Happy Equinox and blessed Ostara!
It’s only been a few years since I took an interest in the European pagan celebrations of the seasons. The Wheel of the Year, as it’s called, features six points of interest;
Imbolc, or midwinter, celebrating the coming of spring;
Ostara, or spring equinox, when day and night are in balance and the spring flowers begin to show;
Beltane, or May day, celebrating the arrival of summer;
Litha, or Midsummer, the longest day of the year, when we celebrate the sun and all that it provides for us;
Lughnadadh, the grain harvest, which, I’ll be honest, I have never once paid attention to nor observed;
Mabon, the autumnal equinox, when the wheel begins its tilt towards darkness and feasts are held to celebrate the harvest;
Samhain, which lent itself to North American traditions as Halloween and Day of the Dead, when we celebrate the onset of darkness;
And finally, Yule, which you likely know was rebranded as Christmas so Christians could take part in all the festive pagan fun.
Today, as we enter into Ostara, we pause to take a deep breath and recognize the change in the winds. Spring is appearing all over north America, more obvious in some places than others. Even where the snow still blankets the ground, early flowers are beginning to push their way through. It won’t be long now before the explosion takes place, and the dazed people who have been inside for too long become suddenly aware that there are flowers and warm sunshine gracing them.
It’s a good day to plant seeds. And that’s what I shall do.
I’m going to take a moment to meditate and focus on what kind of garden I want for my spiritual growth this year. Well. I have every intention of doing so. But will probably fall asleep.
