Ostara

I wanted to share with you a bit about Ostara, but rather than go into a diatribe about what Ostara is (because there are so many fabulous blogs and websites you can visit for more information) I decided to share a few things of how I'll celebrate this year.

An acquaintance from my Reiki class has invited me to a Labyrinth Walk on March 20th in the evening to celebrate the Spring Equinox. I'm so excited about this event as I've never experienced a labyrinth walk before and I think it will be a beautiful way to honor this time.

Ostara is the Goddess of Spring and the Dawn, whose worship goes back to ancient Pagan Teutonic/Saxon cultures. Contemporary Pagans of many paths honor Her at Spring Equinox time. Also known as Eostre, the Christian festival of Easter was named for her. The Easter Bunny, baskets, and colored eggs that are part of spring and Easter celebrations in America, Europe, and other parts of the world are rooted in her lore and symbology. Here is a lovely meditation to honor Ostara.

I'll also be performing a ritual to honor spring and my hope is to be able to do it outside, in the early morning as the sun is rising. It might be a little chilly, but it's a good time to reconnect with the Earth. I found a lovely ritual here that can be done by solitaries. Of course, feel free to add your own prayers or invocations as the mood (or the Goddess) moves you.

I also created some Ostara Eggs a few posts ago which were a lot of fun. Here's the link to that post.

And with that I'd like to share my Ostara altar with you. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was guided to have a statue of Mary on my altar. The statue arrived last Friday and it was with reverence that I added Her to my altar. I am so moved by all that She is bringing to my life at this time . . . spring truly is the season of new beginnings!