Vernal Equinox Ostara

Equal day and equal night.
Equal dark and equal light.
First the light and then the shade.
Out of these our lives are made.

I grew up in California.  To me, seeds get set into pots in February and planted out by the end of march.  Of course that doesn't work in the rest of the country (including where I live now in the Pacific Northwest) and I'm finding it hard to shift gears.  With that said, I still believe that hopes and plans get made at Imbolc (after all that is Aquarius).  Action oriented rituals are appropriate for Ostara (Aries) and of course as much as possible any rituals should be worked at Dawn. 

The Spring or Vernal Equinox occurs on this date, and is an ideal time to clean your home and welcome the new season. More than physical cleaning, it is a time to remove negative energies and problems that have built up over the winter months. A common belief is that all cleaning/scrubbing should be done in a clockwise motion to fill the home with energy for growth.

Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is also probably no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox.

A quick examination of the variety of ceremonies include:
 

•  leaving offerings of food and milk for the Fairies ... Druids
• scattering ashes, salt, or soil from mountaintops onto fields ready for new planting ... Druid
•  wearing flower-decorated hats or head wreaths ... Universal
•  rituals of sensuality involving fruit and wine ... Roman
• use of rabbits as symbols of fertility and baby chickens as symbols of new life ... Universal.
   

SPRINGTIME MEDITATION

Close your eyes and take three deep inhales and exhales, focusing on your breathing. Imagine that you are sitting in a Sacred Circle of Springtime. Bring the Springtime to all your senses. With your eyes, see or sense the emerging of the new flowers and baby animals into the world. See the shapes. See the colors. See the bright sun shining on them. With your ears, listen to the sounds of Spring, the brooks gurgling, the baby chicks calling, the lambs bleating, the children laughing. With your nose, smell the smell of rich dark moist earth nurturing new life, smell the aromas floating on the Spring breeze, smell the lilies of the valley, smell the rain. With your fingers, touch the satin of new buds, touch the bark of the old oak as it springs to life once again, touch the curly wool of lambs, touch the crumbling earth, touch a baby's cheek, touch your own cheek. With your mouth, imagine the flavor of new asparagus stalks and strawberries. Sense all the wonders of spring, renewed from winter's sleep, filling your Sacred Space.

Now focus inside yourself. Like the earth, you are a place of nourishment and hibernation...for new ideas, for new health, for new friendships, for new prosperity, for new life. See the sun rising up inside of you too. Feel the rain nurturing renewal within you. Feel the new warmth and light of Spring filling you from your toes to your head, with the light of renewal. Feel the warmth and light of Spring spill over and fill the Sacred Space around you with love and growth. Take a deep breath and as you exhale, say: Spring and Renewal are with me. Breathe and exhale and say: Spring and Renewal within me. Breathe and exhale and say: Spring and Renewal surround me. Breathe and exhale and say: Spring and Renewal protect me. In this Here, in this Now, I re-affirm my Life. So be it.

Take three deep breaths. Say thank you to the Powers-that-be for your moment of safety and ease. Ask for protection for yourself, for your safety, for those you hold dear, for other life forms emerging into life, and for this sweet Earth and her heavens. When you are ready, open your eyes, knowing that only good can come from what you've done. Smile at the world.
It is GOOD.