Ostara

Ostara

March 20-22

(September 20-22 in the Southern Hemisphere)

Vernal Equinox

This celebration is about the start of Spring. Since this is an equinox, the amount of daylight is the same as nighttime. The Goddess is the Mother.

Dark and light are in balance; light is gaining...the God makes his maturity felt, and impregnates the Mother Earth. (Eight Sabbats for Witches, by Janet & Stewart Farrar ©1988)

"Then, on the first day of Spring, Ostara, She does give birth to the baby Sun: fragile buds emerge from their scales in the dewy Sunrise of the year...She and The God grow up together, very rapidly..." (Drawing Down the Moon, by Margot Adler ©1979, 1986)

Ostara is a festival of fertility and resurrection, the union of sun and soil, a time of planting, mothering, and tending to young children and animals. Traditional symbols are eggs, lambs, chicks, and rabbits. Eggs are considered a symbol of the universe itself, with the shell representing Earth; the membrane, air; the yolk; fire; and the white; water. An ancient custom was to dye eggs red, the color of life-force, and regeneration. (Simple Wicca, by Michele Morgan ©2000)

The Holy Day When Light and Dark Are in Balance ~ When Life Emerges from the Great Mother Earth: This holiday is named for Oestara, the Germanic Goddess of the fertile Earth, and is symbolized by eggs, images of rabbits, and lots of spring flowers. (Witch Crafting, by Phyllis Curott ©2001)

• Ostara

• The Spring Equinox

• The Wheel of the Year

• The Witches' Sabbats

• Vernal Equinox ~ Lady Day

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Please email me if you have more information or links...thanks.