Happy Easter

It's almost here...so spread the cheer...





HAPPY EASTER ONE AND ALL

OSTARA
by Sierra

Ostara, also known as Eostar, Eostre and the Festival of Trees, Alban Eilir, is the Vernal Equinox, that occurs between March 19th and March 23rd, generally around March 21st in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, March 1998, the equinox occurred on the 20th at 20:00 U.T.C. (Greenwich Mean Time).

Ostara is a time of balance. At the time the solar ecliptic crosses equator days and nights are perfectly in balance in terms of hours. It is said that at the equinox an egg can be balanced on end easily.

Ostara is also a time that heralds new beginnings, new life. It is the second of the fertility festivals. By the time we celebrate Ostara the deeply hidden stirrings of life reverenced during Imbolc are inchoate, green plant tips peeping from winter hiding places.

This is the time of the return of the vegetation God who gave His life in the autumnal harvest in order to preserve our lives during the long, dark times of winter. By now most of the flour has been used, most of the ales drunk, and most of the dried meats consumed. As if by magick, the grains rise from the fields where winter wheat was sown, animals emerge from their wintry dens, and farm animals begin the lambing, calving and egg-laying seasons.

The virginal (unmarried) Goddess of Imbolc, who welcomed the young Sun God's attentions will now conceive the child to be born at the next Winter Solstice. In Christian mythology this is the time of year Mary is informed by an angel that she has been impregnated by deity. Some pagan traditions move the date of impregnation to Beltane, a far milder time for romping in the fields.

Christians have designated the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Vernal equinox as Easter Sunday, the date identified as the resurrection of Christ. Yet long before Christ, in ancient Egypt, this time of year commemorated the return of Osiris from the land of the dead. And before the Egyptians honored the return of Osiris the Sumerians celebrated the return of Tammuz, the grain god, from the land of the dead - a passage hard won by Ishtar. The Phoenicians celebrated the return of Adonis, another name for Tammuz. Later, Dionysus became a God of resurrection, in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Eostre, a Germanic Goddess, is associated with both spring and sunrise. Tradition has it that Eostre, saved a bird whose wings were frozen from the harsh winter by turning it into a magickal, egg laying hare. Eostre was a maiden whose aspects of renewal and rebirth brought about the reappearance of bright spring flowers, baby chickens fresh from the shell, baby bunnies from their winter dens and the reoccurrence of the plow in the field. In some European traditions flowers grew from her footprints.

Pagans lit new fires at dawn to cure ills, renew life and protect the new crops. In some cultures this sacred day included the ringing of bells, singing of songs, and decorating of hard boiled eggs. Eggs were a symbol of both the sun god (the golden yolk) and fertility (the white shell symbolizing the White Goddess) and were used both as talismans and eaten in ritual. The eggs of wild birds were gathered and these eggs are recreated today with the dyes used in Easter celebrations. The weaving of Easter baskets harks back to the weaving of birds' nests, a necessity prior to egg laying and the continuation of the life cycle.

Equinox is an ideal time to clean your home and welcome the new season. More than physical cleaning, it is a time to remove negative energies and problems that have built up over the winter months. A common belief is that all cleaning/scrubbing should be done in a clockwise motion to fill the home with energy for growth.
link: http://web.grinnell.edu/groups/pagan/pagan-home-ostara1.html

Happy Easter what a wonderful time to clean up the mess created by negative energies... In deed!

Happy Zombie-Jesus day everybody!! =D

Happy Easter/Ostara

Awww, such cute pictures! Happy Easter!!!

Well yes, whatever Easter means or doesn't mean to you, hope you have a happy couple of days...lol. I often found the contradiction in meaning confusing so I would place my own meaning on it...Easter will be a time of rebirth for me as I try to pull my life in the real world together. It reminds me of babies and new life so my focus will be on celebrating and nurturing my children and patting myself on the back for putting in such a great effort raising them. We don't buy many eggs - usually just a few to play games with and so I can connect with the kids at their level of fun and enjoyment of life. I did alot of this on our recent holiday going on alot of theme park rides with them (never again the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster at Movie World though! Now I know why they recommend anyone with high blood pressure gives it a miss...). The important thing is love and gratitude, whatever you engage in.

To me it has always been a celebration of renewal, new beginnings, Spring and nature and love.

Spring...hehehe... it is Autumn here for Easter...cool days, rainy weather...things going dormant...trying to sleep in late snuggled under the doona when the kids get up at dawn screaming excitedly that the easter bunny came....sigh.... Wake me up when September comes (that's Spring down here).

Happy Easter, guys. :D

Me, I'm going to the coast with my family to visit my uncle. Finally I get to get out of this crappy village for a few days. Wohoo.

And I'm almost afraid to ask, but Goth....how does your Christmas weather look if you have spring in September? I take it there's no "white christmas"?

Enjoy your break Virus.

Christmas here is hot and sunny and happens in the middle of summer. Nope, no white xmas here unless you count the zinc cream on our noses as we head to the beach to cool off...it never snows where I live. The worst we get is frost sometimes at night in winter. I can't even imagine a white christmas. I've only seen snow once in my life and that was when I visited the southern state of Victoria and went to the mountains. I bet Moonie doesn't have a white Christmas either...

I may be working part o Easter, but will be spending some of it with family.


HAPPY EASTER!!!!

I like having an Autumn Easter... it makes it feel like a super-relaxing time for me. I'm also an Autumn baby, so Easter is the countdown towards my birthday.

I agree goth ... besides, its kind of hard to celebrate northern hemisphere pagan festivals in Australia!

For me, easter generally just means a belly ache and hideous family get togethers, haha

I can't wait for my chocolate! I hope I get a bunny!!!

Lol, I hope you do too Gem! I started early with my kids - we went to the lolly shop yesterday and had a treat. I chose butter popcorn flavoured jelly belly jelly beans instead - my favourites! YUM!!

I started early too. I had potato chips and beer tonight.

And on sunday we're going to my uncle way away from Crapville where I live. It'll be good to see some new scenery, get some nice (free) chow, and just enjoy the hopefully beautiful whether over by the coast.

We started early too, with hot cross buns last night. We agreed not to buy each other any chocolate this year, mostly because things are tight financially at the moment, and partly to avoid pimples... lol. But we'll both be getting chocolate from our families, so... I'm just waiting for my bunny to arrive!

Ha haha that is so cute Night! I love the look on those chickens' faces! Outstanding

If I was totally engaged with my mind I would have posted my Easter wishes here instead of there and better yet, I would have linked the two together... Ahhh? My oh' my what is a linkster to do? After thoughts are always 20/20