happy ostara

[meridian_rose]

~Magickal Graphics~

Ostara is the Spring or Vernal equinox when days and nights are once again equal in length. It is a time of renewal and rebirth. The name Ostara is believed to be derived from Eostre - the Teutonic lunar Goddess. Her chief symbols are the hare, which represents fertility and the egg, which is a symbol of rebirth.
This day marks the start of Spring, and is a good time for cleaning in the physical, emotional, and spiritual sense. A good time to plant seeds, and a great time to put out bits of straw/fur from brushing your pets/bits of pet bedding from your small animals for birds to use for lining their nests :D
Ostara is close in symbolism to the Church festival of Easter, but Ostara is fixed at the equinox while Easter is a moveable feast decided by the phases of the moon. This year it happens to coincide with the Jewish festival of Purim.

Correspondences: green, yellow, white, eggs, hares, spring cleaning, balance, light/dark, daffodils, lambs, honey, aquamarine

You can read about world festivals relating to Ostara in particular and Springtime in general here

ETA: In the Southern Hemisphere, it is Mabon that this being celebrated today at the time, still the balance of daylight but going in the opposite direction; winter is drawing on, rather than summer.

Comments

[16beckyb.livejournal.com]

Happy Ostara to you! I also love how you know all of this and explain it.

Question - Is Beltaine the summer equinox?

[meridian_rose]

Thank you :D
Mabon is the Autumnal Equinox; Litha is the Summer Solstice [longest day] and Yule the Winter Solstice [shortest day]. Beltaine, Imbolc, Samhain and Lammas are the 'cross-quarter' days which are roughly between the other festivals and considered more traditional, marking important farming calendar dates, than the astronomical equinox/solstice dates.
I'm thinking I should put up a post with the Wheel of the Year showing all eight festivals for anyone who is interested; a nice project for between now and Beltaine [Mayday] :D