 times a year to reflect the season.. If you do not have an outdoor shrine, even if you live in an apartment building I highly recommend making one! it does not need to be big, only lovingly created and tended. If you are building one in the spring, this is also a good time ask the earth where you live to awaken and bless you with her fertile ways... Below is 4 images of our outdoor shrine, going clockwise from Winter, to Spring, and then Summer and Fall... So much of your seasonal activities can be done at the altar or shrine, even the changing over of the altar itself is a ceremony. The spring time is the time for planting new seeds, asking yourself to make manifest all of the ideas that have been gestating within you over the long winter months... As you create your altar, or change over your current one you are making a new start, sweeping away the old, or "spring cleaning" as it were... you are participating in the ancient custom of manifestation or magic making... Begin by gathering all of the things together that you are happy to leave outside for the elements to work their way at, as well as offerings such as a small plate of fruit, honey or pollen, baked goods and flowers etc... Remember that from the moment that you decide to create your shrine you are in ceremony, so enjoy yourself, be silly, laugh and be merry for this is the spring time and altar work a delight! From am animist perspective everything contains spirit, so as you work speak out loud what you are doing, asking the apple if it would like to be an offering etc... it may feel silly at the time, but the spirits like to hear our voices and speaking out loud lets them know we are aware of their presence. I also like to add images of my animal guides to my altar and over the years have been fortunate enough to find small clay and metal statues of my animal guides which were lovingly placed outside to honour their presence in my life. My children also have special things so on the altar, as it is a family affair. Once you are done the artistic and creative aspect of putting together your shrine, I highly suggest planting some bulbs or seeds near or in front of your altar, as this is the moment of manifestation, and nothing could be more magical then a seed that contains life within it's tiny shell? This is your first offering to the earth, a seed lovingly planted and tended. ~ 9 ~

10 Shamanic Journey work or Meditation if you do not know how to journey. If you have a drum or the mindful bear drumming app it is best to do this meditation/ journey work beside or near your shrine, being outside is a powerful way to connect with your guide. Try this: find a comfortable place next to your shrine and prepare yourself to journey to your animal guide or deep within yourself in meditation until you feel centred and in contact with your higher self. Your intention for this meditation/journey is to ask your higher self or animal guide what offerings they might like for you to add to the shrine to honour them and their presence in your life. if you are meditating you are asking your higher self what is the best way for you to honour the land that you live on. I am a big believer in authentic ceremony, and to be honest I find much of the pagan books and ideas route suggesting entire ceremonies written and created by others for us to do. Real magic and authentic ceremony comes from within and from direct contact with our guides and the kind spirits of the land we live on- the earth and trees and plants. This is why you will never find entire ceremonies written by me for you to do... So I encourage all of you to create and follow your intuition in this creation process, calling in on your individual guides to share in your Ostara/ Spring equinox activities! Having said that there is a plethora of yummy books out there that serve as great inspiration. Much like using a recipe I like to open these books and use their "recipes" as a guide only, combining several rituals and ceremonies together, adding in my own flavour and taking out what does not serve me. In this way authentic magic is created and in my opinion where the real magic happens! This is a book that I have referred to over the years especially with my kiddies for activities and ideas... Enjoy! And Spring-time Blessings to you all!! ~ 10 ~