Oestara

It is no coincidence that the name for this sabbat sounds similar to the word 'Easter'. Eostre, or Ostara, is an Anglo-Saxon Dawn Goddess whose symbols are the egg and the hare. She, in turn, is the European version of the Goddess Ishtar or Astarte, whose worship dates back thousands of years and is certainly pre-Christian. Eostre also lives on in our medical language in the words 'oestrous' (the sexual impulse in female animals) and 'oestrogen' (a female hormone). Today, Oestara is celebrated as a spring festival....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been combined with another, and can be found on my new website, The Pagan Calendar, here: Ostara

Personal Housekeeping For Oestara

We live in an age where guilt is more often encouraged then pride, where we are encouraged to dwell upon our 'negative' points and habits. This is not the way of the Witch. As Witches we must learn to be as honest about our plus points as society would like us to be about our minuses.

Advertising, probably the most pervasive kind of propaganda, encourages us to think of ourselves as 'less than perfect' unless we look and dress like the people in the adverts and possess all the things that the advertisers would like us to spend money on....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Book of Shadows, and can be found in its entirety here: Personal Housekeeping For Oestara

About Ostara

Oestre, Easter, the Spring Equinox, Vernal (Spring) Equinox, Alban Eiler (Caledonii).

March 20 - 23 Northern Hemisphere

September 20 - 23 Southern Hemisphere

This is the official return of the young Goddess after her Winter hibernation. Traditionally celebrated on March 21st

The Simple Facts

The Spring Equinox is the point of equilibrium - when light and darkness are in balance but the light is growing stronger. The balance is suspended just before spring bursts forth from winter....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Ostara

An Oestara Ritual

The main points of Oestara are those of balance and of spring.

This ritual is best performed outdoors. In advance you will need to collect a small handful of old leaves and write on each something that you would like to be rid of. Also take a small number of seeds or seedlings (if these seedlings come from the seeds you planted at Imbolg, so much the better), one for each new thing that you wish to attain.

Silently ask the elements, the Goddess and the God to be with you, then when you are ready, dig a hole large enough to give space to the seedlings...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Book of Shadows, and can be found in its entirety here: An Oestara Ritual

A Ritual for Ostara

For this ritual, you'll want to decorate your altar with symbols of the season. Think about all the colors you see in nature at this time of year -- bright daffodils, crocuses, plump tulips, green shoots -- and incorporate them into your altar. This is also a time of fertility in the natural world -- the egg is the perfect representation of this aspect of the season. Symbols of young animals such as lambs, chicks, and calves are also great altar adornments for Ostara.

In addition, you'll need the following:

• Three candles -- one yellow, one green, and one purple
• A bowl of milk
• A small bowl of honey or sugar

Perform this ritual outside if at all possible, in the early morning as the sun rises. It's spring, so it may be a bit chilly, but it's a good time to reconnect with the earth. If your tradition normally requires you to cast a circle, do so now....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Book of Shadows, and can be found in its entirety here: A Ritual for Ostara

Simnel Cake

A wonderful spiced and fruited cake which heralds the advent of Spring, simnel cake has a fascinating cultural heritage with roots that stretch back to the Romans and Athenians. In Britain, known as the Shrewsbury Simnel, it is simply made using white flour, fragrant spices and is generously studded with dried fruits and pungent peel.


Like a Christmas cake, it is covered with pale sweet almond paste. The decoration is plain - twelve little balls of smooth paste. A specially baked simnel cake is a wonderful gift to take to your mother for Matronalia, Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday Tea Time. Decorate it with crystalised flowers and tie some yellow ribbon around the side.

INGREDIENTS:

For the almond paste:

• 400 g icing sugar, sifted
• 250 g ground almonds...

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Simnel Cake

Hymn to Hera for Matronalia

Let us sing now of Hera, the women's goddess.
she who rules from her throne of gold.
Let us sing now of Hera, child of earth,
daughter of that most ancient of goddesses.
Let us sing now of the queen of gods....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Widdershins, and can be found in its entirety here: Hymn to Hera for Matronalia

Storm Moon

A Storm moon is, according to weather folklore, the moon which occurs in March during shifting weather patterns in the northern hemisphere. It is also called seed moon, moon of winds, crow moon, moon of the snow-blind, and Full Worm Moon.

As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Storm Moon

Samjinnal

Samjinnal is the festive day that informs the arrival of spring. This day is known as the day the swallows came back from Gangnam and the day the snake came out from its winter sleep. It is also the day birds and butterflies start to appear. 

This day, in the North Gyeongsang region, seeing a snake signifies good luck, seeing a white butterfly means death that year, and seeing a yellow butterfly implies fortune. They say soybean paste brewed this day tastes especially good and houses are repaired...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Samjinnal

Expelling Bad Luck Entities

Toward the end of March, the people of Tibet had a ceremony to expel the demons of bad luck from their homes, lives, and communities. The people of Bali, which is east of Java, also hold public expulsions of demons at least once a year, and on a new moon.

Each village sets food at the nearest crossroads and then goes to the local temple. Everyone prays and blows horns to summon the demons. Then people begin to bang on anything that will make a loud noise, thus frightening the entities which flee the area....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Expelling Bad Luck Entities

Happy Birthday Artemis

An ancient Greek custom of honoring Artemis's birthday with a Full Moon cake is still seen today in our birthday cakes. The Greeks even put lighted candles on the Moon cake.

To honor the birthday of the goddess Artemis, bake or buy a small cake or cupcake. In Moon Magick, D J Conway recommends this ritual be performed on the night of the March crescent  - it feels more appropriate to me to do the ritual on the night before or the night of her actual day.

Dress in nice clothes as if you were entertaining a friend. Cover your altar or spiritual place with a nice cloth. Put the cake with a small candle on it in the middle of the altar. Set pictures or statues of animals around it for decoration. Artemis loves ...

...  I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Happy Birthday Artemis

It's Smell The Breeze Day

Themes: Air, Health
Symbols: A Pot; Turquoise; Musk; a Star; Wind; Cow Images
Presiding Goddess: Nut

About Nut: This great Egyptian sky goddess bears a star spangled belly that stretches over the earth like a protective atmosphere. Today she breathes on us with a late March zephyr bearing health and well being.

Legend tells us that when Ra went to escape the earth, Nut offered her aid by becoming a huge cow who lifted him into heaven....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Smell The Breeze Day

Celebrate Plowing Day

Themes: Earth; Nature; Harvest; Birth; Protection 
Symbols: Soil; a Leaf; Seeds
Presiding Goddess: Leshachikha 

About Leshachikha: A goddess who sometimes appears as a Slavic forest, a wild animal, or a leaf, Leshachikha is said to have died in October and revived around this time in spring. She fiercely protects her lands, not taking kindly to any who abuse them. In this manner she teaches us about reciprocity and nature's fury. Additionally...

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The Tubilustrium

"The last day of the five exhorts us to purify The tuneful trumpets, 

and sacrifice to the mighty god. 

Now you can turn your face to the Sun and say: 

`He touched the fleece of the Phrixian Ram yesterday'. 

The month of March was the traditional start of the campaign season, and the Tubilustrium was a ceremony to make the army fit for war. It was held on March 23, the last day of the Greater Quinquatrus (the festival of Mars and Minerva), and it occurred again on May 23. The sacred trumpets (tubae) were originally war trumpets, but later they were used for ...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: The Tubilustrium

Aries Vervain Medicine Bag

This simple and easy to make medicine bag is specifically for, and said to especially provide relief for seizure disorders. Here's how to make it:

• Gather vervain when the sun and/or moon are in Aries....

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Aries Begins

Theme: Arts; Excellence
Symbols: Stone, Mirror
Presiding Goddess: Ishikore-Dome

To Do Today:

The sign of Aries is said to produce a feisty, courageous spirit, which is exactly what it takes sometimes to stop being the proverbial wallflower and try new things....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Aries Begins

Mean Earraigh - Vernal Equinox

And frosts are slain and flowers begotten, 

And in green underworld and cover 
blossom by blossom the spring begins. 

~Algernon Charles Swinburne

Méan Earraigh marks the spring (or vernal) equinox, when night and day are of equal length and spring officially begins. Birds begin their nesting and egg-laying, and eggs--symbolic of rebirth, fertility, and immortality--are tossed into fresh furrows or eaten by ploughmen. They are also carried by those engaged in spring planting....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here:  Méan Earraigh - Vernal Equinox

Damballah's Day

Other names: Damballah Weddo, Da, Papa Damballa, Obatala
Holiday: March 17 (St. Patrick's Day)

Once upon a time, there was only Damballah. He lay beneath Earth, a great snake, cushioning and protecting it from falling into the watery abyss below. Although he lay still for a long time, eventually he had to move. His movements raised mountains and created valleys. Stars were shaken up into the sky. Sacred waters were released, forming oceans, rivers, springs and streams. The first rain began to fall, and Aido-Hwedo, in the guise of the first rainbow, appeared. Damballah and Aido-Hwedo fell in love...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been divided and moved. It can be found at my new website, Pagan Calendar with a short explanation of Damballah's Day, and also on The Powers That Be for a more in depth look at the Great Snake: Damballah

Have A Bloody Ceasar

In Canada, the Ides of March (March 15)  is celebrated with the drinking of Bloody Caesars. Here's a recipe:

• 6 oz. Clamato Juice
• 1–1½ oz. Vodka
• 2 Dashes hot sauce...

... I'm so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been combined with more information on the Ides of March, and has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, it be found in its entirety here: Ides of March

The Ides Of March

The Ides of March is the name of the 15th day of March in the Roman calendar.

The word Ides comes from the Latin word "idus", a word that was used widely in the Roman calendar indicating the approximate day that was the middle of the month. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other months. The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: The Ides of March