March 21 -- Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)
As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.
The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.
The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.
Traditional Foods:
Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.
Herbs and Flowers:
Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.
Incense:
Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.
Sacred Gemstone:
Jasper
Special Activities:
Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.
Copyright © 1997-99 Akasha, Herne and The Celtic Connection wicca.com. All rights reserved.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
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2 comments:
I have been considering doing a course at the Goddess Temple in Glastonbury for a long time. I honeymooned in Glastonbury and I would like to live there permanently.Your blog has inspired me to seriously think about the course again.
I would definitely recommend classes, books, anything you can get your hands on. I have been studying Wicca since I left Mormonism. I've come to believe that there is nothing wrong with researching all of the world's religious points of view and deciding what resonates in YOU. That's great news to me, Allyson. I'm glad that I could inspire you. :>)
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