I am so excited to welcome the first day of Spring today. As the snow finishes melting in my yard I’m ready to be done with the snow and to welcome that warm weather back. I’m especially looking forward to it being warm enough to open up the windows. There’s nothing quite like a house with fresh air. It’s my kitty’s favorite time of year! Even though there is snow on the ground here, most of our birds are back and I love hearing them sing all day long outside my window. I provide food, they sing songs. I love it. 🙂 The crocus flowers and snowdrops are up in the yard and the shoots from some of the many other bulbs that we have planted are coming up. Oh! We also saw our first bunny the other day! They are so much fun to watch in the Spring as the babies are born.
Today we are turning that Wheel of the Year and welcoming the energy of Spring and new beginnings back into our life. It’s a wonderful day to celebrate the return of our Sun God as he makes his presence known bringing us longer days of light and the new life that is waking up all around us as we see the gifts that Mother Earth is bringing us. The Spring Equinox is the beginning of Spring but it is also a day of equal light and darkness. After today we will find that our days get longer and the nights a bit shorter as we welcome the power of the sun to change the world around us. This is always a special time of year here in New England that I know in just a few short weeks the world will be turning back into the beautiful emerald green that I love the most. New England is absolutely magickal during the Summer months. The colors are just so vivid and bright and everything smells amazing. If you look at places where the sun has been generous lately you can already see the grass starting to turn green again and the buds starting on a lot of the trees. It’s time to get all of our plants going in the greenhouse for our gardens that will come back to life bearing us wonderful gifts soon.
We also celebrate the Goddess Eostre today who some of you may know as the Goddess of Ostara. She is the beautiful Germanic Goddess of Spring and of the Dawn. Bunnies are sacred to the Goddess Ostara and depending on the tradition you may have heard stories of her being able to turn herself into one. I have also heard an old story about her saving a bird by turning it into a rabbit. She had arrived late for Spring that particular year and found a bird freezing to death in the snow. She warmed him back up saving his life. She was sad that his wings were unable to be repaired though so she turned him into a beautiful white rabbit named Lepus the Hare. As he had spent so much of his life he was still able to lay eggs. Being touched by the Goddess though, he laid those eggs in a variety of colors. The children were quite fond of these brightly colored eggs and Ostara would often give them to children as gifts. In time the people put out brightly colored eggs as a gift to Ostara in return for her bringing back Spring. This is just one of the many stories that I have been told.
If you are performing your own ritual tonight fresh flowers such as violets, lily of the valley, daffodils and other early spring flowers are perfect. You can also use fresh herbs such as lemon balm, and lavender. If you live in a climate like mine this may not be possible as we don’t have a lot of flowers and herbs yet. Still, I am incredibly excited as I know they are coming. As an alternative, you can get fresh herbs at the store, or just decorate with beautiful spring-colored eggs. In addition, you can use light green, lavender, or purple candles on your altar, and burn incense like jasmine or patchouli.
Making a special Ostara dinner? Choose fresh green leafy vegetables and sprinkle seeds upon the top of your dish. You can serve special Ostara bread to go with your salad. For the main course think about dishes involving eggs, or maybe a nice quiche, be sure not to forget cakes for dessert! You can also add things like fresh fruits, sprouts, and flower dishes.
Much Love and Many Blessings,
Jasmeine Moonsong
P.S. Today is the last day of the Spring Equinox Sale!! The Spring Equinox and Ostara readings will close tonight for orders as well as almost all of the Limited Edition readings with the exception of the March New Moon reading. That will close tomorrow!
Blessings of Ostara and the Spring Equinox!
