It's Ostara! And That Means What, Exactly?

Ostara blessings, everyone!

Now, if you're not Pagan, you might be asking yourself, God Lord, what weird thing is she celebrating this week, and why should I care?

Well, I will explain Ostara, but really, who needs a reason to celebrate? There's always a reason for a party. And Ostara is totally a party.

I'll bet someone at some point in your day mentioned that today was the start of Spring. In fact, it's the equinox.

The equinox, in case someone hasn't heard of that, is when day and night are equal in length. It happens twice a year, and this is one of those days.

Since Paganism sees Deity in the cycles of creation, it only makes sense that our holidays often fall on times of the year that are naturally significant. Like today.

If you come from a Christian background, Ostara is sort of our Easter. In the Church people celebrate the resurrection of Christ and how his death and resurrection bring new and everlasting life to the world,

At Ostara we celebrate the resurrection of nature. She wakes from her winter sleep and brings new life to the world as it has always been.

Of course, this is Minnesota, where getting the Earth to wake up for Spring, feels a lot like this:



Anywho, in our mythos, we learn that the Great God has become a young man, and marries the Maiden Goddess, who immediately conceives (those crazy kids!). And her fertility is shown in the fertility of the land.

New flowers bloom. New animals are born.


It's a lot of work for the animals, it seems.

Anyway, for us, nature is a reflection of the divine story.

So what do we do for Ostara?

Well, I largely suck as ritual and party planner. Like, so much it's not even funny. But as a family we're going to do things that people do for Easter, like decorate eggs. And buy chocolate.

Nothing says it's Spring like chocolate eggs full of fondant. I only recently learned how those things came to be:

I was both disturbed, and not surprised.

In the evening we have time in the Sacred Circle, where we will tell stories, sing songs, and eat.

Pagans really like to eat, maybe more than they like drums and circles. And that's a lot.

Since this is a time of rebirth and growth, I will ask the kids what they would like to start over on, and work harder at. And I will ask myself, as well.

Maybe this year I'll garden!

Okay, geez, maybe not. There goes this year's dream of being the kind of witch people understand.  Oh well. Happy Ostara anyway!
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