For the Maidens Among Us

Happy Spring to all here. Today, I would like to share what the talented Cari said about her family Ostara celebration. Excerpt:

We invited balance into our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our spirits, our lives, our relationships and our world. This is not as easy as it sounds, to speak to each of these parts of ourselves and say aloud what we wish for. Yet seeds were planted in our souls as we invited balance to accompany us on our journey.

Do read the rest, see her photo and enjoy her art. You'll be glad you did.

Kore

Meanwhile, my soul-sister Hecate reminds us that We Have To Do More Than Pray, We Have to Follow Through. Enjoy that, then read her glorious essay on Kore

The older that I get (and I am getting deliciously old), in some odd manner, the more that I look forward to Ostara. When I was v young, I was quite desperate to be thought older, experienced, sophisticated, wise. And the holidays that moved me were High Summer, and Lughnasadah, and Samhein. But now that I've lived a long time and figured out, well, a few things, I find myself quite predisposed to love maidens and to look forward to Ostara, when we all celebrate the energy of the Maiden, the Kore, the v young woman who is just OUT There.

She goes further, not just celebrating but helping a young woman who needs her wisdom.

Thank you, ladies, for the inspiration.

Fire, ritual and Nowruz.

Lastly, I would like to share how these people celebrate the often-banned holiday of Nowruz, with fire, singing, dancing and hope. May they continue to live in peace with the various religions in their midst and may the women of this place know not just pride, but freedom.

Wishing the blessings and joy of spring to you and yours as we enter this new season.

Sia

This post is dedicated to S., a young woman I've had the pleasure of knowing through a volunteer group who is going on to bigger and better things. Bon chance! If I could buy stock in a person, I would always bet on you.

Art: Song of the Nile by L. Goddard

Ostara Bunnies Everywhere

I have this little canon elf and I sometime use it to take pictures of Pagan imagery and totems (various) that I find in the dominant culture. I discovered this little faux chocolate egg wreath over at Pier One yesterday. Do you love it? I love it. (1)

I've spent the last week placing images of bunnies (and some lovely hares) all over the house. There are bunnies in clay, bunny candles, soft, fluffy bunnies (absolutely necessary, ask any green witch), pictures of bunnies and bunnies made from wood, metal and glass. There are eggs, too, all kinds, and some birds, as well, not to mention baskets, but it is bunnies who bless the home just now.

I got up at sunrise this morning to the sound of bird song in the trees and frogs croaking in the creek below me. Dog went with me as I filled our bird feeders and she sat quietly during ritual. (Good girl). It was simple and brief, as many of my rituals are. At the end of it, dog and I spread some apples and carrots in the lower meadow for the deer who will visit us later on, and yes, dog got some, too. Unlike me with chocolate, dog has some restraint, she will eat a few carrots and let the others lie. I don't often see rabbits in our field (they prefer the berry patch at the top of our road) but we do get regular visits from our mountain deer. I've already seen several of our does followed closely by last year's daughters. Blessings, friends. May you find safety here during the hunting season.

While filling the bird feeders (or should I say squirrel feeders?) in honor of the day, I got my Ostara gift: the words I needed to write a difficult letter to someone who is behaving badly.

I've been asked for guidance and support in this situation, and that I will give. Then I will hold my peace. Measured, firm compassion does not come naturally to me. I was raised in a family of verbal combatants; people who would far rather burn the village then save it, and that is sometimes my first and worst instinct. So, I'm grateful this morning for the access to my better self and, I hope, my better voice. It doesn't change what I have to say, but sometimes the how is just as important as the why.

Blessed Ostara to you and yours,

She who binds to herself a joy
Does the winged life destroy
But she who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise
- William Blake

Sia

Endnotes:

(1) Attention Pagan shoppers - this is $25.00 I, for one, am going to wait for the after the Easter sales and if I can snake one, I'll use it next year. But do check out their little acrylic flower plates ($7.00 each) and the candle sales. Oh, and try Cost Plus as well. My gods, what a Pagan heaven that is. And don't forget to support your local earthwise shop - they need you now, more then ever.

Related Articles:

Ostara and Spring Equinox

The Moon & Hare

Sex and Scent in Ancient Times

Ostara from the Green Soul Guide
She offers some lovely ideas for ways to celebrate this holiday.

Craig Ferguson Explains the Vernal Exquinox

Now I get it :-)

For those using a reader, here is the Youtube video

By the way, where I live, spring begins tonight. The AP notes that:

Throughout the Mountain and Pacific time zones spring actually beings tonight.

Spring begins with the astronomical event called the vernal equinox, when the sun is directly above the Earth's equator. This year, that occurs at 1:48 am Thursday in the Easter U.S. time zone and at 11:48 tonight in the Mountain zone.

Truly, Madly, Deeply:

During our ritual, we will light candles in memory of Arthur C. Clarke and Anthony Minghella.

The Romans often bemoaned the fact that anything worth saying had already been said by the Greeks who came before them. Science Fiction writers often found that any story ideas they had, had already been written by the brilliant and prolific Mr. Clarke.

Those of us who admired Anthony Minghella will miss his many talents, his humanism, and his Renaissance mind. He died far too young and tonight we mourn the many films he might have made and cherish our favorites (1) among the ones he has left to us. (2)

The son of parents who made ice cream on the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England, Mr. Minghella used expansive tastes in literature and a deep visual vocabulary to make lush films with complicated themes that found both audiences and accolades..

"He was interested in the magic," Mr. Pollack said...the kind that occurs between people. Nowadays, everybody making movies wants to get the clothes off fast and the buns out guick, he was just the opposite. He was interested in the poetry, lavishing the view with story, scope and richness."

Goodnight, gentlemen, and thank you.

Wishing you renewal, creativity and joy, in this vibrant and magical season,

Sia

(1) From Slate.com:

Over the years, I've discovered that there's a kind of secret cult for Truly, Madly, Deeply. People who have no clue who Anthony Minghella is can passionately quote great chunks of dialogue from this film. The movie's potent appeal isn't surprising; how many psychologically accurate portraits of grief also hold up as romantic comedies that are both funny and madly romantic? I've recommended Truly, Madly, Deeply to friends mourning their own losses as a kind of homeopathic remedy. And I have one friend who watched it with his ailing wife only weeks before she died, both of them laughing and crying as they wondered what kind of ghost she would be.

(2) Including his last film, an adaption of a series for HBO that I love, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency:

Even at the start, Mr. Minghella said, the notion that an overweight lady detective would play well on film seemed unlikely. And the idea that “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” could be made in Botswana, which had never been host to a major film shoot, seemed far fetched at best. But as he and others describe it, bringing the story to film became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts, a labor of love that overcame considerable obstacles.

The catalyst was Amy J. Moore, a New York independent producer who had worked and traveled in southern Africa, off and on, for two decades. Ms. Moore first came to Botswana as a student in the mid-1980s, “before the roads were tarred,” and fell in love. Later she headed a South African venture promoting African films, then took a play with an African cast to Off Broadway. In 2000 a friend gave her a novel set in Botswana by a Scottish writer obscure at the time, and she fell in love again.

“I was struck by an absolute fable,” she said, “that leading a good life is possible; that being a good person is possible; that being a good neighbor is possible; that truth can exist alongside beauty. I thought, this African book can teach the Western world a lot.”

Ostara & Spring Equinox

I meant to do my work today,
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand--
So what could I do but laugh and go?

by Richard Le Gallienne

Ostara & Spring Equinox Celebrations:

The vernal equinox celebrates the balance of light and dark. At this equinox, a shift takes place from the earth energy of winter to the airiness of spring. From the cold darkness of earth and stone and the roots of trees, sap begins to rise; the breeze begins to warm and soothe us; and the skies become thickly inhabited once again.

No talk of spring is complete without mention of its central image; that of the seed that dies, falls into the dark ground, and is reborn as the sprout, the seedling. Here are a few Ostara activities, including the ritualized action of planting intention:

Planting Bean Runes:

Choose a rune, or two or three, that most closely sums up what it is you wish to grow in your life. Called the I Ching of the Vikings, runes were originally used for divination. To learn about individual runes and their meanings, click here.

Prepare a pot of soil by stirring it with your finger, visualizing your good energy entering into the soil. Smooth the surface of the soil and then make shallow holes for the beans, about the depth of a pencil eraser. Hold the beans in your hand and breathe into them, infusing them with your hopes. Plant them in the shape of the rune, visualizing concrete things you intend to do during the next few weeks to make your wish become reality. Then water them well, cover the pot with plastic wrap, and put it on top of the refrigerator (the warmth will help the sprouting process).

In a couple of days, check to see if anything has come up. If the soil is dry, water it. Soon your rune will sprout. After the danger of frost is past, you can plant it in your garden. If for some reason your rune fails to sprout, you may want to rethink your goals and try a different rune, or try the same one again.

From Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth Honoring Activities for Parents & Children, by Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw.

Review: This handbook of Earth-honoring activities for parents and children provides a family-oriented approach to the rituals of celebration, giving parents and adults insights into the spiritual experiences which will inspire kids and help them to understand holiday meanings. Techniques ranging from visualization to Tarot play are developed with kids in mind.

Honoring Birds

You might want to clean the hair out of the family hairbrushes and pull some (preferably natural and cotton) lint from your dryer, and put it out for the birds to use as nesting material. When you do, send loving thoughts to the birds that will use this material to make their homes.

Update 3/22: Chas Clifton notes that "Brushing the dogs outdoors, where the clumps of air blow off the verandah and into the yard, is my equivalent way of "honoring birds." Good point. Excuse me while I go and get my German Shepherd.

Recipe for Making Healthy Seed Bells

Put Up a birdhouse or a nesting box - Click here to find the right birdhouse for your area.

Decorating Eggs:

Learn Pysanky - Ukranian Decorated Eggs

Incredible, Edible Eye Dye by Autumn Wiggins
Lots of useful links here.

Here we stand at the Spring Equinox, once again straddling the line between the darkness and the light, between fear and faith. For many spiritual practices, this is the season of hope, the pastel package delivered on winter's promise that someday it will again be warm, green, and light. With the new shoots pushing their way through the wet dirt, the beckoning call of amorous birds at dawn, and the lengthening day, many of us who have spent the winter rain-drenched and grouchy will again consider the abundant possibilities of spring.

- Snakemoon

Gardening & Seed Planting:

Seeds of Change: Organic Seeds, Heritage Seeds & Supplies
One of my very favorite places

Growing Herbs Indoors

Growing Herbs Indoors II

Basic Herb Information

Container Herb Gardening - Youtube video

Harvesting & Drying Herbs - Youtube video

River Action:

Help Clean Up A River

Related Articles:

Pysanky Panky: The Magic Egg - a wonderful article by my good friend, and former Editor, Snakemoon.

Sex & Scent in Ancient Times

Pagan Origins of the Easter Bunny

Links

Ostara Altars - Flickr photos

Family Egg Dying Ritual from the Queen of Heaven Circle

Photos of some lovely celtic eggs by sspyndel

Egg Balancing

If your purse no longer bulges
and you've lost your golden treasure,
If at times you think you're lonely
and have hungry grown for pleasure,
Don't sit by your hearth and grumble,
don't let mind and spirit harden.
If it's thrills of joy you wish for
get to work and plant a garden!

If it's drama that you sigh for,
plant a garden and you'll get it
You will know the thrill of battle
fighting foes that will beset it
If you long for entertainment and
for pageantry most glowing,
Plant a garden and this summer spend
your time with green things growing.

If it's comradeship you sight for,
learn the fellowship of daisies.
You will come to know your neighbor
by the blossoms that he raises;
If you'd get away from boredom
and find new delights to look for,
Learn the joy of budding pansies
which you've kept a special nook for.

If you ever think of dying
and you fear to wake tomorrow
Plant a garden! It will cure you
of your melancholy sorrow
Once you've learned to know peonies,
petunias, and roses,
You will find every morning
some new happiness discloses.

by Edgar Albert Guest

Happy Spring,

Sia


Art: Mystic Memories by Sabrinia, The Ink Witch. Used With Permission

Scent & Sex in Ancient Times

Today is the first day of Spring and a time many Pagans celebrate Ostara. You can feel a change in the air, and in the acts and attitudes around us. Nature knows it. In the Pacific Northwest where I live the migratory birds are returning, the tree frogs are singing for mates, the plum trees are in bloom, and the light changes daily. Gardeners like me are flocking to their local nurseries like birds to a feeder. I spent a lovely day last weekend at a native plant nursery, breathing in the scents and planning wild gardens to come. Oh, for a duck pond now that Spring is here!

Meanwhile, Wren's Nest reports that an ancient perfume factory dedicated to the Goddess of Love has been discovered in Cyprus. According to the archaeologist on site:

"We were astonished at how big the place was … Perfumes must have been produced on an industrial scale. No wonder the island got its reputation for possessing the skills of Aphrodite,” said National Research Council archaeologist Maria Rosa Belgiorno.

(For you history buffs, the Corning website has some wonderful information on the history of glass and glass making.)

The article goes one to note that: Perfumes are displayed in alabaster vials ...and are made of olive oil, pine, coriander, laurel, bergamot, parsley and bitter almonds...The scents are named after the Greek goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, Athena and Artemis.

Anytime I visit a museum, I look for ancient glass. Some of the most evocative designs are found in perfume jars; those enduring, sensual icons with their female curves and phallic shapes which so clearly exhibit the powerful, unconscious, biological link between sex and scent.

The ancient Egyptians understood this connection. They lived in a sex positive culture in which perfume was a sensuous (and lucrative!) art form, one closely involved with their earliest Goddess, Hathor. As Judith Illes notes in her essay on Hathor, Lady of Beauty:

Hathor was the matron and embodiment of what were considered the pleasures of life 5,000 years ago- and which for many, remain so even today: joy, love, romance, fecundity, dance, music, alcohol and perfume. A deity of women, she ruled anything having to do with the female gender. Yet although she was intrinsically connected to the female of the species, Hathor cannot be considered only a women's deity. She also had a large and devoted following among men. As Lady of Malachite, Lady of Turquoise, Hathor was also connected to metal. Holding spiritual dominion over the Sinai Peninsula, she was responsible for the success and well being of the mines in that area. Apparently Hathor was as intensely worshipped by male miners and soldiers, as she was by women in childbirth or young girls desirous of husbands. Both genders were able to recognize the sacred divine within her seductively vibrant joyous beauty.

While we are on the subject of love, scent and the history of sex, let us not forget one of the great modern avatars on that subject: Pepe le Pew, the amorous French skunk who lived for love (and who inspired Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates). As Pepe would say "Love is in the air, No?".

Indeed it is. National Public Radio reports that: An exhibit in Rome aims to explain the role of Eros, the most powerful and most elusive of the ancient gods. The show at the Colosseum seeks to illustrate the huge gap between contemporary attitudes to erotic love and how the subject was treated in antiquity.

Speaking of exhibits, Kate Smith recently wrote an article titled Ancient Egypt to Japan: An LBGT Trail Around the British Museum in which she points out a number of objects that trace the history of the gay experience.

This is also the International Year of Rumi, a Sufi mystic, and one of the world's greatest love poets. Here is an excerpt from one of my favorite Rumi poems:

Like This:

If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction

of all our sexual wanting will look,
lift your face and say,
Like this.

When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the night sky,
climb up on the roof and dance and say,
Like this.

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what "God’s fragrance" means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.
Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings of your robe.
Like this.

------------------------------------------------

Ah, Spring. Breath deeply.

Sia

[Please note: This article contains links to sites, books and pictures with adult content. I said "adult" not pornographic, by which I mean sites containing words of more than one syllable, which are frank, honest, and mature]

Off the Shelf:

Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins. A book about belly dancing, Queen Jezebel, Astarte, and sea shells. I would also recommend Jitterbug Perfume, a book about beets, floral conscious and New Orleans. His newest book is Wild Ducks Flying Backwards.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind. Love and obsession in 18th Century France

Scents and Sensibilities: Creating Solid Perfumes for Well Being by Mandy Aftel.

A Year with Rumi by Coleman Barks

Additional Notes: 3/21 The Wild Hunt Blog offered a lovely post for Spring today. It's a nice collection of the well loved links on this subject and may include some you haven't seen yet - Check it out.