3.21.2007
A Blessed Spring Equinox
Today is the vernal (spring) equinox
"Eostre" by Thalia Took
Here are some quotes from the press and some prominent Pagans on this day.
"We think that the customs surrounding the celebration of the spring equinox were imported from Mediterranean lands, although there can be no doubt that the first inhabitants of the British Isles observed it, as evidence from megalithic sites shows. But it was certainly more popular to the south, where people celebrated the holiday as New Year's Day, and claimed it as the first day of the first sign of the zodiac, Aries. However you look at it, it is certainly a time of new beginnings, as a simple glance at nature will prove." - Mike Nichols, The Witches' Sabbats
"In the past, when stores had been depleted by this time, humans were known to subsist on new maple sugar for a month or so before green struck again. Religions, formed before refrigeration and on the shoulders of earlier pagan rites, actively encourage severe fasting at this time of year, culminating with feasting at the time when new young things are born and grow." - Sharon Parquette Nimtz, Rutland Herald
"Easter gets its name from the Teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn, whose name is spelled Oestre or Eastre (the origin of the word "east" comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word "aurora" which means " to shine"). Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling "Ostara" which honors this goddess as our word for the Vernal Equinox. The 1974 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary defines Easter thus: "orig., name of pagan vernal festival almost coincident in date with paschal festival of the church; Eastre, dawn goddess; 1. An annual Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21." The Vernal Equinox usually falls somewhere between March 19th and 22nd (note that the dictionary only mentions March 21st, as opposed to the date of the actual Equinox), and depending upon when the first full moon on or after the Equinox occurs, Easter falls sometime between late-March and mid-April." - Peg Aloi, Witchvox
"Although we saw the first promise of spring at Candlemas in the swelling buds, there were still nights of frost and darkness ahead. Now spring is manifest. Demeter is reunited with her daughter, Kore (the essence of spring), who has been in the Underworld for six months and the earth once again teems with life. The month of March contains holidays dedicated to all the great mother goddesses: Astarte, Isis, Aprhrodite, Cybele and the Virgin Mary. The goddess shows herself in the blossoms, the leaves on the trees, the sprouting of the crops, the mating of birds, the birth of young animals. In the agricultural cycle, it is time for planting. We are assured that life will continue." - Waverly Fitzgerald, School of the Seasons
"Prepare egg dishes and share them with friends. Organize egg games, such as egg hunts. Decorate your home with spring flowers and sprouting greens. Wear green clothing as an affirmation of new growth within yourself and Nature. Bless any seeds you plan to plant in your garden. Begin a new project. Make a growth charm out of a hard-boiled egg -- decorate it with symbols, write on it the quality you would like to manifest more fully within yourself, energize it, and then eat it." - Selena Fox, Celebrating the Seasons
May you enjoy a fruitful and blessed spring!
* Technically speaking, the 2007 Spring Equinox happened at March 21st 00:07 UTC. In my neck of the woods, that means that the equinox actually happened last night. If you live in the United Kingdom then it happened at approximately 12:07 AM. In Australia the equinox (though not the "spring" equinox) will be around 8:07 AM (or possibly 9:07 AM due to daylight saving time).
Labels: Lady Day, Ostara, Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox
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