Ostara for Beginners
There are two times in the year
that the night and day are the same length. They are the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes,
and Wiccans see the Spring Equinox as a time to celebrate the Sabbat of Ostara.
Ostara is the name of a Goddess
of fertility, rebirth, and renewal, and her name is connected to the development
of the word ‘oestrogen’, which is a hormone that plays a huge role in the
female body. The idea of Ostara is that the new things that were promised to us
in February at the Sabbat of Imbolc are beginning to manifest. It’s like the
world itself was pregnant, and suddenly it has given birth to a future filled with
light, warmth, colour, and vibrance. That connection to the ‘Earth Mother’ is
where the association of Ostara with femininity and new life comes from.
In Celtic tradition, the hare is
a sacred animal. It’s connected to the moon, hence all those ‘moon-gazing hare’
images that you see everywhere today, and is sacred to the Wiccan Goddess. Just
as Wiccans pay close attention to the phases of the moon, the time of the
Christian Easter is based on the first full moon after the 20th of
March. The Goddess Ostara is also linked to rebirth and renewal, and of course
those are significant themes of Easter. Once again, Christianity and Paganism
cross over beautifully, and I have another example of that for you: I remember
I often wondered growing up what the Easter Bunny had to do with Easter, and it
turns out that it originated from the Ostara Hare!
I mentioned a bit earlier on that
a lot of Wiccans look at Ostara as a birth, and that concept is also where we
got the ‘Easter egg’ from! (That’s another thing I often wondered about growing
up. The more you know.) If you think about it, the egg is a huge symbol of
potential. When you hold an egg, you’re literally holding the potential for a
new life. (But the eggs people eat aren’t fertilised, so you’re not eating
potential life every time you have an omelette.) So the concept of the Easter
egg developed from the Pagan appreciation of eggs at the time of Ostara.
A way to celebrate the new life
and the colours of Ostara is by bringing in flowers that are found in abundance
at this time. Daffodils, crocuses, and primroses are excellent choices. Other
decorations you could bring in to represent the Sabbat can include moon-gazing
hare statues, paintings, and prints, and painted eggshells or ceramic eggs. But
if you don’t feel like decorating, you can celebrate Ostara simply by appreciating
the warmth, light, and life that’s all around you at this time of year.
Have a lovely day, and blessed be.
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