Posted by Laurie on March 15, 2004 at 22:10:30:
Vernal Equinox
Ostara, Eostre, Easter, Vernal Equinox, Spring Equinox, and
First Day of Spring are all names for the same festival time.
This is the day when the light and darkness are of equal
length, and afterwards the days get longer. This occurs when
the Sun enters Aries, which is on March 20th or 21st. This is
the time when the light symbolically "triumphs over
darkness", so it is no wonder that the Christian's put their
Easter, where the God of Light triumphs over darkness and
rises again, at this time of year. It has long been the time for
Gods to return from the Underworld, or the darkness, as we
shall see.
Agriculturally, this is the time in most of Europe and America
when the seeds are sown and planted in the ground. This
corresponds in Wicca also to the planting of new ideas, new
goals for the coming year, new businesses or new activities to
be started.
This holiday is sacred to Eostre, Anglo-Saxon Goddess of
Spring, also known as Ostre. Sacred to Her are eggs, and white
rabbits. There is a legend in which a white rabbit fell in love
with her, and to prove his love he laid colored eggs for her
everyday. (Eggs and white rabbits, sound familiar anyone?)
The white rabbit symbolizes the transformation of innocence,
and constant fertility. The eggs symbolize new life, and also
rebirth. In ancient times, when hens were not domesticated, it
was necessary to climb trees and hunt for these eggs, no doubt
a welcome treat after the dreary winter fare. Thus we may
have the origination of the egg hunt so many cultures still do
today. Also, since the eggs are found in the woven nests of
birds, which were the inspration for woven baskets, we can see
the link between the ancient ways and our traditions today of
putting the colored eggs into pretty woven baskets.
Why decorate eggs? Birds eggs are naturally decorated for
camoflauge or for other reasons having to do with the
preservation of the species. And that is the same reason why
we decorate our eggs today and why our pagan ancestors did
theirs, the presevation of the species! They used not only color
to symbolize what they wanted to be "born" but also, signs,
runes, and different geometric designs.
If you want to see a very old tradition still in practice today,
research the Ukranian art form of making "pysanky" (from
the word "pysaty" which means "to write"). These eggs have
highly stylized decorations of geometric and other designs, and
are also quite beautiful.
To decorate your own eggs, here are some of the ancient signs
and what they mean:
CIRCLE and CONCENTRIC RINGS
for the cycles of life and rebirth
SOLAR CROSSES
union of matter and spririt, or the union of the God and
Goddess
TRIANGLES
triple Goddess
SQUARES
the earth
PINWHEELS and 8-POINTED STARS
the sun
WAVY LINES, or 3 "C's"
water
more modern symbols are:
$ for money,
HEARTS for love,
SMILEY FACES for happiness, etc.
You can also use pentagrams, ankhs, and any other symbols
which have meaning for you. Conincide the symbol with the
color, for example, an egg for love and friendship would have a
heart on it and be pink or red. One for healing might be green
or blue. One for new ideas might be yellow and show an "!" on
it! Be creative - use your imagination, this is how we grow and
learn our traditions, and incorporate them into our lives.
Decorated eggs were found in Egyptian tombs, and were not
for food, since the eggs were hollow, they were more of an
amulet intended to help the soul find rebirth. It is known that
the Druids dyed eggs red in honor of the sun. Today, we have
choices, such as whether to use either commercial dyes, or
natural ones.
If you want to experiment with natural dyes, here are some
that I have seen listed in books. I must tell you that I have not
personally tried these, but they have been published by several
authors I respect, so I will pass them on for your benefit:
GREEN : colts-foot or bracken
YELLOW: turmeric
YELLOW-GREEN: carrot tops
ORANGE: onion skin
RUST: onion skin
RED: madder root or cochineal
PINK: madder root or cochineal
BLUE: blueberries
BRIGHT BLUE: red cabbbage leaves
Leaving the eggs in the dye longer, will create the darker
colors. Many of these must be boiled, or brought to a boil, then
add the egg and vinegar, and allow both to cool. Eggs should
be hard=boiled first, before dying. Mark the eggs before hand
with crayon or wax, or afterwards you can use lemon juice for
the darker colors, or even "magic markers". Be sure to add
white vinegar to your colors so they will stick to the eggshell.
With the natural dyes, the eggs do scratch more easily, so
handle with care!
Before your circle you may want to take your ritual bath and
add an egg, and use an "egg shampoo" by putting raw egg in
your hair. It is wonderful for your hair, and also for your bath!
Getting back to the theme of returning from the Underworld,
there are quite a few myths surrounding this holiday which all
have the same theme, though the names and circumstances
may differ slightly. All have the common thread of the
Goddess's love bringing them back from the Underworld.
Most were of lovers, such as Isis and Osiris, Ishtar and
Tammuz, Aphrodite and Adonis, Cybele and Attis. However,
Mother and daughter, Demeter and Persephone also follow
this theme. As does the myth of Mother and Son Bacchus and
Semele, except that it was Bacchus who loved his Mother so
much even though he had never seen her, that he descended
into the Underworld to bring her back to Mount Olympus
with him. These myths can be read in many books, so I won't
go into them here, but they are all appropriate themes for any
Ostara Sabbat rite.
All pastel colors are sacred to Eostre, but her color is especially
blue. (Robin's egg blue!) She is the Goddess of the East, and
Spring. She is the same as Eos, the Greek Goddess of the East,
and of sunrise and dawn. Is this why so many Christians
celebrate Easter Sunday with a sunrise service? She is the
Maiden aspect of the triple Goddess. In Hindu, she is called
Ushas, and her lover and opposite is the God of the West, of
death, of the sunset. This also corresponds to the Norse God,
Vestri, god of the sunset and of fire, and the latin word
"Vespers". The Greek Goddess Vestra, who was goddess of
fire and had a perpetual flame tended by the Vestal Virgins
also fits the fire in the west theme. In our tradition, we put fire
in the west, and it seems at some time in the past, fire was the
traditional element for the west, representing death, as most
funerals were done by cremation in many cultures. Even the
Norse ships which carried the dead out to sea were first set
aflame, then launched. It seems a natural opposite to the water
in the East where all life begins, (amniotic fluid) and where
the Goddess of Spring, the Maiden, rules.
In Ireland, the Shamrock is associated with Ostara, because it
is the green of new life, and the three-leafed variety was sacred
to the triple Goddess. Four-leaved clovers were and still are
considered lucky, they represent the four elements in balance,
and also a symbol of the sun wheel.
Foods for this Sabbat include eggs (of course!), and hot cross
buns, which have the solar wheel representation on them in
the form of the cross. Also the traditional Easter ham comes to
us from cultures which had a wild boar hunt at this time, and
paraded the boar's head around on a platter.
However you celebrate this holiday, remember that the
traditions which have been passed down to us are all pagan in
origin, (as is the case with so many holidays!) and you can join
right in with them whole-heartedly!