Well it's starting to feel like Spring, finally! Yes, we've had quite a long, cold winter here in Southern New England this year. This Thursday marks the Spring or Vernal Equinox. Though there will still be snow on the ground we can celebrate Springs return nonetheless. Many people feel this is a Christian holiday, as it often coincides with Easter but like many Christian holidays, Easter was adopted from an ancient Pagan Rite of Springtime.
Actually, Ostara was once originally spelled Eostera or a variation of this spelling. The name Easter was taken directly from the original spelling for Ostara. You can easily see all the letters in the old spelling and with just a slight jumble of the letters we spell Easter.
Many have asked me over the years why the baby chicks and eggs, bunnies and lambs this time of year? Well, they all are representative of the new life that Spring heralds. Baby chicks and bunnies and lambs are being born, eggs are a symbol of new life and the colors are the gentle pastels of new Spring flowers.
The ancient Pagans celebrated this holiday as a time of renewal and life being reborn. The mother animals would be giving birth in the fields and for the Sabbat holiday a steer or bull would be slaughtered for fresh meat to be had for all.The fields would be starting to be prepared for the planting of new seeds that would later be harvested as the food harvests in the fall or Autumn. This is another holiday on the ancient Pagan Wheel of the Year, an agricultural calendar the ancients followed.
I have often felt that everyone should celebrate Spring's return for simply what it is, Spring's return after a long, harsh and cold winter. We are celebrating the resurrection of a new year after the death of the old year.
I have always loved this time of year and each day that holds a gentle, not bitter, breeze, a kind sky and a happy sun are days of celebration to me. I hope you find time to celebrate the Spring also.
Enchantments celebrates the Spring Equinox by holding an Sabbat, which will take place this Saturday. Unlike our Summer celebrations this is a closed ceremony open only to past and present Enchantments students, as we are limited in our space. If you are a former student of Enchantments, please come and celebrate with us this upcoming Saturday, March 22nd at 10 am. Please bring a dish to share with others. If you are not a student, the next celebration that will be open to the public will be Beltaine at the beginning of May.
Enjoy Spring!
Peace and Happiness
© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.
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