Ostara

We made it!

Ostara is celebration. We made it through the dark and the cold. It is the joyous reconnection to the belief that all things survive. We feel life in Ostara.

This feeling of resurrection and re-birth crosses time and space. Ostara is rooted in a time when winters killed. The cold battered, land was barren, game was hidden, food stores close to depletion, and hope felt distant. In winter, nature pruned. Many things died as we huddled in the cold and prayed to survive. In that darkness, death was all around and we wondered if it was our time. We wondered if we were strong enough to make it. Winter touched our connection with life as many things moved beyond this realm. Light returned in even the smallest dose and we welcomed it. We emerged from hiding and hibernation. Our ancestors greeted the barest hint of thaw with dance and fire and joy. They saw the animals move forth again and mate to begin another circle around the sun. Food would soon grow on tree and bush and more. Soon, there would be much to gather and share again.

If the Wheel of Life has a starting point, it is Ostara. We looked to the heavens and felt safe again…selected to live another cycle. It was time to gather. Some prepared for planting. They honed the plows and assembled together in a joyous pre-game show for the work ahead. Just as the very survival we celebrated was linked to the last harvest and gathering, our continued existence was again linked to the abundance that would soon return and be ours to share as tribe. Ostara is fertility and beginning and more.

Eggs showed in nests and burrows. Bulbs birthed buds of beauty. Bodies felt warm and encouraged touch. Eggs became magical on the Equinox, March 21, when they stood on end on that one special day. A balancing act that defied the known and called us to feel forces much greater than our earthly vessels. The Gods and Goddess made eggs dance as the light returned.

Soon, some named their Gods and Goddesses. One of the first so named is Eostre, the German Goddess of Spring, for whom Ostara is named. Eostre is linked to the East, where the Sun rose and shined brighter and earlier as spring warmed the ground. Eostre also links fittingly to Shining and Glorious. The celebrations were rich and pure with dancing, mating, and joy. Ostara is nature’s call to multiply. Rabbits and their impressive fertility symbolized the sheet magick of reproduction and life.

Passover is honored in this time. Life and survival emphasized again. Easter is marked in this time and the story of life over death literally. The theme is common…life celebrated. Ostara reminds us that light and joy return and are to be shared by all.