Spring Equinox /  Eostre

So, in the cycle of growth,
The Spring Equinox is a time of sprouting,
That initial manifestation, of the ideas
That you planted at last autumn at Samhain.
It is a time of balance,
A time of growth,
A time of equality.
What is at a balance point in your life?
May it grow and flourish as we move on towards Beltane.
Blessed Be!

Spring Equinox is a time when light and dark are in balance ushering in the lighter half of the year.  From now on it will get lighter in the evening and the farmers will enjoy more sunshine and daylight hours in which to care for their crops and livestock. This is a time of growth and of balance so as we may work on balancing ourselves and the subtle energies within us, our charkas, the inner masculine and feminine qualities we all possess and the light and dark aspects of ourselves.

This festival is named after the Anglo-Saxon Goddess Eostre or Eastre, also known in Old German as Ostara. Little is known about this Goddess, except that her festival was celebrated at the Spring Equinox, and became Easter, and that she was a Goddess of fertility.   The egg symbolized Eostre's wholeness and fertility and the female hormone oestrogen is named after her. Due to this, an egg is offered at this equinox as a symbol of fertility and new life. The golden yolk represents the Sun God, its white shell is seen as the White Goddess.  Thus a tradition of decorating eggs, egg rolling and egg hunts originate from pagan fertility rites dedicated to Eostre, which symbolised fertility and re-birth.  Eggs were often offered to the earth to ensure a bountiful years harvest.

Eostre was a playful goddess whose reign over the earth began in the spring when the Sun King journeyed across the sky in his chariot, bringing the end of winter. Ostara came down to earth then, appearing as a beautiful maiden with a basket of bright colourful eggs with her companion, a rabbit who accompanied her as she brought new life to dying plants and flowers by hiding the eggs in the fields.

Eostre may also be connected with the Greek Eos and the Roman Aurora, both Dawn Goddesses, and with the Babylonian Ishtar and Phoenician Astarte, both love Goddesses.

The custom of eating hot cross buns is also said to have Pagan origins. The Saxons ate buns that were marked with a cross in honour of Eostre. The ancient Greeks also consumed these types of buns in their celebrations of Artemis, Goddess of the hunt also known as Diana to the Romans. Also the Egyptians ate a similar cake in their worship of the Goddess Isis.

The Anglo-Saxon lunar month, which became April, was called Eastermonath. The equinox is a time both of fertility and new life, and of balance and harmony. Light and dark are here in balance, but the light is growing stronger. It is a time of birth, and of manifestation. Daffodils, tulips and crocuses are all in full bloom, blossom appears on trees and catkins can be found on the hazel and willow. Rites are best performed at dawn or dusk, (but better at Dawn) that time between light and dark.

The days grow lighter and the earth grows warmer. As at Imbolc, seeds may be blessed and planted. Seeds of wisdom, understanding, and magickal skills may also be planted. Eggs may be used for the creation of talismans, or ritually eaten. The egg is a symbol of rebirth, and its yolk represents the sun, its white, the Goddess. Egg production in hens is stimulated when the bird's retina is stimulated by more than 12 hours of light, thus more eggs are produced after the equinox.

This is the time of spring's return, the joyful time, the seed time, when life bursts forth from the earth and the chains of winter are broken. It is a time of balance when all the elements within must be brought into new harmony. The Prince of the Sun reaches out His hand, and the Kore, the maiden, returns from the dark underworld. Where they dance, wild flowers appear, sorrow turns to joy, and scarcity turns to abundance.

Spring or Vernal Equinox marks the point when day and night are of the same length - 12 hours.  After the Winter Solstice the days lengthen and the nights shorten , and 'Equinox' means equal night and 'Vernal' comes from the Latin word for 'bloom', as in the northern hemisphere the Spring equinox marks the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. Light and dark are in balance now, but light is gaining.

The earth awakens... new life emerges, sap rises, buds shoot and spring flowers are celebrated as gifts from nature. Spring returns and rejuvenates our own life force.

This equinox is also known as Ostara or Eostre - and is celebrated as a festival of new growth, renewal, a re-balancing of energies and the return of longer days.

It is also known as the day of equilibrium. Now is a good time to consider the balance of our lives - work, play and relationships.

In Greece, it is traditional at Easter (Paschal ) to exchange red dyed hard-boiled eggs - a symbol of new life. The red colour is believed to have a protective power and to Christians signifies the blood of Christ.

The hare was regarded as the sacred animal of the lunar goddess, because of its fertility and activity at this time. Witches were once believed to shape-shift into hares. Now rabbits have become one of the symbols of Easter - they are these days more prolific and common than the graceful hare.

Another symbol of the Goddess at Ostara is the snake, which emerges from winter hibernation to bask in the Spring sunshine. Due to the shedding of its skin the snake was a symbol of new life.

The Welsh/Brythonic name for this festival is Alban Eilir, meaning 'the light of spring', and it is the turning point within the season of Imbolc, marking the time of equal night and day when the sun rises in the east. By the calendar it is at a specific point around 21-22 March and a great many of its traditions have been taken on by the Christian Church and blended into Easter, a word that itself stems from the Saxon goddess Eostra, having the same root as oestrus and oestrogen. It is a festival of fertility waking. From here on the days become longer than the nights. The young sun god is taking up his weapons of manhood; the maiden of earth is shedding blood for the first time, moving forward through puberty, coy in her beauty, dressed in the golden flowers of springtime and sparkling rain.