Cross-culturally, the spring season is a time to celebrate renewal, rebirth, fertility, abundance, and the coming summer. 💐🐣🐰Ostara, also known as "Ēostre" and later on "Easter", has origins tied to the Ancient Germanic Goddess and Astarte. As one of the eight Neopagan Sabbats (aka "celebrations") comprising the Pagan Wheel of the Year, this Sabbat commemorates the renewal of Spring following the desolation of winter. Ostara/ Ēostre embodies the fresh vitality of the spring season, depicted as the youthful Maiden of Spring...
Yule is an ancient holiday which has been celebrated on the Winter Solstice for thousands of years by Germanic cultures, and now by Neo-pagans across the Earth. Whats lovely about seasonal celebrations like the Winter and Summer solstice is that it forces us to slow down, create space, and enjoy the moment...
March is the Month of the Vernal Equinox when we leave the long dormant days of Winter behind, and celebrate the return of the dawning Springtime Sun. This story has played out over time through the tales of Jesus’ Resurrection, Inanna’s underworld descent and subsequent Springtime return, and countless other stories illustrating the seasonal transition from a period of Winter death back to a fertile Spring of new life, hope, and rebirth. This is a time to celebrate the bounty of the sun! Oddly enough, many of us are feeling anxious about the symbolically related Corona Virus. Let me shed some light...
Ostara, Ēostre who stemmed from Astarte is both an Ancient Germanic Goddess and one of the eight Neopagan Sabbats which make up the Pagan Wheel of the Year. The Sabbat, or Holiday celebrates the re-birth of Spring after the barren winter season. The face of the Goddess Ostara is the Virginal Maiden of Spring, the smiling celestial crescent, emerging in the sky from the black horizon of winter. One must imagine the ancient European Winters to truly appreciate the return of this gentle fertility Goddess. To get through the barren season, families would store grains, nuts, dried meats and herbs for their survival. This preserved prosperity directly from the land equated with the sustaining of life when external conditions i.e. weather did not support it. Ēostre emerges from the rich Pagan...
With spring we welcome greener days ahead while plants seem to wake up from their winter slumber with emerging buds and blossoms as symbols of new growth. The energies are more active as animals and humans seem to awaken into more activity, and even the bees return to their pollination cycle. While we have not yet arrived at the heat of Summer, instead we can enjoy the balanced energies of Equinox as the Sun seems to suspend in time.
There are a few things you should consider before starting your ritual. How does the ritual fulfill your intentions? How does it aid in discovering your intentions? Magic, especially modern magic, tends to be unifying rather than dualistic. The goal is to unify the higher (mind/divine) and lower (physical/experiential). Magicians do this by making things happen through uniting themselves with the universe at-large, by spell-casting (magic) and/or being mindful (mysticism). Lastly, it is crucial to record every step in a journal along with all external factors that affect you and the operation. This is one of the only ways to observe and adjust your practice as you develop.
Officially celebrated on February 1 at sunset, Imbolc, or Imbolg, signals the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Its name derives from Celtic meaning "in the belly,” as it refers to the “just-showing” pregnancy or a stirring of new life that has just begun. At its core, this Pagan holiday is a clearing and cleansing preparing us for rebirth. Imbolc focuses on fertility and the promise of returning light in the spring season. However, Imbolc’s claim to fame is the Irish Goddess Brigid, also spelled Brigit, Bride, or Brighid. She was considered a triple goddess or triune representing maiden, mother, and crone. In this way she had several facets to her symbolism of fire, hearth, poetry, and smithcraft. Brigit was believed..
Yule or Yuletide, aka Winter Solstice, in the Northern Hemisphere marks the longest night and shortest day of the year and is one of the oldest celebrations in the world. Like all the Neopagan holidays the date varies between December 20 to December 23 depending on the year with the Gregorian calendar. Though with modern technology we can more closely track the exact moment when the Earth pole is at its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This year the winter solstice is exact on Friday, December 21 at 2:22 p.m. PT or 5:22 ET as the Sun moves into the tropical zodiac sign of Capricorn. As a turning point of light and reflection and of all the cyclical, seasonal holidays, the winter solstice is perhaps the most Christianized from its Earthly Pagan roots and Roman traditions.
Magic. We all know what it is. But when asked to define it, it can be a bit tricky to give it a good definition. So let's start with the basics. All types of magic have two parts: the belief part and the practical part. If you didn't believe magic was real, then why practice it at all? If you don't use magic for anything, why believe in it? It is worth noting up front that the magic this article talks about is also sometimes spelled "magick." This is mostly to distinguish it from the kind of magic with card tricks and rabbits being pulled out of hats. Another reason some spell it this way is because they use the "k" at the end to stand for "kteis." Kteis is a Greek word representing the passive or reproductive powers of nature. In this sense, magick is balanced against the oppressive aspects of more dogmatic religious traditions that seek to regulate individual behavior and enforce social norms.
