My Oestara beliefs

You might know this day as Spring Equinox. 2 times a year light and dark are in balance and light is getting more and more stronger every day. It is March 21–23 (usually, the date of the calendar spring equinox). Once again Christians make pagan rituals their own and present day people don't remember old ways anymore. This day is only Easter to them and nobody knows where it started. 

Oestara has many names like Eostar, Oestre, Eostre, Alban Eiler (which means earth light), Mean Erraigh, Vernal Equinox and Spring Equinox. You might wonder where the name actually came from? Well, long time ago people worshiped Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre. Her chief symbols were a rabbit which represent fertility and worshippers  saw often the image of the rabbit in the full moon. Other symbol was eggs representing the cosmic egg of creation. Witches celebrate this day by lighting fires at sunrise, rejoice, ringing bells, decorated and coloring boiled eggs. Some use wooden or paper eggs. Egg decoration is ancient pagan custom which praise the Goddess of fertility. How many people these days thinks fertility by painting boiled eggs? Eggs are also a symbol of rebirth. It's yolk represent the sun and the white is the White Goddess. Eggs may be used to creation of talismans (especially for fertility) or just ritually eaten. I mostly just eat the eggs. When I was a child we use to paint and decorate the eggs every year. 

How to paint your eggs?

Use gold and silver paint pens to draw pagan designs and magickal symbols all over your eggs, or use other color combinations. Try interconnected triangles, symbolizing the Triple Goddess, pentagrams and other God and Goddess symbols, or words written in magickal scripts. In coloring you can use lemon yellow, gold, pale green and pale pink, all pastels, robin’s-egg blue and white.

Have you ever think about why Jesus birthday is at Christmas? Well I can answer that. It is because Christian wanted to make that day special to them and make people forget about their divine child been born. In the pagan Wheel of the year this is the time when great Mother Goddess is young and beautiful again. She is a virgin at Imbolc (which was the first Spring Sabbath and it is celebrated in 1.-3.2) but now  She will wake up at Her winter hibernationshe and the young God has just grown into manhood and they consummated their love to each other once again.  From this divine union the new God will be born at Yule(21st December) , which you know as Christmas or Winter Solstice, nine months later.

Oestara is a time of fertility and new life; balance and harmony. It is time to meditate and improve yourselfs. Live past behind and make room for new. We renew our wishes and dreams. This is a great time for begin to do something new, see new peoples maybe or revitalize something you feel passion about. A hobby? Relationships? A new job? With rituals this is the time to do that has something to do with growth.

At Oestara the seeds will be bless and  planted. You may have seeds of wisdom understanding, magical skills. You can also change new mold in your flowerpots.

My Oestara food includes green vegetables (this year I ate wok), nuts, dairy products and beans or bean sprouts. And eggs of course. Salads and fruits, everything fresh. And because I was so happy that summer is on the way we ate pancakes with raspberry jam, delicious!

What more can I say..? I have a rule that I just need, NEED to have sex at this Sabbath. Well, what is the better way to celebrate fertility Sabbath? 

What are your Oestara habits?

/Leena

P.s Suomenkielinen versio tulossa huomenna!