Ostara is Coming

 

 

Ostara is just one of the names applied to the celebration of the spring equinox around March 20. 

The Venerable Bede said the origin of the word is actually from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring. 

Of course, it's also the same time as the Christian Easter celebration, and in the Jewish faith, Passover takes place as well. 

For early Pagans in the Germanic countries, this was a time to celebrate planting and the new crop season. 

Typically, the Celtic peoples did not celebrate Ostara as a holiday, although they were in tune with the changing of the seasons.

A dynasty of Persian kings known as the Achaemenians celebrated the spring equinox with the festival of No Ruz -- which means "new day." 

It is a celebration of hope and renewal still observed today in many Persian countries, and has its roots in Zoroastrianism. 

In Iran, a festival called Chahar-Shanbeh Suri takes place right before No Ruz begins, and people purify their homes and leap over fires to welcome the 13-day celebration of No Ruz.

Spring equinox is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature's fertility goes a little crazy. 

In medieval societies in Europe, the March hare was viewed as a major fertility symbol -- this is a species of rabbit that is nocturnal most of the year, but in March when mating season begins, there are bunnies everywhere all day long. 

The female of the species is superfecund and can conceive a second litter while still pregnant with a first. As if that wasn't enough, the males tend to get frustrated when rebuffed by their mates, and bounce around erratically when discouraged.

The story of the Roman god, Mithras, is similar to the tale of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. 

Born at the winter solstice and resurrected in the spring, Mithras helped his followers ascend to the realm of light after death. 

In one legend, Mithras, who was popular amongst members of the Roman military, was ordered by the Sun to sacrifice a white bull. 

He reluctantly obeyed, but at the moment when his knife entered the creature's body, a miracle took place. The bull turned into the moon, and Mithras' cloak became the night sky. 

Where the bull's blood fell flowers grew, and stalks of grain sprouted from its tail.

In ancient Rome, the followers of Cybele believed that their goddess had a consort who was born via a virgin birth. 

His name was Attis, and he died and was resurrected each year during the time of the vernal equinox on the Julian Calendar (between March 22 and March 25). 

Around the same time, the Germanic tribes honoured a lunar goddess known as Ostara, who mated with a fertility god around this time of year, and then gave birth nine months later – at Yule.

The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. 

As the sun sets on the day of the equinox on the great ceremonial pyramid, El Castillo, Mexico, its "western face...is bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. 

The lengthening shadows appear to run from the top of the pyramid's northern staircase to the bottom, giving the illusion of a diamond-backed snake in descent." 

This has been called "The Return of the Sun Serpent" since ancient times.

According to the Venerable Bede, Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic goddess Ostara. 

Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox -- almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west. 

There is very little documented evidence to prove this, but one popular legend is that Eostre found a bird, wounded, on the ground late in winter. 

To save its life, she transformed it into a hare.

But "the transformation was not a complete one. 

The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs...the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre."

This is a good time of year to start your seedlings. 

If you grow an herb garden, start getting the soil ready for late spring plantings. 

Celebrate the balance of light and dark as the sun begins to tip the scales, and the return of new growth is near.

We celebrate Ostara as a time of renewal and rebirth. 

Take some time to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature -- walk in park, lay in the grass, hike through a forest. 

As you do so, observe all the new things beginning around you -- plants, flowers, insects, birds. Meditate upon the ever-moving Wheel of the Year, and celebrate the change of seasons.

Thanks to paganesque for the article.

For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, we wish you a happy Beltane.

Every season has its own energy. 

When you work in harmony with that energy, you increase the power of your celebration. 

Working in contrast to it, naturally, decreases the flow.

Why Paganism Is Growing

Christianity is an interesting thing.

It’s broken down into many different sects, each with their own set of beliefs, rules, and practices.  

Each one claims to be the way, sometimes the only way to salvation.

But the things they all have in common is manipulation, fear, promises and money.

Then there are all the rules.

With their different idea of a God comes the dogma, the rule books (Koran, Torah, Bible, etc.) .  

These books control all aspects of their lives such as what they can eat, drink, or what activities they can participate in, moral decisions, family decisions, or who they can associate with.  

Enforcement is managed through a combination of manipulation and fear.

But heavens, which God to choose? 

There are so many choices, who’s to decide which God to follow?

This conditioning leads to numerous issues for many younger people.  

Once they start researching the histories of their religions, they immediately see that they have been misled.

With their eyes opening, they see that their holiday’s and customs were mostly stolen from pagan beliefs and practices.

It eventually becomes obvious that religions simply copy doctrines from one to another another and put their twist on it.

Human beings, have spiritual needs.  

Many are feeling lost or rejected because they don’t fit in to the religious box.

And so people begin to search for alternatives.  

This is where paganism becomes one of those alternatives.  

Paganism doesn’t have all the dogmatic threats.

Pagans choose the path they want to follow and which Gods or Goddesses they wish to honor, if at all.

No one takes attendance, nor are there penalties, shunning, disfellowships and there is no collection plate.

So, what does paganism stands for?

Paganism is an umbrella term which was actually coined and brought into use as a derogatory term by the Christian Church.  

It was a way of demonizing anyone who didn’t belong to their beliefs and church.  

It’s been going on a long time, the Christian church has always been busy proselytizing and converting any and all non-Christian people from the ways of their ancestors to the ways of Christianity.  

Anyone who didn’t convert or tried to retain the old ways, was branded as a pagan, which at the time meant they were either evil, in league with demons, practiced witchcraft, sacrificed humans, drank blood, or any other of a litany of horrific deeds and beliefs.  

Though shalt not suffer a witch to live.

- Exodus 22:18

For more than a thousand years, non-Christians were persecuted, tortured, killed, imprisoned, stripped of wealth and title, and had their lands and families destroyed at the hands of church masters who were doing God’s work.

Being pagan carried was often a death-sentence in the Middle Ages as the church reshaped the European continent, the New World, and across the earth.  

The warning was always the same; the church was good and  paganism was wrong, evil, and meant certain eternal damnation.  

And as Christianity grew stronger the condemnation grew as well as the numbers of people executed in horrible torture chambers or gallows.  

Today, paganism is no longer under the church’s threats, it no longer carries a death sentence and is considered a real religious practice by most people.  

Like Christianity, there are different beliefs and groups; the actual number is unknown but it includes Wicca, Occultists, Druidism, Witchcraft, Santeria, Native American beliefs, and many others.  

There are different methods and practices used by the different groups, but there is mutual respect and a unwritten code of honor between them. 

Deemed evil, witches were the most aggressively persecuted group, mainly because they challenged the church’s authority the most.  

The challenge to the church wasn’t obvious, but strong enough to warrant the church dishing out horrible punishment and suffering upon anyone accused of witchcraft.  

Historians have identified many reasons why the church had such strong negative feelings toward witches, but the most obvious one was the fact that they were natural healers.  

Using plants, herbs, and items from the forest, ancient witches could concoct a medicine (potion or spell) that would ease symptoms and cure health problems.  

Like today, the church insisted that prayer to their God was the answer to all catastrophes.

In truth, the witches potions worked and the prayer had little to no effect on anything.

As a result, the church had to demonize and then eliminate the witches, which led to the horrors of the religious purge.

Modern research and medicine has validated witchcraft healing, making prayer healing seem obsolete. 

Tragedy, viruses and hardship are part of the church’s primary recruitment tools.  They prey upon those desperate for help.

But people are beginning to see that the God of these churches doesn’t seem interested. The world continues to suffer and prayers aren’t being answered.

Perhaps he is powerless or doesn’t exist at all.

This community of pagans are bringing back the old Gods and Goddesses.  

They are networking and sharing any remaining scripts or texts from long ago.  

No longer do they fear the church.

Pagans are gathering in homes, forests, and backyards in small groups to honor nature.

Covens and groups are being formed and stones, herbs, crystals, and magickal objects are being used to reconnect the the magic of the earth.

It’s no longer taboo to say that I’m more in touch with myself and others around me.  I feel grounded and have a connection with the planet, the soil, and the elements.  

Paganism is growing because people want to raise their energy levels, to vibrate at a much higher level.

As their eyes open, they can see things that were always there, but never notice them.  

With paganism, there are no rule books to follow and are free to make their own decisions.

You create and maintain your own moral compass.

You don’t have a master, priest, lay leader, or other guide telling you what to do.

You can practice all alone in any method you feel is right.  You do not need another human being to the middle man/woman to reach the higher power you seek.

Paganism is all about working with nature, the planet and the energies of all living things.

Paganism is built around self-healing and spiritual cleansing.

It’s about empowering,  learning of our own strengths and weaknesses and how to become stronger.

Healing of the body is done with plant medicine and other spiritual practices.

There is a place for modern medicine, but it’s not our only options.

Harm none is a generally accepted principle among pagans – we don’t like people telling us what to do and we in return don’t interfere with the lives of others.

For us, the Old Religion is the magic of the Earth itself. 

It is the essence which binds all things together.

Cakes And Candles

It's interesting that most people have candles in their homes, we really don't have to use them, we do have electricity. 

We light candles even though we don't have to, yet, candles are more popular than ever, you wouldn’t find many homes without them.

Could it be that a simple candle flame can soothe and center you?

Is it possible that fire, one of the Pagan elements, have calming effects during times of quiet and solitude, when you detached from the world?

Candle flames reach deep within us, the effect of candlelight is sacred tool to reduce stress and increase self-awareness. 

Candle magic is something very basic because anyone can light a candle.

The flame is very special, we believe it represents your inner light.

For us, the flame expresses power and magical qualities but the energies come from your consciousness, from your inner self.

Candle magic may have begun in the earliest days, with the making of fire. 

Fire changed everything.

Fire brought light to darkness and warmth to cold, there's not much more magical than that.

For us, the burning of a candle represents the great spiritual qualities of its discovery.

Lighting a candle and gazing at the flame takes us within ourselves, taking us into a meditative state.

Anyone can use candle magic and you don't have to have to have any specific beliefs to practice, using your energy answers will open up for you.

The Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. 

Among them was one called Artemis, the Goddess of the Moon. 

The Greeks celebrated her birthday once each month by bringing special cakes to her temple. 

The cakes were round like a full moon. 

And, because the moon glows with light, the cakes were decorated with lighted candles.

The lit candles on the cake represented the glow of the moon, and the smoke from the candles carried their prayers and wishes to the gods who lived in the skies.

Negativity & Anxiety

Let’s talk about how negative thoughts can be controlled instead of them controlling you.

We can’t stop all the thoughts that come and go everyday, but we can control the harmful ones.

Yes, we can take back our lives as we give ourselves permission to fight back.

As those anxious thoughts begin to surface the first thing we need to do is identify and challenge those negative (or anxious) thoughts.

It’s important to challenge the negative thoughts when they first appear, that’s when they are weakest.

We need to set up boundaries about what we allow in our heads.

Being able to handle anxiety means finding ways to deal with the anxiety, meaning, we don’t have to hide from every anxiety inducing experience.

It’s ok for you to say, “I just can’t hear the airplane horror story (you’re telling) right now because I have a flight to catch and I don’t need to entertain the thoughts of airplanes crashing to the ground.”

Maybe you NEED to catch that flight, but you don’t NEED to fill your head with scary airplane thoughts beforehand.

There’s the difference.

We don’t have to give up the dentist / riding in elevators / getting on airplanes / our self worth or the job interview. We only have to fight back and defy thoughts that create excessive unnecessary negative or anxious thoughts about those things.

Set boundaries for what we allow ourselves to be influenced by.

One of the reasons we avoid the news and much of social is because of all the negativity.

Others may think we are sticking our heads in the sand but by watching horrible events that we have no control over, we aren’t staying informed, we are inviting depression, anxiety and fear.

As that suffering festers we become angry, pessimistic and frustrated, because we can do nothing to make a difference. 

As we sit and watch the news showing the same horror over and over, It makes us feel powerless and helpless. 

Get Around Positive People

Do you want to catch a cold? Get around people with a cold. A lot of people associating with positive minded or negative people are influenced by that energy.

There’s been neuro research that shows listening to negative people complain for a period of time affects your brain cells. So, stay away from the negativity. Even listening to negative people on the media can harm your thought process.

Focusing on negativity in life makes you feel depressed. When you’re listening to a negative person rambling on and on about the horrors of their life, you’re essentially focusing on it., you are buying that experience.

This is a real probability that could cause you to feel depressed about the negativity in your life.

Maintaining emotional detachment is important for keeping stress and anxiety at a distance.  Not allowing negative people (or anyone for that matter) to smother you with the horrors of their life  is vital to your emotional health and happiness.  It all comes down to how you value yourself, and thus believe in yourself.

People who manage their lives effectively are generally those who work internally, those who know that success and inner peace comes from within Negative people generally work externally. They blame others or outside events for everything that does or doesn’t happen in their lives.

Paganism is about self empowerment, it's reconnecting with nature so we can reconnect with ourselves.

You can't do any of that glued to the bombardment of the media or negative people, that includes the social media as well.

“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.”
Swedish Proverb

You know how it starts.

It begins with a nagging thought.

That creates more nagging thoughts.

And suddenly your mind is filled with such negativity you've lost control of everything else.

When you notice that negative thoughts or images are starting to enter your mind, try actually say “stop!” to yourself. If you’re alone, you can try saying this out loud, but it can also be very effective when just said in your head.

There are also some more direct approaches to thought stopping. For example, you can try the old tactic of splashing your face with water or just change the direction of your thinking. Some people like to count backward from 100 to 1.

Practice becoming aware of when these thoughts come up. Are you tired, hungry, disappointed, stressed or upset? When we try to ignore negative thoughts, they don’t go away, they continue to pop up. To counteract them, recognize them. Say to yourself, “I’m recognizing a negative thought; it’s not welcome here, leave me now.” This ends negativity pretty quickly.

In our more rational moments we realize that the most of things we worry about just won’t happen, but if they do, we deal with them head on.