Happy Lady Day! (Ostara)
by Lydia Daffenberg
Whether one calls it Eostara, Ostara or Lady Day, pagans of varied traditions celebrate this holiday. It is observed on either March 20: the Vernal Equinox when the sun crosses the equator entering the astrological sign of Aries or March 25: the traditional folk date when festivities begin on its Eve. This is the begining of Spring; the victory of light over darkness. This time of year represents the warrior aspect of the God who appears victorious over the long, dark days of winter. The days are now equal to the nights in length. This is the festival of fertility.
Eostara is truely a lunar holiday honoring the Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre. (This is also where the name for the female hormone, estrogen, comes from.) At this time, there is a new moon (when the moon does not appear in the sky). This time of darkness lasts three days. The next Vernal full moon (Eostara) is celebrated; the return of the Goddess. Interestingly, this correlates to the story of the ressurection of Christ after three days, which Mike Nichols discusses in his in-depth article: Lady Day; The Vernal Equinox.
Whichever date one choses to observe, traditionally, this is a time when seeds are blessed for the season's planting and eggs are colored and placed around the home and altar. Hares have roots in Celtic Paganism, and are an obvious sister-symbol of the egg. Both represent fertility. It is no surprise that the fertility of rabbits has been an observed fact of nature for hundreds of years. At one time, it was thought that rabbits laid eggs because rabbit burrows are commonly concave with fur lining the sides. This resembles a bird's nest. The colors of light green, yellow and pale pink are used to represent the returning colors of Spring. Yellow and gold also symbolize the returning strength of the Sun (his fighting spirit) from his winter slumber.
A traditionally-rooted pagan custom is to give women the gift of a new broom, and to men, a new staff. Each of these can be seen to represent a fresh start, a new beginning. A broom to clean away the old and start fresh, and a staff to "start out" fresh, with new strength, seeking out new possibilities. Twisted bread and sweetcakes are prepared and served at dusk--reminding one of the sweetness of the season. It is an excellent time to plant seeds or start a magikal garden. Partake in the outdoors and relish in the returning warmth of the air and the returning growth on the earth. Listen to the birds sing. Spring is here, rejoice!
posted by Lydia Daffenberg @ 12:00 AM
9 Comments:
Hi Lydia, this was sent to me by our local coven leader;) and I thought you might find it amusing too...
*The Eostre Bunny Speaks Out!*
OK, before we go any further, let’s get a few things sorted out.
Firstly, I am NOT a bunny. Bunnies are cute, fluffy baby rabbits who
frolic prettily in the daisies. That’s not me. I’m not even a rabbit:
I’m a hare! Ostara’s Hare. You know the phrase ‘As mad as a March hare,’
right? Well, you’d be mad too if everyone kept calling you a bunny: it’s
demeaning! Hares have a lot of sex, fight like demons, and run very
fast. I represent the exuberant new energy that comes with Spring, and I
don’t usually use it in a cute fluffy way. I also get eaten at this time
of year. Even Christianity approves of me pie during Lent. Of all the
customs to keep on the books, they choose eating me. Typical.
Secondly, less of the ‘Easter.’ My Boss is called Ostara or Eostre. If
She hears you’ve been calling Her that bastardised, christianised
version of Her name there’ll be big trouble. If there’s one thing She
hates, it’s being associated with nailing some guy to a post in Galilee.
The death and resurrection of the God, in any form, is not in Her remit.
So leave it. Or else no Eostre eggs for you.
Eggs. Yes, I lay them. Wanna make something of it? I used to be a bird,
OK? People change. It’s just that The Boss has this thing about hares,
and first time I ran into Her she went and messed with my DNA. What
happened was, some kids asked Her to help me. She’d been a little late
in getting here that year and well, Old Man Winter was having His fun
while He could. So of course, poor little birdie me had got all frozen
up. I suppose that would’ve been it for me, but these kids, Viking I
think they were, got Mrs O to do Her old sliding down the rainbow trick
and sort me out. Now, I’m not in the habit of criticising deities’
decisions, but if it had been me I would have… I dunno… picked up the
bird, defrosted it a little and sent it on its way. But no. She decided
the best thing to do was to turn me into a white hare. Maybe it makes
more sense if you’re a Goddess. What do I know?
Anyway, at first, I was pretty bummed out. I’d gone from flying,
singing, laying eggs to running around on the ground, and being expected
to give birth to live, kicking babies. Eurgh. As for the beautiful and
haunting song of the hare, ever heard of that? No. Me neither. So I was
a little depressed. The same kids who had called The Boss noticed I
looked a bit down and asked Her if I could get all my bird privileges
back. The Goddess was not happy with the idea; She wanted me for Her
sacred hare. She had living quarters all picked out for me, in the moon.
But, She agreed to compromise. So, every year, on the first day of
Spring, I get to be a bird again. I use the time laying multicoloured
eggs for all the kids, because they sorted me out all that time ago. But
don’t go thinking I’m cute, just because I’m in debt to a bunch of
snotty little brats. I’m still not at all happy about this "bunny thing"
Fascinating, Lydia. I knew none of this. I used to have a hare, but it fell out. He used to leave raisins all over the floor, but he had a name, so you had to respect that. His name was Tuddles. The parakeet, whose name was Henri, used to ride on the rabbit's back as he hopped around, with the bird looking like a rodeo cowboy. This is true. Irrelevant and off topic, but true. Great to see you're still blogging.
Thanks so much, Mamagiggle! That was a fun read. Out of curiosity, when do you celebrate Ostara (if you do)? Do you have any traditions you practice at this time of year in your coven or on your own? I'm always looking for new ideas.
CW,did Henri ever eat the raisins? Hail to the memory of Tuddles! One of my friends has a pet rabbit: Professor Bun Bun. He comes off stuffy with a name like that, but he raisins everywhere, just like every other hare. Even with the name, not sure I respected his raisining when I bunnysat!! Happy Spring.
When will Christians accept the fact that their celebrations are based upon 'pagan' rituals, some names even derived from the pagan religion itself. What about the repressed and underplayed role for women in Christian religions, opposed to the pagan worship of the sacred feminine, the Goddesses, the birthers. Woman gives life, she's not a whore.
"The ironing is delicious."--Bart Simpson
Umm, one I like is to take out a beautiful bowl and place a representation of each of the children in your life in it also bearing in mind that we are all children so be sure to represent the child within (eggs will do, pebbles seeds coins feathers (that last ones good for 2-7 year old fairy children) It's a blessing bowl, keep it out for the spring season and meditate on all the growth potential in them and yourself. Lala, I don't belong to that coven by the way I am so power hungry I have been cast as a lone wolf. Wicked wicked me;)
Hiya Mamagiggle,
I love the idea of a seasonal meditation that your Blessing Bowl creates. I think I'll adopt it--it's full of positive energy.
I'm also going to remain on the lookout for other seasonal reflections now that I have the initial idea. Thanks!
I am also an independent practitioner. Cheers.
--Lydia
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Just wondering - did you ever read American Gods by N Gaiman? Brings the Lady in in a really neat way. It was only the second place I'd ever seen a mention to the REAL Easter.
(*)>
Birdwoman,
No, I haven't, but I am familiar with Gaimen, I have Good Omens and maybe a couple more books by him. Sounds like something I'd enjoy, thanks for the tip!
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