The Turning Wheel of the Year
Oestre /Ostara/ Eostre /Eostar/ Easter
The Vernal Equinox is a time of equal night & day. It is the indication of Spring, the balance of dark & light, inner & outer, masculine & feminine. The promise of light given at Imbolc now fully present with the abundance of Earth’s fertility. Welcome to the first day of Spring, the festival of awakenings, new life & balance.
The 8th century monk & historian Bede (d.735) first recorded the Anglo-Saxon celebration of the Goddess Eostre, who was said to have her festival at this time of year. There are many translations of her name ; East; Morning light; Dawn; but much of her story has been lost to us. For some pagans & Wiccans, Eostre is a Germanic Spring goddess in her maiden form. She will join with the warrior god / green man in courtship & become pregnant. Eostre represents the maiden archetype of purity & innocence, reminding us to recognise the inner child & to keep it alive. In addition, she represents the maiden of the triple aspect of the moon & also the phases of a woman’s life. Ostara was first celebrated as an agricultural event, celebrating the return of fecundity to the Earth, the bursting of life & the promise of fruitfulness yet to come. A female deity is chosen to represent this celebration, as a symbol of the creation of life. Moreover, the name Oestre is the origin of the word Oestrus, the fertile time in the female cycle & the word Oestrogen, the female hormone.
The Christian Easter festival has it’s observance at this time too. In addition, it is also around this time that the Jewish Pesach or Passover feast is observed. Although many pagans feel that Easter is another wrongly attributed date for a Christian festival, scholarly research in theology suggests otherwise. As such, it may be the only time of the year that all spiritual & religious observances & festivals run as correct & concurrent. Furthermore, Easter is the only Christian festival which is decided by the phases of the moon. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the Vernal equinox, when the sun enters the sign of Aries. The word Ostara is said to originate from the high German name for the Easter festival. ‘Eostre’ has evolved over the centuries into ‘Easter’ in English & ‘Ostern’ in German.
Associations
The Green Man; Pan, Cerunnos, Herne:
This association celebrates the tradition of union between the Spring maiden goddess & her consort in which all of nature becomes fertile. The union represents the balance between female & male principles within ourselves. We seek balance of both aspects within ourselves & seek that same balance in our partner. The male archetype is represented by the young passionate male who is in touch with not only his instincts & feelings but also his sexuality & spirituality. The Historical image we have been given is the sensual part man & playful part animal. Unfortunately, the image of the horned god was sychretised, by Caesar during the Roman occupation of Britain, with Dis Pater the God of the underworld. However, later this association was wrongfully equated with the Christian Devil during the 1800’s, because of the association between goats & evil doers.
Ostara has many other associations aside from her connection to her consort & the origins of female hormones. Eostre is said to have the Hare & the egg as her sacred symbols. However, there are many stories concerning the totems attributed to the Goddess & how they came about. One story tells of how Eostre was late for a celebration, & found a bird barely alive, she healed the bird by turning it into a hare, which continued to lay brightly coloured eggs. Another story is that there was a celebration in honour of the Goddess, to which all of the animals had been invited. The Hare was very poor but he still wished to give the Goddess a present. He looked everywhere for a gift but he had nothing to give her. Then he found an egg, which he lovingly decorated. At the celebration, all of the animals gave the Goddess shiny gifts of gold & silver. The hare was last in line & very nervous. He offered the Goddess his decorated egg. She accepted his gift & looked at him. She saw the true spirit of Hare. So there & then, the goddess awarded hare the recognition as a very special animal, because he had given away his only possession in honour of the goddess.
All legends aside, there is a perfectly natural explanation for both the hare & the egg being attributed to a Spring maiden goddess. Ever heard of the mad March hare? Well not of the Alice in Wonderland type, moreover, at this time of year hares & rabbits are sparring for partners, hence the mad March hare. Hares are spring creatures who procreate profusely during the spring time. In addition, hares are sacred to moon goddesses in many cultures, Eostre is most closely associated with Hares & the Moon. Hare images have been found carved inside old village churches, symbolising magic & fertility, in earlier times. Many Celtic & Roman illustrations have also been discovered in some of Britain’s ancient villa’s.
Furthermore, the egg is & will always be a symbol of fertility & new life. The egg is the potential of life. There are many creation tales from all over the world which refer to the cosmic egg, out of which primordial beings came & created the universe, gods or Earth for example. The Cosmic egg is considered to contain both female & male; consciousness & unconsciousness; expansion & contraction; continuity & balance. The egg is the womb containing our ideas from the darker months of Autumn & Winter, which are ready to be birthed into the world come Spring.
Traditionally, eggs have been painted & blown as a favourite pastime at Spring Equinox, all over the world through time immemorial. The egg is a symbol of the rebirth of nature, the fecundity of the Earth & of creation.
Likewise, Spring flowers have also been associated with Eostre. In particular any that are spring green, yellow, or purple in colour. Daffodils, Primroses, Violets, Crocuses, Catkins, Pussy Willow are all in abundance during Spring time. These flowers are often used to decorate Spring Altars. This is the best time of year to plant out some flowers & herbs in your garden too.
Additionally, the Ash & Alder trees are associated with Ostara. The Ash, Nion, is a symbol of learning universal truths. It is the tree on which Norse God Odin hung from for 9 nights to attain wisdom & the Runes. It is also believed that The Ash is the tree of all life Yggdrasil, which connected all planes of the universe, in Norse mythology. The lesson learned from Ash is that all life is interconnected on all planes of existence. The Alder, Fearn, represents balance of the elements fire & water. The energy it offers is of courage, strength & receptivity.
Finally, Ostara was not taken as a holiday, rather a time of planting seeds & the forthcoming years’ harvest crops. Seed corn & barley would have been hand sown. Amongst this would be the special ears of corn which would be saved as the corn dolly or kern king, symbols of the potent Sun, sacrificed at Lammas / harvest time.
Our ancestors knew the significance of planting during this part of the turning wheel of the year. It meant the difference between reaping in good harvest crops or struggling through the colder months. Ostara is all about growth, fertility & increasing abundance. It is a time when we consider our own goals for the coming year & begin to plant the seeds which will bring about results of reward & abundance. It is time for Spring cleaning & clearing out the old to make way for the new. That includes ideas, inspirations, old habits, thoughts & feelings. Now is the time to find balance to accept yourself for who you are.
My gratitude to you for joining my voyage of discovery. Bright Ostara Blessings to you all. May you find balance in your life & may your goals flourish this year, bringing you abundance & joy.
All credits are shown at the end of this article.
In gratitude, love , light & all betwixt
Sheela
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Credits:
Publications:
Green, M. 1991. A Calendar of Festivals. Element Books Limited, Dorset, UK
Green, M. 2002. A Witch Alone. Thorsons, Harper-Collins, London
Kindred, G. 2014, Sacred Earth Celebrations. Permanent Publications, Hampshire, UK
Websites:
Ancient.eu
https://www.biblicalfoundations.org/when-was-jesus-born-and-when-did-he-die/
Exemplore.com
Goddessandthegreenman.co.uk
Goddessguide.com
Religionfacts.com
Thought.com
Images:
Amanda Clark, artist, EarthAngels, Facebook
http://libguides.bgsu.edu/c.php?g=559325&p=3847115
J.p.Gettymuseums.com
Useofherbs.com
Spar
Thalia Cook - Pinterest
Woodland inspirations